To Love A Space Pirate (13 page)

“Bork! Why didn’t you tell me it was you? I wouldn’t have charged you for the drink.” The bartender grinned then refilled his glass a second time.

“Lus, I don’t want too many people to know I am here.”

“What brings you back to Zulus?” Lus was an old-timer who owned the bar. For more than three dozen years, Bork had been visiting the bar. Lus was one of the very few he trusted in the trading post.

“I needed a part for my ship, but I am also looking for someone.” He pulled the image up on his small tablet he carried in the pocket of his cloak.

“Let’s have a look,” Lus said.

Bork flashed the picture to the man and waited for him to say something. He didn’t expect his old friend to have any news about Carden, but he wasn’t going to leave without checking first.

“This man was in here a short while ago.”

Bork nearly spit his drink out. The bitterness of the liquid burned as it went down and hit his stomach. “What?”

“Sure. He came in here alone. Maybe an hour or so ago.” Lus looked up at Bork. “What’s he done? He didn’t seem too threatening with that scar and all.”

“Do you know which way he went when he left?”

“I wasn’t paying much attention to him. Dutch over there might be able to tell you more. Hey, Dutch! Come here!” Lus waved at a very large alien who was standing near the card game going on.

Dutch’s heavy footsteps overpowered all the noise in the room. Dutch was a Fleln from Rulk, the planet of the giants. Most of the inhabitants stood over eight feet tall and nearly as wide. Heavily muscled, the Fleln used broadswords as their choice of fighting weapon.

The floor of the wooden building shook as Dutch slowly made his over to the bar. Bork stood up to greet the man but needed to stand on the stool to be eye level with the Fleln.

“Dutch, this guy here is asking about that scar-faced Kiot who was in here a bit ago. Remember the guy I am talking about?” Lus used the towel he was holding to dry a freshly washed glass.

“Show me,” Dutch stated. His voice was deep and barely rose above a whisper. Bork showed him the image. “I saw this Kiot.”

“Which way did he go when he left,” Bork asked. His hopes of finding Carden were high.

“I followed him out when he left. He walked towards the jewelry shop across the street. Spent a fair amount of time in there. Once he came out, he got on one of the flying cycles and headed out of town. Not sure where he went after that.”

Bork smiled. “Thank you for the information. Let me buy you a drink. Lus, give the man a drink on me!” He tossed more coins on the bar then motioned to his men it was time to leave.

The mood he was in now gave him hope of finding the human female. Where Carden was, the female couldn’t be too far away. He just needed to find Carden without being seen and follow him back to where ever he was keeping her. His time to finally settle the score with the Kiot had arrived, and he was going to enjoy taking the female away from him seconds before he slit the bastard’s throat!

Chapter 14

The sound of water hitting the window drew Elizabeth out of a sound sleep. She peeked open one eye and looked at the window and saw the rain falling steadily down. This was the first time it rained since she came to Carden’s home. Most of the days were sunny and bright with average temperatures. Today, though, the sky outside was gray and foreboding.

She sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes. “Another day with nothing to do,” she mumbled as she yawned. She stayed up late the night before searching the house for any way to contact the outside world and came up empty handed.

When Carden left four days ago, she was furious! Not that she was pissed because he didn’t tell her goodbye, but because she wanted to talk to him about contacting her family and letting them know she was alive. It was several hours into the day before Sireni informed her he left on a delivery and would be gone for some time.

“Well, how long? Did he say?”

“No. Some of the crew said it wasn’t going to be a long run, so I expect maybe a month or two.”

Well wasn’t that just great! She could only imagine how her family was feeling! Her father would be pestering the Galactic Council to find her, and there was no telling what he was demanding of Tarwick! She probably wouldn’t have a job once she returned. Tarwick would surely fire her after all the trouble she caused!

She rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. The dreary day would give her some time to explore the house during the day since she expected most of the workers would not report because of the pouring rain outside. A loud clap of thunder shook the house as she closed the door of the bathroom. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend she was back home in her tiny apartment listening to the storm raging outside her window.

The warm water ran over her head and down her body. It felt good and relaxing since her muscles were still recovering from the Loto juice experience. Why it was taking so long to recover fully, she had no idea. All she could do was cope with it until the effects went totally away.

After her shower, she headed down to the kitchen to find Sireni. She was starving, and she only trusted her friend to provide the food she needed without getting poisoned again.

The young girl was sitting at the table that was surrounded by a wall of windows. “What are you doing,” she asked as she pulled out one of the heavy handmade wooden chairs.

Sireni held up a long, thin, purple vegetable she was cutting the ends off. “Preparing tonight’s supper.”

