By Jane Carver

The attack had been well planned. Captain Merlo and his first mate, Mr. Honess, were not aboard. They attended a meeting with the harbormaster in preparation for leaving. Minimal guards had been posted at the plank since the Cabrillans proved friendly. No one suspected the greatest threat to those aboard the Fenix would be from its own passengers.

Gambrel boarded amid panic. Two sailors, Stavin and Nhortin, appeared more than happy to see him. Captain Merlo had not returned yet but was on the way.

“They caught us by surprise,” Stavin reported. “Too many to count in the first confusion. I were knocked mindless and left on deck tied up. I counted at least eight men later. Rough types. Locals from their dress.” He helped another man sit while one of the women dressed the cut on his head. “I slipped my ties when I came to then searched for others. I discovered Nhortin first then we found the others.”

Nhortin swallowed hard and finished Stavin’s tale. “All were mindless except for Mistress Chiffro. They beat her to death, sire.” The young sailor lost his composure for a moment but wiped his face clean as Gambrel maintained a stony expression. “Were no call for such. And why her alone? She clutched a piece of paper, and lines marked around her neck as if something were ripped off. Stavin found a chain covered in blood thrown down among the folds of her skirt.”

Before Gambrel could question the men further or explore the ship for clues, Captain Merlo appeared at his elbow, shaken more than he had ever seen. “Murder aboard my ship. What is to become of us?”

Stavin and Nhortin repeated their stories then added, “Some of our folks be missing, Captain.” When they recited the list, Merlo appeared stunned.

“Why these and no others? Why take any? Why not all?”

“Because of me.” Gambrel stood with hands at his side, feet braced, and leveled a hard stare at Merlo. “These folk are dear to me. This is the work of a man named Haggin. In the past, his name was Handid. He’s a murderer. He recognized me at your gathering several nights ago. He knows why I am here.”

Merlo asked the expected question. “And why is that?”

“I have tracked this man and his followers for fifteen twelve-months and killed each one. The only one left is Haggin. His second-in-command, a man named Walys, I thought dead already. I discovered he lives.”

“But why?” Incredibility showed clearly on Merlo’s face in his wide eyes.

“Haggin and his men killed my daughter. I swore vengeance then and have not changed my mind since.”

“And you dragged the Fenix and Vangee into your plot?” Merlo seethed with an easy-to-see anger.

“I did not think to include anyone in my scheme. I planned to disappear after the deed was completed this eventide. However, I suspect Haggin sent locals to take Vangee and others. Warn me away. Or lure me to my death.” He took a deep breath and stood straighter. “I will examine the ship then contact Pessios through Canfanto. Perhaps Haggin led him to those who are missing.” Not for the world would he say “those whom I love.” Saying the words would be to admit a loss greater than his life if anything happened to them.

At his name, Canfanto appeared at Gambrel’s side. “Sire, Pessios says Haggin went into a warehouse. Others move inside. He can not make out who.” Everyone near the men knew who abided in the darkness. Vangee and the other passengers.

“Lead me there, Canfanto.” When he turned to leave the ship, Merlo stepped into his path.

“You need help.”

“Not so, Captain. This I do by myself. Haggin begs killing, and I alone will be responsible. You and the others may leave Cabrilla under no restraints.” Gambrel glanced around. “Besides, sire, you are needed. Your place is here, and these are your people. Take care of them.” He offered his arm in friendship. And farewell.

* * * *

Canfanto led Gambrel through familiar streets to a large warehouse set far back on a plane of green. Little greenery shaded the area. Getting closer proved difficult but not impossible. They met Pessios who hid among boxes stored at the edge of the building.

“When I arrived, I heard voices. A man entered the building followed by some local justice breakers. I think I saw Thacton.” Pessios glanced over his shoulder. “An entrance in the front and one at the back are guarded. The windows are high, and there is nothing light or sturdy enough to stack and climb on. Even these boxes are too heavy.” To prove his point, Pessios shoved against one and got a bruised shoulder for his efforts.

“A diversion is needed. Misdirection. Lure the guard away from the door.” Gambrel craned his neck around the corner enough to see the burly man standing there. He held a large blaster across his chest, and his feet were braced. The man expected problems.

Suddenly weapons fire sounded inside the building.

“Trouble!” Not waiting for Pessios and Canfanto to follow, Gambrel pulled his double blasters, bellowed a war cry, and charged, brilliant bursts of energy killing the guard on contact.

