Shadower (32 page)

Her lips curled contemptuously. "I don't keep deals with demons. Why would you care about that junk heap I borrowed? You have a fancy new ship, very efficient for hunting down victims, attacking them, then imprisoning them. It travels fast, too, so you can deliver your victims to your Controller buddies and collect your precious gold."

Demons?
He stared at her, stunned by the unmistakable loathing in her expression. "Is that what this is about? Me delivering criminals to the Controllers? I told you I could explain."

"There's no explanation you could give. You're a shadower. That says it all. Now you're my prisoner."

Remembering Moriah's father and Pax, he groaned inwardly. When she had asked him if he was a shadower, it hadn't occurred to him that she might react this way. He should have told her the truth immediately. "Moriah, listen to me. It's not what you think. I tried to explain on Elysia and—"

"Spare me your lies. I don't want to hear any more." She turned away. "You'll stay here until I return. Then I'll decide what to do with you."

"Wait! You can't go to that iridon pickup alone."

She whirled, livid. "There's nothing you can do about it, shadower."

"Listen to me. I have to go with you. Not only is it dangerous, but Galen is headed that way."

"He's no worse than you are. It's too bad this interferes with your hunt and your gold—not that I give a damn."

Desperate, Sabin looked at Celie. "You have to stop her, Celie. It's too dangerous. Everyone knows about the shipment. Galen, a vicious murderer I was tracking, is headed there as we speak."

"Shut up!" Moriah ordered.

Shaking her head, Celie pressed her hand to her mouth and backed away. He turned toward Radd. "Radd, you know I'm right. You know Galen. You have to tell Moriah how dangerous he is. If she insists on going, then I need to go along."

"I'm going with her," Lionia growled. "As is Kiah. She'll be well protected. Silence your tongue before I cut it out."

Sabin kept looking at Radd, who offered another shrug. "I'm outnumbered, Sabin. But don't ya worry. Lionia and Moriah can take care of themselves."

Sabin closed his eyes. His head still pounded, and desperation flooded him. Galen was going to get away. After all the crimes the man had committed, the hijackings, the murders—Nissar, Aron—the bastard was going to get away. And, as much as he hated to admit it, real worry for Moriah gnawed at him. Not that she deserved his concern. It had to be the blow to his head making him soft.

"I'm leaving," she announced.

His eyes snapped open. "Wait!" He made one last attempt, making eye contact with the old woman. "Janaye, right? Won't you listen to reason? Won't
anyone
listen? This shipment is common knowledge. There are highly dangerous criminals planning to hijack it. I can help you. Let me bring my ship and offer my protection."

"That's it." Moriah strode back toward him. "He's a liar. He only wants the bounty." Her eyes locked with his, sparking fury. "I guess I'm going to have to force you to be quiet, before you put everyone in a panic."

She snatched up his sheath from a nearby table and pulled out the hypochambers. "I know what these are, Travers. My father used them. Pax used them. Am I going to have to sedate you?"

Would she really do that to him, after all that had passed between them? Actually,
nothing
had happened between them. Nothing except sex. Anything else was wishful thinking on his part. Besides, she'd already drugged him once. She was a con artist, and he was a fool. Sabin watched her, refusing to answer.

She whirled toward Radd. "How do these things work?"

"Ya just press this end to the jugular, then push this button here," Radd informed her cheerfully.

He was one dead mechanic, when Sabin got out of here—assuming he ever did. He glared at his former ship mechanic turned traitor, but Radd just smiled back guilelessly.

"It's your choice," Moriah told him. "I'm leaving these with Janaye. If you continue this ranting and raving, or cause
any
trouble, she'll knock you out. Is that clear enough?"

Where was the woman who had teased and tantalized him; the woman who had made love to him with a stunning passion he would never forget? She wasn't the woman standing here, stiff and angry. This woman was filled with lies and hatred. The Moriah he thought he knew didn't exist.

"Yeah," he said, cursing himself for being every kind of fool. "You've made yourself perfectly clear."

Without another word, she turned and left. Celie shot an agonized glance his way, then ran after her. The others followed, Radd whistling jauntily. At the entry he turned and gave a farewell salute. "Night, Sabin. See ya." He took the solar lantern, shutting the door behind him and leaving the room pitch black.

