“We don’t exactly have much to offer them.”
That gorgeous smile of his curled his lips once more.
His grin made me think he was carrying an ace up his sleeve that he hadn’t yet shown me.
Egara glanced over at the nearby building and surveyed the darkness inside.
I followed his gaze and noticed he took interest in a corner of sharp shadows that I couldn’t make out.
Most of the items in there were small and of varying blocky shapes.
Some were tall and thin with hydraulic arms on the front like protruding teeth.
Others were flat and broad with sharp blades and arms that looked like they could swing both up and down.
It had the appearance of a machine used for digging or clearing away.
Egara kept his expression empty but I was used to reading it by now.
I could have sworn there was a flicker of excitement behind his eyes.
It might have been there for an instant or I might have only imagined it.
When I turned back to the building’s interior, I looked again for what he had noticed.
I couldn’t ascertain what it was.
Was his ship on board? I wondered. Was it right there in plain sight?
The door ahead squeaked open and Piggy stepped out.
He backed away, bowing, and kept his head low as the entire wall lifted up and away.
A handful of creatures of mixed race pulled a platform on wheels out from the building.
The creatures were small, thin, and wiry.
Slaves, unless I missed my guess.
There was a resigned and helpless look about them.
Chains linked the collars at their necks and spiked cuffs about their ankles.
On the platform sat the biggest creature I had ever seen.
He was another pig but gargantuan in all aspects.
His huge stomach never seemed to end as the platform turned to face us.
His head was of a regular size and looked tiny on his bulbous frame.
He didn’t wear the black robes of the other pigs and instead sported white flowing robes cut from sheer fabric not dissimilar from that the Prizes wore back at Ikmal prison.
There were so many layers, they gave at least some protection against his rolls of fat underneath.
His arms were short and stumpy and hung uselessly at his sides.
The slaves pulled the platform across the desert floor—not an easy job when the sand kept slipping and giving way beneath their feet.
Luckily for them, most of the ground had been hardened by a thousand stamping feet.
“Behold, Draw the great!” Piggy said, waving his arms and bowing once more.
The slaves drew to a stop before us and quickly ran around to the front.
They bent down on their hands and knees and braced themselves as the giant pig used them as steps to descend to the ground below.
Draw looked me and Egara over.
He didn’t look impressed.
“Greetings, fair travelers,” he said. “Welcome to my humble merchant shop. We have everything your heart never even knew it desired.”
Egara surprised me when he bowed low, his body adopting a poise and style he’d never shown before.
“We are honored to be in your presence,” he said, making his voice light and lofty.
“I understand you are interested in discussing trade,” Draw said.
“We are. Some time ago, you came across a shuttlecraft in the middle of the desert. It is a C-class craft and of little value. I wish to have it back.”
Draw snorted and glanced at Piggy, who did not smile.
Egara smiled amiably.
“What we find, we keep, as per the law of the land,” Draw said.
He smelled strongly of perfume that’d been doused over his sweaty body, measured in buckets, not droplets.
“That’s true,” Egara said, “except this shuttlecraft already had an owner. Me. It was left by my crew.”
Draw’s eyes slid over to me and a greasy smile slid across his fat lips.
“A crew of one?” he said. “I doubt we have much to fear.”
“She’s not a member of my crew.”
“A pity. If crewmates looked more like her, I might consider joining a pirate ship myself.”
He leered at me vulgarly and worked his eyes over my body, not that he could make out much through the thick clothes I wore.
“I’ll tell you what,” Draw said. “I will return your shuttlecraft to you, in exchange for your female companion. She must have pleasured many fighters in her time. She is not worth much but I am generous.”
The tendons in Egara’s jaw grew tight.
He might be playing a role but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get angry.
He turned his head to one side and ground his teeth so loudly even I could hear it.
He raised his grin to Draw.
“I’m afraid she’s not for sale,” Egara said.
“Then I think our business discussions are over,” Draw said.
He turned to climb his living steps.
“We’re not finished,” Egara said aggressively.
I placed a hand on his forearm.
I didn’t think it was wise to anger this guy.
He had a dozen crazy looking creatures at his command, any one of which could open fire and claim our lives.
“I’m afraid we are finished,” Draw said. “You have nothing else to offer me and there is nothing else of mine you desire.”
He pressed his foot onto the first slave’s back and I heard a crack noise.
The slave’s eyes boggled and sweat dripped from his brow but he dare not drop Draw.
Egara took a step forward.
The guards moved to block him, their weapons glowing with luminous light.
My grip tightened on Egara’s arm but he took no notice of my warning squeeze.
“I am the captain of a pirate ship,” Egara said.
“A ship which could be anywhere, assuming it exists,” Draw said, falling into his throne. “I imagine the prison guards’ bounty won’t be much but it will be more than the cost I would incur to feed and clothe you. We’ll send up a flare and inform the guards of your location.”
He waved a flabby arm and the slaves grunted as they began to turn the platform around.
“You never checked the serial number of the shuttlecraft, did you?” Egara said.
Draw didn’t turn around and gave no signal he even heard him speak.
“The negotiation is
