Pursued(184)

“Well did you at least find out who bought them?” Rast demanded. “We need to get them back! If we can find out how my father defeated this bastard, we might stand a fighting chance of beating him ourselves—before it’s too late.”

“I narrowed it down to several collectors—apparently Minverna sold to more than one individual.” Nadiah unfolded a scrap of parchment and handed the list to Rast. “They all live on Yonnie Six, as far as I can tell.”

“Yonnie Six?” Saber frowned. “I know of that world. It’s a matriarchal society, made up of extremely wealthy, sensation seeking females.” He bowed to Rast. “My Challa, I would offer to go there as your emissary to try and buy or bargain for your lost scrolls, but I fear it wouldn’t do any good. The Yonites hold males in the lowest esteem, deeming them worthy only to do manual labor or act as body-slaves.”

Lissa took a deep breath. “I’ll go.”

“What?” Nadiah looked startled.

Lissa took a step forward, her heart pounding. “It’s my fault those scrolls were stolen in the first place,” she said. “I should have been keeping a closer watch on Minverna. Instead, I left her to her own devices, allowing her to intimidate me because she had been my superior for so long. So I’ll go to Yonnie Six. I’ll pose as a wealthy female of means—someone interested in buying antiquities. I can work my way through the list of collectors Minverna sold to and find the one who bought the scrolls.”

Councilor Rast raised an eyebrow at her. “And what if you find them and whoever bought them doesn’t want to give them up?”

Then…” She took a deep breath. “I’ll steal them. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to recover the scrolls but I swear to you, my Challa, I will bring them home to First World.”

“High Priestess,” Councilor Rast said formally. “I want you to know that we do not hold you responsible for the theft of the scrolls.”

“No, but I do.” Lissa lifted her chin. “And I will be the one to recover them.”

“Not alone, you won’t.” Saber stepped forward. “I’ll go with her.”

“What? No!” Lissa exclaimed before she could stop herself. “We can’t…you shouldn’t…”

“Shouldn’t what?” Saber frowned at her. “Shouldn’t protect my little sister? For all that it’s a matriarchal society, Yonnie Six is a dangerous place, Lissa. If your deception is discovered, you could be in grave danger.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Nadiah frowned. “Maybe I should go instead.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Rast frowned at her. “I can’t go with you to protect you—I’m tied to this planet, remember? And you’re not going anywhere without me, sweetheart.”

“Well I don’t think we should be putting Lissa in danger either,” Nadiah protested. “We shouldn’t ask anyone to do something we wouldn’t do ourselves.”

“My Lady,” Saber said, bowing to Nadiah. “We are well aware that you and Councilor Rast would go on this mission if you could. But as he points out, Rast is bound to this planet. And he could not rule effectively if he was worried for your safety.”

Nadiah frowned, clearly not convinced. “Well how are you going to protect Lissa? I thought you said they looked down on males there and thought they were only worthy to do hard labor.”

“Or to act as body-slaves,” Lissa reminded her faintly.

“Exactly.” Saber nodded. “I will pretend to be Lissa’s body-slave.” He looked thoughtful. “Actually, having me act as her slave will be a good thing—it will lend credibility to her disguise. No respected female of wealth and title would be caught anywhere without her trusty body-slave.”

Rast nodded. “It sounds like a good idea to me.” He looked at Nadiah. “Well, sweetheart? What do you think?”

She sighed. “I guess if we have to send Lissa into danger, I would feel better knowing she has someone who cares for her to protect her.”

Lissa felt her cheeks growing hot again. This was really going to happen—Saber was going to come with her all the way to the Ganda system if she didn’t find a way to stop it. She imagined them stuck together in a cramped little ship, unable to keep out of each other’s way, unable to help brushing against each other, touching… “Indeed,” she said loudly, stepping forward again. “I, uh, greatly appreciate Saber’s kind offer, but it is really not necessary.”