“He’s harmless. I’ll put him in the room upstairs. Order me a seafood plate.” Lu got up and headed for the stairs. The entire second floor offered rooms for rent and they’d bought one with two beds. Another benefit of the season: there were lots of options.
Rasha turned up her nose. She wasn’t a fan of seafood but she ordered his plate and a meat plate for herself. When the barman returned with their drinks, she placed the order and used her own disk to pay.
The sound of an all-terrain vehicle approaching the inn made Rasha turn and look. Two large men climbed out and strolled into the bar. One slapped the other on the back, and they laughed as they took their seats. That gave Rasha an idea. Before Lu returned, she put the plan into action.
Rasha sauntered over to them and looked them over from head to toe as if trying to determine their clothing size.
“Can I help you little miss?” the bearded one asked. His dark hair stood in spikes on top of his head.
“I was just wondering how the two of you managed to get that all-terrain vehicle. It seems a little expensive for a couple of fellows from the ninth kingdom.”
“How do you know we’re from Buku?”
“Your clothes and that smell. I’m not sure what it’s called.” Rasha grimaced and waved a hand front of her face.
It had the desired effect.
“Go play with your dollies, little one. We haven’t got time for your games.”
“Not even a game of Hands?” She gave the men a smile as she pulled out her disk and set it on the bar. “Four hundred credits says you’re no good at it.”
“You can’t be serious. Gorg never loses.” The beardless one was mouthy. His buddy, Gorg, tapped him on the chest to keep him quiet. Rasha was already calculating her winnings.
“Sure, little purple one. I’d love to take your money and teach you a lesson in how a lady should behave.”
Rasha laughed. “A lady? I had no idea you had so much experience.” The man rose from his seat as if to hit her, but Rasha didn’t flinch. He was flexing his muscles. He wouldn’t hit her, a girl-child in his eyes. Taking his money would be fun.
Rasha invited them to her table and Lu joined them a moment later. His confused expression became a smile after she explained what game they would play. The men didn’t suspect a thing even after she’d thrown the game and raised the stakes. A crowd gathered around them. A few onlookers cheered them on. The others were for the big guys. Rasha looked at her partner and gave him a subtle but rapid double blink. Lu knew his part, and Rasha counted on him to make it good. He didn’t fail her.
“Oh no, I’ve got nothing Rash,” he groaned and then covered his mouth as if remembering he wasn’t supposed to say anything. The crowd that had been supporting them groaned.
She kicked the table in front of his knees and he flinched as if she’d kicked him. She rolled her eyes to the crowd as if he’d just ruined the entire game for them. The two men smiled at each other over the cards they held.
“What’s it going to be little one? Your partner has nothing. Shall we end this game?”
Rasha bit down on her lip as if she were working out a complex problem. The crowd around them doubled in size. Money passed from hand to hand as the people placed bets on the game.
“I’ve got the rest of my earnings for the month. What have you guys got?” She knew they’d already finished the credits they’d planned to use. She pushed for more.
The two men nodded to each other and shrugged.
“We’ve got our vehicle, the one you admired, if you’re interested?”
Rasha looked to Lu who shrugged as if he didn’t know what to say.
“I guess so. But this has to be the final round, I can’t afford to lose anymore,” she said loud enough for the crowd to hear.
“Oh, us too. We don’t dare bet anything more.” Gorg gave his partner a knowing a smile.
“Place your hands, gentlemen,” Rasha said, calling all of their cards to the table.
They put their cards on the table and Rasha put hers down trying not to giggle. “I think I won.” The crowd erupted, and some slapped Lu and Rasha on the shoulders in congratulations. The crowd collected their own bets on the game. Rasha returned to the bar to get the credits she’d given the barkeep to hold for them. The men were angry but with the large crowd there they didn’t dare fight the outcome. They’d lost and now they’d pay up. Gorg shoved his friend, who was still running his mouth about how unfair the game had been. He pushed back. Gorg gave him a swift jab with his elbow before he got the key to the vehicle and held it out in front of her.
“Are you sure it’s not too much vehicle for you?” he asked her.
“I’m sure,” Rasha said and she slipped the card in her pocket and turned to leave.
7
Rasha’s insides threatened to bubble over and explode out of her mouth. They’d covered a lot of ground with the all-terrain vehicle, but at a price. Its wheels sped over the uneven roads. Lu sat behind the wheel like a happy little twyllo. He rushed headlong on the road, heedless of the bumps and bruises Rasha was accumulating while holding on to her insides.
“I had no idea you had such a weak stomach,” Lu said as he skidded along one edge of the road and then the other.
“Do we have to go so fast? I’m going to spill my guts.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.”
Rasha swallowed down bile and shook her head.
“Nope, not drama. Stop,” she called out grabbing his arm.
Lu came to a neck breaking halt and Rasha fell out headfirst and vomited in the trees. When she finished, she turned slowly back to the vehicle. She glared at Lu, who was looking at one of his devices.
“Next time, I drive,” she said as she leaned her head against the side of the door.
“You don’t know how.”
