by Nathan Long
It was all I could do to stop myself from stepping forward with them. I’d already had my share of slavery on this planet, and I bet human masters would be worse than the Aarurrh could ever be. On top of that, I was starting to think of these pirates as my people—space bikers, outlaws who couldn’t stand the bullshit daddy-culture of this planet any more than I could.
On the other hand, they were slavers, and I’ve got what you might call issues with the idea of freedom, and losing it. Besides, I still had unfinished business to attend to.
I leaned in to Sai. “You tell me what to do and I’ll do it. We’ve got to get you back to Kedac and get your marriage back on track.”
Lhan gave me an uncertain look. “Your selflessness is admirable, Mistress.” He said it like he hoped it was true.
I shrugged, uncomfortable. The guilt-knife poked me in the short ribs again. “Yeah, well.”
Sai was in a tizzy. “We must think first of Wen-Jhai. That she should become a slave. I would die six hundred deaths before I let it happen.”
Lhan nodded. “Well spoken, Sai. But there is another concern. If Wen-Jhai is ransomed and we are not, the pirates would deliver her into the arms of Kedac-Zir, and your suit and your hopes would be at an end.”
“But surely, Lhan, there is no doubt that we will be ransomed.”
“Is there not? What if our dear fathers refuse to pay? You can be sure that Kedac-Zir has taken care to spread word of your plea to Wen-Jhai to run away with you without facing him on the field of honor. If your father hears that, you are damned in his eyes. And I have fled my rustic banishment against my father’s direct command. We may find ourselves orphans with living parents.”
Sai’s pop must have been a pretty hard son-of-a-bitch, ’cause Sai’s face drained white like a frosted glass when somebody sucks all the grape Kool-Aid out of it.
Lhan didn’t stop with the bad news. “And we cannot be sure of Wen-Jhai’s release either. The ransom of nobles and wealthy merchants is common enough. The ransom of the Aldhanshai of Ora is another thing entirely. She may be too dangerous to ransom. This is a situation that must be handled with delicacy. If I might suggest, I know a certain wealthy Oran, er, gentleman who could be persuaded to ransom me as his son. You and Wen-Jhai we might pass off as brother and sister—my noble, orphaned cousins—and Mistress Jae-En, Wen-Jhai’s faithful barbarian body-servant. Through this deception we may return to civilization together and yet remain in possession of Wen-Jhai.”
Sai looked as relieved as a guy who finds out it’s not herpes after all. “By the Seven, Lhan, you are a wonder.”
I coughed. “It is if you can count on your pal to come across with the dough. I’ve had plenty of ‘best friends’ flake on me when they were supposed to bail me out of the hoosegow. And we’re not talking chump change here. You’re asking this guy to come across for four people.”
“If this were a mere acquaintance, it might be as you say, Mistress Jae-En. but I trust this friend implicitly. We are... very close.”
I wasn’t convinced. “Why don’t we sign up with these guys ’til we find some chance to make a break? They gotta touch down some time to stock up on groceries.”
Lhan smiled. “A bold plan, Mistress, and were it not for Wen-Jhai, one I would not hesitate to adopt. However, it may involve fighting, and I would not subject Wen-Jhai to that risk.”
Sai piped up. “I favor Lhan’s plan.”
Well, of course old Lily-Liver liked it. I shrugged. “Okay, I’m in.”
Lhan looked over at Wen-Jhai. “Now it only remains to convince the Aldhanshai. Quickly, Sai. Go to her.”
Well, there’s a hitch in almost every plan, and Wen-Jhai was it for this one. I saw her stiffen as Sai sidled over to her, and then freeze up entirely when he started whispering in her ear. That didn’t last. Once she heard his pitch she went from glacier to volcano in a second and a half.
“You cowardly insect! ’Tis because of you that I am in this predicament at all. If you had faced Kedac-Zir as I begged you to, we would be wed by now!”
Heads were turning. Wen-Jhai didn’t care. Lhan was starting to sweat. He stepped beside her. “My lady. Please lower your voice. For the safety of us all.”
