S-2879 • L11 Irraluna • D16 Tramili
"Irraluna radiates light at a living height. Tramili weaves the return with a soft thread. The tide traces silver in a slow curve. The story continues whole, in a deep glow."
Almost two solar cycles had passed since the betrayal.
The keen eyes of Trix's Maiden remained fixed on the target, as did the barrel of I See You. Her rifle. A gift from Rurik. Both were aimed at Hedeon. Her father.
Trix wanted to tear the blood from those two men with her bare hands. Rip their throats apart, pierce their hearts, beat their faces to a pulp. Roar with laughter as she trampled them.
She activated Kiara's Cloakify. Camouflage enveloped her body. No nanosystem would be able to detect her.
Only Kiki could outsmart an Una LI.
Trix leaped from the hill and slid through the snow until she reached the side walls of the Vorovskoy mir.
Five minutes. That was how long she had to cross the fortress during the guards' shift change.
She scaled the concrete, entered the grounds, and hid behind one of the warehouses near the little castle.
Hedeon's territory.
She knew every weak point in that place. She advanced toward the office door. Suddenly, she felt pressure on her arm. She turned immediately, drawing a dagger.
Yuri. Saymon's android infiltrator in the Vorovskoy mir stood smiling before her.
"What do you want?"
Yuri released her arm. "Want some help?"
"Fuck no." Trix put the dagger away.
"All right." The android raised his hands in surrender. "But you might be interested to know that the room's LI is active. Cloakify isn't enough to fool the nanites in there. As soon as you…"
"Chert. They changed it again? What do you suggest?"
Yuri's grin widened. "You're gonna be the next Matka."
"No fucking way!"
"Then…"
Trix hated that he had found that out about her. She pressed her lips together. That was hesitation enough.
"It's that or…"
"Fuck it. Just do it."
Minutes later, she received a signal on the hologram projected by her eyes. The LI was deactivated. For five minutes. The room's nanites could detect movements involving sensitive data registered in the nanosystem and trigger a lethal response within seconds. But Saymon had laid the groundwork. Somehow, he had managed to outsmart even Una.
Trix stopped before the door. Her heart beat like a war drum. Now or never. And never was out of the question. She breathed deeply and suppressed every trace of hesitation. Then she opened the door.
Rurik drew his gun immediately. He had no time to fire. Trix's dagger had already pierced his hand, pinning it to the wall.
Hedeon raised his icy eyes. "Moya dóchka…"
Trix's heart raced even faster. She advanced with quick, precise steps.
Hedeon remained impassive. As though he were testing his daughter. As though he believed she would hesitate.
He was very wrong.
Trix lunged at him and seized his throat with razor-sharp speed.
Hedeon's green eyes seemed to smile.
Rurik pulled the dagger from his hand and threw himself at her.
They fell and rolled across the floor.
"Svoloch, did you really think—"
Trix's fist struck his face.
Blood spattered the carpet. Rurik straightened his jaw with one hand. With the other, he grabbed her neck. Squeezed. Harder and harder.
Trix's skin reddened, then turned purplish. She managed to reach the blade hidden in her trouser pocket and drove it into his ribs.
Rurik loosened his grip.
Trix seized the chance to strike the metalized half of his face.
Sparks flew from the implant. He lost his composure. Even bloodied, he smiled. "Before I tore that little throat open, I had so much fun with her, I—"
Trix grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Locked his neck between her legs, pressing the dagger against his face. Wrath poured from her aura. Flames of damnation blazed within her, as though the energies of the condemned were answering her fury. Lava from an infernal abyss radiated from the inside out.
"Trix, stop this nonsense." Hedeon's voice remained calm. He was pointing a gun at her. "Let's talk. You've only just come back, you must be…"
"Now you want to talk, papa?" Trix tightened her hold on Rurik. "How about you just watch the pretty little thing I'm going to do to your konchalka's face?"
Rurik's face was crimson. He struggled to break free. But he could not overcome her strength. She had grown stronger. Much stronger. Where had she been all that time?
Trix turned his face and slid the blade across his cheek. A thin line of blood trickled down. "How many nights did I see you going into his room? He used you too, didn't he, Rurik? But you liked it." She tightened her hold even more.
Rurik's heart raced. He could no longer tell whether the pounding came from the pain or those words.
