Page 21 of Take No Prisoners
"I thought Efren knew better," Vadim grumbled under his breath.
Niall left Vadim in the hold. He marched through the galley as fast as possible, not wanting to mix the smell of food with the piss and fear radiating off Klaus.
Between harsh breaths, Klaus gasped, "I'm sorry!" He clung to Niall's shirt and wiped his wet face all over it. "General Coryn promised this would be my last trip. All I had to do was find a siphon, same as her, and it would be over. I would be free to go to Glamiere and find a healer who can cure whatever's wrong with me."
"Have you been employed by the emperor the entire time I've known you?" They'd met as orphans when Niall was thirteen and Klaus was fifteen.
"Of course not!" Klaus leaned his head on Niall's shoulder as they passed through the metal door into the hallway. "Last year, I got so sick, the house mistress sent me to a healer. I let it slip that I could see his magic. When that healer ended up in the naval stockade for running an unsanctioned hospital, he told them about me. Coryn herself came to Landale to meet me. She showed me what the different kinds of mages looked like and put me on a ship." He sniffed. "I'm so sorry. I never would have worked for the empire willingly."
Niall nodded. "I know." Klaus had always been awed by Niall's stories about his parents smuggling weavers to safety. He hated the empire and General Coryn almost as much as Niall did. If Niall put himself in Klaus's shoes, he probably would have turned to Coryn, too, to stay alive.
They were at the crate, so Niall set Klaus down on the wood floor and he sagged against the wall.
"There was always something shimmering about you. Remember when we first met? I asked you about it."
Niall nodded. "You said it looked like water, but it wasn't."
"It's unlike anything I've ever seen, but it's the closest to Coryn's silver shimmer when she's not siphoning others' power." Klaus grinned, but then he paled as he glanced over Niall's shoulder.
"How many of them hurt you?" Vadim's voice was colder than Niall had ever heard it, even when he'd ordered his parents' executions.
"Just the one, Sir, I swear."
"He won't hurt you again."
Niall pressed himself against the opposite wall of the crate, shifting away from Vadim's deadly hands.
Vadim pulled his gloves on one at a time and smoothed the black cloth over each of his fingers. Whether he was oblivious or ignoring their fear, Niall couldn't tell.
"Thank you?" Klaus squeaked, sinking to sit on the floor of the crate. He didn't seem to mind his proximity to the chamber pot, but he smelled just as strongly of piss as it did.
"We'll find you some clean clothes." Niall glanced at Vadim. "Right?"
Vadim laughed in Niall's face and pulled him out of the crate. Then, he picked up the chamber pot and tossed it at Stan, who was rushing down the stairs.
Stand caught it by the rim, and cringed. "Gods damn it man, I just washed my hands."
"We won't be needing that. Klaus can use the head with the rest of the crew. Give it to those assholes." Vadim pointed over his shoulder toward the hold.
"So what, you're free now?"
Niall turned toward the sound of Efren's voice. Without a hat and wearing a dressing gown that hung to his knees, Efren still commanded respect and all of Niall's attention. He stood a little straighter and nodded at the captain.
"Your locks and your cuffs can't hold me. Might as well let me sail for you tonight. I'll grab a free sail tomorrow morning when the crew is on deck."
Niall's chest swelled at the thought of spending a night with Efren in his cabin. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he met Efren's gaze.
"Not a chance," Efren said.
Just like that, Niall's hopes were dashed.
Chapter 6
Efren
Efren was too tired to deal with Vadim's bullshit. He'd gotten maybe two hours' sleep after becoming accustomed to Niall's delectable scent on his pillow. Then, Stan had awakened him by pounding on his cabin door and hadn't given him a chance to dress properly before pulling him off to Vadim's crate.
Now, Vadim was offering him a chance at a decent night's sleep, but Efren didn't trust him. A lot could go wrong between dusk and dawn. They could veer sharply off course during the night, or run aground on one of the unmapped islands, or Vadim could kill everyone on board with a thought in their sleep. That last was impossible unless they consented to die, according to Vadim, but Efren wasn't sure he trusted anything the man had said in the last forty years they'd known each other.
