by Dante King
While I stared into the flames, I considered my mission. I needed to know if the Revenge’s crew was on this planet. I didn’t give a rat’s ass about the ship itself. The Lakunae could keep it, destroy it, even give it back to the Xeno if they chose.
I really didn’t trust the Lakunae, and neither could I put much faith in their promise that my crew members were safe. If my Marines and the rest of the crew had made it off the Revenge alive, then it seemed likely that at least some of them were on the same planet as me. If they’d been captured, it was also likely that they’d be making life difficult for their slave-masters. Marines were tough that way. They were also tougher than they were smart sometimes. I hoped they knew when to quit or back down. Otherwise, I might be on my way to rescue their corpses. At least they’d get a proper burial.
The more I thought about it, the less I believed it was likely that the Void Gods were all they claimed to be. Sure, they were powerful—I was evidence of that. The big question was whether or not they were good. Hyperspace looked to me like nothing more than complete blackness—a dead void between universes. If it was ever like my own, what happened?
The answer seemed clear: the Lakunae happened.
A shiver ran up my spine.
My thoughts were drowned out by the happiness of the people surrounding me. Despite the losses they’d suffered today, they rejoiced now. They lived hard lives filled with bloodshed, so their warriors dying was cause for celebration, not mourning. They’d fought well, so they deserved a brilliant send-off into whatever afterlife their kin believed in.
As I watched the women dance, I thought of another woman. Reaver. A strong focus on survival and movement hadn’t given me much time to think of her. And a part of me felt that it was a betrayal to simply sit here and drink beer while she might be out there somewhere.
I shook off the thought. It would be ungrateful to just leave the Ish-Nul village without a second consideration. But I had to get moving, and soon.
I left the fireside and poked my head into the Great Hall. Two old women, matrons in the community, were putting the finishing touches on the scabbard they’d created for it. Though the sword had been passed around nearly everyone in the village, and they all said it was remarkable, those two women acted like they couldn't care less. They were just happy to have something to do. I needed a scabbard anyway, so it worked out for both of us.
When one of them caught me watching, she nodded and gave me a toothless smile. I couldn’t help but laugh, no matter how bad I felt. These were good people.
I returned to the party and sat on an empty table.
“Mighty dragon slayer!” Timo-ran said with a belch as he came to stand at my right side.
He swayed on his feet, and his eyelids half-closed as he gave me a lopsided grin. I’d lost count of how many flagons of beer he’d downed already, but it looked like he had almost as much beer in his beard as he did in his belly. He moved his cup to the beat of the drums and hand-clapping as he did his best to encourage me to join in. I offered him a small smile in return.
“What’s the matter?” he asked as he leaned toward me. His beard dripped onto the new leather pants and shirt the tribe had given me. “Get up! Have fun! Today was a good -burp- day!”
I shrugged, and the movement of his beard and his bushy eyebrows suggested he’d frowned. He set his cup down, steadied himself on the table, then looked me in the eye.
“You killed a monster unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” he said. “A dragon. You should celebrate like a true Ish-Nul does. Maybe take a few of those hungry women to bed? But you’re pouting. What is it?”
It was time. I told him almost everything. I left out the part where I met his gods. I didn’t know how deep that discussion would go, or if they’d start treating me like one of the Lakunae or something.
“So, you need to find your people,” he said thoughtfully. “How do you know they’re even here?”
“I don’t,” I admitted. “That’s the problem. I have no idea where to start looking. I mean, it’s an entire planet. How would I find them? It’s not as if the Lakunae were specific with where they left my crew.”
“Nothing is more important than our people. I understand, though I’ll be sad to see you go. I think you need to go to Brazud. It’s the biggest city on the planet, so far as I know. I think you can find what you’re looking for there. Where to start once you arrive? No idea.”
“Thank you. It’s something. How do I get there?”
Timo-ran shrugged. “I don’t know. And no one else among our people will know either. We avoid such places. The best way for curious Ish-Nul not to go there is not knowing the way.”
“Wouldn’t it be best to know where it is? In case you accidentally go there while traveling?”
“We do not venture far from our lands.”
“Right,” I said.
I already had a guide in Skrew, so I hoped he knew the way. I wasn’t exactly sure whether he’d still be waiting for me outside the village, but I had little choice other than to assume he had remained there. Without him, I’d have to find some other way of finding Brazud. Besides the Ish-Nul, all the other alien species had been less than helpful.
“Anything else I should know?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said as he poked me in the chest. “Don’t get yourself killed. I don’t know much about Brazud, but the place is dangerous. Especially for us humans. Well, you’re not exactly human anymore, so maybe you’ll be fine.” Timo-ran gestured at the pendant around my neck, as though only just seeing it. “Where’d you get that?” His eyes narrowed for a moment, and I could tell his mind was working in overgear to understand what I was doing with an item of ownership.
“It’s not technically mine. I saved a vrak’s life, so he gave it to me.”
“Saved his life? Sounds like you did a bad deed there, dragon slayer. But for one of them to give you a phylac of its own kind—that says something. Maybe we don’t know them as well as we thought. Still, they deserve to die. For taking Enra from us.”
