Priestess of the Eggstone (22 page)

“Swan, this is Dolphin,” a voice crackled in my ear. The static was horrible, the signal distorted by the dust and the shields. I found the reply button and waited. They kept calling, repeating every few seconds.

I finally decided that if they knew our name and location, they had to be the courier Lady Rina waited for.

“Dolphin, this is the Swan,” I answered.

“Good, we found you. You have no idea how much of a mess you left behind.”

“I can guess,” I said.

Jasyn hurried back from Lady Rina’s cabin. “They’re the ones,” she whispered.

The static crackled as the Dolphin talked. “There are some very high ranking Patrol officers looking for two of your crew.”

“How high?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Sector Commander in the Enforcers. He was extremely interested in a crewmember named Dace.”

My throat closed. A sector commander? I pulled off the headset and handed it to Jasyn. My ears buzzed.

I didn’t hear a word she said. Was Belliff really that important? Lowell would never have let me go if it were that crucial. But what rank was he? I’d never actually seen the insignia on his uniform when I met him on Tebros. The way he pushed people around, he just might be a sector commander. I propped my elbows on the edge of the control panel and hid my face in my hands.

“We’re headed to Landruss,” Jasyn said as she hung up. She started plotting a course. “The Patrol and the Sessimoniss are both headed there. We’d better get there first.”

I rubbed my face, then dropped my hands back to the control board in front of me. The Dolphin was already accelerating away, headed for a jump point.

“How did they know?” I powered up the engines.

“The Sessimoniss showed at Besht, long enough to cause major disruption.” Her fingers never paused as she keyed in the course. “We’re facing serious charges when the Patrol does catch up with us.”

“We’ll get out of it somehow.” I hoped it was true. Lowell had dismissed charges for me after Dadilan, he could do it again. It would probably cost me my freedom, but if joining the Patrol would get Jasyn off, it would be worth it. Jerimon could fend for himself.

I pushed the engines, curving us away from the plane of the system. I stretched and ran Jerimon’s controls as well as my own.

“Where is Landruss?” I asked.

“One of the Inner Worlds. If we’re very lucky, we’ll have about six hours before everyone else shows up.”

“Did Tobias find who bought the Eggstone?” I pushed the engines harder, pouring on the speed. Debris from the system sparked in our shield.

“A very eccentric collector by the name of Den Douvay.” Her computer beeped. “Course accepted.”

“Then let’s go.” I engaged the hyperdrive. The Swan shifted into hyperspace, barely protesting my hasty piloting. Jerimon stumbled into the lounge, yawning and grumbling, as I shut down the sublights.

“What’s your hurry?” He dropped into the pilot’s chair.

“We know where we’re going,” Jasyn answered. “But it’s a race to see if we can get to the Eggstone before the Sessimoniss or the Patrol do.”

“Why are we racing them? Let them fetch it.” He scratched his head, messing his hair. I hated to admit that he was even more attractive disheveled than he was cleaned up.

“If we get it first,” I said, “then we have something to bargain with. And we are going to need all the leverage we can find.”

He looked at the board and frowned.

“You made jump all by yourself?”

“What of it?” I answered as I locked the settings.

“This ship is designed to be flown by two people, especially in a mess like that system we just left.” He looked at me with new respect. “I couldn’t have flown it myself.”

“You do what you have to.” My ears burned. I kept my eyes on my controls. I didn’t want him looking at me that way, it was almost as bad as the other way. “I’ve got watch for another six hours.” I hoped he would take the hint and go away.

“Is piloting really that hard?” Jasyn asked when he was gone.

“Is navigation that hard?” I answered back.

Jasyn grinned. “You could fly this ship by yourself.”

“I didn’t have any traffic to worry about. And the jump point was close. If I had to steer through the system, I would have waited for Jerimon.”

“Does that mean you’re really good or just a daredevil?” She leaned back in her chair.

“It means I’m that worried.”

“I’d be worried if a sector commander was chasing me. It has to be something more than the Eggstone, the charges at Besht were pretty minor.”

“I’m sure it’s more than that. It always is.” My luck was holding, my very bad luck that got me mixed up with trouble without even trying.

