Queen's Ransom: The Golden Bulls of Minos

by Isabel Wroth

  He understood now, what she had meant when she told him politics was a labyrinth every bit as complicated and ever-changing as the Red Labyrinth itself.

  Without Jalia's guidance to impart the secret to navigating this mess of half-truths and misdirection, Nivir surely would have faltered.

  "Your concerns are not unreasonable, but rest assured Minos has no intention to invade anyone or any planet.

  “We are purchasing only what supplies we need to defend and protect our system as we bring progress to our world.

  “And as I understand it, JC6 is the largest supplier of weaponry and arms to the military forces of the United Coalition, who, upon regular basis engage in invasions, battles, and all manner of skirmishes in several systems across the galaxy."

  The twins had no immediate rebuttal, which gave Nivir ample time to continue drawing out the game, twisting and turning the men across from him in the direction he wished them to go. Or, at least he hoped he was.

  "I was given a set of instructions and acceptable negotiation terms by my monarchs. If you feel you are unable to meet our terms or support the growth of my world due to your business and safety protocols, I would appreciate it if you state it plainly, so I may confer with my king and decide which of the many other companies vying for our emphrinite we will approach next."

  "Will you also be conferring with your queen?" It was Jeremy who asked the question, leaving his brother to observe for any untoward reaction Nivir might give.

  "Certainly, the king and queen of Minos share their duties equally."

  Their gazes sharpened intently, and Nivir could see some of Jalia's features in the twin's faces, but not many. They were darker complected, their hair more black than brown, with darker blue eyes and a similar shape to their nose.

  They were undoubtedly intelligent, ruthless rulers of their company, but they lacked something Jalia had, and Nivir couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

  "We are told the king and queen were very recently married."

  Nivir smiled at the twins, leaning forward to convey his curiosity,

  "I am very interested to know the source of this information, there are precious few outsiders who leave our system and live to tell the tale."

  Joseph ground his jaw in frustration, glancing somewhere up and over Nivir's right shoulder. So, they were being watched. How interesting.

  "The company employs many people who gather intelligence for us."

  "I see." Nivir had a very short list of people who would have shared such knowledge, Iscarion and Croft being the very top of that list.

  Nivir had visited with Iscarion before he'd departed for his new life and made it very plain what would happen to him should Iscarion ever think to betray his people, or the queen responsible for giving him the opportunities to have said new life.

  The boy had seemed truthful and honest in his vow to remain loyal, no matter where his travels took him.

  But there were ways in which a boy could be tested or tricked into speaking and Croft?

  Croft had been with Jalia through the entirety of her ordeal, and present for the wedding. Nivir made a mental note to get in touch with Tom in regard to Croft.

  "Well, I will leave you to decide whether or not you are able to meet the terms provided and would appreciate notice no later than tomorrow morning, so our ship can be re-directed to Minoan space."

  "Your ship?" Jeremy asked with a blink of surprise.

  "Yes. My people are learning to pilot the vessels we have purchased from the Martollan's, and one of them is headed here to collect the cargo I had been dispatched to purchase.

  “But if no purchase is made, there is no reason for the third ship to continue it's heading and can return home."

  Joseph looked up again, his frown so deep it appeared both brows had become one. "We would be happy to deliver all the products, of course."

  Nivir sat back in his chair, giving a thoughtful rub of his jaw to hide his smile. "So I have been told on many occasions. Is there something wrong, Mr. Justus? You keep looking behind me as though someone was there."

  The professional business masks had then disappeared, and Jeremy had slammed his fist to the table top violently. Or rather, as violently as a human could, but all it made Nivir want to do was laugh.

  "Let's cut the bullshit, alright?"

  Nivir spread his hands and welcomed the opportunity, glad for the lesson in curse words Angel Eyes had given him, otherwise he might have misunderstood the usage of the word bullshit, in this context.

  "By all means, lets."

  "We know our sister is on Minos, and we're not selling you or your people anything until we speak to her."

  "I was not aware you had a sister, Mr. Justus," oh how he enjoyed this game! And Jalia had been concerned he would grow weary of it, bah!

  Joseph gave a strangled growl, clearly at the end of his patience, "We have two sisters. One we thought was dead, and the other one has been keeping you entertained in the evenings while you've been here."

  And that was the moment Nivir had lost all hope of ever being called uncle, by his nephew.

  He'd thought their meeting was a complete accident. Having lost his way in the fruit orchard at the south end of the complex, Nivir had turned right, and right again, knocking a lovely human female to the ground in his clumsiness.

  She had laughed when his horns tangled in a shrub as he bent to try and help her, the sound joyous and sweet, her voice even more so as she'd helped him get free.

  She introduced herself as Jade, pushing her golden hair out of her bright green eyes, smiling up at him with a charming shyness he had at the time believed to be so innocent.

  Nivir had been captivated by her generous curves and the way she shoved her hands in the pockets of her white overcoat, as though trying to keep her long fingers from touching him despite desperately wanting to.

  Or perhaps it had been his imagination, his own desires imprinted upon her beautifully pale flesh.

