“Whatever I want, which of course keeps changing every day. Like now, for instance, you’re what I want the most. So, what do I have to do to earn you?”
He moves to the edge of the couch, places the glass next to me, and begins to massage my thighs. I’m about to run him through with the Kopis, when I stop myself mid-thought. I put the weapon off to the side, take his hands, and place them on my hips as I move closer to him.
“Get me to the Outer Limits without the Patrician or the Dracken finding out.”
He smiles, but it’s more from the alcohol than my request. “There’s a way I can do that. But, I need some kind of security from you. What are you willing to give me now, so I know you’re serious about this transaction?”
I think about that, since it won’t be a simple price. “I can give you a preview of what to expect.”
I climb into his lap, straddle my legs around his waist, and shove my tongue down his throat. He has me on my back in seconds as his hands search for the opening of the jumper. I push him back, move from the couch, and let him fall back down.
“There’ll be more, later,” I say as I push the button to exit. The door slides open and I’m back in the lift ascending to my floor before he has time to recover.
Garrett rings the bell just as the sun is setting. I don’t turn on any lights since I don’t want anyone to know I’m letting him in. Especially Jack.
“Why do you have it dark?” Garrett asks when he crosses the threshold.
“No privacy, remember. I don’t want my life to be on display for all of Icarian.”
The door closes and we sit on the couch. “Have you seen Jack? Troy has been looking for him for hours, but no one can find him.”
“Nope. I haven’t seen him since we got here.”
Garrett pulls me into his side and starts to nuzzle my neck. “So, are you ready to tell me what happened earlier?”
“Forget it, it’s been taken care of.”
“You still don’t trust me,” he says, but his accurate observation doesn’t stop him from pulling me down on top of him.
“Is this all any of you think about?” I ask, pushing myself up.
“What can I say? You’re desirable, Max. I want to enjoy you as much as possible whenever possible.”
“Have you taken anything with cinnamon in it?”
He stops and looks at me puzzled. I can see the wheels turning in his head and then click when it finally sinks in.
“Shit,” he says.
I move to the other end of the sectional while he adjusts his clothing.
“I warned you about it in Tarsus, and here I am bathing in it.”
“Bath salts?”
“No, body wash.”
“I think this place is full of that stuff. That’s probably why everyone is so into bedding each other. It’s false desire,” I say.
Dracken influence or Patrician? What a second? When Lok and Garrett warned me about it, they said that Leader Fallon had banned it. So, it is the Dracken providing this drug-like substance. Does that mean they really did create Icarian? If so, for what purpose? I bet Cil would have known, but there isn’t any way to ask her now. Who’s left from the original Dracken society? Is there anyone?
“Max, did you hear me?”
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head to clear it.
“Have you eaten dinner?”
I tell him I haven’t. He calls down to the Matron and asks for our meals to be brought up. For this, we have to turn on the lights. The Matron brings us our meals, but we only manage to get through half of it when the doorbell chimes. I get up and see that it’s Troy. He looks agitated. I open the door, he walks in, and I quickly close it.
“Did you find Jack?” Garrett asks, getting up from his seat at the dining room table.
“Yes, but there’s an issue,” Troy says. “And I need Max to come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I say, returning to the dining room.
“He’s in trouble because of you!” Troy shouts. “You fucked with his head, Max, and now his life is at risk.”
Garrett turns towards me. “What did you do?”
“The same thing everyone has been doing to me. Manipulating him to get what I want. And I’d do it again, to any of you. I’m tired of this damn puppet show. I just want this whole thing over with. At this point, I don’t care who wins.”
“Fine,” Troy says. “Then come with me.”
“I’m going too,” Garrett says.
“Well, I’m not going unarmed.”
I retrieve my Kopis from the sectional where I’d left it when I returned earlier. I then slip into the bedroom and tuck the necklace Cil gave me into one of the pockets in my jumpsuit. We take the lift down to Garrett’s room where he retrieves his bow and arrow. The lobby is bustling with Matrons and citizens. It seems Icarian’s nightlife is a lot more colorful and entertaining than the daytime activities. We exit, cross the courtyard, and take the road behind the apartment building.
As the sun sets, the sky turns to black, displaying vast amounts of stars that I’ve never seen before. The air is too polluted in the Outer Limits, and Tarsus had so many lights it washed the night sky out. I continue to stare up as we walk. Two objects look out of place: one a colored globe, the other a bulkier metal sphere. They’re a great distance away, but it’s obvious they aren’t a natural phenomenon. I turn my attention back to the road.
Troy veers off the road about twenty minutes later, and down a pebbled path leading into the middle of the field. It takes another ten minutes before I finally see a structure. It’s oblong and covered in a dome-roof made of small reflective panels. A small light hangs next
