SoulQuest (27 page)

Inside the infirmary, Swul stared down at the lifeless body that had, until recently, contained the spirit of his friend. It was because of Zarim that Swul was even alive today. To see him like this was almost too much for the faerie to bear.
 

“What happened?” asked Kef.

“That Dreadnought you told us about, she killed him,” said Tanus. “She had us at gunpoint, and Zarim, using what strength he had left, decided to taunt her.”

“Why’d he do that?” asked Swul, shaking his head. “Don’t make no sense...”

Kef walked to the infirmary’s door and looked out. Across the hall was the common area, where Ekala sat motionless. Reyche kept watch over her, but the thief appeared far too distraught to notice or to respond to her ministrations. “And her?”

“She’s been like that ever since, won’t say a word,” said Tanus. “It’s like she’s shut down.”

“She just lost the man she loves, ain’t no surprise there.” Swul leaned against the wall and fished through his pockets for his cigar case, then cursed when he realized he left them on the bridge.

Kef fidgeted, staying in the same room with the body. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to look anywhere but at Zarim. “I’m gonna head up to the bridge, make sure we didn’t pick up a tail...”

Swul nodded. “Thanks kid.”
 

Once Kef left, Tanus closed the door behind him and folded his arms. “So what happens now?”

“Right, like I know...” Swul removed his hat and ran his hands through his short hair. “I guess the thing to do would be to go to Xanadar. Other than this ship, it was the closest thing Zarim had to a home.”

“And the stones?”
 

That made Swul sigh. “I got nothin’. Without Zee, how are we gonna find ‘em?”
 

Tanus tilted his head back, resting it against the door. He shut his eyes. “I wish I knew.” He paused and looked at Zarim’s body. That triggered a memory. “He said something before he died.”

“What?”

“He said this needs to happen, that the fifth stone was on the ‘other side’. Does that mean anything to you?”

Swul shook his head. “Got no clue.”

“He said Vortai had someone on the other side. And that he had to go there...”

Swul cocked an eyebrow. “You lost me.”

Tanus lowered his head. “Yeah, I think I lost myself, too. I don’t have any idea what he was talking about.”

“In that case, we’ll go on to Xanadar. Maybe Quand has some advice for us.”

Reyche poured a glass of water and set it down beside Ekala. “Here, you should probably try to drink something. I can see if there’s any food, maybe see about preparing something for you?”

Ekala sat motionless, staring through the open door of the common area across the corridor to the infirmary. Kef had just left the infirmary and Tanus closed the door behind him. Reyche carefully laid her hand on Ekala’s shoulder. The woman didn’t flinch, didn’t react in any way.
 

“Can I get you anything?”

Ekala reached out and raised the glass to her lips and sipped the water. But she offered no words and the simple act of drinking from the cup was the closest she came to acknowledging Reyche’s presence. Reyche stepped deeper into the common area, near the galley. There was a small counter that Liran had perched herself on. She held an assortment of nuts in the palm of her hand, taken from one of the galley’s cabinets, and ate them one by one.
 

“Why is she broken?” asked the Felidae.

Reyche’s snapped her head at the feline creature. “Don’t say that!”

Liran paused, holding one of the nuts a few inches from her mouth. She tilted her head slightly ajar. “Why?”

Reyche focused her sights on Ekala, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Think of what she just lost. Imagine if you lost the man you loved.”

Liran squinted and repeated the word “love” as if it were a foreign word, testing the pronunciation and trying to discern the meaning.

“Think of your husband or...or your mate.”

“Hmmm...she still doesn’t understand. Why would she mourn the loss of a mate?”

Reyche focused her attention on Liran completely and now she appeared just as lost as her friend. “Because you loved him. Like Ekala loved Zarim.”

“Felidae have nothing like that,” said Liran. “Felidae breed and two moons later, the child is raised by the tribe. There is no...love. Not like she describes.”

“But...” Reyche adjusted her stance, thinking back to their brief time among Liran’s people. “No, you referred to the Chieftain as your mother.”

Liran nodded. “Yes, Chieftain is mother to all Felidae. When she becomes Chieftain, she will become mother. But she doesn’t understand. Humans...they have one other human to be with?”

