The Soldier's Lotus Read Free

only.
“But I cannot accept such an oath, captain. It would bind me as well as you, bind me into the role of your mistress.”
    “ It has been written,”
said the captain. “And so it is.”
    “ I shall not be your
mistress,” said Saerileth, but she took the parchment nonetheless, tucking it
into her pallav .
    “ My
lover then!” The captain
leapt upon her, taking her words as she had dreaded that he would. She had done
her work far too well. In her fear that she might not succeed in gaining
sufficient influence over him by the time they reached Arinport, she had
overshot her mark. He was mad with desire for her.
    “ No.” Saerileth slipped
from his grasp, and she saw the confusion on his face. He had not expected such
abilities in her.
    “ For you I have thrown
over everything!” His eyes grew wild. “You must reward your servant!”
    “ I never asked this of
you,” said Saerileth. “And I beg you not to do this thing. Do not try to force
yourself on me. It is forbidden.” She hoped against her better knowledge that
her words would have some effect, but still the captain came on. He ripped at
her pallav , trying to tear it from her. His hands
sought her breasts, and Saerileth closed her eyes. She had not wanted this
death.
    As he pulled her toward him, she clasped her hands around
his neck.
    And snapped it.
    Only when she had heaved the corpse overboard did she
realize that the captain had, in his struggles, knocked the oars loose. She had
no paddles of any kind, no way to steer, and she was out of sight of any shore.
Despite her fear, however, Saerileth did not forget to tear up the parchment of
the captain’s vile oath, scattering the tiny pieces onto the waves.
    “ Chained Abrexa have mercy.”
     
     

 
    Chapter Two
     
    Darien slammed his fist into his palm, cracking all the
knuckles in his hand. The close, hot air of the cabin stifled him, and he
yanked at his collar while with the deft movements of his thumb he popped the
buttons of his shirt. A couple of tugs at the white linen that stuck to his
sweat-soaked skin sent billowing relief down his chest and across his back. He
rose from where he sat behind his antique desk and took the two steps necessary
to the porthole. Throwing it open, he nodded to his first mate.
    “ Get the door, Kamen.”
    Puzzlement entered Kamen’s eyes. “You
sure?”
    Darien drew a wet hand across his wet brow. He was not the
type of captain to keep himself all cooped up in his room, even if he was talking
finances with his first mate. And especially not in the heat
of summer. He enjoyed a certain openness with
his crew that in his experience created greater camaraderie among the men.
    Kamen opened the door, and the general noise of the main
deck flooded in. “Anyway, as I was saying, since the third mate and two other
men were lost in our latest, their shares are up for
grabs.”
    Darien put one leg up on a crossbeam of the bulkhead,
rested his elbow on his knee, and looked out the window across the wide sea.
“What are the shares?”
    Kamen came to stand near Darien and glanced down at his
ledger. “The third mate had 2 ½, and the other two together had one share.”
    “ All right,” Darien
said, “take them all and divide them equally among the men. It’ll give them a
few more silver when they go ashore.”
    Kamen’s lips stretched downward in surprise. “That’ll make
the crew happy.”
    Darien turned to Kamen and smiled. “That’s the point.” He
clapped his first mate on the shoulder. “They did a fine job taking down those Stormhaven pirates. Made short work of
them, thereby making my job look easy.”
    Kamen reached up and grasped Darien’s forearm as it still
rested on his shoulder. He ran his hand along his captain’s smooth, brown skin.
“They owe it all to you. You’re the best commander anyone could ask for.”
    “ Enough
of that!” Darien gave Kamen
a playful slap on the back and moved to resume his seat. “But
what about you?