Pendulum

by Ciara Knight

  Mandesa shook her head. “No, thanks, I have too much work.”

  Lanena took my father’s hand. “Be careful. Keep your ears and eyes open. Lately, too many strange things have been happening. People whispering then stopping the moment we enter the room.”

  “You’re the ones who should be careful,” Mandesa said so softly my parents didn’t hear.

  I wanted to shake them, and scream that something bad was going to happen, but I couldn’t.

  From a distance, I heard Gordon’s voice calling to me. Shaking, I returned to the present. Even knowing what was to come, I pitied Aunt Mandesa.

  Pinching the bridge of my nose, I found myself wondering when my parents had realized Mandesa was the true danger facing the world.

  No, not danger.

  Evil.

  Now, to figure out what and how much to tell Gordon.

  Chapter Eleven

  I took several deep breaths, releasing them slowly. My pulse receded to a tapping against my neck. “I saw them. My parents and my mother’s sister.”

  “Good. You’re getting better at controlling your gift.” Gordon sat beside me and rubbed my back. “Take it slow. Tell me what happened with your mother, father, and her sister? Was your mom pregnant with you?”

  You’re the ones who should be careful.

  Mandesa’s comment of potential danger blasted through me. It seemed as if the words spoken long ago were really a warning for me. At the very least, they reminded me not to trust anyone outside my small circle of proven allies. Our lives and the future of the rebellion depended upon how I handled Gordon.

  Give him just enough information to keep us alive while not exposing my dad. Hopefully, whatever I said would stall any action he planned until Dred was alert and all of us could safely escape.

  “I’m sorry but there wasn’t anything to help the rebellion. You already know the queen’s not my mother.” Part of me enjoyed saying that out loud. Relief and the weight of the last ten years lifted from my shoulders.

  “You never know. Tell me everything.”

  I frowned and bit my lower lip.

  “Surely, you saw something. Was there anyone else there?”

  “No, just my parents.”

  “It’s okay. This proves we’ve broken the Neumarian’s block and that I can send your mind to the queen’s location in the past. We should try again after you’ve had some rest. This time, we’ll focus on the queen’s strategic plans after the war, for now, report to the bridge. You’re an hour late for your shift.”

  “But, what about the ENR?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll send a message to the council and hopefully receive a response by morning.”

  The last thing I wanted was to be on the bridge. I needed to find Ryder and bring him up to date. Over the past few hours, I’d learned critical intel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anywhere near him while Mart was around. That left Penton and Bendar.

  With a nod, I stood, took two steps, and stumbled.

  Gordon jump from the sofa, reaching me before my knees hit the floor. “Semara!” As he helped me upright, I felt as if a hand had reached into my mind and fisted a piece of information it wanted.

  I shook my head. “This session took more out of me than I thought. My mind feels…violated.”

  Gordon’s smile arched into a tooth-baring grin. “Violated? Interesting choice of words. I think you’ve been talking to Ryder too much. There’s nothing to be concerned about. Remember when we started, I warned you there could be side effects. It’s probably more noticeable because of the Neumarian’s block. It should get better in a few minutes. Will you be okay?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m able to report for duty.”

  “Good. After your shift, we’ll talk about the next session.”

  “Yes, sir.” With a nod, I headed for the bridge.

  A few minutes later, I checked my emotions at the lift, stepped onto the bridge, and reported for duty. Most were focused on their jobs. The rest were making preparations for tomorrow’s docking. I acknowledged Raeth with a nod then moved to my screen.

  “Nice of ye royal highness to finally arrive,” Mart snarled.

  Great, how could I have forgotten that she’d have command if the captain wasn’t on duty? My back stiffened. I refused to appear disconcerted by her, especially knowing what she’d done to Dred and her plans for me.

  “Didn’t Captain Gordon notify you he had me perform a mission for him?” Oops, wrong thing to say.

  Mart’s face went white then flushed. Mart might try to throw me in the Tower later, but for now she couldn’t touch me.

  “Get to work,” she snapped. Pivoting, she strode toward Raeth.

