by Maia Starr
But it was a shock that they shot Simon. That was not part of the deal. I had been very specific that no one was to be injured. I had been very specific that the crew was to be returned to Earth, after my part of the deal went through. Those were the arrangements, and it was already veering far from what I had arranged. I was angry.
"Where are we? Are we near Cerista?" I asked Rubla Von.
"No, we are nowhere near it. In fact, we aren't even on a Mooreah,” Rubla Von said to me with a smirk as I sat at a table inside the common room, drinking water.
"What? Why? I don't have a lot of time here. There's not time for a detour. We must get to Cerista immediately; that was part of the plan. You have a quarter of the silver already in your possession. I am to pay you the rest when I am delivered safely to my contact on Cerista. That was the plan. That is our arrangement!" I shouted at Rubla Von.
"Yes, that was our arrangement before I found out who you were,” he said with a smile. I felt my stomach turn and I felt very ill.
"What are you talking about? I am no one. I am merely trying to get out of a marriage to a Drackon warrior that my father arranged without my consent. That is why I was going to Mooreah, to be married to a Drackon. My contact is going to create a new life for me.”
"Yes, yes, so you have told me. But it is all a lie. Did you not think I would look into it? Someone that is throwing around as much silver as you are must be trying to get out of something else instead of a marriage. So I had someone look into it. You are not the only one with contacts. I have a contact that provides Drackon weapons to Earth regimes,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You. It is you that is supplying Drackon weapons to the Partaba."
"Yes, and they are not the only ones. I supply many Drackon weapons to Earthlings as long as they pay the right price. It is going to change battles on your planet in favor of those who own Drackon weapons. I couldn’t care less about Earth or the humans, only about my own position,” he said.
"Fine, what more do you want? More silver?” I asked him, knowing that this is where the conversation was going. I should've known when dealing with a criminal that they would up the price.
"No, that is not going to work, Ambassador Representative Novan,” he said with a smile. I gasped at him calling me that.
"You see, after looking into it, I found out your real identity. You are Ambassador Representative Andrene Novan, daughter of the very powerful and very wealthy Executive Ambassador Cavell Novan. You are way more valuable than what you are paying me to help you run away from Earth.”
"If you mean to hold me for ransom and be paid off by my father, then your hopes will be crushed. He would not pay a ransom. He does not care. He would probably do all that he can to hide that this has happened. He would probably say that we crashed before he would engage in a ransom exchange for his daughter,” I said to him.
"Well, that is just sad for you, isn't it? Poor little rich girl with a father that does not love her enough to pay a ransom. It is a sad story. But one that I do not give a shit about. That is not my plan. You see, your value does not come from holding you for ransom. Your value comes from the fact that you are the daughter of a very powerful ambassador on Earth. Your value is then doubled by the fact that you yourself are an ambassador representative. Do you know what that is worth in the slave markets? Do you know what a turn on that is for Drackons and other males of various races? It is a very rare thing to have a captive slave with such a background. You are going to fetch a very high price, I am sure of it,” he said with a grin.
"You are going to auction me off?” I shouted at him in rage.
"No, I am not going to auction you off. I am going to sell you to Houston, who is paying me triple what you were paying me to capture your ship and take you to Mooreah. Houston will be the one to auction you off, that is, if he does not want to keep you for himself,” Rubla Von laughed.
"You cannot do this! How dare you do this to me! We had a deal! I have already paid you a quarter of the price we agreed on. You cannot back out of this deal and suddenly change it,” I said with tears in my eyes as the reality of my mistake set in.
"That is funny, Ambassador. You of all humans should know that you cannot have a clear and concise deal with a criminal. We live by no rules. I can make a deal and break a deal at my own pleasure. You are naïve to think that any criminal would stick to his word.”
"Then I will pay you exactly what Houston is paying you for me, and then ten percent more,” I said to him, trying everything I could think of.
"No, it is too late. We leave for Mzech tomorrow where I will transfer ownership of you to Houston,” he said to me.
"But I am offering you more wealth than he is. Is that not how you work?” I said breathing hard in a panic.
"Normally, yes. I would go with the highest bidder. But this is Houston that we are talking about. No outlaw on this planet or in the galaxy goes against him. I have already cut a deal with him, and he is expecting you. If I were not to deliver, then I will be dead in a matter of hours. No one betrays Houston; that is the way of things,” he said.
I screamed in anger and then got up and ran for the door. A guard stopped me and pulled me into his arms off my feet. I kicked and screamed as I struggled.
"You cannot do this! I won't allow it!”
"Put her in the prison cells. We cannot give her the luxury of living in her own quarters as before. She will try to escape. Lock her up,” Rubla Von said.
