Shielder — A new Science Fiction Romance (Book 1, Shielder Series) (16 page)

When the energy level surged, she turned and
looked. Two children, a girl and a boy, weary and bedraggled,
lifted their eyes and stared back at her briefly, then fearfully
looked away. Shielder children, for sale as slaves. The realization
speared her like a laser.

Reluctantly, Nessa approached the children.
The stench of filth and human waste almost overwhelmed her, but she
pressed forward, inexplicably drawn to these children. The girl,
not much smaller than Nessa, appeared several seasons older than
the boy, and approaching puberty. They both had dark brown hair,
horribly matted.

At closer range, she saw that bruises and
welts covered their thin bodies. Intense anger swept through her.
Only a monster could do this to defenseless children. She hated her
helplessness in this horrible situation.

What could she do?

Buy them.
The thought hurtled into
her mind. She slipped her hand into her pocket and fingered her bag
of coins. Four hundred miterons—all she had to get her to Santerra.
The good of the entire Shielder race far outweighed the plight of
two children, she reminded herself.

But to leave them here seemed unthinkable.
She reached out, touching the girl's shoulder. The girl started
violently, lifting her head. Nessa stared into hazel eyes, dull
with apathy and fear. "What is your name?" she asked, but the girl
only shook her head.

"You there! No talking to the slaves!" A
burly slave master stormed toward her, gripping his electrolyzer
rod. He stopped before Nessa, glaring at her. "We only allow
prospective buyers to examine our merchandise. Begone, beggar!" He
looked as if he might use the rod on her, which made her even
angrier. He was no better than an Antek.

"Who says I'm not looking to buy?" she
snapped, her hand going back to her coins.

The slavemaster's eyes narrowed and he
grabbed her roughly by her tunic front. "You, buying a slave? I
find that mighty suspicious. You sure you're not an escaped slave
yourself? Where's your master, girl?" He looked around to see if
Nessa was alone, then dragged her forward. "Maybe I just ought to
put you in the line."

She found her wits in time to grasp the
pistol beside her coins and whip it out and against the man's stout
belly. "I don't think so," she hissed.

The slavemaster released her so quickly, she
staggered back. He raised the electrolyzer rod toward her but
wavered in the face of the pistol still aimed at him. "I don't know
who you are, beggar, but get off this square before I call the
authorities."

"Maybe I'm a Controller agent." Nessa didn't
know where those words came from, but she knew the Controllers used
countless different beings to infiltrate the quadrant as their eyes
and ears. And she liked the man’s reaction.

"I meant no disrespect," he stammered.
"Forget what I said about calling the authorities."

"How much for the two children?"

A calculating gleam stole into the
slavemaster's eyes. Apparently the prospect of a sale overrode
everything having just transpired. Business was business. "How much
do you offer?"

Nessa considered a moment, mentally totaling
her coins. Maybe she could buy the children and still have enough
for transport. "One hundred miterons each."

"
One hundred miterons
?" he roared,
all pleasantries forgotten. "You're not a beggar, you're a thief!
Listen, girl, I don't care if you do work for the Controllers. I
have to eat. I can get more than that for children at the Pleasure
Domes."

Children in the Pleasure Domes? Sickened,
Nessa knew she could not leave the Shielder children here, even if
it took all her money to gain their freedom. Only one solution
presented itself. She would have to return to Chase's ship and take
some miterons from his vault. He could afford it, she told herself,
ignoring the twinge of guilt.

"Two hundred each, then." She offered all
she had, praying to Spirit the slavemaster would take it.

"Please, you insult me," he cajoled. "I have
overhead, you know. I have to feed these slaves and shelter them
every night. I need to get back at least what I have in them."

Slaves that slept standing up couldn't take
much room, Nessa thought. "I have only four hundred miterons with
me."

He rolled his eyes in well-practiced,
long-suffering resignation. "By the gods, I must have a sign that
says `Cheat me'. All right, all right. You drive a hard
bargain…I'll take it."

He probably would have taken less, but Nessa
didn't care. She waited impatiently while he carefully counted
every coin and drew up the papers. The children were hers. She
owned two slaves, a staggering thought.

