Page 57 of Tattle Tail
It took four hours before help arrived. Only four hours, which told her that the ransomers were lying in wait.
A sleek ship landed nearby.
The obviously expensive ship tipped her from worry into fury. How dare the ransomers sit in luxury while she and Joseph suffocated? Or were torn apart? Or shiver with an uncontrolled infection? How dare those scoundrels profit from her and Joseph’s suffering?
Peaceable grabbed an iron crowbar—discovered in a search in the supply closet—and went outside to greet Joseph’s abductors. The mornclaws were still prowling, so she wore Joseph’s heaviest boots and a leather jacket. It wasn’t much, but it offered some protection.
The airlock door slid open. A mornclaw dropped from above, hissing. Without hesitation, Peaceable brought the angled end of the crowbar down, smashing it through the shell.
The mornclaw squealed, waving its many legs. She twisted the crowbar, willing the creature to die quickly. She disliked suffering, even a monster’s suffering.
A ramp lowered on the other ship.
A figure emerged, dressed impeccably like he was attending a formal dinner and about to extort ransom.
“Peaceable! I found you at last.” Lord Resolve grinned in triumph.
Not kidnappers. This was never about ransoming Joseph.
Behind Lord Resolve, Ardent frowned, like he found the planet repugnant. Fair enough. It was swarming with mornclaws.
She thought of the two maintenance entries in the ship’s logs. Had the saboteurs counted on the storm distracting Joseph, or was that luck? Curiosity and anger battled within her, wanting to pick apart the problem to analyze it but also…smash.
So much smash.
Her grip tightened on the crowbar.
It didn’t matter.
“Joseph is ill and needs a medic.” She turned back up the ramp. “Now,” she added.
The two males followed. Lord Resolve kept up a steady stream of chatter. “I imagine you are surprised that we heard your distress call. I had the winning bid at the auction, you see. We are traveling to Tal for the delivery—”
“I do not care,” she said, even though she did. A little. Well, a lot. “That is not important right now. We need to get Joseph to a medical center as quickly as possible.”
The sour odor of sickness hit her nose when she entered the cabin. She had grown nose-blind and no longer noticed, but she could tell the odor offended Lord Resolve.
“What happened to the male?” he asked.
“We were attacked by mornclaws. His injuries are infected,” she said.
Joseph stirred on the bed, caught between sleep and wakefulness. Nettle curled at his side, purring loudly.
“Can he be moved?” Ardent asked. The male covered his mouth with a cloth.
Peaceable narrowed her eyes. The smell wasn’t that bad. These two males were spoiled and the only mark in their favor was an operable spaceship.
“He fought four mornclaws to protect me with nothing more than rocks and a stick,” she said. Honestly, it was amazing Joseph had as few injuries as he did.
Ardent whistled, as if in admiration. “Humans are lucky. Uncle and I will get him to the ship. Gather what you need.”
Finally.
* * *
She sat next to Joseph,who was sleeping on an overly plush sofa in the common area.
The sofa was nearly as big as the cabin bed on Joseph’s ship. The decoration of the common area and, by extension, the entire ship, seemed to be guided by the aesthetic philosophy of more is more. Every surface was highly polished, gilded, gleaming. Real wood. Real leather. No expense had been spared in outfitting the ship. Peaceable only hoped the manufacturer had put as much energy into the construction of the vessel.
