ELLIE
I peered at myself in the mirror, still not sure how Cor was able to pull it off. I didn’t even recognize myself. My face was clean and perfect like those girls at the fancy shindigs, and my hair was defying all laws of physics with how it was curled and pinned up in the back. The glasses made me look sophisticated but gentle in some weird way. And the blouse and skirt—well, I hated them. Skirts and dresses were stupid, and I would die on that hill.
Zach gave me a snicker as he saw the aggravation in my eyes as I peered down at my clothes. I shot him a look. “Don’t give me that! Wearing a dress sucks! Especially if I’m supposed to be guarding someone.”
“Hey, suits aren’t that easy either. I feel constricted.” He adjusted the vest, but it didn’t seem to do him any good.
“How about I kick you in the face?”
“Which you could do because you’re less constricted.”
The door from our bedroom to the main area was open, and I didn’t see any sign of Cor or Gabriel. They were probably finishing getting ready as were we. I went over and closed the door so I could talk to Zach without being heard.
“So what do you think?”
Zach sat down on the edge of the bed. “About which part? About how we are up here on Zynon, how we found Cor, what Cor said, or the fact that he’s really good at doing a lady’s hair and makeup?”
“Well, all of it if I’m honest. I mean, look at my face. I don’t recognize my face.”
“Neither do I. If you passed me by on the street, I wouldn’t have known it was you.”
“Right?” I sighed as I started to pace around the room. “But truthfully, Zach, what should we do?”
He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. This isn’t the scenario I thought we would find ourselves in when we located Cor. I figured he would be out doing something wicked so we could just not feel bad about killing him. But now, with everything he said, I don’t know.”
I started to scratch at my forehead when I realized I was ruining the powder Cor put down. “Shit, is it fine?”
“Can’t tell you fucked with it, no.”
“Good.” I let out a sigh. “I’m just… I’m torn. I feel guilty, Zach. I mean, he was… He was doing it all for me. He wanted to provide for me and then… well…”
Zach stood up and wrapped his arms around me. “None of this was your fault. You didn’t have any role to play. It was the bad people who tricked Cor. I think we should help him finish this mission and enact his revenge. Perhaps once we find out who was behind it all, we can verify the story or something. I don’t know. Let’s just… Let’s just see how this plays out.”
I nodded my head as he squeezed me tight. Luckily, I couldn’t feel any more tears, as if I had cried them all earlier. Otherwise, I would have completely ruined my makeup. But the truth was, now that I was here, all those feelings for Cor I thought I had forgotten were coming back. I didn’t think they still existed—I didn’t think it was possible. Except they were there, and now I would have to face them.
Stepping away from Zach, I grabbed the ring I always wore and stuck it in my purse for safekeeping. “Well, let’s get going, shall we?”
The two of us stepped out into the main area of the suite and found Cor and Gabe were waiting for us. Cor was wearing an all-black suit with dark spectacles that made his white hair seem even brighter. I had always loved his hair—it was unique since most Kausians were either blond or brunette.
“Well, what is on the agenda today?” Zach asked. “Rich-people things? Like smoking expensive foul-smelling cigars, drinking gross amber alcohol, and wasting money as if it were tissues?”
Cor pondered on that thought. “Yeah, pretty much.”
I pounded my fist up in the air. “Yay whiskey! And smokes!”
Zach let out a sigh as he knew I was going to partake in such devices. I gave him the biggest smile.
Cor gave us a soft smile. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I tried to turn my attention on Gabriel. “Well, Gabriel, are you ready for another day with the two of us?”
He nodded. “Can’t be too bad. Better than you two trying to kill me. We will have to try to stay discreet though. We won’t want to catch people’s attention.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who clearly has the attention of people who want you dead. I think Zach and I will be fine.”
He clapped his hands together. “Right. Well, just don’t show your eyes.”
Zach added to the conversation. “And don’t whore us out. We aren’t Cor.”
“I’ll try to remember. I just hope you’re both good at poker.”
“I’m better at blackjack, to be honest,” I commented as I glanced at Cor. He was the one who had taught me how to count cards. “But I’m not bad.”
“Good. We will need that when we enter the tournament in a couple of days. If one of us wins, we will be set for life. Also, you can call me Gabe from now on. A friend of Cor’s is a friend of mine.”
I didn’t feel that Gabe quite understood everything that went on. He wasn’t part of the plot to get revenge, I realized. Cor was using him to get close to Krax. I wondered how much of their relationship was a lie and how much of it was real. Or perhaps it was mutual agreement.
I grinned. “I think between Cor, Zach, and I, we can wipe the floor with everyone. It was how we made money growing up, after all.”
Cor grinned. “That it was. Now, should we go get some practice in?”
I nodded as we headed out into the corridor, but not before I swiped a key card that was lying on the table. There was no way I was going to leave this room without having access to it, even if none of my actual belongings were in there. If the opportunity presented itself, then I could search around and see if I could find any info about what was really going on in Cor’s head.
It didn’t seem Cor had noticed as he was searching around for anyone who could come out and attack us, which wasn’t reassuring. Zach and I joined him, as we were also used to having to watch our backs. Gabe clearly wasn’t. It was how we were almost able to assassinate him so easily. How he managed to survive this long was quite a miracle.
