Assassin's Bride Read online

  “Queen Carolyn?”

  Venice’s anxiety had clicked down since they were using the dermal healing units to close most of Haden’s wounds. “She is the human queen ruling our new home world.” Digging through her bag, she pulled out the data-pad and found an image of the queen with her insectoid king at her side.

  The man snorted a laugh. “She chose a common drone as her mate. How very egalitarian of her.”

  Haden sighed. “Human queens seem to select mates randomly based on what strikes their fancy.”

  Glancing between Haden and Venice, he responded crisply, “Clearly that is the case.”

  The fierce drone was growing tired of the older male’s prattle. “I meant to say they do not judge us by age, rank, genus classification or physical attributes. Even our elder drones draw age mates.”

  The older drone finally began paying attention. “There are age mates for elder drones on this ship right now looking for mates?”

  Venice nodded. “I counted twelve of them. They seemed real nice. Most came with their daughters.”

  “You are well, drone. Return to your duties. I will evaluate the human queen now.”

  “I don’t need to be evaluated and my drone is not going anywhere without me.”

  Haden moved off the platform and scooped her up in his arms. “I must insist you been seen, my queen. You were not properly processed. I wish to ensure you are healthy before we discuss a proper mating schedule.”

  “She is fertile now. You should breed her.”

  Haden responded coldly, “Any drone with a nose is aware that my queen is in her fertile phase. Human queens do not like to discuss their fertility cycles. Most mated drones respect their wishes.”

  “Very well. Lay back on the healing platform, little queen.”

  “You two are unbelievable.”

  Easing her back with one hand on her chest, Haden hovered close. “You can be angry with me all you wish, cast me aside, or even trade me out for another drone, but I will see you properly cared for when entrusted to my care.”

  He noticed his queen’s eyes grow warm and her expression seemed pleased. “May I hold your hand?”

  “Whatever pleases you, my queen.”

  “You have pretty eyes.”

  Glancing away, he murmured, “I am marred with many battle wounds.”

  Reaching up she ran her hand down the brutal scar on his cheek. “Why didn’t the healers close this wound like they did the ones on your arm earlier?”

  Avoiding her eyes, he answered quietly. “Out former queen did not think it necessary to waste medical care on low status warriors. We are born to die.

  Sliding her hand around the back of his neck, she pulled him down and kissed the scar. “Not anymore, my sweet. Now drones are born to have mates and young of their own.”

  “You seriously wish one such as me?”

  Nodding, she whispered, “No more scars. From now on I wish every single scar to be healed. We can keep this one though. It makes you look fierce.”

  Running his nose up one side of her face and down the other side, he stepped back and held onto her hand. Being so close to the lovely compassionate queen made his chest hurt.

  During the last part of their conversation, he heard the other drones making noises of shock and some disagreement. He watched with a wary eye as they checked her over and used a dermal regenerator to heal some scratches on her arms.

  “You are well, little queen.”

  Snagging the unit from them, she asked. “Can I borrow this handheld healing unit?”

  “Of course. We have many such devices scattered in medical kits throughout the ship. You can access any you choose, or take this unit with you.”

  Slipping it into her bag, she gave the older healer a dazzling smile. “Thanks for taking care of us. I really appreciate it.”

  They exchanged com signatures and Haden eased her out the door. Keeping a firm arm around her waist, he headed back to the loading bay. Touching his queen felt very right, though his mind told him he was doing wrong by encouraging her infatuation with him. He was not fit to mate a queen and every drone on this vessel knew it. As they approached the loading bay, Haden’s grip got tighter, causing his beautiful queen to look up at him questioningly.

  His antennas were drawn down tight against his head, appearing as green eggs sitting on his head. It was humiliating to display that kind of anxiety in public, but Haden was long past caring. The thought of giving up his sweet queen was tearing him up inside.

  As they stepped over the threshold, several of his brethren approached.

  “The battle is won, sir. The commander and their new queen defeated the Maruvian queen. We are ordered to make the queen comfortable aboard our vessel while repairs are being made.”

  “I heard the message come over my com, while we were in the medical bay. Were any of the quarters set aside for our queens damaged?”

  “Very few sustained any significant level of damage, since most of the fighting was on the aft side of the ship.”

  “Escort the queens to the quarters and ask them to remain there until we can affect major repairs. I do not wish injury to any of our queens or their precious children.”

  “Yes, sir.” Glancing at Venice, he queried. “What of the storyteller? She was not processed and was never assigned quarters.”

  Without stopping to think, Haden stated, “She can stay in my quarters for now. I will stand guard in the hall when I am not attending to my duties.”

  Bowing slightly, the other drone murmured, “Very well, sir.”

  Chapter 8

  Hard To Digest

  ~ Haden ~

  Music Mix

  “What did you think of the storyteller’s latest tale?” The older drone who had healed Haden’s battle wounds was becoming a fixture in his life. The healer’s name was Korbin, and he often joined Haden for meals in the dining hall.

