Voidhawk - Lost Soul

by Halstead, Jason

  “You’re a peculiar man, Captain Silvercloud.”

  Dexter grinned. “Peculiar? Don’t think I’ve been called that before, have I, Jenna?”

  “No, sir,” she responded. “Peculiar has a nice ring to it. Folks mostly grab the four letter words first.”

  “So Mr. Dekleem, we’ll be taking our leave then. Our freedom, you could say. I’m sure we’ll find a port soon enough.”

  Dekleem stared at him a moment longer, then nodded. “Very well. Swift sailing, Captain.”

  Dexter blinked, concerned that his thinly veiled message hadn’t been delivered. Before he could add anything the man turned and boarded the skiff sent from the Federation warship. With the other six sailors from the Ora’s Bounty already aboard, the small boat untied the lines and sailed back across the short span between vessels.

  “Was that wise?” Jenna hissed.

  “Haven’t I always been wise?” Dexter asked. He held up his hand, “Don’t answer that. Instead think of this as me hedging my bet.”

  “Sounds like you’re inviting trouble to me. I can’t believe they didn’t press for more details about Jia. If an elven ship accepted that she was just sleeping I’d have the Captain’s head!”

  “We’re at or just past the fringe of Federation void. Strong arming us won’t do them any good out here.”

  “You’re mad,” she sighed.

  Dexter grinned. “What you’re lacking is a vision. I ever tell you what I did as a boy?”

  “I thought you were more or less a homeless thief?”

  He nodded again. “Aye! Got to be pretty good at it too. I took what I need and what I felt should be mine.”

  “Quite the role model.”

  “I’m not saying what I done was right, but there’s no undoing it now,” Dexter said. “Point is, I learned important lessons back then. Lessons that I use to this day. Lessons like sometimes it’s a lot easier to do a thing when nobody’s paying attention to what you’re doing.”

  “You mean to start a war?” Tasha gasped.

  Jenna turned, startled by the interruption. Dexter gave the black skinned woman a smile of recognition. “Not a war, just give the elves something to keep their eyes elsewhere. Remember they don’t have a sizeable force on Port Freedom, just enough to secure the port and insure the behavior of the wealthy merchants that run the place.”

  “How do you know that? We barely got away before the elves took it over last time we were there. No doubt they’ve had reinforcements since then,” Jenna said.

  “Remember, Empress, that I had information on troop numbers and locations throughout the empire and beyond.”

  “Oh!” Jenna fell silent while she mulled his words over. “I thought regional commanders handled such things.”

  “They did, I made a few changes to the way the elves did things.”

  “Changes that will make them more difficult to deal with?”

  “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve yet.”

  Jenna sighed. “I think we’re done with the Ora’s Bounty, shall we be underway? Or do you want to tie a rope to their prow and guide them in?”

  Dexter laughed. “At least they didn’t threaten us.” He judged her ire to be regarding the constant interruptions they’d been facing. He felt it too, each day that passed seemed to make their chances worse for recovering Jianna. Or worse, they might save her soul only to find that the prolonged disembodied isolation made her lose her mind. For Dexter the days he’d spent alone with himself had seemed endless and he’d begun to wonder how long he could go before he went mad. How would she fare?

  Jenna turned away to get the Voidhawk moving again. Dexter watched the Ora’s Bounty fall behind them. It stayed still until they lost sight of it amidst the star field. Dexter yawned.

  “Get some sleep, I’m rested,” Jenna advised.

  “We’re outside of where most patrols would go. Keep an eye out, this part of the void’s like as not to have pirates in it.”

  “Dex, I know. Get some sleep.”

  “I’m just w—”

  “Sleep! Now!” Jenna snapped at him. “Tasha, would you please escort the Captain to his cabin?”

  Tasha smirked. “Should I force him into bed, too?”

  Jenna’s eyes narrowed. Tasha gasped in turn, realizing what she’d said. “A guard at his door should suffice.”

  Tasha nodded stiffly, then turned to Dexter.

