Page 13 of Rescued

9

CAIMBRIE

I don’t know what came over me. At first, I didn’t really want him. All I wanted to do was coerce him into letting me off this ship, and I figured that I only had one thing to negotiate with. But then, when I got close to him, I realized how starved I was for touch. In that moment, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to throw myself off into the abyss if I didn’t hit the brakes.

Aboard the Patrol ship, the only person who ever touched me was General Lackey, and I found him grotesque. But Herod was far from grotesque. He was built like a superhero action figure, and he had the attitude to match. Double jeopardy.

We slipped into the port in the dead of night, and I sat silently in the back, watching Herod through the porthole and reminding myself I was not helpless.

Outside, I heard the men speaking, and I tried to listen in on their conversation to get some inkling of what was happening, but I couldn’t understand them. When I peered out the tiny round window in the sleeping bay, I could clearly see that Herod was angry, but I didn’t know why. It didn’t matter, anyway. It was none of my business, and I meant to keep it that way.

But watching him from afar, I was taken by the way he held his shoulders back and the defiant look in his eyes when the other men spoke. He looked dangerous, and I liked it.

I listened as the cargo was loaded beneath the main deck, and then there was a short delay before the cabin door slammed and Herod stomped toward the cockpit. Without warning, the engines fired up and we took off with barely enough power to clear the docks. I sat down hard on the bunk, hanging on as we bumped and bounced away from Korvak.

At least that part was over.

I made my way toward the front of the ship and sat in the second seat. Herod was still furious, mumbling under his breath about the many injustices he was facing these days. I listened with amusement but did not interrupt his tirade. More than a few of his complaints were aimed at me, but I bit my tongue and let him get it all out of his system before responding.

“So, that’s a yes on dropping me off at the next stop, then?” I asked hopefully when his words trailed off.

“No. Absolutely not. You will get off on Divoron just as soon as we arrive, and not a moment before.”

I sat back in my seat, propping my legs up on the console. Herod swiveled to face me, giving me an appalled look as his eyes went from my face to my feet and back again.

“What are you doing?” he grumbled, his face turning an odd purplish shade as the anger made its way to his cheeks.

“Making myself comfortable, just like you said.”

I gave Herod a charming smile which he did not return. Instead, he swiveled back to his console and muttered something under his breath once more. I stayed sitting right beside him, waiting for him to speak again, but he didn’t. He didn’t say a word to me all the way to our next stop.

“We’re only here long enough to unload. Don’t get off the ship, and don’t be complaining about it, either. I’ve had enough of your complaints, and right now, I just need to pick up my pay and get you back to Divoron with no further interruptions.”

I nodded dismissively, but I wasn’t even listening to him. It was clear that our earlier exchange had left him flustered. That was to be expected, I supposed.

I stared straight past him at the approaching planet, my eyes locked on the odd formation of rings that circled it, reflecting light back to us in dozens of colors. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but Herod seemed not to notice at all.

“Did you hear me?” he demanded, waving a hand in front of my face.

“Hm? Yes. No further interruptions,” I repeated, never taking my eyes off the spectacle before me.

“Exactly. As long as we’re on the same page.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” I barked, giving a weak salute. But Herod only furrowed his brow in confusion, clearly not understanding my sarcasm. The puzzled expression remained on his face as he turned away from me and set about preparing for the drop off.

I watched in awe as Herod carefully navigated his ship through the tight passages leading into some kind of large space station. Ships flew around us and he maneuvered through the cross traffic with expert precision. I had to admit, he was pretty impressive when he was flying the ship. It was all the other stuff he did that made me want to run far, far away from him.

He brought us down into a parking area for small ships, shut his ship down, and cut the lights inside the cabin.

“Hey! What was that for?” I squeaked as we were plunged into darkness.

“Relax. It’s a signal. I’ll turn the lights back on when I get confirmation that they’re here.”

“Who’s here?”

He glared at me. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like you’d know them. Now just keep quiet and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“Should I go in the back?” I asked, concern growing inside me.

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