That's one dead mechanic
, Sabin thought again. He had the long hours of the night to think about a lot of things as he lay there, strapped in the harness.

In darkness. In pain. Alone.

*  *  *  *

They released him from the harness the next morning, but chained one leg to a bolt in the wall and shackled his hands. Lionia and a Leor female named Kiah did the honors. Sabin was surprised to see a Leor in Moriah's camp, since they rarely strayed from their own kind. As tall as Lionia, but heftier, Kiah looked fierce and savage, with her bald head and obsidian eyes.

Knowing both women were ruthless warriors who wouldn't hesitate to kill him, he offered no resistance. Nor did he try to convince them to abandon their plans. He did ask to speak with Moriah, several times, but they ignored him.

While he was being chained and shackled, the two other women he'd seen last night—Marna and Tyna—stood guard with stunners. Janaye was also present, clutching her Yarton branch like a club. A sixth woman he didn't know, small and dark-haired, hovered nervously outside the doorway.

All the women looked at him as if he were kerani dung. He wasn't sure if it was because he was a shadower or a male, but he suspected his life expectancy in this settlement would be limited. Not that he'd be here long. He would find a way to escape, but he'd have to bide his time. He was chained and not at his physical best. His head still hurt, and he was nauseous and fatigued from a long night with little sleep.

After the women left him, he went to the window, chain dragging behind him. He was apparently in one of the huts facing the copse of trees and bushes. The sun reflected off the grass, which looked like a large oval carpet of vivid green. It presented an odd contrast to the bare dirt outside its perimeter.

He wondered how the women were getting the grass, as well as the trees and bushes, to grow in this relatively barren environment. He got his answer a moment later, when he spotted two massive drilling irrigators resting at the far end of the compound. The planet must have some underground aquifers. Apparently the women were pumping water from beneath the surface, an arduous undertaking.

Sabin had no doubt Moriah was responsible for this endeavor. She was very ambitious—too much so. He paced the room, ignoring his throbbing head. He needed to talk to her, to pound some sense into that thick skull of hers, to convince her she needed his help.

That option terminated when he heard the roar of engines revving and hoverlifts firing. Returning to the window, he saw the same ship that had been loaded last night rising upward. The cabin vibrated as it moved overhead, picking up speed.

He yanked the chain, chafing at his confinement. Moriah was headed into certain peril, and Galen was slipping through his fingers, while he was chained in a crude cabin in a desolate sector of the quadrant. Hearing the door open, he whirled to see Radd enter. Fury flared, and Sabin stalked toward the scrawny traitor. "What the hell are you doing on this nowhere planet?" he growled. "I've been looking for you all over the quadrant, and you turn up here, strutting around like you own the place."

"It's a kinda long story. Are ya okay?"

"Do I look okay? That's another thing. Thanks for standing by while I was trussed up like a wild boar." The chain ran out, bringing Sabin up short. Unfortunately, Radd was just outside his reach.

"Sorry 'bout that." Radd leaned against the door frame. "Didn't make much sense to go against the women. They get kinda militant when they're crossed. Figured I could help ya better if I stayed outta it."

Sabin's fingers itched to wrap around the twerp's throat. "Yeah, take the coward's way out."

Radd didn't appear insulted. "Naw. Take the smart way. I coulda objected to ya being tied up, but then the women woulda been mad at me. Lionia woulda been difficult to settle down. See, they're startin' to trust me."

"You have to help me get out of here." Sabin strained against the chain, but it refused to give. "Moriah has no idea what she's heading into. Galen will go free."

Radd's youthful face took on a serious expression. "I know the danger. And I know Galen. He needs to be taken out."

"Then help me, damn it!"

Radd pulled a sequencer from his pocket, tossed it casually in the air and caught it. "I was plannin' on it."

"You've had that all along? Give it to me!" Sabin lunged for the sequencer, but Radd retreated a step. "Not so fast. Ya gotta do this right."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's still five women here. If they see ya tryin' to escape, they'll maim ya. So ya have to sneak off the planet."

With Lionia and Kiah gone, Sabin could handle the ones left. "Give me back my stun guns, and I'll take care of the women."

