Renegade Magic (Star Renegades Book 1) Page 15

  Her stomach lurched. She nearly fell to her knees.

  What was wrong with her? That had been a clean execution. The boy had admitted guilt.

  “Would you at least concede that maybe there should be levels of punishment?” Alanna slipped off the gurney and approached the shimmering wall between them. “I mean, you can’t say all crimes deserve death.”

  Dania looked away. The smell of charred flesh wafted over her, the memory as fresh as the day she’d passed judgment. That child had trespassed on another’s property. He had done so once. He would do it again.

  But would that have been so bad?

  The lights dimmed.

  “Time to get some sleep, ladies,” Doc said.

  Alanna curled up on her gurney, facing the force field. She smiled without a hint of malice. “Goodnight, Dania.”

  Dania turned away, rolled the blanket into a ball, and used it as a pillow.

  Her stomach clenched as the memories of hundreds of punishments flashed through her mind.

  Every single one of those people had committed crimes. They all deserved to die.

  Didn’t they?

  Lights flashed in her eyes, blazing against the white walls of the medical center. Dania blinked as the doctor knelt beside her.

  The shimmering walls of the force field were gone. Across from her, the sheets were folded neatly on the gurney Alanna had slept on.

  The doctor smiled as he tapped her cheek. “Rise and shine, sweetie.”

  She sat up. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  “Would you rather I called you cold-hearted bitch?”

  She supposed not.

  He stood. “We’re heading down to the planet. The captain still wants you to come with us.”

  He did? Dania had made it clear that she wouldn’t help them.

  “Why would he want me to come? Does he want me to keep a running tally of his crimes?”

  Dania tried to sit up and found her hands bound in thin, silver restraints. She raised a brow to the doctor. Was he serious?

  She held up her wrists. “These aren’t Palian steel.”

  “No, but studying your blood has been fascinating. I reengineered these just like I did the medical shield. You still have full access to your power, but if you try to use it…” He scrunched up his face. “Let’s just say it will be quite unpleasant.”

  Had he thought the Palian steel had been a walk through a garden simulator?

  She lifted her chin. “I don’t think I’ve seen you commit a crime yet, Doctor. I may have been inclined to let you walk away.” She held up the bindings again. “But this would be considered a crime against the enforcers, and thus your king.”

  He held up his pointer finger. “Only if my actions retard you from doing your duty.” He walked to the other side of the room and picked something up off his desk. “Since you have full access to your powers, you can do your duty at any time. It’s your choice whether or not you are willing to go through mind-numbing pain to get the job done.”

  Dania’s lip twitched. That was an interesting interpretation of the law, which, while being inconvenient, she had to admit had merit. This doctor was apparently more intelligent than he’d initially seemed.

  “If I have already agreed not to kill you today, then why do I need the restraints?”

  “Captain’s orders. Apparently, he doesn’t want you passing judgment on anyone on the surface, either.”

  If they’d all simply abide by the law, they wouldn’t be placing themselves at risk. Why these people failed to understand that was beyond her.

  As they walked down the halls, Dania tested the integrity of the bindings, releasing small bursts of power at spaced intervals. Each time, she was hit with a sting of increasing magnitude.

  The doctor’s clever programming was both intricate and effective. She’d probably think through the revolving patterns eventually. For now, though, she’d have to endure whatever larceny she witnessed, cataloging each illicit act so she could return at a later date to dole out punishment where punishment was deserved.

  They stepped off the ship onto a dry, sandy surface. The area was cleared for landing dozens of ships, but the Star Renegade stood alone, centered in the enormous circle lined with structures that appeared to be made of tan mud bricks, each with flattened dirt walking paths between them, and three larger openings that one might consider roads if they’d had more modern paving.

  Espinoza adjusted a small metal device attached to his belt, and the shining metal cases holding their spoils rose from their cargo bays and floated over their heads, blocking out the sun.

  Dania did a quick count. There were more than the original thirty she’d been aware of. Apparently, these thieves had been collecting their illicit goods for quite some time.

  Ty and the doctor walked on either side of her, following Espinoza toward the larger cluster of buildings. Two small, dirty faces peeked through the windowless opening in one of the buildings.

  One smiled. “It’s the Star Renegade!”

  A tone sounded, and the streets came alive. Children ran out, hugging Espinoza around the waist.

  “Doc!” A dark-haired child not more than four feet tall jumped into his arms.

  The doctor ruffled his grimy mop of curls. “Look how big you got.”

  “I’m seven!” The child held up six fingers before Doc placed him down and he ran away.

  “Your child?” Dania asked.

  Ty snorted, and Doc pursed his lips at him. “No, sweetie. No kids for me. I just set a broken arm for him once.”

  It was odd, though. These people seemed to be celebrating this ship’s arrival. Who celebrated the arrival of criminals?

  One of the houses they passed had crumbled, leaving the insides exposed. It looked like someone still lived there.

  Dania paused. Kirato was noted in the record book as being a thriving trade center. Why was it so desolate and its buildings in such disrepair?

  Espinoza dropped back and walked beside her. “Sad, isn’t it?”

  Sad wasn’t quite the word she would have chosen. “What happened?”