  After admitting he was lost, Jade had taken him on a tour of the orchard, plucking ripe red berries for him to try, peeling the vibrant orange flesh off another to share the succulent wedges within. They'd wiled away hours together until she confessed she had duties to attend to.

  She had invited him to share the evening meal with her, dinner, she said, in the compound's main restaurant the following night, and after walking him to his guest quarters, Jade had shyly kissed his cheek and bade him goodnight. The next evening, Jade's kisses hadn't been nearly so shy, or so chaste.

  Jalia had warned him it was possible her family would possibly try and send a woman to his bed in hopes of gaining information from him.

  Information he might not realize he was even giving away, and to be vigilant, wary of any woman who boldly introduced herself and tried to lure him away from his purpose.

  He had assured his queen there was no woman in the galaxy who could glean information from him about Minos, and yet here sat the Justus twins, confessing to having sent their sister to his bed.

  Nivir had told Jade nothing of his people or of Jalia, only that he was here to purchase terraforming gear.

  Still, he learned a bitter lesson, and the feelings, the hope that had been brewing within him that he should be so lucky as to find a woman who made him smile as stupidly as Dhega smiled at Jalia, shriveled to nothingness.

  It took every ounce of skill he possessed to not react to the news that the woman he had spent so many pleasurable hours with, was every bit as devious as Jalia had warned.

  "Well, I was certainly entertained. I hope whatever information she was sent to gather from me was useful," Nivir very calmly slid his plasti-tab into its case and stood up, eager to be gone as quickly as possible so he could contact Jalia and confess his failure.

  He prayed she would be understanding, but even if she was, Dhega certainly would not be.

  "Now then, your other sister's name? If I am to deliver your ultimatum to my monarchs, they will wish to know the
name of this person,"

  Jeremy gave a furious grimace, raking his hand through his hair in agitation.

  "Jalia," Joseph told him, not bothering to hide his contempt any longer. "Her name is Jalia. She ran away from home when she was sixteen years old, and we never heard from her again. We thought she was dead."

  Curious, as that was not the story Jalia had told him.

  "I see. I will take my leave, confer with my monarchs about my time here, and send their reply as soon as I receive it. Angel?" Nivir touched the ring in his ear, glad to hear the familiar voice respond,

  "Ambassador?"

  "Please prepare the LUX for departure. I'll be there soon."

  "Engines are hot and ready. We'll be waiting."

  Relieved and more than ready to get the fark off this planet, Nivir gave Jalia's brothers a cool smile and a nod,

  "Please give my regards to Jade. Her efforts on your behalf were most enjoyable."

  It delighted him to see the frustration and panic on the twin's faces, fully aware they might have just lost their chance at being supplied with the precious emphrenite, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth as he swept from the room.

  He heard Jade's voice behind him, angry and laced with tears, demanding to be released.

  "Damnit, Jared! Let go! Nivir, wait!"

  It went against everything he believed it not to turn and look for her, to not rush to her aid.

  Nivir ground his teeth and forced himself to keep walking, to remind himself no matter how it had seemed, their time together, whatever he had begun to feel had been completely false

  He didn't stop, and he didn't look back. Nivir had allowed himself to be played for a fool on his first mission as ambassador, and worse, he had been given fair warning to expect it.

  He deserved whatever punishment Dhega saw fit to mete out, but nothing his brother could do would hurt worse than this feeling of leaving the shattered remnants of his pride and his heart behind him.

  *****

  As soon as Angel Eyes had confirmed there were no listening devices on his person or spyware on his plasti-tab, Nivir had sent a message request to Minos, and been almost immediately answered.

  Dhega had been unavailable, off in another meeting, which Nivir was certain was a blessing. He wouldn't have to hear his punishment delivered in person.

  Jalia's image filled the space in front of him, the simulation chamber making it seem as though she were sitting in front of him, both of them on the terrace of the king's quarters on Minos.

  He had confessed his failure as quickly as possible, played the recording for her to judge his performance, and at the end of it all, the only thing his queen had to say was—

  "You really liked her, didn't you?" The compassion in her voice was nearly his undoing.

  Nivir bit down on his cheeks and shook his head as he inhaled deeply, trying to cool the acidic churning of his guts, struggling not to remember the sound of Jade's laugh, or the taste of her lips, or the way it had felt to sleep with one hand cupped possessively between her thighs, his other around her breast.

  Never in his life had a lover ever met and matched his desire with such unabashed pleasure, or such acceptance of the hedonistic control he demanded.

  Jade had flourished under his touch in ways no other had, not even the very well-trained ladies of Ephidon. At least, she seemed to.

  To know it was all a lie? Humiliation burned him to have to admit to his queen, who he adored and respected, how easily he was fooled.

  "I liked who she pretended to be," he corrected, "but I suppose it doesn't matter.

  “I was careful not to speak of Minos, or of you, so unless she rifled through my things looking for clues, the only thing worth taking back to your brothers was the sample of emphrinite. And tales of my gullibility, of course."

  Jalia sighed sadly, "I'm so sorry, Nivir. This is my fault,"

  "What?" he guffawed incredulously, certain he had misheard her, "My lady, you had no hand in my falling prey to this trap. You even warned me against the possibility of it, and like a fool, I rushed toward it, her, with open arms."

