“Told you boys I wouldn’t be here long,” she said and dropped to the floor. They groaned and yelled obscenities at her. She brushed her hands off on her fitted pants. “Well, hello big brother.”
Ladi, two years younger and half a head shorter than him, swaggered up to the bars of the cell and rested her arms on them. She didn’t seem at all bothered by the smell of the place. She pulled out a piece of dried meat and gnawed on it. Lu shook his head and leaned against the bars.
“What’s it going to take with you?”
“What do you mean? Hey, who’s the new little beastie?” She reached out a hand and Temi purred at her touch.
“His name is Temi.” Lu pulled away from the bars, stepping just out of reach. “When is it going to be enough?”
“I’m enjoying myself and making lots of money. So what if I get caught sometimes, I have plenty to bring home when it’s all done.”
“Mother and Father are well taken care of,” Lu said between clenched teeth. He dropped his shoulders and relaxed his jaw. “You have the skills to work legitimate jobs, I don’t know why you won’t take them.”
“They don’t pay as well.”
“I wish you wouldn’t worry our parents so much. I won’t always be able get you out.”
“But you got me out this time, so why are we still talking through the bars?” she asked, tapping them with one finger.
“Because I want you to understand something.” Lu waited for her to meet his eyes. “This is the last time.” She didn’t flinch as he stared her down. “I don’t have a problem seeing you punished for criminal activity. Next time they’ll take more than just your money.”
“What? Poobari, you scheming, two-faced ranglefort!” Her voice carried down the corridor and their ears picked up his belly laugh.
“You let him take my money?” she said, turning back to Lu.
“Let him? I’m not sure what kind of position you imagine you’re in but you put yourself here.”
“No, I didn’t. Who do you think hires me to do all these off-the-books fetches and deliveries?”
“Well, not anymore. If you get into trouble again, you’re on your own.” The cell door’s mechanical locks clicked and the door slid open. Lu noted it was just before the half hour mark.
Ladi strolled out of the cell and down the corridor, not waiting for her brother to catch up. “So, he took the money, which means you’re doing something for him. What is it?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You’re doing a run for him. I can help you. We can have it knocked out in a day. Debt paid and I never have to worry about it again.”
“No, you’re going home, right now. I’ve been missing Mom’s baked beti and you need an escort.”
“I need no such thing.”
“Well, no, but I’m desperate to see your face after Mother and Father finish with you.”
He chuckled when she glared at him.
4
Lu was already waiting downstairs at the bar when Rasha made her way down the steps of the inn. She held up a hand at Lu while she paid the barkeep. The man lifted out a black box he kept behind the bar and she swiped her disk across the top. The confirmation beep ended the transaction. Silae slithered out of the back before she got away and called out to Lu. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite greenie.”
How could she be less dressed than before? The small shirt managed to cover her chest leaving her shoulders and midriff bare. The skirt, a thin material, hung around her ankles but didn’t hide her legs, which could be seen when the light shone behind it.
“Hey, Red, you’re looking charming this morning. Shouldn’t you be sleeping after an overnight shift?”
“Not when there’s a chance I might see someone like you. I was telling your partner last night it wasn’t the same without you.”
“Next time. I promise. Any news?” he asked.
“Not really. They announced The Choosing has begun, so be careful on the trade route. You know how competitive these purists get,” Silae said.
“Have you seen who’s in the running this year?” he asked without looking up from his communicator as he checked the facts.
“The Sidoans are offering a princess of age for the first time. She’s striking, they say. With the mines in Sidoa now offering the rarest gems ever found in the ten kingdoms, she’ll have an even better chance of being chosen.”
“My money is on the Karmirians, they’re the closest other than the Chilalians, who don’t even have a pure daughter to offer. Crazy, right, Rash?” He still didn’t look up.
“Yeah, isn’t it?” Silae said with a significant glance at Rasha.
Rasha’s hands clenched at her sides. Silae was pushing their fragile acquaintance with her insinuations.
Lu didn’t seem to notice. He leaned over the bar and whispered something to Silae that made her laugh. Rasha grit her teeth and turned to go.
“Rash, wait, where are you going?” Lu called after her. He gave Silae a kiss on the cheek and bolted after his partner.
Rasha reached the cool fresh air and took a deep breath. What did Silae know, anyway? Why was she giving her those looks?
“I’m not spending another night here. The place is far too loud and, if you ask me, overpriced. How was your business last night?”
“Fine,” Lu said looking at his feet. Rasha was ahead of him and didn’t see his hesitation.
“Where’d you sleep last night?” she asked.
“I—,”
Before he could answer, her communicator signaled. She looked down at the screen. “What the yahtz?”
“What?”
“Central is sending us a mandatory.”
“Oh, well, glad I didn’t skip town right away, now we can take care of this and then I can go visit my family.”
“This is madness. I should contact Central and find out what the mix up is. We just finished a one-month fetch and delivery due to theft. Why do we always have to be the ones?”
“We’re the best, that’s why they call us.”