  Espinoza leaned his head back, letting the sun shine on his face. The slightest hint of stubble shaded his jawline. He was younger than she’d expected, maybe a year or two older than herself. Far too young to be hunted for so many crimes.

  He turned his light blue eyes on her. “The outer rim colonies are feeling the hit of the war raging between the Banes and the Carteks.”

  That made sense. This colony was very close to the Cartek border. The Carteks had been known to lie in wait, stealing what they could.

  Dania circumvented a hunk of stone that may have been part of the adjacent wall.

  Espinoza held her arm as she stepped over some loose gravel. “With fewer traders willing to come this far out, the prices of simple necessities, like food, have become out of reach for most.” He kicked some of the debris out of their way. “These people are using all they have just to survive. They can’t afford to keep things in good repair.”

  Bile rose in her throat. These people were starving, and this criminal was about to sell them food, probably at an astronomical profit. He’d probably spew lies about supply and demand.

  She tested the restraints again, more than ready to remove his head right now, but the sting lashed back at her. She’d get them off eventually, though. She was wrong about this man. He was every bit the criminal she’d thought.

  A woman in long pants with a rip up the side of her hip ran to them, clutching a child to her chest. “Are you Espinoza? Is your doctor here?”

  Doc stepped forward. “What’s wrong?”

  The woman held out her child, a girl of maybe six years. “My little Katie. She’s sick!”

  The child’s eyes bulged from their sockets and deep, red sores riddled her arms. Her head lolled to the side, as if she were moments from death.

  Dania’s gut clenched. She couldn’t allow this. She wasn’t a healer like Alexander, but
maybe she could extract whatever was wrong, just like she’d pulled the invasive particles from the engineer’s back.

  She turned toward the doctor and raised her bindings. “Take these off me.”

  “No way,” Espinoza said.

  She spun to him. “I’ve already promised not to hurt you.”

  “What about the rest of the people on the planet?”

  Dania looked into the child’s absent gaze before turning back to Espinoza. “All right. I promise I will not execute anyone on this planet today.”

  The captain groaned. “You had to slip that ‘today’ in there, didn’t you?”

  Dania closed her eyes. This man needed to understand that there was just so far an enforcer could bend.

  She opened her eyes and leveled her gaze. “That’s the best I can do.”

  He stared at her, a thousand scenarios swirling through his eyes. He needed to understand that she was serious, though. This was just a child. An innocent!

  He turned away. “Fine. Take them off.”

  As the shackles fell to the ground, Dania placed her hands on the child while Doc ran a scanner over the girl. Dania searched for something to remove, just as she’d done with the engineer, but everything she found seemed to be a part of the child.

  The doctor pulled on Dania’s shoulder. “Stop.”

  “Why? We need to help.”

  “This isn’t a poison or a virus that you can remove.” He held up the scanner. “This is scurvy. She doesn’t need something taken out. What she needs is vitamin C.”

  Dania reeled back, gaping at the mother. “Why don’t you give her supplements?”

  Tears streamed down the woman’s face. “We haven’t seen a supplement trader in years.”

  Ridiculous. No child on her watch was going to die from something as avoidable as scurvy.

  Holding out her arms, she called to her prince’s power. She warmed, soaking up his gifts before she levitated, floating up to where the canisters hung over their heads.

  Finding the same canister that the trader Glenn had shown them, she willed it open and filled her arms with oranges.

  After sealing the container from the sun’s heat, she lowered herself to the ground. Dropping all but one of the fruits, she broke through the peel and held it to the girl’s mouth. She called up more of her power, pushing every last drop of the vitamin C into the girl’s bloodstream.

  The mother wiped tears from her eyes. “Thank you.”

  Dania handed her the rest of the oranges. “Make sure she eats more as soon as she is conscious.”

  “I will.” She choked back a sob. “A thousand times, thank you.”

  Espinoza smirked at Dania, folding his arms.

  She stood. “What?”

  “You do realize that you just distributed stolen goods, right?” He quirked a brow. “I do believe that’s a crime.”

  Dania’s nose flared. “This is a special case. It is not illegal to save a child.”

  “Even by distributing stolen goods?”

  Dania hesitated. The law was clear. The distribution of stolen goods, for any reason, was illegal and punishable by death.

  She looked at her palms, opening and closing her hands. Her programming should have stopped her. She should have realized what she’d been doing.

  The mother folded the child in her arms as a man helped her collect the fruit. They smiled at each other, small lines forming around their eyes as if they’d shed far too many tears.

  What Dania had done was wrong, but that child might live to her next birthday due to Dania’s crime.

  She should hate herself for forsaking her king, but she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t do it again.

  Her chest grew heavy, a pain pressing in. How could she enforce the law if she couldn’t abide by the laws herself?

  21

  Cal

  Cal could barely believe it, but a single tear had formed at the edge of Dania’s eye and dripped down the side of her face as she watched the family walk away. She wiped the dampness from her cheek, then stared at her fingertips, as if this were something foreign to her.

  If everything Doc said about what the Banes had done to her was true, maybe emotion was a new experience.