Chapter Seventeen

“Dace,” Caid called

“What?” I said, stretching. I’d been on watch for the last ten hours.

“The hydroponic main valve is dripping. That’s the assistant engineer’s job.” He settled on the couch, stretching out with a sigh.

“I’d better get double pay for double duty,” I muttered.

“I’ll take watch.” Caid closed his eyes.

“Watch means you actually sit in the chair and keep watch on the boards,” I said, slowing each word as if talking to a very stupid person.

“Don’t get sassy. I know what watch means. Go fix that leak. If the ship explodes, I’ll take full blame.”

“We’ll all be dead so it won’t matter.”

“At least that will solve your problem with the Eggstone.”

“Don’t court trouble,” Lady Rina said, slapping cards on the table. “It has a way of hearing you. Lady Fate is not to be trifled with.”

That got Caid off the couch and over by the controls. I headed down to the hydroponics. The plants Jerimon had planted showed signs of new growth. Given another month or two, Lady Rina would be enjoying fresh vegetables and flowers. I wondered where I’d be in a month. No closer to my dream of owning my own ship again.

The valve at the far end of the room oozed liquid. I checked the gasket. I’d replaced it less than two days earlier. The lock nut was loose, allowing water to well around it. I turned to fetch a wrench. Jerimon stood behind me, just inside the door. He let it slide shut. He wore his scary intense look.

I didn’t want this. Not now. Not for a long time. If ever.

“Dace, I wanted to talk to you. When the timing was better.”

“It’s not. It isn’t any better. It won’t be better for a very long time.”

“We’ve got plenty of time. We won’t reach Landruss for several more hours.”

“Move. I need a wrench.” I stayed just beyond his reach. I stared at his chest knowing if I met his eyes I just might give in. I didn’t know if I wanted to do that or not.

“Dace.” He reached for my hands. I put them behind my back.

“I need to fix the valve.”

“Later.” He settled for holding my arms. I took a step back and he followed.

“What do you want, Jerimon?”

“Look at me, Dace.”

“Why?” I looked. He was much too close. My heart beat faster.

“I love you. I’ve never said that to anyone before.”

“Let go of me.” He was too close, much too close.

“It’s fate, Dace. You’re my soulmate. The cards said so.”

“They can’t say anything. They’re just pieces of paper.”

“They’re much more than that. You’re trembling.”

“Go away, Jerimon.” It came out in a whisper.

“You don’t mean that, Dace.” He shifted his hand to my cheek. His thumb stroked my lower lip. He kissed me.

It was different than before; this time he meant it. Before I realized what I was doing, I was kissing him back. Feelings I’d never felt before shook me with their intensity. I pushed him away, scared by emotions I didn’t know how to hide.

I ducked under his arm, then ran through the engine room, down the hall, and into my cabin. I hid in the bathroom, locking the door. I leaned against the wall and tried to stop shaking. Every nerve was on fire. If I closed my eyes, I still felt his lips against mine. I slowly sank to the floor between the tiny sink and the toilet. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

“Dace?” Jerimon knocked on the door. “Are you all right?”

I didn’t trust myself to say anything. I curled into a ball, burying my face in my arms. Nothing I’d been through had prepared me for the way I felt. I was a stranger in my own body. I wanted Jerimon to kiss me again, to hold me tight. I wanted nothing to do with him. I wanted freedom, I wanted my own space, my own ship. I wanted to find out who I was before I became someone else. Hot tears ran down my face, across nerves still burning from Jerimon’s touch.

“Dace?” It was Jasyn this time. She waited a moment. I didn’t respond. “What did Jerimon do to you?”

“Nothing.” I didn’t recognize my own voice. I cleared my throat. “Nothing,” I said louder.

“Open the door. I know he did something. Or you wouldn’t be locked in the bathroom and he wouldn’t be hiding in his cabin.”

I reached up and thumbed the lock. The door slid open. Jasyn looked down at me huddled on the floor.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” I hunched deeper into the niche beside the toilet. She settled herself on the floor just outside. Time ticked by. I wiped my nose on my sleeve.

“Do you want to talk about it now?” She shifted her weight. She still managed to look elegant and beautiful.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I felt stupid and clumsy, my face blotched from crying.

