Unchained (3 page)

He made a sweeping gesture with his hands.
“He brought her here to the sanctuary where the remaining Kin-sha
had gathered. He introduced her as his niece, Cidra Almazan. No one
questioned it.” Shrugging, he said, “Probably because Jarid was a
great man and none of the Kin-sha believed what the Dakruians
charged was true.” He glanced at Cidra. “Even if it were true, no
one deserves to die like that. They couldn’t even ID the
bodies.”

Grey eyed Cidra with wary respect. He
couldn’t imagine how much strength it took to carry the
condemnation of an entire planet on your shoulders, not to mention
the fear of discovery day after day. He had guessed
right—indomitable spirit. But from the hollow look in her eyes,
that spirit was in desperate trouble.

He took a deep breath. Talk about trouble.
He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if word of
this got out. He was a treasure hunter, not a bodyguard. Leave it
to Syrus to omit a few minor details. The old man had set him up
and now she was his problem. He would keep his promise to Syrus,
but he would do it his way.

He picked up his glass of wine, watching her
over the rim. “I think it would be best if we continued to
introduce you as Cidra Almazan.”

Cidra muttered, “Right. I wouldn’t want to
give you any bad publicity.”

With a smirk, Grey replied, “Actually, I’m
thinking more of your safety. I doubt even I could protect you from
the entire planet of Dakru.”

Barrios chimed in. “He’s right, Cidra. If
Tausek finds out you are alive, there will be no stopping him. His
hatred for your father is complete. He rules Dakru now. Vengeance
and power are a deadly combination.”

Cidra blinked at her old friend as the
realization slowly sunk in. Lulled into a sense of safety within
the sanctuary, she had nearly forgotten the fact that her mere
presence could be dangerous to those around her.

She turned to Grey. “I won’t jeopardize your
crew. Under the circumstances, you should not feel obligated to
keep your promise to Syrus.”

Grey’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “I
always keep my promises. There’s no problem as long as your real
identity is kept secret. We leave in the morning. I have a business
to run.” He downed the rest of the wine and set the glass back on
the table hard, effectively closing the subject.

Cidra stared at Grey’s grim expression.
She’d been right about one thing. He was not pleased when he found
out who she was.

Without warning, Barrios abruptly jumped up
from the table. “Good Lord, I almost forgot!” And with that, he
lumbered out of the room.

Cidra and Grey looked after him, then at
each other.

“
He’s your friend,” Grey
said.

Cidra smiled weakly. “I never said he was
stable.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Barrios returned
with a small wooden box in his hands. “Syrus gave this to me a few
days ago. He told me if anything happened to him, you should have
it.”

He shoved the dishes aside and placed the
box in front of Cidra. She touched it lightly, running her fingers
along the exquisite inlay on the lid. In the center was the ancient
Kin-sha crest, faded and delicate.

“
I don’t ever remember
seeing this before. Are you sure it belonged to Syrus?” She glanced
up at Barrios, who was still smiling away.

He snapped out of his reverie to answer her.
“Umm, it looks vaguely familiar, but I’m sure it was Syrus’. He
handled it like a newborn babe.”

Cidra sat in silence, not entirely sure she
wanted to know what the contents were. Syrus had been rather
mysterious lately. Lord knows what he might have put in a box in
his state. She breathed deeply, leaned forward, and pulled the
latch.

So far, so good. At least nothing came
flying out at her.

She lifted the lid wide and peered inside.
Papers, some odd objects, a holographic recording cartridge. She
sighed in relief and smiled. Nothing unusual.

Barrios gasped. Grey’s eyebrows shot up.
They both leapt forward at the same time.

Cidra ducked out of the way as Barrios went
for the papers and Grey grabbed a small vial, neither giving the
precious box any regard.

“
Am I missing something
here?” she demanded in bewilderment.

Examining the label on the vial of black
liquid, Grey snapped, “Where did this come from?”

“
Government. Classified.
Military. How did he get these?” Barrios tore through the
documents.

