Exile

by Julia Barrett

  Aja made no sound as their blood mingled. Despite her reservations, she bound them in the manner women of the Blood bound themselves to their mate. Blood dripped onto the coverlet, staining it red. When at last she pulled her palm away, both cuts had closed and the bleeding had stopped.

  She had no choice. She needed him alive. The man would heal quickly now. He should be up within twenty-four hours, stronger than ever. She would have given him her blood before, but this was the first time she’d been alone on the ship with Captain Aram. She didn’t dare take the risk when Wyer was about. He’d have gutted her. At least, he’d have tried. Even Davi would have been nervous had he witnessed such a barbaric rite.

  The old ones told their children and grandchildren fairytales. The stories claimed the Blood could heal wounded warriors and cure poisoned maidens, even bring the dead to life.

  There was truth to the old tales.

  According to her family chronicles, in ancient days, women of the Blood were sacrificed from time to time and their blood shared to appease the people of a different god. Fortunately for her family, that custom had died out long ago. The Coalition dismissed the stories of healing as superstitious nonsense, praise the Gods, or the Coalition would use them like brills and milk them dry.

  Perhaps that was why her kidnappers had drawn her blood, four vials of it.

  When the captain felt better she’d speak to him about Chief Wyer. She’d stopped in the Chief’s room before going to the galley, to touch some of his personal items, to take a reading of the man’s heart. He would have to be dealt with, either left behind or killed.

  Killing him would ensure their safety. Her mother had a saying‌—‌If your enemy is coming to kill you at eight, arise at seven and kill him first.

  Aja had seen the Chief’s treachery. He would betray the captain. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. She’d seen that he’d be offered a great deal of coin to give up the entire crew to the military police. She would not let that happen.

  Other than Chief Wyer, she had not encountered any other evidence of treachery. She hoped Captain Aram would forgive her. As he’d said, Wyer’s talents kept his ship in one piece.

  Unfortunately, he would have to find himself another talented engineer.

  Aja looked down at the sleeping man. She hoped he would forgive her too, for sharing the Blood. He was irrevocably linked to her now, whether he willed it or no.

  DAUGHTERS OF PERSEPHONE

  Captain Aram scooted to the edge of his bed to eat the meal Aja had left for him. He was feeling much more like himself, wondering if he dared a shower. He didn’t want to use the sonic shower as that would leave a power signature, but the ship was built to hold backup water tanks. The thought of water pouring over his body was inviting, even if the water was tepid at best.

  Suddenly ravenous, the man tore the cover off the bowl and found a stew of meat and reconstituted freeze-dried root vegetables. He reached for the hunk of dryebread she’d left and crumbled it into the bowl. He shoveled the lukewarm mess into his mouth. It tasted heavenly. She’d prepared the stew with some herbs he’d never eaten before and he wondered for a moment where she’d found them, but he quickly forgot, feeling his strength return with each spoonful. She’d left him two jugs of water and he downed both. Finally, he reached for a cup of snowberries she’d set on his table and he poured them into his mouth, appreciating their sweet tang as never before. He knew he hadn’t brought any aboard so she must have found some in the canyon.

  Had she said they’d landed in a canyon? She’d said ravine. No matter.

  The captain lay back, very satisfied. But he stunk like a man who’d been sick and he needed to scrub the stink off.

  He climbed out of bed, surprised at the steadiness of his legs. Just yesterday, he’d felt like death warmed over.

  Had that been yesterday?

  His first stop was the head, where he was giddy to be able to piss without any help. He used the toothpowder and tooth brush to clean his teeth, the taste of a clean mouth delighted him. He retrieved fresh clothing from a set of drawers built into the wall of his cabin, dropped the items on his bunk, and strode through the door, a cloth wrapped around his waist, a cake of soap in his hand, headed for the decontamination unit outside the ship. He could shower there.

  Kyr found Davi Fedd and Chief Wyer busy with repairs. He stopped to assess the damage.

  “Could have been worse,” said the captain. “I heard you had a nasty bit of flying, Mr. Fedd.”