No need for surprise now.

The door held until Gambrel put a huge shoulder to the panel and busted through. Once inside however, he knelt in the shadows while Pessios took the other side. Canfanto squatted behind him. After the brief noise inside and out, the profound quiet inside seemed complete and ominous.

A gesture and Pessios glided forward. Motioning Canfanto to one side, Gambrel followed. Like a well-oiled machine, the three slid into the building’s darkness in total silence. Eyes scanned shadows in case someone else moved besides them. Ears listened for odd sounds or footfalls. Pessios flicked out his tongue, tasted the air.

The smaller man motioned Gambrel to him. “I detect the scents of Gastrojan and Pharlie. Haggin’s scent drifts to me as well.”

A sense of everything coming together settled in Gambrel’s heart. As he feared, Gastrojan ran with Haggin. Whether their partnership developed from a mutual hatred of him or whether the men knew each other through past business ventures was only a guess. How they met did not matter once they all died.

Nothing disturbed the silence of the space where the three men hid among crates and bundles. The quietness warned Gambrel. Wrong. Something was not right. A squeak, like a dry hinge, echoed beyond their position. Pessios moved toward the sound. Another door stood cracked open a slit farther down the vastness. The lack of light around the doorframe indicated it did not lead outside. Pessios reached the door first and ducked into the room.

Immediately Canfanto and Gambrel surged forward, intent on following him. However, before either entered the room, Pessios returned, his demeanor one of great illness.

“Wait.” The man sounded sick. That alone stopped Gambrel. Pessios’ face scared him.

“No.” One word. A fear too overwhelming to consider.

“Gambrel, don’t.” Pessios tried to spare the other man, but nothing stopped him.

Beyond the door lay a reality far worse than anything he could imagine. The reek of blood hit his nose before he entered the dimly lit room, a sweetish-sour smell that clung to skin and clothes. Before his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, he found the bodies. Ungainly carcasses tossed into a heap. Some tried to protect others from death. Arms stretched in unnatural positions tangled with legs bent up and back. Great swathes of blood and gore splattered the walls. So many in such a small room. But not a sound.

“There should be sound,” Gambrel muttered as he moved forward, his senses overcome by the sight. The blonde youth, Herion, lay nearest the door, his head almost detached. Flustos, his best friend, fell at his side, one arm completely shot off. Like a river, blood still drained from the massive wound.

Old Domas lay stretched out on his face as if he rushed his attackers. Gambrel knelt and gently turned over the elder. A hole in his chest took him down but not before he caught and strangled a justice breaker. One of Walys’ companions lay wrapped in the man’s dead embrace.

Jacon, his first friend aboard the Fenix, lay twisted like a cloth in the wind beside Domas. He’d taken several phaser blasts, but managed to kill two attackers. Gambrel didn’t want to tell his family how the man died.

Further into the room, he found Thacton. The dead man practically lay on top of Effie. Sweet Effie, who cherished her daughter and was learning to love again. As Gambrel squatted beside the lovely woman, he brushed matted hair back from her face. Blood made it sticky and showed the killing wound in her scalp.

“Dara.” Pessios stood in the doorway. “Where is Dara?”

“Perhaps she isn’t here. Maybe they left her behind, and we missed her. Effie would keep her safe.” Once more, a gentle hand brushed away a single tear lying on the woman’s pale face.

A sudden spasm caught Gambrel. He knew where Dara was. Effie would try to keep her safe, by shielding the child with her own body.

Tenderly he lifted Thacton away from Effie. She lay on her side, curled around…

Dara.

Blood coated her petite face and darkened the flaming orange hair. The sight of the tiny one clutched in her dead mother’s embrace broke Gambrel’s spirit.

“No.” His wail began softly and progressed to a massive bellow as he picked up Dara in huge arms and cradled her to his chest. Rocking like a Sartarian professional mourner, he swayed back and forth, his tears watering the child’s tunic. Behind him, he vaguely recognized the sounds of someone being sick.

Long minutes he held her body, vowing revenge for both she and Lindan.

“Lay her down, Gambrel. We are not finished here.” The big man did not hear. He clutched the child as if hope were gone. Would his world ever be right again? “Put her down. You can do nothing for her now. We must find Vangee.”

“Vangee?” Like a magic spell broken, Gambrel aroused to the name of his beloved. Tenderly he laid the child in her mother’s arms. When he rose, he put aside the sweetness that once was these people. His mission needed completion.

