Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau (best authors to read .TXT) 📗

again, wished he had done so more frequently when she and her brother were growing up.

He forced his gaze away. What was done was done.

He turned to face his officer. “Board up, Lang.” He handed him a small pouch of coins. “Your payment for the next month.” He met the navigator’s eyes, which were surprisingly vivid and sober. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, but you were good for this crew.”

“I always thought the old adage about a captain going down with his ship was a bit tired, myself,” Lang replied, pocketing the coins.

Cailan gave him a half smile. “Get on board and try to stay out of trouble.”

Lang looked at the shuttle, took out the small pouch of money and jiggled it a few moments before pocketing it again. He met Cailan’s eyes. “I’m not going.”

Cailan could not keep the surprise from his features.

“I’ve always wanted to die rich, and this is my best shot!” Lang joked, and Cailan’s features darkened. The navigator put up his hands.

“Seriously, I think we might be able to get her through. The bridge still has oxygen, and I looked at all the navigation data. We might be able to pull her to Mirial and lay her to rest there.”

Cailan felt his features soften. “She’s a doomed ship, Lang.”

“And you’re very negative today, Captain.” Lang smiled widely, for the first time since Cailan had hired him. “I believe you’ve been around me too long!”

Cailan shook his head. He didn’t know much about his navigator, really. Only that he was one of the best, and had been in jail when they found him. They had rescued him and hired him, and not once had he wanted to contact family or anyone else off-ship. Once, Cailan had caught Lang drunk and crying, staring at the picture of a beautiful blonde girl in a wedding dress, hope flashing in her eyes. The half with the groom had been burnt black.

Cailan had never asked. Lang had never offered.

The ship jostled, cracked, and an engine sputtered and died.

“With just half our engines, we’re going to spin out unless we compensate,” Lang said, heading towards the ladder to the bridge. “I think I’ve watched that young hotshot enough to know how it’s done!”

And he was gone, climbing the ladder, not waiting for another argument.

“I will,” Zortan voiced and Cailan turned to face him. “I will take care of her.”

Cailan nodded, and thanked him, the words tasting less bitter as he said them. He still couldn’t help but think of the man as responsible for Captain Malavant’s death, and the wounding of Mirial.

He was surprised when Zortan held out his hand. “Thank you for raising them so finely.” He paused, swallowed hard, and then whispered, “Radin would be proud.”

Cailan looked at the offered hand and felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. He took it, strength flowing from the hand of the captain of the Royal Guards to his own. Cailan suddenly understood why Radin had liked Zortan so much. He wondered what price exile had demanded of Zortan, and if the man had tried as hard to forget Mirial as Cailan had.

As he looked into Zortan’s dark eyes, he knew that the green fields, blue skies and white architecture of Mirial haunted him still. He imagined that the stories and laughter of those left behind still visited him in his dreams, as well. He remembered the day the queen had died. Zortan had vanished with the heirs, pursued by the fleet with their divided loyalties and goals, only to head into exile. Far from their families, they had followed orders issued a lifetime ago by a Council that probably no longer existed. If anything of their home still existed.

They broke contact and Zortan walked away without looking back. He closed the shuttle door and Avienne vanished from Cailan’s view. The shuttle was gone before Cailan’s heart finished its long, heavy sigh. He watched a moment longer and turned to take the long ladder.

He paused at the bottom, hearing Destiny’s soft moan, feeling her shudder as he placed his hand on her cold metal. It’s not a tired old saying, and I won’t leave you, Lady Destiny.

He removed his hand and took the rungs quickly, skipping some as he headed to his grave. He felt strangely at peace and was glad that he would not be alone with the great ship. It was past time to find out who the blonde woman was, or had been, and what strength she had left in Lang’s heart.

And how that strength would help them carry through.

CHAPTER 30

Avienne watched the great purple cloud swallow Destiny, the ship’s starboard hull crushing as though a giant fist had slammed into it. One of its engines had twisted sideways and was slowly being pulled off its hinges by the odd strength of Mirial’s shields. When the engine vanished into the purple clouds, she realized it was probably the last she would ever see of her home. Home. She had wanted to leave it, yes, but she had also wanted to be able to come back when her heart chose to.

The numbness of her body spread to her soul. Beside her, Zortan said nothing, looking down at the panel read-outs from time to time to make sure they were still headed in the right direction.

Avienne wanted to scream and part of her wished that Zortan would, to help free her pain, trapped within her unresponsive body.

As though feeling her need, Zortan softly began singing. His voice was strong and hit more notes than it missed. The sound filled the shuttle and Avienne closed her eyes and let it fill her, too. She knew this song. It was a song she had sung since she was little, a song to welcome sailors home after a long journey.

A song she had heard nowhere else but on the Destiny, and she now understood that it must have been a song from Mirial. Now Zortan was singing it for the