  “It’s a mutiny. I should have you all cast overboard,” he muttered before turning and heading for his cabin.

  “Captain?” Tasha asked outside of his room.

  Dexter chuckled. “Go get some rest, Tasha. We’ve all been running with too much wind in our sails. Don’t worry, I’ve every intention of heeding my wife’s advice.”

  Tasha offered him a smile. “She’s quite a woman, your wife.”

  “Aye,” Dexter agreed.

  “It’s good to see her back aboard the ‘Hawk. She was being suffocated in the court room.”

  Dexter hadn’t thought of it like that before. He nodded. “I reckon you’re on to something there. Easy to get caught up in doing what you think you ought to be doing.”

  Tasha waited until Dexter shut the door then turned and headed for her own quarters. Dexter pondered his wife and the various roles he’d seen her fulfill. She could do just about anything, he figured. He poured himself another tumbler of the dwarven brandy and wondered which of her roles she preferred.

  * * * *

  Dexter’s eyelids snapped open when he felt a breath of cool air across his skin only moments before the bed vibrated slightly as someone crawled into it. The blanket descended, covering him and his new guest just as an arm slipped lightly across his naked hip. A faint aroma of lilacs teased him, bringing a smile to his lips. He started to roll back but the hand on his side stopped him.

  “Jenna.”

  “Hush,” the elf admonished him. She let her hand glide on his skin in random circles. Her progress brought a gasp from him when she found what she was looking for. “Miss me?”

  After six years of seldom finding time for themselves, Dexter wasn’t to be denied. He turned and kissed her, using aggression to show his passion for her. She let him roll onto her, clinging to him and letting him dominate her in a way that they’d never experienced. Dexter paused, the oddity of their roles forcing its way into his consciousness.

  “What’s wrong?” he dared to ask.

  She shook her head, pulling him to her and pressing her lips against him anew. Dexter relented for a moment, then grunted and restrained himself again. Jenna, not to be denied, reached between them and used her hand to coax him and inflame his senses.

  “Who’s sailing the ship? Is Tasha in charge?”

  Jenna’s eyes widened at his words. She bit her lip before nodding. Dexter stared into his wife’s eyes, not understanding the sudden twinkle he saw in her beautiful green eyes. The twinkles rivaled the golden flecks in them, but he knew her well enough there was more to it.

  Dexter opened his mouth again but she would have no more of it. She pushed herself up and pressed her lips to his. He was silenced with a muffled protest, then found himself rolled over with a lithe elven warrior queen atop him. She grabbed him again, and rubbed herself against him before pausing. She stared into his eyes, looking for something the confused man couldn’t understand.

  Jenna sighed and rolled off of him onto her side. Dexter turned his head to stare at her, thoroughly confused. He rolled up behind her, pressing himself to her, and tried to pull her back to face him. She resisted for a moment then gave in. Dexter saw the sparkles had been moisture. Tears were gathered in the corners of her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked.

  She blinked and shook her head, then looked away. Dexter was at a loss for what was wrong with her. She sat up, sliding her legs out from under the blanket so her back faced him. Dexter reached out, trailing his hands along her smooth skin and tracing the lines of her muscles and bones.

  “Do
you still love me?”

  Dexter coughed, choking for a moment on his own spit he’d inhaled at the surprise question. “Yes!” He blurted out as soon as he recovered. “I’ve never stopped!”

  Jenna remained quiet long enough to make Dexter think he’d given the wrong answer. “And if we can’t get her back? Will you still love me then?”

  “We will get her back,” Dexter sat up and reached out to put his arm around Jenna. “There’s no power in the void that’ll stop me.”

  “From getting her back?”

  “Or from being in love with you.”

  “It’s my fault. I was the Empress. I wanted everything to work out for my people and for us. I didn’t pay any attention to the dangers.”

  “Is this about Jia?” Dexter asked, trying to make sense of her mercurial behavior.

  “It’s about everything,” Jenna said. She turned to face him. “I used to be so strong. So sure of myself. Now look at me. I’m just pretending to be. I’m scared, Dex. Scared of everything these days.”