  Jalia clicked her tongue, reaching up to flick her tears away. Tears Nivir was horrified to see and had no idea how to stop,

  "I suspected it might happen, yes. But I didn't expect Jade to be the lure my brothers used.

  “She's usually glued to a microscope staring at bacteria samples and so busy with her work, she doesn't even realize there are living people around her until she needs blood samples, so I didn't think to include a photo of her in the files I gave you. If I had, you'd have recognized her, and this would never have happened."

  Nivir had hoped Jalia would be understanding, but emotionally taking the burden of guilt upon herself? It never crossed his mind she would be so forgiving, and for some reason it made his failure feel so much worse.

  "Is there anything I can do to repair the situation?"

  "Nivir, as heinous as this experience has been for you, it was still beneficial." His skepticism must have shown because his queen gave a little smile. A wicked, chilly smirk.

  "My brothers have made their reputation as honest businessmen, stomping out their competition simply by being above reproach, not accepting bribes, or stooping to corporate espionage and sabotage. Or by at least appearing to be.

  “I'll draft up a formal complaint against the company, Dhega will sign it, and Angel Eyes can file it with the UC which will make it public knowledge.

  "We'll also send a copy to the JC6 legal department—just a few hours after the complaint becomes public—citing corporate espionage and false information as our reason for withdrawal of our intent to purchase any terraforming products and denial of entry to all employees to Minos.

  "Worst case scenario, we have to go with another company. Best case, we have three battleships outside Minoan space, and my brothers will be so desperate for us to withdraw our complaint, they'll agree to whatever terms we want.

  “I find it hard to believe my siblings thought I was dead, but if they don't give in on their demand to speak with me, they can do it on board one of the battlecruisers."

  "A sound plan, my queen," Nivir was sure it was, but he couldn't find much energy within to care.

  "I apologize again for my behavior,"

  The fierceness faded from Jalia's expression, and she reached out as though she could touch him, but all he felt was the hum of energy from the hologram along the back of his hand.

  "Please don't beat yourself up about this, Nivir. It was your first run, and I didn't prepare you as well as I could have."

  "We will agree to disagree on that, your majesty, but I promise it will never happen again."

  Long after her image had faded, Nivir sat in the dark, allowing himself the luxury of wallowing in his self-loathing for just a little while longer.

  But Angel Eyes didn't give him more than a few moments before the simulator came back online and he was sitting in front of a stage, watching a hideous creature with tentacles gyrating around a pole, illuminated by violently colored lights.

  "What...what am I looking at?" he demanded loudly, barely able to hear himself think over the volume of the music.

  Angel Eyes appeared with an armful of silver bottles and plopped down on the seat next to him, opening a bottle that gave a loud hiss and handed it to him.

  "The cure for what ails you, my friend. Don't think, drink."

  Uncertain if this was another one of her human customs, he tipped the bottle up and felt the flavorful burn of some sort of spirit.

  It seared its way down his throat and annihilated the feeling in his belly just long enough to give him a breath of relief.

  "I called Tom like you asked," she shouted, her gaze fixated on the dancing...thing. Was it supposed to hang upside down like that?

  "And?" he shouted back,

  "What?"

  "What did he say? Dear gods, can we watch something else?"

  "WHAT? I can't hear you, let's watch something e
lse."

  The scene immediately changed to some fighting spectator sport, where powerful, brutish looking aliens fought hand to hand, striking out with fists and feet in a stunning show of violence.

  Yes. Much better.

  "Keep drinking," Angel ordered, clinking her bottle to his, "anyway, I told Tom that either Croft or Iscarion had diarrhea of the mouth, and he said he'd take care of it."

  "What does that mean?"

  His companion shrugged, fixated on the fight, hissing in sympathy when one of the combatants went down.

  "Well, Tom's an assassin, so I assume it means someone is gonna die. Jalia made a deal with Boudreaux, and part of that deal was total silence.

  “Boudreaux has a reputation for being a man of his word, and if one of his crew made him a liar, well, Boudreaux'll make that guy dead. Feeling better yet?"

  Nivir shook his now empty bottle and thought about it, "No. Not really."

  "Have another one."

  He took the second bottle and lifted it to his lips, humming over the different, sweeter flavor.

  "I like this one. Explain how this is the cure for...for what ails me?"

  Angel Eyes snorted derisively, "We get shitface drunk, and in the morning, we feel so physically terrible, the broken heart doesn't seem as painful. It wears off—the hangover—but you get some perspective. You know?"

  "No, but your theory is sound. Speaking from experience?"

  "Yup. Only I fell for a two-faced son of a bitch. Several times. Which I why I now stick to pleasure-bots. Way less complicated. Was she pretty?"

  "Most beautiful female I've ever seen," he admitted hoarsely, staring into his bottle, wondering if there was enough drink on board to forget her.

  "They always are."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "We can leave, right now. There are other options available to us, my love. You've seen to that,"

  Jalia paced past Dhega for the hundredth time, and for about the tenth time, he reminded her they could leave.

  She wanted to be anywhere but here, but this was the move she'd made, and her family had countered precisely in the way she had expected.