A Soul Divided (The Blood Fire Trilogy Book 1) (6 page)

Chapter 8: Angela

“Do you think he’s coming to get us?” Angela asked her younger sister. They had been sitting in a small, dark, run-down house for the past three days, and Angela was getting sick of it. If he didn’t show up today it would be time for them to strike out on their own and find their own way off this planet.

“I sure hope so.” Nora replied. “And I hope he brings food.”

It was brave of that boy to save a bunch of slaves, but the rescue didn’t seem to have been well planned out. The rescue itself was a success, but leaving them here didn’t seem like it was part of the plan. There was a well for water, but there wasn’t a scrap of food in the place. What kind of rescuer would save you just to leave you to starve?

“But even if he doesn’t bring food, I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.” Nora mused out loud, speaking more to herself than to anybody else.

“Are you still stuck on that?” Angela asked, not bothering to mask her irritation at the comment. Nora had spoken almost exclusively about how attractive she found Drake ever since they’d met him three days ago. Drake had his charms, sure, but the other girls didn’t seem to even notice how annoying everything else about him was.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried about whether or not he can get us home than if he’ll date you?” Angela continued. “It seemed like he had no plan at all to rescue us. He just did it on a whim. And he wasn’t attractive. He was filthy! And he smelled terrible.”

“I just think it’d be nice if a good looking, heroic guy like him came home with me.” Nora said, “And how could you smell him over the stench in that cart anyway?”

“Alright, so I don’t know if he stank or not, but he was too old for you.” Angela said defensively. The thought of her sister being with Drake made her angry “You’re only sixteen, and he looked like he was at least twenty-five, possibly older.”

“Actually I’m twenty-one.” a voice came in through the doorway.

Angela and Nora turned simultaneously to see Drake standing in the doorway.

I can’t believe he’s here.
Angela thought as she examined Drake.

He looked much better now than he had when they first met. He’d obviously taken a shower since the last time she’d seen him, and he was now dressed in dark blue pants with a matching jacket. The color matched his eyes and made them stand out more than his other features. He was more attractive than Angela had given him credit for, but just being attractive wasn’t a reason to trust him.

“How much of that conversation did you hear!?” Nora burst out.

“Enough to know you’ve got a great big crush on me.” Drake replied in a mocking tone. Nora’s face turned a bright shade of red as she turned her eyes away from Drake and looked down at the floor.

“And enough to know green eyes here was lying when she said I stank.”  Drake continued. “Lying is very unladylike you know.”

“Well as feminine as you are, you ought to be an expert in what’s ladylike. So I guess I should believe you.” Angela replied.

Was she really fighting with him again? This guy was here to help them without asking for anything in return. She should be nicer to him. She couldn’t come up with any real reason to dislike him, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way.

“Knune’s fire.” Drake said, “That was a little harsher than I think I deserve; but I’ll rise above your sarcasm and get straight to the point. I’ve called my crew; there will be a ship here that can fit all of you comfortably in the morning. Until then, I’ll be hanging out with you girls if that’s ok?”

“Yes!” Nora squealed excitedly before moving over to another group of girls, who all started squealing just as loudly.

How could they muster so much energy just to obsess over a boy? They hadn’t eaten in three days. This whole thing just seemed ridiculous.

“It was Angela right?” Drake said to her, interrupting her train of thought.

“What?” Angela responded, trying to mask her surprise.

“Was it that complicated of a question?” Drake asked.

“Um....I...” Angela muttered

“Yes, that’s her name.” Nora cut in. “And mine is Nora. I thought you were so heroic when you saved us. I really like that.”

“Well Nora,” Drake said, turning away from Angela to face Nora. “I’m a pirate by profession. I literally do the wrong thing for a living. One good deed makes me a hero or the type of guy you’re looking for. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Oh….” Nora muttered, looking baffled by Drake’s response to her obvious attempts to show her interest in him.

“But don’t worry,” Drake cut her off. “I only do the wrong thing when I’m getting paid for it. Since I’m helping you for free, I guess I can dabble a little in making right choices until I get you girls home.”

Angela couldn’t help but chuckle a little. The stupefied look on Nora’s face was priceless. Plus, Drake’s comments confirmed what she thought about him. He was nothing more than an immoral pirate. But if that was true, would he have said so? If he was a pirate, it would confirm all the negative things Angela thought. But if he was a pirate then why would he free a bunch of slaves? Was he planning on selling them to somebody else? As much as Angela disliked the guy, he didn’t seem anything like the slave dealers she had met up until now.

“Are you girls hungry?” Drake asked loudly, once again interrupting Angela’s thoughts.

Everybody’s ears perked up at the mention of food. They all responded to Drake’s question at the same time making it impossible for Angela to understand what was being said. But Drake seemed to understand, or at least he pretended he did.

“Alright Angela, come with me. We’re going to go get some food for these ladies.” Drake said over the noise of the other women.

“What? Me? Why?” Angela asked.

“Just come.” Drake said.

**********

Angela followed Drake out the door, and into the cool night air. She shivered as the breeze blew against her mostly exposed skin. It was summer back in her hometown, but it felt like it was late autumn here. Her captors hadn’t given her any new clothes, so she was still wearing the short pants and sleeveless shirt she had been captured in. It didn’t help that it was  now getting tattered and torn, leaving her skin more exposed to the cold than she would like, and much too exposed to the wandering eyes of pirates like Drake. Although, so far, she hadn’t caught him looking anywhere aside from her face.

“So why are you taking me with you?” Angela asked as they walked toward the center of the town, turning down random alleyways to avoid being seen.

“Because you’re pretty.” Drake replied. “So where are you from?”

“Did you really just say that?” She asked, blushing brightly.

