Ravenous Virtue Read online

Amusement again. “So there was no other worthy of the position? One without a hole blasted in her chest?”

  “Actually, Raven was one of three possibilities. In the end it turned out she is exactly what we need. She burns for justice. She will make an excellent protector.”

  “She has no stake in our fight, Daagiis.”

  Raven wondered why the afterlife was full of voices and why the other man kept calling Douglas by a name that wasn’t quite right. It had to be some strange accent. Somehow, nothing the two men said sounded like real English.

  The auditor answered his not-so-friendly friend. “That’s where you’re wrong. She has already challenged Hanos and lost. I think she would do anything to get some measure of payback.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  That’s what I’d like to know, Raven thought. If she was hallucinating before finally giving up life for good, it was as bizarre and fascinating a hallucination as she could imagine.

  “Hanos is sending people through the rift to capture and bring back unwilling slaves for his auctions. Raven caught one of the agents, but the bastard escaped her system’s justice through a technicality. He came back through with half a dozen abductees destined for the Corporation. I know he already sent Hanos another fourteen.”

  The stranger’s voice was a mixture of shock, fury, and excitement. “You are sure of this?”

  “Absolutely. Are you going to look at the girl or not?”

  “I suppose if she was worth you getting your hide handed to you, I will.”

  Two pairs of footsteps headed Raven’s way. Slow, measured, and soft, they came right up to stop beside her.

  The stranger’s deep voice sounded as if the speaker hovered overhead. “The arm was a total loss, I see.”

  “High-caliber shot decimated it from the elbow down,” Douglas said. It sounded as if he stood next to the other speaker.

  “Cybernetic heart?”

  “Her chest is where she took the worst damage. She really should have died on the spot. That shows you her strength.”

  There were some clicking sounds to Raven’s right. Douglas’ friend sounded impressed when he spoke again. “You’ve had a full memory and control program drive installed too. You have to be careful with that. Alt-Earthlings have been known to go utterly insane if too much is uploaded right away.”

  “So far I’ve only inputted universal language and a restrictive program to keep that robotic arm from doing too much accidental damage until she gets used to it. I thought we’d add the rest a little at a time.”

  “Knowledge of our laws should be a priority. If the doctors agree, go ahead and download that. What of skeletal coating?”

  “I’d rather not. She’s got good hand-to-hand skills that rely more on speed and agility than strength. It may leave her fragile, but I don’t want her weighted down.”

  Gosh, I wish I’d die, Raven thought wearily. It’s like listening to a bad sci-fi movie. Cybernetic heart? Robotic arm? Do I end this hallucination as some stupid version of the Terminator?

  Yet those voices droned on, refusing to let her expire in peace. “Skill with knives?” the deep-voiced man said.

  “None. That’s another program I’d like to give her.”

  “I don’t suppose you had an opportunity to rate her sexual abilities.”

  Oh, that’s just gross. What in the hell is wrong with me to dream this shit?

  Douglas chuckled, an utterly lascivious sound that set Raven’s hair on end. “Actually, I did. I posed as her boyfriend without her knowledge. I think you’ll find her in line with your appetites, though she won’t surrender without a fight.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  There were a few seconds of silence, which Raven dove into with relief. Maybe she was finally done with this nonsense. Dying sure was weird. Wasn’t she supposed to see her life flash before her eyes instead of having crazy dreams? Well, at least she didn’t hurt any more.

  Someone touched her. Fingers moved over her mound, stroking through her pubic hair. Holy shit, she was naked? In front of Douglas and the other guy? Dream or not, the vulnerability freaked Raven out.

  Raven could feel the kinky spirals catching against someone’s fingernails as they combed over them. Reflex took over, trying to make her jump up and knock the touchie-feelie bastard away. Her body didn’t budge. She could only lay still as someone petted her crotch.

  This is so fucked up. Damn it, either let me move or make this go away!

  Neither of those things happened. Instead, Douglas began speaking again. “Shall I have that removed?”

  There was another stretch of silence before the other man responded. “Yes. That would be nice.”