“Yeah, but why is this one mandatory?”
“You think they’ll tell us?”
“No, of course not. It’s all the way in Sidoa.”
“The tenth kingdom!” Lu slapped his leg. “Well, then let’s go, it’ll take us longer if we stand around complaining. We’ll worry about the rest later.” He adjusted his pack on the back of his tuskin and led him toward the woods.
Rasha thought for a moment. True, she couldn’t ask them why they wanted to send her. Besides, it was a mandatory. She didn’t have a choice.
“Wait a minute.”
Lu stopped short and looked back at her.
“How’s your family? Did you get to talk to them at all?”
“Yeah, they’re fine.”
“They’ll be sad you missed them.”
“I’ll send them a message when we’re well on our way.”
“Fine, but after this assignment I’m turning off my communicator and throwing it into the nearest river.”
Rasha grabbed her large riding beast, a tuskin, and the animal’s short tail wagged in greeting. She didn’t notice. Her mind was on the journey south. Lu pulled out a piece of gale fruit and gave it to his tuskin, who gobbled it up in a saliva filled slurp. He rubbed his curved horns against Lu in thanks. Lu rubbed his knuckles up and down between the beast’s eyes.
Temi made a faint cry of complaint from Lu’s pocket.
“We should pick up supplies. Our animals are hungry and it will be much warmer in the south. We might pick up a few things while we’re there,” Rasha said.
“Like some jewels,” Lu smiled.
“Something like that.”
5
The journey South to Sidoa was pleasant and uneventful. The climate warmed day to day as the sun’s rays grew stronger and longer in duration. This time of year, storm activity increased. Rasha and Lu found comfortable lodging at a few nice inns they’d frequented before. Most of the t
ime an inn would balk at their ages. Young and in trade they weren’t always offered a room on the premises. There were a few places they’d stayed that knew their reputations and allowed them access to some of the nicer establishments.
“We should be there by nightfall,” Rasha said, looking up at the orange sky. The two moons were visible to the north.
“What do you think it will be?” Lu asked.
He was referring to the fetch. “Only the gods know.”
“Jewels. I bet its jewels.” Lu pulled Temi from his pocket and set him down on the beast. He’d grown a little and could keep himself on the moving beast’s saddle.
When they reached Sidoa, they followed a small road off the main thoroughfare to the location of the fetch. The locator led them to the middle of nowhere and nothing. Lu checked the position twice.
“How can this be the place? There’s nothing here.” Rasha asked.
Lu climbed down from his tuskin and tied the reins to the nearest tree. He cocked his head and listened.
“Someone’s coming this way. It’s a wagon.”
“That’s promising,” Rasha said. “What do you see?”
“Nothing from here. I’ll climb up and see if I can get a better look. The sun is already down, so no promises.” He held Temi out to her.
“What?” Rasha asked, looking down at his hand as if he held a poisonous slithering stolken.
“He doesn’t like heights.” He grabbed her hand and put Temi down.
Temi had grown since Lu found his tin cup. His limbs now dangled over the edges of her hand while she gripped his midsection. Temi never took his little eyes off of Lu and he whined when he lost sight of him in the tree.
“There, there, little fellow, he’s just getting a better view. He’ll be right back.” She ran her thumb across his head as she’d seen Lu do and the beastie stopped crying.
A moment later, Lu was climbing back down and Temi’s whole body wiggled with joy.
Rasha pushed the little beastie back into Lu’s hands as he spoke.
“There are three men, two of them Sidoans, and they’re hauling a large crate. Looks to be heavy, we’ll need to team up our beasts to pull it.”
Rasha bit her lower lip.
“Okay, since we’re not welcomed in the kingdom we won’t be sleeping here tonight. I say we make our way back toward the inn we stayed at last night,” she said.
Lu nodded. “They have seafood, I could live there.”
“We aren’t staying long. She climbed down from her beast.
They didn’t have to wait much longer for the three men to reach them. The men were a mix of dark and light-skinned. Their trader outfits and size suggested the shady end of dealings. Temi growled as the men approached them, but soon climbed into Lu’s pack to avoid being seen.
“My hero,” Rasha said, looking at Temi. She addressed the men. “Out for an evening stroll, gentlemen?”
“Are you the Jenchat?”
“I am.”
“You’re Chilalian.”
“Yes.”
“We have a fetch.”
“Well, now, that’s convenient.”
They looked at one another with confused expressions, then at Lu and Rasha.
“How old are you children?”
Rasha didn’t like proceedings starting with this question. It meant not only did they not trust her abilities but they wouldn’t process her digital paperwork. She wasn’t in the mood to lose money. They’d travelled five days and wouldn’t even be able to trade for the famous gemstones they’d heard about.
Rasha pulled out her disk. She held it up and let the Central data do the talking for her.
The robotic female voice spoke loud enough for all of them to hear, “Rasha Jenchat, certified courier, record: one hundred percent over two years. Satisfaction level: ten.” Rasha pocketed the disk.
