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"What would you know about it?"

"Quite a bit, actually," he said, and I could tell he was amused again.

We stopped. I heard a door open in front of me and

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he led me inside. Only two steps though, and we stopped again. The door closed behind me. The sheep smell wasn't nearly as strong in this room. I didn't realize we were in a lift until it began to move. The sudden motion caused my knees to wobble. It felt like we were going down, but I couldn't be sure. I braced myself against the wall and attempted to look less concerned than I really was.

"Tell me Captain Kelley, are you by any chance ganymede?"

The question caught me completely off-guard, first

because the term wasn't often used, but also because there was only one reason he'd be asking if my sexual preference was for other men. My heart began to pound with fear at the implications. My mouth went dry. I wanted to open my mouth and say no, that I liked women, but it was too late.

Whatever he'd seen on my face was all the answer he needed.

He made a low sound, almost like a growl. "That's the best news I've heard all week." I felt his hand land on my elbow. It began to move slowly up my arm.

"Don't touch me," I said through clenched teeth, although we both knew the threat was meaningless. My hands were bound. I was blind. What was to stop him?

"Relax," he said. "I won't hurt you."

It wasn't exactly being hurt that I was worried

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about.

"Your stay with us doesn't have to be unpleasant."

"Fuck you!" Not my wittiest comeback, but about the only thing I could think of.

"You have no idea how tempting that offer is."

He let go of my arm. I jumped as his finger landed

on my collar bone instead. It began to trail slowly down my chest. I tried to move away, but I was backed against the wall of the lift with nowhere to go. It was a infuriating, knowing I had no way to stop him from touching me, and knowing that at some point, my body was bound to respond to him, whether I wanted it to or not. The flesh was weak.

Hadn't Rikard proven that me over and over again?

"I have to tell you, Captain Kelley, I find you…

intriguing."

"The interest isn't mutual."

He laughed again. His fingers reached the buckle on my pants and stopped. "I suggest you think of this little delay as something of a vacation. We could have some fun while you're on board."

The lift finally came to a stop and the door hissed open. I was relieved when he took his hand away from my pants and took my arm again.

"Think about it," he said as he began to lead me…

somewhere.

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"Not a chance in hell," I said. Again, not exactly witty, but the only thing my mind seemed able to produce.

He sighed, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Suit yourself." We stopped again, and a door in front of us opened. The air that washed over us was warm and smelled of antiseptic. "Here we are," he said. "Your temporary home."

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The room was full of familiar voices. I could hear

fear, bordering on panic. I could almost
feel
their anxiety filling the room.

My captor turned me over to a man he called Pierce.

"Where'd all the blood come from?" Pierce asked.

Based on the direction of his voice, I could tell he was several inches taller than me.

"He put up a fight," my would-be seducer said. I didn't think I was imagining the admiration in his voice.

"Should I leave him tied?" Pierce asked.

"Good question. Captain Kelley, the rest of your men have been untied. However, the rest of your men don't seem inclined to cause trouble."

It was possible we'd need to fight later, but for now, it seemed better to wait until I knew more: were any of my men hurt? Were they all blind? Did we have any idea how many pirates there were? What did they intend to do with us?

"I'll behave," I said.

"Do anything stupid and I'll hogtie you myself,"

Pierce said as he cut the cord that bound my wrists. "And after that, I'll start breaking fingers." I was about to tell him to do his worst, but he seemed to anticipate my reaction.

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"I'm not talking about your fingers, either," he said. "We'll see how much you like hearing your men cry."

It was a smart play, and it made my bravado die in

my chest. It was one thing to put myself in danger, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt the young men who depended on me.

I was turned loose into what seemed to be a large

room. It took me only a moment to determine that most, if not all, of my crew was there with me. Some were scared.

Some were angry.

"Can anybody see?" I asked.

"Captain Kelley, is that you?" one asked.

"Yes," I said, and was surprised at the sounds of relief I heard from so many of them, as if I could somehow save them. "Can anybody see?" I asked again.

"No." That was Captain Jerald. I could tell his rough, gravelly voice, and the tone of angry skepticism.

"They used flash guns on us all."

"Is anybody hurt?" I asked.

They all started to talk at once, but Jerald's voice rose above them all. "Shut your traps!" He was captain of our ship, but otherwise he had no authority over my men, something they normally liked to point out every chance they had. It was an indication of how scared they all were that they did what he said rather than argue. "A few of the

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lads got knocked on the head," he said, "but everybody's awake now. Other than being blind, I think we're all safe.

We ain't heard about the prince, though."

"They have him," I said. "I saw him before they blinded me."

We were interrupted by the unmistakable
swish
of the door opening, and heavily booted feet crossing the floor.

"I'm Captain Yima." He had a loud, booming voice, and I pictured a giant bear of a man. "I know you're all upset, and I'm here to tell you what's going to happen."

"What do you plan to do with us?" one of my men asked. There was no missing the fear in his voice.

"I'll put your mind at ease about one thing," Yima said. "My men and I don't deal in slaves." The frank statement elicited several sighs of relief from the men around me. "Too many of my crew saw their own families sold to slavers, and we don't condone such things. But we still have every intention of securing ourselves a profit."

"Ransom," Jerald said.

