Muse 9 (ONC 2020)

Chapter 20

Standing before the old yet stately building, I tapped my rifle and steeled myself. The men who had hired me had left me the location of the meeting where I would get Luktor in exchange for the rifle. This was it.

Don't let it go.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mother's voice from my head. I have to, if I want to save Luktor.

A knot forming in the pit of my stomach, I touched the sensor for the door and it slid neatly up into the top of the door frame. With a dubious glance up, I stepped through and flinched as the door slammed shut behind me.

I was in a bare hallway, leading straight ahead. Stepping forward, I went down on one knee and drew one of my daggers from my greaves.

"Sable Huntris."

Two men appeared flanking me, stepping out from alcoves beside the doorway. They were the two who had restrained me several days ago, in my shop. I stopped, shifting my dagger into my left hand where I could conceal it under the folds of the poncho.

"Yes, I am here," I said, watching them warily as I tensed for the possibility of flight. No way would I let them take me by surprise again.

The two regarded me expressionlessly, without speaking. "Listen here," I told them. "You two walk in front of me. I will follow behind."

"We are here to escort you," one of them said, frowning.

"Walk ahead of me," I instructed. "That's as close to escorting me as you will get. And don't even think of trying to grab me. I will walk there, behind you. You have my word as to that."

For a moment, the two just stood there and I wondered if it was going to get violent. But then they turned and started to walk down the corridor, side by side. With a silent inhalation, I followed after them.

The corridor continued to be bare as it led straight ahead, ending in a flight of stairs climbing up out of sight. My escort started up the steps without hesitation and I followed them.

Don't let it go.

How else do I save Luktor?

My one hand clutched my dagger tightly as my other one brushed against my belt, feeling the shapes of the stylus and scalpel hidden within.

The staircase left us on the second floor, where my escort led me down a short hallway into a large chamber. In the chamber was a table, and at the table, strapped to a chair, sat Luktor.

A light covering of brown hair crossed his scalp, and his green eyes were hard and sharp in his pale, angular face, which showed light stubble speckling his cheeks. A fresh scar sliced between his eyes, sectioning his nose into two. His tunic was torn and wrinkled. But his mouth was set in a thin, determined line. Despite being a prisoner, despite whatever had been done to him, Luktor Huntris hadn't given up.

"Sable," he said, his voice rough and just a touch surprised. "You're here."

"Huntris." The voice came from behind Luktor and the man I had stabbed in my shop stepped forward, resting one of his hands on my brother's shoulder. Luktor angrily rolled his shoulder, jerking back in order to unseat the man's hand.

"I'm here," I declared. "I got it. It's right here." Unstrapping the Muse 9 from my back, I brought it around and held it up high for the man to see.

Silence fell over the room as everyone stared at the rifle. The Insprix caught the low light in the room and glittered. The whole piece was breathtaking, both in its beauty as a weapon and in the sheer power it was rumored to hold.

Luktor was the first to break the silence. "The Muse 9." His voice was hushed, reverent. Being an operator, he knew the significance of this weapon, its potential to revolutionize the memory business. He, too, knew the myths, the legends.

Although legend they were no more.

"The Ninth Era...ends," the man behind Luktor said, his words slow and deliberate. "Legend and myth...end. The mystery surrounding it all...ends."

The two who had escorted me here began to edge around behind me. I glanced at them and moved forward. I kept my dagger still hidden in my hand, ready to either be used or pressed against the rifle should I need to fire it.

I had already made sure it was set to kill.

"Give me the rifle, Huntris," the man said, coming around the table.

"Release Luktor," I said, lowering the rifle, keeping it pointed at the ground. My mother's words ran through my head again. Don't let it go.

"The rifle first," the man insisted, stopping in his tracks. Instantly, I dropped into a crouch and rolled backwards, the two from my escort slamming into each other as they grappled for where I had been only a moment before.

Rising, I gripped the rifle with both hands and stared at the man over by Luktor. "Release my brother first."

"That wasn't the deal," the man told me, his voice like ice. "The deal was simply that I release your brother. It was never specified when that would happen."

"Release him first," I insisted. "Now is as good a time as any."

"Or what?" the man challenged. "Or you don't give me my rifle? Then I shoot your brother, Huntris. Just give me the rifle."

"Sable, he's a cyborg," Luktor shouted. "They're Kycenans, working for the government. They want the rifle to use against us. Don't give it to them!"

With a growl, the man slapped Luktor in the face but I had heard enough. The government of Kycene was the last entity I wanted to hand the Muse 9 over to. First of all, they would arrest me in a heartbeat as memory copying was illegal, and second, they already had consigned us to the Grid; they didn't need to hold the ultimate memory rifle over our heads.

"Give me the rifle," the cyborg ordered. "Or Luktor Huntris dies."