Time for retribution.

“I found this.” Pessios held up a green clock. A few drops of blood lay on the breast of the garment. “I do not think she died here. They use her as a lure, to bring you to their trap.” Both men cautiously approached the back entrance in case a guard still watched. When no one appeared outside, they scouted around for signs that Vangee might have been taken away. Tracks led around the building back in the direction of the city center. “Could they be headed to the docks again?”

* * * *

As suspected, the trail of half a dozen men and one woman led to the docks, straight to the Unseen. But the ship no longer lay anchored there. Bodies floated in the deep turquoise-colored water. Passengers and crew. A few in the water, as well as on the dock, were Cabrillan shipbuilders evidently caught in the massacre.

Gambrel sent Canfanto for Captain Merlo and Pessios to seek a Cabrillan enforcement official. In the meantime, he lowered a small boat with the help of others. Together they fished the bodies out of their watery grave. He feared each woman’s body might be Vangee’s.

By the time Merlo and the officials arrived, Gambrel stood on shore again, leaving the last of the burial detail to their task. Vangee was not among the dead.

“Gambrel, what happened?” Merlo looked sick.

The shock of Dara’s death and Vangee’s disappearance was wearing off, and Gambrel was thinking clearly again. “Haggin took my friends in order to draw me out. He killed all but Vangee. We think he took her aboard the Unseen. But the purpose of taking her and killing all these people, this I do not understand.”

Merlo walked among the dead. Cabrillans had laid them on the dock. “Here, Gambrel.” He pointed to a pretty woman with light pink hair. “Haggin’s mate. He introduced her the night they visited the Fenix.” The captain raised shocked eyes. “He killed his own wife to escape justice?”

Clearly the captain did not understand the criminal mind. Haggin would do anything to make good his flight. Leave no one behind who might tell where he went. Take no one who might prove to be a burden in the long run.

“I suspect Haggin, his second-in-command Walys, Gastrojan…” At that, Gambrel nodded to Merlo. “Yes, Gastrojan and Pharlie—we don’t know about Lycol—took part in this plan. At least six to ten locals joined them aboard the Unseen. I’d also hazard a guess that they left no forwarding plans with the harbormaster.”

Canfanto reported the ship sailed within the last sixty-brace.

“I must find a space ship, one enclosed and ready to leave immediately. And I need a pilot willing to guide me wherever the Unseen leads. I have no idea how long I will be gone, but I will return Vangee to you. I promise.” Gambrel stood at attention as if addressing a senior officer.

“I do not doubt your word regarding Vangee, Gambrel, but I wonder you will not return as well.”

“I will be unwelcome by my fellow passengers, Captain, after I murder these men. We both know that.”

Merlo shook his head, prepared to refute the man’s words, but didn’t get a chance because Gambrel began speaking to Pessios and Canfanto.

“Help me find a ship? Small, fast, and ready to leave.” For the first time in his life, Gambrel Sarjean asked for assistance. His need was urgent, and these men would willingly work for him.

“I will find a craft at the Cabrillan air field. Meet me back here in a sixty-brace.” Pessios nodded then punched Canfanto on the shoulder.

 “I ask little of you, Merlo, except good wishes.” He did not want to leave this man thinking he contributed nothing to Vangee’s rescue.

“Meet with me when you get your bundle. Make your farewell before going,” the captain asked.

* * * *

Merlo handed Gambrel a pack. “I included extra coins as well as clothes. Maps and vid-squares of this sector of space too.”

Pessios and Canfanto had reported back earlier. Canfanto had located a small spacer not far from the heart of the city and paid credits to have it ready when Gambrel showed up.

Merlo and Gambrel stood at the bottom of the stairs. The helmsman hung one arm on the big wheel as if seeking comfort from its dark slick wood. Other passengers gathered behind, but he refused to acknowledge them. Better to say farewell to Merlo, Pessios, and Canfanto than endure the stares of those who lost loved ones because of him. They would blame him.

He imagined their hate beating against his back. Hate—the emotion that balanced love. Did they wish him dead like those they lost? Friends lost friends. Parents their children. Young ones lost mothers and fathers. Intense, all-consuming loathing, like a fire, burned all the fuel and left nothing but ashes.

He kept his mind intentionally blank, pushing even rancor aside. Walk away from these people without feeling what they did. Would they think his leaving an escape? Or in their moments of deepest despair realize he did this for them? Because of him, they suffered. He alone could relieve the grief. But would they understand?