It was something I had noticed earlier—Gabe didn’t seem like he wanted to go unnoticed. He wanted to be a damsel in distress, so to speak. I wasn’t sure why that was. I was far from a person who could read others. But it did make me curious.
He was wearing a new suit today, but he had on his green hat from before. The suit was all gray that paired quite well to the vibrant green hat. I wondered if he was the one who taught Cor to be fashionable, or if it was the other way around. It didn’t matter in the long run, but I wanted to know how Cor had changed in the past three years and what led to those changes.
We rounded corners, and I did my best not to trip on my skirt. I hiked it up a bit and knew it was improper for me, but I couldn’t help it. Wearing a dress sucked.
“Ellie, you stand out a bit, walking around like that. Be more ladylike,” Zach said, teasing me, although we both knew there was some truth to his comment.
“I’m adding teach Ellie to be more ladylike to my mental to-do list.” Cor sighed. “I mean, I knew we grew up in a rough place, but honestly, Ellie.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Didn’t see you complaining when we were younger.”
A smile escaped his lips. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, but you would think you would at least learn the basics to fit in.”
“Whatever. I never have had to. Typically, I just gun someone down or attack them. I rarely seduce, but when I do, usually it works.”
“Well, luck does happen,” Cor commented under his breath. I shot him a look as Zach started laughing.
We made our way into the elevator and went down to the main level that had to be the main hall. It had a few tables of poker, blackjack, and every other game I could think of. People of all different races sat at the tables, other than Kausian, of course. No, they didn’t exist as far as most of these people were concerned. Most thought we were a myth, which was just stupid and racist. Genocide happened to our people, and yet everyone forgot about it. Or perhaps they just didn’t care.
“This is the only floor that has both some games and food,” Cor explained. “The other floors are segregated between what games you want to play and then the hotel section by what race you are, and the top floor is the fine dining. I figured being down here, with everything that is going one, we will be less likely to stand out.”
That made sense. Zach and I nodded as we inspected the area. He was right. Everyone seemed busy between the gambling and the food. No one was looking at us.
“Keep your eye out for Byron and any Silurian,” Zach whispered. “We should probably stay away from them the most.”
I replied, “Already on it.”
Silurians held grudges, and if they realized we were on this moon base, they would stop at nothing to kill us. I couldn’t say I exactly wanted to die that day, so I would definitely be staying away from them.
I turned to Gabe. “Well then, Gabe, where do you want to start?”
He took a deep breath. “Well, I am a bit peckish. How about some food over there and sit at the blackjack table?”
“Can’t say no to blackjack, and I could eat. I believe it’s past lunch now.”
Zach grabbed his stomach. “That it is. My stomach keeps telling me things.”
Cor stepped back. “You three get food. I have some important things to discuss with a few people.”
I didn’t like where that was going. Did he really just want us to chaperone his boyfriend while he went off doing whatever he wanted? I knew he wanted us to protect Gabe, but after watching how Gabe acted in public, without a worry in the world, I realized this was going to be a harder job than I originally thought—not to mention I wanted to know where Cor was heading off to. Although I was beginning to believe he wasn’t directly responsible for betraying Kaus, I still didn’t trust him. What if it all had been a lie? What if he was setting us up? If that were the case, however, he’d had his chances to take us out. But then what would these meetings be about? What extra webs had he weaved that he didn’t tell us about?
Cor left us, and we headed toward the buffet area. I leaned in to whisper into Zach’s ear. “Should we follow him?”
“My brain says yes, but my stomach says no.”
I rolled my eyes and glanced in the direction that Cor had left, which was back toward the elevator. I thought about going after him, but we all agreed we needed to be more discreet than that. I also didn’t know this area well and wouldn’t be able to sneak around in this dress. Then again, no one would think a woman was causing trouble. If anyone asked, I could just say I was lost and looking for the bathroom.
“I’m going to follow him. Keep an eye on Gabe.”
“Will do. Don’t get caught.”
“I won’t. At least probably. Hopefully. I’ll try my hardest not to.”
“That’s reassuring.”
I lifted my dress a little and hurried back to where the elevators were. If I was quick enough, I would be able to see which floor it stopped at so I would have a sense of where he was. As I got to the elevators, I saw a light blink. He was on the ninth floor. I pressed the button, and an elevator to the left opened up. I quickly pressed number nine and grabbed on to the railing as it begun to go up.
I hated elevators. I didn’t hate them as much as I hated spaceships, but they were definitely one of the worst things in the world. Give me stairs any day—except while wearing a dress, of course.
The elevator dinged as it opened, and my eyes widened as I found a handful of Silurians staring at me. I smiled innocently.
“Sorry, wrong floor.”
I jammed my finger on the Close Door button and felt my heart rate had doubled in a matter of seconds. What in the world was he doing on this floor? Had I been mistaken, or was there something else going on?
My finger lingered on the button to go back down to where Zach and Gabe were when I realized this would be as good a time as any to search Cor’s bedroom for any hints of what he was really up to.
Deciding that was the best course of action, I headed back to our room and prayed Zach wouldn’t start drinking while I was gone.