SoulQuest

by Percival Constantine

  “No one’s going to attack anyone.” Reyche looked at Liran when she said that, then paused briefly and tossed a questioning glance at Swul. “Right?”

  Swul shrugged.

  “I’m going down there, with or without you,” said Ekala.

  “Awright, I’ve had enough.” Swul hopped off the chair and stepped between his two friends.

  “Back off, short-stuff! I don’t care if he’s your new buddy, I’m about to put a knife in his face if he doesn’t get out of my way!”

  “We send a recon team in to take a look around,” said Tanus.

  “Fine, I’m leading that team.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Ekala’s eyes flashed with anger. “The hell I’m not!”

  “Kid, he’s got a point,” said Swul. “If Zee’s in some trouble with Gax, you an’ me already got reps in Delfor.”

  Liran stood. “She will accompany.”

  “That’s very kind of you, but no,” said Tanus. “No offense, but you wouldn’t exactly blend in down in Delfor. Reyche.”

  “Yes?” She snapped to attention.

  “You can...sense people, right?” he asked.

  Reyche nodded. “You mean their scents? Yes, I can.”

  Tanus held his hands behind his back, strolling closer to her. All the while looking like the commander he had once been. “And I assume you know all our scents? Including Zarim’s?”

  Another nod. “Mmm.”

  “Think you could find him in a town like Delfor?”

  This time, she hesitated. She’d only had these abilities a short time, and picking out an unusual scent in the abandoned tundra as she’d done with Liran was far different than trying to pick one familiar scent out of a city full of competing odors. “I don’t know...”

  “She’s not much use down there. You need someone with contacts, who knows the area,” said Ekala.

  Tanus snapped his head in Ekala’s direction. His frustration with the Excalibur’s first mate had reached a boiling point and he wasn’t prepared to put up with her much longer. “Let. Her. Speak.”

  “Fine, this should be good,” she muttered.

  Tanus turned his attention to Reyche, his features softening. “Well?”

  “I mean...I could try...” she said.

  “Good, then we—” Tanus stopped. The radio buzzed with a signal that indicated an incoming call. Everyone froze, stunned by the sudden intrusion into their conversation. Once the initial shock overcame her, Ekala practically lunged for the receiver, pulling it up to her mouth and pressing the talk button.

  “Zee?”

  “No, it’s Kef.”

  “Kef?” asked Ekala. “Why are you on this frequency?”

  There was some interference with his transmission. Something made it difficult to hear him—lots of noise in the background—but his voice crackled through. “I’m on Zee’s sky-cycle. Open the bay, I’m closing in on your location and we really gotta talk.”

  “Swul!” barked Ekala.

  “Already on it,” said Swul, flying from the bridge down to the Excalibur’s bay.

  “Who’s Kef?” asked Reyche.

  “Works for Gax, the scumbag Zee went to have a chat with,” said Ekala. “Although he’s not all bad.” She looked at Tanus. “Get your gun ready.”

  Reyche scowled. “Why? I thought you just said he wasn’t bad.”

  Ekala was in no mood for naïveté and the look she gave the vampire communicated that perfectly. “Zee goes to see Gax, Zee doesn’t come back, now we’ve got one of Gax’s men coming to the ship on Zee’s sky-cycle? Tell me how this doesn’t seem suspicious to you.”

  “She’s right,” said Tanus. “Doesn’t add up to anything good.”

  “Do they wish her to do the torture?” asked Liran, flexing her fingers, her retractable claws sliding into position.

  “No! There won’t be any torture!” said Reyche. “Just listen to what he has to say first.”

  “Last time we did things your way, we ended up prisoners of cat-people!” Ekala glanced at their latest arrival. “No offense.”

  “Acceptable response, she would have killed them had she been in their place,” said Liran.

  Within moments, Swul returned to the bridge and Kef was behind him. Liran circled around behind Kef and he watched her with confusion, then walked up to Ekala. The look on his face told her that the news was bad. “Dammit, Kef, what happened?”

  “The Dreadnoughts made a deal with Gax—he helps them get Zarim, they let him keep the ship,” said Kef. “Gax accepted.”

  “Sonnuva bitch!” she hissed. “I’m going to rip all four of his arms off and use them to make the rest of him air-tight!”

