She kissed him on the lips again and stood up. She wiped the tears from her eyes and made her way out. A few months back, she would never have believed she would be crying over a man, especially a human! She could hardly believe it herself.
She emerged onto the deck and came across Bekka first. “He has to live – I owe him many years of being miserable for what he’s done to me.”
Bekka’s brow furrowed in confusion, then smoothed and she nodded her understanding.
* * * *
“What’s going on here?” Rosh asked, seeing the mob approaching the Voidhawk. He tightened his grip on Willa’s hand and she understood. They took off at a run, angling ahead of the mob to make it up the dock and to the Voidhawk before the villagers could intercept them.
“Where’s Dexter?” Rosh asked, clearly upset. “I got to talk to him!”
“He’s below, recovering.”
Rosh grunted and pushed towards the stairway below deck. Jenna stepped in front of him, halting him. “He needs to rest; he’s no good to you right now.”
Rosh glared at her then gruffly said, “I don’t care what you two did to wear him out, there’s a bunch of people coming here and I got to tell him about it!”
Jenna glared back. “We know they’re coming,” she said. “We saw them already. Stand a post in case we have to repel them. Bekka’s already sitting the helm and getting ready.”
“Look,” Rosh said, “I never met that man at the festival before – I ain’t who he says I am but I bet he’s stirred up a nest of trouble.”
“Rosh,” Jenna said to him. “I don’t know what business you have or what you’ve done, but this is not about you.”
“It ain’t?” Rosh asked, surprised. He covered quickly, but too late to avoid an exasperated look on Jenna’s face. “Of course it ain’t. Must be your fault. Thought you was supposed to be their new queen or something?”
“Mind a post and keep your tongue to yourself,” she snapped at him. Grumbling, he moved off and helped the even more confused Xander to get the rigging and the sails set up in case they needed to set sail. The Constable led the villagers onto the dock and approached the ship. He did a double take when he saw Jenna standing atop the gangplank, a hand on the sword at her side, the same sword that had been stained with her lover’s blood.
“My Lady, why are you not at the tower?”
“I’m not your Lady,” she said. “You’ve no Lord, he’s dead.”
There were gasps amongst the mob. “How did he die?”
“He tried to take control of me – to take over my body and soul. He died with a sword through his chest,” she said. “You are free of his sadistic rule.”
“If what you say is true…”
“It is,” she said, interrupting.
“I… I must think on this. It seems as though a veil has been lifted, and I am confused. I trust we cannot keep you here without great loss of life. Will you wait and tell me more after I see the tower myself?”
Jenna thought on it for a long minute then nodded. “Aye, we will wait.”
“Where is your Captain?”
“He is resting, the fight with the wizard was difficult,” she said, not wanting to admit that she had been the one to run him through.
Several men waited at the dock, keeping an eye on the Voidhawk and crew. The others went with the constable, heading up to the tower and seeing with their own eyes what had happened. When they returned an hour later, the constable brought with them Dexter’s sword.
“It is as you say,” he admitted. “With every passing moment I see things more clearly. I am an old man now, but in my youth why would I wish to stay in a small place such as this? It is not the paradise I had dreamed it to be.”
“This is your Captain’s sword, I believe. It is a fine weapon and I remember seeing it upon his hip,” he said, walking up the gangplank.
“I admit I do not know what to do now. We have always had the protection and governance of our Lord. I do not hold you at fault. Indeed, I feel gratitude for you opening our eyes. Many of our people came from the stars, and have stayed against their will without even knowing it.”
Rosh nodded from where he watched nearby. He had been willing to stay as well. He looked to Willa and she met his gaze. She had similar thoughts.
“You’ve been ruling them for a while now.”
Everybody turned, surprised to hear the words coming from behind them. Dexter stood, leaning heavily against the stairway railing. He walked across the deck, his face pale. “Constable, your Lord stayed in his tower minding his business and left you to run Deepingdale. He used you like cattle, stealing a body when he needed one so he could cheat death.”
“Now you can live for yourself. Look about, the town needs fixing with the magic gone. You’ve a fine port, and this is a fine place for trading. We’ll spread the word of your location on the charts if you’re of a mind for us to do it.”
He glanced at the other ships in the harbor. “Some fine ships here too, sell them off or make a navy to protect yourself. There’s plenty of them that’d be too happy to turn this into their private base…”
The constable followed Dexter’s gaze, eyeing the ships thoughtfully. He nodded as the ideas meshed with his own and he put a spin on them. “Captain, I think you’ve done a great deed for Deepingdale today. Are you sure you’d not like to be the Lord instead? Free of magic, that is.”
Dexter smiled weakly and shook his head. “Dreams only constable. The Voidhawk is enough for me. I’ve a fine ship and the best crew to be had. I got no right wanting anything more – that’d just be greedy.”
He nodded, smiling in appreciation. “There are better ships here too, can I at least offer you one of them instead of the Voidhawk?”
Without turning or even thinking about it, Dexter shook his head. He swayed a little on his feet, and Jenna went to him to hold him steady. She put herself under his arm to look as though she was simply embracing him rather than keeping him from passing out.
