Cutpurse (Privateer Tales Book 6) Read online

  Priloe considered the device in his hand and smashed it against the top of the lizard's long snout. If only it would cut into the beast as it had Jaschot, but nothing happened. At the worst possible moment, his foot tangled in a root just as the lizard thrashed sideways into him. With his foot stuck, the force of the lizard's body thrust him beneath the water.

  Priloe pushed against the thrashing amphibian and felt his foot slide free of the twisted roots. He dove under the beast, pushing along its length, trying to get away from its snapping jaws. It would do him no good to get a good breath if it was followed by the monster's jaws around his body.

  He surfaced just behind the lizard's thick, stubby legs. The splashing water caused him to choke as he took a deep breath. He'd hoped that the small pocket within the roots was too small for the beast to turn around. It wasn't.

  Priloe had stuffed the small device between his teeth, his wracking coughs still making it difficult to breathe. He'd just gained a purchase with his feet and hands that would allow him to climb out of the bog when the beast spun around to face him. He had a split second left before it would lunge and end the one-sided fight.

  Priloe jumped from his position and twisted his body in mid-flight so that he landed on the lizard's leathery back. It was a desperate move that brought them to a momentary stalemate. He sensed the beast was about to dive into the bog. Priloe had to end this now. Lagarto lizards could stay beneath the surface of the water for several minutes, certainly longer than he could.

  Once again, he grabbed the tech and held it in his hand. It responded as it had before and expanded to fill his grip. The beast dove down and Priloe held on with his legs and free arm. Something he'd done with Jaschot had activated the device. If he couldn't figure it out, he was done for.

  The tail of the great lizard lashed back and forth propelling them through the roots. The feeling of water rushing by was terrifying, he was being dragged deeper into the bog. He banged his clenched fist against the side of the beast to no avail. It felt wrong. He replayed the sequence in his mind when he'd been with Jaschot. He hadn't tried to strike him with it, but had grabbed it from Jaschot's hand. He thrust his hand out and flicked it, mimicking the motion he'd used with Jaschot. A dull glow appeared at the end of the handle. He'd done it!

  Priloe wasted no time and stuck the end of the glowing device into the side of the lizard. Its response was immediate as it started thrashing and rolling in the water. Priloe held on. As much as his lungs burned and he wanted to escape, he had to finish this. He drew the blade through the creature's body, feeling almost no resistance. The thrashing stopped immediately as the lizard's head separated from its shoulders.

  Priloe pushed to the surface, slithering between the heavy roots, grateful that he hadn't been completely trapped. He knew he had to move quickly. The blood of the lagarto would be a beacon to the scavengers of the bog and he was entirely too close to the event.

  Scrabbling up through the roots, he attempted to find a way to break through, but it was too thick. He'd put enough distance between himself and the bog that he could afford a break so he rested for a moment and inspected his treasure. He could see why Sephre wanted it so much. It was a powerful weapon. Its ability to slice through flesh and bone as if it didn't exist was both terrifying and exhilarating.

  He wasn't sure how to turn the device off, but remembered the last time it had reverted to its dormant state. He opened his hand, set the device down on a root next to him and watched as the blade retracted. He slid it into his underclothes as none of his tattered pockets were capable of holding anything safely.

  For hours he crawled, slithered and wriggled through the tangled jumble of vine and root. A black horn snake attempted to make a meal of him, but Priloe easily dispatched it with his newfound weapon. He'd never felt so powerful and safe in his life. The snake's corpse would even provide a windfall as traders in the market would be more than happy to purchase it for a small amount of coin.

  Finally, he pulled free from the vegetation and emerged on the outskirts of the small city near the market. Milenette would be worried. He'd been gone a long time and had promised to bring back food. He could make a better deal for the black horned snake if he had time and was willing to be seen. Today, he'd take what was easily available.

  Careful to make sure he hadn't been seen and wasn't being followed, Priloe climbed the tall leadwood tree where he and Milenette lived. They called it their nest. While it wasn't more than a hollowed out hole in the crook of a tree, it kept them safe. Too far off the ground for the troglodytes to venture, it was home for the two orphans.