"You're coming with me," she told the
children, taking them each by the hand. They showed no emotion at
her words, just plodded along beside her in absolute silence. She
led them back toward the marketplace, although she didn't have any
destination in mind.

She hadn't thought any further than getting
the children off the square. Now she realized she'd have to take
them with her to Santerra. She certainly couldn't leave them on
Elysia. They appeared able-bodied, so they'd be welcome at the
Shielder colony. Now she not only needed money to transport three
to Santerra, but the children had to have clothing and food.

Best to get on with it and go to Chase's
ship. She had no idea what time it was, but only a few hours had
lapsed since he left. If she hurried, she could get the money and
find the transport station before he returned to the ship.

The children spoke not a single word on the
way back to the ship. Nessa talked to them, apologizing for them
having to travel through the crowds naked, enduring the curious
stares and cruel remarks. "We'll purchase you some clothing as soon
as I get more money. And we'll get you something to eat, too."

The children remained silent, and Nessa gave
up all attempts at conversation. She felt a great sense of relief
when they finally reached the ship. She ushered the children into
the corridor. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Retrieving her list of Chase's codes, she
punched in the vault combination and the panel slid open. She found
a strongbox containing miterons and credit disks. Bypassing the
discs, which could leave a trail, she scooped up two handfuls of
coins, dividing them between her pockets and her boots. As she
closed the panel, she heard pounding on the hatch.

"Chase! Are you in there, old man? I need to
leave some things on board. Nessa? Are you there?" Sabin's voice
boomed from outside.

Stars! What was he doing on Elysia?

Nessa hurried to the children, who huddled
against the wall. Sabin would go away if he got no answer. He
couldn't enter the ship with the hatch secured. She squatted beside
the children. "Shhh. Don't make any noise. He'll be gone in a
minute." Her warning appeared unnecessary, as the children had yet
to utter a word, much less a sound.

A second later, the hatch hummed to life and
began lifting. By the Spirit! Sabin must have Chase's code. Damn
him! He always managed to show up at the most inopportune times.
Spurred to action, Nessa whispered, "Come with me, quickly!", and
half-dragged the children to her cabin. "Stay here until I
return."

She stepped from her cabin just as Sabin
entered, carrying two packages. "Nessa! Didn't you hear me pounding
on the hatch?"

She remained silent as he strode toward her.
"Locked you in, did he? Smart man. Where is he? Still out there,
hunting down that worthless cur, Marak?"

Nessa glanced at her cabin door, realizing
she needed to draw Sabin's attention away from the area. "Yes, he's
still out there." She sidled past Sabin toward the cockpit, hoping
he'd follow. "Did you need to leave those packages for him?"

He started after her, a quizzical expression
on his face. "Actually, these are for you."

"For me?" Amazed, she halted, the children
momentarily forgotten.

"Yes, for you. And I'll be damned glad to
get rid of this one piece of baggage." He paused, trying to balance
a package that suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own. Nessa
heard scratching and hissing. "Here, take it." He shoved the
package toward her.

She realized it was actually a hinged box,
with heavy mesh on the top. The box vibrated in her hands and
chattering came from inside. A futile hope taking root, she undid
the clasp. A familiar head popped out, four jet-bead eyes gleaming
at her. Turi!

"Turi! Oh, Turi," she cried, snatching him
against her. "You're alive! You're alive." He burrowed against her
neck, chattering and chirping. Intense happiness blazed through her
and she felt like shouting for joy. Tears blinded her and she
sought Sabin through the blur. "How?"

He cleared his throat and shifted
uncomfortably. "Moriah found him after you and Chase left Calt," he
explained gruffly. "He was near death, but she nursed him back to
health. I thought—uh, well—no one else could handle the little
monster, so I brought him back to you."

Nessa thought she might burst from
happiness. "Thank you," she whispered.

Sabin cleared his throat again. "I didn't do
it for you. That creature bit me three times, although he liked
Moriah pretty well—" He halted abruptly, his eyes narrowing. "What
the—?"