“I showed you mine, now you show me yours.”
The large brown man in front held up his square and keyed in his purchase code. His device beeped as he tapped the edge of her disk, which beeped in return.
“Fetch complete, thank you for your business,” it said.
“Are we done here?” Rasha asked.
“I hope I don’t have to tell you that this package is precious.”
“You just did,” Rasha said. She and Lu transferred the harness to their tuskins.
“Please, protect it with your life.”
“Fetch, delivery, and satisfaction guaranteed,” Lu said.
The men still seemed worried. In fact, they waited for them to ride out. The only thing that would change their minds was a successful delivery and Rasha planned to give them one. This assignment was as important as all the other ones had been for their clients.
“It’s gems, isn’t it?” Lu asked when he was sure they were out of hearing distance.
“Without a doubt,” she said. Rasha shivered. She turned in her seat to glance behind them.
“What is it?” Lu asked.
“I have the feeling we’re being watched.”
Lu looked around, then tilted his head into the wind and away.
“Anything?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Want me to send out a pulsar?”
“No, it’s probably a wild animal looking for a morsel,” Rasha said, but she shivered again.
At the word ‘morsel’ Temi poked his little head out of the pouch and sniffed the air, letting out a low growl. Lu gave the beastie a pat on the head.
“See, Temi doesn’t believe you, either.”
6
By morning, Rasha was sure they were being followed. The fellow wasn’t even trying to hide it. He left broken branches and prints all over the place.
“What do you make of it?” Rasha asked as they rode along.
“They’re skilled enough to stay hidden,” Lu said.
“But not to cover their tracks?”
Temi seemed annoyed by their scent and he’d growl at the wind. Now he sat on the saddle in front of Lu, content to rest his large head on his paws.
“They don’t seem in any hurry to overtake us,” Lu said.
Rasha didn’t respond as she kept her eyes on the surrounding trees. This fetch was all wrong. First, it was mandatory, after a year of optional fetches. A march into the woods of Sidoa, meeting with people that didn’t trust them to deliver feed, let alone whatever was in the package. Not even a day later they’re being followed by a fangledort who didn’t cover his tracks.
“You’ve got that crease in your brow. I think we should’ve traded for a vehicle,” Lu said.
“No, a vehicle would just make it easier for whoever it is to track us.” Rasha tried to relax her face but soon felt the tug between her eyes. “It’s this assignment. It’s all wrong.”
Lu shrugged. “They’re all the same to me. I just want to get it done. A vehicle will cut our travel time by more than half. We can make delivery and take a well-deserved holiday. Besides, the money will help my family.”
“Your sister is still not willing to legalize?” Rasha asked.
It was Lu’s turn to frown. His large eyes cast down as he spoke.
“She’s so different from me. I wish I could reach her.”
“You sound like an old man.”
“Sometimes I feel like it. I know the burdens of this life weigh on you, too. I can’t wait until we retire from it. We’ll be like a couple of royals with servants caring for our every need.”
Rasha shook her head. “That’s not my kind of thing.”
“Since when is pampering not our thing?”
Before Rasha could answer, Lu held up a finger and turned his head to the right. He glanced back at her and nodded once. There was someone out there. Perhaps the person that was following them. Rasha pulled out her short swords and slid off of her beast. She passed Lu the reins and, with a nod for him to continue, she slipped into the trees. She waited for a moment behind one of the older trees and then doubled back. Rasha found male boot prints along
with the prints of a large beast. The tracker still made no secret of following them, but remained hidden.
Rasha listened and watched for several moments but there was nothing other than the rustle of leaves and a soft cool wind from the north. Rasha raced back through the trees and caught up to Lu. He slowed down and stopped so she could remount.
“Want to use the pulsar now?”
“No, they’re not close enough. We’ll wait until they relax a little more.”
They reached the small inn they stayed at the night before and settled in with their cargo for an early evening. The inn wasn’t very busy this time of year and the barkeep didn’t mind their age at all.
“Help me with the cargo, then find cover for our beasts. There’s a storm coming.” Rasha said looking at the sky.
Lu looked up. “Yes, but not for hours.”
“I’d rather make sure they’re out of the elements anyway.”
They hefted the large crate into the inn but made it no further than the bar.
“This thing is heavier than it looks,” Lu said as he strained to shift it behind the bar and into a nook. He paid the barkeep to cover it with supplies so that no one would notice it. They’d have to retrieve it in the morning.
They sat at a table watching people come and go for several minutes before the barman came over to take their order.
“No ferm for you two. What else can I get for you?”
“I’ll have a floral juice.”
“I’ll take a fauna.”
“Any food for you? Kitchen closes in half an hour.”
At the mention of food Temi poked his head out and sniffed the air.
“No beasts allowed inside. Take him outside if you want to feed him,” the barman said, turning away without their food order.
“Great, now we’ll starve thanks to your little friend,” Rasha said. “I don’t think I have to remind you what happens when I don’t get fed.”
The Courier's Code Page 2