  "Is that you, Reelo?" Milenette's soft voice asked from the shadows.

  "Yes, little mouse, and I have food for you," he said.

  She scuttled forward and took her place next to him, hanging her legs over the edge of the opening. He handed her a piece of cheese and a wafer of flat bread and worried that she wasn't getting enough. From experience, he knew the heavy gravity was hard on her. Even now he felt the familiar ache in his own bones.

  "We have to get out of here, Mouse. They'll be coming for us."

  She accepted his words. He was her entire world and she would follow him no matter what. She snuggled into his wet body and closed her eyes, just glad to have him back.

  Stowaway

  From his perch, Priloe could just make out the landing pad two kilometers away. He noted with interest that the off-worlder's ship was still on the ground. Visitors were unusual on Nannandry and he'd overheard that this particular group came all the way from Sol. Their talk of new mining claims and trade routes had spread like fire fungus.

  Idly, he wondered if they understood the danger they had placed themselves in. They'd be safe enough in Nannandry, but they might as well be hanging a fresh chunk of bleeding meat over the bog by showing up in a shiny new ship and talking about their business. The swamp gangs would fall over each other to locate and pillage these newcomers.

  "We need to go. Now," Priloe said, suddenly making up his mind.

  Milenette stirred and looked up at him. She was warm and had eaten her fill. A nap sounded much better than going anywhere. "Why Reelo? Where will we go?"

  "Grab on, Mouse. I'll carry you down," he said.

  "Do we have to?"

  If Sephre had taught him one thing, it was to snag any opportunity that presented itself. "Yes. It is for the best."

  Milenette knew he wouldn't change his mind and to argue would cause him to be cross with her. She placed her arms around his neck and when he stood, wrapped her legs around his waist. She could climb the trees, but this far up she was unsure of herself and Priloe insisted that she be carried.

  "Let's play a pretend game. Okay, Mouse?" he asked as he climbed down the twisted branches.

  Milenette perked up since she loved games. "What game? Tag?" She'd already forgotten his somber attitude.

  "We're playing hide-and-seek except we're on the same team and everyone else is looking for us," he explained.

  They were nearly to the lower level and Priloe set her down next to him on the thick trunk.

  She looked up into his face. "I'll be quiet. Like a mouse." She smiled, enjoying her play on his nickname for her.

  He lightly touched her nose with his finger and padded along a familiar trail. Staying out of sight was a skill they'd worked on for as long as either of them could remember. Priloe took an out of the way, less traveled trail over to the landing pad. They had to duck into the dense foliage several times but as far as he could tell, they hadn't been seen.

  They finally arrived at the edge of the pad that had been constructed centuries ago. It was one of the highest points in the city and allowed supply ships to land on the platform. Some effort had been made to keep the pad open. Originally much larger, the voracious plant growth was kept at bay with considerable manual effort.

  "What is that?" Milenette whispered.

  "It's a spaceship and we're going to get on it."

  "Will it take u
s into space?"

  "Shh. No, Mouse. They're going to Léger Nuage."

  "Are we going to be pigeons? Won't they throw us off their porches?" Priloe could tell that she was horrified by the stories she'd heard in her six short years about the people who lived in the cloud city.

  "We are pigeons, Mouse."

  "So you are."

  The raspy voice of Agaric startled Priloe. He'd thought they'd arrived unseen. Priloe wrapped his hand around the weapon and turned to see the red-faced, older boy.

  "Please. Don't. Let us go, we don't belong here," Priloe pled. Milenette huddled in close to him.

  "Sephre thinks you died in the bog. She'll come for you once she knows you're alive," Agaric said. His voice wasn't menacing as much as it was matter of fact.

  "You wouldn't have to tell her," Priloe suggested.

  The older boy shrugged. "No, but you know the score, Pigeon. If I tell her, it will go better for me."

