My hand swept in the direction of where Salem was sitting.
“The raven-haired one? That’s your friend?”
“She’s my assistant. Hard to get around without her. You wouldn’t deprive a blind man of his guide, would you?”
“Somehow, I don’t think you would have a difficult time of it.”
“Perhaps, but still this girl is in my employ. I would appreciate a pardon for her.”
“What has she done?”
There was some grumbling between the Metal Heads, and the gruff one spoke up.
“She stole Madame Slater’s jeweled watch.”
I heard some shuffling around on the floor where Salem was. I raised my hand to her to keep her from speaking out like I knew she wanted to.
“Do you have any proof?”
“Proof? The lady said she was talking with this one and had the watch, and the next thing she knew it was gone and so was the girl.”
“But you never found proof she had taken it? Did you search her?”
“Of course.”
“And did you find the watch?”
“Well, no.”
“I see no proof here. For all you know Madame Slater dropped it.”
“Yes, but… the girl… she kicked me!”
“I think I’ve heard enough,” said the Doctor. “Guard, release the girl as well. I will square it away with your Master at Arms. It sounds like you have nothing on her, and this valiant man needs his assistant.”
“Thank you.”
The Metal Heads grumbled to one another as Salem got to her feet and took her place next to me. She immediately wrapped her hand around my crooked elbow. We nodded once more to the good Doctor before we made our way out of the holding cell and through the jail. Neither of us felt safe enough to speak until we were among the general populous, who kept their distance from us even more so than before.
“That was something,” she said.
“Yes, it was. Remind me to save distinguished gentlemen of wealth more often.”
She laughed.
“Thanks for getting me out too.”
“No problem. Just don’t count on it. I don’t know how long this favor will go.”
We walked a while in silence, the relief of freedom washing over us like a cool, crashing wave.
“Salem?”
“Yes, Shadow Man?”
“Where did you hide the watch?”
She giggled beneath her hair. I could almost detect a little embarrassment in it.
“Let’s just say there are certain places they never check when they search a girl.”
Chapter Eleven
“You have to relax, Shadow Man. This ship is run by Science Law. You saved a scientist. Case closed.”
I tensed at every corner we passed and was finding it hard to sleep at night while I waited for the other foot to drop over what I had done. The whole thing had gone down way too easily.
“But what power does one scientist hold over the military? Why was there no trial?”
“Duh, this is not the real military. Man, you have been in rough neck country too long. Many militaries, especially the ones on outlying planets like Artemis, started running out of money. Those stupid Metal Head uniforms don’t pay for themselves, you know. So, they started renting out their services to the highest bidders.”
“And scientists bought them? Are you telling me scientists bought the military?”
“Not the whole military. At least, I don’t think they bought the whole military. At any rate, the Coalition for Scientific Advancement owns more profitable patents than anyone out there. They are swimming in funds. So, when they need something done, like an armed transport to a dragon in space, they just hire an army.”
“So, this vessel is under Science Law.”
“Exactly. You saved a scientist’s life, so you get released with no charges of murder, no jail, and no worries. Would you relax now please?”
“But if they own the ship and the military operating it, why would they let religious zealots onboard? PR reasons?”
“I suppose, or at least that makes sense in the public eye. But I think it’s a money thing too. Obviously, scientists aren’t stupid and charging people to hitch a ride to get a glimpse at the amazing dragons is a cost effective way to gain back some of their loses. Plus, they get the added bonus of looking benevolent on the media channels. Its brilliant if you ask me.”
The next few days were spent exploring the ship. Apparently, my stunt had earned me a reputation, which made everyone else give Salem and me a wide berth. Slaughtering men was no unusual sight for someone like me, nor was it all that odd for a thief like Salem, but the general populous was stunned. They whispered as we passed them in tones they thought I could not hear. Most of the mutterings involved the unfairness of Science Law. No one trusted us, and even though it didn’t matter to me, blending into the crowd had become a futile endeavor.
Salem complained her new fame that came from being associated with me was infringing on her ability to steal well. Hard to get close to people when they parted for you like the red sea. If she couldn’t get close to them, how could she steal from them?
“Well, consider it a challenge,” I said to her one evening during dinner.
No one sat at our table, not even the scientists. We were a party of two at a table set for six. I could feel our words echo in the empty space of the dining area.
“A challenge? I am not interested in challenges,” she hissed at me.
I heard her sigh as a solemn cloud filled the air around her words.
“Maybe we should start taking our meals in the room. I don’t think we are welcome.”
I was used to solitude, but Salem was not. Being ostracized so completely obviously pained her, and it was my fault. I knew I had to do something to remedy this. The band struck up a Martian waltz, and the most beautiful idea hit me.
“Salem, is anyone dancing?”
“What? No. Everyone is eating.”
“So, the dance floor is empty?”
“Yes, it’s empty.”
“What are the dimensions?”
“Uh, I don’t know. About fifty paces shallow by two hundred paces long. Something like that.”
