Page 24 of Keeping Sarah

Within seconds, the preening fool came to the entryway of my cockpit. “Kind of you to let me on board. After all that waiting.”

“It wasseconds, Helios,” Omen said testily.

“Yes, well, I would expect gentler treatment, considering we are breaking the rules for you,” he replied in a haughty tone.

“What rules?” I asked, watching as the gates began to open.

“You are the first ship which Rex does not own that he has permitted past the gates,” Helios said. “We will fly from here to his glorious estate and there he will do with you as he pleases.”

“So why areyouhere?” Omen asked.

“To ensure you do not make any detours or unnecessary stops.”

I bristled. “A fucking chaperone. Like we need one of those.”

Helios looked down his nose at me. “You have been to the manor only once. I cannot imagine you know the way in the dark.”

“I know the way,” I assured him.

After the skenthas pulled the gates open, I drove slowly into the city. It was different to fly above it all, instead of walking through it, like I did last time. But of course, last time, I was being escorted to the fighting pits. I recalled the hungry hawkers on the street who mistook me for a rich man and tried to sell me things. I wondered what they would think of me now, if they knew I was flying over them. I was not a rich man—not like Deacon—but I still had more than any of the hawkers. I wished I could do something for them.Maybe one day.

We pulled up to Rex’s manor estate, careful to soar a little higher than needed over his moat. It had tried to kill me once, and I didn’t feel like wrestling my ship from any of the beasts lurking beneath the surface. I parked near Rex’s front door and assembled a team to come with me.

“Treg, Tiger, I want you with me inside the manor,” I ordered my main crew, then turned toward the others. “Omen, you ladies, Fan, Bell, and Maverick, I want you to stay with the ship, and don’t give me that look,” I said, directing my comment toward the men. “I want a small team inside to be able to keep track of everyone, and I want the rest of you out here, guarding my ship to make sure Rex doesn’t try to fuck with it. After whathis men did to Deacon’s ship, I’m not taking the chance that we don’t have an exit plan.”

Helios tugged on the front of his fancy uniform. “I assure you, no one wants you here any longer than is needed. No one will harm your pitiful ship.”

“Watch your mouth, boy,” I warned him, then grabbed a rucksack with weapons from the hold. Treg and Tiger did, too.

“There will be no weapons brought into the master’s home,” Helios said, his nasally voice grating on me. “I have granted you safe conduct.”

I locked eyes with Treg and Tiger, and Treg was quick to answer. “We are taking these weapons with us as a gift for Rex.”

“Whether you mean them as a gift, or as a threat, is of no consequence,” the other man said. “They will not be taken into his home.”

My hands fisted in frustration, but before I could speak, Tiger jumped in and said, “Helios, am I saying that right?”

“Yes,” he responded stiffly.

The youngest of my crew was usually quiet, so for him to speak up worried me. He smiled and stood next to Helios as he conversed with him. “I can understand why you would want us disarmed. It makes sense, really. Do you know many Gorrks?” He gestured to Treg and his green blubbery appearance.

Helios wrinkled his nose as he glanced at Treg, considering his answer. “I have never met one. Why?”

“Treg is a great guy. One of their saints, actually,” Tiger smiled at the ship’s engineer. “But there’s a thing you should know about Gorrks, Helios.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Yes?”

“Their weapons are sacred to them. They spend hours making them, crafting them.” Tiger pulled out an ordinary bone knife from its sheathe. “See this one? It was made from thepelvic bone of one of Earth’s whales. Magnificent creatures. Powerful. Deadly. Much like your master.”

“Itisa fine blade, but—"

“It’s amagnificentblade,” Tiger said, cutting him off as he continued. “Treg has spent days on all these weapons, hoping to give them to someone worthy. It is a part of his religion. A sign of ultimate respect and dignity. I know this city is called Faithless, but surely you are not ignorant enough to disrespect a foreign religion, are you?”

Helios frowned. “I was trained at the academies of Orhon. I am not ignorant—"

“I didn’t think you were,” Tiger said with a calm smile. “You are a man of the worlds, clearly. A gifted messenger. I think you are meant for more than this simple post. Obviously, Rex thinks so too, or he wouldn’t have given the order for you to escort us to his home. Perhaps, an emissary position is in your future.”

“Emissary?” Helios was clearly flattered by the thought.

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