  Before Mart reached Raeth, the scanner’s orange warning light flashed, indicating an unknown object approached. With the alert, we moved into silent-running mode. Covers sealed all portholes, a red light lit the ship, and all unnecessary work ceased. I automatically hunched my back, and cupped the sides of the view finder, blocking my peripheral vision.

  “Report,” Mart ordered, her voice barely a whisper.

  A dark shadow or large vessel blocked the entire finder. “It’s too large to make it out.”

  Hands fisted at her side, Mart faced the front. “Screen,” she hissed.

  I hit the bronze screen button. A view of the ocean floor blanketed in darkness covered the large monitor at the front of the bridge. A shadow crossed in front of us, so close I thought our ships would scrape one another, sending us both to the bottom. Everyone remained still, transfixed on the sight in front of them. If it was a Kantian ship, it was too late to escape. And, based upon the size of the vessel, it had plenty of fire power.

  “Prekleto srednji prst ladja,” Mart murmured.

  Great, she’d given orders in ancient Neumarian. I’d tried to learn it, but it’d been a hard slog and had moved down on my priority list.

  “Sorry, I don’t understand ancient Neumarian.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I spotted an emblem pass by—a triangle with the letters ME.

  I pointed at the swirly, yet thick letters on the ship’s hull. “Mart, look.”

  “I see it. Hail the ship,” she ordered.

  “Hail them?”

  Mart strode to my console, towering over me with a scowl. “If ye knew your job, ye would’ve recognized it was an ENR ship from Middle Europe. Yes, they be rowdy, obnoxious, drunken characters, but they’re allies.”

  I cancelled the silent-running alert, lowered a bronze lever, and turned the dial. A loud whistle hailed. An answering ping flashed on my monitor. “They’ll be on display momentarily.” I opened a communication channel.

  Mart marched to the center of the bridge and waited for the screen to shift from an ocean view to the commanding officer of the other ship.

  As the view cleared, I saw a dark-haired man with a tailored beard fill the screen. Dark blue material, stretched tight between six bronze buttons, lined each side of his chest. “Mademoiselle Mart, I see your little boat is crawling along the ocean floor like any other bottom feeder.”

  Mart stood straight, hands clasped behind her back. “While ‘tis always a pleasure to see ye, Captain Paulson, I’m surprised ye be in Upper European waters. Has something happened? Do ye need a tow?”

  “Ha. Unlikely that tin can of yours could tow a child’s toy, let alone the most technologically advanced S class ship in the fleet.” Paulson’s gaze roamed the bridge and settled on Raeth, then me. “So, the rumors are true.”

  Mart didn’t take her eyes from the image of the man in front of her. “I ask again, do ye seek our assistance?”

  “Assistance? From you? Ha.” Paulson’s eyes didn’t move from me.

  My hand dampened, and I moved it to the view finder, while remaining still under his scrutiny. I’d had a lot of practice showing no reaction as a princess when I addressed the council.

  “The princess looks nothing like what I expected.”

  “And ye look nothing like a captain of
Middle Europe’s newest ship,” Mart said with a sweet smile curving her lips.

  Mart’s retort and animation surprised me. Not that I showed it as I stood in silence. That deep twinge of warning, the one which made me feel like there was more going on then I understood, rippled through me.

  Captain Paulson gave a small bow. “It’s a pleasure, Princess Semara.” He turned to stare at Mart. “I’ll need to speak with Captain Mortison.”

  “He won’t be speaking with ye just now,” Mart said.

  “Why not? Is he…indisposed?” Paulson drew snickers from a few of the men behind him.

  With a simple slice of her hand, Mart silenced them. “Sadly, Captain Mortison gave his life to save the princess.”

  Sorrow filled me. Another life lost to save mine. With each new event, it became more important that Ryder and I, and our comrades, put together an escape plan.

  “I see.” Captain Paulson remained stoic. “Then I’ll speak to your next in command.”

  “Standby, I’ll hail Captain Gordon.”

  “Gordon? He’s captain now? That makes you what? First mate?”

  “Do ye have a problem with me position here?”