  “Yeah, tore some skin off, but we got her down in one piece. You look a new man.”

  “Seems I’ll live.” Kyr grinned at his friend. “Right now I need to wash the stink of that sickness off me. I’ll be under the shower in the decontamination unit. Wyer, how long do you speculate before we can leave this rock?”

  “Another day or two, Captain. This is a makeshift job. We’ll have to get her reskinned once we reach home.”

  “Will she make it that far?”

  “Should hold up, barring another encounter with the military.”

  “Mr. Fedd, any sign of scouting parties? Are they searching for wreckage?”

  “Not so far, but I’ve taken precautions. Don’t want to set off any alarms. I’m hoping they think we fried and there’s no wreckage to find.”

  “They may be waiting for us when we pull up. We’ll have to open the channels to listen in before we leave. I want to make sure there’s not an entire fleet just outside the atmosphere.” The captain studied the hull. “Where’d you find the gravity skin?”

  Davi and Wyer exchanged glances. “Borrowed some from a transport last night. Didn’t want to set off any alarm bells in the settlement. Someone might call the authorities about two strangers looking to buy parts,” said Wyer.

  The captain nodded his agreement. The crew of the transport would assume the settlers had helped themselves. A common occurrence on these distant outposts.

  “Where’s Aja?”

  “Off on one of her damn hikes,” said Wyer, scorn in his voice. “Let’s hope the stupid ishat knows enough to keep her head down. I don’t like a woman on a ship, Captain. You know that. Bad luck.”

  Kyr glanced at Davi. He knew his first mate had caught the flash of anger on his face, but Wyer hadn’t bothered to turn around. He’d missed the exchange.

  “Superstitious nonsense, Chief. We’ve ferried women before.”

  “Whores and healers. This one makes me nervous. I’d just as soon off-load her here. Especially if there might be a battleship waiting for us.”

  Kyr frowned, but he kept his voice light. “And lose the coin? Your case of nerves will vanish when you’re paid.”

  “When’s that? I thought I’d have half the coin by now.”

  “You want it, come to my cabin later. You’ll get it.” Captain Aram strode off wondering why the man was so touchy.

  Wyer had been with him two years. He’d picked him up from a trading vessel after his own engineer had been killed during a raid by interstellar pirates. As the ancient saying went, the man could spin gold from straw, but still, Wyer’s loyalty would always be to the coin he received, not to his captain and not to the crew. Knowing that, Kyr had always paid the man promptly. It hadn’t seemed to be much of an issue, but then this mission wasn’t one of their usual smuggling operations. The outcome of this mission had consequences for the entire galaxy.

  Wyer didn’t realize their cargo was more precious than any amount of coin, and Kyr suddenly knew with crystal clarity the man had better not find out. Maybe he should have left Wyer behind on Kesa with the rest of the crew, but if he had, they might be stranded here for weeks. He and Davi could make the repairs themselves, but not with the same speed and skill. Wyer’s repair would hold until they could get home.

  Kyr ducked beneath the ship, head down until he reached the decontamination unit. They’d designed the space for two large men to stand beneath. Two shower heads. In Kyr’s view chemical decontaminates were a waste of money. His crew made
do with recycled water.

  He tossed the cloth onto a rock so it would stay dry, loosened the knot he assumed Aja had put in his waist-length braids to keep them from tangling, and he pulled the switch. The captain leaned back and closed his eyes as tepid water poured over his body. He scrubbed vigorously with the cake of soap he’d brought, washing every body part twice, including his hair.

  Gods in heaven, the water felt good.

  At last, convinced he’d cleansed every pore of viral stink, Kyr stepped out from beneath the hull, dripping, carrying the dry cloth in his wet hand. He shook his long hair, spraying the nearby sandstone with water. As he began to dry off, his skin prickled and he felt eyes on him. He lifted his head. Aja knelt on a flat, rocky outcropping, twenty feet away, watching him with undisguised interest.