“What did Jerimon do?”

“He kissed me.”

“Is that all?”

“Isn’t it enough?”

“He kissed you before.”

“He didn’t mean it then.”

“Lady Rina and her cards have gone to his head. As if he needed encouragement. You’ve never had a crush, you’ve obviously never really been kissed before.” I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it. She didn’t need to know about Tayvis, if that even counted as a real kiss.

“No one has ever told you anything about love, have they?”

“Just hours of lecture about oral hygiene,” I said, remembering the orphanage director and her favorite topic. “I don’t want this.”

She waited.

“I’m scared of the way Jerimon makes me feel. I don’t even know if I like him.” I wiped my nose again. “I think I could really like him. Maybe. Someday. Not now.”

“One problem at a time?” She pulled a tissue from the holder then handed it to me.

“I seem to collect problems. Are you really sure you want to buy a ship with me?” Right now that dream seemed as far away as the Emperor’s royal court. I blew my nose and wiped my eyes with the tissue.

“I doubt it would ever get dull. Feel better now?”

“Maybe. How much longer to Landruss?”

“Five or six hours.”

“Good. Let’s get the Eggstone, turn it over to the Patrol, then leave Jerimon behind for a while. I can’t think with him always there. I want…” I hesitated. What did I really want? “I want some space to myself for a while, I think.”

“With or without me?” She dropped her gaze to her hands, folded in her lap.

“Depends. Are you going to kiss me or tell me Jerimon is my soul mate?”

She laughed, an easy sound. “Neither.”

“Then you can come.”

She patted my leg. “Tell Jerimon to go away. I’ll tell Lady Rina to leave her cards out of it.”

“Aren’t you afraid she’ll curse you or something?”

“If she does, I’ll turn it back on her. I’m Family, too.” She stood and stretched. “Lock the door behind me. I’ll buzz you when we get close.” She crossed the room, lithe as a jungle cat. The door swished closed.

I wiped my nose again and got off the bathroom floor. I crossed to the door and thumbed the lock.

Why did Jasyn want to stick with me? I wanted nothing more than to take her at her word, to buy a ship with her and make a living as independent traders. I wanted to trust her. She was my friend, even if her brother was driving me insane. I didn’t know how to trust.

I lay on my bunk, staring at the ceiling. I could spend the rest of my life trying to guess motives. Why had Lady Rina rescued us? She put herself in a lot of trouble doing it. How had Jerimon ever convinced himself he was in love with me? Why had Grant Lowell really let me go? Was Tayvis still going to like me when we finally met again?

I fell asleep while my mind was still churning questions. I had some very strange dreams.

The warning buzzer startled me awake. I scrabbled under my pillow for the weapon I used to keep there. At the orphanage it was a rock. At the Academy, I kept a stunner under my pillow because I was required to. I came all the way awake and wished I hadn’t. I flopped on my pillow and groaned. My eyes were gritty, tired and bloodshot. The buzzer sounded again. I rolled out of my bunk.

I made it to the pilot’s chair as the final reentry alarm sounded. Jerimon gave me a worried look. I ignored him. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to kiss him again or punch his face in.

The hyperdrive slowed, whining. The Swan clung to the edge of hyperspace for much too long. Seconds of gut-twisting nausea stretched into a very long minute. I clung to my seat and prayed that we would make a safe transition. The Swan shuddered and finally slipped free. My hands flew over the controls, frantically dumping speed.

Jerimon was just as busy, settling the engines and scanning for our position. “Starboard, now!”

I yanked the controls. The Swan protested but curved tightly away. The force of the turn slammed all of us to the side. I caught a glimpse of a huge gas giant in the viewscreen as it slipped past, way too close for comfort.

Jasyn typed on her keyboard, fingers moving almost too fast to see. “Where are we?” she asked, her voice tight.

“Landruss,” Jerimon answered. “I just picked up a system beacon. We’re way off course.”

“That’s obvious.” Her voice could have sliced steel. “We aren’t where I programmed us to be, we’re much too far away, and that planet should have been on the other side of the system. The whole nav system is corrupted.”

“Or just very old,” I said. “When did Caid last get a data update for this sector?”

“I should have checked that,” Jasyn said.