“Maybe,” said Reyche with a slight sigh. “If they’re lucky.”

“So not all?”

“No, not all. You just have to...pray that you find them.”

Liran grunted and went back to her nuts. “Very strange. She thinks Felidae way much more simple.”

“On that we’re ag—” Reyche glanced over in Ekala’s direction, but found that she was gone. “Where did she go?”

At some point during Reyche and Liran’s chat, Ekala stood from her seat and left the common area. She walked by the infirmary and she heard what Tanus had said about Zarim’s last words, and it gave her an idea. Going down into the belly of the ship, she found Zarim’s sky-cycle. Her fingers gently ran along its surface, and she remembered when he first bought it—not long after their first successful job. He’d been so excited. Even after they’d gotten the Excalibur, he still loved to find any excuse to use that old sky-cycle.

Now she was the one finding a reason. As she climbed aboard and straddled the seat, gripping the handlebars, she started up the cycle. The engine roared to life, echoing through the cargo hold and probably to some of the upper levels. She activated the switch that opened the bay doors and the warning alarm for sudden cabin depressurization sounded.
 

It took almost no time for the crew to rush down to see what the problem was. “Ekala! What the hell’re you doin’?” asked Swul, shouting over the air current.

Ekala gave no response, although she could hear her old friend’s voice quite clearly. She hit the thrusters and the sky-cycle rocketed from the hull, soaring out into clouds. Once she had gone, Swul had to fly against the swirling air in order to reach the switch to shut the hull once more.

“Where the hell did she go?” asked Tanus.

Swul threw his arms into the air. “Yeah, like I got any friggin’ clue!”

“Should we go after her?” asked Reyche.

“She probably just needs to blow off some steam, best to just let her go do her thing,” said Swul.

Tanus raised an eyebrow. “Blow off some steam? She could have brought this whole ship down with that stunt!”

Swul dismissively waved his hand. “Just lay off, big guy. Ain’t in the mood. We stick to the plan, head t’ Xanadar an’ she’ll get in touch with us when she gets in touch with us. Not the first time she’s run off.”

“She’s done this kind of thing before?” asked Reyche.

Swul groaned. “Yeah...kinda her first instinct t’ run when things get bad. But she always comes back.”

Tanus shook his head. “This is different.”

“No shit,” muttered Swul.

The city of Mercury may not have been able to match the extravagance of Serenity, but it was still quite a wealthy and influential territory. Located near the coast, Mercury was full of high-rise, beach-front tenements for some of the wealthiest in the region. And it was just barely out of the imperial reach. That was what Jameson Pierce liked the most about it.

He entered his penthouse and turned on the lights. Dressed in a tuxedo, he had just come from an incredibly boring dinner party, one he wished he could have avoided. But appearances had to be made, unfortunately. First thing he did was strip off his jacket and then tug at the tie that felt like a noose around his neck, while he poured himself a drink.

Pierce slid open the balcony door and stepped out, listening to the waves crashing against the sandy shore below. He sipped his drink and smacked his lips in satisfaction at the smooth taste. “You might as well come out now.”

Ekala emerged from behind the curtain and joined him on the balcony. She took the drink from his hand and threw it back, leaving the glass empty after one swig. She handed it back to him. “Wanted to see if you really were that good—Templar.”

Pierce smiled. “Oh, I am, my dear.”

“Pretty risky move,” she said. “Giving your real address to a potential rival. Especially with all the secrecy that usually surrounds you.”

Pierce turned and leaned against the railing. “In my defense, you indicated the likelihood of your presence in this city to be rather low.”

“That was before,” said Ekala. “I need your help.”

“Color me intrigued.”

“Zarim’s dead,” she said.

The normally-aloof thief was unexpectedly taken off-guard. “What?”

Ekala leaned against the railing, staring out at the ocean. “He was captured by the Dreadnoughts. We tried to rescue him, but during the escape...”

Pierce stared at the empty glass. He sighed. “My sympathies.” He stood upright and paced slightly on the balcony, trying to look anywhere but at his guest. It was clear he didn’t feel comfortable being in this position. Internally, he debated how best to proceed. “I don’t suppose you came all this way just to inform me of your loss.”