  “We’ll get her back,” Dexter insisted.

  She shook her head, blinking back fresh tears. “I want to believe you, but what if you’re wrong?”

  “I’m not.”

  She looked at him, her eyes shimmering, and she offered a pathetic smile. “You make everything seem possible.”

  “I went from being a street urchin to the admiral of the Elven Navy. If that doesn’t mean just about anything’s possible, I don’t know what is.”

  Her smile grew to something more genuine, but it faded.

  “What else troubles you?” Dexter asked.

  “Everything,” she admitted. “Jia, you, the way I’ve acted and who I really am, the elves, Rolxoth, Tasha, the future, h—”

  “Tasha?” Dexter asked, picking the name out of the mix. “What’s Tasha got to do with the way the winds blow?”

  Jenna bit her lip again and looked away. Dexter reached over to pull her face back. “Jenna? What’s going on?”

  “She’s strong and exotic and beautiful!” The words burst out of Jenna’s mouth, surprising Dexter with their force. “She’s spent so much time with you and now you’re praising her and giving her special consideration. Even making her the second mate…I’m supposed to be your mate!”

  Dexter forced his eyelids to relax before his eyes fell onto her lap. She looked away from him but he could feel her trembling against him. “I done that so we could catch an odd bit of time together,” he said as gently as he could. “She’s a great friend and as much a part of our family as Bailynn or Bekka. Logan too, I suppose. I guess even Xander, though I trust you never to repeat such a thing. She proved she’s got heart and a mind to go with it, that earned her what she’s been given. I got no interest in her beyond that.”

  Tasha nodded but still wouldn’t turn to look at him. “I’m so confused, Dex. I don’t know what I’m thinking anymore. What’s happening to me?”

  “You’ve been calling the shots and being strong for a long time now. Maybe it’s time you let someone take care of you?”

  She sat still and silent, weighing his words.

  “Or maybe that’s some of what’s eating you, you was about as in charge as in charge can get. Now I’m running this boat and you’re having a hard time with it?”

  She shook her head. “The Voidhawk is yours,” she said. “It’s always been yours. Your ship, your hard work, your vision. It’s got you blood and your soul in it, the same as it had Kragor’s.”

  Jenna took in a breath and turned to face him at last. “No, I like being on the ‘Hawk. I love it. I just wish I felt different about me. If we weren’t here I don’t know what I’d do. Here at least I can fall into routine and pretend to know what I’m doing.”

  Dexter leaned in and kissed her. It was gentle and exploratory at first but he felt Jenna’s need within a few heartbeats. She pulled at him, her hands going around him and clutching at him. This time Dexter let her pull him back to the bed, having a notion of what it was she was after.

  * * * *

  A knock at the door roused them both. Dexter grunted, intending to let the caller know he was working on getting around. The door opened and in stepped Keshira, her eyes going to their intimate state.

  “Shut the door!” Dexter snapped.

  Keshira did so, albeit behind her rather that in front. “Captain, Tasha sent me to—”

  “Again with the Tasha,” Jenna mused.

  Dexter glanced at her, wondering if their love making had been undone. He saw the mischief in her eyes and knew he was safe. Then he remembered the beautiful pleasure golem standing not five feet from him while he was lying nude in bed without the benefit of a blanket covering him.

  Dexter scrambled, reaching for the blanket to yank on top of their bodies. Jenna laughed and ignored his attempts, even going so far as to climb out of bed and stand beside it facing Keshira.

  “Dex, it’s not a problem. This is Keshira, remember?”

  “Aye, I remember,” he sputtered. “I remember her saying how different things felt to her know. Things she heard, things she felt, things she could smell, and things she could see.”

  Jenna pursed her lips, then turned to raise an inquisitive eyebrow to Keshira. The golem smiled and nodded. “It’s true, this is exciting being here with you both. Very exciting.”

  Dexter stared at her, noting how her cheeks seemed redder than usual and her lips remained parted and almost swollen even after she’d spoken. Her eyes had a soft and dreamy look about them. Lower, below her face, he could saw other indications of the constructs arousal even beneath her luxurious clothing.