  Liran growled, then wrapped her arm around Kef’s torso and brought her claws up to his throat. The sharp points lightly scraped the flesh on his neck.

  “Hey, whoa, let me finish!” said Kef.

  Liran looked between Tanus and Ekala. Her instincts and upbringing told her the female was always in charge, and Ekala had certainly shown her courage. But Tanus also commanded authority and she found herself torn between who she should look to for her next command.

  “Let him finish,” said Tanus.

  Liran’s eyes went to Ekala to see if she was in agreement. She nodded and sighed. Liran relaxed slightly and Kef continued. “The Dreadnought leader screwed him over. Said she’ll take the ship, too. Gax can’t make his ten percent if there’s no ship for someone to fly.”

  “Ten percent...?” asked Swul.

  Tanus rubbed the back of his bald head.

  “What ten percent?” asked Ekala.

  “You know...the deal Gax made with Zarim?” asked Kef. “You give him ten percent of your haul and he lets you use the Excalibur.”

  Ekala’s jaw dropped. She looked at Swul. “You know about this?”

  Swul frowned. “First I’m hearin’.”

  “It’s true,” said Tanus. “Zarim needed Gax’s help to buy the Excalibur. He’s been paying him off ever since.”

  “Why would he tell you?” asked Ekala.

  “He didn’t, not willingly, that is. I figured it out,” said Tanus.

  Kef’s eyes danced between Ekala and Swul. “You mean...Zee never told you?”

  “We’ll worry about that later. What happens now?” asked Ekala.

  “Gax says you should get Zee so you can keep working for him.”

  “What about the Dreadnoughts?” asked Tanus. “Gax can track the ship, if he doesn’t give them the location, he’s in hot water himself.”

  “You can track the Excalibur?” asked Ekala.

  Kef nodded. “How do you think I got here?”

  “So what happens once the Dreadnoughts realize Gax has screwed them?”

  “Gax told me to get the tracking device and stash it somewhere to lure the Dreadnoughts away,” said Kef. “That’ll give you a chance to escape.”

  “And then Gax loses his leverage and the Imperials start torturing him. I’m starting to like this.” Ekala smirked. “Okay, it’s a deal. But first tell us where Zee’s at.”

  “I don’t know where the Dreadnoughts took him.”

  She scoffed. “This is a joke, right? How are we supposed to get him if you don’t know where he is?”

  “Weiss didn’t exactly announce where Zee was being taken.”

  “Did she say anything at all?” asked Tanus.

  Kef paused for a moment before slowly nodding. “Actually...yeah. She said something about an interrogation.”

  Tanus’ head jerked up at this realization. He knew where Zarim had been taken, and now a look of genuine fear fell upon his face. “Erlik.”

  “What?” asked Ekala.

  “Erlik is the name of a Dreadnought prison. Vortai wants the Soulstones, so I assume the Dreadnoughts will take Zarim somewhere with interrogation facilities. Erlik is the closest.”

  “By interrogation facility, you mean torture chamber, right?” asked Ekala.

  “The Imperials prefer
to use other euphemisms,” said Tanus. “But yes, it’s a torture chamber. Smart money says they’ll take him to Erlik.”

  “Good, so we break in and get him out,” said Ekala.

  “A Dreadnought prison don’t sound like it’s easy to get into,” said Swul.

  “Getting in is easy. It’s the getting out that’s hard.” Tanus addressed Kef now. “You and Ekala find this tracking device.”

  Kef nodded. “C’mon, I’ll show you where it is.”

  Tanus waited for the pair to leave the bridge. He watched as they descended out of view and then he closed the door just to be certain Kef could not overhear what he was about to say. “We’ll fill Ekala in later. Right now, let’s figure out what we’re gonna do.”

  “What about Kef?” asked Reyche.

  “After his boss helped the Dreadnoughts capture Zarim, I want to make sure Kef knows as little about our plan as possible,” he said.

  “He’s a good guy, but who knows what he’ll tell that four-armed weasel,” said Swul.

  “Exactly,” said Tanus. “Now, I’ve still got some friends in the Dreadnoughts. I think they can provide us with what we need to get into Erlik without trouble.”

  “And what’s that?” asked Reyche.