“Neither do you.”
“Get in,” Lu said, putting his device down and revving the engine.
“I’m not ready yet.” She shook her head and backed away.
“Rash, get in the transport, now.” The urgency on Lu’s face was unmistakable.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’ve got company. I’m going to try to outrun them.”
“It might be better to let them catch up to us,” Rasha said, half in and half out of her seat.
“Nope, there’s too many of them, they’re closing in fast on our position.”
Lu took off before she settled. Rasha looked down at the device Lu placed between them. A red dot in the center of the screen pulsed. Around it were numerous green dots coming from all directions.
“What is this?”
“It’s an ambush.”
Rasha held onto the side of the vehicle and clutched her amulet.
“May the Universal help us,” she whispered as she secured the straps around her middle.
“Hold on,” Lu said. It wasn’t necessary since Rasha hadn’t let go of the side since their journey started.
Maybe it was the speed of the vehicle or the terrain, either way they’d never know. When the all-terrain got to the felled tree in the middle of the road, there wasn’t enough time to do anything but try to go over it. The vehicle’s wheels lost traction and vaulted into the sky several feet before it rolled onto an embankment, then hit a row of trees and shut down.
* * *
Rasha came to after a few moments and realized she was hanging upside down by the security straps. Her neck already ached from the awkward angle she’d been hanging from. As she pulled her leg from the crumpled frame, she realized she was alone.
“Lu,” she groaned. Her voice didn’t carry beyond the inside of the vehicle. Rasha tugged herself free from the vehicle’s straps and searched for her partner. She stumbled twice before her balance returned.
She found the device first. It must have been thrown from the vehicle into the brush. The screen was blank. She shook it once before tossing it aside. At the moment, Lu’s whereabouts were more important to her than tha
t of those who had ambushed them. Her head ached and she was still nauseous, but she walked on until she found the fallen tree. No wonder they’d gone flying. The tree was old and thick around the base, but it had been felled deliberately onto the road. The crash hadn’t been an accident.
Voices in the distance got her attention. Rasha crouched down behind the branches of the tree, reached for her swords and found only one, Cutter. She’d lost Blade in the crash. That would be inconvenient. Rasha watched with one short sword at the ready.
She didn’t have to wonder what they were after when she saw the damaged cargo being hauled into another vehicle. She recognized the two men doing the hauling as Gorg and his partner from the game of Hands the other night. The third man gathered his gear and started at the sound of a pebble hitting a tree on their left. Rasha threw another to their rear that forced them all to turn toward it. She watched them agree to separate, just as she hoped.
When the unknown man reached her, she swept a foot out and watched as he fell over it. Before he recovered, she leapt up and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of her sword, knocking him unconscious. The talkative man from the game heard her before she jumped on him and pulled out his own sword, blocking her. Their swords clashed several times, making her arms ache. The man’s upper body strength was solid. Every blow against Cutter reverberated through her already weakened muscles. She fell to her knees and had to get creative to avoid his sword. She rolled forward, cutting each of his thighs, slowing him down enough to slice his back. He fell forward onto his face before blacking out.
“Well, little one, aren’t you two hands full of trouble?”
“That’s what they tell me.” Rasha tried to keep from throwing up again as he circled her. He carried a long sword, which meant she’d have to avoid his lunges if she wanted to survive this fight.
He focused on her with such intensity he didn’t see Lu stumbling forward, looking greener than usual and holding something out in his hands.
“You’re going to be fun. Is that all you’ve got, purple one?”
“I don’t think so.”
Rasha stopped circling and forced him backwards right into Lu. His device zapped the man’s back and his eyes rolled up in his head before he fell forward. She heard the crunch of the small bones of his nose breaking on impact.
“You okay?” Lu asked.
“Nope,” Rasha said as she turned and vomited again.
* * *
Lu held up his tracking device.
“What’s wrong? Is it working?” she asked. The thing made a few beeping noises before turning off.
“It’s working fine, but there were at least eight dots on the screen before and there are only three men here.”
“You think the rest took off when these claimed the crate for themselves?”
“I’m not sure. It might have been a planned attack, but they weren’t here, all in on it together,” Lu said.
“These two were greedy and took care of the rest,” Rasha said, finishing his thought.
“Looks like they damaged the cargo crate. We should secure it.”
Lu followed her to the back of the new vehicle. It was almost identical to the last, which had a horrible effect on Rasha’s stomach. As she’d seen while the men were moving it, the lid had broken open and some kind of smoke was leaking out of it.
“I bet it’s new technology.” Lu’s excitement was palpable.
“No way, it’s jewels. Only jewels bring men to a fight like this one.”
Lu reached in and lifted the lid of the crate.
“Holy yahtz,” they said in unison.
Inside the crate, next to a leaking oxygen tank, was a girl, dressed in array of fine and flowing materials and her jewelry glimmering against her dark skin. She lay curled up in a ball on her side.
“It’s the princess of Sidoa,” Rasha said.
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
The last thing she wanted was to discuss how she recognized the princess. Rasha had met the girl before in another life. She’d been much younger back then.