Why did that make her blush? Who cares if Drake thought she was pretty or not? She was pretty, so why wouldn’t Drake think so? It didn’t mean that she liked him back.

“You mean ask you where you’re from?” Drake said. “I really did ask you that. I understand if you don’t want to answer though; I’m sensitive about where I’m from too.”

“If you’re trying to flirt with me you’re doing a really bad job.” Angela replied.

“Flirt with you?” Drake asked. “I wanted you to come so I could ask for permission to date your little sister. I didn’t want to cause contention in your family by making you jealous of our love for each other.”

The smirk on his face made it obvious he was joking. At least that’s what Angela hoped it meant.

“You stay away from her.” Angela said sharply, narrowing her eyes at Drake, who began laughing loudly.

The wind blew again, sending chills across Angela’s bare skin. She couldn’t keep herself from shivering.

“Take this.” Drake said, sliding off his dark blue jacket and holding it out in front of her.

Angela grabbed it from him. It was a nice gesture. Drake was wearing only a thin shirt underneath the jacket, but still offered it to her.

The insignia on the shoulder of the jacket caught her eye, and she almost gasped in surprise as she read the letters: V.A.L.O.R.

“You’re a V.A.L.O.R. soldier!” She exclaimed. That must be why he had gone out of his way to save a bunch of Human slaves. Suddenly, she felt optimistic about Drake being the one to save them. “You must know my brother! His name is Captain Brooks Fisher. Have you met him?”

“Hey!” Drake said, “I take offense to that. I may be wearing their clothes but I’m not a part of your king’s group of errand boys.  I stole this jacket from a V.A.L.O.R. soldier, I don’t know the name of the guy I stole this from, but oddly enough I have met Captain Fisher, he arrested me a few years back.”

Her hopes had been so lifted by the prospect of Drake being a V.A.L.O.R. soldier but were now crushed down to nothing. If her brother arrested him then he was definitely a criminal.

“So I guess that means you can’t tell me how he’s doing?” Angela said. “He hasn’t contacted home in over a year.”

“Oh I’m sure he’s fine. V.A.L.O.R. soldiers hardly ever go into combat.” Drake said. “So are you going to tell me where you’re from or not?”

“I’m from Fundus Six.” Angela replied, glad to change the subject. Brooks hadn’t left home on the best of terms with the family, and it made Angela a little sad to talk about him. Drake reminded her of Brooks. Maybe that was what bothered her so much about him.

He really hadn’t done anything bad to her since they met. In fact, all he had done was help her. He might be a lowlife pirate, but he had proven to be trustworthy enough up until now, and it was nice of him to give her his jacket; or whoever’s jacket it was before he stole it. The least she could do was try to stop insulting him so much.

“Fundus Six?” Drake said. “There’s nothing there but farms and the hicks that run them. Why would the Mystic armies bother conquering that planet? You’re really from there?”

“Better a hick than a worthless pirate.” She replied, suddenly feeling fine about insulting him.

“I’m not making a good impression on you, am I?” Drake asked.

“You think?” she replied, the sarcasm in her voice was obvious.

“I’m sorry,” Drake said, as they turned down yet another poorly lit alleyway, his voice switching from sarcasm to a calm, sincere tone. “You probably get hit on all the time, and I doubt that a worthless criminal is the coolest guy to ever think that you’re beautiful. I’m sure all the other boys told commented on your looks in a much more tactful way. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything. Once I get you back to Human space you won’t ever have to see me again.”

Was he serious? Or was he just trying to make Angela feel guilty? Whether he was trying to inspire guilt or not, it was what he accomplished.

Angela opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by a deep voice coming from the nearby shadows.

“I do lament interrupting such an enthralling conversation.” It said. “But I have much more pressing matters to discuss.”

A man stepped into view. Drake’s hand flew to the sword at his waist, drawing it out and pointing the blade at the man in one fluid motion. Although Drake seemed to recognize this man; Angela had no idea who he was. With his silvery hair, pale skin, and eerie blood red eyes, he was a very strange looking man. But considering that a lot of the Mystics Angela had seen so far looked more similar to walking animals than to people, this guy wasn’t all that strange.

“You’re name is Drake Ashbell is it not?” The man continued, completely ignoring Angela’s presence and focusing solely on Drake.

“Are you after the bounty?” Drake said, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, and stepping in front of Angela protectively.

Who was this guy? Drake didn’t seem afraid of him, but pirates dealt with some pretty unsavory people, maybe drawing a sword and pointing it at strangers was a common thing for Drake.

“Hardly,” The strange man continued. “You are the son of the late Tiberius Ashbell am I correct?”

“Where did you hear that?” Drake asked, his eyes narrowing as he continued to observe the stranger.

“My source of knowledge is irrelevant.” The man replied. “Please allow me to introduce myself, and then I shall tell you my purpose in speaking with you tonight.”

“I already know who you are.” Drake said. “You’re the Anti-Luck who kidnapped the human princess a few days ago.”

An Anti-Luck? Angela had never heard of one of those. Were they dangerous? They must be since this one was apparently able to kidnap the princess. Was this conversation really happening?

“I see that my reputation precedes me.” The Anti-Luck replied. “My name is 169. A horrid name I know, but you can blame my creators for giving it to me. You see Drake, not to be too blunt about it, but the humans are monsters. They created my race for the sole purpose of destroying yours, and after the battle that they forced us into you and I are the sole survivors of our races, all because of human greed. Should such an action be without punishment?”

“How are you even still alive?” Drake asked, completely ignoring what 169 had been saying. “I didn’t realize that even one of you had survived.”

“Your question is, once again, irrelevant to the current conversation.” 169 replied. “I can assume you are educated enough to know of the three taboos of Vhy’ Rai?” Drake’s eyes narrowed even further, almost into anger.