  Kyr hadn’t felt any embarrassment the entire time he was ill, when she’d had to help him with everything. She’d seen every single naked inch of him. Now he blushed. He felt like his entire body was burning up and he quickly covered himself with the cloth, although there was no way a drying cloth could disguise his sudden erection. Seven hells.

  “If I’d known you had a decontamination unit, I would have showered,” Aja said. Kyr knew she was pretending she hadn’t seen what she’d obviously seen. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. I just returned and I... I’m... Forgive me.” He noticed her pink cheeks. “I couldn’t resist.”

  Kyr tried to stop his mind from going where it was going. A Princess of the Blood was supposed to remain pure until her marriage. At least that’s what he’d been told. He had no business thinking such impure thoughts of Aja.

  “I’ll go now,” she said, her voice soft. She picked up a bag and slung it over her shoulder. Still barefoot, she jumped off the ledge with ease. The captain watched her disappear around the side of the ship, hips swaying beneath the loose trousers. He needed to find her some shoes before she cut her feet, he thought, wondering how long it would take his erection to go away and if he should make it go away with his fist. As sick as he’d been, he was more than a little surprised he’d gotten so hard so fast.

  Kyr picked up the cake of soap and followed her. She’d gone around the ship opposite the side Davi and Wyer were repairing. Kyr passed her in the galley as he returned to his quarters to dress. She kept her back to him while he did his best to ignore her. He entered his cabin and locked the door behind him.

  Yes, he decided, realizing the hard-on wasn’t going to go away on its own, his fist would be necessary.

  Aja brought food to Davi and Chief Wyer. She shielded the best she could but the engineer’s thoughts were too loud, too persistent, to ignore. It seemed the man had come to a decision.

  As she handed him a jug of genki juice, Aja listened. He’d take half the coin owed him; then he’d wait for her to go off on her own again. He’d tell the captain he needed to use the bird to scavenge a few more parts, but he’d double back and come after her.

  She watched the images pass through his mind as he raped her, beat her to death, and left her for carrion, for whatever scavengers inhabited this rock. He wouldn’t be anywhere nearby when the captain and Davi went searching for her. He’d already be done with her and off stealing a few loose parts he’d noticed the day before.

  By the time he returned, they’d have found her body and assumed some local had done the deed. The way Wyer figured, if the militia boarded, they’d have nothing to hide. No illegal cargo, no arrest. From his point of view, the captain was a fool for accepting this job.

  Aja sensed that although Wyer didn’t know why, he believed she was dangerous. He thought he could smell it. Now that she’d nursed the captain back to health, he figured they needed to get her gone if they were going to leave this rock in one piece.

  Davi thanked her for the food and drink. Aja nodded, then she turned on her heel and walked back toward the gangway, trying her best not to gag at the visions she seen in the Chief’s head. He was right about one thing, getting off the planet was going to be ugly.

  Aja went to look for Captain Aram. She owed it to him to discuss the situation before she killed his engineer.

  She found the captain in the cockpit, meticulously checking and rechecking his control panels. He had the com tuned to the military wavelength. He listened only. He made sure they weren’t broadcasting. She slid the door to the cockpit shut behind her.

  “Captain,” she said. “I need to speak with you.”

  Kyr turned toward her. “If it’s about what happened earlier, I apologize.”

  Aja suppressed a smile. “No,” she replied. “This has nothing whatsoever to do with what happened earlier. Though I must admit, I’m flattered.” She saw the man blush again and she felt almost giddy. “There’s no need to apologize.”

  Watching Captain Aram shower, she herself had experienced the same arousal. The feeling was beyond her control. It was the Blood link. Her mother, the Empress, had warned her about the possibility of such a response, but right now Aja had other, more pressing, concerns. There was no easy way to say what she had to say.

  “Tomorrow, Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me. I thought you should know.”

  Kyr burst into laughter. “Are you in the habit of blurting out things like that? Tomorrow Chief Engineer Wyer will murder me? I thought you should know? I assume this is your idea of a joke.”

