The Men of Anderas III: Talon, the Assassin

by C. J. Johnson

  It was easy for him to avoid her. The hover-boat could safely carry a dozen passengers. With just the two of them, they could avoid each other for days. He spent most of his time in the command center and she kept busy as best she could. She wanted to do something—say something—to ease the tension between them. As a seasoned warrior, she faced death on a dozen different planets over the years. Her courage under pressure was proven time and time again. Suddenly, she had to face the fact that she was too much of a coward to confront him again.

  You jump into armed combat without a second thought and you’re running scared at the thought of upsetting him. Pathetic! What happens when we dock? It could take weeks to locate Draagon. Weeks of traveling through back country and wilderness. You have to com-mun-i-cate.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She muttered. “Instead of nagging, could you come up with a plan? Maybe a suggestion? A hint? Anything?” Shadow listened to the now silent voice of her conscience. “That’s what I thought, so if you’re not going to be part of the solution, quit adding to the problem.”

  Damn! She was arguing with herself. Again! Thank all the deities known to man that there wasn’t a soul around to hear her! Spending the rest of her life in a home for the mentally deficient wasn’t her idea of a retirement option.

  They only had a few hours before they docked. It was time to suck it up and…and what? Talon had to talk to her! Plans had to be made. “I’ll think of something.” She mumbled, heading for the front of the hover-boat.

  Talon watched Shadow work her way to his location. He knew he spent way too much time watching her when she didn’t know he was anywhere around. The past few days with very little to keep him busy had given him time to think. He thought about his life and the choices he made. There were things he’d do differently, both good and bad. He figured that made him normal—if there was such a thing. As with all men, his choices came with consequences and contributed to the creation of the man he was now.

  Shadow was the one choice he didn’t regret. His life would never be the same because of her. She made him see things—feel things—that hadn’t been in his life for a very long time. He didn’t know if he should kiss her or shoot her for dragging him from his miserable existence. So what are you going to do about it?

  “Can we talk?” She asked, softly, from the door.

  Damn, he hated how guarded she was around him. He did that to her with his anger and his hurt. He wanted the old Shadow back—the one who could turn the air blue with her language and kiss him senseless with the same potty mouth.

  “Anytime, Blue.” He motioned her to the co-pilot’s seat. He slowed their speed until the hover-boat was barely moving. They were too close to land for anything less than total focus on piloting the craft.

  “What’s the plan for when we dock?”

  That was his Blue, jump straight to the heart of the problem. “I’ll check in with the Bounty Office. We need to explain about the hover-boat and notify them about the two escapees. They’ll also have the latest location for Draagon and his Phantom Riders.”

  “Makes sense. Someone is probably looking for this.” She waved her hand around indicating the vessel. “Do you think Draagon’s still on Cyperia?”

  He nodded. “From what I heard on the streets, that explosion at his compound almost ruined his operation. Rumors circulating around the strip said he stored the bulk of his wealth there. He still has most of his men and they follow his orders without question so he’s busy rebuilding his corrupt empire; but it would take longer than two years to come up with enough gold to fund any off-world activities.”

  “Speaking of funds….”

  Talon raised his hand to stop whatever she was going to say. “I’m betting those two visitors of ours had a bounty on their heads. Let’s hold off on that conversation until after we see the Bounty Officer.”

  “You’ve been out of the bounty hunter game for quite a while. He’s not gonna take your word that you eliminated part of his problem?”

  He couldn’t contain his grin. “Not even when I was active did they take just my word. I cut the ID numbers from their shirts before we cremated them.”

  A heavy silence settled around them but Talon didn’t know what to do next. Their time together was growing shorter by the hour but he refused to think about how he felt about that. The red spikes in her aura bothered him more than he wanted to admit. He knew she was nervous and uncertain when she approached him. Time would tell if there was more to it than that.

  “Talon….”

  “Look, Blue…”

  They both started to speak at the same time. The heavy sigh from Shadow twisted his gut. It couldn’t be good.

  “Let me go first, okay?” She pulled a deep breath and let it out slowly as she spoke. “If I don’t, I may not have the guts to say it later. I’m so sorry for…the vioharp…and everything. I wanted…shit! I don’t know what I thought I wanted and it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference ‘cause it’s not about me and I just wanted to tell you that.”

  Talon didn’t think she would appreciate the grin he was fighting so hard to keep hidden. “Breathe, Blue.” He grinned despite every effort to stay straight-faced. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many words uttered on a single breath.”

  “You’re laughing?” She growled, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’ve been beating myself up for days! You haven’t spoken to me or acknowledged my existence for three days! Three days! And now you’re laughing at my apology? Fuck you and fuck the horse you rode in on!”

  She jerked herself from the chair and started for the door, still muttering some extremely creative suggestions for sexual acts with himself and various animals. He did the only thing he could do. He grabbed her arm, spun her around, and lifted her off her feet against his chest. “Such language,” he whispered against her cheek. “You’ve fallen back into some old habits, Blue. What do you think I should do about that?”

  “You can shove it….”