She ignored him. “No more will your pretty blandishments tempt me from the path of honor! Ransomed under a false name? How dare you suggest that I be ransomed at all?”
Then she went and did it, and at the top of her voice too.
“I am Wen-Jhai, Aldhanshai of Ora, daughter of Kor-Har, Aldhanan of Ora, commander of the greatest armies of Waar! The only payment these revolting flesh traders will receive is in good Oran steel when they feel upon their filthy necks the mighty blade of my beloved betrothed, my warrior Dhan...”
I could see Sai hoping against hope that she was going to say his name. But it was no dice. This whole act was about making Sai feel like a worm. She wasn’t going to change her tune mid-solo.
“...my noble hero, the Kir-Dhanan of all Ora, Kedac-Zir of Kalnah!”
Sai deflated like a popped balloon. He looked like somebody had scooped his insides out with a spatula. All kinds of things were happening around him, but he wasn’t interested anymore.
Wen-Jhai’s speech had made a hell of an impact on the pirates, too. They were all talking at once and grinning like sharks. I heard one whispering behind me.
“What a catch! We be rich, lads and lasses. Old Kor-Har’ll give up half his treasury to win his daughter back. We’ll never have to raid again.”
The chatter was reaching high school lunch room volume. All the pirates were laughing and cheering and raising their fists like they’d just won the Super Bowl.
“Fools!”
The jabber cut off like somebody’d closed a stone door. The pirates looked toward the top deck. They mumbled around me.
“The captain.”
“Now you’ll see, you rogues. Now you’ll see.”
I don’t know what I was expecting. Hell, I thought the captain was the burly guy with the gold fringe. But if that wasn’t him, well, maybe he’d be some guy in a fancy red coat with a moustache and a big hat, or maybe I’d drank too many bottles of spiced rum in my time.
It wasn’t a guy in a red coat. It wasn’t even a guy.
Swaggering up to the rail and sneering down on all the pirates like they were the biggest bunch of chowderheads she’d ever seen was a wiry, sharp-eyed woman who reminded me of this tough Latina cop I’d tangled with once; cool, handsome, and hard as nails. She was so flat-chested she could have passed for a guy, except for the lush lips and the dark slanted eyes. Her bootie was a dead give away too. Jennifer Lopez would have died of envy to see it. She had it encased in skin-tight black leather leggings that tucked into heavy boots. Over a pointless black and silver bikini top she wore a short, fur edged jacket cut like bullfighters wear ’em. It was red, but that was as close to Captain Morgan as she got.
“Fools, your greed makes imbeciles of you all! We might, might, if we were more clever than we’ve ever been, if all the winds and gods favored us, if the Aldhanan was as blind as a cave fish and the Kir-Dhanan couldn’t fly his way out of a spring rain, we might exchange the Aldhanshai for her ransom and get away. But think you that we could remain safe?”
The pirates hung their heads like school kids caught shooting spitballs. The captain’s eyes flashed. Any questions I had about how a little chick like her could ride herd on all these tough hombres went right out the window. A look from her and the Abominable Snowman would tuck his tail between his legs. If he’s got a tail.
The captain didn’t slow down. “Think you that the Aldhanan would let an insult like this go unpunished? Think you the Kir-Dhanan of Ora, commander of the greatest air fleet on Waar would suffer the scruffy band of sky-pirates who kidnapped his betrothed to live? His reputation would not allow it. Ora is ruler of the skies. We would be on the run for the rest of our days, which thankfully would be very few indeed. You see what fools you are?”
The pira
tes cringed like whipped dogs. She let ’em off the hook and turned those laser eyes on Wen-Jhai. “But fools though you be, you are nothing compared to this one. Pirates can be excused for thinking first of gold. This one has no excuse for her actions.”
Wen-Jhai raised her chin. “You may not talk of me this way.”
The captain ignored her. “This one, if she had thought at all, would have realized what speaking her name would mean. She would have realized that we could not dare ransom her, that we could not even return her to Ora unharmed and with all apologies without facing the wrath of her father and her betrothed. She would have realized that once she spoke her name, the only safe course we poor pirates could take would be to forget ransom, to give up the potential gold that we would have exchanged for our noble prisoners, and instead wipe out all trace of this fateful encounter as if it had never happened.”
