Botanicaust

the cell, her eyes listless.
    His head nodded toward the stairway. “ Man. ”
    She frowned. A sad frown. “ Vitus. ” Looking at her hands folded in her lap, she fell silent.
    Why are you hesitating? Now was the perfect time to act. Josef needed him. But Tula already looked wounded. Betraying her now might break his heart.
    He cleared his throat. “ Vitus? Cannibal? ” He didn ’ t know the word for bad.
    Tula barked a laugh. The sound drummed against his heart, weakening his growing determination. “ Yes. Bad. ” She reached over and covered Levi ’ s hands with hers, her eyes sincere.
    His entire body tightened for action, but he couldn ’ t move.
    She tightened her fingers around his. “ Vitus wants Levi … ”
    The rest of the words were foreign, but her face gave away her meaning. The green man intended to harm him. But he ’ d already figured that. All the Blattvolk wanted to harm him.
    With that thought, he twisted his hand to grasp both of hers in a vice and yanked her close, his other arm around her throat. She choked off a gasp. For a split second he loosened a bit, worried he was hurting her. Then his resolve tightened along with his arm. “ Let me free, ” he growled in her ear.
    Rising, he pulled her length against him. Her toes skittered across the cement floor as he all but carried her to the door. With his arm still wrapped around Tula ’ s neck, he released her left hand and pushed the right through the bars toward the locking pad. Her free hand scrabbled against his bicep as she struggled. “ Levi, no. Levi — ” she gasped, then went limp. He pressed her hand to the pad and heard the familiar click of the lock releasing.
    In awe of his own force, he stood motionless a few heartbeats, her hand hovering over the lock, palm open. His fingers almost completely covered the pink mark on her forearm. The bones beneath his fingertips were fragile in his grasp. Trembling so hard his legs barely supported him, he could barely support her weight sagging against him.
    Lowering Tula until her feet connected with the floor, he let her arm go and jerked the cell door open.
    With both hands free, she didn ’ t fight back. She stood and sobbed convulsively. Her head fell back against his chest, soft hair catching in the stubble on his chin. “ Stop crying. ” His voice was a raw, low growl in his throat.
    Why did this feel all wrong? He should be striding up the stairs, right now. But his feet remained frozen in place. “ Move. ”
    “ Levi, ” she whispered. “ Levi, no. Vitus will kill you. ” The same words as before. Now, he knew the meaning.
    He hadn ’ t realized, but he ’ d loosened his grip around her neck. She twisted to face him, not trying to break free. She looked up into his face with red-rimmed blue eyes and pleaded with her soul. “ Please. ” Her hands slid up his chest to cup his cheeks. “ You are not cannibal. ”
    She was right. He wasn ’ t this person. Swallowing, Levi let his arm drop. His breathing barely kept up with his need for air.
    He stepped backward into the cage.

E ven after three successive Reversions on her record, the Board declined Vitus ’ s recommendation to remove Tula from her position. She was the best interpreter in the department. With the lure of more converts from the mongrel village dangling before them, the Board only issued a formal reprimand to go on her record.
    Vitus snapped his favorite set of beads in frustration and flung the gamma pad with the report across his desk.
    She ’ d thwarted him too many times. He wanted to see her suffer. The only way to get to her was through the prisoner downstairs. But after his last visit, the man seemed leery of any interaction. The weedy bitch had poisoned the captive against him.
    Well, he had her, now. The attack footage on the prison tapes was all he needed for the prisoner ’ s immediate extermination. This didn ’ t require Board approval. But just to cover his ass — and rub it in Arnica ’ s face — he ’ d make sure the Board issued the order for euthanization.
    He watched the video again as the man grabbed Tula around the neck and nearly lifted her off the floor. Vitus imagined his own arm around her neck, how hard he could squeeze while she pleaded for mercy. The prisoner had relented. But Vitus wouldn ’ t let her off. That bitch ’ s life would be living hell from here on out.

    Torn between abandoning his escape and his unaccustomed bout of violence, Levi could not