  “Where’d you get clothes like that?” Dexter asked. She’d always dressed very nice. Immaculate, even, aside from when some physical confrontation inevitably ended with her being displayed scandalously as her clothing was ripped in part or in whole around her.

  “Trilliana and I have been—”

  Dexter held up his hand. Trilliana reminded him a free spirited version of Jenna back when he’d first invited her to sail on the Voidhawk. If that was possible. He shook his head and looked at his wife. She looked fit to burst with laughter.

  “You’re very beautiful, Keshira. I think that’s what our Captain means to say,” Jenna said. “But he’s also very shy. I’m trying to get him to loosen up, but I don’t want you to be distressed. If you’ll wait outside we’ll be ready in a moment.”

  Keshira nodded and stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

  Dexter cursed under his breath. “I’ll show you shy,” he muttered.

  “Now now Captain,” Jenna said as he swept her up in his arms and spun her about in the tight quarters. “We have guests waiting. And if Tasha sent her, it’s probably important.”

  “Tasha again,” Dexter echoed her earlier words with a wink.

  “Troublesome, isn’t she?”

  “Not to worry, I’ve only to remember who she’s related to.”

  Jenna’s eyes widened and she let out a giggle of delight, then nodded. They’d traveled 12,000 years back in time to release the elders from imprisonment. It was there that Rosh met Tasha’s ancestors and sown the seeds for a line that would become the rulers of her people. “Even descended six hundred generations from Rosh isn’t far enough.”

  “Six thousand wouldn’t be enough,” Dexter said. “Now be a good wife and hand me my pants.”

  Jenna winked at him and passed them over before moving to the trunk she kept her own clothing in. “Trilliana reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. I knew what I was doing then, perhaps I should—”

  Dexter put his hand on her shoulder. She’d knelt to look through her garments and now turned to stare up at him. “Not a one of us knew what we was doing. We were young and dumb. And lucky. Now we’re mostly just dumb but old enough to know it.”

  “Seems like you’ve always made your own luck.”

  Dexter grinned. “Every little bit helps.”

  “So you don’t want me wea
ring a loin cloth and some paint on the deck?”

  His grin faded and his cheeks burned. “Won’t be no good for crew morale if I’m beating ‘em off with a stick.”

  “I think you kind of like the idea,” Jenna said, her eyes considerably lower than his. She licked her lips suggestively and added, “In fact, if you don’t put that pants on right quick Keshira and Tasha are going to have to wait.”

  Dexter stepped back to heed her warning. He pulled a fresh shirt on without waiting for prompting before turning back to see her tying the laces on a vest. She’d already donned breeches, he was glad to see, even if they only went just past her knees.

  “Ready, Captain?” She asked, winking at him.

  Dexter grabbed her and pulled her to him. She let out a surprised yelp as he kissed her, then let her go a moment later. “Don’t ever doubt it, either.”

  Jenna’s hand went to her bruised lips. She smiled as she got his message, one of eternal affection. “I won’t, I promise.”

  Dexter nodded and strapped on his sword belt while Jenna slipped past him and opened the door. “All right Keshira, what is it?”

  Keshira turned to stare at her, drawing a gasp from Jenna. Dexter looked up and saw his wife staring at the pleasure golem, then he noticed how Keshira looked somehow even more wanton and seductive than she had moments ago in their cabin. He shook his head, trying not to imagine just what she could use her sultry lips for.

  “Tasha wanted me to tell you we’re being followed again. Two ships this time, of unknown allegiance.” Even her words were oozing sensuality.

  “There’s that itch,” Dexter muttered. He shook his head and squeezed between the women. “Are they closing?”

  “No, they’re keeping distance enough to not disturb our gravity sphere.”

  Dexter frowned. Such a thing was far from unheard of, it was just rare that he’d come across other ships that weren’t bound to complicate his life. “I don’t like the coincidence. Let’s go, I got my own itch that says there’s trouble on the rise.”