A nod and firm arm clasp, Gambrel bid Merlo a silent farewell. He turned reluctantly to Pessios, Canfanto at his side. This leave-taking was harder, for these men suffered with him at the moment of greatest loss.

“Goodbye, friends. I will bring Vangee back to the Fenix as soon as I find her.” He did not add she would return when those who took her died. A solemn arm clasp with Canfanto then he turned to Pessios. Emotions overwhelmed his heart, but words sounded inadequate.

“Pessios…” he began.

“No need, my friend.” Pessios accepted a pack from the other Lizzardian. “I act as your pilot. Canfanto remains here. We can communicate across distances though I suspect this trip will test our limits.”

Gambrel wanted to argue the man’s arbitrary decision but stopped. To be truthful, he welcomed the other man’s company.

With few words, Pessios bid Captain Merlo goodbye. He clasped Canfanto to him in a tight embrace, slung his pack over his shoulder, and strode to the away plank where he waited.

Too stunned to argue, Gambrel turned as well. In doing so he faced Mirril, Jacon’s wife. What to say?

No hatred marred Mirril’s face though grief laid heavy on her features. She put out her hand to stop him. “Jacon once told me love mattered above all. Love lasted forever even when we no longer saw the face of the one we cherished most. We grow old, he said, and one goes before the other. At that moment, he whispered, remember how much I love you.” Her soft yellow scarf fluttered around her head, highlighting her unusually pale complexion and the redness of crying eyes. She moved with slow and almost painful-like steps as if going on might be unmanageable.

“Bring her back, and make a new home. You are one of us.”

At one time, Gambrel would have given his soul to hear such words. But that was before Dara and Jacon and the others died, and Vangee disappeared into the blankness of space.

Home was Vangee. But she would leave him after he murdered. The thought burned away all others.

He accepted Mirril’s wishes for a speedy trip and cast one last glance at Captain Merlo then left. Down the plank he walked, Pessios at his side.

By Jane Carver

  With swift strides, Gambrel walked to town and gathered a few pieces of equipment he needed to set the trap for Haggin. Pessios and Canfanto waited nearby for him.

Though Walys wasn’t with Handid/Haggin when Linden died, Gambrel would lure both in and eliminate them. The alley he chose ran deep, and the only light in the narrow passage shone during the middle of the day. Gambrel planned to spring the trap near moon rise the following day.

Because he didn’t want to involve his two friends in justice breaking, he did not tell them his plan. Pessios probably suspected. With comrades, one took the good as well as the bad. The man was a superior fighter and communicated with Canfanto mentally, but he was as stubborn as Gambrel. Pessios seemed determined to follow him into this last encounter. The former enforcer had other plans for the two. That way, they would be safe and well away from the action.

When Gambrel joined Pessios at the dock, Canfanto was gone. “Off to guard the Unseen in case Haggin or Walys leave,” Pessios informed him. Gambrel nodded but said nothing else. He kept his mind carefully calm with innocuous thoughts so the other man would not pick up on his intentions.

Back on board the Fenix, he left Pessios and entered his cabin. Though it was early eventide, Vangee sat at the table where plates of food and clear-cuts of wine waited.

“I thought you might be home soon.” She carried his coat to the hanger before standing on tiptoes for a kiss. One led to several others. However, Gambrel’s mind was focused on his plans, and even his mate’s kisses did not impinge on them.

“Come and join me for a meal. It’s your favorite.” She playfully pulled him to the table. Though genial, she did not try to cozy him out of his mood.

Little conversation of deep meaning past between the two while they ate. Her day spent with Merlo and several Cabrillans. A funny story about Effie and Thacton. She questioned him but only about what he saw in Cabrilla as he went about business for the captain. With a sigh, he pushed back his plate, still half filled.

“Vangee,” he shoved his chair far enough to pull her on to his lap. When she sat in his embrace, he wrapped large arms around her and held her. Silence. One heart to another. Would this be their last even? Despite the fact she told him to do what he must, in times ahead she would find it hard to remember she gave him permission to kill a man. A sick despair ate at his soul over leaving her and the fleet. Never again would he put another in jeopardy for the harm he did.

“’Brel, you’re hurting me.” She winced until he released the pressure of his embrace.

