The Gender End (The Gender Game #7)

The man blinked, and then rolled his lips tight over his teeth, emitting a shrill whistle that was exceptionally loud. The figures in white stopped their advance, and I eased up on the gun a little, lowering it a few inches. His eyes tracked the progress, but he made no reaction to the gun either way. His indifference was surprising, but maybe he was that unfazed by violence. Viggo had seemed weathered like that, when I first met him.

“My name is Jathem Dreyfuss, Knight Elite,” he said after a long moment. “You may refer to me as Jathem. You and your companions will accompany me inside the tower, so that we may get to the bottom of who you are and what your intentions might be.”

I shook my head immediately. “No way. My people stay out here and continue their work. I’ll be the only one heading inside, and if they don’t hear from me in one hour, they will be instructed to leave.”

“I would need permission from my superiors before I could agree,” Jathem said, his voice sounding almost tired.

“Then get it.”

Jathem turned his head and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and then nodded. “Very well, the council has agreed.”

I frowned, my eyes flicking all over him, trying to figure out how he had managed to communicate without at least moving his mouth. His neck didn’t seem to have anything on it, but… Maybe there was something under the skin? It was deeply unnerving, either way. For all I knew he could be talking to voices that didn’t exist anywhere but in his head, and I had stumbled onto some sort of prison where insane people were kept.

I shuddered at the grim depths my imagination would go to as Jathem lifted his arm. “Shall we?”

“Not just yet,” I reminded him. “I still need to relay my instructions to my people.”

He said nothing as I moved between them, heading over to the heloship like my pants were on fire.





7





Violet





“What is going on?” Belinda demanded as I made my way toward where she was standing. Kathryn was awkwardly trying to stand next to her, although her legs didn’t look like they were cooperating.

“These are the residents of the tower,” I said, looking at the three other white-clad figures, those same black rod things clutched loosely in their hands. The tip of one glimmered blue, and I realized that those must carry the electrical charge that had dropped me a few minutes ago. “They’ve invited me inside to, uh, meet their leaders. The excellent news is that they speak English.”

Belinda’s eyes grew wide, and I motioned her toward the rear of the ship. She pondered me for a long moment, and then straightened up. “I’ll be right back, Kathryn,” she said, rising to her full, impressive height. She stood a handful of inches over the tallest person in white, which I hoped intimidated them slightly, although it was hard to tell behind the reflective face plates on their masks.

“It’s all right,” called Jathem to his people from behind us, and I turned to see him and MacGillus drawing nearer. “Let them talk.”

The group collectively took a step back, solidifying my impression that Jathem was definitely in charge. He was already waving them over into a quick conference. I followed suit, and led Belinda around and into the cargo bay. “You’re going to go with them?” she asked as soon as we were inside.

“I have to. There are far more of them than us, and we have no idea how lethal their weapons are.”

“Those stick things?” She squinted at me. “What do they do?”

“They deliver some sort of electrical shock,” I said, my shoulders twinging in memory of the experience. “I already got hit once, and I don’t want to feel that again. Listen, we don’t have much time. I lied about the other guns. They’re above a panel in the bathroom.”

Belinda immediately looked confused. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked, bewildered.

“Because I don’t want to leave you here without any protection. And I’m hoping that will mean that if something happens and I don’t make it back but you do… You’ll take Solomon back to my people and tell them what happened. And… give Viggo Croft these.”

I opened my bag and pulled out the wooden box Henrik had given me. Taking a minute to savor the smooth feel of the patterns, I felt the muffled clink of the wedding bands inside hitting the sides. I knew it wasn’t, but it felt like… like this was the end. I couldn’t shake the feeling that once I went inside that building, I would never get back out.

It took a moment to summon up the courage to straighten my spine and turn back to Belinda, holding out the box. “Tell him I’m… I’m sorry we didn’t have enough time to get married first.” My voice broke slightly at the end, and I hated myself for feeling the overwhelming urge to cry. I was being ridiculous, I knew it, but I couldn’t take the chance of not leaving a message of some sort.

Belinda stared at the box, her face suspicious. “What is it?”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Belinda, it’s a pair of wedding rings. They were a gift from a very dear friend of ours. When all of this stupidity was over, Viggo and I were going to get married. Will you please do this if I don’t come back? Please?”

Her frown deepened, and, after a teeth-gratingly long silence, sighed and shook her head. She reached out, and I flinched back, but all she did was push the box back to me. “You should keep it with you,” she said after a moment. “If he loves you, he’d want them with you. Then he could imagine you were actually married.” She blinked in surprise and then flushed, the sharp edges of her high cheekbones turning a mottled red. “Sorry. Besides, it is stupid for you to wait until this is over… We caught you, and we’ll catch your boyfriend soon and execute you both. Maybe if you’re lucky, the queen will allow you to get married before we hang you.”

My throat seized up, uncertain of how to even process her remark. On the one hand, I wanted to laugh—right in her face. On the other, that was a shockingly morbid thought, one that made my stomach feel as if a massive lump of ice had just formed inside it, chilling me to my core in spite of the sweltering heat outside.

I didn’t want to die not having married Viggo first. I didn’t want to risk another single moment of not having him be mine, forever. Even though we had discussed it, decided to wait, I realized I was tired of waiting. I wanted it, right then and there if he’d have me. Only he wasn’t here. He was back home, and I was determined to get back to him, no matter the obstacles set in front of me.

I withdrew the box and tucked it back into my bag. “You’re right. I was being silly.” Shouldering the bag, I turned around and gave her a look. “I told them if I’m not back here in an hour, you’re going to leave without me. Can you do that?”

Belinda gave me another suspicious look, and then nodded, but I wasn’t finished. “Can you also promise to wait an hour, just in case you finish the repairs before I get back?”

She hesitated, and then nodded again. “The queen wouldn’t like hearing that we left you behind. She really wants to execute you. Like, very badly.”

“I’ll bet she does,” I replied dryly. God, I hoped I could kill that woman one day.