Kartega
Chapter 16

Magistra Kelyn’s living quarters looked the complete opposite to the rest of the tower. The sweeping ceiling murals in shades of burgundy and gold were only slightly shadowed by the lush, velvet drapery pooling across each of the full-wall windows on the South side of the room. Each detail was covered in glittering bronze, shaded to mimic the gold from Colton’s home planet. He had once told her that the rich metal was ultimately what led to the destruction of his home, that and the planet’s inability to sustain the pollution his people’s technology created. Sid couldn’t imagine poisoning your planet to the point of red rains and dead soils but somehow they had managed to do it. And for what? This gold? Sounded like a fool’s error to her, why not just pick a different metal to obsess over?

Sid tried to count the tassels in the room, losing track after twenty. Everything in sight had a tassel, it seemed.

She felt uncomfortable in the space. Not just uncomfortable but lost. Like she was trapped in one of Colton’s bedtime stories. A curious girl falling down a rabbit hole to find herself in a land that was as bizarre as it was mystical. Except there was no rabbit in this reality and the only other person in the room looked like he was just as uncomfortable as she was.

One glance at Ashlan and she almost burst out laughing. He had been bouncing from boot to boot since the guard told them to come inside to wait for Magistra Kelyn to get ready to greet them. His eyes were nervous wrecks and he was fidgeting enough to make Sid want to smack him.

“Do you need to use the bathroom or something?” She whispered out of one side of her mouth.

“What?”

“You keep moving around. It’s annoying.”

“Oh, sorry. Just hate being up here. I never come up this way and it’s just so over the top!” He gestured to the large painting of Neostar’s jungle nestled in an ornamental brass frame. “I mean, is this really necessary? It looks so dumb in this place.”

Something about the fact that Ashlan didn’t make it a habit to spend time in the sleeping quarters of the Magistras made her feel more relaxed. She convinced herself it was because she could trust in him more now that she knew he wasn’t as high up in the food chain as she originally thought. She was about to ask him when the last time was that he came up here when someone cleared their throat behind her. Sid turned around to find one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen standing behind them with her arms crossed impatiently. The woman’s long, black locks fell almost to the top of her curvy bottom in perfect tendrils. The light bounced off her hair, drawing even more attention to her very tall and very fit body. She looked as if she had been created in a lab, perfectly taught cheekbones, large eyes with even larger lashes, and a small but pointed nose that was turned up proudly.

“How can I help you?” Magistra Kelyn asked, her tone changing melodically when she spotted Ashlan. “Oh, Ash, how lovely to see you. I apologize for the wait; they hadn’t told me it was you waiting.”

“Us,” Sid corrected under her breath but Kelyn paid her no mind.

The Magistra straightened her sheer, layered skirts, draping them out of the way of the flesh-colored, skin-tight suit she was wearing beneath. As she walked, Sid could see her long legs stretch from under the magenta fabrics of the skirts in an evocative manner. Whatever this show was, it was definitely put on for Ashlan. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Kelyn made her way past Sid, pushing her aside lightly as she moved closer to Ashlan.

“Have you gotten taller, Ash?” She asked playfully, “I swear on the star, you just keep growing!”

Kelyn ran a red-nailed finger across his bicep and Sid made a vomiting motion with her mouth. She was glad when Ashlan pulled away and came to stand beside her.

“Sid here has brought you something.”

“Oh, of course! Where are my manners?” Kelyn looked in Sid’s general direction and loosely extended a hand. She held it just above Sid’s lips, dangling the glass charms on her bracelet lightly.

Is she thinking I’m going to kiss her hand? Sid fumed and took a step back.

Kelyn frowned in disappointment, “Oh, Ash. Looks like you found the only one of these things that doesn’t want to play. How dull.”

“Excuse me!” Sid hollered, “I am not a thing!”

She plopped her goggles over her eyes and raised her fists, ready to knock the girl out. Magistra or not, no one spoke to her that way. Ashlan took a step forward and positioned himself between her and Kelyn.

“Come on, Kelyn. Loosen up. You don’t need to prove a point every time we get a Domer in here.”

“For the stars, Ash. How many times do I have to tell you that Lyn is just fine? I mean, after everything, you’d think we’d be on more casual terms.” She winked and Sid choked on the bile in her stomach. The girl was insufferable.

“Let’s keep it professional,” Ashlan said and straightened his shoulders. “Let the girl deliver her package and we’ll be on our way.”

“Shame. I was quite restless this evening,” her pointed finger traced the inseam of her plunging neckline suggestively, “perhaps you’ll stay behind?”

“No can do. I’m responsible for the Domer,” he sneered and motioned for Sid to speak.

“Right,” she shook her head to try and erase Kelyn and her voluptuous body from her mind, “I was sent to deliver your droid to you.”