“Sorry, love. Sometimes I must hold you and remember you love me.” He stroked her cheek while sadness welled in his heart. “You are more precious to me than life.” He cocked his head to one side and smiled. “I wonder what our child would look like?” His mind wandered to the future when he was gone.

“I know how we can find out.” Vangee whispered as she slipped her hand inside his shirt and rubbed one nipple until the dark pebbles rose hard and large. “Perhaps not this eventide but in the near future.” With a soft sigh, she leaned against his chest and sought his mouth.

Desperation brought the two together that dark rise. Time on Cabrilla was drawing to a close, and both knew it. Gambrel had a job to finish. He wanted peace and comfort in his mate’s arms. Vangee sensed his desire to create a new life. Her life force that night shone around them as they made love far into the dark’s time.

* * * *

Gastrojan strolled down the ship’s plank ahead of Gambrel the next morning rise. When the smaller man turned left, Gambrel paused. Where were Pharlie or Lycol? Nowhere on deck. Had the two men gone ahead? Gastrojan strolled down the pier toward the other Ancadian ships anchored for repair. Was he going to the Unseen? Disquiet entered Gambrel’s soul. A prickly sensation nagged the back of his neck beneath his tight braid of dark hair.

Did Gastrojan and his cronies work for Haggin? He dismissed the idea. No evidence of any joining in the records he read or from talking to Pessios, Canfanto or Jacon pointed to such. Working together wasn’t impossible so much as improbable.

Before the morning light rose above the ship’s rail, Pessios and Canfanto volunteered to monitor the Unseen. The fleet would leave this world in two days, the trap sprung that eventide. Gambrel planned to distract his friends with another errand when the time for revenge came.

“Has Gastrojan shown up?” The first thing Gambrel said in greeting Pessios. The man stood at a window on the second floor of a warehouse across from the Unseen.

“No sign of him. Are you expecting one of those three here?” Pessios briefly lost his focus. The Lazzardian mentally asked Canfanto if he saw Gastrojan, Pharlie or Lycol. Canfanto observed the ship from a closer hiding place.

“Canfanto reports none of the three in sight.” Pessios and Gambrel switched places at the window. “These men bother you?”

“They might be involved with Haggin.” He shrugged. “There is no logical reason to think so.” Once again, he rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign of trouble as far as he was concerned.

The three watched the ship carefully, but neither Haggin nor Walys left. Several men and women strolled the dock near the Unseen but none the trio recognized.

Well past nooning, Gambrel told Pessios to send Canfanto back to the Fenix. “He will be in a better position to observe Gastrojan when he returns. They may have returned already. He can report anything unusual.” Pessios decided to stretch his legs so left to speak to Canfanto in person.

The silence of the room pressed in on Gambrel once his friend was gone. Still air felt like so much hot dust on his tongue. Cold-bloodedness usually attended him when he sought the end of a manhunt. Not so today. Bile threatened to choke him when he thought of the letter and token he left for Vangee. He would not return to the Fenix.

Send Pessios on a mission of seemed importance then swing into action, lure Haggin into his trap, and kill the worthless bastard. Lindan’s revenge completed. Walys, Haggin’s second-in-command, would fall as well, and that pleased him. Twelve months earlier a ratty little snitch said the man died. The comments of Walys’ death were exaggerated then but not for long.

Pessios climbed the steps with a heavy tread. “So you are aware I’m coming, friend Gambrel. From the way you’ve been acting, you might forget it’s me, shot first then ask who.” Pessios slapped him on the back. “By then, it would be too late for me.”

The lack of air movement and the heat in the upper warehouse room compounded the headache between Gambrel’s eyes. The two men took up positions on either side of the large windows. Marking time before a mission stretched long, but patience served a purpose. He could wait.

* * * *

“Gambrel!” Pessios didn’t take his eyes off the dock beneath the window as he tried to wake his partner. Pessios thumped Gambrel’s arm to get his attention.

A snort and a few blinks and he awoke. Haggin and Walys rounded the corner of the last warehouse.

“I must follow. Stay and wait for their return. If I do not show up right afterwards, come search for me on the far side of Cabrilla.” That much information he shared with Pessios. If his friend stayed, the trap could be sprung sooner than planned.

In a flurry of leather coat, Gambrel headed for the stairs only to be stopped by an impervious command.

