The Chalice (34 page)

Shagal’s stockpile of trade goods would go far in procuring the needed stores.

His crossed his arm s over his chest, deliberating the pros and cons of a briefstopover. “There’s bound to be Deg’Nara spies in every port. Though it’s beenover two hundred revolutions since the purge, the appearance of even a single Chiagan-Se would undoubtedly draw their attention—and the belief in theirsupreme dom ination won’t allow them  to permit us to pass unmolested. We’d behunted down. Destroyed.”

Outwardly disturbed, face flushing red, Vaux slammed a fist on the mappingtable. “Then what are we to do? Are we to starve because we have no otheroptions?”

“W hat do you suggest? I see no possible way to barter with the outpost without

exposing ourselves.”

“We could open the sy-com  lines and try that route.”

“We could try, but then again, they’d know who we were. If we don’t use the

view com , the merchants won’t have any idea who they’re dealing with and that

would put an end to it as well.”

From  the corner of his eye, he glim psed a figure step forward.

“Lord Tegan,” the Handmaiden Anne interposed in a hesitant voice. “Perhaps

you could consider sending a fem ale to the outpost.”

Surprised, he turned just enough to glare at the speaker. Calm  and unruffled,she gazed back, waiting for him  to speak. He’d witnessed several of the hum anfemales working with the techs on the bridge and laboring in the otherdepartments, volunteering their assistance where and whenever possible. He’dnoticed this one on several occasions following Vaux’s orders and markingpositions on the star charts. Until this point, she’d avoided making eye contactwith him .

“Siri’s not to be trusted,” he snapped, irritated that she would even suggest such a foolhardy idea. “We can’t place the balance of our lives in her devious hands.”

Vaux drew an infuriated breath. “You can’t know that,” he ground out, silver

eyes flashing.

“I wasn’t speaking of Siri,” Anne said, casting a dubious look in Vaux’s direction. “I was speaking of the others. I doubt anyone in this sector has ever encountered a hum an before.” She warm ed to her subject, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm  as she cam paigned for the females. “We know enough of the language to m ake ourselves understood. If you gave us some insight into the items we need and their prospective values, we could negotiate the trade.”

Tegan snorted, disregarding the absurd suggestion. Sending the fem ales into ahostile environment such as the one existing on Protia was illogical anddangerous. Even a contingent of arm ed Warriors would be hard-pressed towithstand an attack if they were caught unawares. What could a group of ill-prepared fem ales accomplish in such a situation? Nothing, his m ind whispered.

“I can’t allow that,” he muttered, summarily dismissing her. To even consider

such a suggestion was a flagrant waste of his time—time he didn’t have.

She shifted, positioning herself to confront him  face to face. “You can’t or you

won’t?”

Surprised by the female’s forthright perseverance, he enunciated each word. “I

can’t…and I won’t.”

Brows drew together over turbulent blue eyes. “W hy?” she asked, the m usclesof her cheeks working. “Is it because we’re female and therefore incom petent?” She laughed, a brittle mocking sound. “How bizarre.”

Activity on the bridge drew to an abrupt halt. Every individual within hearingdistance stilled, intent on the drama playing out before them . Only the hum  of the

engines broke the silence.

“Anne!” Vaux exclaimed, stiff with shock. Censure registered on the hard

planes of his features. “Show some respect to our Lord.”

Undaunted, she continued speaking, blithely ignoring Vaux’s com m and. “Thefemales have as m uch at stake in this grand scheme as do you. In case youhaven’t noticed, our com bined futures depend on the success of the undertakingand if you fail, we all fail. I for one don’t plan on ending up as the plaything ofsome Deg’Nara warlord on a godforsaken planet I can’t even pronounce. In caseyou’d forgotten, I didn’t plan on ending up here, but since I did, I have to m akethe best of a bad situation. If bartering on Protia is the means to that end, thenyou have to consider allowing the females to proceed.”

No one stirred, too stunned by the outburst to even consider it. Moments

passed, slow and deliberate.

