he crossed the room, put the lamp down and started tossing the sacks to the side. There was the kidnapped girl.
Rayko was tied up in a horrible way. There were ropes everywhere around her body except her neck and her face. She also had a gag and a blindfold. Those were the first things Daniel took off her. Fear was in her eyes. Rayko tried to scream, but her throat was too dry for that; it just gave her a painful coughing fit.
“Stay calm, please,” said Daniel. “Please. I’ll untie you.” Quickly he got to work, finding the knots and taking the ropes away. That was not easy as he had no knife with him. He had to lift Rayko up and keep hold of her as he unwound the long ends of rope from her. He sensed how weak she was, as she could not bring up the strength to stand on her own. He wondered how she had been lying here, without food or water.
Finally she was free. Daniel held her in his arms, with some trouble picked up the lamp from the floor. The he made his way out of the room and up the stairs. As he moved, he sensed that the woman in his arms had fainted. Anger washed through him as he went up the last steps. Anger against Clelem Dandra ko Galem and Gaguran Slindris, and also the pirate captain, and whoever had their dirty fingers in this. They had a lot to answer for.
Daniel paced through the corridor and with a foot pushed open the door to the outside. He kept walking, past the short bit of pavement. Behind him, as if the building had been waiting for them to get out, a wall gave in and a large part of the construction shifted, collapsing. Daniel closed his eyes for a moment and shuddered. Just in time.
He reached the corner of the street. A sudden wave of dizziness hit him, and he had to stop going. Slowly he sank down to his knees, behind a hedge, carefully laying Rayko down for a moment. She did not move, did not make a sound. He checked her pulse. It was faint but it was there. The nauseating feeling left him and he thought what he should do next. He reached for his hydger and looked at the names.
Sygra Dirrit ko Asac. The senator. Yes. Daniel flipped the switch and waited. When Rayko started coughing, he almost dropped the device. “Are you okay?” he asked. “We’re safe now.”
The young woman tried to move. Failing that, she looked up at him, clearly not understanding what was going on. She tried to say something, but all it got her was another fit of coughing.
“Daniel?” The voice of the senator came from the hydger.
“Senator, I am sorry to trouble you. I have found Rayko. Can I come to you for a place to hide?”
Rayko grabbed for Daniel’s shirt and coughed again.
“You found her? Where? Oh, I mean, come here, as fast as you can! Time to explain later. I will have rooms prepared.” The display went grey, Daniel quickly called for a carriage and hoped it would get there fast. He stuck the hydger in his pocket and supported Rayko again.
“Calm down, girl, calm down. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you, okay?” Daniel said, trying to comfort her.
“Thirst… water…” were the first words the young woman managed. She looked awful and probably felt far worse.
“I wish I had some for you, Rayko,” he said. He hoped that saying her name would help.
With both hands the woman grabbed his shirt and she pulled him close. Daniel put his arms around her and mumbled soft words. In his arms, Rayko was sobbing in her misery.
After what felt like an age, a carriage came into the street. It stopped next to them by the time Daniel was on his feet again, Rayko in his arms. The door opened, and he gently put her inside, laying her down on the seat as well as he could. Carriages were not made for this, clearly. He told the thing where to go. As it started to move, in its tediously slow night setting, Daniel saw he had to change Rayko’s position; she was bound to fall this way. He took her in his arms as he sat down, holding her in his lap, her legs curled up so she would still fit on the seat.
He was not sure if she was awake, but at times she moaned and winced. His own fatigue was attacking him again now. He nodded off, and each time either a sound from Rayko or a bump in the road shook him up, forcing him into what awareness was left to him.
Suddenly, after fading in and out for a while, the carriage was no longer moving. Daniel had not noticed it stopping. The fact that someone opened the door was however a sign.
“Mr. Zacharias, please let go of the young lady. We will take care of her,” a voice said. The person had to wrench Daniel’s hands free and he noticed the weight being lifted from his lap. “Mr. Zacharias, you can step out now. We are here to help you.” Helpful arms pulled at him, and he moved, as in a daze.
“Where is Rayko?” he asked, not sure if he should know the answer.
“The young lady is right here, sir, do not worry about her. We are going to take care of you.”
Daniel was halfway aware that he was taken to a room and that there was a bed beneath him and then there was nothing.
49. Guerilla
Strange sounds and a soft bed. Those were the first things Daniel became aware of as he was reaching some preliminary state of being awake. He chanced opening his eyes. White ceiling. A small chandelier hanging from it. Slowly he recalled the previous night and where he should be now, because of that.
He hoisted himself upright and groaned. He could not recall having done something that would make his body hurt, but it did. Slowly he got up. In a corner of the room he located a pitcher with, to his surprise, warm water. He poured some in the bowl that was next to it and washed his face and body as well as he could.
His clothes were gone, but there was something like a bath robe he put on. It was not his size, but it was better than nothing. The hydger was on a small table next to the bed, something he had no use for at the moment.
Daniel was glad for the thick carpet as he was barefoot. He opened the door and stepped into the corridor. Nobody there, but there was a smell of food coming from somewhere. As he was making his mind up to actually go into that direction, another door opened and a female servant came into view.
“Oh, Mr. Zacharias, you are awake. How do you feel, sir?” she asked.
“I’m okay. How’s the girl? Where is she?”
“Miss Dandra ko Galem is in this room, sir. The doctor is seeing her right now. She’s been injured quite severely.” The woman’s face shadowed for a moment. “Would you like me to ask if you can see her, sir?”
“If you would be so kind…”
She nodded and went into the room again. A few moments later, the door opened and she beckoned. Daniel walked into the room.
Rayko was awake. She was pale, her face was so thin it scared him. There were scratches over her cheeks, both her arms were wrapped in bandages.
As Daniel came into the room, her eyes found him. For a while her face remained expressionless.
The doctor, who was sitting on a chair next to the bed, nodded at Daniel. “Are you well, sir?”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll be okay.”
“Do you want to speak with her? I can give you a few minutes, before the sedative will work,” the man said as he got up. “She should not move, sir, keep her still, please.” The doctor nodded, took his bag and left the room. The servant lady staid with them.
Daniel sat down and looked at the face of the young woman. “How are you?”
“Alive. I think.” She blinked slowly.
“Yes, you are. And I am glad about that.”
“Sure.” Rayko moaned as she tried to move.
The servant lady moved in quickly. “You should lie still, miss, you have cracked ribs.”
“Oh, please,” the woman in the bed muttered, “I can deal- owww…” Her last attempt to move was rewarded with a shot of pain that could not be worth it.
“Lie still,” said Daniel. He put a hand on her forehead, which felt far too warm.
“You… take your hand off my…” Rayko started. Then her eyes slowly closed and she was asleep.
Daniel shook his head. He slowly got up. “Stubborn thing.”
“Would you like some food, sir?” the lady asked him.
“Yes, I would. Very much.” After another look at the now silent figure, he followed the lady. She guided him