  Paulson’s gaze skimmed Mart’s body. “No, I’ve never had a problem with your position.”

  “Don’t think yer charms will work on me. Devil’s Dockside was a long time ago. It won’t work on me now.” Out of sight of the screen, Mart motioned for me to turn off the communication.

  I rotated the knob and terminated the connection. By the look on Mart’s face, she was none too happy to see Captain Paulson from Middle Europe.

  Mart flipped her coat tails back and hot-footed to my side. “Move.” She flicked the switch and a red light glowed on the console. “Captain Gordon, report to the bridge.” She snapped off the comm and paced.

  I cleared my throat. From two consoles away, Raeth turned to face me. With a quick glance to make sure Mart was still fuming in her own world, I mouthed to Raeth, Need to talk.

  She nodded, but we both knew there was no escaping at the moment. Also, we wanted to see what Captain Paulson sought. And I feared it was me.

  Moments later, Captain Gordon charged onto the bridge. His attention fixed on the massive Middle Europe ship slithering by us, his jaw tightened. With a grimace, he straightened his uniform and nodded to me. “On screen.”

  Once again, I touched the button and Captain Paulson filled our screen with a broad smile, one that seemed too large for the display. “Congratulations on your advancement, Captain Gordon. Too bad so many people had to die for you to achieve it.”

  “How may I assist you, Captain Paulson?” Gordon’s face remained blank, not a twitch to give an indication of his thoughts.

  “We’ve heard that the council is…not as receptive to meeting the princess as Middle Europe. I believe it would be in all our best interest if we escorted Princess Semara to safe harbor in Middle Europe.”

  “If you desire to change my orders, bring it up with the council, not me.”

  “I understand your orders. However, ME believes Princess Semara and her companions would prefer our hospitality over your Tower. You could always say we forced you, threatened to blow your ship out of existence if you didn’t relinquish her.”

  Only my training allowed me to bite back my gasp at his threat.

  Gordon glanced at Raeth then me. “Don’t worry. They won’t attack,” he said. “The most threat they cause is a bunch of swooning language and hot air.”

  “Ah, you speak of my heritage. We are such great lovers. Right, Mart?”

  Mart stunned me with her control. She stood at attention behind Gordon and didn’t bat an eye or respond in any other discernible way to his comment.

  “You have our answer. We dock in the morning. Stop making threats you can’t carry out. Short of killing everyone onboard, there’s no way to remove Princess Semara. Middle Europe doesn’t need the incident it would create or the loss of supplies from us it would cost your realm.”

  “Yes, well, we’ll be rectifying that soon enough.” Captain Paulson nodded to his left and the connection severed.

  The bridge remained still until the Middle Europe ship moved off, leaving only bubbles in its wake.

  “How did they learn Princess Semara’s onboard?” Mart growled, stalking from the bridge. At her venomous glare, crew scattered.

  Captain Gordon started to follow her, then paused and looked back at us. “Raeth, you have the bridge.”

  “Yes, s-sir.” She rose from her stool, clanged over to the captain’s chair, and sat.

  Hands shaking, I remained at my station, my mind racing. How did they know I was aboard? Why did they want my friends and me? Worse, had Paulson’s arrival made it more difficult for us to safely slip away from Upper Europe’s council?

  The next five hours passed without incident, if you didn’t count my twitching at every beep, creak, or gong. When my shift relief finally arrived, I bolted to the mess hall, almost leveling several people.

  Even before Paulson’s arrival, Dred’s and my time was short. Now, it was even more so. I had to find Ryder and Bendar. They needed to know everything I’d discovered. While not being the queen’s daughter might be important, the news about Dred and the Tower was critical. And then there was Paulson’s demand.

  Upon entering the mess hall, the smell of boiled cabbage and mystery meat stopped me cold. I swallowed the acid inching up my throat and scanned the room. Great. It swarmed with people getting food and beverages or occupying tables, chatting with friends and co-workers.

  Once I spotted Bendar, almost hidden in the back corner, I exhaled.

  “Hi, beautiful.” Ryder’s voice caressed my ear while his hand pressed to the small of my back. “Miss me?”