"You could never hide how much you love being ridden by him." Trix dragged the blade across Rurik's entire face. Then she released him.
He tried to grab her again, but something was draining his strength far too quickly. His movements slowed. His eyes widened when he realized. "What the fuck…" He gasped. Staggered. "Is that blade poisoned?"
His surprise was unmistakable. He had never taught her that. The Vorovskoy mir had never taught her that. Where had Trix learned it? Rurik had no idea where she had been during the past solar cycles. And now the poison burned inside him like a secret whose answer he would never discover.
Trix walked toward Hedeon. "I'm not one of you anymore." Her voice came out cold. As icy as the blade she held.
Behind her, Rurik fell to his knees.
Hedeon turned the gun in his hands, preparing to aim it. To fire. "You've grown, Trix." He watched her with a strange gleam in his eyes. A flicker of pride.
"You'll see just how much."
"No, Hedeon, she…" Rurik tried to warn him.
Too late.
Without taking her eyes off her father, Trix threw the blade. It struck Rurik's jugular. Blood spurted all the way to the ceiling.
"I've been dying to wipe that fucking smile off the konchalka's face." Her eyes burned. Her grin was crazed. Her hatred supernatural.
Hedeon chuckled. "Trix, forget the past. Rurik was only following orders. A leader of the Vorovskoy mir must avoid forming bonds outside the Brotherhood." He watched the blood dripping from the ceiling. "If it's any consolation…" His eyes met hers. "Your mother was just a pastime back in my days as an Army rat."
Trix's blood boiled. Scalding as magma. She exploded. Grabbed a gold statue from the desk and buried it in Hedeon's forehead. She ignored the stab in her own heart. He dared to mention her mamochka that way?
"Y'know, I was thinking about how to kill you…"
Red blood dripped onto his suit. "You've always been strong, Trix. Much stronger than your mother. Stronger than anyone." Hedeon kept talking. "Everything I did was to shape you, my dóchka. To make sure you became what I always knew you would be." He ran his tongue over his bloodied lips. "Strong. Unbreakable. Relentless. You know that, deep down, I'm right." Before Trix could approach again, he fired.
The bullet struck her shoulder. She recoiled.
Fuck. The same spot Kiki had hit.
Pain throbbed. Trix held her wounded shoulder and ignored the blood running down her arm. She could no longer see anything but the man before her.
"You'll always be my dóchka, Akilina. No matter what happens, we can work this out…"
Trix broke into an insane grin. Looking at that face was unbearable. Hearing that voice.
Akilina.
Her name burned like magma in her veins. A cruel reminder of everything Hedeon had destroyed. His old words returned like ghosts. Promises. Affection. A life together.
Lies. All lies.
Remotely, she sent the firing command to I See You. The bullet tore through the nanoarmored glass. Struck Hedeon in the ribs. He fell.
Trix kicked him in the stomach. Picked up the dagger and pressed the blade against his throat. Sweat ran down her face, mingling with blood. It stained the face of the man who had stolen everything from her.
She had been absent when Darya needed protection. A tear of grief ran down her cheek.
Trix clenched her teeth. Turned the dagger around. With its hilt, she began striking her father's face. Once. Again. Until she saw the life fading from those eyes. The same green eyes she had inherited. Now covered in sweat and blood. They seemed to waver at last, but it was too late. Each blow gave form to the rage that had built up and none was enough to tear out the torment she carried.
Hedeon's life had already drained away when Trix smashed his head against the wooden floor with all her strength. A scarlet tide spread.
She roared with furious laughter. "Mraz'nik, svoloch, ty zhalkaya tvar'! I'll feed your remains to my she-wolves, you sewer asshole!"
She closed her eyes. Breathed deeply. Then stood, bathed in blood. She looked one last time at Hedeon's disfigured face. His remains stained the gleaming floor.
She felt an emptiness pulse inside her chest. No relief. No joy. His blood was not enough. It never would be.
Trix walked over to Rurik's corpse. Pulled the blade from his throat, wiped off the blood, and put it in her trouser pocket. Then she took the pack of cigarettes he carried. Turned it over in her hands. Frowned. "Still smoking this Cuban shit, konchalka?"
With the revolver, she drove the pack into his mouth.
Fired.
The fire consumed.