“Wait!” For a minute, he thought Pessios about to argue, but one look convinced him there was another more important reason to hesitate. “There’s something wrong on board the Fenix.” Pessios stood still, silently communicating with Canfanto. “People are missing. Some are tied up and…” The Lazzardian paused as if he didn’t understand what his friend said. “Others have been knocked mindless. One woman is dead.” Pessios frowned. “Her death is most horrible. Chiffro?”

Confusion clouded his narrow face. “Why was the lady Chiffro beaten so badly she died? She clutches a scrap of paper, and Canfanto says deep cuts mark her neck like a chain was torn away.” He shook his head. “This makes no sense.”

A growl, low and menacing, rumbled through the room. “This makes a great deal of sense.” Gambrel’s guttural voice sounded harsh in the quiet. One hand passed over his face. Resignation changed to fire-hot hatred.

“I gave a letter and a token—a ring on a chain—to Chiffro. Both were to be delivered to Vangee after full dark. Someone watched. Knew my intent. I feel Gastrojan’s hand in this death. Others suffer as well, you say?”

“Yes, and some are missing.”

“Who?” Gambrel knew the answer before his friend spoke.

“Jacon, Domas, Flustos and Herion. Effie and Thacton.” Pessios paused to catch a breath on a near sob. “Dara and…” He hung his head.

“And Vangee.” Gambrel finished. “All those dear to me. The only reason you and Canfanto were not taken is because you were not there.”

A decision must be made. Return to the ship and track those responsible? Or follow Haggin? “Haggin left about the same time the attackers struck the Fenix?” Pessios nodded. “They were aboard the Unseen, but…” In an instance, Gambrel recalled the encounter between Walys and the local justice breakers. “Haggin hired men to abduct those from the Fenix. I witnessed the meeting but heard not what they planned.”

“Come. We must return and search for evidence of Haggin’s plan.”

“Gambrel, I follow Haggin. Canfanto will relay any information I discover.” A hard clasp of the arms and the two men separated.

*****

Have you checked out The Sergeant and the Knight at Amazon yet? My latest work is a romantasy–part fantasy/part romance. I think you’ll enjoy the read. Let me know!

By Jane Carver

Because the repairs and cooperation between the Ancadians and the Cabrillans went well, Captain Merlo invited several Cabrillan ship builders and several prominent Ancadians to dine with him. The captain’s cabin being too small for all invited, tables were set up in the large dining area below deck. The passengers and crew dined before the visitors arrived.

Mr. Honess, Domas, Zamour and Spoors met the guests at the plank and escorted them below deck. Gambrel and Vangee stood near Captain Merlo.

“You are discomforted.” Vangee laid her fingers on his arm. Though he wore his leathers and coat, his weapons lay secured in the captain’s cabin once again. Despite being disarmed however, he still looked like a person not to be approached.

“I am uneasy,” he agreed. “Perhaps for no good reason. Old habits die a slow death even among friends. Many come this eventide I do not know. Crowds always make me suspicious.”

“Nothing threatens us, ‘Brel.”

Vangee’s words no sooner left her mouth than he froze, the muscles beneath her fingers going rock hard. He took on instinctive step forward. Hands went automatically inside his coat, seeking a weapon.

“What is it? Tension…hate…fills the air like the smell of hot spice.” Being a Radiant, she picked up the emotions and narrowed them down to her husband.

Gambrel refused to answer her. He glared at the man entering the room, a man he saw earlier, a man with a pronounced limp. “Handid!” Soft beneath his breath, he uttered the name of his worst enemy. Only Vangee’s hand on his arm and the sound of distress in her voice kept him in one place. The desire to kill the man almost choked him. His body strained toward the other. Hands clinched into white-knuckled fists hung impotent at his side and twitched in a suppressed desire for action. Nostrils flared, seeking the smell of the air, searching for the awareness of Haggin.

“’Brel, you scare me. Please. Let us leave this place.” Vangee tugged his arm then pulled harder when he refused to look at her. Giving one last hard tug, she managed to get his gaze back on her. By then, Pessios and Canfanto flanked the pair.

“Perhaps, Mistress Sarjean, he should excuse himself from the captain’s table this even.”

Around him, Gambrel heard conversation. Heard his name. But he saw no one but Haggin as he and his mate approached their position. The man had not seen him yet. For the sake of his trap, a retreat at this time might be best. But leaving him alive seemed wrong.

Before he, Vangee, Pessios and Canfanto left, Haggin spotted the enforcer. The man literally stumbled to a halt. All color drained from his face. His mate winced at his tight grip for she yanked her arm free. No sound passed his lips, but he mouthed the word “Sarjean”.