The prisoners were getting nervous. The whispering sounded like a hundred skillets frying bacon.
“She would have realized that we would have to burn the ships that we had captured so none would ever know their fate, that we would have to destroy the cargo and the treasures we discovered, and, we would have to throw over the side both her and her loyal subjects, so that they could never bear witness against us.”
The deck was as quiet as a morgue. All the prisoners were turning to give Wen-Jhai the fish-eye and she wasn’t taking it very well. The speech had got to her, too. Her face was maggot-white and her mouth was opening and closing like a brook trout.
“I... I... I didn’t...”
If she’d said, “I didn’t realize,” I think the crowd would have torn her apart. But the captain interrupted her.
“Fortunately for her, or perhaps not, I am neither safe nor sane. Like you, friends, I am greedy. Like you it would please me to see an Aldhanshai taste life on the other side of the whip.”
She let them have a dirty little chuckle, then started up again. “There is no way we can make what we should from this fine catch. The Aldhanshai has made sure of that. But there is a way that we might make a slight profit and still rid ourselves of her before she burns our fingers.”
The pirates pricked up their ears. So did I. If there was an option to being thrown over the side I was all for it.
The captain went on. “We were to sail for Daest, to sell those who chose to be slaves. But Daest is too friendly with Ora. Our nobler guests might manage to return home to tell tales to the Oran Navy. But far to the south, in the jungles of Mir, is the City State of Doshaan, sworn enemy of Ora since it threw off the imperial yoke sixty years ago. There, buying Oran slaves is not just a matter of economy, but of revenge. Let us sell our wares there. All our wares.”
And she smiled like poison candy at Wen-Jhai as the pirates cheered.
Sai snapped out of his funk. “No! You mustn’t! How dare you treat an Aldhanshai of Ora this way! You will be burned alive for this! By the Seven I shall...”
The captain rolled her eyes and turned away. “Lock them up.”
Burly signaled the pirates and they started herding all of us down below decks. Every single one of the prisoners gave Wen-Jhai dirty looks as she passed, me included. Because of her I was going to be sold as a slave. Because of her my chances of getting revenge on Kedac were melting away faster than a Popsicle on a hotplate. Because of her I might never get home. Being thrown over the side was starting to sound not so bad, as long as I could take Wen-Jhai with me.
***
There were two large cells below decks, one for men, one for women. Sai struggled as Wen-Jhai was led away from him. “Wen-Jhai my heart! Be brave!”
She turned up her nose at him like a cheerleader snubbing a nerd. “Braver than you.”
He slumped, boneless. The guards shoved him into the men’s cell. My disguise must have been holding up despite all the cuts in my shirt, because they threw me in after him.
For a little while it was quiet. We were too busy stewing about this latest shitty turn of the wheel to talk. Then a plump little woman came in with a basket full of bandages and patched everybody’s wounds.
When my turn came Lhan offered his hand to squeeze. “It helped you before.”
I waved him off. “Naw, I’m good.”
The woman snipped the head off the arrow with what looked like a pair of sheep shears, then drew the shaft out by the tail.
I should have taken Lhan’s hand. It was over in five seconds, but so is a car wreck. It felt like she was drawing a red hot heater coil through my arm. I was shaking like a rock star in detox by the time she was through. Then she smeared some herbal muck on the wound and the fireworks really started.
She covered it all with a bandage and patted me on my good shoulder. “There now, my brave lad, all done. Any other wounds you’re not showing?”
One or two, but if she did anymore checking she’d find out I wasn’t a lad at all. I told her to beat it.
After she left I joined Sai and Lhan in a corner. “Okay, so Wen-Jhai blew it. What now?”
Sai couldn’t take that lying down. “Dare you accuse her? ’Tis we who are to blame. Had we fought more valiantly...”
Lhan smoothed the waters. “What’s done is done. We must think of the future.”
Just then there was a rattle of keys and the cell door opened. The burly pirate crooked a finger at me. “You. The strapping lad. The captain requests the honor of your presence.”