  The fingers moved down and Raven mentally stiffened though her body remained as unresponsive as ever. No, no, no, she thought, desperately trying to draw her legs tight together.

  But the fingers kept moving until one slipped into the crevice, gently parting her pussy lips to investigate. The touch was tender as it explored her, delicately circling her entrance. Then it withdrew.

  Raven heard a deep inhale and then something moist, like a kid sucking on a lollipop. Or a molester licking his finger.

  An appreciative tone. “Not bad, Daagiis. Not bad at all. All right, I’ll take her on.”

  More sounds as movement happened right next to Raven.

  Douglas: “Is that the same one you put on me?” He almost sounded fearful.

  “Recognized it, did you? I kept it as a souvenir. Tell me, will you enjoy seeing it around her neck?”

  “Right up until the moment she finds out what I’ve done to her. Her acceptance was questionable at the least.”

  “We can still let her die, Daagiis. I never asked you to do this.”

  There was a sigh, a heavy, mournful sound that hurt Raven’s heart to hear. Douglas whispered, “Which is worse to a human, I wonder? Death or a lifetime of servitude?”

  “You made your choice. You know mine.”

  Douglas made a derisive noise. “Choice, my ass.”

  “Decide, Daagiis. Once and for all.”

  Another heavy sigh. A few seconds of silence. And then finally, “Collar her.”

  Raven felt something cold like metal slip behind her neck. Then there was the slightest pressure all around her throat and a clicking sound.

  Damn, am I not dying after all? Because that doesn’t feel like a hallucination. Neither did the sexual molestation either. Dear God, would someone tell me what the fuck is going on?

  Douglas’ companion sounded pleased. “That will hold her until the Branding or she cuts my heart out.”

  “We’ll have to work fast to ready her. Alt-Earthlings imprint fast.”

  “You have your work cut out for you then, don’t you?”

  A single set of footsteps walked away. Then there was only Douglas’ voice, the sound of it filled with dread.

  “All right, Raven, it’s up to you. I brought you here to save Vendeen, but you may very well destroy him and me instead. I have to admit, I’m not sure which is the right move.”

  Then more footsteps moved away, and quiet finally descended. Raven was left alone in the dark and with too many questions. She had no idea when she traded the strange half-awake status for real sleep.

  * * * *

  A slow and steady thud-thud-thud roused Raven. She opened her eyes to stare up at a stark white ceiling. She blinked. That couldn’t be right. She’d been lying under the bleached blue sky, the sun baleful behind the head of a man…

  “Your recruit is awake, Daagiis.”

  The somewhat familiar voice made the rhythmic thudding stop. Then it started again, moving much quicker this time. Footsteps. Then Douglas’ head was hovering over her again, the last sight of her life.

  “Raven?”

  She stared at him. All the pain was gone. All the agony and fear of dying, and the wishing it would go ahead and happen so she’d stop hurting so badly – no more of that. Douglas had
been there as he was here now, talking to her. She’d agreed to work on his space station in exchange for her life.

  She was alive.

  “Holy shit, I’m still here.” Her voice came out in a hissing croak. Raven recalled screaming so loud and hard that her voice had nearly given out. But surely that had been some horrific nightmare? No one could have survived the shots she remembered taking.

  Douglas smiled. “You mean, among the living? Yes, you are, though I almost didn’t get you here in time.”

  Raven’s mind worked slowly, as if it was made of moving parts that had been gummed up with sludge. She was alive, but she shouldn’t be. Douglas was here, but he didn’t look quite right. What the fuck was he wearing? His usual suit and tie were absent, replaced by some bizarre outfit. It had long sleeves. More fabric hung from his wrists, and it took Raven a moment to figure out gloves were attached to the end of the sleeves, though Douglas didn’t have them over his hands. The material looked black as oil, but there were flashes of iridescence too. The thing was form-fitting, showing off what she could see of Douglas’ deliciously muscled body to advantage. It was the most bizarre thing she’d ever seen a grown man wear.

  Another thing bothered her. Where were Todd and Kimi? Raven had no doubt the injuries she’d suffered had to have been horrific. Surely her boyfriend and bestie should be here too, right?

