Page 26 of The Danger Kiss

Her lips, once the color of ripe cherries, seemed to fade to the pallor of snow as she spoke. Her voice carried the fragility of a spider's web, each syllable woven from the gossamer threads of an unraveling world.

“A person,” I echoed.

I could feel the tremors of disquiet reverberating through the very core of my being.

At the same time, I couldn’t fight the cold shiver that coursed through my veins. It was akin to the sensation at looking down from a height, just before falling to one’s inevitable death.

"Can it be true?" Her voice sounded hollow. "My family…we’re never slave traders. We are assassins; we are known, respected and feared for it. We’re purveyors of a beautiful death. If The Danger Kiss really were a person, why would my own father and grandfather send me to bid on them…and then send this person to yet another auction? I don’t understand any of it.”

“Neither do I, Blanca. But, if you want, I can help you find out the truth. I may be a lowly gym owner, but I still have a few friends in certain places who could help. First we’ll need to find out if the supposed weapon really is a person as they say.”

“My family, Dalek. Knowing that The Danger Kiss could possibly be a human being, and not merely a weapon... I can’t help but question my family's intentions. What are they doing? What am I even doing here? "

Her voice was but a thread of sound, a plea that tore at me from the inside out. I was the last person she should be asking that question.

"There could be a rational explanation," I offered, knowing full well that such hope was but a flimsy veil, if not a complete lie. "Perhaps there is more to this than we realize, a side we couldn’t see from where we are.”

“What do you suggest we do?”

“We follow the whispers, the same way you did at the party tonight. The secrets of The Danger Kiss lie hidden in the shadows, but if we listen closely, we might hear something that will help us understand."

“Maybe.” She sighed. "But first, I’ll try calling my brother. Maybe Rukko knows something I don’t.”

She fumbled with the watch around her wrist, its sleek surface gleaming in the dim light as she dialed a number. The connection wavered, a haunting melody of static and silence that echoed through the night as the leaves of a few thin trees rustled overhead.

One ring turned into two, then three, until the call eventually went unanswered, leaving us with only the cold emptiness of silence.

Blanca sighed, letting out a frustrated whimper. "Rukko’s not picking up. He’s supposed to be at Platinum City by now.”

"Perhaps it is best that you try and speak with your father instead. He could have some answers that you seek.”

She hesitated, fingers hovering over the device as she considered my suggestion. With a shuddering breath, she lowered her arm and shook her head.

"No, not yet. I can’t face him and whine in his face like a child. Besides, I can’t confront anyone in my family without knowing the full extent of their involvement."

I backed off, respecting her decision “It’s your choice, of course. But you’re not alone in this. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

With those words from me, the floodgates of her seemingly iron control broke.

Blanca wept. The tears flowed freely down her pale cheeks, as she looked at me, wide-eyed, with anger, confusion and surprise.

I had seen her cry but once, all those years ago. It was the day I had asked her if she wanted to go ‘home.’ Her injuries from the fight at the docks had healed by then. She had been well enough to go back to Diesel Dome to resume her training.

In the wake of my gentle suggestion, she had cried for hours, pleading with me not to send her away. I had never asked her again.

Instead, weeks later, I had put her to sleep and had taken her back to her quarters at the Dome. I had thought a clean break would do us both a favor, in the long run. She was better off without me.

All the guilt and regret I had carried all these years, she now had in those tears.

So I did the only thing I could. The only thing I could always do without a thought for consequence.

I closed the distance between us and embraced her.

“I’ll be here for you, my little Blanca,” I repeated. “Always.”

In that moment, she snapped.

Whether it was fear or frustration or hatred, I could not say.

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