Release

by V. J. Chambers

  “But of course,” said the man. “I believe if you check your account, you’ll see that it’s all there.”

  Freetha tapped her screen and looked at her account. He was right. She smiled. This would be quite useful. She had nearly the amount of money that she needed. She’d be off Trioth in no time. “Mr. Risciter,” she said.

  “It’s Lord Risciter,” said the man on the screen.

  “Lord Risciter, can I ask you one question?”

  “What’s that?”

  “What are you going to do with them when you find them?”

  The man’s lips curled. “Feeling guilty about selling them out, are you?”

  Freetha snorted. “Quite the opposite. I hope they suffer.” Ariana had stolen Keirth from her, and she’d wanted him badly. She’d lied and said they were married when they weren’t. By all rights, Keirth should still be hers. Of course, Keirth had abandoned her in robes of waiting for a year, and, if he hadn’t needed something, never would have come back. No, she had no sympathy for either of them.

  Laughter came from her tablet. “Well, then, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

  Chapter Ten

  Four hours in the cramped ship and Ariana was questioning why she’d ever thought she was falling for Keirth Transman. Once they were cooped up together, he was incomprehensibly rude. The ship they’d taken from Trioth was much smaller than her own ship. It didn’t have a dining room, just a small kitchen—which wasn’t stocked with any food, of course, meaning Ariana was starving—and the bedchambers were hardly big enough to contain single beds. The ship rattled and made strange noises in hyperspace, which Keirth said were nothing to worry about. Ariana had managed to bring along her blaster, but she’d had to leave her trunk on Trioth, so she was stuck in a jumpsuit again.

  Keirth had spent the entire trip pacing around the bridge, muttering to himself. When she tried to ask him questions, he ignored her for half of the trip, but then finally snapped at her to shut up and let him think. Then he went on a tirade about everything being harder with her around and really wishing he could send her back home.

  During all this, Ariana was dealing with the fact that at random moments, she’d realize again that Risciter was still alive. He’d given his embellished story to the sector. They thought she’d been ravaged by a kidnapper, and Risciter looked like a hero who’d tried to save her. He’d made everything horrible.

  And he was still alive.

  Which meant she wasn’t safe. She couldn’t stop thinking about the maniacal way he’d smiled at her, how his face had been twisted like an insane man. And she couldn’t help but remember how much he’d seemed excited at the prospect of killing her. Would he give up now?

  The news story had plainly said that Risciter was looking for leads on their whereabouts.

  And that was another thing Keirth had yelled at her. He said that the galaxy was on high alert looking for the both of them. Her picture was everywhere. She was conspicuous. Everyone would recognize her already, given that she was a duke’s daughter. But now, with the news story flying around, they’d be looking even more closely for her. If it weren’t for Risciter, Keirth told her, he’d pack her up and send her on the first transport back to Wendo.

  To which Ariana had retorted that she didn’t have anything to pack, since she hadn’t been able to take her trunk.

  After that, they hadn’t done much talking. Ariana had been too angry to speak to him, and he hadn’t seemed interested in talking to her either. So now that the ship had landed, she had no idea where they were.

  As she followed Keirth off the landing ramp, she surveyed their surroundings. They’d landed in a spacedock, but not one of the big public ones like they had in major cities in the sector. Instead, it was little more than an open space with the capability to tether one’s ship to ports. There was no shelter from the elements for the ships. Around the flat slab of concrete that constituting the dock was a field of scraggly, overgrown grass. And in the distance, Ariana could see a group of makeshift buildings, constructed of stone and wood. There was a dirt walkway leading from the spacedock to the buildings.

  A woman was coming up it. She waved one hand at the two of them.

  “Come on,” said Keirth, heading to meet the woman. Ariana didn’t have any choice. She followed.

  As they got closer, Ariana could see that the woman was middle-aged, probably near the same age as Ariana’s mother. She was somewhat plump, but she wore a form-fitting tunic that gaped low, showing off her ample cleavage, and a skirt that hit her around mid-thigh.