  Priloe understood. Life on Nannandry was especially hard for orphans like him and Agaric. While Sephre wasn't particularly nice, at least she gave the boys a place to live and some measure of protection. The alternative was to be captured by the slavers, which would be much worse.

  "I have a weapon. I don't want to hurt you. Will you let us go?"

  The older boy considered his words for a moment. "I guess I could say that I saw you get onto the ship. It would be better if I brought you back, but I'm pretty sure she means to kill you. Do you have anything to trade?"

  It was their way. Nothing was free. If Agaric was to give something, he needed something in return. Priloe pulled out his remaining coins. A couple of coppers, not even the start of a fortune. Agaric, however, nodded his head in appreciation. "Deal." He took the coins and started to walk away only to pause a couple of meters away and look back. "Good luck, Priloe."

  Priloe held Milenette's hand and pulled her through the thick overgrowth. He wasn't sure if Agaric would live up to his promise, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He pushed the fear out of his mind and focused on the ship ahead of him.

  Workmen were busy carrying heavy crates to the back of the ship while the large woman from whom he'd stolen the weapon, wrote on an unusual tablet. She had changed into a skin tight suit that accentuated her already bulky figure. He surmised it was armored. She was clearly a warrior of some sort and he felt a pit in his stomach. If she discovered him and then found the weapon he'd stolen, surely she'd put an end to him.

  Life was about risks and gambits and Priloe tamped down his fear like he had so many times before.

  "Okay, Mouse, we're going to be very quiet this time. We're going to sneak onto the ship, but we can't be seen by anyone."

  "How, Reelo?" she asked.

  "See how that one has her back to the ship? We'll sneak by when the porters come out."

  Milenette nodded, looking at Priloe with her innocent, wide eyes. He hoped he wasn't making the biggest mistake of their short lives, but with Sephre on his trail he'd already sealed their fate.

  He slowly snuck around until they were within five meters of the ship. The rain had been light but suddenly its intensity increased. The large woman turned and moved to stand beneath a stubby wing of the craft.

  Priloe knew this was their moment. Once the warrior turned her head, he sprinted forward, tugging Milenette with him. She started to stumble, but he knew they couldn't stop so he pulled her around awkwardly and up into his arms. She held onto him tightly. If they were to be found, Priloe knew that at least he'd done his best. They slipped, unseen, into the large bay and Priloe found a place to hide behind the loaded crates.

  They'd made it.

  "Are we safe, Reelo?"

  "For now little mouse… For now…"

  In the Clouds

  Priloe marveled at how Milenette was able to sleep through it all. He'd doled out a good portion of their remaining food, wondering if it would be their last meal. Almost immediately, his sister had fallen asleep, seemingly unconcerned.

  Being on the ship felt foreign to him. The surfaces were all completely flat and more importantly, dry. Even back in the nest, the wet of the planet pervaded everything. The second thing he noticed was the lightness in his body. Once they'd entered the ship, he felt like he weighed less than half what he normally did. The ache in his bones didn't disappear but it certainly lessened. He watched Milenette's breathing as she slept. Her normally labored breathing was finally relaxed.

  Sleep, for Priloe, was out of the question. He needed to stay alert and after an hour his diligence was rewarded. The ship's great engines lifted it from the planet. He shook with excitement and held his sister to him. They'd made it off the planet, if only for now.

  Priloe knew the trip to the cloud city would only take a few minutes in a ship such as this. It was hard to imagine that he'd grown up only minutes below the place where he'd been born. He had no memory of the world above Grünholz and the short time he'd lived there. He could only imagine his family from the stories that were told of those who had built the gleaming city that floated above the clouds. He was well aware that it was jealousy that separated the troglodytes from the pigeons. That somewhere in the distant past, they'd been the same people – travelers from a faraway place, looking for a new home. Just like him and Milenette.

  He felt a change in the ship's attitude and imagined they were getting ready to land. He gently woke Milenette. It would not do to have her upset.

  "Mouse. I need you to wake up. We must sneak off the ship."