  Slow, measured steps drawing close alerted Raven that someone else was in the room, interrupting her perusal of Douglas Bringer of the General Accounting Office. So maybe her friends were there after all. She tried to raise her head to greet whoever had waited at her bedside but couldn’t. Raven had to content herself with rolling her eyes about. A glance around herself revealed she lay in a bed in a very white, antiseptic room. Before she could note anything else about her surroundings, a man stepped into view. It was most definitely not Todd.

  This stranger’s almost metallic-bronze face looked Asian with dark, upturned eyes and high cheekbones. His lips were incredibly sensual, and Raven had a momentary fantasy of sucking on the lower one. In contrast to his Oriental bone structure, he had long, sleek, golden blond hair that lay over his shoulders. His body was massive, well over six feet tall. The flowing red robe he wore belted at the waist, while full-sleeved, did nothing to disguise the fact that he was well-muscled. What Raven and Kimi would call an ‘uber-man’. Yet his movements were as fluidly graceful as a man possessing a much leaner physique would.

  He wasn’t anyone Raven had expected. He sure as hell didn’t look like any doctor she had ever seen. What doctor wore robes? What was the deal with his metal-sheened skin?

  As she gaped, the man moved to the side opposite Douglas and stared down at her. Raven suddenly noticed that he seemed to have no irises, or that they were as black as his pupils. Was that even possible?

  The man said nothing, just looked at her. Something in his demeanor made Raven feel small and helpless. She’d thought of Douglas as having an aura of danger, and he was not alone. This stranger was like a tiger lying in the grass, not hungry enough yet to take its prey down but marking it for future reference just the same.

  He scared the shit out of Raven.

  To hide the sudden surge of panic, she snapped at him, “Who are you?”

  One thin eyebrow lifted at her question. Otherwise his expression didn’t change, but Raven sensed amusement coming from him.

  Douglas answered for him. “Raven, this is Supreme Judge Vendeen. He’s in charge here.”

  Vendeen nodded once at her. “Hello, Raven. I am glad to have you on board.”

  “On board?” Even as the question left her lips, it occurred to her the title Douglas had given the other man. Supreme Judge? Not Supreme Court Judge, or more accurately, Justice. Besides, the Supreme Court didn’t presently have any sitting blond justices on it anyway. Certainly not Asian ones with metallic skin. And Douglas hadn’t called him a superior court judge, which would make some sense.

  This man’s voice was the one she’d thought sounded familiar, the one she’d heard when she first woke. But she knew she’d never seen this Vendeen before. He wasn’t exactly a man one would forget.

  The judge folded his arms over his chest and leveled his inscrutable stare at Douglas. “Show her.”

  Douglas bit his lip. Had Raven ever seen him look so uncertain? “She’s only just awakened. I’m not sure—”

  Vendeen interrupted, his powerful voice clearly saying there was to be no discussion. “It’s the quickest way to explain.”

  Douglas grimaced and then jerked a nod. He gave Raven a tight smile. “Don’t be scared, okay? This is going to be weird.”

  She looked at him. As if things weren’t weird already? Where was Superintendent Jackson? Where were Kimi and Todd? Surely someone who knew and cared about her should be here with her, not the auditor from General Accounting or this bizarre ‘judge’.

  Douglas took a deep breath. The air shimmered around him, like desert heat off blacktop. Then he changed right before her eyes.

  His chameleon hair turned as blond as Vendeen’s. His golden eyes shaded to brown. His features sharpened, taking him from the chiseled perfection of Douglas Bringer to that of a thinner, finer-featured man.

  Raven couldn’t even summon a gasp. She stared, trying to decipher what her eyesight was telling her.

  Before she could gather her senses to react, Douglas changed again. His features became rounder and even more delicate. His eyes turned blue, and his hair lengthened to past his shoulders. His body curved out until Raven was looking at a woman. A woman that had been Douglas Bringer.

  The female gave Raven a saucy grin, then shifted once more, returning to the visage of Douglas that she knew. Golden eyes and short hair. Chameleon hair.