Vaux coughed, clearing his throat. “She does have a point,” he m urmured,focused on the table as he broke the silence. “This is the last known outpost. Todepart before taking on supplies is im prudent and reckless.”

“Of course I have a point,” Anne threw in, tossing her head. “Just because we’re females doesn’t ease the responsibilities we m ust share.” Her chin came up, lips pressed together. She appeared as determ ined as any Warrior he’d ever faced. “We have the right.”

He blew out air, easing the splinters tearing at his bleak mental processes. Thefemale was right whether he cared to adm it it or not. Every individual owed aduty to ensure the venture succeeded. It was all they had.

The difficult decision made, he dipped his head in agreement. “So be it. I haveone stipulation. An armed guard accom panies the trading party. One of the

smaller m ales, disguised as a human female. Do you agree?”

Anne sm iled. “I do indeed.”

He scanned the bridge, noting the height and breadth of the available

breeders, considering and rejecting each in turn.

Branos rushed forward. “I should be the one,” he volunteered, full of enthused

zeal. “I’m  the shortest of all here. Choose m e.”

From  the back of the room , Shagal sauntered to the center of the crowd, a sickgrin pasted on his face. “It m ust be me. I know what goods we have and theirvalues. I’m  trained as a Warrior and as a mem ber of the Artisan class, I’ve dealtwith merchants and traders on many occasions.” His eyes glinted with m ischief. “And I’m  prettier than Branos. I’ll m ake a beautiful fem ale.”

Tegan burst out laughing. “I had you in m ind when I made the decision.” Heturned to Anne. “Make your choices among the females. No m ore than five or six

at the most. I want Mordaq with you as backup but he’s to stay on the transporter unless you run into trouble. Once you leave the ship, com munications from  here will go silent. The less they know about us and our whereabouts the better.”

Shagal’s silver eyes glinted. His lips pursed. “W ill the women be arm ed?”

“Most   certainly,”   Anne   interrupted   again.   “We’re   capable   of   defending ourselves if need be. We’ll need training but having a few m ore weapons besides the ones you’ll carry m akes sense. You shouldn’t bear the whole burden for our safety.”

Arm  the females? Few Chiagan-Se females were taught the fine art of war, andif they were, their instruction began in early childhood. By the tim e they reachedtheir adult years, most were expert in all forms of weaponry, some even proficientwith the Tar. A few of the hardier Chalices progressed far enough to attain Warrior status. But it was a lifelong comm itment— not something to be learned ina few short practice sessions. Nevertheless, as Anne said, it made sense.

“ See to it,” he commanded.

****

Excitement blazed like wildfire through the female com munity. The chance fora few hours off-ship had the wom en jockeying for a spot on the team . Animatedcandidates lined up in a rowdy queue, pushing and shoving in their rush to be oneof the chosen. Only a very few like timid Moira viewed the com ing excursion as arendezvous with the grim  reaper.

The list of possible participants was reviewed over and over again, givingcareful consideration to those who had som e training in physical combat orweaponry. Three of the women had military backgrounds and were excellentchoices. One declined to take part and another was rejected as too undisciplined. The third signed on after som e prodding. Hanna had asked to be included but waseliminated because of her pregnancy and Ume was also out of consideration since Shagal would be on the team  and she needed to stay behind to watch Siri.

“That leaves two openings,” Anne m urm ured.

“One opening,” Kara said, studying the entries. “I’m  going.”

“No openings,” Dread added, shaking her mass of dark tresses. “Ain’t leaving me behind.” She shoved the line of females back. “Game over,” she spat, arms akimbo. “Go back to whatever you were doing.”

“Lord Tegan isn’t going to like this,” Anne groaned.

“Like what?” Shagal strolled up, a self-satisfied smile gilding his inquisitive

look.

