by Elin Wyn
“Then wait for Hark to come back,” I said. “I’m sure he won’t tell you anything different than we have.”
Laz leaned in towards Skud and whispered. Skud didn’t speak but nodded and grunted on occasion.
“Laz has made a good point,” Skud finally said as he waved Laz away. “Hark has never acted this way before, so I think you two are lying. But, in case you’re telling the truth, I won’t kill you.”
Well, that was good.
Then it wasn’t.
“But, in order to teach you how disappointed I am in your failure, you will be punished.” He nodded to some of the men behind me and I was grabbed from behind.
“Hey!” Aryn yelled. “What the hell is going on?”
“You two need to be punished, and the best way to punish both of you is to hurt…” Skud looked at me and smiled, showing his teeth. “You.”
Aryn was grabbed, as well, and we were taken to one of the lower levels. My shirt was ripped off me before they tied my hands together in front of me. Then Laz tied a chain to my restraints and Skud pulled.
My arms were wrenched straight up, and I was soon dangling off the floor. “Time to learn to be more careful,” he said as he reached behind a pillar. He pulled out a whip.
“Let him go, you bastard”! Aryn shouted.
“You should really calm your sister down,” Skud commented mildly. “I’d hate for her to be restrained, as well.”
Scro.
I twisted as far as I could in the restraints, barely able to see her as she squirmed in the grip of some asshole.
“Sister,” I snapped. “Sister!”
She blinked, recalled herself.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be with you in a bit, alright?”
Alright, it probably wasn’t going to be fine at all. But I was under suspicion, we needed her calm.
She took a shuddering breath and nodded, eyes bright with tears.
“Anything else to say?” Skud asked.
“This is a little overdramatic, don’t you think?” I answered.
“Ha.” He barked. “I actually like you. Hopefully, I won’t have to kill you.” He turned to Laz. “Turn him around.”
Laz turned me back around, and all I could see was a wall as my feet were bound to rings in the floor so I wouldn’t swing around. The first snap of the whip brought a rush of pain like I had never felt before in my life.
I tried to keep my mouth shut, but by the third snap, I let out a shout. I wasn’t sure how many lashes I received. I had tried to think of something to take my mind off the pain, but it was too much to bear.
I woke up lying in bed, Aryn calmly trying to wash my wounds. I grunted in pain as she patted something into one of my cuts, then a sweet, numbing sensation spread out from her hands.
Not enough to take the burning away, just dull it enough to be coherent.
“You’re awake,” I heard her say. “No, don’t move. You’re still bleeding.”
Not moving turned out to be a fabulous idea. The tiny movement I had just made was incredibly painful. I laid my head back down and tried to remember to breathe. “How…bad?” I asked.
“Shut up,” she said, followed by a soft sniffle.
That bad, then, I thought.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
It was hard to focus on her voice, all I wanted to do was close my eyes. My back was on fire, and I could feel something trailing slowly down my ribs, but the worst part was the headache. I must have either hit my head or held my breath for too long. But her sweet voice called me back, eased the ache.
“Why…sorry?” I asked through grimaces.
“It’s my fault you were hurt. My decision was the reason this happened.”
“No,” I said. Of course it wasn’t her fault. She’d done the right thing, and I’d be damned if I let her be hurt for it. But more words escaped me, took more focus than I could manage yet.
“Yes,” she insisted. “Why did you take the blame?”
Why had I? There wasn’t a choice, was there?
“Hey. You still here?” she asked with a light brush to my shoulder.
“Ungh. Yeah, still here,” I gasped. “I…” I took a deep breath, which hurt. “It was the right thing to do.” Too serious. Not the right me, was it? “Didn’t want to see you cry like a baby,” I tried to joke.
She didn’t answer me for a long time, just kept cleaning my wounds, putting the cooling ointment on, then wrapped me in bandages, all in silence. “You can have the bed tonight,” she finally said.
I moved over slightly, gingerly, and patted the bed. “Big enough for both of us,” I said, forcing a weak smile.
She flashed a small smile of her own and nodded, lying down next to me. I couldn’t remember anything after that.
Aryn
When I stepped out of our room to get clean rags for Kovor’s wounds the next morning, Skud stopped me.
“We’re widening our search,” he informed me. He scanned my face looking for any hint of discomfort to confirm my guilt.
“Probably a good idea,” I said easily. “They’re swift little things. Who knows how much ground they’ve covered overnight? My brother isn’t in fighting shape, but I’m good to head out if you need an extra pair of eyes.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Skud folded his arms over his chest. “You and your worthless brother will be staying right here. I’m leaving someone behind to keep an eye on the both of you. Don’t try anything. I’ll have no problem bashing in your pretty face if you cross me.”
“Hark’s the reason the hand-off went belly up,” I reminded him of Kovor’s lie. “Are you going to bash his skull, too?”
Unfortunately for Hark, I’d already done that. A prickle of worry ran up my spine. How long until he got out of those bindings? Or would his shouts just lead the rest of the gang to where we’d hidden him?