I knew I wouldn’t convince the man otherwise, and I didn’t particularly like the vrak either. If Timo-ran wanted to lead the Ish-Nul in genocide, then I was happy to leave them to it.
“Drink more beer, relax, and leave in the morning,” Timo-ran continued.
“I need to leave now,” I said, staring out the window of the great hall at the huge moon rising over the horizon.
Timo-ran sighed. “You do what you need to do, then. Wait here. I’ll fetch your sword and some rations for your travel. But promise me you’ll return, or the women will never let me hear the end of it.”
“I promise,” I said. I knew he was telling the truth. The women would give him hell if I didn’t come back. There was one woman in particular I’d need to say goodbye to. I didn’t intend on leaving without telling her my plans.
I was saved the trouble of finding her when Timo-ran returned a moment later with Enra by his side, a pack of rations in one arm, and my scabbarded sword in the other. A braided garland twisted through her hair and framed a face that was flushed by more than a little beer. There was a soft sadness in her eyes as she embraced me without a word. I held her for a long moment and heard her whisper into my chest.
“There’s always a place for you here, Jacob,” she murmured.
I squeezed her gently. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me,” she said as she stepped back.
“None of us will. The Ish-Nul will always open their arms to you and yours, Jacob,” Timo-ran assented. “Now, take your weapon and go in search of your own family.”
Enra kissed me before I turned to leave. Her mouth hungrily consumed mine, and her hands curled in my new tunic of furs. Then she drew back and smiled wistfully.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promised.
I was loaded with supplies, and the sword hung from my hip as I crept back to where I’d left Skrew. I heard him before I saw him. So much
for stealth. I watched him sleep and listened to his high-pitched snoring for several seconds before I tapped his foot with my own. He stopped snoring for a moment, yawned, and started snoring again.
I tapped harder and smiled as he scrambled to his feet. He snatched a rock from the ground and held the fist-sized weapon over his head with two hands while the other two assumed a fighting stance—sort of.
“Who?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand. “What? Who?”
I shushed him, and he set the rock down when he realized it was me.
“Skrew got bored from waiting,” he said with a yawn. “Must have fallen to the sleep, yes.”
“I’m glad you’re still here.”
“Skrew would not leave. Jacob is master.”
I grunted before I handed him a leather pack Timo-ran had given me. “Here.”
Skrew sniffed it and squinted at me with questioning eyes.
“It’s rations,” I said. “We’re leaving.”
Skrew sat his pack on the ground and started going through the contents, making happy squeaks as he sniffed each wrapped bundle. “Where do we go?” He ripped one open with his sharp teeth and took a bite.
“We’re going to Brazud,” I said before taking a step back as he began coughing and spitting bits of hardtack onto the ground.
“Skrew cannot go to Brazud,” he protested. “Too many of the dangers. No, too many! Cannot hide there. Cannot hide from them all. They will kill Skrew dead. Very dead. All the way dead!”
“Do you know where it is?” I asked.
He nodded before he realized the mistake he’d made, then firmly shook his head. “Way is not known to Skrew. Knows how to go anywhere but Brazud.”
I saw that he needed a little more encouraging, but I was unsure what to say. He needed to know that I would protect him if he encountered danger. My mind settled on the object dangling around my neck.
“I want you have this,” I said as I held his phylac out for him.
He didn’t take it right away. Instead, he stared at it as if it was a thing of mystery, as if he’d never seen one before. Then he looked at me, inspected my new clothing, my pack, my new leather shoes, and my face. He didn’t speak until he’d checked over both his shoulders and the nearby trees.
“That is Skrew’s phylac?” he asked, his voice barely audible.
“Yes,” I said. “It’s yours. Take it.”
“But Jacob is master,” he protested, holding all four hands out plaintively.
“I didn’t know that’s what you meant when you gave it to me,” I explained. “My people do not take slaves. If you have this, then according to your custom, you’ll be able to leave any time you want. That’s up to you. I hope you stay, though. I still need a guide.”
By giving him the choice to leave, I hoped he would remain. Even if he didn’t, I knew I was doing the right thing. Without a guide, finding Brazud would be difficult, but I couldn’t have Skrew operating under the assumption that I was his master.
He reached for the phylac, hesitated, and reached again. He studied my face the entire time. When he took it from me, he fell to his knees and clutched it in his hands. “Skrew is not a slave.”
“That’s right. I’m leaving for Brazud now. I don’t know how to get there, but I don’t want to force you to show me the way.”
Skrew clenched his eyes shut before he thrust out a finger and pointed deeper into the forest. He didn’t look at me as tears streamed down his cheek. I wasn’t interested in a heartfelt goodbye, but I had grown attached to the little guy.
I waited for a few moments while he broke into sobs, but when he made no move to join me, I accepted his unspoken answer and headed through the woods. I didn’t know how long it would take me to travel in the direction Skrew had pointed before I reached Brazud, but I would likely smell the city and see its glowing lights at some point. I needed to find higher ground if I stood any chance of spotting it. The Ish-Nul avoided venturing far from their village because they might stumble upon Brazud, so I figured it couldn’t be too far.
Of course, those were a lot of assumptions, but assumptions was about all I had for now.
