S-2878 • L3 Sintoluna • D03 Silensina
"Sintoluna tunes sky and path. Silensina lights the thread at its beginning. The tide traces a shimmer in a gentle curve. The story carries on, clear in the air."
She woke.
Breathing was difficult. Her lungs felt heavy, unable to take in air. A white light stabbed her corneas. Trix tried to move. Her arms. Her legs. Nothing. Nanometal shackles held her bloodied, aching body in place. Cuts. Bruises. Pain in places where she did not even remember having flesh. Her sacred cyclical blood mingled with the blood torn from her skin.
What the fuck had happened?
"Day eight. Experiment 86 is awake. Remains stable." The firm voice cut through the air. Professional. Distant. "We will begin the EY-Link implantation."
Footsteps echoed around her.
A doctor moved back and forth across the room. Her dark hair was tied in a bun, her features rigid, with an almost impersonal coldness. "The ocular nanotechnology contains one billion nanites connected to all nanoweapons. It also receives daily updates from the LI Una."
An android recorded every piece of information.
"We will remove Experiment 86's biochip. We will configure the EY-Link to provide adaptability to any climate, regardless of extreme conditions. The patient will be augmented to support bionanotechnological applications."
Rurik emerged from the shadows. His merciless eyes fixed on her. "How long until she's ready?"
"We estimate three selunas of recovery."
"How do we know it'll work this time?"
The doctor smiled. "Compatibility with the prototype developed from Hedeon's genetic material is 98%. She is perfect because she is blood of his blood." Her smile remained. "She will be the weapon that makes them all bow."
"Perfect." Rurik approached the table. Gripped Trix's chin and lifted her face.
She spat blood at him. "I thought you'd never do this to one of your own."
Rurik took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. "I never considered you one of us. Hedeon may think you're worth something to the Vorovskoy mir, but you're nothing but a sukin syn. You'll never have the balls a Pakhan needs."
The punch came like a gunshot. Fast. Precise. Merciless. It struck her jaw with a dry crack, snapping her head back. Something seemed to rupture inside her.
Trix choked on her own blood. "Mraz'nik! Asshole! Hedeon konchalka!"
"Oh, learned to swear, little whore? Then I have a little present for you."
A holoscreen lit up before her eyes.
The image appeared.
Swollen eyes. Trembling lips, begging for help Trix was prevented from giving. Filthy clothes. Platinum hair falling over a reddened, battered, suffocating face. Tears and blood ran down her cheeks. Her knees were planted on a filthy floor. Her arms remained bound behind her body, wrapped in nanoropes.
Darya.
"P-please… let me go…" Her mother's voice faltered.
A hand appeared in the image. Thick fingers held her face and stroked her cheek. "I'll let you go…" It was Rurik's voice. For the first time, it sounded friendly. "Very, very soon…" Another hand appeared, holding a silver dagger. The blade brushed Darya's neck.
"P-please, I'll do whatever you wan—" Her mother closed her eyes.
The blade slid. A desecrating cut. Blood gushed, splashing red across the lens.
The air vanished from Trix's lungs. It was as though an invisible hand were squeezing her throat. Every heartbeat struck her skull like a hammer. Her muscles contracted. Her legs stiffened. A fever seemed to explode inside her. Her eyes burned. Tears streamed down, beyond her control.
She opened her mouth. No words came out. No sound. Only broken gasps. Dizziness engulfed her. The floor seemed to dissolve. The image imprinted itself on her soul, shattering her spirit.
Darya was still writhing. Trying to breathe, but the blood was stealing her life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The scream tore through Trix's vocal cords. A visceral roar. Primal. Savage. As though it were tearing reality itself apart.
Despair set everything inside her ablaze. The world spun in slow motion. It was a horror she could not comprehend. The loss ripped through her chest. Bile burned her throat. Her whole body trembled.
It had to be a lie.
It was real. It was real. It was real.
Rurik turned to the doctor. "Wait five minutes. I have one last lesson for her."
Trix blinked. Still trying to comprehend what she had witnessed. "Just you wait, you fucking piece of trash!" She clenched her teeth. Clung to the last of her strength. "I'll—"
Pain cut her threat short. Rurik's fists drove into her ribs. Her face became a target. Her stomach, a punching bag. Her very essence seemed to be getting torn out.
"I've been dying to shut that filthy little mouth of yours, you ungrateful brat."
Honestly? She stopped caring.
Her Crone gathered her veils.