  “We welcome walk-ins,” called the woman, “but you’d get much prompter service if you had an appointment.”

  “Lilla, it’s me,” said Keirth, doubling his speed to cross the distance between them and the woman.

  When they were a few feet from each other, the woman burst into a huge smile. “Keirth Transman?” She opened her arms wide.

  Keirth grinned back and trundled over to her, embracing her warmly.

  She held him at arms’ length. “Well, I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen you in nearly five years. I do believe you grew.” She squeezed his upper arm. “Your muscles sure did.”

  Keirth laughed. “You look exactly the same. Haven’t aged a day.”

  She winked at him. “Charming little liar, aren’t you?” She peered around Keirth at Ariana. “Well, I’ll be. You do have the Duke of Wendo’s daughter, don’t you?”

  Ariana stepped forward, offering her hand. “Miss Ariana Gilit.”

  The woman shook Ariana’s hand. “Call me Lilla.” She peered at Ariana. “Well, you don’t look viciously raped and practically dead. Of course, we know better than to trust the Duke of Risciter’s word about anything.”

  “Lilla,” said Keirth, “you can’t tell me you believed a word of that story on the nets.”

  She looked up at him, her face serious. “Sure didn’t want to. You were always a good boy, Keirth, but seeing the things you saw...well, I’ve seen some good boys turn into not-so-great men.”

  “I would never—”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t,” said Lilla. “Sometimes this business hardens you against men. Can’t be helped. I’m sorry for thinking it.” She smiled again. “Well, let’s not stand her jibber-jabbering any longer. Come back to the house with me.” She turned and started walking back the way she’d come.

  “Keirth?” said Ariana. “Where are we? Who’s that woman?”

  “Lilla,” said Keirth, starting after her. “She was a friend of my mother’s. And we’re on the planet Scranth.”

  “Another colony planet?” she asked.

  Keirth nodded. “Come on.”

  Still confused, she followed him.

  There was one of the houses that was bigger than the others, and it was this one that Lilla led them into. As they entered, the strong smell of perfume and incense invaded Ariana’s senses. They walked into a large room. Couches and lounges flanked the walls, and women in less clothing that even Lilla was wearing sprawled on them. Most looked bored, but a few were snuggled close to men, who were openly gaping at the women close to them.

  Lilla strode over to one of these men. He was reaching out to one of the women. Lilla smacked his hand. “You know better. You want to touch, you pay extra.”

  And suddenly, it all clicked for Ariana. Lilla had said something about reservations. She’d said her business hardened her against men. And Keirth had said that Lilla was a friend of his mother’s. Keirth had also told her that his mother was a prostitute. Which meant...

  She gulped. Keirth had taken her to a whore house. If he’d told her this on the ship, she would have murdered him. She couldn’t believe this. She couldn’t be here. It was beyond the bounds of propriety, it was absolutely unacceptable.

  Keirth turned his head and whispered in her ear. “Now, remember, sweetheart, your big talent is being polite to people, right?”

  She glared at him. She really, really wished he’d stop calling her that.


  Lilla beckoned, and Keirth took off in the same direction she had. Ariana trailed behind them, looking at her surroundings. The room was opulent, covered in silks, with ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. But it was also overdone. There was too much on display, giving it the appearance of trying too hard to look...classy, she guessed. The overall effect was of something chintzy and empty. Cheap. She shuddered.

  They emerged out of the large room into a small kitchen, complete with a wooden table and chairs in the middle. Keirth settled into a chair immediately, and Ariana, unsure of what she should do, followed suit.

  Lilla, on the other hand, took a few containers out of the cooling unit. “You two hungry?”

  Ariana was starved, but she didn’t say anything. She glanced sidelong at Keirth.

  “Don’t fuss over us,” said Keirth.

  “Heating up leftovers is not fuss,” said Lilla. “Besides, it’s not often I get actual visitors these days.”

  “Fine,” said Keirth.

  Good. Ariana really could use some food.