“There’s no ship better than the Voidhawk,” she answered for him. He smiled at her, then searched the faces of his crew. Even Rosh, grudgingly, nodded his head in agreement.
“Then stay as long as you wish, at least,” Lorren said. “We owe you a debt that will be hard to repay.”
Dexter nodded and thanked him, then let Jenna escort him back to his quarters. The bandages they had placed on him showed fresh bleeding and she changed them to be certain he had not re-injured himself. Nonetheless, Jenna proceeded to let him know what she thought of his antics.
“Hush,” he told her. “Somebody had to deal with them – leaving you and Rosh to run things, there’s no telling what would have happened! We’d probably end up in some lousy tub running for our life.”
Jenna’s scowl made him laugh, which in turn made him grimace in pain. “Go away, women, I need some rest.”
She nodded. “Stay in bed this time,” she admonished him. “That way I can punish you properly when you get better!”
####
About the Author
Jason Halstead works by day as an IT Manager, developer, and database administrator. In his spare time Jason enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, writing, and competitive powerlifting.
He enjoys reading and responding to fan mail as well, so if you liked any of his other books, don't be shy! Find him on the web at http://www.booksbyjason.com or email him at: [email protected].
Other books by Jason Halstead:
Voidhawk
Voidhawk – The Elder Race (Voidhawk, book 2)
Voidhawk – Redemption (Voidhawk, book 3)
Voidhawk – The White Lady (Voidhawk, book 4)
Wanted
Ice Princess (Wanted, book 2)
Dark Earth
Devil’s Icebox (Dark Earth, book 2 - pending)
The Lost Girls (The Lost Girls, book 1, a Dark Earth novel)
Traitor (The Lost Girls, book 2, a Dark Earth novel)
W
olfgirl (The Lost Girls, book 3, a Dark Earth novel)
Voices (a Dark Earth Book)
New Beginnings (Vitalis, book 1)
The Colony (Vitalis, book 2)
Parasites (Vitalis, book 3)
Screamer (Vitalis, book 4)
Human Nature
Sex Sells
Voidhawk – The Elder Race
By Jason Halstead
“Aren’t you getting tired of this?” The lithe elven woman used Dexter’s shoulder as a pillow and looked up at him.
The Captain of the Voidhawk smirked. “Tired? Of this? I don’t know what you’re used to, but where I’m from men don’t grow tired of this kind of thing!”
She slapped his trim belly. “I don’t mean me, I mean this back and forth trading.”
Dexter grunted, then shrugged his free shoulder. “Been making some solid gold.” After a moment of thought he added, “Safe too, the swords are getting dull around here.”
Jenna nodded, her blond hair tickling Dexter’s cheek. “I know… it was nice, but it’s getting boring.”
“Boring?” He felt it too and he’d been wondering about moving on. “The others whining too?”
Jenna sat up in bed, stretching as she did so. The sheets fell away from her and Dexter marveled at her slim and toned athletic beauty. She turned to look at him and rolled her eyes. “Get that look out of your eyes or we’ll never get out of here.”
He grinned.
“They don’t talk as much as they used to,” she admitted, stepping out of bed and standing up. “Not to me, at least.”
Dexter rolled on to his side to watch her slide her breeches on. He laughed and said, “They talk, you’re not listening. You’re too busy sleeping with the captain.”
She favored him with a disdainful look, which only made Dexter laugh again. Her pose, one hand on a clothed hip and her shoulders cocked, only served to enhance her naked upper torso and the attractive charms he had just sampled.
“Making up for lost time,” she told him before slipping on a vest in a meager attempt at modesty..
“I’m not complaining.”
“No, finally, you’re not,” she admitted. “Keep acting like this and maybe I’ll give you a reason to complain!”
Dexter laughed again and rose to get dressed. “Don’t worry,” he said,nd tying his breeches, “I’ve been thinking it was near time to move on. Deepingdale has ships enough trading with it.”
“Spoken like a true merchant,” Jenna teased.
Dexter opened his mouth to retort but Jenna opened the door and was out before he could defend himself. Scowling, he followed the elf, wondering why he let himself get caught up in such a complicated relationship. Well, it wasn’t really that complicated: he was a man and she was a woman and they cared very deeply for one another in spite of their differences. The tricky part was he was the captain and she was his mate. First mate, that is.
Up on the deck they could see a slowly growing ball of blue and green ahead of them. “We’ll be there soon,” Dexter said, glancing briefly at the sails of the Voidhawk. “Four, maybe five hours.”
“Then what?” Jenna asked, her eyes watching the crew as they tended the sails and rigging. A straight course between ports required little work between tacks against the solar wind, if even that was necessary. The winds were with them this time, allowing the deck to run on a skeleton crew.
Fair haired and fairer of skin, Willa sat on the deck whittling on something she had carved from a block of wood with her good hand. The carving was wedged between her knees since her other arm ended just below the elbow. Rosh and Keshira worked the sails, though Rosh was lackadaisical about it and spent most of his time talking with Willa and the other woman.