  “More than you can imagine.” I wanted to fling my arms around him and have him hold me for hours. But it wasn’t an option. Instead, I grabbed his hand and tugged him toward Bendar.

  “Wait. We haven’t gotten our food yet,” he half-heartedly protested.

  “Later. You and Bendar have to hear what I’ve learned. And I don’t know how much time we’ll get alone.”

  As we neared Bendar, his rust-colored beard twitched. “Heard about your big day, Semara.”

  I didn’t bother asking how he knew. Over the years, I’d learned if anything happened to me, he’d discover it almost instantly. “Which event? Dred? The Tower? The queen? Or the Middle Europe ship?”

  Bendar’s eyebrows rose. “Middle Europe ship and Dred know. What about mother?”

  A lump rose in my throat.

  Ryder flung his leg over the stool and sat by my side, Bendar across the table from us. “First, bring me up to speed. What’s this about a Middle Europe ship?”

  “Captain of Middle Europe ship want Semara. Threatened blow us up,” Bendar said.

  “What?” At Ryder’s raised voice, several guards directed their attention our way.

  I flashed them a knowing smile, letting them think I’d just given Ryder news no young, unmarried man wants. “Settle down or the guards will come over,” I whispered. “Captain Gordon refused to turn me over. Captain Paulson of the Middle Europe vessel threatened to blow us up. Don’t worry, it was a bluff. But I did learn that ME is supplied by the ENR.”

  Ryder rubbed his temple. “Back-up, Semara. Bluff or not, that was a mighty big threat.” He looked at the all-knowing Bendar. “You know why they want Semara? Why the ME captain risked losin’ their supply of weapons and ammo?”

  I shivered at the chilling air. If this news, which was resolved, had set off his gift, how would he take the news of Dred, me, and the Tower?

  Observing his tense brow, I realized he needed to refuel. While Bendar and Ryder discussed how the rebellion and loyalty to it differed throughout Europe, I slid away to get him some food. Spotting Penton with a tray and Raeth at his side with hers, I jerked my head toward Ryder and mouthed, we need to talk.

  Both of them nodded and moved toward our table. Penton mig
ht be young, but he’d never let anything happen to Raeth. Seeing the way her smile lit her face, warmed my heart. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her.

  Grabbing two trays full of food, I returned to the others. Seeing Penton slide his hand onto Raeth’s, a burst of hope washed through me. With both of their eyes fixed on Ryder, I planted a kiss on his cheek and winked at Raeth, willing her to do the same to Penton. Her eyes widened. She shook her head and shoved a forkful of food into her mouth.

  Coward. How could a girl who’d face spiderats, sermechtapedes, being captured and nearly executed not stand up to her brother? Then again, this was Ryder. I was lucky. He was my boyfriend, not my brother, although that came with an entirely different set of issues.

  Sighing, I checked the large bronze clock on the far wall. If I didn’t say something now, it would tick away our few stolen minutes together.

  “I need to share some things and we don’t have much time, so just listen.”

  Ryder’s hand froze midair, his fork full of cabbage. “What is it?”

  “No matter what I say, keep eating. We can’t alert the guards.”

  Ryder nodded and scooped more food on his fork. His eyes darted to the guards and back to his food.

  “I visited Dred earlier. When I entered the infirmary, Mart was inside talking to the medic, Thornton, and I hid between the medicine cabinet and wall.”

  Ryder swallowed. “Semara. I know how you feel about Mart—”

  Bendar edged forward on his stool. “Semara, continue.”

  “You were right about Dred. His brain isn’t damaged. He’s been drugged. I heard Mart order Thornton to continue drugging Dred so he wouldn’t be a problem when they imprisoned him and me.”

  Raeth took in a quick breath. “Are you s-sure?”

  “Absolutely sure. There’s more. When Mart left, Thornton caught me.”

  Bendar clasped my hand. “You okay?”

  “Yes. Thornton hasn’t given Dred the drug. He’s hopeful Dred’ll come to before we dock and he’s locked up in a place they call the Tower.”