The guard threw me over his shoulder and carried me down the hall of the ship. I screamed and struggled the entire time. Then I was thrown into a cell with bars. I saw Kuvo Bane in the other cell, casually sitting on a bench. He was doing nothing. He was useless. Then the guards left us and I moved to the bench and sat down and cried. This was a disaster. I had planned this so well and thought I was almost free. I had made the arrangements to pay for a crew for hire to commandeer our ship before it got to Mooreah. Then they would take me to a contact that I had made that would set up a new life for me so that I could finally be free from my father, and now it had all gone so horribly wrong, and it was my fault.
"Andrene, are you all right? Talk to me? What did they do to you? I will kill them if they touched you,” Kuvo Bane said to me as he came to the bars that separated our cells.
"No, they have not hurt me. Are you hurt? Where is Simon and Winfrey?"I asked, realizing they were not there.
"I do not know. Winfrey was here before but has been taken and I have not seen Simon since we were on board the Cosmo. Tell me everything you have learned. I am going to get us out of here, but the more information that I know before we escape, the better I can get us out of here,” he said to me.
"There is no escaping; there are too many of them,” I said in despair.
"Leave that to me. Now, I know that we have landed. I assume that we are on the outlaw planet of Riolb judging by the sounds around us,” Kuvo Bane said to me.
"Yes, Rubla Von mentioned that he is to take me to Mzech tomorrow. He is to sell me to a slave owner named Houston. What am I going to do, Kuvo Bane? I cannot be a slave,” I said crying. I could not tell him that this was all my fault. He would hate me as I hated myself. This was all my fault and I had been dumb enough to put my life and the life of the crew and of Kuvo Bane in the hands of Rubla Von.
"Good, that is good information. That means that we are in Cix. That helps. I know exactly what to do. Now, did you get a glimpse of outside before they brought you here? Is it night? Is it day?” he asked me.
"It looked to be evening, almost night,” I said to him.
"Good, we will wait an hour or so and then leave the ship and I will need you to be very quiet,” he said to me.
"Leave the ship? How will we even get out of the cells?” I said in frustration. He stood up and walked over to the door of his cell and pushed it open. I was in complete shock.
"Why is your cell not locked? Did you pay off the guard?” I asked with my eyes wide.
> He held up a gadget and said, “No, I picked the lock. I will do the same on your cell when the time comes. I need you to be ready. I need you to pay attention and I need you to follow my lead or we will never get out of here,” he said to me.
I nodded my head yes and moved over to him and said, “I understand. Tell me the plan. I am with you,” I said to him.
"After I have freed you from your cell, I am going to transform into weredragon form. Then I will quietly take out the guard that is stationed at the door, if there is one. Then we will make our way to the exit of the ship. Being as quiet as possible. Once we are outside the ship, we need to quickly and quietly blend in with the nearest crowd. I will need you to keep your head down and if we see any veils, grab them and drop them over our heads,” he said to me.
"That's it? That's the plan? We will never get out of here. We will never get out of the ship? These Drackons are absolutely insane and have no interest other than their own,” I said to him.
"No, you have said that Rubla Von plans to sell you; that means he needs you alive and undamaged. They will not shoot at us, or at me for fear of hitting you. I am sure that he has told his men exactly that. Which means we have a fighting chance. Most of the crew here are human males and only a few Drackon. I can take three to four human males in a fight at once. We have a chance, but I need you to believe in it. Is that too much to ask of you?” ;e said in anger.
"No, I suppose not. I apologize. I am just filled with fear. I was not expecting this. I was not expecting any of this. It is a hard pill to swallow and I am shaking with fear,” I said to him.
"None of us were expecting this, but it is the danger of being in space, it just comes with the territory. Come here,” he said moving to the bars between us. I moved over to him and he reached his arms through and rubbed my arms up and down calming me. It was working. I felt a hard stab of guilt as he showed concern for me. As he rubbed me up and down trying to calm me, letting me know that everything would be all right in the end. If he only knew that I had done this to us, he would hate me. He would leave me in the cell to be sold off while he made his escape on his own. He would be disgusted with me as I was disgusted with myself. I looked up at him, into his blue eyes that were filled with concern. He looked more attractive than ever in this moment playing the hero, trying to calm me with his plans.
"Kuvo, if we don't get out of here together, there is something that you should know. There's something that you should take back to Cerista, or to Earth, to your king,” I said.
"Don't talk like that. We are going to get out of here together,” he said.
"Rubla Von is behind the Drackon weapons on Earth. He has said as much to me. He has contacts on Earth that are making the arrangements. You must get that information to your king and to my father,” I said.
"The bastard! Of course he is. That makes sense considering he spent a lot of time on Sala. He spent time in the outposts, probably stealing from the military base there. Then he came here to Riolb and made the arrangements to sell to the highest bidders. Those bidders are obviously on Earth as well. But you can tell your father this yourself; I will get you back home safely,” he said, squeezing my arms with hope.
