The Dead Priest

by K A Bledsoe

  Chapter Five

  As the children scampered to the guest rooms, Lenore and Diarmin climbed to the bridge to fashion a message.

  “Are you sure about passengers?” she asked. “You know I don’t like strangers aboard the ship for any length of time. What if they figure out who we are?”

  “I know your paranoia has kept us out of trouble more than once, but in this huge galaxy, chances are pretty low that we will run across someone who knows us.” He winced and she knew he was thinking of the encounter with Daviss. “Well, someone else who knows us.” He squeezed her arm gently as they sat behind the main console. “Passengers or cargo means we will spend a very short time anywhere, only long enough to load and unload. Also, we’ll use one of our fake ID’s and check anyone out.”

  “I’m cautious, not paranoid,” said Lenore, trying not to sound petulant. “Especially after seeing Daviss.”

  “I understand,” he said with a nod, and to her relief, seemed to let it go. She did want to talk about it, but not before she had time to process the event and consider everything about the conversation with Daviss. “So how do we advertise?”

  “Let’s start on the closest systems,” she said. “Since we can only take a few, we need to indicate that we have limited space.”

  “Though if we get more, you and I can bed down in the cargo bay. Kids too, if necessary.”

  “Or if we have too much cargo, we can use the rooms to store it.”

  Half an hour later after discussion and some arguing, the message was ready.

  “Shall I transmit?” asked Diarmin.

  “No, wait until we see which fake ship ID Allison comes up with. We will need to tag the message with that.”

  “Of course.” Diarmin punched a few keys to save the message.

  Lenore stood to go check on the kids’ progress.

  “Wait,” said Diarmin.

  She sat back down, concern growing as she noticed the frown lines crossing Diarmin’s brow. Experience told her he was contemplating a subject that was difficult to talk about.

  He stared at the console for several heartbeats before speaking again, time enough for Lenore’s stomach to knot itself fairly well.

  “Have I really never whistled like that in front of the kids?”

  Lenore knew the question sounded harmless, but the tone of his voice was low and slightly hoarse, so she knew he was holding back some emotion. But which emotion, she wasn’t sure.

  “I think I remember when Quinn was a baby it scared him, so you decided not to do it. Then you got out of the habit.”

  “Yes. I used to do it all the time.” He still hadn’t looked at her. “And now I just did it without thinking, like the old days.”

  She knew what he was trying to avoid saying, but she felt the topic shouldn’t be buried anymore. “That reminds me. I noticed outside the restaurant you had a blaster.”

  Now his head came up and the look on his face made her regret bringing up the weapon, but it needed to be discussed. For his sanity as well as hers.

  “It was set on stun.” His gaze dropped again.

  “Come on. I know that model has no stun setting.” She reached out to cover his hand that was picking at a stray thread on his pants.

  “I heard Daviss’s voice and I was afraid for you. I had to be prepared for anything.”

  “Is that all?” She hated herself for pushing, but it was a pressure building. She also knew that he would have had the blaster long before Daviss arrived.

  “Well, no.” He launched out of his chair, and she thought he was going to leave but instead he leaned against the wall, breathing deeply. She waited.

  “I … when I heard him. I was instantly transported to that time. To who I was. I…” he closed his eyes and shook his head. “I have been going there much easier since the…since Lord Timatay’s estate.”

  “But you didn’t kill anyone. We talked about this before. You did what was necessary to rescue me and protect the kids.”

  “But it has brought back all the memories. Nightmares. I’m even having…” he turned to face the wall, one arm against it as his head drooped. “Having violent impulses again. Quick flashes and easily suppressed, but the fact they are back scares me.”

  “That’s why you shouldn’t suppress them. You learn to control them, make them useful.”

  His head snapped around, eyes on fire. “Is that your Xa’ti’al training talking?”

  “Well, yes. I know I hate the order, but they do know how to deal with those kinds of, um, issues.”

  “Issues? Or people? Am I one of ‘those’ people?”

  “No, I am one of those people,” she said, perhaps a little too savagely as she saw him recoil. “You were one but had to hide it in order to raise our children the right way. The way we never had as children.” He was visibly relaxing now. Thinking about Allison and Quinn usually did that for him.

  “That’s true. I just hate being out of control.” He straightened up. “I will manage. It’s why I thought of passengers or cargo. No chasing lost princesses or dealing with slavers. A simple pick up and drop off. It will give me time to settle down. In fact, all of us need to have some down time. It’s not just me. The kids are still showing the strain of our previous job. And you.”

  “I have noticed that every conversation seems to bring back unpleasant memories.”

  “It could have been a lot worse.” Diarmin smiled. “We all came through with no permanent physical damage and the emotional wounds…we will help the kids get through all that.”

  “Yes, we will.” Lenore smiled, but it disappeared as she took a deep breath. She hated herself for what she was about to say, knowing it would ruin the peace Diarmin was beginning to feel.

  “Maybe you, or we, should consider telling our kids about our pasts.”