What the hell did that mean? I’d killed enough of her men that she had plenty of reason to hate me. Was she going to string me up? I looked to Sai and Lhan, uneasy. “What’s this shit?”
Lhan shrugged. “I know not, but do nothing rash unless your life is at stake. Perhaps you can win us some advantage.”
Burly barked. “No talking! Come.”
Refusing wasn’t going to do much good. I went.
***
Burly showed me into an empty cabin about the size of an LA studio apartment—room to swing a cat, but only if it was a little short in the tail. Aside from the size, it was a pretty snazzy pad. Rich draperies hung around windows made of some clear, thick membrane stretched tight. They looked out on to dark clouds and the last red line of the sunset. Paneled walls curved up into a beamed ceiling. The furniture was all wicker—to keep the weight down I guessed, and the shelves were covered with nets so things wouldn’t fall off. Horn lanterns hung from chains, and pulling aside a curtain, I found a little bed in a closet.
“So eager already?”
I spun around. The Captain stood in the doorway. “Don’t look so nervous, lad. I’m not always the fire-breather you saw on deck. I am Kai-La. Men call me Queen of the Air if they’re being polite, “That damn she-skelsha,” if they’re not. You may call me anything but another woman’s name.” She laughed. I must have been pretty beat from all the fighting because I didn’t get it.
She patted a wicker chair. “Sit down, boy. You look nigh on to death.”
I sat. Sitting was good. Kai-La gave me a long look as she crossed to a cabinet and took out a wide-based jug and two short mugs. She licked her lips.
“There certainly is a lot of you, isn’t there?”
I was catching on now. “Uh, more and less than you know.”
She sat down in the chair beside mine and handed me a mug full of something sweet and powerful. She was suddenly serious. “Listen, friend. You are not Oran. There is no need for you to share the Orans’ fate. I’m prepared to offer you again the choice they have lost. Will you join us?”
My heart jumped, but... “I... I don’t like slavers.”
She smirked. “And yet your friends are slave owners.”
“What?” I was shocked. Were they?
“My poor bumpkin, were you born under a rock? Are not they not Oran land owners? Who tills their fields? Makes their food? Wipes their behinds?”
It hadn’t even occurred to me. I mean I knew they had servants, but I’d assumed they were paid or something.
“Truly, lad, what land do you hail from t
hat knows no slavery? ’Tis a place I’d like to visit.”
I snapped out of it. “From parts unknown.”
She laughed. “Half my crew hails from there. So, do I change your mind?”
It finally occurred to me that this was my chance. This was the advantage Lhan wanted me to win for us. And I’d almost turned it down, twice. “Uh, why not. Beats being a slave.”
Kai-La paused, then laughed. “You were not born a liar, lad. Your thoughts crossed your face just now as clearly as if written on a scroll. You mean to join my crew in the hope that you will gain an opportunity to escape.”
“No, I...”
“Cease. My offer is withdrawn, no matter what you say.” She sighed. “A pity. You killed many men, men that must be replaced. And from what I heard, it seems you could almost replace my crew entire.”
“I’m sorry.” And I was, too. If things were different... But they weren’t, so fuck it. I gulped down my drink.
Kai-La joined me. “No matter. You and your friends will fetch enough coin to replace them another way, though not so much as you would have had that evil slut had kept her mouth shut.”
“What’s your beef with Wen-Jhai? She’s an idiot, but I wouldn’t call her evil.”
Kai-La looked surprised that I was talking back, but Wen-Jhai had her all worked up, so she let it go. “The nobility are like drunken giants. They may mean no harm, but every blind stagger crushes hundreds, thousands. You saw her. She gave no thought to the rest of you. Her pride was wounded, so she spoke and doomed you all. I know too well the carnage that trails in the wake of ‘noble’ idiots.”
She stared out the window like I wasn’t there, then snapped out of it and leered at me. “But enough history. On to more pleasurable pursuits.” She put down her cup and stood. “I always like to sample my wares, to make sure I never sell second-quality merchandise.”