“Watch it, scrub. Or I’ll take the rest of your brother’s skin off his back,” Skud snarled. I wanted to throttle him for what he’d done to Kovor, but I held myself back.
“Happy hunting.” I walked away without being dismissed. I retrieved a few clean rags and dampened them in the cleanest water I could find, which wasn’t saying much. All the water down here had a brown tint to it.
When I returned to our room, Kovor was trying to examine his wounds.
“Don’t twist about too much! You’ll only make your scabs split,” I warned him.
“I just want to see what that hurg did to me,” Kovor replied.
“It’s not pretty,” I answered honestly. “Face forward and let me clean you up.”
Kovor did as he was told and I moved the rag in slow, gentle lines like I had the night before. He winced but didn’t appear to be in as much pain as he had been last night. Thankfully, all the bleeding had stopped sometime during the night. The bloodstains on our sheet were at least a few hours old. I doubted Skud provided the Enclave members with laundry service.
“Will I live, doctor?” Kovor sounded more like his melodramatic self.
“Yes, you’ll live,” I chuckled softly. “No more heroics, though. I don’t want to watch you go through this again.”
“Better me than you,” Kovor replied.
“I’ve lived through it before,” I admitted. “It gets easier each time.”
“You’ve been whipped like that?” Kovor turned to face me, his liquid gold eyes filled with rage.
“Years ago,” I assured him. “I spent half a year’s earnings on a cream to prevent scarring. I didn’t want a reminder on my body for all eternity.”
“You don’t have any of that cream now, perchance?” Kovor laughed, but I could tell he asked in earnest.
“Sorry,” I shook my head. “I bet Lynna or your medic can do something for the scars, though.”
“Most likely.” Kovor sounded confident. “I don’t mind scars, truly. They’re a symbol of prestige, in a way.”
“You’re a true warrior now,” I grinned.
“Dejar an
d Aavat will die of shock,” Kovor snorted.
“Why? It’s not like you can’t fight. I saw you the day the dark ship attacked us,” I recalled.
“That fight was over before it began,” Kovor said heavily. We sat in somber silence while I finished cleaning the slashes on his golden back. Without thinking, I lightly traced the tip of my finger along the intricate pattern of tattoos that spread like wings between his shoulders. I felt his tense muscles relax under my touch.
Somewhere beyond our room, a door slammed. I jerked my hands away from his skin.
“I think that was Skud and the others leaving,” I said too quickly.
“Are they going after the Mermians again?” Kovor asked. I nodded. “He’ll never find them.”
“For the women’s sake, I hope you’re right.”
“How big is the search party this time?” he asked.
“All but one. We have a babysitter today.” I stared at my hands, trying to forget the way his skin felt.
“Just one?” Kovor looked at me with a sly smile.
“I believe so.”
Kovor slowly stood up from the bed, wincing each time his movements pulled at the healing slashes on his back.
“What are you doing?” I reached for him as if to pull him back down.
“Wait here.” He moved toward the door.
“You can’t go out there like that!” I insisted. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.
“Trust me?” he asked. I pinched my lips together.
“I suppose,” I said hesitantly.
“Then stay here,” he told me. He waited until I sat back down on the bed to leave the room. A moment later, I heard low voices then silence. At least ten minutes passed before I heard another exchange of voices. The door opened and Kovor stepped back into the room.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he grinned. He sat back down on the bed with a self-satisfied smirk that would’ve annoyed me if he hadn’t looked so handsome doing it.
I immediately looked away. Spending this much time alone with Kovor was dangerous. I couldn’t allow myself to think of him as anything more than a partner on a mission.
I didn’t want things to get complicated. I always ended up with the short stick when things got complicated.
Kovor didn’t try to make conversation, which struck me as odd. We sat in silence. I didn’t know if he picked up on how uncomfortable I was. I hoped not. I didn’t want to have to explain why I was uncomfortable. I wished he’d put a damn shirt on. His sculpted muscles weren’t helping me think of reasons not to complicate everything.
After another ten minutes, I heard a thump on the other side of the door.
“What was that?” I asked Kovor, who looked very pleased with himself. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “What did you do?”
Instead of answering me, Kovor sauntered toward the door and opened it. The Enclave member Skud left behind to guard us was slumped on the floor in front of the door.
“Did you kill him?” I gasped.
“Of course not!” Kovor flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture. “I made him a special drink.”
“With what?” I demanded.
“I’m not just devastatingly handsome, I’ve got brains, too,” Kovor winked and stepped over the unconscious guard. I peered closer to ensure that he was still breathing, and noticed he had the same mark on his wrist as the bounty hunter and Hark.
Did all the members of this group wear it? I thought back to Skud and Laz. I’d never seen their wrists, but now I’d be looking.
But why was this mark different than the one the crew’d found on Katzul? Laz had recognized it when he let us in, so they were tied together.
I just didn’t know how and staring at this guy wasn’t going to tell me.
“You didn’t answer my question, pretty boy,” I scoffed as I followed Kovor.
“Skud has a well-stocked kitchen. He had everything needed to make a special little sleeping tonic,” Kovor said proudly. “It won’t last long, so we have to move quickly.”