  “Never!” he said, arms scissoring downward in a cutting motion. “They know you were a Xa’ti’al, but I never want them to know what I was. Never.” His head came up again. “Wait. Why did you suggest that?” His face turned thoughtful. “Did you already tell them?”

  “No—” she began, but he ignored her.

  “Is that why…the other day, Alli and Quinn had their heads together at her computer, but she blanked the screen when I walked in and their faces were guilty. I figured it was just kid games or some harmless site, but they have been acting strange.” His face darkened. “The way they jumped when I whistled, almost as if they were scared. And they have been a little distant.” Diarmin stalked over to Lenore and leaned in. “What did you say to them?” His voice was low, with a menace that unnerved her more than he ever had since they had met.

  She lifted her chin. She’d regretted what had happened, but she wouldn’t hide from her actions. “Quinn overheard you saying, ‘Seventeen years, two months and three days’ and he asked me about it.” She kept talking, trying to ignore the thunderous look growing worse. “I could tell the two had discussed it and were very worried. I didn’t tell them what you used to be, I only said it had been that long since you killed someone and that you were no longer that person. At all. Then I told them to drop it and that we would discuss it later.”

  Diarmin took a step back, crossing his arms. Somehow his silence was worse than his previous reactions. She wanted him to yell, argue. The angry disappointment was unbearable.

  “I made sure they understood that was your past, you’re a different man now.” She stood and reached for him, wanting him to understand her reasons. He stepped out of her reach, and her arm fell to her side.

  “You had no right,” he said, softly.

  “I know I was wrong. I’m sorry. Let’s…” her voice trailed away at Diarmin’s implacable expression.

  “Okay, I’ve got a list and while there’s a lot, we can do most of it ourselves, with only a few supplies.” Allison breezed onto the bridge holding a pad, breaking the stare between husband and wife. Diarmin said nothing, just turned and disappeared down the ladder.

  “Um, Mom?”<
br />
  “It’s okay, Alli. We just had an argument. Nothing to worry about.” She held out her hand for the pad and plastered on a smile. “Let’s see what we’ve got.” She hoped Allison couldn’t see how heavy her heart had become.

  Chapter Six

  “Hey, we got one.”

  “An answer to the ad?” Allison responded without looking up from her station on the bridge. Quinn had been in the navigator’s seat idly charting courses for practice when the message pinged in.

  “Yup. It’s for cargo and one person from the planet Drenon to the Reese system.” His fingers flew quickly through the program. “Hm, not bad. Trip will take roughly seven to ten days, depending on how straight a path we take. Go tell Mom and Dad while I figure a course.”

  “Oh, no. I’ll do background checks and gather information about the planets while you go tell them. We need that before we need a course.”

  Quinn opened his mouth to argue, but he knew his sister was right. He also knew why he didn’t want to deliver the message.

  “I…it’s just…I can’t talk to either of them right now,” said Allison in a whisper. Apparently, she felt the same as he did.

  “They are being weird,” he said.

  “I know, right?” Allison glanced toward the ladder and then moved closer to Quinn to speak in a low voice. “Have they ever been like this before?”

  Quinn shook his head. “No. I mean they’ve argued and had fights, but it’s never been like this. I mean, not talking to each other? For three days? Are you sure you didn’t overhear anything?”

  It was Allison’s turn to shake her head. “Like I said, when I came in, they were just staring at each other, but the tension… do you think it’s something we did?”

  “I don’t think so. They’re fine with us. It seems like Dad is angry, and Mom is letting him keep his distance.”

  “I don’t like it,” said Allison.

  “Try being on the receiving end of a frustrated mother while training. I must have hit the floor a hundred times.” He rubbed his shoulders and felt a little better at Allison’s snort of amusement. Even though she was teased for only loving computers, she felt everything intensely. Quinn had worried for her when she had witnessed Lavan’s death. Every little smile since then he counted as a win.

  “I’ll go tell Mom.” He stood to head down the ladder. “You do the research so when they read the message, they will have information.”

  “Maybe with something to do, a mission to focus on, things will get better.”

  “I hope so.” He patted his sister’s shoulder awkwardly. “They probably will.”

  But as he climbed down the ladder to search for his mother, he wondered if the wall between his parents was already too strong to breach.

  ***

  Lenore grabbed a pan and winced when she slammed it down too hard. She wasn’t really hungry, but a training session with Quinn followed by her own strenuous workout hadn’t gotten rid of her pent-up energies. She’d been through idle spells before and while it had only been three days since the advertisement was placed, her nerves were raw. She knew Diarmin needed his space, but he had never shut her out like this. Still, she felt he was overreacting since she really hadn’t told the children anything about his past.

  As she leaned down to find something to cook, light brown locks of hair obscured her vision. Roughly she shoved them back behind her ears, thinking she needed to cut her hair, or at least get something to hold it back. Rummaging around for some kind of comfort food, shoving aside expensive canapes and delicacies, her mind wouldn’t give her peace.