  Tearing his lid off his food box, Haden dug into the savory vegetables. After swallowing his first mouthful he replied. “It was a fascinating tale. One can glean much about what is important to humans from listening to their folklore.”

  “I could not understand why the bump back was living in a clock tower.”

  “I believe my storytelling queen called him a hunchback. I have given much thought to this. I believe it was to hide him away because he was deemed unattractive.”

  “Yes, but why a clock tower instead of a cave or an isolated cabin like in her first story?”

  “Perhaps it was to make a point about the male letting his life slip by in isolation.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “I like that she always keeps the ending open. Do you think gypsy queen chose the humpback or the prince?”

  “I hesitate to guess. On the one hand the hunchback was kinder and more selfless choice. However the prince was described as handsome and just nice enough to capture a queen’s interest. She always makes the choice almost painfully difficult to make.”

  Korbin laughed as he shoved more food into his mouth. “It’s true. This is the reason her stories are so popular. All the human queens say her stories are not presented as they are written in Earth myth. They insist the storyteller twists them in her own peculiar fashion to make statements about our present times.”

  “My new queen is most fascinating.”

  “She still will not give her name?”

  “It is known by only a select few.”

  “You must know.”

  Haden sighed, trying to keep the smile off his face. “I do, but do not ask me. This name hiding is strange. However, it is my job as a potential mate to keep her confidences, is it not?”

  “Of course it is. I would not induce you to betray a queen’s confidence.”

  “I did not think you were the kind of drone to do such a thing.”

  “Have you mated her yet?”

  “I have not. It is my understanding that human queens do
not like to be rushed in such matters. I come only when she calls for me and stay only as long as I have her interest.”

  “You are a lucky drone. I hope she will soon tell a new story. Watching the video feeds is fascinating. I suppose you must hear her stories firsthand?”

  “My new queen is a good conversationalist. I do not press her for stories because when she talks about herself it gives me insight into how she thinks and sees the ‘verse. That is better than stories to me.”

  “Do you ever wonder if she sees parts of you in the characters in her stories?”

  Staring up at his new friend, Haden pondered it a brief micron. “I believe she would see me as the hunchback, unpleasant to look upon with all my scarring. A drone such as myself should not make an appropriate dining companion for a high status queen, yet she wishes to dine with me every evening.”

  Picking at his food, Korbin stated flatly, “I have met all the queens that would be an age mate and none have chosen me.”

  “There are other age mates for you to meet on our home world. Some of the family units like older drones. You are likely to receive many invitations to join family units because you are a healer.”

  Snorting a laugh, Korbin’s antennas slumped. “Queens prefer warriors. Every drone knows this is true.”

  “Maruvian queens may prefer warriors. Human queens seem drawn to healers. They are considered high status mates on Earth. I believe most family units feel safer with a trained healer in the home. If you think clearly about it, you will see how advantageous that could be for a unit spawning young.”

  Perking up a bit, Korbin shoved some food in his mouth. He appeared to be pondering the situation as he chewed. “I suppose that could be true.”

  “I suppose you heard the unsettling manner the battle was resolved?”

  Nodding, Korbin’s dark eyes grew large. “Never in my wildest dreams did I suspect the secret your commanders and their queen uncovered. I went back through the medical database and could find no scrap of evidence that our queens were being controlled by parasites.”

  Haden shoved a bit of chelva in his mouth. Chewing on the savory flatbread, he swallowed the bite before speaking. “I am as shocked as any here. If you think about it, this discovery explains much about our people.”

  Shooting him a dark look, Korban responded in a low voice. “They have been controlling the numbers of our queens for thousands of years, allowing only enough to be born for them to prey upon. One queen for each parasite was a system that made sure we never had a control group of non-infected queens to compare them against. It aided in keeping their treacherous secret, even from those of us who should have known.”

  Jerking at the news, Haden closed his eyes. “When I think of all the queens that were bred into existence and the many more who were murdered in the shell, I find it hard to control my fury.”

  “Strange that it took human queens so little time to get to the truth. In many ways they are saviors. How can they so easily see what is hidden from us?”

  Haden explained, “The clue is in their stories. The characters are always curious, daring, persistent, clever and highly individualized. I believe their stories speak to the qualities they value about themselves. Whereas we value cohesion, unity and order, the humans value individual will, diversity and unify only for a higher cause.”

  “They are nothing like the vicious queens we have known. Now I must remind myself that we have never really known out own queens, only their symbionts. That angers me as well.” Korban’s voice was laced with emotion as he spoke.

  “I try to reconcile the image of our queens with the information we learned. Our queens are not supposed to grow three times our size, Korban. The lashes on their backs are actually the parasites that control their minds and force their bodies to undergo a transformation into the terrifying beings we have known.”

  “I am a healer, Haden. I probably paid closer attention to the data than you did. In the case of the Maruvian queen we captured, her symbiont was only recently imbedded. She did not have enough time for the transformation to take full effect.”

