Pirate's Gold (Argurma Salvager Book 2)

by S. J. Sanders

  “Do not come between an Argurma and what is his,” Veral warned.

  “Oh, I know. If it were not for the fact that I am in need of a skilled salvager, I would have chosen an easier target. But as it happens, I require your particular skillset.”

  “This was a trap,” Terri whispered in horror.

  Egbor turned toward her, his expression curious as he yanked back her hood. His brows raised, a red flush streaking through his scales.

  “Well, I see why you hide her. Terrible scarring from a fire was a good ploy. So exotic. There are of course worse fates that death for a specimen such as this. I could sell her or give her over to my crew. There are all kinds of possibilities that you have within your power to avoid. And yes, little female, it was a trap. One that we have employed many times and has served us well. But hearing of a great treasure to be found on the Evandra… well…” He left the words hanging as he shrugged with a hard smile.

  Cheerfully, he wagged his pistol toward the door. “I do believe it is time to dock with my ship. Your proximity alerts should be detecting its presence—” An alarm trilled, and his smile widened. “Now.”

  With a dark glare, Veral rose to his feet and allowed himself to be led to the flight deck with Terri hauled between the two lackeys at the rear. Any attempt to twist away was met with a tightening, painful grip on her arms until she stopped. They half-dragged her through the corridor after her mate, her feet barely able to keep up with their long strides.

  Mentally, she cursed the men holding her, relishing the thought of when Veral would tear them apart. The thought withered and died when she entered the flight deck and got a look at what exactly they were facing. Terri’s eyes widened at the enormous gray ship that filled the viewing screen. It had to be crewed by hundreds.

  Her mouth went dry. They were so fucked.

  5

  Vibrissae rattling, Veral stalked through the flight deck, the three Blaithari trailing close behind him, holding his mate captive. Pirates! His mandibles clicked with self-disgust. The traveling noble disguise had been a clever ploy and was executed convincingly. He never would have guessed that they were anything other than what they said, their sickening, privileged behavior the one thing that successfully persuaded him to avoid their company. Not even on the vids at any time had they broken character. It had been flawless.

  Still, he should have suspected something—anything.

  There had been no cues that he picked up on. Instead, he had been enraged at their presence and offended by their presumption. He had even pressed his engines as hard as he dared, despite his words to Egbor, with the goal of arriving at Janilik earlier than planned.

  He had been right, although for entirely different reasons. He should have thrown them out of the airlock.

  At the nudge of the weapon firmly at his back, Veral stiffened and cast a concerned glance at the males crowding close to him. Terri’s face was pale with fear, but when she met his eyes, he could see the spark of anger in their amber depths. Her eyes lifted away from him and returned to the viewing screen, and her lips thinned.

  He wanted to tell her not to look at it and assure her that he would get them to safety. His desire warred with the practical side of him that sneered at the sentiment and demanded to know just how and when he was planning on doing so. The pirate ship filling the viewing screen carried a large crew to successfully pilot it. He could kill Egbor, but if he did, the other males would kill Terri before he had the opportunity to reach her.

  Even if he managed to save her, the ship’s systems alerted him to the fact that the pirate vessel was locked on to them. He had no choice but to bide his time and wait for the most opportune moment to strike.

  Egbor waved his blaster lazily toward the control panel, belying the sharp focus of his gaze as he grinned. “Begin docking procedures, Argurma.”

  With a clicking growl, Veral approached the display to manually to put in the codes. The male obviously did not realize that Argurma warriors had the ability to sync to their vessels. Veral did not need to touch the control panel to begin the sequence, but he would not enlighten the male otherwise. That ignorance worked to his benefit. For once, he wished that he was less scrupulous, like his cousin Kaylar, who entertained himself with creating virus codes to infect enemy ships.