Gambrel stared angrily at Haggin, his eyes urging the man closer. Despite what he wanted, two smaller men and one woman herded him away, testimony to his state of mind.

As the group neared the hatch to their cabin, he shook off Vangee and powered forward passed his friends. “Enough!” One massive hand slashed the air between them. “I am going…but on my own. I need no one’s help.” Ducking his head and dipping one shoulder, he took the stairs. The cabin door slammed, the others still on deck.

* * * *

“’Brel? May I come in?”

Silence answered Vangee. Her mate contemplated the lights in the harbor. When he did not speak, she entered and closed the door with deliberate care. She stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder, like they had done so many times.

For the first time, Gambrel sensed she read emotions rather than manipulate them.

“I detect violence, hate. Why? What is in your heart that you hide from me?” Her words echoed with strength and concern but not the whining of one who is scared.

He would have walked away, but she grabbed his arm and held him to her side. “Speak to me. Why my mate seeks the death of one he has never met? Why did Gastrojan and his friends smile when you left? Why did they seek out this man you loathe?”

Her words caught Gambrel’s attention. “Gastrojan sought out Haggin?” His mind raced. Were the men acquainted? From the far past? Or the recent on Ancade?

“I care nothing of Gastrojan’s intent, but I will learn of yours.” Vangee did not address him with the shortened endearment she used when comfortable. “You know this man.” Her words reflected thought and stated fact.

“Yes.”

“From where?”

“Better you do not get involved.” Danger awaited her. What the fick, he thought. Danger swirled around him all his life. Xantis and Lindan died because of what he did. Vangee and others here might suffer if he shared his past now. But his soul shattered when his lovely wife embraced him and laid her head over his chest, above the heavy pounding of his heart.

“I became involved, ‘Brel, the minute I met you…the minute I loved you.” She squeezed him. “Do not shut me out now.”

“Ah, Vangee, your sweet nature can not conceive of what I have been, will become again.” He ran one hand over her purple hair, calming the riot of curls. “I am dangerous. To men like Haggin. To you and others who come near me.” His kiss on her forehead felt like a parting. Untangling her arms from his waist, he walked across the room. “I must speak with Captain Merlo when the guests leave. I depart not too long after them.”

“You will follow this man…Haggin.” Vangee read his thoughts almost as well as Pessios. He nodded but added nothing.

“Do you love me?”

Here it comes. She will ask him to forgo his vengeance out of respect for their devotion. The two driving forces of his life—diametrically opposed. And she would ask him to give up one for the other.

“I love you with my life. You already know this.” The truth tore at Gambrel’s heart. She wanted his declaration again though she knew it to the bottom of her soul.

“Yet you would lay aside this love for your hate.” She was thinking aloud. “Who did you treasure so in the past that your heart still aches for justice?”

His head turned with a jerk. How like her, a Radiant attuned to emotions, to pick up on the problem.

Because he loved her and anticipated death now that Haggin knew him near, he gave in. He must clear his mind of agitation so Vangee would not follow him.

He needed to tell her of his past.

“Come. Sit.” He pulled two chairs from the table and set them face-to-face. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he took both of her hands in his. How soft her skin. How troubled her eyes, the color so dark now it looked black. Her tension manifested itself in the way she bit her bottom lip.

“I married as a young man. Xantis and I loved the idea of being in love, but I think we were comfortable living together without a true commitment.” His gaze never left hers. “Our daughter was the joy of our lives. My heart bled each time I left. Many full lights might pass before I saw them again. I was not around much as my child, Lindan, grew up. Yet we loved each other with a caring so great I knew nothing like it until I loved you.” His declaration drew no smile from his mate.

“Xantis wanted few things in life. She often said, ‘I want to tend my home, love my husband, and watch children blossom around my skirts.’ I have never forgotten her words. While I worked, Xantis suffered an accident in the market. She died and left me with Lindan, older than Dara is now and just as sweet. We grew closer.”

Now came the hard part. “I earned my coins as an enforcer, Vangee.” When she said nothing, he assumed the term unfamiliar. “I killed men for a living. An assassin, a man hired to go out and kill another with no more feelings than you close a door.” Gambrel pumped her hands several times in order to get a reaction, but she sat, silent and still, her eyes never leaving his. He wished he read minds for he wondered what his mate was thinking.