  “Dreadnought armor. Guard assignments. Shift changes.” Tanus rubbed his chin as he began to plan. “Swul, I’ve never seen a Dreadnought your size. You’ll stay onboard the ship, be ready to extract us when we need it.”

  “It’s ‘cuz they’re racists,” said Swul.

  Tanus chuckled, but his expression quickly changed as he went back to business. “Liran, I think we can fit you inside the armor, just make sure you don’t take the visor off. Reyche pairs with Ekala, and Liran pairs with me, that way we’ll have a tracker in each team. Now does this tub have any weapons on it?”

  “Yeah, but they can’t be used from the bridge,” said Swul.

  Tanus struck his fist lightly on the console. “Damn, would have made a great diversion.”

  “Should you or Ekala stay on the ship?” asked Reyche.

  “No,” said Tanus. “It’s more important to have back-up inside. We’re likely to need it.”

  Swul raised his arm. “I got an idea. I know ya don’t trust Kef, but he an’ Zee got a pretty good relationship. Sure he’d be willin’ to help if he can.”

  Tanus sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He stared at the helm for a few moments and then looked at Swul. “You trust him?”

  Swul shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I think he could be useful.”

  “Okay, we’ll use him,” said Tanus. “When you get the signal from me, Kef fires on Erlik. Give us some cover to get Zarim out.”

  “You do realize that kills yer escape route,” said Swul.

  “You’re right. We’ll have to steal a vehicle and then rendezvous later.”

  “Sure about that?” asked Swul.

  “Depends, can you evade the Dreadnoughts?”

  Swul scoffed at this. “I’m insulted you even had t’ ask.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Zarim woke to stinging pain running through his body. At first, it was his back, but as he tried to sit up he felt like his abdomen was on fire. Adding insult to injury were aches in his face. He reached his hand up, gently rubbing and finding bruises that were still quite sensitive. His memory was a bit of a fog, and he blinked a few times while trying to recall the last thing that happened. Placing his hand on the bed, he found it was nothing more than a small, roll-up blanket on a hard, stone floor. He groaned as his hands pulled his shirt up and saw the bandage over the spot where Gax had shot him.

  “You’re lucky. Running all over Delfor with a wound like that? Miracle you didn’t bleed out.”

  He was taken aback. Zarim was so groggy, he hadn’t even noticed there was someone else in the room with him. And sure enough, standing in a darkened corner was the Dreadnought who took him down in Delfor. Except now, she didn’t wear her armor. Just dressed in normal military garb, she stepped closer to him and her face became clear.

  Of course. It had to be her.

  “Do you know who I am?” she asked.

  He did. “Why, did you forget?”

  “My name is Commander Kara Weiss of the Dreadnoughts,” she said. “I’ve been assigned to bring you in.”

  Her name confirmed she was exactly who Zarim thought, but he made no outside expression of this knowledge. “Mission accomplished, Commander. You get your gold star yet?” asked Zarim.

  She reached into the jacket of her uniform and drew something out, then tossed it onto the ground in front of Zarim. It was his belt buckle, with the rose emblazoned on it. Zarim stared at it while she spoke. “I’m going to ask you again: where did you get this?”

  “Thought I made it clear in Delfor.” Zarim looked up. Apparently she didn’t recognize him. “I took it off some spoiled brat after I killed him.”

  Weiss’ face burned with hatred and she kicked Zarim’s jaw with so much force, he felt like his neck would snap. He fell against the wall and could taste blood on his lips. Zarim spat and snickered. “You hit like a girl.”

  She kicked him again, this time in the spot where he had been shot. That one really stung. Zarim concentrated on Master Quand’s training, trying to block the pain from his mind. Weiss bent down and drew a dagger, holding the tip to his chest.

  “That symbol? It’s a family crest,” she said. “My family crest.”

  Zarim smiled with blood-stained teeth. “Oops.”

  She raised the dagger and brought it down with a grunt into his thigh. Zarim clenched his teeth to silence the scream he nearly released, and all that came was a groan. Weiss twisted the dagger and again, Zarim had to keep himself from giving voice to his pain.