“
Thanks for clearing
everything up. Never mind, I’ll find out for myself.” Cidra reached
in for a letter marked “Cidra” in Syrus’ neat
handwriting.

She opened the letter and drew both men’s
full attention as she read it aloud.

My Dear
Cidra
,

I want you to know how much you meant to me
during the past ten years. You brought sunshine into my dark times.
It broke my heart to watch you suffer for your father’s guilt when
I knew the allegations were not true. Please forgive me. I
possessed neither the means nor the strength to pursue the
truth.

You, on the other hand, now have both. I
have contacted Grey Stone. He is a good man, much like your father,
honest and trustworthy. He can provide the means.

You must provide the strength, Cidra—to
discover the real fate of the Dakru shipment, clear your father’s
name, and save the Kin-sha. To free yourself. The time has come.
The two of you are ready.

I collected all the evidence I could find. I
know your father was innocent. I do not know who framed him and the
Kin-sha, but I can get you both started on your quest.

Cidra, I loved you like my own. Travel with
care, my child.

My eternal love,

Syrus

Silence filled the room. Grey muttered
something under his breath.

Cidra gripped the paper in
her fingers.
Your father was
innocent
. The words
burned in her mind. Words she desperately wanted to hear. Words
that healed her soul. In her heart, she had always believed her
father was innocent. He was Kin-sha. He was honorable.
Innocent
. And it was up
to her to prove it.

She looked at Grey and smiled. “Well Stone,
it looks like we’re partners.”

Grey’s gaze slid up from the note in her
hands. Her breath caught as she looked into the dangerous eyes of a
caged animal. His voice was steely and tight. “I don’t do
partners.”

He tossed the vial back into the box. “So,
how long did it take for you and Syrus to dream up this little
plan?”

Cidra’s mouth dropped open. “What are you
talking about?”

Grey snorted and shook his head. “You sure
have the innocent act down. Just so you know, it won’t work on
me.”

“
Do you think I would have
been hiding on this planet for all these years if I had known about
this before?” Cidra snapped.

“
Without a ship? Yes.” Grey
leaned toward her. “It just so happens I have one hell of a ship.
But you already knew that.”

She answered through clenched teeth, “I
didn’t. Syrus did.” She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms,
and regarded him coolly. “He must have picked you for some good
reason.”

Barrios stifled a snicker.

Grey narrowed his eyes at her, at the speed
in which she had turned the entire conversation around. As if by
divine intervention, his comm link beeped. He stared at Cidra’s
defiant expression a few more seconds before rising and striding
into the kitchen. He flipped on the communicator.

“
What is it, Decker?” Grey
snapped.

On the other end, Decker paused. “Captain,
you said to contact you when I found, uh, our little problem.”

Grey clenched the comm unit. He did not need
this tonight. “Who is it?”

“
You’re not going to like
it, sir. It’s Mora.” His voice was down to a whisper.

Mora, a
spy
? It couldn’t be. “Are you
sure?”

“
Positive. I found her last
message to Sandor Wex, the only encrypted message sent off the ship
during the time period you specified. Mora told him to stay close
because we were moving in on the Mask of Teran. What do you want me
to do now?”

Grey fought back the pure, red rage of
personal betrayal that he had come to know so well. He needed to
think clearly. “Where was the message’s destination?”

“
Hold on.” There was a
pause. Then Decker swore and came back. “Vaasa, Captain. Home. From
what I can tell, that’s where they’ve been meeting,
too.”

Right under his nose. Grey hissed though his
teeth. Anger rose in a torrid wave. She had already betrayed two of
his lucrative finds to Sandor Wex. There would not be a third.
“Notify the crew that we’re heading home to Vaasa for a few
days.”

There was silence.

“
That’s all?” Decker
finally blurted. “Aren’t you going to do anything to her? You know
how much we lost on those two finds they jumped. And you’ve done
enough preliminary work on the Mask’s location to give Wex a good
target area.”