"I hope that you are right,” I said to him as suddenly being under the oppressive hand of my father seemed a thousand times better than being sold as a slave. I wanted to be back on Earth. I wanted to be sitting on the roof of my apartment building watching the majestic elephants with my only worry being how I would prove myself as an ambassador. It had only been a few days since I was there, but it felt like a lifetime now that I was in real danger. I did not want this for myself or for my crew, and I especially did not want it for Kuvo Bane. He did not deserve this. He was only doing his duty and taking his responsibilities with loyalty, and I had made those responsibilities more severe than they would have been if I had followed orders and gone directly to Mooreah to see the king. We would be there now in the great hall in the great castle that I had heard so much about. We would be eating and drinking and speaking politics with the king. I had ruined everything.
Two hours later, we heard very loud music coming from outside the ship.
"What is all of that?” I said as I looked at Kuvo Bane.
"It must be a celebration night; this is good for us. The streets will be flooded with people and very loud. It is time,” he said as he pulled out a large knife from inside his boot. I was impressed at how prepared he was. He really was good at his job, a skilled squadron leader.
He quietly walked out of his cell, leaving the door open. Then in a flash, he transformed into the Dragon. It was a very impressive sight. My mouth fell open as his silver wings half unfolded in the small space, and shiny silver scales now crossed his body from shoulder to hip. He was breathing very hard after transformation, and renewed energy came upon him.
He moved to the door of my cell and began to pick the lock with one of his gadgets. I stared at the door, on watch for any movement.
"Let's go; remember stay quiet," he said as he quietly opened the door to my cell. I nodded yes and he moved toward the door to the hallway.
"Step back; there is a guard at the door. I am going to knock him out and lock him in the cell,” he said to me. I nodded yes and he quickly opened the door just a crack and quietly but efficiently knocked the guard on the head with the blunt side of his knife. The guard fell backwards into his arms and he dragged him on his heels into the cell. He quietly locked him in. My eyes were wide at how quick and skilled Kuvo was.
"Stay low, stay behind me only one step,” he said as he led me out the door stopping to look for guards. Then he quietly stepped out and I walked on my tiptoes following him into the hallway of the ship. We both knew which way the exit was because it was how we were brought onto the ship from the Cosmo.
"Stop!” a guard yelled as he rounded the corner and saw us. Kuvo quickly ran up to him and knocked him out before he could make any more commotion.
"Someone would've heard that. Run," he said to me as he grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him as he ran very fast. It was hard to keep up with his giant strides, but I knew that my life depended on it, that his life depended on it. We burst out of the door of the ship, which was surprisingly open, and the ramp was down. I guess they underestimated us. It was dark, but the area was well lit with torches and various lights because of the celebration. We were in a courtyard of sorts and the streets of celebration were almost one hundred yards away. We had to make it there.
"Stop them!” a guard yelled as he came out of the ship after us. Kuvo turned to me and wrapped his arms around me, and in a flash shot straight up into the air, flying. I let out a squeal as I was not expecting this change of plans. We were supposed to be running straight into the crowd and instead we were in the air where anyone could see us. We were easily spotted.
"Hold on tight,” Kuvo said to me.
I thought that we would be flying low toward the crowd where he would land and then we would blend in, but instead he was going high, very, very high. He shot straight into the thick clouds. The darkness was all around us and the light gray of clouds were very thick; I could feel their moisture.
"How can you see? We don't know where we're going,” I shouted to him.
"I know where I am going; hold on!” he shouted back to me. I realized that he was flying in the clouds in order to fly unseen. It was working. I looked around and did not see any Drackon following us. But I did not understand how Kuvo knew where he was headed. I couldn't even tell what was up or down anymore in the clouds. He flew fast and hard, diving in and out of cloud cover. Then he flew down and we came out of the clouds. Below us was very dark, and I could not see any sort of lights. I looked over my shoulder and could see the city of Cix in the distance lit up. We had left the city. I did not know where we were going.
Kuvo kept diving lower and lower, and in the darkness, a large pillar was up ahead of us. It looked to be a tower of sandstone. I panicked.
"Look out! Th
ere's a mountain!” I shouted. But he did not respond and he kept going. We were going to slam right into it. Then he shifted sideways and before I knew it, we were flying through a crevice. It was very hard to see with only the moon lighting the night. But I could tell that we were entering a cave of sorts. He flew lower down the very long canyon crevice. Then he set me down on my feet. I was astounded by the surroundings. Sparkling in the moonlight was a stream of water running quietly over the rocks. There was a half cave as the rock overhang provided a roof. I looked up at the deep towering walls of the canyon. It was a perfect hiding place.
"Kuvo, where are we?” I asked him looking around at the beautiful surroundings.
"It is a place that has no name. Therefore it is not easy to find. It is hidden in the mist of the clouds. Very few know of it," he said as he knelt down near the stream and scooped water into his hands to drink. Then he splashed some on his face. I followed his lead and did the same, drinking the water and splashing it on my face.
"I will build us a fire to keep warm. We should stay here for the night. Then early in the morning, we will go back,” Kuvo Bane said.
