“Someone named Theron, I think.”
Either it was her imagination, or Damon suddenly went unnaturally still all at once, like a vid caught between one image and the next.
“You know the name?” she asked.
He continued with his boots as if nothing had happened. “It is familiar,” he said. “But such a philosophy, if viable, would be anathema to all of Erebus, including the Council.”
Alexia searched his face. Was he admitting that the Council would be just as hostile to the colony as the Expansionists? Maybe enough to want it destroyed, too?
“We still can’t be sure how much of what Lysander said about the settlement or the Expansionists’ plans were lies,” she said.
Damon put on his boots, unfastened one of the outer pockets of his pack and withdrew a spare knife, smaller than the other but every bit as nasty-looking. “The first Opir’s warnings seem to confirm at least some of it was the truth. There must be a great deal more Lysander didn’t tell us.”
“And none of this explains why none of the shooters killed us.”
“Indeed.”
Alexia went to join Damon, aware in every nerve of the heat of his body, the smell of his skin, the planes and angles of his face. As crazy as it was under these very dangerous circumstances, in spite of the matter of the blood, she wanted him again.
From the way Damon’s muscled clenched up, Alexia had an idea he was thinking the same thing she was. She could almost feel his desire, like static electricity raising all the hair on the back of her arm. His nostrils flared and the corner of his mouth twitched.
But he resisted his body’s demands. Even without moving, he seemed to lean away from her, putting more space between them.
It hurt. But Alexia was glad. Whatever Lysander had said, they could still both control their “irrational impulses.”
“We know Lysander was lying about your new ‘orders,’” she said, “unless you think the Council would really change your mission right after you left.”
“Unlikely,” he said, staring into the darkness clotted among the branches of the old oak.
“Then why would Lysander pretend that the Council wanted you to escort me back to the Border when he knew I’d report my suspicions to Aegis?”
Damon balanced the knife’s blade on one extended finger. “The orders Lysander gave me are not what he told you,” he said. “They instruct me to take you and Michael back to Erebus, where we would be met secretly by Council Security. They claim this is to protect you from the Expansionists, but I believe members of the Expansionists would be the ones to meet us, and probably before we ever reach the Citadel. They wouldn’t risk taking us too close to Erebus.”
“So they just want us to walk into a trap so they can kill us? What would be the purpose, considering how many times they’ve had a chance to do it already?”
“I don’t know.” He stabbed the knife’s tip into the dirt between his feet with enough force to bend the blade. “I think they’d keep you alive, if possible. You have too much potential value to them.”
“Why? Why me in particular?”
He shoulders hunched as if to ward off her question. “It would be too much a risk to take you for such a reason.”
“What is the reason, Damon?”
Damon turned the blade from side to side, catching the moonlight so that the metal seemed to burn with cold fire. “As you once noted, the offspring of Opir and human are forbidden in Erebus. There are no dhampires there. But sometime during the War, an Opir was said to have discovered that dhampir blood acts as a stimulant and aphrodisiac on the Opir system.”
Alexia lost her balance, dropping from a crouch to her knees. “You mean like the drug that keeps my kind alive?”
“This one is purely recreational.” His teeth flashed in a humorless smile, bright as the blade. “To many, it is only a myth. You probably know better than I how many dhampires have disappeared in the Zone since the Armistice. Some Bloodmasters may have obtained dhampir serfs born before the end of the War, but they would be rare. As you can imagine, the demand is quite high.”
“And Aegis...” She felt bile climb into her throat. “They can’t possibly know this.”
“As I said, it may be only myth.”
That was scant comfort, Alexia thought ruefully.
“Would it work the same on you?” she asked.
“No. I am not full Opir.”
The statement was so final that Alexia decided he was telling the truth.
“And in spite of all this,” she said, struggling to find a little humor, “you don’t think the Expansionists would try to sell me for some fabulous sum?”
“They know Aegis would investigate your and Michael’s complete disappearance.”
“But the enemy would expect that no matter what happened,” Alexia said, shivering in spite of herself. “They’ve got my patch. Maybe they can use me for some kind of experiment.”
Damon frowned and looked into her eyes. “Such speculation is pointless. We still can’t be sure who stole it, the colony or the Expansionists. Even if we knew the Expansionists had it, we’re not going anywhere near Erebus. I won’t risk it until we have more concrete information.”
“Then I guess we’d better start looking for answers closer to home.”
“Some answers aren’t worth the price.” He reached over and laid his hand on her arm, so lightly that she barely felt it. “Lysander did say one thing of value. You shouldn’t be further involved, Alexia. Your partner is dead, and you’ve suffered a grievous injury.
Aegis would not expect you to continue this mission under the circumstances, and—”
“You just said since I was the sole survivor of my team, I had to finish the mission myself.”
She’d caught him, and he knew it. But that wasn’t enough to make him give up. “I was wrong,” he said.
“Forget it.”
He tightened his grip. “Michael would have reported the theft of the patch, but now that task is yours. Our new information makes it even more essential that Aegis be informed of the Expansionists’ plans so that there will be no misunderstanding if and when the colony is attacked. They must know that the Council is not involved.”
“You said yourself that you aren’t privy to the Council’s deliberations. Given what you’ve said about how Erebus would feel about the colonists’ philosophy, what if they aren’t controlling the Expansionists because they want them to do the Council’s dirty work?”
“They are not involved,” he repeated.
“Isn’t that just what you want to believe, Damon? Because if the Council is just as bad as the Expansionists, you have no reason to serve any of them?”
He got up and moved away from her, a few uneven strides in one direction and then back again. “You’re wrong. We agree that any overt move on the colony could be interpreted to be an act of war. The Independents’ entire purpose is to maintain the status quo.”
“Do you really believe Aegis would send soldiers into the Zone because Erebus eliminated its own illegal colony?” she asked, rising to follow him. “That would make war a certainty.”
“How can you agree that this is a highly volatile situation for both sides if you don’t believe Aegis would take action in that case? Why would they have sent you to investigate at all?”
He was right, of course. It was all imprudent talk on her part, an effort to make herself feel less helpless.
“Then explain to me why you told Lysander that Aegis might be pleased if the colony were destroyed?” she asked. “Why would you even suggest that to him?”
“I don’t believe it, Alexia. I was attempting to throw him off his stride in any way possible, and see what might result.” He held her gaze intently. “We once discussed the fact that the Enclave is just as responsible for the serfs in Erebus as the Opiri. The reason I am convinced that your government would act in the case of violence against the colonists is for that very reason. The Treaty specifies that no humans may be killed in Citadel territory.”