Grey gave a short laugh. “Not a chance. The
man can’t find his way through Thendara Market without getting
lost. Besides, I haven’t told a soul where I really think that Mask
is. Go ahead and notify the crew. And Decker, don’t restrict Mora’s
transmissions. I want her and Wex on Vaasa at the same time.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
We’ll be coming aboard
tomorrow morning. Out.”

Grey pocketed the comm unit
and leaned back against a cabinet, aware that every muscle in his
body was on fire.
Mora
. His ship’s cook. The last person he would have suspected.
They’d had a brief affair aboard his ship a year ago and had ended
it on good terms. Or so he thought. Grey dragged a hand through his
hair. He had trusted her. Like a fool.

Standing in the kitchen, he realized
something else. He was about to lose his cook. He surveyed the neat
kitchen and slowly smiled.

Moonlight spilled through the second floor
window of the same bedroom Grey had occupied long ago as a Kin-sha
student. With restless energy, he folded his hands behind his head
and shifted position again on the narrow bed. In the half-light,
the bright colors of Syrus’ wall paintings faded to subtle shades
of gray.

It had not been a good day. He had buried
his old friend, been betrayed by a former lover, and somehow been
saddled with a strong-willed, potentially dangerous woman and a
dead man’s mission. And the crush of old memories was undermining
his normally logical approach to problem solving.

The moment in time came back in a painful
flash: standing beaten and shaking at Syrus’ door the night he had
run away from his father, Lassiter Stone. The only lesson that
lying bastard ever taught Grey was that you couldn’t trust anyone,
not even your own blood.

That night Syrus took in a bitter young man
and did what he did best: bestow the gift of Kin-sha. His gentle
ways, so different from Lassiter’s heavy, heartless hand,
epitomized effortless patience, tolerance, and the real meaning of
friendship. Kin-sha emphasized the balance of mind and body,
demanding absolute control over both. The standard training gave
Grey the tools to defend himself, control his anger, and command
his future. But Syrus had also taught him by example, living as a
gentleman of honor and a man of his word. The lessons of life and
living.

It was a debt Grey now had a chance to
repay. Still he felt trapped, forced into a situation beyond his
control or choice. As much as he cared for the old man, he couldn’t
help but be furious with him. He was en route to the final location
of the Lost Mask of Teran when Syrus summoned him. This little
detour had blown his schedule all to hell. He wouldn’t have put his
operation on hold for anyone else. And he wouldn’t take on a
mission like this for another person except Syrus.

Fortunately, Syrus’ mission could wait. He
had to deal with Mora and Wex and then he could go after the Mask.
After that, he would honor Syrus’ final wish.

Satisfied with his new strategy, Grey tried
to relax. The uneasy feeling persisted. Giving in to the
compulsion, he rolled off the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. A
quick walk around the cottage would ease his mind. He picked up the
laser pistol next to the bed and checked the setting. Living in the
sanctuary held no guarantee of safety for any Kin-sha. Cidra’s
hostile greeting of him confirmed that.

Slapping the pistol in his palm, he turned
to leave and suddenly stopped at the window. Moonlight filled the
night sky, casting the woods in a ghostly glow. And in the middle
of the courtyard stood Cidra looking up at the giant moon, her back
to him.

He knew without a doubt she was the reason
for his uneasiness. He set the pistol down and rested a shoulder
against the window frame. Watching her white nightgown flare gently
around her legs, his mind drifted to what she would do aboard his
ship. Even with her extensive training, he had little use for an
accomplished Kin-sha in his operation. Long-dead artifacts rarely
gave him much of a struggle. It was going to be a challenge to find
a position for her.

But one thing was certain.
She was not going to be his partner. Partners meant compromise. He
was the captain of his own ship so he wouldn’t
have
to compromise.

A faint breeze wrapped the gown snugly
around her, cutting a clear silhouette in the moonlight. Those long
legs were something. His body raced ahead of his mind as an
unexpected wave of awareness blazed through him.