The Space Spoon novel Chapter 78

Shayla started to touch the walls in search of a hidden control panel. “What about the kiss? I thought we settled upon keeping things at a professional level.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tejeda scratched his head, and the golden crown fell on the floor. He didn’t spare it a single glance. “I was just immersed into my role. You know, your husband and stuff like that.”

From behind the door, outside in the corridor, came the shouts of soldiers. The unmistakable ring and clang of guns being pulled out, the clickity-clack of boots marching on the marble floor.

There could be only one explanation for this: C1313 and Cato managed to run. For them, this was good, but for Shayla and Tejeda, quite the opposite. Their chances of escaping dwindled if the entire force was on high alert.

Shayla opened the door. Three soldiers were there, passing by. They stepped clear, their guns aimed at her. They lowered their pistols and gestured with a flat palm for her to stay inside. Shayla inched backward and closed the door.

“Let’s move over it.” Shayla remained with her back to him, pressing the wall in various places. “What did Astin tell you about me?”

“He blabbered about you being a Resilient Spirit and how you can wield Beridium weapons. I stopped listening after he mentioned children.”

“Children?” Shayla finally turned to face him.

“Yes.” Tejeda kicked the crown, sending it hurtling into the wall. “When I went to him, I revealed who I am, and threatened to kill him if he doesn’t tell me what more he knows. He had the audacity to try to bargain with me. Your husband was willing to set you free and let you come with me after you would give him an heir.”

Shayla humphed and moved to the other wall. “And what did you say?”

“Nothing.” Tejeda shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I just killed him.”

She froze, pausing for a while. “What? Great! This is just great! Fuck you!”

Tejeda’s eyebrows furrowed, not understanding her reaction. “You are welcome to fuck me any time you want, but why do you look pissed off?”

“My father will want me dead even more now. Astin had no siblings or other relatives. He killed them all to secure his throne. I’m the next one in line. If I die, my father can rule the whole planet.”

“Let him.”

“What part of me dying for this to happen didn’t you understand?” she yelled, seemingly more angry by the minute.

"I hadn't thought about it this way." Tejeda sighed, looking around the room. His eyes landed on a vase full of roses. He approached it, took up a bloom, and removed it off the stalk. "It's easy for me to forget how readily death comes to others."

An artificial female voice sprang out of thin air. "Holographic security measures are not operational."

"Shit!" Shayla jerked in fright.

“What does that mean?” Tejeda asked.

Shayla sighed, her eyes darting all across the room. “All the projections can now inflict real injuries. Our time is up. My father has probably checked the life signs in the room and discovered you’re still alive. And he needs both of us dead anyhow.”

The walls started moving, slowly drawing closer.

"This is just great. We're going to be crushed to death." Shayla went to the door, but it simply vanished. Another white wall stood in its place. "We're trapped, with no exit in sight."

If there was a man who could swap his personality after every sentence, that was Tejeda. Shayla shook her head, annoyed. Looking at the walls closing in on them, she frowned. "You aren’t going to help me find a way out, are you?"

He simply stretched his right hand to the wall.

Shayla humphed. “Tejeda, what are you doing? You can’t simply hold it and stop it.”

But the wall stopped. She looked at it in disbelief. Tejeda’s hand went straight through it in a blur. A glitch in the holographic projection glittered, and she could see his finger on the off button of the control panel. The door reappeared.

“That was too easy, wasn’t it?” Tejeda said.

Once they reached past the door and found themselves on the empty corridor, Shayla scoffed, “You knew the way out and haven’t said anything?”

"Yes. The crown did not bounce back from the wall when I kicked it. It passed right through it, implying that there was something beyond what looked to be a white wall. But we needed to talk, and there was no better time than now. I got you out when everything was said and done, didn't I?"

“We could have died.”

He shrugged. “Details.”

They walked along the corridor until they reached a corner. A shadow on the floor showed a guard standing watch.

Tejeda stepped back, bowed, and emphatically waved a hand. “Ladies first.”