  And this was the worst time for Diarmin to not talk to her. She needed someone to bounce ideas off of about how Daviss had found them and even knew their activities down to the last detail. The planet of their previous mission was not a big intergalactic-known world, so any information about them would have to have been gleaned from someone with direct contact on the planet. And that was what worried her. She froze, crouched down, one hand in the cabinet as she realized the only way Daviss could have known about her was through the slave organization. He had as much admitted the Xa’ti’al’s dealings with them, but he could be an insider, working on his own with them. For recruits? No, it was much more than that. She felt it instinctively but couldn’t quite pin it down. She needed someone to talk to.

  “Mom?”

  Lenore straightened up, banging her head on the handle of the pan sticking out over the edge. She cursed inventively, stopping only when she noticed Quinn’s eyebrows go up.

  “Wow. Haven’t heard that one before,” he said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  “It’s from a long time ago,” she said, rubbing her head. “And that hurt far more than it should have.”

  “Maybe that will be my next research project, obscure curses. Maybe compare some that seem universal to only those locally sourced. Perhaps even going so far—”

  “Did you need something Quinn?” she broke in, knowing Quinn was only trying to defuse the tension, but she didn’t feel like being humored.

  “Well.” He exhaled slightly, his usual reaction when he was letting go of an annoyance such as being interrupted. “We received an answer to the ad. For cargo and a single passenger. Alli is doing research. I figure a couple days of travel to the planet to pick him up, maybe more.”

  His short answers showed him to still be annoyed by his mother’s brusqueness. Lenore’s hand moved from the top of her head to her forehead. She couldn’t do anything right these days.

  “Sorry, Quinn. Hard day. Thanks for telling me and for taking the initiative to estimate the time.” She smiled and felt better when he returned it. The tension faded away but returned with her next words.

  “Please tell your father so he can verify if we have enough space. I will meet you on the bridge for a discussion.”

  Quinn merely nodded and headed out the door, presumably to the cargo bay where Diarmin was spending all his time these past few days. Lenore grimaced as she put the offending pan away. This strain on her family needed to be resolved.

  Chapter Seven

  Lenore came onto the bridge and, as she seated herself at the command console, up the ladder came Quinn, then Diarmin.

  Allison glanced back and forth between her parents. Her mother was reading the message and Dad moved to navigation. This was the first time they were all in the same room since she had interrupted the fight, and the atmosphere was thick. She cleared her throat, feeling odd to be speaking, but someone had to start.

  “I’ve done some research on the planet where we are to pick up the cargo. Drenon is newly colonized, a mostly jungle planet and sparsely settled. The person requesting transfer is not a colonist, however. He is a researcher for a biotech company based on the third planet of the Reese system, where he wants to go.”

  “Newly colonized?” asked Diarmin. “Does it have spaceport facilities?”

  Allison tapped some keys and checked her screen. “Looks like just a landing pad, but the tiny research station is nowhere near there. We’ll have to ask if there is anywhere closer that we can put down.”

  “And the Reese system?” asked Lenore.

  “That is heavily populated with people on the third and fourth planets as well as significant populations on three moons in the outer system.”

  “A straight course would put us at Drenon in only two days, three or more with our usual roundabout ways,” Quinn added from the science station.

  “Very well. Let’s see if this,” she consulted the console, “Ven Bondle answers a direct call.” She tapped a key and within moments came a reply.

  “Hello. Bondle here.”

  “Mr. Bondle. This is Nora Fleming of the ship L’Eponge Carre.” Allison wondered at her father’s brief sour look.

  Later, Mom’s still talking.

  “Thank you for your response to our ad. We are less than a week away if you are still interested in cargo transport.”

  “Oh yes! As soon as you can.
These samples must get back to the main facility quickly.”

  “A few questions before we commit. First, how much cargo space will be needed, and are there facilities for a small belly-down freighter to land?”

  “Well, um, I don’t need that much space. I have four six-all containers that are environmentally sealed which I will monitor for the trip.” Lenore glanced at Diarmin. He nodded. Allison wasn’t sure why Lenore looked to him to verify enough space. Even I know that six by six by six-foot cases would fit easily. But since it was more communicating than they had done in days, she was encouraged.

  “As for the facilities,” Bondle was continuing, “I am afraid there is only a pad and it is quite far from our facility. But there is a clearing large enough for a freighter near the laboratory as long as you have anti-grav. The lab wouldn’t survive thrusters.”

  “We have anti-grav. I am sending a contract for you to sign along with our price. Please transmit your location with the signed contract as well as any needed permits. We will give you an estimate of our arrival when we have verified the information.”

  “Wonderful, thank you so much. This cargo is much needed on my home planet.”

  “Fleming out.”

  Lenore toggled the switch. Diarmin simply stood and left down the ladder without a word.

  ***

  “Was that the ship?”

  Ven Bondle had closed communications only a heartbeat ago, and his assistant’s question startled him. He sighed heavily before answering.

  “Yes. Are the containers prepared, Evan?”

  “That’s what I was coming to report. The internal temperatures are now ideal to begin the loading process and the regulation controls are working perfectly.” Despite the positive report, Assistant Evan Mill began to wring his hands.

  “Dismiss the engineer before you begin the transfer of product,” Bondle said with a noisy clearing of the throat. “Nobody should know what we are transporting.”