I put one foot in front of the other and marched forward. My footsteps were almost silent, thanks to the leather shoes the Ish-Nul had given me. My old boots hadn’t survived the fight with the dragon, so I was glad for the gifts.
“Master!” a voice called out from behind me.
I turned to see Skrew running after me, tears still flowing down his face.
“Not Master,” I said.
“Not Master,” he repeated with a firm nod. “Jacob will get lost. Needs guide. Needs Skrew.”
“I do need you,” I said, unsure whether admitting it was a terrible idea.
He grinned at me and sniffed. “Skrew will lead.”
The vrak recounted the mighty lizard that had stomped through the woods and narrowly missed squashing him with a fallen tree. I figured he didn’t need yet another story to reenact, so I didn’t tell him about how I’d slain the dragon. For now, he seemed happy for my company, and even happier to lead me in the direction of Brazud.
We walked all night and into the morning, and I was relieved when I noticed the chilly air had lost most of its bite. The trees were greener than they’d been among the Ish-Nul. Low shrubs and woody bushes became more frequent the further we walked. Bugs had hollowed out most of the fallen trees and provided little peep-holes where branches used to grow. Flowers also appeared more often, and each one I saw was more exotic than the next, but I cautioned myself against touching any until I learned more about them.
In the morning, after we’d been walking for a few hours since our last rest, Skrew vanished over a hill. He had a habit of racing ahead even though I’d told him to slow down, but I’d already chided him a dozen times about it, so I figured he wasn’t going to learn. I could have kept up with him by sprinting, but a man as large as me running through the forest was a sure way of attracting the wrong kind of attention.
As I approached the hill’s crest, Skrew suddenly came running full speed toward me. I drew my new sword, ready to kill whatever might be chasing him. Instead, the vrak tried to tackle me.
“What the—” I started before he climbed halfway up my body and clamped a three-fingered hand over my mouth. He pointed into the woods at a fallen log. I looked, and he proceeded to push against me with all his might. Whatever he wanted to hide from must have been important, so I ran to the log and lay down behind it.
I watched the trail, and a few seconds later, I saw a woman sprinting down it. She wore leather clothes, similar to mine, except they were either dyed a pale green, or just as likely on this world, were made from a creature with green flesh. She was muscular, and her skin seemed to sparkle in the bright sunlight.
I was entranced. She was definitely alien but humanoid enough to catch my eye. As she ran by, breathing hard, I noticed what made her sparkle. It wasn’t her entire body, just a stripe going down the side of her neck behind her ear. Another stripe, this one an iridescent green, blue, and pink, made a distinct line from her bottom lip, down her neck, and disappeared between her ample cleavage and into her green leather shirt.
Her three pursuers were not nearly as attractive. Like Skrew, they were gray-skinned, but that was where the similarities ended. Their two muscular arms were as thick as my waist. The creatures weren’t any taller than me but easily outweighed me by 80 pounds. They were tank-like beings with murderous grins visible under their gold and green helmets.
These creatures were strapped with surgically implanted technology that looked as if it had been cobbled together from a scrap-heap. Based on what I’d seen with the dragon, the idea wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
They were fast, so I couldn’t see much of them before they disappeared behind the trees. Their tech looked advanced enough to make me cautious. One might have even been a sensor array. Other items swung from their hips, and they almost looked like firearms,
but it was hard to tell now that they were getting away. They could have been close combat weapons similar to the MSM vibro-blades. They looked like they were wearing body armor of some kind, though it didn’t cover them completely.
“They are Enforcers,” Skrew whispered. “They are evil. They have the magic. Can burn to ash. Burn everything. Burn through wall. Burn water. Jacob cannot stab them, even with new, pointy sword. Leave Jacob ash mess on ground, on floor. We hide. We wait. We don’t die.”
Magic? I didn’t believe in magic. I believed in illusion, in technology that was too advanced for me to understand, and in sleight of hand. But not magic. What he called magic had to be the interesting tech they carried.
I wanted to see what they had. The tech could be useful to me not only for the journey to Brazud but also for when I entered the city. Plus, I didn’t like the way they were chasing that woman. Neither she nor they were out for exercise. They were trying to catch her—maybe to turn her to ash.
I’d already seen the Ish-Nul burned to a crisp by the dragon. I’d saved many of them, but I hadn’t been able to save them all. This fleeing woman I could save.
“Are the Enforcers slavers?” I asked as I considered how best to take them down.
Skrew didn’t answer.
“Skrew?” I said. “Tell me the truth.”
“They are slavers,” he said, sounding completely defeated.
He knew what was coming next.
Chapter Fifteen
Before I could pursue the Enforcers, Skrew insisted I stop and listen. I guessed he was only trying to delay me so I couldn’t catch up with them. But I knew how fast I was. I could still track them down.
I pulled Skrew’s three-fingered hand away from my shirt. “What?”
“Path curves back,” he said, emphasizing what he was saying with all four of his hands.
“And?”
“And,” he said, his own patience growing thin, “Jacob can set trap. Can do the sneaky. Can maybe kill both Enforcers and not get made to ash. Skrew show him where. Good idea, yes?”