“What are those,” she asked then picked one up to inspect it.

“These are called Irizo beans. They have a sweet taste once they are cooked down with the other stuff that is going in to make a pot of them.” Sireni took a bite of one of the raw beans and smiled. “Want one?” Sireni held out a bean to her.

“Sure. Why not?” Tentatively, she took a bite. The crunch was loud in her ears, but the flavor was exquisite! “Man, these are delicious!” She reached for a few more then settled back in her chair.

“What are your plans for today,” Sireni asked as she worked steadily.

“Not much. What do I do every other day but wonder around looking for something to do?” Truthfully, she was bored out of her mind. She was becoming accustomed to being stuck in Carden’s home but, damn she needed something to occupy her time.

“I can teach you how to do embellishment.”

“What’s that?” Her curiosity was getting the best of her. Whatever it was she would try.

“I will be right back. Let me get my tote.” Sireni rushed out of the room and came back carrying a large blue tote bag nearly as big as she was.

“Holy cow! What do you have in there,” she laughed as she watched her friend drop the bag on the floor then start to dig inside.

“Oh, I carry everything I have in here. I don’t have much and am afraid to leave it behind when I come to work.” Sireni’s long black hair fell forward over her shoulder. “Here it is. Look.” Sireni handed her a piece of material with threads hanging from it. “Be careful of the needle.”

“Wow! You did this?” Her eyes roamed over the colorful design Sireni was painstakingly sewing into the fabric. It was a picture of a beach with blue sand and green and white waves crashing on the shore.

“That is where I used to live.”

“This is your home? But, I thought Carden found you on a nasty planet.” She looked up in confusion.

“That is true. I was taken from my home a long time ago and ended up in that horrible place.” Elizabeth could hear the sadness in Sireni’s voice. Her heart went out to the young girl who lived a hard life until Carden saved her.

Perhaps, the pirate wasn’t so bad after all! Carden always showed her kindness whenever he was around her and went to great lengths to heal her when she was sick. She was having mixed feelings about the man and didn’t know what to do about it. She still wanted to return home, but there was something else gnawing at the back of her mind to give the man a chance. Sure, their coming together was a bit unusual, but she was beginning to accept the fact she might never get back home. What would be left for her when she returned? Her job would be gone, and she would be blacklisted as a pilot. She would never get another piloting job on Keplar 1 for as long as she lived. Maybe, her life was here now.

“But, you are happy now, right,” Lizzy asked. She held the girl’s picture in her hands as she continued to admire the beautiful work.

“Oh yes! I am very happy. I am safe and will marry as soon as the captain returns. My life could have turned out much worse than it already had, but with the captain’s help, I was able to find my true love and make a new home.” The smile on Sireni’s face was genuine. Elizabeth felt a twinge of jealousy. She wanted to have what her friend was experiencing, but could she love a space pirate?

“I know you have feelings for the captain. Do you not?”

Elizabeth looked up at the woman sitting across from her. “No. I do not,” she lied.

Sireni laughed. “I do not think you are truthful to me nor yourself. I have seen the way you look at the captain when you think no one is watching. He is a very handsome man and will make you a good husband, but you have to open up your heart to him. Sometimes love comes to you in the most unusual ways. We cannot control how we find it.” She shook her head as she continued cleaning the beans.

Elizabeth let out a long breath. “At least, you weren’t kidnaped. He didn’t raid your ship then claim you as his prize.”

“No, but what would you have him do? Leave you for dead? From what I understand, your ship was a death trap once his detached from yours. Would you prefer to be dead right now?”

Silence filled the room as she thought about Sireni’s words. No, she would not have wanted to die on her ship. Carden admitted he didn’t know she was on board until he found her in the cargo hold. Someone in his crew failed to perform the necessary scan to check for viable lifeforms. They had assumed the ship was abandoned and claimed it as their own. Shouldn’t that be considered salvage rights instead of pirating?

“What do you know of Carden,” she asked. The man never spoke about himself. She had no idea where he came from, or if he had any family, or what race he was. Hell, he might be a human for all she knew.

“All I know is what my man told me. Captain Carden is a Kiot and once resided on the planet Fulara. I do not know if he has any family left. If he does, he does not speak of them. He is a very quiet man when it comes to most things, and he does have a side that comes out when something he loves is threatened.” Sireni stood up and walked to the sink to rinse the beans. “After I put these on to cook, I will show you how to work the needle if you would like.”

“Yes, I would love that.”

