T Southwell - Prophecy

"No! If I was, I wouldn't have made that comment, would I?"

"Not unless you were incredibly stupid, but sometimes I do wonder. You seem so naive, yet you're charged with saving the Atlantean Empire, and you tell some pretty amazing stories. The worst part is, I believed you. I still do." He turned away, raising a hand as if to run it through his hair, then encountered the mask and lowered it. "What is it about you, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"I find myself talking to you far too much, and I never talk to people. You have a knack for asking the wrong questions, and I have to stop myself answering them. You're dangerous."

She shook her head, confused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was kidding, really."

He swung around. "No you weren't. You would have asked him. Fortunately, it's the one thing he won't tell anyone. But he'll tell you a lot of other things, most of which you'll find very hard to believe."

"The truth about you?"

"Yes."

She sank down on a chair, her legs weak. "Is it so terrible?"

"If it reaches the ears of my enemies, yes."

"The Atlanteans?"

He sat opposite, shaking his head. "No. They wouldn't believe it. I should never have agreed to loan you one of my ships. What was I thinking?"

"I won't betray you." The urge to jump on him and rip off the mask was overwhelming. "Who are your enemies? Other slavers? What are you hiding from them?"

He stood up and strode over to the dispenser to pour himself a fizzy green drink. "I should never have agreed to see you. I wouldn't, if you hadn't mentioned Elliadaren. I had a feeling this would happen." He sipped his drink and walked closer, clearly ill at ease. She watched him, uncertain of what to say. Finally he murmured, "All right, I'll tell you, since you'll find out anyway. But first you must swear never to tell another slaver."

"I don't know any -"

"You'll meet a few, I have no doubt. Drevina was one, and there are plenty more. Assume everyone is a slaver until you know they're not. All my people know the truth about me, but they'd never reveal it, not even under torture. So, if you want that ship, you'll swear to keep my secret."

"A condition?"

He nodded. "Unfortunately, I can't order Shadowen not to tell you about me. I've given you the highest authority with him, and I can't lend him to you without it. If I tried to prevent him from telling you, it would confuse him, and he wouldn't be able to function properly."

Rayne gazed at him, recalling Endrix's enigmatic words. The prospect of learning at least some of his secrets excited her, and she was ready to agree to just about anything to achieve it. This window into his mystery was an unexpected boon, a strange by-product of his loaning her the ship. "I swear that whatever you're about to tell me will die with me, unspoken."

"Well, that's a pretty promise. Couldn't have worded it better myself." He sank down on the chair next to hers, putting his drink on the table. "I'll make it brief. I'm not a slaver."

Rayne stared at him, stunned, as a lot of things made sense and she realised Drayalia had been telling the truth. Some things still confused her, however, and she frowned. "But… all the people here…"

"Are ex-slaves I've rescued, and sworn to my service. That's what I do, steal slaves from slavers and free them. All my crews and their families, every person who works for me was once a slave. That's how I know they won't betray me. Even those who are still in slavery know about me, but they'll never betray me, because I'm their only hope of salvation. If the other slavers ever found out, they'd have me assassinated."

"But… I saw a woman begging you, on her knees…"

He turned his head away. "She wasn't begging, she was thanking me for saving her. Sometimes they get emotional. It's embarrassing."

"And the Mar'Ashan you killed?"

"Jamdar. A bastard. He was selling slaves to the Saurians in the Outer Belt." At her puzzled look he added, "They don't need slaves for labour or entertainment, they eat them."

She raised a hand to her mouth in horror, sour bile burning her throat. "Oh, god."

"Quite. I needed pretty bait to corner that monster, and you were it. I knew exactly what sort of female slaves he liked for his entertainment, and in exchange I got two hundred starved, miserable sods destined for the Outer Belt. He used to buy second and third-grade slaves in bulk, ones who were old, sick or maimed. Children with no potential and women burnt out by drugs."

He turned his head briefly in her direction, and she sensed a flash of pain from him. "I had no intention of allowing him to take you. After his death became public, I raided his bases and saved five hundred more, but thousands before them died."

"And the seventy-four slavers you've killed? They weren't just rivals, then?"

"No." He picked up his drink and sipped it. "And it's a lot more than seventy-four. The Atlanteans try to fight slavery, but they're useless at it. They raid the odd base, rescue a few slaves, maybe even arrest a slaver from time to time. But to know what's really going on, you need to be in the thick of things, like me. Oddly enough, killing off other slavers has proved profitable, and at the same time I've been able to free countless slaves. It's the biggest business in space. Bodies are in great demand, and for a variety of purposes, from taming raw, hostile planets to pandering to the demands of the rich and debauched."

"Did you really think I'd betray you to your rivals?"

"No, not really, I suppose. You're clearly against slavery, and I saved you from a collar, too, whether or not you appreciate it."

She looked away. "I do now. Then I was too angry and confused. So why did you lie to me?"

"So you wouldn't come back. When you thought I was a slaver, you didn't want anything more to do with me, did you? It would have worked, too, if not for this guide of yours. The fewer free people who know the truth about me, the safer I am. Slaves will never betray me."

She hesitated. "Why did you think I'd want to come back? I didn't plan to, nor would I, if not for Endrix, even if you'd told me the truth then."

"Wouldn't you? Perhaps I underestimated your maturity. A girl your age tends to harbour romantic notions, and knowing I'm not the evil slaver you thought, you might have wanted to return and unveil my secrets." He cocked his head. "Perhaps you even hoped to find a handsome prince behind this mask, and dreamt of a fairy tale ending, like Robin Hood."

Rayne cursed the blood that crept into her face, unable to hide her embarrassment, and tried to brazen it out. "I'll admit, I'm still curious about what you're hiding and why. That's only natural, but I'm not such a naive romantic. I never had any such ambitions, and still don't."

"That's good." He stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to. Leave whenever you're ready, and good luck."

The Shrike headed for the door without a backward glance, and was gone before she could collect her scattered wits. She stared at the door for several minutes, puzzled and disappointed. Knowing the truth about him only increased her fascination, which he had already sensed, to her embarrassment. Yet when she should have wanted nothing more than to quit his station and his company to prove him wrong, she found herself longing to stay and talk to him some more. Determined to thwart her foolish desires, she packed and left the apartment, heading for the hangar.

Its smooth, sexless voice welcomed her aboard, and she settled into the form-fitting chair after stowing her baggage. When she asked how to go about leaving the base, Shadowen informed her that he could do all that was necessary, and all she had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride. The soft hum of the anti-gravity coils increased, and the dome above rolled open, allowing egress. She experienced a pang of regret as the dull brown world shrank on the screens, wondering if she would ever see the Shrike again.