"Exactly. I'll be informing the Regency of our demands." He stopped, and I followed the sound of his booted feet as he paced back and forth in front of us.

"You're in our medical bay right now," he said. "There's ten of you, and eight bunks, so I'll let you all sort that out.

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There's two bathrooms and a shower. We'll bring food twice a day. As long as you cooperate, you'll be free within this space. Cause any trouble, and we'll respond in kind. A man will be posted outside the door at all times, so no point trying to get out." He stopped pacing, and I imagined him glaring down at us all. "The easier you make this on my men, the easier they make it on you," he said. "We don't expect you boys to be here any longer than a week. My advice is, do your best to relax. You'll be back in your warm Regency beds in no time."

* * * *

Some of the men seemed stoic. Some paced

restlessly. One I could hear crying. Two were arguing in hushed tones on the other side of the room.

I made my way around our room. I reassured them

as much as I could. I told the crying man he had no reason to be afraid, although I knew the words sounded hollow. I approached the two who were arguing last. They both stilled at my approach.

"Who is it?" one asked. Onslo was his name. I knew his voice by the way some of his words seemed to whistle through his teeth. He was the oldest man in our group, not counting Jerald. He was also the laziest of my men, and I

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wasn't surprised to smell alcohol on his breath.

"It's Captain Kelley," I replied. "What's going on?"

"Somebody here's a traitor," the other voice said. I wasn't sure which one he was. Tomas, or Franco. His voice had the slow, careful cadence and thick vowels of a drunk man doing his best to sound sober. "Jerald thinks it's us, but it ain't."

"Why would Jerald think that?" I asked.

"'Cause we was on duty," Onslo said.

A fair enough assumption for Jerald to make, I

thought, but that didn't make it true. Of course, the fact they'd both obviously been drinking while on duty didn't play in their favor, either. "How did they get past the lock code?" I asked.

There was only silence in response, although I

could hear them shifting from foot to foot.

"Well?" I asked.

"I went to the bathroom," the one who wasn't Onslo said. "It happened while I was gone."

"What about you, Onslo?"

Onslo didn't answer, but the other answered for

him. "He was asleep," he said.

"Passed out, you mean?" I asked.

Again, no answer. It didn't matter. There was

nothing to be done about it now.

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"It had to be Jerald," Onslo said sullenly. "He was the only other man awake."

"Exactly," the other one said.

Of course they had no way of actually knowing that

everybody else had been asleep. It was only an assumption based on the lateness of the hour. I knew the real reason they suspected Jerald: he wasn't one of us. He was an independent pilot, not a regular member of the Regency militia. Still, it felt wrong to me. I couldn't believe it of him. And in the end, it didn't seem to matter who had let the pirates in. We were captives now. Regaining our freedom was the only thing I cared about.

"Throwing blame around won't get us home any

quicker," I told them. "Get some rest."

I left them. I found an empty bunk and lay down.

And somehow, remarkably, I fell back asleep.

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The next day dragged by in a long, tedious

succession of moments, each one painfully like the one before. Without my sight, I had no way of judging the passage of time. Every minute felt like ages. The pirates brought us food—rough, dry food, but edible, along with water and some cheap ale. The ale at least provided something to do, and some of the men set about getting drunk. Of course, it wasn't long before the ale ran out, and eventually drunkenness turned to sullenness. They were just passing into downright hung over when I received my summons.

"Captain Kelley," Pierce said to me, taking my elbow and pulling me to my feet. "The captain wants to see you."

On some level, I was glad for the distraction. I was glad to be given
something
to do.

Pierce bound my hands first, although in front of me this time instead of behind my back. "What does he want with me?" I asked Pierce as he led me down a hallway I couldn't see.

"Got no clue," he said. "All I know is he said to bring you."

The hallway smelled like rubber and metal. There

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were multiple turns. We took a lift—up, I thought, although I couldn't be sure—then another hallway with more turns. I thought I would have been lost even if I had been able to see. He finally stopped and knocked, presumably on a door.

He didn't wait for an answer. I heard his retreating footsteps.

I waited for something to happen. I was suddenly

very aware of my state of dress. I'd only managed to put on my uniform pants before the pirates captured me. I had no shirt. No socks or shoes. Not even any underwear. My near-nakedness made me exceedingly self-conscious as I waited for the big, gruff captain to answer.

Finally, the door swished open.

"Captain Kelley," he said. "Come in."

There was something wrong. Captain Yima's voice

had been loud and gravelly, and had given the impression of a very large man. This wasn't his voice at all. This man's voice was softer. Full of something like mockery.

Somehow familiar…

A hand took my arm and guided me into the room.

The room smelled like some kind of spicy incense. Under my feet, the floor changed from rubbery grip of the hallway to… Hair?

"Is that fur?" I asked in surprise, looking down at the floor with my blind eyes, as if it would help me.

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"As a matter of fact, it is. We, um,
acquired
a shipment of marsoth pelts a few months ago. I thought it made a nice addition to the room. Not nearly so cold in the morning."

The fur on the floor had distracted me momentarily

from his voice, but now I was reminded again. "I was told I was being taken to the captain, but you're not him."

A moment of silence, and when he spoke again, the

amusement in his voice was clear. "I see your confusion.

Captain Yima is the captain of this ship. However, several of the men on board served under me in the Rosenth