As Elizabeth sat in her room later that evening, her thoughts returned to the man who was a mystery to her. Carden held secrets she wanted to know about. He left her behind as a way to protect her. But, protect her from what? Tarwick certainly wasn’t going to harm her or, at least, she thought they wouldn’t. She had put herself in the predicament she found herself in. If she had followed the provided flight path where would she be right at this moment? Would she out on another mission, delivering goods to another colony? Would she have fallen into the hands of a different kind of pirate? The possibilities were endless.

She worked the needle through the yellow fabric Sireni provided for her. The pattern she was trying to follow was simple and would eventually show a small flower. She was happy to finally have something to do other than staring out the window. She continued to poke around the house looking for a way to contact her parents but came up empty handed. Carden’s office was the most logical place to find something of that manner but after several searches, she was still looking. Curious about the other things in his private room, Lizzy looked at the books lined up on the shelves of several bookcases. The language they were written in was a mystery to her. The odd shape of the letters intrigued her to the point where she wanted to learn the written words.

Taking a chance, she took one of the books and asked Sireni if she could read it. Sadly, the young girl could not, so she was left to her own devices to try and learn the words.

The days ticked by slowly as she waited for Carden to return. On the morning of the third week, after he left, Lizzy woke up feeling nauseous. She lay in bed thinking it would pass in a few minutes. When she got up to use the bathroom, her stomach flipped flopped. She raced to empty the contents of her belly in the toilet. Odd enough, she felt immediately better.

“Must have been something I ate last night,” she told herself as she rinsed her mouth out then returned to her bed. It was still early, and she didn’t feel like getting up and starting her day just yet. She lay back down and closed her eyes. Carden’s smiling face popped up behind her closed eyelids. Lately, she was having constant dreams of the man. More often than not, she dreamed he was in bed next to her, holding her in his thick arms. Sadly, when she woke up in the morning, she would realize it was all a dream, and he was still far away.

No word reached her or anyone on Sheannor about Carden’s whereabouts. She was growing worried as another day came and went without news of the ship. A month passed since she last saw Carden. She had plenty of time to think about him and sort out her feelings for the pirate. Back and forth she argued with herself about the good and bad things. If she stayed with him, what kind of life would she have? Surely, he would be caught one day and punished for his pirating ways and where would that leave her? Would she be considered an accomplice and go to prison as well? If she admitted her true feelings for the man, she would know and understand he would never allow that to happen! But, the idea of loving a pirate scared the crap out of her. How could she have let this happen? One wasn’t supposed to fall in love with their captor. But, he never treated her as a prisoner. He always made sure she was taken care of in every way. Heck, he could have thrown her into a hole in the ground and called it a wrap! Instead, he shared his bed with her! He never forced her to have sex with him, for which she was grateful. He had been the one to attend to her needs when she was in the throes of the Loto juice.

Each day that passed, the ice around her heart slowly melted away. She was seeing the man in a different light. There was this nagging idea she formed about Carden and his behavior. She assumed something had to have happened to him for him to decide to become a space pirate. It wasn’t normal behavior for one to say “I want to be a pirate when I grow up.” Once he returned, she was determined to find out what led him to the life of pirating.

Again, the next morning, she woke up with an upset stomach. She was scared someone was trying to poison her again, so she asked Sireni if there was anyone else who knew about medicine.

“There is Maraenee. She is the midwife the women depend upon when their time comes to bring a child into the world.” Sireni looked at her suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

Lizzy shrugged her shoulders. “I have been feeling ill each morning and am concerned someone is trying to give me that juice stuff again.”

Her friend displayed a horrified look. “I do not allow anyone to get near your food! I even taste it all before I serve it to you. It is not the food making you ill, I suspect, but I will send for Maraenee.”

An hour later, an old woman with long gray hair walked into the bedroom. Her long dress swished against the floor as she shuffled over to Lizzy as she sat on the sofa. “I am told you are not feeling well.” Maraennee’s kind face smiled at her.

“It’s gone away again now,” she said.

“Come, my sweet, lie down and let me have a look,” the old woman said.

Hesitantly, Lizzy followed her instructions. She was still dressed in her night clothes and was embarrassed when the old midwife lifted up the end of the shirt and placed her cold hands on her stomach.

“I am sorry my hands are cold. These old bones find it hard to retain any heat.” Maraenee laughed as her cloudy eyes swept over Elizabeth’s face. It was several minutes later before Maraenee removed her hands and pulled the shirt back down. “Tell me, my sweet, is it only in the morning when you feel ill?” Elizabeth nodded. “And does it go away by the time the noon hour arrives?” Again Lizzy nodded. “I see.” Maraenee moved slowly away and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa. No fire was burning in the fireplace today. “You should keep a fire lit, my sweet. It will chase away the dampness I feel in the room, and it will help you as you progress.”