“Which part are we facing, the shallow or the long?”
“The shallow. Why? What’s this all about?”
I stood up and held out my hand to her.
“Dance with me.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t a question. Get your ass up and dance with me.”
“What the hell, Shadow Man? Have you gone nuts?”
“No, I haven’t. Get up and dance with me.”
“Why?”
I sighed.
“Do you want these people to soften to you or not?”
“Y-yes.”
I jerked my hand at her again.
“Then take my hand and come dance with me.”
She paused a moment before she hesitantly reached out and took my hand. Her grip was unsure, and I could feel how nervous she was. I pulled her to her feet and escorted her out to the dance floor with one hand around her waist.
“What does a Shadow Class Assassin know about dancing?” she whispered.
“About as much as thief does. Do you know how to waltz?”
“Yes,” she said in a meek whisper.
“And so do I.”
As soon as I heard the empty clack of our shoes on the wooden dance floor, I spun her around to face me. With one hand on her waist and one holding her other hand, I began to guide her to the one, two, three rhythm of the waltz. She moved right along with my lead as though we had been dancing together all of our lives.
The general murmuring of the crowd quieted, and I could feel the eyes of everyone on us as I twirled Salem around like a lady from some ancient court. The song quickened its pace and we matched the tempo, getting more and more elaborate in our motions.
A few times I led us too close to edge of the dance floor and Salem
would squeeze my hand and whisper in my ear, “Five paces behind me.” I would alter our trajectory by stopping to spin her in a grandiose manner, before we moved in the other direction.
We moved like lovers moved together. She could predict the direction I wanted from her, and I knew exactly how to catch her hand or grip her waist. It was hard to determine where I ended and she began. So fluid were our movements she felt like an extension of my limbs and I an extension of hers.
Everyone was silent and watching us. The band was feeding off of our energy as they quickened the pace of the song even further to the point where it could no longer justifiably be called a waltz. We didn’t care. We moved right along with the progression as thought we had planned for it. The music overtook us.
The tempo finally reached a climatic point, and I knew the end was coming soon. We could not possibly keep this up for much longer. I spun Salem into my arms and bent her backwards. She released herself into the dip as my other hand cradled her head, completely trusting I would not drop her. I bent down to her and kissed her lips without pause and without permission. The music ended at the perfect time, and we held the pose for a moment longer as the crowd of people stood and applauded us with enthusiasm.
Her body was warm and strong in my arms. I could feel the beginning of sweat beads collecting along her neck and lower back. Salem’s breath was deep and fast and I could feel her rib cage move with it against my shoulder. I didn’t want to let go of her. I wanted to take her to our room.
The crowd boomed around us, and I begrudgingly lifted Salem to her feet. We stood before the cheering crowd holding hands, breathing hard, and soaking in the applause. I knew this stunt humanized us to them. They may stay wary of me, but no one would be afraid of Salem now, not after that. Humans were easy creatures to predict. Give them a show and they forgave most things.
Chapter Twelve
We practically broke into our room. Well, it would be more fitting to say we practically broke the door trying to get into our room. Salem was attached to my torso with her legs wrapped around me. I held her there in my arms as we kissed each other with the ravenous passion of eager teenagers. I supposed in her case, she was still a teenager, but I had not kissed a woman like that in years. And that was what she was. Despite her age, Salem was a woman, and she held the gravity and prowess of one of the more dangerous breeds.
This was stupid, and I knew it. We both probably knew it. To bed a fellow criminal traveler in this situation was lunacy. I kept trying to tell myself in order to stop us, but my body would not listen. It had been a long time since I had been with a woman.
Lilac filled the air around me as I shut the door and found my way to the bed. It enveloped me and clouded out all of the sensible ideas I had left. The only thing I could think about was the taste of her mouth and smell of her. That smell, it swirled around me. The scent transported me back to a place I thought had died inside of me ages ago. I reveled in it. I swam in it.
I practically ripped her dress off of her while she bit at my neck, and she tore my shirt away in one quick movement. The rest of the garments soon met the same fate on the floor beside the bed, and I buried my face in her skin. I wanted to inhale her, all of her. It wasn’t until I felt her pull off the band off of my eyes that I stopped.
“What is it?”
I hesitated, gasping for breath. I held my exposed eyelids shut.
“I won’t open them. Just so you know. I won’t open my eyes.”
She put her hands gently around my face and then over my eyes. The feeling of her touch was gentle and sweet.
“I won’t ask you to,” she whispered to me.
Her small hands held me firmly and maneuvered me onto my back. In an instant, she was straddling me. I felt the weight of her body on mine, and I held onto her thighs as she guided me inside of her. We both gasped together. She leaned down to my face and we began kissing in that hungry manner from before. I wrapped my arms around her and held her body to mine. Lilacs danced around my face, and I felt drowned in their delicate embrace. There would be no better death in this world than this.