“Move where?” I asked.
“You’re supposed to be the criminal mastermind, Aryn,” Kovor sighed dramatically and shook his head. “Looks like I have to do all the work.”
“Oh, please,” I rolled my eyes.
“Skud took everyone else with him.” Kovor led me through the empty rooms. “What sort of security do you think Skud has in his office?” Everything clicked for me then.
“Hard to say. This place is built on hard-earned trust. I doubt he’d keep important information from his men. Distrust breeds discord,” I rationalized.
“Let’s hope you’re right.” Kovor tried the knob but the door was locked. “So much for that.”
“Hang on.” I rushed back to the room to grab a pin out of my drawer. My lock-picking skills were a bit rusty, but after a few attempts, I was able to unlock the door to Skud’s office.
“I have serious concerns for the ship’s security now,” Kovor said as the door swung open.
“You have nothing worth stealing. I checked.” I went to Skud’s desk and started opening drawers.
“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
“I’ll never tell,” I grinned at Kovor. He shook his head and sighed before joining me at the desk.
“What are we looking for?” he asked.
“You tell me, mastermind. This was your idea,” I prodded. Every few seconds, I looked up at the door, expecting to see Skud staring at us.
“The sleep tonic was my idea. Now it’s your turn,” Kovor replied.
“Look for anything linking Enclave to the Dominion,” I instructed. “Anything to do with that dark ship would be helpful, too.”
“How about auction lists? Pick up dates?” Kovor asked.
“Did you find any?” I asked, excited.
“No, I just want to be thorough.” Kovor lifted a thick stack of films out of one of the desk drawers.
“Don’t make too much of a mess. We have to put everything back exactly where we found it,” I said. I continued looking through bundles of film. It didn’t help that I couldn’t read all the writing, but maybe I’d stumble across the Dominion’s sigil, or the fake symbol with the snake.
I shook my head. Instead of too few clues, it almost felt like we had too many.
But instead of any of that, something far more interesting.
“Is this what I think it is?” I held up a sheet of film. “Aren’t these the coordinates that were on that communication we found?”
Kovor took it, ran his hands over the symbols.
“Yeah. They’re the same.” His eyes met mine. “That was where they met the dark ship to pick up the women, I’m sure.”
“Then what’s the rest of it?” I wondered.
“I’d guess this is the name of the dark ship.” His eyebrows rose. “The Terror.”
“Creepy, but accurate.” I looked at the film again. “And this?”
He shook his head. “Numbers, but I can’t tell what for.”
“Maybe an identification code, so the dark ship, the Terror,” I corrected myself, “knew who they were meeting?”
“Possibly, but this is odd.”
“Odder than usual?”
“The registration number for the communications band. The numbers are missing.”
I shook my head. “We’ve seen how easy it is to spoof that. Maris could probably build a fake registration chip in her sleep at this point.”
“No.” He frowned. “It’s like they’re not even trying. The registration is blank.”
His golden eyes narrowed.
“The Terror is a ghost ship.”
Kovor
It had been a rough two days since Skud had ‘punished’ me for the women’s escape. My back still hurt, but it was more of a numb-pain that seemed to sit in the back of my mind and wait for me to make just the right movement before it snapped at me, reminding me that I was damaged. It was hard to sleep at times,
but I made it through, even if it wasn’t a solid night of sleep.
While Aryn was busy doing another round of cleaning tasks as her own punishment from Skud, I decided to get something to eat.
The dining hall was empty, except for Skud, who motioned for me to join him. Knowing that refusal wasn’t an option, I hesitated only slightly before sitting across from him.
“Skud,” I said with a nod.
“Brother Koll,” he returned with his own nod. We sat together in a bit of awkward silence as he ate something I couldn’t identify, and I picked at my own plate. After a few minutes of utensils scraping on plates, chewing noises, and Skud’s prodigious burps, he set down his cup and cupped his hands together under his chin. “How is your back?” he asked.
I cleared my throat and finished chewing before I answered. “It’s a little sore, but I can work if you need me to.” I wasn’t exactly lying, but I knew that if I became useless to him, I was as good as dead.
“Good,” he nodded. “Since the girls haven’t been found, we need to increase business in other places. Might need someone of your size to make that happen.”
Lovely. I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I imagined he was planning on shaking down more businesses and people for ‘protection’ money. I nodded in understanding and the silence returned.
As I finished off some shriveled red drecberries, I decided to take a risk. “Skud?” He looked up from some paperwork he had with him. “Mind if I ask you something?”
He nodded as he set the papers aside.
I hesitated. What I wanted to do was probably stupid, but I felt that it had to be done. We needed information and he was the head of Enclave, whatever it was.
And, as every sore muscle in my back reminded me, we couldn’t risk staying here forever.
“Before my sister and I left Katzul, we heard a rumor about a missing shipment of Terrans.”
He tried to look disinterested, but his eyes flashed in recognition. “You know what a Terran is?” he grunted.
“I heard it was a non-evolved system,” I answered slowly, feeling like I was walking on the thinnest knife edge.