  It was the response Aja had expected. “You assume wrong. He will wait for me to leave the ship. When I’m out of sight, he will suggest that he take the bird to pick up some spare parts he noticed somewhere near the settlement. He plans to swing around and intercept me. He’ll rape me. He will beat me to death. And he will leave my body for you and Davi to find. He believes you’ll assume it was the act of a local. I can kill him now; however, since he appears to be an integral member of your crew I am reluctant to do so without your agreement.”

  Kyr dropped down into the flight seat. “And I should believe this outlandish tale because?”

  “I speak the truth.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Because I’ve seen it.”

  “You mean to say, you’ve had a vision?”

  “No. I mean to say, I’ve seen his thoughts and I’ve read his heart. This is his plan. He’s willing to accept half the coin and forgo the remainder simply to get out of this predicament alive. I must admit his reasoning, while unpleasant, is sound.”

  “So you’ve had a vision about us, too, about our capture?”

  “I did not say that. And it is not a vision that I’m speaking of. I’m speaking only of Chief Wyer. He will murder me tomorrow unless either you or I stop him.” Aja hesitated. “Or, if you so choose, I will allow him to carry out his plan. I must admit I’d prefer to live.”

  Kyr smiled. “Yes, I imagine you do.” He seemed ready to indulge her. “Tell me then, tell me how you know this. The myths are true? You can read a man’s thoughts? You can see the future? Have you read my mind?”

  Aja sat down in the navigator’s seat. “It’s not quite so simple,” she said. “I read your intentions when you entered the laboratory and I knew I could trust you. I have not looked into your heart or your mind since. It’s not my place. The answer to your question is, yes, I can and will read a man’s mind, or a woman’s mind if I choose, if I have a reason to do so. It isn’t usually necessary for me as I am an Intuitive and I read feelings. Those are not quite so private. If I feel someone is a threat or has evil intentions, I will drop my internal barriers and listen to their thoughts.” Aja rubbed her forehead. “Sometimes I merely see pictures. Thoughts are not necessarily coherent. The pictures I saw in the Chief’s head were not pleasant.”

  “So the stories are true, about the Blood? You can do all they say about you? Read a man’s thoughts? Predict the future?” Aja heard the excitement in the captain’s voice, saw the light in his eyes. He clearly understood her value to the Resistance.

  “We were talking about the Chief,” Aja replied.

  “If the myths are true�
��” Captain Aram rose to his feet. He continued as though he hadn’t heard her. “Then we can win this war. With you, with the Empress, we can destroy the Coalition. We can bring down the military Junta.”

  “Not if I am dead.”

  “What?”

  “I said: not if I am dead.”

  Her words brought Kyr up short. She’d been talking about her impending rape and murder and he was blathering on about the revolution.

  “You’ll stay with me tomorrow,” he said, still not entirely convinced. “He won’t dare touch you if you spend the entire day with me.”

  Aja didn’t back down. “So sorry, Captain, that won’t solve anything. Chief Wyer will kill me. I’ve seen it. If not tomorrow, then the next day, or the next. In the end, he will betray you and your men. If he dies, he cannot betray you and we may survive. If I die, you may indeed escape this trap, but he will learn the true nature of your work with the Resistance and he will betray you at the first opportunity. Then you will die, along with all your men. Even if I am dead, your duty to the loyal men who serve with you requires that you kill the man. I tell you all this as a courtesy and because we share... Because I owe you a debt of gratitude. I could easily kill him myself and you would be none the wiser, but I felt I should come to you first.”

  The captain paced in the small space. “Aja, you seem so cold blooded about this. It’s a man’s life we’re talking about.”

  “It’s my life too,” she replied, rising to her feet. “Think what you will of me, but I am a realist. There is one other way.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “I leave now. Give me enough coin so I can survive long enough to buy transport off this planet. You have the antidote. Take it to the Resistance. If my family has escaped, they will pay you well and you can recoup your losses.”

  Aja turned on her heel. She opened the door to the cockpit and disappeared down the companionway.