  He covered her mouth with his before she could issue another suggestion. She was certainly inventive. He kept the kiss going until she stopped struggling and slipped her arms around his neck. He reluctantly broke the kiss so they could breathe.

  “I wasn’t laughing at what you were saying, sweetness, just how you said it.” He nuzzled her neck, inhaling the fragrance that was pure Shadow. “My head knows you did what you thought you had to do. The rest of me resented it—and you.”

  “You said you hated me,” she whispered, staring at something below his chin rather than his face.

  He closed his eyes, not wanting to admit the truth to her. “At the time, I did.”

  She gasped at his words and a single, fat teardrop landed on his chest.

  “You tricked me—forced me into a situation that I couldn’t control and didn’t want to deal with. When this is over…when Draagon is punished for his crimes…I want to….”

  Whatever he was going to say to Shadow was cut short by the blare of a shore patrol siren.

  “Ahoy on board!” A disembodied voice amplified by a bullhorn announced their intent. “Prepare to be boarded. You are in possession of a stolen vessel. We are authorized to use deadly force.”

  “Don’t make any sudden moves, baby,” Talon whispered while making the boat ready for boarding. “We’ll clear this up and be on our way in no time.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Shadow shoved her hands in her pockets and glared at the man standing outside her cell. Her CELL! She was being held as an accomplice until they could verify Talon’s statement. What the hell were they going to do? Go back to the island and scoop up the piles of ash?

  “Woman sit on cot.” The jailer pointed to the lumpy mattress on the floor.

  “Not even on a dare, monkey nuts.” She muttered under her breath. There was an assortment of insects crawling all over the ragged piece of crap. Nothing could make her go near it. That left the floor as her only other option for seating. As far as she was concerned it wasn’t an op
tion because she couldn’t begin to identify all the different sticky, slimy, and generally too-gross-to-think-about spots covering the rough stone.

  “Where’s Talon? You know the really big, really mean bounty hunter I came in here with?” He better show up soon or she wouldn’t be responsible for what happened to the guard.

  “Woman sit on cot.”

  Did the prick not know more than four words? Jeez, what a mess. We’ll be on our way in no time. HA! They were searched, cuffed, and stuffed into the miniscule brig on the shore patrol’s boat. When they reached land, she was transferred here while Talon went with his guard someplace else. All in all, her day just couldn’t get any worse.

  “Woman sit on cot. Cover face.”

  “Guard kiss my….”

  “Careful, Blue, this town is governed by a male dominated, ultra-conservative sect. They don’t like it when a female speaks out of turn.”

  “Talon! Get me out of here! Where have you been?” His sudden appearance managed to temper the urge to kill. “Wait! Why aren’t you in cuffs, too?”

  “I’ll explain everything later. We’ve got a slight…problem but not one that can’t be handled.”

  The man wouldn’t even look at her. What are you up to, bounty hunter? She was missing something and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out it was directly related to her. She’d cut out her own tongue before she asked the questions. Mr. Know-It-All Bounty Hunter got her into this mess; let him explain how to get her out. She didn’t understand why the shore patrol captain wouldn’t handle taking their statements. Talon just kept repeating I’ll handle this, Blue. Look how well that turned out! Y-chromosome arrogance! He handled it, alright. He handled them into jail! When he finally looked at her, she raised her eyebrows but remained silent.

  “Yes, well,” Talon cleared his throat. “The laws here forbid a woman to wear pants….”

  Shadow rolled her eyes and snorted.

  “…or appear in public without covering her entire body.”

  Her glare made Talon fidget and look anywhere but at her. She had fought in battles on several planets where women were treated with similar laws. She still thought it was barbaric. “Just spit it out!” She snapped. “What do we have to do to get out of here?”

  “You have to put this on,” he held up a piece of dark brown cloth, “and surrender your offensive articles of clothing to the magistrate.”

  If it would get her out of this cell and on her way out of this territory, she’d dance naked on the magistrate’s desk but since he wanted her to totally cover herself that was probably against the law. His loss. She reached through the bars for the item in Talon’s hand but her guard snatched it away.

  “Woman evil. Must punish. You say her.”

  “Punish?” She asked, glancing between the two men. Talon’s pallor cut through her anger and resentment. He was beyond upset at the delay in their departure and that scared the hell out of her. “What do I have to do, Talon?” She whispered.

  He stepped close to the cell and captured her hand. “Not you, Blue. Me.” He placed a quick kiss on her palm before letting her go and stepping back. “As your man….”

  “But you’re not….”

  “YES!” Talon jumped in before she could finish her sentence. “Shadow, women here are treated like pets—pampered and cared for as long as they’re good and obey their masters. If she breaks a law, it’s assumed the man didn’t do everything he could to train her properly.”

  “But….”

  “If her master denies her or she has no master she’s put to death.”

  She finally understood what he was implying and scared didn’t begin to describe the emotions crawling up her spine. Fear could muddle your thinking. A warrior learned to channel fear into something else, something easier to manage. Anger was easier for her to manage. She was pissed.