“Because of my work, I made enemies. I tried not to leave anything hanging from one job to another, but family or business associates sometimes sought to right the supposed wrong I inflicted. One such man was Handid. I killed his brother, an evil man who captured innocents and sold them into slavery. I did not know at the time Handid was part of the operation. I thought him into other less lucrative projects. A crime manager paid me to kill Jorgus, the brother. I cleaned up the mess, returned home, and forgot about the man. That’s the way it worked. No one knew where I lived. No one suspected what I did. I took trips and came home. Xantis never complained. That’s all I’ve ever done. I grew up in the killing business. Lindan never knew, and I never wanted her to find out.”

“I returned home each day at a certain hour of the eventide, to be there for my daughter. Handid discovered this pattern. An enforcer should never establish a set way of doing anything. But I did. And I paid for it.”

Words stuck in his throat. Tears filled his eyes though they hung from his lashes without falling. He did not speak. Laying his forehead in Vangee’s palms, he continued, “I pieced it together after the deed was done. After my Lindan died.”

One of her hands escaped his. Her fingers swept through his hair over and again, her efforts to comfort him unspoken.

“Handid and his men—fifteen in all—broke into our home and tied up Lindan. They must have spoken freely in front of her. A bright girl of ten seasons by then, she figured out what they planned—wait for my approach and kill me. Lindan gave them trouble because they attached a phaser to her head to keep her quiet. She worked the weapon around under her chin while they waited for me. When I came into the green, the men said so and that’s when she did it.” The tears finally fell.

“Tell me, ‘Brel.”

“She triggered the phaser, setting up a thunderous noise and flash. She warned me…with her death. A firefight broke out, and men died, but not all.”

Vangee pulled him forward until his head and shoulders lay in her lap, his arms wrapped around her middle. “Finish it.”

“I buried my daughter and tracked down men who knew about the ambush. Then with great deliberation, I set out to kill them all.” Gambrel’s voice hardened, sounded like steel, as he finished. He kissed Vangee’s palm then sat up. Letting go of her hands, he sat as still as she. “Handid is known as Haggin on Ancade. He is the last, the one who organized the ambush. I will kill him. Then it is over.” Before Vangee could speak, he added, “I love you with my whole being, but you can not dissuade me from my goal. You will not love me for this, and I do not fault you for that.” He sighed and stood. “I will leave the Fenix here and never bother you again.” His words shook his entire world but he spoke them with a heavy but calm heart.

“You did it again!” Vangee’s anger flooded the room. He flinched, expecting her rage but not those particular words. In a flash, she ran across the room and grabbed his arm so firmly that he spun around.

“I know you’re disappointed in me. I know this is not what you expected in a mate.” Gambrel stood straighter and looked her in the eyes. “But this is who I am. If I do not honor my word to Lindan then I am not the father she loved.”

Delivering an unexpected hard thump to his chest, Vangee repeated herself in tones loud enough to be heard beyond their cabin. “You did it again!” She propped her fists on her hipbones. What was she waiting for? Some magical light of understanding to come on in his head?

A frown furrowed Gambrel’s forehead. Both arms crossed his chest. What the fick was the woman talking about? Did what again? A face-off ensued. Neither spoke. She wore a smug look while he tried to remember every conversation they’d ever had.

A mental bolt of brilliance did hit him!

“Once before I did your thinking.” He grinned. “I thought you would not love me. I even told you so. You got so angry you didn’t speak to me.” One thick hand rubbed his bristly chin. “You don’t like me thinking for you.” His grin spread. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

She rolled her eyes and gave an indelicate snort. “I would say that’s true words.”

His stance now relaxed, his arms hung loose. He waited for her to finish.

“Don’t think for me because you thought wrong. I did love you when you thought I wouldn’t. Now you think I condemn you for your past and a promise made to a loved one. I am a woman and made of softer emotions, ‘Brel, but even I cannot love the man I see before me without accepting what made him the person he is. If I withhold my love, you will not be that man. If I condemn you, you will not be that man. I will not question you on the subject of Haggin. Do what must be done and return to me, a man healed of his hatred.”

“You would do this for me? Let me finish the journey I began?”

When she nodded, Gambrel found it hard to believe. His heart swelled with love, more than ever before in his life. “Vangee.” Stepping forward, he pulled his mate into his embrace, a tight but tender one. The moment lay too precious for more than that.