  The whole fucking man was a chameleon, if Raven was to believe her eyes. She wasn’t so sure she did.

  “What the fuck?” she croaked. The only explanation was drugs. She was so hopped up on medication that she was hallucinating. Like she had earlier, with the voices in the dark she was just now remembering. Douglas and Vendeen’s voices.

  Douglas took her hand. He felt solid enough as he said, “My real name is Daagiis, Raven. I am a Paatiin, what many refer to as a face-changer, though I can alter my whole body. I come from the world Paatuun. The space station you thought was a joke is real, and you’re on it.”

  She stared at him. Damn it, this didn’t feel like a dream, but it had to be. Either that, or she was absolutely fucking insane. She said, “Right. So what meds am I on? Because I really think someone needs to lower my dosage.”

  Vendeen spoke, drawing her gaze to his enigmatic face. “Daagiis went to your Earth in your dimension, looking to find someone who can help us. You accepted his trade of saving your life in order to be my indentured servant. To that end, you have been fixed and enhanced for my use until your term is up or you kill me to gain your freedom.”

  Yep. I’ve gone completely bonkers. Because this guy doesn’t look entirely human either, does he? That metallic sheen of his skin. Those black eyes. I’m tripping or nuts, obviously. Maybe both.

  Douglas leaned close, speaking with intensity. “Raven, listen to how we’re talking to you. Listen. Closely. To. Our. Words,” he enunciated with slow care.

  She did. Her eyes widened. Douglas was not speaking English or any other language she had ever heard before. Thinking about it, she realized Vendeen had not uttered a single thing she should know either. Yet she understood every word they said. Her blood ran cold.

  Her lips numb, Raven whispered, “Now I know I’m stoned. Or insane. Probably both.”

  She spoke in that other language. A scream tried to well up in her, but she didn’t have the breath to utter it.

  Douglas went shimmery again. Raven wanted to shut her eyes tight, to hide them behind her hands like a child. Yet she couldn’t look away as the man she’d thought of as that pesky, sexy auditor shortened, rounded, and changed into … her.

  The other Raven scowled at the re
al Raven. “Stop saying that, or you will be punished. You are awake and lucid and this is not a dream. Nor do any of your medications make you hallucinate.”

  Raven was terrified. The situation was utterly impossible, yet a sick feeling in her stomach informed her that just as her doppelganger said, this was no figment of imagination. She’d never felt more coherent in her life, in fact.

  Well, isn’t that how the crazies feel? That they’re absolutely clear and reasonable?

  Desperately, Raven tried to will Douglas into not looking like her anymore. To regain control over what couldn’t be real. It didn’t work. Another Raven continued to stare back at her. No, no, no, her desperate mind begged. To the two people hanging over her, Vendeen and herself, she said, “This can’t be real. It’s just not possible!”

  She strained to get up, frantic to run away from this madness that felt more true every second. She had to get away, because if she wasn’t crazy already, she soon would be. Her body refused to move, however. All Raven could do was raise her head slightly.

  In a voice that was actually gentle, Vendeen said, “You are unable to move because I have commanded it. You wear my collar and you are my property.”

  Raven bared her teeth at him. “Fuck you.”

  Sounding almost apologetic, Vendeen answered, “Pain, moderate, half-second duration.”

  A bolt of fierce agony shot through Raven’s skull and down her spine. She shrieked, but before she finished voicing her misery, the pain disappeared.

  She gasped, staring at the once-again imperturbable Vendeen. Half his mouth curled in a tight smile. “As I said, you are my property. I can punish or reward you with a single word. Do you need another demonstration?”

  Raven’s guts curdled at the thought of another burst of that hideous torment. It had actually hurt worse than getting shot in the chest. She moaned, “No.”

  The rest of Vendeen’s mouth smiled. “Good. I will leave you with Daagiis. He will explain the rest to you.”

  With that, Vendeen turned and walked away. There was a whispery sound, and his footsteps went silent. Raven was left looking at her doppelganger.

  The vicious pain she’d felt at Vendeen’s command had convinced her that this was no dream or hallucination. She wasn’t sure what it was.