  He hated to involve his cousin. No doubt the male would have heard of the bounty and could be tempted to turn Veral in to claim it. That possibility was not something he could concern himself with that at that time. As much as he hated it, he needed Kaylar’s help to keep Terri safe. That the Blaithari pirates knew nothing of Argurma implants assured him that at very least he could get a message out on their private family frequency. His cousin would have the means to disable the pirate ship. All Veral needed to do was stall the pirates and wait.

  “Perhaps Argurma are as intelligent as everyone says. Cold logic, rather than passionately trying to rip your female away. Very good. Now upload the schematics into my comm uplink.” With one hand pointing his blaster still, he stepped over to the uplink port and attached his comm with a sharp jerk of his hand.

  Veral suppressed an agitated growl as his ship’s systems established the link. Egbor’s tech felt invasive and filthy to him. An unwanted intruder. Stealing a quick glance at his mate’s face, her expression twisted with anger. Despite the flare of fear in her eyes, he maintained control over his reaction. Instead, he met Egbor’s eyes and, with a flick of his finger on the control, sent the schematics outlining the ship’s resting place over to the pirate. The male grunted in satisfaction, the hum of the engines as the salvager ship drew into the cavernous mouth of the pirate ship the only other sound.

  He was uncomfortably aware of Terri’s hard, nervous exhales as the darkness engulfed them. They were dragged into a docking area that was pitch dark when the hatch closed. Once it snapped shut, so many lights shot on that it blinded him. At Terri’s cry, he looked over at her, concern rising within him as she screwed her face up, her eyes clenched shut. The pain and disorientation were intentional. Veral closed his inner lid, filtering out the worst of the light until, as predicted, it dimmed to a more comfortable level. Only then did he lift his inner lid to glower at his surroundings.

  From the viewing screen, he could see a number of pirates from the less savory dregs of space milling around. None of them were anywhere near as well dressed as Egbor. In fact, many of them wore tattered, ill-fitting clothes that might have once been fine before being soiled with blood, food, and sweat. Igwin males with long jointed limbs prowled, large heads swiveling and mouths stretching in wide grins as they paced like beasts waiting to be fed.

  While there were many Igwins, they were not as numerous as the Blaithari and the Turogo, a vile, squat race that lived in their primitive swamps. Pirates recruited among them, promising them treasures, taking advantage of the males’ drive to collect gems and gold with which to line their muddy hollows in hope of attracting mates. What they lacked in intelligence they made up for in thick, muscular bodies and venomous teeth and claws. Even their long tails could loop around another being to squeeze the life out of them.

  Veral growled and attempted to place his body directly between them and his mate as they were forced to disembark into the belly of the pirate ship. It did little good as Egbor made certain to keep him separated from his mate. Veral’s vibrissae rattled in a warning hiss as he snarled and clicked his mandibles in clear threat at any male who so much as looked his mate’s direction. A threat was all it amounted to, and the males knew it, but it did give some among them pause.

  Egbor opened his arms wide, a satisfied smile on his face as he addressed the crew. “Miscreants, look at what your own captain has secured for the benefit of all of us: a way to find the resting place of Evandra.”

  A riotous shout drove up all around them, males raising their weapons in the air in a frenzied jubilation. Numerous swords and axes clanged together, and blasters fired into the air. With a shove, Egbor drove him forward, but Veral
stalled, his attention always on his mate behind him. Her body jerked in alarm as the Igwins sniffed, licking their jowls as they raised their short muzzles to scent the air, and Turogos uncoiled long tongues from their mouths which they flicked at her without any discretion, stealing small tastes of her skin.

  Her captors allowed Terri to bat away the tongues with angry squeaks of disgust because they found it amusing, but did nothing to protect her. Crude, hard, scraping laughter surrounded them, their shouts of delight rising among the cacophony of banging weapons at every flinch from Terri. She was brave in face of the slavering interest of the males pressing in around them, but she did not have complete control over her natural reactions. Nor did he.