We danced again together, but this time the music was all our own. For the first time in years, I lamented my sightlessness.
* * *
Afterwards, we laid there in bed still wrapped up in each other. We were spent and satisfied yet still entangled with our limbs curling around each other like a pretzel. Her head rested on my shoulder, and I inhaled the scent of her hair while she played with one of my hands.
“That was… unexpected,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“Did you not want to?”
“No, I think it was obvious I wanted to. My better judgment told me not to, but I sort of tuned it out after that dance. What about you?”
“Same thing.”
“Am I so dangerous?” she laughed.
“Yes, and so am I,” I said with a smile.
We were silent for a moment.
“That is actually true. You and I are both dangerous in our own ways. Maybe that’s why we go so well together, Shadow Man.”
Her words hung in the air between us for a while before she suddenly plucked a few of them out and used them again.
“Hey! Enough of the Shadow Man business. I think I am close enough to you now to warrant the knowledge of your name.”
“You are right. You do warrant that, but I can’t tell you.”
“Now wait a second!”
She jumped out of our embrace and straddled me again. I could feel her warmth press down on my pelvis, and I smiled.
“Listen here, I think the least you can do after tonight is tell me your name. I’m not asking for you to take me to the chapel to make an honest woman of me. I just want your name.”
I smiled wider.
“If I offered, would you go to the chapel with me?”
“Only if it revealed your name. Stop stalling, Shadow Man. Tell me your name.”
She traced a line from my neck, over my chest and to my navel with her finger. I grunted at the tingling sensation, and frowned at her.
“I wish I could, Salem. I really do want to tell you, but I cannot.”
“Why not?”
The playfulness had left her voice. Disappointment and sadness filled the air around her. She laid back down next to me, and I held her to me. She felt good and warm.
“I just can’t. It is not you. I took a sacred oath, and until it is satisfied, I cannot speak my name to anyone.”
She sat up again suddenly.
“A blood oath? Are you telling me you took a blood oath?”
“Yes.”
“How long ago did you take the oath?”
“Seven years ago.”
“You mean to tell me you have not spoken your name to anyone in seven years?”
“Yes. You’d be surprised how few people notice.”
She was silent for a while, and I wondered what she was feeling. The energy around us had become peculiar. It was spotted with tension and angst. I reached toward her and petted her hair.
“Salem?”
“I’m alright.”
She sounded deflated. I took her arm and urged her closer to me in bed. She felt warm and solid, and I hugged her closer to me.
“You know, you are hiding secrets from me too,” I said off handedly.
“I told you Salem is my real name now,” she retorted.
“I don’t mean that.”
I reached out to her left leg and gently traced my finger along the smooth trench I had found there during our lovemaking. Salem had a jagged scar that ran from her hip down past her knee.
“I mean this.”
Her breath caught at my touch, and I stopped.
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know. It’s alright.”
“It’s very obviously not alright. Does it hurt?”
“Only sometimes. Really, I’m fine.”
“What happened to you?”
Her face was l
ying against my shoulder. Every tiny breath registered on my skin, and I felt it when the smile spread across her cheeks.
“I tell you what. I’ll reveal the mystery of my scar when you tell me your name.”
Chapter Thirteen
My ploy had been successful. While our fellow passengers were still a bit wary of me, they were far warmer to Salem. No longer did they part with disdain and suspicion when we passed, muttering insults about the injustice of my freedom. They still muttered here and there, but the gap had been closed. We even had people rejoin our table at dinner. Most opted out of conversations with me, but I didn’t care. I had nothing to say to strangers anyway. However, they did speak openly with Salem. I’m sure it helped she was young and beautiful.
And that was a fact I was unsure about. I knew she was young, but the beautiful part I could not know with any certainty. I could tell people admired her, and no matter what her appearance, she was lovely in my mind. The misery was it had been a long time since I had known a woman the way I knew Salem now, and I was insanely curious to know what she looked like.
In my mind, she was gorgeous, and her skin was covered in lilacs. She had sharp eyes that didn’t accept anything but what she was after. Her thin lips kissed like they were on fire. The problem was I didn’t know the details. What shade was that skin covered in lilacs? What color were those eyes? What sort of lipstick did she put on those lips? Or did she put on any at all?
I could ask her, but it was a useless endeavor to try to ask a woman to describe herself. They are strictly against it in any real way. Either they become suspicious, or they would only tell you about their flaws. So, I decided to enlist some help.
Salem and I had walked through the ship’s food court area one afternoon after lunch. Dinner was the only meal served in a formal fashion in the dining hall. The other two meals were up to you to acquire from one of the many vendors and slop stops set up in the food court. We had just finished two noodle bowls and decided to stroll around for a bit.
“Three scientists at four o’ clock,” whispered Salem.
“I don’t suggest you start marking scientists. They never carry anything good on them, and we are currently in their good graces.”
Vacuum (The Cataclysm Series Book 1) Page 5