  Haden shook his head, trying to get his thoughts around what his friend was explaining. “May the gods guide and protect her, Korban. I am choosing to hate the parasite rather than the innocent queen it attacked and hoped to control.”

  Haden quietly ate his food, tasting little of the delicious selection of nutrient-dense offerings, consumed as he was with this idea that the beings he’d spent his entire life serving and worshiping were mere hosts for some kind of evil alien symbiont.

  He’d seen young queens. They were the size of a common drone until their hormones kicked in as they neared maturation. It happened about the time their lashes began to grow, spreading out like tentacles intent on wreaking havoc on the world around them. How easy it would have been to mistake the introduction of a symbiont for the final stage of maturation. It made his blood run cold to know his own father had mated with such a cold hearted creature to give him life.

  What they had learned left him with more questions than answers. The foremost of which was how did the symbionts procreate? Now that the blinders were off, he recognized the lashes as seeming like something that might have spawned from the sea. Were the waters of their long lost home world once infested with the creatures in ancient times? Was it some kind of body modification their queens experimented with, thinking it would enhance their ability to fight?

  Looking up, he noticed that Korban had slipped away while he was deep in thought. Shoving the last few bites in his mouth, Haden cleared his tray and headed back to the unit he’d been assigned to manage. They had originally been tasked with protecting the queens, but as the battle was over and they were safe, he’d reassigned most to assist with repairs to their energy relays. Many had been blown during the attack and were a critical system needed to ensure everything from lighting to air processors were functioning appropriately.

  Chapter 9

  Miscommunication

  ~ Haden ~

  Music Mix

  Walking into his quarters, a soft feminine voice called out. “Greetings, Haden.”

  “Greetings, my queen.”

  “Thank you. If you would like to cleanse, I will prepare a meal.”

  Feeling some strange kind of tightness in his chest, Haden nodded. “Thank you. I will hurry.” He moved to his cleansing room, and Haden stepped into the steamer. It felt strange to prepare himself to spend time with a queen. It was something he had never anticipated doing.

  Looking down at his scarred body, he wondered what his human queen would make of him if she could see all of him. Humans were an unpredictable lot, always getting attached to drones regardless of their status. Being a simple drone, he’d never had reason to hope for a queen’s notice. In the before times, queens were scarce and not prone to bonding with a single drone. He was thankful that human queens were plentiful in this region of space and seemed open to his kind.

  He hurried through his hygiene regime, looking forward to spending time with the lovely storyteller who still thought of herself as his queen. When he exited out of the cleansing room, she smiled at him.

  “I thought your quarters would all have food resequencers. You room does not seem to have one.”

  “Drones are bred to be very utilitarian. I wear the uniforms designed for me, live in basic quarters built for me and usually eat whatever the dining center sees fit to deliver to me. Because you are a queen, you will be afforded more choice once we arrive on my new home world.”

  “Come and sit with me. The delivery drone brought our food. I like how the delivery system is built into the ceiling.”

  “It is a very efficient system. Our drones deliver food, clean clothing any other items we need to function at optimal capacity.”

  Looking down at his plate, he realized the bulk of the food had once again been portioned out for him. “I hope that I’m not speaking out of turn, but you do not appear to r
equire much sustenance.”

  Eyeing his overflowing tray, she stated playfully, “I have to be honest, even herd animals on Earth probably don’t eat as much as drones do in a day.”

  Haden screeched a laugh. “I might agree with that assessment.”

  “Humans say, I resemble that remark. It’s much the same meaning.”

  “I noticed you seemed partial to the tarnaga when we’ve eaten together in the last few days. You seem to have no objection in eating the same thing for many days.”

  “It’s nice to enjoy the taste of my food. I guess once I find something I like, I don’t want to take a chance on ordering something I might not be able to tolerate. It seems wasteful.”

  Haden took a bite of his food, struggling to figure out what to talk about.

  His queen spoke. “You mentioned that you listened to my stories. Do you have a favorite?”

  Snapping to attention, he was grateful that she’d spoken first. “The first of your stories was the most fascinating to me.”

  “What part in particular caught your interest?”

  Glancing up, he found his words coming easier. “I could not figure out why they marginalized the elder queen by locking her away. It seems she was removed just at the moment her wisdom would have been most useful.”

  “Do you assume she was wise merely because of her advanced age?”

  Smiling slightly, he responded. “That is a foolish assumption. Perhaps she was a person who never learned from her own mistakes and therefore did not grow wise.”

  Grinning Venice added, “Or perhaps she was affected by an age related disease and barely able to form coherent sentences.”

  “This is true. What was the real reason you had the wolf lock her away?”

  “This story is told in a variety of ways on my home world.” Shifting in her seat, she ran her fingers through her short dark hair. “In the oldest version of the folktale Red is a very small child. The wolf actually swallows the grandmother whole, climbs into bed, impersonates the old woman and then eats Little Red Riding Hood as well.”