Page 21 of Into The Rift

Chapter Six

Lord Dominiko had a rapid conversation with the captain, who wasn’t arguing with him at all, but just nodding his resigned agreement. Dominiko’s face was pale under his tanned skin, and he looked badly shaken.

He turned back then to address Mikol and his voice trembled with anger. He was glaring at Mikol, who stood beside his grandmother and was easily two times her size. I imagined that he must be too distraught and overwhelmed for a few moments to find the right Tygerian words to even speak, though it only took him a few more moments to collect himself. It might have been better if he’d stayed silent.

“You fucking cowards. You’re very brave to threaten an elderly female.”

Mikol looked down into her exquisite little face. “The only one causing any threat to Lady Itaka at the moment is you. If you surrender immediately, she won’t be harmed in the least.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I don’t think you’d like to find out.”

The screen winked out, and Dominiko and the captain began shouting at each other as the captain seemed to be pleading with him, but Dominiko raged right back at him. As for me, I stayed with my back plastered to the wall behind me, trying to stay as small and unnoticeable as possible.

I felt shocked at the sudden change in my circumstances and couldn’t fathom the idea that Lord Dominiko’s grandmother might actually be onboard Mikol’s ship. It was like I was in some kind of dream, except that I knew this was still an extremely dangerous situation. A man like Lord Dominiko wasn’t used to failure and wouldn’t accept it well, if at all. The two sides were in another stand-off, but this time the stakes were even higher for Dominiko. I had seen signs of kindness in him, but I had also felt his coldness, and I really had no idea what he might decide to do.

Surrendering surely meant prison for all the Pton crew and its officers and possibly even execution. Would Mikol actually go through with his threats against Lady Itaka? I didn’t think he would, but I honestly wasn’t sure what he would do if Dominiko refused to surrender. I didn’t want to find out.

As for Lady Itaka, what could be her role in all of this? I remember Dominiko telling me she had been a fighter all her life, only a young child when she first became a hostage of the old emperor. Dominiko was young looking, so I figured he was perhaps still in his twenties, and he’d said his father died young. But that still had to make Lady Itaka in her fifties at least, though she actually looked younger. Dominiko had said that the new emperor had made her move out of her home in the palace after the old one had died and that she’d gone…where? I didn’t remember exactly.

Lord Dominiko shouted something harsh at the captain and waved his hand, his face looking furious. The captain quickly opened a channel back to Prince Mikol’s ship and we waited until Mikol showed up again. He was alone this time and seemed impatient.

“Well? Have you made your decision?”

Dominiko glared at him. “I have little choice but to surrender, as you well know. We’re turning off our shields, so you can board.”

“A wise decision. I’ll see you onboard your ship soon.”

Dominiko turned directly to me, still plastered against the wall. I only thought he’d lost track of me, when he was apparently well aware of where I was. He gave me a short bow. “Well, princeling, it seems as though you’ll be returning home after all.”

I stared back at him, wanting to say something to take that look out of his eyes. My omak always told me that I was far too “tender hearted” for my own good. I was definitely feeling that way now.

“I-I don’t know what to say.”

He made that oddly familiar gesture with his shoulder and then turned back resolutely toward the captain as activity on the bridge quickened. The Pton ship and its crew prepared to be boarded.

****

Things happened quickly and a bit chaotically after that. I stayed on the bridge as I heard the shouts and thundering feet of the Tygerian soldiers as they boarded the ship. They burst through the doors to the bridge, and I was quickly surrounded by several big, Tygerian Imperials, who began to quickly look me over for injuries. I couldn’t see over their shoulders, though I knew that some of them were roughly taking Lord Domeniko into custody at the same time. I was taken by my arms and moved out, hustled directly down to the shuttle bay, now filled with several of the small Tygerian boarding craft. I was taken aboard one of them that had its engines still idling.

The crew was almost overly accommodating, wrapping me in a blanket and asking me if I needed anything again and again. The medics onboard were solicitous, sitting me down and beginning to check me out, despite my repeated assurances that I was fine. They seemed angry about the cuts and bruises on my face and body, even though I told them I wasn’t really injured. They noticed the bite mark on my jaw as well and gave each other dark looks.

Soon we arrived back on the Tygerian ship, although I didn’t think this was Tariq’s vessel. I could see this one was larger and better equipped than Tariq’s battle cruiser. I was taken to a large infirmary, despite my protests that I didn’t need to go, where I was poked and prodded and asked a million questions.

Finally, they took me to a room with some beds in it and left me alone to “rest, until His Royal Highness comes to speak to you.” I gave up at that point and lay back on one of the firm beds the Tygerians seemed to enjoy. Blake, my omak-ahn said they were like “slabs in a morgue,” which wasn’t far off the mark, in my opinion.

My omak, Anarr, was half human too, though he had been born at a time when the physicians altered the child’s DNA, so he looked mostly Tygerian. He didn’t share Blake’s appreciation of comfort. Still, the General liked his beds softer, so we always had thicker mattresses when I was growing up. I was used to these other beds, however, since I’d gone to school for a while on Tygeria and spent some nights in the dormitories. I’d learned to cope and managed to make myself comfortable on this bed now, but I still wanted to talk to someone soon and not be treated like an invalid.

One of the doctors told me that “His Highness” would be coming soon. I hoped he was talking about Mikol, as there were a lot of us “Highnesses” around this ship. And I had some questions for the one in charge. No matter how crazy he might think I was, I was concerned about what was going to happen to Lord Dominica and I wanted to know. I intended to speak up in his favor.

After all, he hadn’t been cruel to either me or Rakkur, and he had talked to me and explained what would happen if I went to his planet as a hostage so I could make an informed decision. Like all of his men, he’d been following orders from the emperor of the Pton, and I didn’t think it fair that he be executed for that.

Then there had been those moments when he put his hand under my robe. He had bitten me under my jaw, and tasted my blood, and I’d never felt anything like that before. I found I wasn’t able to forget it.

I was anxious to talk to Rakkur about all of it, and I also had a million questions for him about how Mikol had gotten to us so quickly from Loros after we were attacked, and where Tariq had been for so long after we were taken. Most of all I wanted to know how Lady Itaka was here on board this ship. It was a huge mystery, and I couldn’t figure it out.

The door opened and Rakkur came in. I sat up, so relieved to see him, smiling broadly at me, as he came over to sit on the edge of my bed.

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