  Lilla popped the leftovers in the heating unit and sat down at the table with them. “So, I guess there’s a story about why you’re travelling with the daughter of a duke.”

  Keirth shrugged. “I was stealing her ship to go after Risciter, and she got stuck on board. I haven’t been able to get rid of her since.”

  Ariana folded her arms over her chest. He wanted to “get rid” of her. Yeah, she was deeply regretting thinking anything complimentary about this man.

  “Risciter’s looking for her,” said Keirth, “and I don’t think he’s got her best interests at heart. She can’t go back to the sector. Not yet. I was hoping she could stay here.”

  Lilla raised her eyebrows.

  Ariana glared at him in shock. “What?”

  Keirth glanced back and forth between the two women. “Well, not forever. Just long enough for me to find Risciter and kill him.”

  The heating unit beeped. Lilla got up. She began to portion out food from the containers onto ceramic plates, which she set down in front of Keirth and Ariana. “Revenge,” she muttered. She got some silverware to hand to them as well. She sat back down at the table. “Listen, Keirth, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but maybe it’s time you let this go.”

  Ariana took a bite of the food. It was rice and vegetables with some kind of sauce. It was very good. She took another bite.

  Keirth hadn’t touched his food. “Let it go?”

  “You must know,” said Lilla, “that killing Risciter will not bring your mother back. And since there are people in the sector already looking for you—they may not have your face plastered everywhere, but they had your name in the last update—you’d be better off finding some place out of the way and laying low. Your mother wouldn’t want you to get yourself hung.”

  This seemed like the first sensible thing anyone had said in a long time. Ariana found herself warming to Lilla, prostitute or not.

  Keirth shoveled some rice into his mouth. “You don’t understand. I have to do this. It’s the only way...” He set down his fork. “It’s the only way anything will ever seem finished.”

  “But now you’ve dragged the daughter of a duke into it.” Lilla gestured to Ariana.

  “She dragged herself into it,” said Keirth.

  Ariana glared at him. “Well, you helped. You did have a blaster pointed at my head, after all.”

  “Really?” said Lilla.

  “I wasn’t going to shoot her,” said Keirth. He looked at Ariana. “I wasn’t.”

  “Well, I know that now,” said Ariana. “But I didn’t then.” She ate another bite of rice. “This is very good, Lilla.”

  “Thanks,” said Lilla.

  “I was practically engaged to Risciter,” said Ariana. “I got involved in this because I had a misguided idea that I need to save Risciter from Keirth. But then we found Risciter, and he tried to...hurt me. But Keirth got me away from him. And now, I can’t go back to the sector, because my reputation is ruined, and—”

  “She’s not safe,” interrupted Keirth. “Your reputation is less important than your life.”

  Ariana rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure if that was exactly true.

  Lilla’s eyebrows were raised again. “I think I understand the situation a bit better.” She smiled. “So, Keirth, you aren’t taking her home because you want to keep her safe.”

  “Exactly,” said Keirth.

  Lilla nodded. “I see.” She turned to Ariana. “But you don’t want to Keirth to leave you?”

  “I...” Ariana floundered. She looked at Keirth, then back at her rice. “I can’t go back. And no disrespect to you, Lilla, but I don’t know if I feel comfortable in a place like this.”

  “It’s fine with me for her to stay,” said Lilla. “But Keirth, I won’t have you rushing back off after Risciter either. You’ve both had a harrowing experience. You need to rest and get your strength up. And Ariana, since your reputation is already ruined, I don’t see why it should be so horrible to spend a bit of time here.”

  Maybe Lilla had a point there. Ariana had slept in the same bed with Keirth and pretended to be his wife for goodness sake. Maybe she was overreacting. She had to admit, she felt a little better knowing that Keirth wasn’t going to be allowed to simply dump her here and run. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I really didn’t mean to.”

  Lilla waved it off. “I’m used to much worse. Don’t trouble yourself with that.” She made a tent with her fingers. “Actually, you’re in luck, because one of our girls decided to leave us last week for the city, and that means her house is empty. I had it cleaned out yesterday. You two can stay there, and I’m sure you’ll be comfortable.”