Lu reached in to touch her but Rasha slapped his hand away.
“What if she’s…?” Rasha asked, fearing the worst.
“That’s what I was trying to find out.” Lu reached in and felt for life signs while Rasha held her amulet.
“She’s alive,” he said.
“We’ve got to get her out of here.” Rasha said, looking into the trees. The feeling they were being watched hadn’t gone away after the fight. “She won’t make it the whole way in this broken crate, and we can’t have her waking up to another fight.”
“Why do you think she’s being transported in a crate instead of traveling to Adalu like the other princesses?” Lu asked.
“Based on what we’ve seen this afternoon, I’d say because they feared she wouldn’t make it there alive.” Rasha turned and gathered up the rest of their supplies and put them into the new vehicle.
“I need to find Temi. He jumped out of the pouch during the crash and I haven’t seen him since.” Lu walked into the woods.
It took some time to gather all of their scattered things, including her missing sword, Blade. Rasha had packed the second vehicle with their belongings and was waiting when Lu returned. He still hadn’t found Temi.
“We don’t have time for this, we’ve got a princess to protect. There will be more of them coming,” Rasha said when Lu hesitated.
Lu swore under his breath and called out for Temi one last time.
“He may have gotten scared and run off. I’m sorry.” Rasha hated to see him like this again, but she had no other words to offer. She put a hand on his shoulder and hoped it was enough. “He belongs in the wild.”
“Okay,” Lu said, his head and shoulders drooped with resignation. He took one last look around before he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Let’s take it slow, I want my insides to stay on the inside this time.”
8
Rasha and Lu placed the sleeping Sidoan princess on the bed that dominated the small room at the inn. There was also a chair and a lamp, but the room had no decorative ornaments. Not the first place royalty would take refuge, Rasha noted. But if she had wanted to travel in style, she wouldn’t have picked a crate. She was beautiful. Rasha looked her over as they laid her on her back with her arms at her sides. Her skin was so black it was almost blue. She wore a blue gown. Her tumble of hair framed her face. She wore a crown of colored gems and jewelry everywhere from her from neck to her ankles.
Lu must have been admiring her too, because he said in a half whisper, “She’s beautiful isn’t she?”
“She’s trouble. If we don’t figure out what happened and fast, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in trackers and assassins.” Rasha paced back and forth. “I need to contact Central.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Lu fidgeted from one foot to the other.
“Someone needs to know what’s going on.”
“When has Central ever cared about what happens out here in the field?”
“This is different. Someone in the Courier’s Keep might be able to help us. My record is perfect and clean, they might listen to what I have to say.”
Lu watched her apprehensively, with a fingernail between his teeth.
“Courier Jenchat-42769 speaking,” Rasha said into the thin communicator square.
“Voice identification confirmed. How may I help you?” The automated voice spoke in a clipped and impatient manner.
“I need to speak with someone about a fetch discrepancy.”
“We deliver: we don’t ask, we don’t tell, the—”
“Courier always delivers.” Rasha tapped on the square, impatient to get a real live person. “I’m aware of the code, you robotic pumseed. No, this is above and beyond the code.”
“Please enter your job number.” Rasha sighed.
“Fetch & Drop Assignment 2-4879, confirmed, in progress, requested an
d accepted.” The computerized voice droned.
“Incorrect, not requested. I demand an audience with anyone in the Courier’s Keep. I don’t want to talk to an artificial—”
“Fetch & Drop Assignment 2-4879 requested by Luduru Moren, accepted by Rasha Jenchat.”
“Requested? No, there must be a mistake.”
“Voice confirmation of Luduru Moren-62513 received.”
“We didn’t ask for humanoid cargo.”
“Transport of humanoid cargo is cause for immediate dismissal and license revocation for all couriers involved. Moren-62513 and Jenchat-42769 licenses are now void. Thank you and have a nice—”
Rasha switched off the device with the tap of her thumb. She slipped the clear square back into her pocket before turning to Lu. He backed up but not fast enough. Rasha hauled him up hard by his vest and slammed him against the nearest wall.
“What in the yahtz did you do?”
“Wait, I can explain.”
Lu’s boots dangled a few inches off of the floor and Rasha dropped him, only to pull him a breath away from her face. She had to look down to look him in the eye.
“How do you explain transporting humanoid cargo and losing our licenses?”
Lu gave up resisting her and hung his head.
“Ladi.”
“Your sister? What does she have to do with this?” Rasha asked, letting go of his vest.
“Remember the night I had to take care of something?” At her nod he continued, “Ladi was in jail, again.”
“Poobari’s.”
“Yeah, and he was like a stone wall this time. I had to give him something to get her out.”
“I’m sure the ungrateful wretch didn’t even thank you.”
“No, I gave him the money she’d earned, and I promised him I’d take this job. She was less than pleased.”
“I’m glad. She should pay for her own mistakes. Why didn’t you tell me all of this in the first place?”
“I knew what you’d say.”
The Courier's Code Page 3