Kelyn looked over to the corner of the room, only now noticing the large metal droid glowing in the background. She clapped her hands together in glee, “Finally! He’s back!”

She rushed to Sid, waving her palm in front of her face. It took Sid a moment to understand that Kelyn was obnoxiously asking for the droid’s interface box. She reached into her suit pocket and slammed the device into the Magistra’s cold and clammy hand, rolling her eyes dramatically as she did so. Kelyn fumbled with the device before eagerly typing in a series of numbers. The droid’s stiff body jerked to action, rushing to the Magistra’s side and crouching in front of her with its head bowed.

“Would you look at that?” She cooed and placed a perfectly pointed shoe on the droids back. She reached down to retie the lace of her heels, “He’s back to normal again!”

“You’re using him for a footstool?” Sid asked, her eyes wide.

“Sometimes a seat,” Kelyn answered dryly, “and sometimes…”

Her fingers tapped the screen, demanding the droid to stand up and walk to the opposite end of the room. He spread his feet and hands wide, like he was trying to mimic the shape of a star. Kelyn waited until his body steadied and reached to brush one of her skirts away from her thigh. The lack of fabrics revealed a holster, tight on her leg, filled with a variety of knives. Her blood-red nails tapped around the edges of the knives until she landed on the one she liked most. Before Sid could object, she shot the knife through the air, her eyes squinting on her target. The sharp edge of the blade rushed across the room, impaling the droid in its open palm and nailing it to the wall behind.

Kelyn grinned, “Sometimes target practice.”

The room spun and Sid tried to focus on anything but the droid’s impaled metal hand and the glisten of Kelyn’s knife protruding from its body. Was he in pain? Could he be in pain? Did it matter? She rushed to the droid’s side and pulled at the knife. It was lodged so deep inside the wall that she had to use her feet for leverage just to slide it out.

“Why? Why would you do this?” She asked, tears forming behind her lids. “He didn’t do anything!”

“He?” Kelyn laughed, “It’s not a ‘he’. It’s a thing. And it’s my thing.”

“You’re,” Sid trembled, “you’re-”

Before she could finish the thought, Ashlan tugged at the back of her suit, urging her to stand down. Her fingers shook and she glanced down to see the electricity in her blood rushing to the tips, tiny bursts of lightning coming to the surface. Each flash of memory of the knife piercing the droid made her magic boil. Her lungs were tight and her heart felt like it was going to explode. Heat rose within her with each furious breath she took. Flashes of electricity jumped between her fingers as she caught Kelyn’s gaze travelled down her body, almost to her sparking hands. She told herself to breathe, to relax. There was another way out of this. Another way to save Fred — her friend.

Caging her magic for a moment, she shoved her hands behind her back, backing away to stand behind the droid.

“So what else can it do?” She asked grimly, hoping Kelyn would take the bait.

The Magistra smiled giddily at the invitation, her fingers pumping out code sequences to show off. As the droid started to move to assume whatever position Kelyn had programmed it to perform, Sid let her magic flow from the tip of her finger to the back of the droid’s arm. The electricity rushed from her to the droid, zapping the Magistra in the shoulder and knocking her back.

“What in the name of-” she shrieked, rubbing the spot where the magic touched her. The fabric of her bodysuit was charred and Sid could see red spreading across her skin from the burn. “Ash! Help!”

Ashlan rushed to her side to inspect the wound.

“Looks like a flesh wound, you’ll live.” He said and patted Kelyn on the back while Sid stifled a laugh.

She put on her most convincing look of concern and ran towards the Magistra. “I am so sorry, ma’am! He seems to still be glitching. I’ll make sure to have him fully repaired for you as soon as possible. Again, many apologies for this!” Sid grabbed the interface box from Kelyn’s hand before she could protest and gestured for the droid to follow her.

Without waiting to hear back from the Magistra, she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room. Her grin was spreading so fast that it was best to get out of there before she was laughing in her face. In the background, she could hear Ashlan bidding his goodbyes to follow her out and her smile broadened from his loyalty.

“Hey! Wait up!” He yelled from behind her.

She slowed her stride but didn’t stop.

“Hello? Sid?”

“What?” She scowled, still riled from her encounter with Kelyn.

“Where are you going?” He gestured to the empty corridor ahead.

“Anywhere but here,” she said. The thought made her remember her ship and the reason she was on this stardamned rock in the first place. She looked Ashlan up and down and grinned. “How about we fix your blade now?”

“At this hour? Don’t you sleep?”

“I’d like to get started tonight. Who knows how long it’ll take me to fix it?”

He nodded but still looked unsure. “I guess. What do you need from me?”

“Not much,” she smiled coyly, “just the blade. And the directions to the mechanics room. For parts.”

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