Pivoting around, he dropped the second
package, his hand whipping to his gun.

Tension poising his body for action, he
strode toward Nessa's cabin.

"Where are you going?" she cried, stumbling
after him, half blinded by Turi's fur. Ignoring her, He opened her
panel.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Desperately, she
tried to think of a diversion, but he had already disappeared into
her cabin. Prying Turi from her neck, she followed, praying for a
miracle. But she seemed fated to suffer bad luck.

Sabin stood glaring at the two terrified
children cringing against the bunk. "What in the blazing hells is
this?"

He still held the gun and the children
cowered even more, covering their heads with their arms. Nessa
stepped between them and Sabin, shoving his arm down. "Put your
weapon away, shadower. Unless you're afraid of two innocent
children."

He turned a blistering glare on her. "How
did these Shielder children get on this ship?" Grimacing, he
brought his hand to his nose. "They smell worse than Anteks. I know
Chase didn't bring them aboard. He'd never allow anyone—or
anything—this filthy on his ship."

Nessa hadn't even considered the smell, or
the germs. Frantic, she tried to come up with a convincing story.
Sabin grasped her arm in a merciless grip. "Tell me why these
urchins are in your cabin—and don't even think of lying to me,
Nessa. If you do, I swear I'll cast the lot of you off the
ship."

Not a bad idea, considering the sooner she
and the children left before Chase returned, the better. "I'll save
you the trouble," she retorted, trying to wrest free of his
grip.

"No, I think you'll tell me the truth." He
shook her, clinking the miterons in her pockets. His expression
turned even more thunderous and he plunged his hand into a tunic
pocket. She struggled futilely to break free, and Turi lunged at
his arm, but Sabin evaded him.

"You little thief," he growled at Nessa.
"Stealing Chase blind as soon as he leaves the ship."

"I had money when Chase rescued me!"

Sabin patted the other side of her tunic.
"Not two pocketfuls of miterons, I'll wager. Or weapons, either.
I'll take those right now."

He held out his hand. Nessa had no choice
but to comply. Reluctantly, she gave him the stunner and pistol. He
took them and patted her pockets again to be sure she'd given him
everything. He didn't know about the knife in her boot, thank
Spirit.

He snapped the weapons she'd handed him onto
his utility belt, shaking his head. "We'll get to the bottom of
this, lady. We'll just wait right here until Chase gets back and
checks his gold and his armory."

Desperation flooded Nessa. She kicked
Sabin's shin as hard as she could. "You do that, shadower! And see
these two children returned to Slaver's Square, which is where I
found them. I'm not a thief! I only borrowed enough from Chase to
buy the children some food and clothing and purchase us transport.
I could have taken more, but I didn't."

She paused, heaving for breath. Staring
incredulously, Sabin released her and rubbed his shin. "Borrowed? I
suppose you were going to pay it all back?"

Quiet despair replaced Nessa's momentary
frenzy. "Don't you care about anything other than yourself? Doesn't
it bother you to see people enslaved and put in chains? Look at
these children! They've been abused and starved. Unlike you, I do
care, and I couldn't leave them there."

Sabin shrugged, slipping his weapon back in
its holster. "What are you going to do with them?"

Nessa wondered how much to tell him. "Take
them with me to Zirak."

"Next I suppose you're planning on
converting them to your 'religion'. Spare me,
pilgrim
. I'm
not some dim-witted Antek. I know you're lying through your teeth,
even if Chase doesn't."

"I'll leave you and Chase to your miserable
greed as soon as possible. And I'll take the children somewhere
safe. That should be enough."

"I'll be happy to see you go," Sabin
muttered, punching the panel control. "You and that damned lanrax."
He strode through the panel before she could ask his
intentions.

She started after him, but then she heard
the hatch opening and Chase calling out, "Nessa! Where are
you?"

Panic slammed through her. She closed the
panel and leaned against it, battling the waves of dizziness
washing over her. Oh, Spirit, what to do?
What to do?
Chase
must never discover the children. He would send them back to
Slavers Square and imprison her.