  “No,” said Keirth, his face going a little red. “That’s not.... She and I aren’t... We need separate lodgings.”

  Lilla threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, no wonder this is complicated.” She winked at Ariana. “So, you can’t convince him to actually ‘ruin your reputation,’ huh?”

  Ariana became immediately interested in her rice. So, there had been a very brief period of time when she’d lost her head and thought she might have feelings for Keirth. This woman couldn’t know that. And she didn’t want Keirth to...lie with her. Although, if she thought about it, it might be nice to do that with someone who was as inexperienced as she was in the whole business. Maybe that would make it easier. And he was very nice to look at.

  “Don’t tease her,” Keirth was saying to Lilla. “She’s not like that. She’s a member of the nobility, for goodness sake.” He looked at Ariana. “I’m sorry.”

  Lilla laughed harder. She leaned back in her chair, clutching her stomach. When she finally stopped, tears were coming out of her eyes. Ariana was pretty sure she was blushing. Very hard. Which wasn’t so bad, because Keirth was too. Lilla put a hand on her chest, catching her breath. “Oh, the two of you are really very cute.” She stood up, patting Keirth on the shoulder. “You run off this planet, you make sure you kiss her first.” She started for the doorway. “You can just dump those plates in the cleaner when you’re done.” She left the kitchen, still chuckling.

  Keirth had buried his face in his hands. He pulled them away slowly. “I forgot what she’s like. That was completely out of line. I really am sorry.”

  “It’s really okay.” Ariana ate some more rice. Oddly, now that Keirth was embarrassed, she was finding herself feeling attracted to him again.

  Keirth was studying the table. “I would never do something like that to you, you know that right?”

  “Something like what?” Ariana had to admit she was a little confused. She’d been fairly sure that Lilla was implying the two of them were attracted to each other. She knew Keirth actually wasn’t, but Lilla had pegged Ariana’s feelings pretty well.

  “‘Ruin your reputation.’”

  “Well, it is sort of already ruined,” said Ariana.

  “No,” he said. “I mean I would never take ad
vantage of you.”

  “I’ve never thought that,” she said.

  Keirth took a bite of his rice.

  “But I don’t think that’s what she meant,” Ariana said. “I don’t think she thinks you’d hurt me or do anything against my will.”

  Keirth chewed, making a face. When he finally swallowed, he said, “But that’s completely crazy. You’d never want me to...” He glared at his rice. “I’m not going to kiss you. Don’t worry about anything like that.”

  Right. Of course not. She didn’t want him to kiss her anyway. But she couldn’t help stealing glances at his lips as they ate. They were nice lips. Full. She wondered what it would be like to kiss them.

  * * *

  Ariana stood in the doorway to the small house, looking inside at the contents. There was only one room, except for a small bathroom in the corner. It contained a bed, which took up most of the room. It was large and topped with a shimmering red comforter. There was a wardrobe along one wall, empty, and an empty vanity, complete with a mirror and bench. The room was vacant, but Ariana felt as if it had the essence of all the activities that had gone on in it oozing out of the walls. She felt uncomfortable. She turned to Keirth. “I don’t know if I can sleep here.”

  “You’ll be fine here,” he said, striding into the room. “You have privacy. You’ll be comfortable.” He sat down on the bench in front of the vanity table.

  Ariana went to the bed and gingerly poked it. “Do you think there have been a lot of people who’ve, you know... on this bed?”

  Keirth shrugged. “Lilla said she put clean sheets on it.”

  “It’s just the thought of it,” said Ariana. She looked around the room. “So all the women here have their own little houses to...entertain in?”

  “Not all,” said Keirth. “It’s a privilege. Some of the women use rooms in the main house. The more successful you are, the more likely you get to have your own little house. My mother had one, when she and I lived here, but I almost never spent any time in it.”

  Ariana sat down on the bed. Gingerly. “You spent time here with your mother?”