  "We're there?" she asked, still confused by sleep.

  "Yes. No matter what happens, stay with me, okay?"

  "Are you scared?"

  "No," he lied.

  "Me either."

  A small jolt and the sound of the ship's engines winding down was a good indication that the ship had landed. If that wasn't enough, the ramp of the cargo bay they'd been hiding in started to lower and a gust of cool, fresh air entered the ship. The air's scent of the air was that of Grünholz but Priloe noticed immediately that it was much dryer than he was used to.

  "This is it, Milenette. Stay with me even if they shout at us," he said.

  Before the ramp dropped all the way to the surface, Priloe slid out and held his arms up to Milenette. She jumped down to him and he set her on the ground. Looking around he saw that they were standing on a large open parapet next to the spaceship. His head swooned as he looked over the edge past the railings to a boiling ocean of clouds as far as he could see. The platform was attached to a tall white building that was bigger than anything he'd ever seen. But he knew he couldn't afford to be distracted. They would be discovered if they didn't take cover.

  Large open doors beckoned them into the station and he took off at a run, once again gathering Milenette into his arms. A loud voice behind them yelled something, but he wasn't stopping to find out what they wanted. He was amazed at how easy it was to run and carry his sister. He'd been told about the differences in gravity between the cloud cities and the surface, but it never dawned on him how good it would feel.

  Inside the door he found himself in a gently arcing hallway that looked like it might wrap itself around the entire circumference of the city. If someone were chasing them, staying on this level would be too dangerous. They followed the wide hallway around and stopped when they came to a T-intersection. They could either head in toward the center of the city or continue around its outside. So far they hadn't run into anyone and he wanted to keep it that way.

  On the inside of the exterior wall, metal treads protruded, leading both up and down. He allowed his eye to follow the treads up and noticed that they continued going up through the ceiling, seemingly forever.

  "We need to climb, Mouse. Are you ready?"

  She nodded, unsure.

  An hour into the upward journey, the smell of cooking food stopped them. Milenette pulled on Priloe's grungy, tattered pants. He knew better than to investigate, but found it impossible to turn away. They exited the stairs they'
d been climbing and walked down a darkened hallway that led toward the central core.

  The sound of approaching voices caused Priloe to hastily look for cover. They'd passed a number of doors and he backtracked, testing them. The voices continued to approach and as they did, the lights in the hallway were turning on. If he didn't do something shortly they'd be discovered. It was common knowledge that to be caught by the pigeons would mean being cast over the side.

  At the last moment, a door finally swung inward, allowing access. He pulled Milenette in behind him and carefully closed it. He held his finger to his mouth, looking at his sister. He wiped the tears from her muddy cheeks but said nothing. The voices finally passed by and Priloe's shoulders sagged in relief.

  A scrape behind them caught Priloe's attention and the fire in the pit of his stomach once again erupted. He reached under his clothes and pulled out his weapon, spinning toward the new threat.

  "It's okay. Don't be afraid," said a girl, not terribly older than Priloe, but with long dark hair. She held her hands up defensively. She was standing next to a much taller kid, with bright red hair. They were both dressed in clothes that he'd only seen on off-worlders.

  "Mouse. Run."

  Priloe didn't know what he was doing, but having been discovered scared him senseless. He'd only wanted to get a glimpse of the food and mentally kicked himself for being drawn in. He opened the door and bolted out, pulling Milenette along. He couldn't go in the direction they had come, since the voices had moved in that direction. So he raced toward the center of the city. He found an intersection and immediately veered right into a darkened hallway. He wasn't sure why the lights didn't activate at his and Milenette's presence, but that was just fine with him.

  At the next intersection he turned right again. They needed to find safe cover quickly. They'd been exposed and needed to stop moving. He tried several doors as they ran by and once again found an open door and pushed in. This time he did a much better job of scanning the room. It turned out to be several rooms connected to each other. None of the rooms, however, were occupied. A thin layer of dust was on top of everything and Priloe was convinced that they were alone.