  Ty nudged him with his elbow. “Still think this was a mistake?”

  “That remains to be seen.”

  The enforcer looked up and around, seeming to take things in with a new set of eyes.

  Hopefully, she’d go back one day and report to that blasted prince she loved so much and tell him that these people needed help. And hopefully, he’d care enough to do something about it.

  Cal placed his hand on Dania’s back. “Come on.”

  She turned her nose up at him, that flare of anger returning to her eyes.

  He sighed. He’d hoped the kinder, gentler Dania would stick around a little while longer. He guessed that was simply not meant to be.

  “It’s okay,” Ty whispered. “We’ll just do what we always do.”

  Cal shook his head, considering her unbound wrists. Hopefully, they’d all live to see the next sunrise.

  Skirting more rubble, they made their way past the houses and headed toward the largest building in the colony.

  It had been nearly six years since Cal had first stumbled through here. He’d been delirious from dehydration after stowing away on a cargo ship, hiding after being falsely convicted of murder. Despite the risk, these colonists had taken him in and given him a home. They’d shared what little they had with a stranger, asking for nothing in return.

  Cal cringed, realizing he was doing the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do to these people…bringing the enforcers down on top of them. At this point, there was no turning back, though.

  Cal dearly hoped, for the first time in his life, that Ty was right and he was wrong.

  A lone man exited the mud-caked structure, wearing a once-white, now gray-stained robe and a turban-style head covering hiding the edges of his thick black beard.

  Stanley had been a good friend to Cal, hiding him in this very building when the authorities had swept through, looking for Cal. Now, he was walking an enforcer right up to his doorstep. Hopefully, when Stanley saw her uniform, they wouldn’t all get shot on site.

  Stanley’s wife, Amelia, pushed past her husband, wiping her hands on her apron.

  “Calvin!” She ran toward him, her rounded form bobbing slightly in her wide skirts. “How’s my boy? You look skinny. Aren’t you eating?” She kissed both his cheeks.

  “I’m fine, Mel.”

  She tapped his shoulder. “You better be.” She turned to Ty. “And how’s my handsome Tyler?”

  Ty gave her his best grin. “Good to see you, Mel.”

  “Peter.” She squeezed Doc’s cheeks. “And how’s the humble doctor?” She didn’t wait for a response before turning to Dania. She looked her up and down. “You are not Alanna.”

  “Obviously,” Dania said.

  Dammit. Couldn’t she be polite for just a second?

  Stanley pulled his wife back, his gaze glued to Dania. “I trust this is an old-fashioned Halloween costume.”

  Cal looked down. “I wish it was.”

  Stanley and Mel had come in contact with far too many enforcers not to recognize that her uniform was the real thing, even with the missing arms. Cal should have insisted on new clothes for her, but with her initially in handcuffs, and then flying through the air like she did, there was really no hiding what she was.

  Mel folded into her husband’s arms. “Are-Are Alanna and Ethan okay?”

  “Yeah, they’re back on the ship, recovering,” Cal said. “Actually, Dania saved both their lives.”

  The couple gaped at her.

  “Why do they keep staring at me like that?” Dania took a step toward them. “You aren’t criminals, are you?”

  Cal pulled her back. “You made me a promise, remember?”

  “But are they criminals?”

  “No,” Cal said with more force than he’d
intended. “They’re traders. Nice, legal traders. Good people, and you will treat them with a thousand times more respect than you give me.”

  She turned back to the couple. “My apologies. I should not have assumed.” She placed her hand over her heart. “Your king appreciates the hard work of the good people in the galaxy.”

  Mel’s gaze flicked nervously between Dania and Cal before she stepped forward, smiling. “Well, any friend of Calvin’s is a friend of ours.”

  She shifted awkwardly, eyeing Dania’s hair. Frowning, she glanced at Cal.

  He knew the question that they were smart enough not to ask. Dania’s hair had faded. It was even more blonde now than it had been last night. And it didn’t move on its own anymore, not even when she’d hovered in the air like it was no big deal a few minutes ago.

  “I suppose this is just a social visit.” Stanley folded his hands. “No business?” His eyes darted to Dania again. Stanley knew enough about the universe to keep all his dealings under the radar, even refusing the food, if they had to, to avoid detection from the enforcers.

  What was going through his head right now? He and Mel had opened their home to Cal, giving him more trust than he deserved. Now Cal would have to explain why he’d let the angel of death walk up to their front door.

  Deep down, Cal wanted to tell them to run, but after she’d just saved that child, Dania seemed more open than ever, and they’d come too far to turn back now. He needed to ease some of this tension, though.

  Cal put his arm on Stanley’s shoulder. “Let’s just do what we normally do.”

  His friend eyed the containers flying overhead. “Are you sure?”

  No. But Cal nodded anyway.

  Stanley stopped, staring into Cal’s eyes. “I trust you like a son. You know this, yes?”

  Cal wanted to hug him, tell him that he would never put him or his wife in harm’s way. The words wouldn’t come out, though, because he wasn’t sure they were true.

  Ty put his hand on Cal’s shoulder. “Hey. We’re good.” He looked at their hosts. “We promise, it’s all good.”