“The second choice is that you answer my questions,” I said. “If you lie, I will default to the consequences for the first choice. If you tell the truth, I’ll make sure your death is quick and as painless as possible.”
His eyes moved between each of the women, then back to me, probably searching for a hint of sympathy. Finding none, he nodded once.
“Good,” I said. “First. Where did the creature in the sand come from? How did you acquire it?
“It was a gift,” he said with a measure of pride. “A sign and symbol of my authority and power from the Sitar. They called it their Hysinth, which means God-Seed. It was a bodyguard—that’s all.”
“I doubt that,” I said. “Tell me what you know of the Sitar. Why are they here? What are their plans?”
“They’re slavers,” he stammered. “They want the planet, but they don’t want everyone to know about it. They want the population to breed so they can collect slaves. Frightened people don’t breed as quickly.”
“Sick bastard,” Reaver hissed, while Beatrix held her back.
“Beatrix,” I said without taking my eyes off my cowering opponent, “somewhere in here, probably on the floor, you’ll find something I think you’ll be interested in. It looks like a chain with a weight attached at each end.”
“A kusari-fundo?” Reaver asked. “Oh, look at it! It’s Void-tech! I haven’t seen one of these in years.”
“What do you know about my crew, my Martian crew?” I asked.
“I know of them, the humans,” he said with a sneer. “Troublemakers. They fought every guard I sent to corral them. I had to make an example of a few. After that, they were much more. . . cooperative.”
“Where are they now?” I asked, doing my best to swallow my rage.
“I sent them to the Sitar as tribute. They went up into the cloud and off the planet. With any luck, you’ll be joining them.”
“How did they get off the planet?”
“Through the cloud,” he said, shaking his head at me like I was dumb.
“Is the cloud a spacecraft?”
“No, it’s a… platform, sort of.”
“A space elevator,” Reaver breathed.
“A what?” Beatrix asked.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Reaver promised.
I turned back to the enemy who only moments before had been ready to watch me suffer. He’d been too happy to watch me die slowly. He was a slaver, and his people suffered under his cruel reign. He deserved to suffer.
“You’re not going to kill me,” Tortenger sneered as his thin lips curled into a grin. “If you were going to, you—”
I hoisted him off the ground by the scruff of his neck. He tried to claw me with his long nails but stopped when I knocked him against the nearby wall. I walked him out to the balcony.
The view would have been gorgeous, if this city had been ruled by someone who’d cared even a little about his people. Now, all I could see was desolation, a pile of shit for the people to work day and night to turn back into a home and a hub for trade and culture, something it had obviously been in the past, judging by what remained of the once-grand structures. On the dusty square that stretched out unevenly beneath the balcony, a crowd had assembled. They must have heard what was happening.
The crowd started to grow excited when they realized who I was dangling from the tower. Tortengar screamed and held onto my arm with all four of his.
There were thousands of people. Some cheered, some hissed, and the rest screamed incomprehensible words of rage up at their oppressor.
“Wait!” the former dictator protested. “I told you everything! I didn’t send your companion, the one you call Reaver, to them! I could have, but I didn’t! I saved her!”
“You saved me for the arena,” Reaver hissed. “You sold me into slavery.”
“People of Thaz’red,” I called over the crowd. They quieted almost instantly. “This is Tortengar. He was your ruler, but no more.”
With that, I momentarily adjusted my grip and then I severed the mewling alien’s body, keeping hold of the head. His body fell unceremoniously to the ground. The swift death was what I’d promised, but not what he deserved.
“The Ish-Nul will rule your city now. They are wise, strong, and kind. If anyone challenges them, they will answer to me!”
The crowd erupted in a cheer so loud it threatened to tear the palace down.
“What is happen?” Skrew asked.
“Tell Timo-Ran he’s in charge now. There’s enough treasure up here to rebuild the city. I want him to spend as much as it takes, and then some. Thaz’red is now an Ish-Nul town.”
I sat Tortengar’s head on the edge of the balcony and turned back to the women.
“Let’s go through this stuff before Timo-Ran gets up here,” I said. “We’re only taking the Void-tech for Nyna to check out, all else just dump outside. Then we’ll make a stop at the armory, then we’re going to Brazud. We’re finally going to face the Xeno and free my crew.”
Chapter Thirteen
We started emptying Tortengar’s treasure chests onto the polished stone floor. Among the expected gold rings, coins, necklaces, and goblets were only a few Void-tech items. I wasn’t disappointed, though, because they were all Fex. We were up to a dozen. I wasn’t certain how to measure their power output or potential, but from what I’d seen, it wouldn’t take more than 10 to power a Martian heavy cruiser—maybe even a battleship.
At first, it looked like we wouldn’t find anything more useful among the treasure. That was, until I found something that looked completely out of place. It was a key, or something resembling a key, and it was definitely Void-tech. It was about ten inches long with a narrow shaft and three uneven teeth. The handle end was intricate and depicted a creature resembling a squid. There was no doubt; not only was it Void-tech, but likely the Lakunae themselves had made it. There weren’t any obvious candidate keyholes
