Zero Recall by Sara King Read Free Book Online Page A

“Something like that is considered a war
crime.  As is the stolen food, come to think of it.  Will Congress not come
after you?”
    Caus made a
sound of complete disdain.  “Let them.  Congress has tried before.  Sixteen
times.  I killed every one of the Huouyt scum myself.” 
    Which was
untrue.  Usually Caus huddled in a corner while his cronies did the dirty work,
but Jer’ait wasn’t about to remind him of the fact.  “So how do you spot
these assassins, Caus?” Jer’ait asked, knowing he was putting himself in danger
with every tic he prolonged the conversation, but curiosity ate at him.  He hated
things that did not make sense.  “I’ve always wondered.  Your abilities are
legendary, in that respect.  As far as I know, there are only a couple
creatures in all of Congress that are rumored to do the same.”
    His target
snorted.  “Between you and me?”
    “Of course,”
Jer’ait said.
    The Jahul leaned
across the table and lowered his voice.  “I think the Huouyt are without soul ,
my friend.  Either that, or their damn eyes…  Something about their damn eyes
shields it.  Cuts it away.  Covers it like a casket, you understand?”
    Jer’ait
immediately grimaced.  That was something he would be cutting from the
recording before handing it over to the Twelfth Hjai.
    But Caus
misunderstood his discomfort and lifted a hand to continue.  “Now hear me out,
my friend, hear me out.  I’m not suggesting they’re not sentient.  Gods, no. 
Huouyt are smart.  Smarter than you, smarter than me, smarter than those
extinct slime-mold Geuji.”
    “Somehow I doubt
that,” Jer’ait said wryly.
    “But their eyes …” 
Caus shuddered.  “The only ones I’ve never been able to read have been the
deformed ones.  If Va’ga allowed the deformed ones to train, then people like
me would be few and far between.”  Then he chuckled.  “But the fools never let
those breed.  Sterilize them immediately.”
    “Their loss,” Jer’ait
said, unable to suppress his bitterness.  “What of the foodstuffs?  Did you
already make your profits from it?”
    Caus snorted,
too caught up in his foolish philosophy to catch Jer’ait’s discomfort.  “I sold
the food,” he said, waving a dismissive hand.  “Deal done, money made.  Now I
sit back and count my credits.” 
    Jer’ait schooled
his face and mind into worry.  “But what of the assassins?” he insisted.  “You
said you caught sixteen already?  How did you kill them?”
    “Slowly,” Caus
laughed.  “We tortured the last one for twelve days, as an example.  The boys
wanted to have some fun.”
    Jer’ait’s hand
tightened shamefully of its own accord.  Man’ja had disappeared three weeks
ago.  They had hoped his death was quick.  Some, including Jer’ait, had gone so
far as to hope that he had somehow been kept alive.  “I see,” Jer’ait said
softly, fighting a flush of fury. 
    Caus’ black eyes
flickered toward him with surprise…and nervousness.  Jer’ait knew the empath
had felt his unprofessional rush of anger.  “Are you feeling all right, Dagi?”
Caus asked carefully.
    Twelve days. 
They tortured him for twelve days.  Jer’ait found it difficult to
concentrate through his anger, and chose a different poison for the Jahul than
he had been planning.  One that took its time to kill.  “Not well, no,” Jer’ait
informed him.  “They were my brethren.  The last was my protégé.”
    Caus’ tiny black
eyes widened and he moved to flip open the booth once more.  Jer’ait’s hand
fell upon his and rested there.  Caus froze utterly as Jer’ait shoved a spine
through his palm and injected a poison under the crime-lord’s skin.  Caus’
mouth immediately fell open and his skin shifted from a gray to a yellow-green
to a black as he emptied every wastes bladder he had over his dying body.  Slowly,
the crime-lord slumped forward on the table, bulging black eyes wide as they
stared up at