  “That’s insane!” She wasn’t arrested when they came through on their way to the island. Why now? When she asked Talon that question, he just shook his head and reminded her of the heavy rain at the time. It was possible no one noticed she was wearing pants and her hood was pulled as far down on her face as it would go. They got by on pure dumb luck that time.

  “What’s the punishment?” She was afraid to hear the verdict.

  “Since you were brought straight here without being seen by anyone except the shore patrol and guards; you didn’t have a chance to corrupt the female population. My punishment is only five lashes.”

  “They can’t do that! You didn’t break any law! We have to explain….”

  “Blue.”

  That single, soft utterance of her nickname was all it took to release her tears. Whether they were from anger or concern didn’t matter. She cried for Talon, the man willing to be whipped to keep her safe.

  “I still say it’s wrong.” She swiped at the wetness on her face. “What do I have to do besides wear that…shroud and give away my pants?”

  The guard handed her the shapeless garment and Talon stood blocking the guard’s view while she stripped out of her pants. The densely woven cloth was nothing more than a large bag that fit over her head and covered her entirely. The women here must be short since it didn’t cover her ankles. It had no sleeves or holes to put her arms through. The weave was looser around the face area which allowed her to see—barely. It was similar to looking through darkly tinted glass. There was one thing she liked about the bag. The row of deep pockets at waist level would make it handy for keeping her weapons close and accessible—if they ever gave them back to her.

  “That’s my girl.” Talon whispered when she dropped the pants at his feet.

  She’d flash a lot more than her face if she hiked the tail of this bag to put them in his hand.

  “When he opens the cell, walk behind me and don’t say a word. It’s important, Shadow. If you speak, the magistrate will add another lash to the punishment for every word. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” She wanted to say a lot more but this wasn’t the time. Not a sound would pass her lips until they crossed the border. Maybe not until they boarded the transport.

  Remember what you said about your day not getting any worse? It can always get worse.

  * * * *

  He didn’t trust the magistrate. His aura flashed with muddy pink, bright yellow and dark green. Not a good or healthy combination. Aura colors constantly changed and different people ‘read’ the colors differently. Based on his experience, the magistrate was dishonest, fighting to maintain his power, and blamed the world when things didn’t go his way. He was a weak leader trying to maintain the illusion of control. That made him dangerous.

  “Is your woman controlled?” The magistrate bellowed, bringing instant order to the shuffling and whispering.

  “She is,” Talon answered. His voice was deeper and carried farther than the man behind the high desk. Tone it down, dumbass. This is not the time to get in a pissin’ contest over whose dick is bigger.

  “Evil woman of this man come forward.”

  Talon held his breath when Shadow passed him and stopped directly in front of the tribunal. Her simpering, little, baby steps gave the appearance of a meek and subdued female. What a crock!

  “You watch what happen to good man. All fault of you. Understand?’

  Shadow’s exaggerated nodding must have satisfied the man. He wouldn’t put it past him to trick her into speaking.

  “Go back with women. Prepare prisoner.”

  Talon stripped out of his shirt and dropped it at Shadow’s feet. He hid his grin when it vanished beneath the hem of her cover. She was a strong-willed woman with a fiery temper. If she kept her mouth shut and her opinions to herself through the next hour, they might have a chance at staying alive.

  He tensed when the guards grabbed his wrists and pulled him toward the far end of the room. If they used a standard whip, five lashes would be painful but not life threatening. If they were into the more lethal razor-tipped whips or one that delivered an elect
rical charge on impact, he would have to be extremely lucky to survive.

  Shadow bit her lip until she tasted blood. This was wrong on so many levels. The bastards paraded him around like a dog on a leash. Why didn’t they just get it over with? Her hand automatically reached for the knife she kept strapped at her waist before remembering the shore patrol took all of her weapons. She had a small arsenal in her magic closet but Talon gave her pants to the guard. The activation switch for the dimensional storage locker was on her belt. Damn. I’m gonna miss that locker if they don’t give me my pants back.

  “You not from here. Where from?”

  Shadow turned to a woman standing beside her and almost answered the whispered question with one of her own. Something stopped her. The woman kept looking toward the head table and shaking her head. Not gonna work, you sneaky bastard. Your snitch won’t get one peep out of me. She turned back to watch what was happening to Talon, shutting out the frantic whispers. Rules were necessary in every society. She didn’t have a problem with that as long as everybody played by the same set of rules. Too bad Draagon didn’t find this little slice of perfection. That was one man who could show these idiots the real meaning of evil.

  Manacles attached to long chains descended from the ceiling. The guards snapped them on Talon’s wrists and the unseen operator raised them until his toes barely touched the floor. He would have no way to brace himself. He looked at her and winked.

  Don’t get cocky, bounty hunter. These people play for keeps. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Shadow repeated that thought in her head over and over. It had to work but in case it didn’t she pulled Talon’s shirt from one of the pockets and shoved the fabric into her mouth until she risked suffocation. She controlled the gag reflex by breathing slowly through her nose.