“No, I’ve got a good reason for being here,” said Ekala.
 

“Oh?” Pierce turned and faced her. “Do tell.”

She glanced inside his penthouse and gestured with her head. “How about we both go in and have a drink?”

He held his arm towards the entrance and bowed slightly. “After you.”

Ekala stepped inside the penthouse and Pierce followed. He slid the balcony door shut and indicated to the furniture on his way to the bar. “Make yourself comfortable.”

A couch was pushed up against the wall with two chairs perpendicular on each end, forming sort of a semi-circle around a small table with a glass top and an ornately-carved wooden base. Ekala chose the seat closest to the balcony. Pierce returned and handed her a drink and sat across from her in the second chair. He laid his arms on the rests, his right hand hanging slightly over the edge, holding the glass at the top, gently swirling the liquid inside.

Ekala sipped her drink first. “Zee’s last words were something about the fifth stone being on the other side. That Vortai had someone over there. And that he needed to go there.”

“You’ve lost me already, I’m afraid.”

“From what Tanus said, Zee was taunting the Dreadnought who killed him. Now look, my guy was arrogant, but tempting death like that, without good reason, doesn’t make any sense,” said Ekala. “So it got me thinking—what did he mean by the other side?”

Pierce carefully brought the glass to his lips. After he took a sip, his lips curled back to cope with the hard bite of the alcohol. “I really couldn’t say.”

“Here’s what I think—we’re dealing with mystic crap, right? So what if the other side can only be reached by dying?” asked Ekala.

Pierce’s face contorted. “So...you’re saying that one of these stones...it’s in the afterlife?”

She nodded. “Think about it. Why else would he practically
ask
to be killed?”

“You said he was a captive, so he was doubtlessly tortured. Perhaps it broke him and he just couldn’t go on any longer?”

“No.” Her head shook fervently. “Not Zee. Never.”

Pierce puffed his cheeks and exhaled. “I know it’s difficult to hear—”

“Then explain his last words,” said Ekala. “Makes no sense.”

“Fair enough.” He held up his hand in a gesture of agreement. “Let’s assume that he
did
intend to go to the afterlife to find this stone. What does that mean?”

“It means there’s a way back, there has to be,” said Ekala. “And it means I need to find a way to help him.”

Pierce scoffed. “
Help
him? How, by dying? And why come to me? Don’t want your friends to get their hands dirty? Afraid to do yourself in?”

Ekala had to restrain herself from throwing her glass at Pierce. “No...” Her tone indicated her lack of amusement. “There’s a man—rumored to have communion with the dead. He’s who I need to find.”

“And what man might this be?” asked Pierce.

Ekala raised her finger. “Don’t play games, Templar. We both know who I’m talking about.”

Pierce gave her a grin of incredulousness as he shook his head. “What makes you think I would know anything about this?”

“Because you’re the kind of man who knows things,” said Ekala. “Where is he? Where’s Nasam?”

Pierce stood and paced slightly. He finished his drink and set the empty glass down on the table. “If I were to know...what’s in it for me?”

Ekala stood as well and set her glass down beside his. She stepped over to him. “You gave me your address. You said it’d be interesting to have a partner. And not having Zarim around means life is less challenging for you, and if there’s one thing Templar loves, it’s a challenge.”

“You know you’re completely off,” said Pierce. “It’s all about the money.”

Ekala released a loud “HAH!” She slowly walked around the room, admiring the size of the penthouse. “I looked into you, Mr. Pierce. You come from
very
privileged roots. You steal because it’s fun, not because you need to. You
need
the challenge. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Pierce turned around and stepped closer to Ekala. “Interesting theory. And if I were to tell you it’s total nonsense?”

Ekala scoffed. “You’re not as good a liar as you think. Not with me, anyway.”

Pierce took his glass and went back to the bar to refill it. “You’re quite an intriguing woman, Ms. Cosari. I’ve thought so ever since I first saw you on the Persephone.”
 

Ekala paused for a moment and then realization passed over her face. “When we saw you in Serenity without your mask, I thought you looked familiar.”

“I am curious—why come alone? Why not bring your friends with?”