The three women stared in horrified fascination. Gone was the beauty of hisonce silvery white braids. In its place, tufts of fiery orange hair jutted from  the

artisan’s finely shaped head. The winged brows also suffered a like fate. The clear pale skin had been stained with a rusty brown pigment, black liner ringed his silvery blue eyes and, as a finishing touch, m auve lipstick coated his firm ly

molded lips.

“You look like the damn Bride of Chucky,” Dread exclaimed, eyes rounded in

shock. “Or maybe a cranked up Howdy Doody.”

He mouthed the phrases to him self. “Is that a good thing?”

Anne turned away, giggling, snorting against the hand slapped over her

mouth.

Kara bit her lip, resisting the urge to laugh. “You look…” she choked, strangling

on the words, “great…”

He exhaled, relieved. He touched the spiked carroty crown. “I’m  drawn by thehuman females with this hair color— it’s so very distinctive. My artisan friends and I concocted a wash based on that preference. We used a com bination of dyes toformulate a reasonable facsim ile of your skin color and I have always liked thistint,” he pointed to his m outh. “I think I’ll intermingle with the fem ales quitewell.”

“Oh yeah,” Dread said wryly. “You blend.”

“Is it perm anent?” Anne covered her mouth against a fresh spurt of laughter.

The orange brows drew together furrowing his forehead. “It will take som etime to fade.” He shuffled his feet, unnerved by their scrutiny. “Was the choiceunwise?”

Dread circled the breeder, tugging at the tortured coif. “Unwise? You look like

a dam n streetwalker all dressed up for a Saturday night stroll.”

He jerked away, glaring daggers as he rearranged the brassy locks. “Your

opinion is valueless, female.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Kara said, attem pting to smooth his ruffled feathers. “You’ll be fine.” She tapped her lips, studying the artisan’s height and breadth. “We need to find some clothes.”

He brightened, silvery eyes sparkling. “Come with me.” He whirled, running

out the door.

Dread tilted her head, marking his progress. “Guess we’d better follow him .”

In the bowels of the ship, deep beneath the regular realm s of activity, Shagalhalted before an entryway. He waved his wristband across the control panel andwaited. Several groans and rusty creaks later, the corroded door slid open.

“I found this when we were unloading cargo.” He turned, animated, white

fangs glistening in the murky gloom . “I didn’t know what it was at first. I had

nothing to compare the articles to. I just thought it was strange Kormak would

keep such a pile of worthless rubbish.”

Curious, Kara walked into the dim ly lit cham ber, shivering as a blast of cold airhit with full force. To conserve energy, little effort was m ade to keep the storageareas at a comfortable level. She pivoted, scanning the interior. Stark and dismal,the m usty smell of rot and decay hung over everything. The once shiny floors hadtarnished. Rust and mildew dotted the walls and ceiling. It was an area of the shiplong unused and ultim ately forgotten.

Intrigued, she stopped before an open shelf staring at the stacks of molderingbundles. She reached out with a tentative finger, poking at a frayed article. Herheart skipped a beat. She knew that familiar texture. It was wool! Grabbing thematerial from  the shelf, she shook it out. Moth-eaten and decom posing, theancient tweed coat was nonetheless recognizable as hum an.

Dumfounded, she gazed at the others. “I think these are our clothes.”

“You shittin’ m e?” Dread snatched another bundle.

Anne opened a barrel-shaped container, standing on tiptoe to peer inside.

“There’s shoes and handbags in here.”

Shagal held the lid open. “These items m ust have been what you were wearing

when you were gathered.”

“Kidnapped,” Dread snapped, sparks flashing from  her chocolate eyes. “We

were kidnapped—and don’t you forget it.”

“I did not kidnap any of you,” the breeder m uttered, lips curled in a frown. “Our intentions were honorable when we sent out the seeker ships in hopes of finding,” his eyes slid sideways, coming to rest on Dread, “suitable m ates.”

“You saying I’m  not suitable,” the black woman yelped, shaking her fists. “Why

you…”

“Stow it,” Kara growled. “We’ve got m ore important things to worry about.”