"Naw, don't do that. I like these women. And if ya did stun 'em, they'd still warn Moriah after they came 'round. Ya leave at night, and they'll never know ya got away."

"That will give Moriah too much lead time," Sabin argued, urgency riding him hard.

"I've worked on the ship she's using. Your Skymaster is much faster. I know ya can catch up. But there's another problem."

Sabin groaned in frustration. "What now?"

"Ya don't know where Moriah is headed."

"I expect you'll tell me."

"Uh, I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? You appear to be pretty damn friendly with Lionia. Surely she told you something."

Radd scuffled his feet. "Uh, well, we usually don't do much talkin'."

He'd just bet. The mechanic was proving to be full of surprises. Sabin considered other possibilities for finding Moriah. "I suppose it's useless for me to ask about a homing beacon?"

"I think the Leors insist on Moriah usin' one so they can track her. Only problem is, I don't know the frequency."

"Great. So which woman do I torture the information out of?"

"Celie."

"Celie knows where they're headed? I'm surprised Moriah would tell her."

"She didn't. Celie's been real nervous about this deal, so she broke into Moriah's personal computer logs. I caught her doin' it."

The little scamp. Sabin wanted to hug her. "Then free me and get Celie in here."

"Uh, Sabin, it isn't gonna be that easy. Celie's scared of ya now. Ya got to treat her real gentle and convince her ya really intend to help Moriah."

Ah, hell, he'd forgotten Celie knew he was a shadower. She would equate him with her father and Pax. She'd probably been influenced by Moriah's opinion of him as well. Even worse, every minute it took to convince her was precious time lost. "All right. See if you can get her to talk to me. I'll try to make her understand the situation. Give me the sequencer."

Radd shook his head. "She'll be too nervous if you're loose. Might even sound the alarm."

Why did he have to be so logical? Sabin seethed, wanting to be free of the shackles, but knowing Radd was right. He strode to the wall and sank to the floor. He'd be less threatening in that position. "Then get her."

"She's right outside. Been frettin' over both you and Moriah all mornin'." Radd leaned out. "Come on in, Celie."

She appeared in the doorway, dark eyes huge in her pale face. Hesitant, she clenched her hands.

"It's okay," Sabin reassured her. Everything depended on him convincing her he could be trusted. "Come in, sweetheart. I won't hurt you. I promise."

She stepped inside slowly and raised her chin, her attention on him. "You're a shadower." The tremor in her voice belied the bravado of her stare.

"I am a shadower," he agreed quietly. "But there are special circumstances involved. Moriah didn't give me a chance to explain. Are you willing to hear me out?"

She looked away, a few locks of blond hair partially covering her face. "You lied to her."

He hadn't answered completely when she asked him what he did for a living, but he hadn't actually lied, either. "No, Celie, I didn't. Moriah didn't ask if I was a shadower until we reached Elysia. When she did, I told her the truth."

She turned toward him, her expression doubtful.

"I can understand how learning I was a shadower upset your sister," he pressed on. "I know it upsets you, too. But it's crucial that you hear me out. Moriah is in great danger."

Fear flared in the girl's eyes. Sabin knew concern for Moriah was the key to obtaining her cooperation. "I come from a group of people who are very poor." He paused, at an impasse. Very few knew he was a Shielder. Radd didn't know. Sabin's own partner, Chase, didn't know. If that information ever circulated, Sabin's death would be imminent. He was too much in the view of the Controllers.

He proceeded carefully. "Our planet has very few resources, and necessities are scarce. Unless we wished to turn to illegal activities—such as smuggling—" He paused to let his innuendo sink in. A flush spread over Celie's face, and he knew he'd found his mark.

"Then we had to find a legitimate way to get the goods we desperately needed. I volunteered to become a shadower and I use the miterons I earn to purchase supplies for my people. But I only track really bad criminals, Celie. I swear it." He leaned forward, his voice fervent.

"I would never turn in someone who had broken one of the minor, stupid ordinances. Nor would I turn in someone who might be innocent. I've always been careful to capture felons I know to be evil. Except for the money I used to purchase my new ship, every single miteron has gone to benefit my people."