  As an Argurma male, he was accustomed to possessing exact control over so many of his reactions, but he had no control when it came to his mate’s distress. Every dismayed sound she made enraged Veral, his fury mounting with every step deeper into the belly of the pirate ship.

  Eventually, they arrived at the brig. It reeked of old blood, urine, and rotten food. An aged door swung open to reveal a cramped cell with nothing inside except a thin, dirty mat thrown on the floor against the wall and a rusted container to expel wastes in tucked into the corner. The cell was so small that there was barely enough room for him to stand in front of the bed as he allowed himself to be herded into the cell. Just as he turned around, the cell door snapped shut, securing him within.

  Vibrissae whipping, Veral charged forward, his body slamming into the bars of the door, shaking the entire construct. Unfortunately, everything was well secured, and it didn’t give when his body collided with it. That didn’t stop him from wrapping his fingers around the bars and attempting to rip it free from where it was bolted. His mandibles clacked as he hissed at Egbor, who regarded him smugly from the other side. Terri remained wedged between the males just behind him.

  They were going to keep her separated from him!

  Egbor’s smile widened. “Do not worry. Your mate will be well taken care of. You understand, of course, that I cannot allow you to keep her in here with you. Not when she is the key to maintaining your cooperation.”

  Eyes narrowing on the male, Veral’s lip curled back from his teeth as he lowered his head and brought his face closer to the bars to meet the Blaithari’s gaze. “If any harm comes to her, you will beg me to end your life. Know this: I will show no mercy and every plea will fall on deaf ears. Control me if you must while you can, but be certain that no harm befalls my female.”

  The male stared back at him thoughtfully, his head tilted in consideration. Egbor’s nostrils flared, and his shrewd gaze took in every lethal inch of Veral’s killing expression directed at the Blaithari.

  A low chuckle rolled from Egbor but he inclined his head in agreement. “I like you, Argurma. It is rare that I meet a male who is nearly as bloodthirsty as me. You would have made an outstanding pirate. Very well. I shall give you my personal guarantee that your female will not come to any harm. She will even have her own quarters, well-guarded from any unseemly conduct from my crude crew. You just keep doing what you are doing—you will lead me to the ship.”

  Veral jerked his chin toward Terri. “If you intend to take her planetside, she will need the suit provided for her on my ship in cargo bay. She will require the extra protection, as small and delicate as she is.”

  The Blaithari waved a claw absently. “Yes, yes. I would have figured as much. I will send one of my trusted males to fetch them for her before we make planetside.”

  “I want her untouched,” Veral hissed. “If you guarantee that no one will lay a hand or civix on her, then I shall not feel inclined to remove them. There will be no other male’s scent upon my mate.”

  The captain frowned. “You drive a hard bargain.”

  Veral snarled at him. He did not care. He would do nothing unless his mate’s protection was guaranteed in all ways.

  Egbor narrowed his eyes. “If I make this concession—and it is a significant one for a female so rare and exotic—then you will lead us faithfully to the resting place of the Evandra?” He crossed two pairs of his six arms, his right hand of the upper set drawing up to tap his bottom lip thoughtfully, weighing his options.

  Veral did not like giving the male what he wanted, nor losing the credits and cycles spent on the salvage already—but he would do anything for his anastha. He jerked his head in a stubborn nod, and the male clapped his hands, crowing with delight.

  “Excellent!” Egbor trilled. “Very well. You have my word.” The male paused and narrowed his eyes in a cold assessment. “But just so we are clear, since you were so honest and in a sharing sort of mood when it came to what you would like to do to me… betray me and I will skin your female and feed every bloody chunk of her flesh to the Igwins after I have let them take turns in fucking her into a useless pile of flesh. Do we have an understanding?”

  Sickness pooled in Veral’s belly as he glared at the captain, his mate’s gasp loud in the silence of the brig. Slowly, he inclined his head, and the captain’s pleased laughter floated around him.