  “You killed my brother, you bastard!” she spat. “Fortunately for you, I’m supposed to keep you alive until I find out what you did with those jewels. But fortunately for me, they’ve allowed me to get what I need from you by using any means I deem necessary. Do you know what that means?”

  Zarim laughed. “If I guess correctly, will you shut up for five minutes?”

  “It means I’m going to show you an entirely new definition of pain!” Weiss yanked the dagger from the flesh of his leg. Zarim felt both relief and even more pain from the exit of the blade, and he began to bleed again. There came a few knocks on the door. Weiss wiped the blade on Zarim’s shirt, then stood as she sheathed it at her belt. She went to the door of the cell. “Enter.”

  The door opened slightly and one of the Dreadnought guards, in full armor, stood on the other side. Zarim listened to him as he said, “Just got word from the unit in Delfor. They found the ship using that tracking device.”

  “And?” asked Weiss.

  “Found it in a burnt-out husk of a ship.”

  “Was it the Excalibur?”

  “Seems likely, although there were no bodies, either live or dead.”

  “And the stones?”

  “Not a trace.”

  Weiss looked from the guard at Zarim. “He’s hidden them somewhere. Take him to the harness.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The Dreadnought opened the door wider and entered. He grabbed Zarim roughly by his bloody shirt and hefted him up. Zarim felt like he was being dragged as the guard pushed him into the corridor. The fresh wound in his leg made walking something of a challenge, and he could feel the warmth of his blood as it trickled down his calf and into his shoe. The Dreadnought wasn’t helping by constantly pushing him forward. Weiss kept pace beside Zarim.

  “Did you hear all that?” she asked. “Your ship is done for and your crew is missing. If they’re smart, they went into hiding, which means you’re really in trouble.”

  “Think what you want,” said Zarim. “Won’t make any difference to me.”

  “This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you that everything that’s about to happen can be avoided if you just tell me where to find the stones.” Weiss leaned in closer and lowered
her voice. “But I’m actually hoping you don’t, because I really want to torture you for what you did to my brother.”

  Zarim shrugged. “Hope it’ll be worth it.”

  Despite his bravado, Zarim knew Weiss wasn’t putting on a show. The Erlik prison stank of death, and audible screams echoed throughout the building. Erlik’s existence had never been officially acknowledged by Ra’kad’s regime, but legends of it were widespread. No prisoner sent to Erlik was ever seen alive again. And judging by what Zarim had seen of the place so far, he guessed those sentenced didn’t exactly live to a ripe old age within these walls.

  They came to a heavy, iron door. Weiss used a key attached to her belt to open the locks and strained slightly as she pulled the door open. The guard shoved Zarim inside and raised his prisoner’s arms. Rusty shackles hung from the ceiling, attached to durable chains, and these were cuffed tightly about Zarim’s wrists. The chains were connected to a pulley and a large spindle. The guard went to the lever and turned it, winding the chain around the spindle and hoisting Zarim up from the floor. When the guard locked it in place, Zarim’s toes barely scraped the surface of the ground, and his blood began dripping on the ground, slowly forming a crimson pool beneath him.

  The only light in the room came from a small lamp over a wooden table. It was just out of his eyeshot, so Zarim could only strain to look at it with his peripheral vision. He could see some cutting tools, but not much beyond that. The guard tore Zarim’s cloak off from behind, the force of it ripping against his throat leaving a rash. Next, the guard tore his shirt off. The guard balled both these garments and tossed them into the corner of the small room.

  “Leave us,” said Weiss. The Dreadnought guard nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. Weiss went over to the table, carefully examining the instruments to choose from. Zarim heard a snap and he knew what would come next. He took a deep breath as Weiss cracked the whip, slicing into his bare back. The leather tails were tipped with bits of metal, making the pain all the more excruciating.

  “So why don’t you tell me, Mr. Sky-Pirate. Tell me all about what it was like to kill my brother and take his property?”

  The lashes were like streaks of fire across his flesh. He could feel something running down his back, and knew that Weiss had drawn blood. He tried to find his center, concentrate on blocking out the pain. Weiss didn’t even know how far from the truth of her brother she truly was. But still, he egged her on. Besides, anything he told her to the contrary would have fallen on deaf ears. “To be honest...” Speaking through the pain was difficult, but he pushed on. “I do-don’t...really remember.”