The raven haired beauty hauled the heavy lines and drew the sails taut with the strength of three normal men. She worked without pause or fatigue because she was a construct, created from the magic of a depraved wizard with a taste for submissive women of unnaturally beauty. Dexter had freed her of a future of servitude, only to unwittingly end up binding her to himself. It was on his list of things to do, finding a way to undo the bond and let her live her have the freedom she deserved.
“Then we see what else there is to see,” Dexter said somewhat wistfully.
“You’ve something in mind then?” she asked, hearing the tone in his voice.
Dexter straightened. “We’ve found a fair bit of things that ain’t been found in a while, why not see what else there might be?”
Jenna stared at him suspiciously. “Dex…”
“There’s nothing special,” he told her with a sly smile. “I just figured we’d head out and see what the Void’s got waiting for us.”
Jenna’s eyes narrowed, but Dexter walked off the forecastle and headed towards the staircase. She wanted to follow him but a call from Rosh distracted her. He motioned her over and, with a sigh, she followed. She thought she had given up a life of public service when she fled her homeland.
* * * *
Port Nimman started with a few derelict ships lashed together centuries past. Now it spanned nearly a mile in length of ships and paths and buildings lashed together with wood, ropes, and nails. Thick ropes made of magical materials dangled from complicated pulleys on the port, their ends disappearing into the atmosphere of the planet below. The ropes operated as elevators and lifts to one of the many small islands dotting the predominantly water filled world.
Jenna sat on the deck, cleaning a selection of weapons that she used to be personally responsible for. Rosh handled the job of weapons master now, but given Dexter’s decision to leave her and Keshira to tend the ship, she had little else to do.
The elf tossed a sword she finished oiling back in a barrel harder than she should have. The barrel tipped over and the other blades in it slid out. She cursed and jumped to her feet, ready to kick it.
“Is there a problem?” Keshira asked, causing Jenna to throttle her anger back a little.
“No, just clumsy,” she said, scowling and bending over to pick up the spilled steel.
“You and the Captain are lovers,” Keshira stated, drawing Jenna’s attention.
The elf turned, her cheeks flushing a little in spite of herself. She reveled in behavior that most races found brazen. Yet, for some reason, Keshira’s statement bothered her.
“Why do you never join him at ports?”
Jenna looked at her and laughed. “He never lets me,” she said bitterly. “My duty, as first mate, is to stay with the ship when the captain can’t.”
Keshira smiled, an odd expression considering Jenna’s frustration. The elf looked at her, then finally when the pleasure golem turned deckhand offered no further comment she said, “Why are you smiling? Do you know something I don’t?”
“The Captain is scared,” she said.
Jenna blinked, surprised. “Scared?”
“Yes, he cares for you very much.” The grin remained on her face, proving that she still needed to work on her expressions even if she was now able to experience and feel them. “He wants to keep you safe.”
Jenna grunted, then looked away, her eyes watering in spite of her irritation. “Damn him,” she muttered.
“Does this not please you?” Keshira asked.
“No. Yes… I don’t know,” Jenna admitted. “I know he loves me, even if he’s too damn human and confused to admit it to me. That must be why we’ve been doing milk runs for the last few months. Not much chance of running into any trouble that way, even if we’re all dying of boredom.”
“I am not dying or bored,” the construct said.
Jenna nodded. “Of course you’re not. But do you know what it means to be bored, Keshira?” She waved her hand, “Never mind. Look, the problem with Dexter is that he didn’t learn anything from Kragor. His best friend died when we were out of harm’s way! It can happen to anyone, at anytime. Loving me doesn’t put a target on my head.”
Keshira nodded. “That makes sense, why would he feel otherwise?”<
br />
“He’s human?” Jenna snapped irritably. “Or maybe because he’s a man.”
“Is Dexter back yet?”
Both women, magical and natural, turned to the slightly strained voice. Bekka hurried up the gangplank with someone wearing a hooded cloak behind her. Jenna’s eyes narrowed and she stepped in front of the weapons cache on the deck.
“No, he’s still looking for work,” she said. “Or whatever it is he’s doing.”
“Should I let him know you seek him?” Keshira offered.
“Not yet, what’s this about?” Jenna asked.
“Show her,” Bekka said, stepping aside to allow a clear path between her guest and Jenna.
The stranger gasped audibly when they saw Jenna. They stumbled backwards, calling out, “You’ve betrayed me!”
“No, wait!” Bekka said, hurrying to stop the attempted flight. “Jenna’s not what you think!”
“I’m not…what?”
“She’s an elf!” The hooded stranger was a man, but short for a human.
“Yes, she is an elf,” Bekka confirmed. “But not like the elves we know.”
“Bekka, who is this?” Jenna said, stepping forward and making the stranger back up fearfully.
“His name is Zhirt,” Bekka said. She hesitated then closed her mouth without saying more.
“Zhirt? That’s it?” Jenna pressed.
“His story is not mine to tell,” Bekka said.
“Well Zhirt, are you going to tell me or let us talk about you as if you’re not standing in front of us?” The first mate said.
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