  He opened his eyes and watched as Terri was pulled away. She kept turning in their grasp, attempting to keep him within the field of her vision, struggling against their hold to join him. He met her eyes and shook his head. She stilled, her face stricken. For the first time, he wished that she had the implants that his people possessed. He would have already had a private channel established to communicate with her.

  Instead, he was forced to plead with his eyes.

  Do nothing. Just wait and watch. Wait for the opportune moment.

  She studied his expression as she was pulled toward the exit. Just before she was pulled through the doorway, she gave one short dip of her head. She had caught something, some small part of his intention. He hoped it was enough.

  Her absence from the room drained his energy and spirit. With a roar he fell to his knees, shuddering with despair from the forced separation. A piercing pain filled him as if something vital was torn out from within him. His mandibles spread as he let loose another roar and another, his voice echoing through the brig as he vented his fury and pain.

  6

  Terri struggled between the Blaithari as they carried her caged between them, jerking her with each of their uneven steps as they entered the lift. At one point, she wondered if they were intentionally trying to pull her arms out of their sockets, as hard as they seemed to tug her between them. Despite the discomfort, she infinitely preferred their company to the other pirates who watched her every step through the pirate ship.

  To her surprise, she saw few other Blaithari once they left the brig. For some reason, she had figured that that the captain would have arranged a crew primarily of his own species, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Aside from her escorts, Terri only saw three or four other Blaithari during her trip to the upper decks where she was presumably going to be kept. For the number of males she had seen in the docking bay, it didn’t make sense that there weren’t more traveling to the upper level quarters. Not only was the short corridor empty, but of all the doors that lined the hall, all but two appeared to be sealed.

  “I will be putting you in the room typically reserved for my second-in-command—if I had permitted him to enjoy it instead of housing him with the other upper crew members on the floor just below this one. I like my privacy… and I like silence,” he stated, eyeing her sternly. “You should be comfortable in here so long as I do not hear any noise and you don’t make any attempts to escape and make me regret providing it for you. It is the most convenient way to keep you away from my crew, but if you cannot behave, I will send you down to keep my upper crew company. I can trust them to follow my orders not to touch you, but the experience will be far less than pleasant.”

  So that was the way of it. She saw no other Blaithari because the captain kept the entire upper deck for his own use. No doubt the other males were crowded into the levels that they passed on the lift. It was clear that Egbor saw
everyone as his lesser. Terri, as a member of another species, wouldn’t have even the smallest amount of mercy from him.

  All that kept him in check was Veral’s promise.

  Swallowing, Terri nodded to demonstrate that she understood exactly what her position was just seconds before she was dropped to her feet. She was pleased that she didn’t stumble, despite how heavy her legs felt from being hauled through the ship by her arms. She did, however, straighten her back and meet the captain’s gaze unwaveringly. It was a shame that he was no longer the sniveling, pompous male who Veral was complaining about only yesterday. The cold eyes of a killer stared right back at her, though his lips curved slightly at her show of bravado. She knew that he was aware of the conflict brewing within her.

  As much as she wanted to tell the captain to go suck the biggest dick on the ship, she wasn’t stupid. Since she couldn’t join her mate in his cell, staying in this cabin was her only real option. The last thing she wanted was to be at the mercy of crew members who would do the barest to toe the line of whatever orders were issued by the captain. There was a lot of flexibility in regard to what lengths of unpleasantness they could get away with before the captain deemed it crossing the line. That meant that she would have to play by the captain’s rules, however much she hated it. It was better than option two.

  Sweeping one arm out, Egbor pressed his hand on a panel and opened the door. At the same time, his lower hand closed around her arm and yanked her forward, ahead of him, into the room. Terri stumbled forward a few steps but drew to a stop as she stared at her surroundings. Although possessing simple lines and sparse furnishings, everything in the room was far more luxurious than anything she had ever seen before. Compared to the filth of the rest of the ship, this was surprising. Her mouth hung open at the polished desk that sat in one corner as the captain steered her toward a chair and sat her down on it.