Release(12)

“I’m Miss Ariana Gilit, the daughter of the Duke of Wendo. I was kidnapped by a man who stole my ship and left me out here to fend for myself. I need to contact my family.” Ariana felt like she might start crying again. How could she possibly deal with this?

The woman squinted at her. “I do think I’ve seen some pictures of you on the nets.” She raised her eyebrows. “Well, imagine that. A duke’s daughter. Here.” She gestured at an empty stool in front of the bar. “Let me get you a drink, My Lady.”

Ariana sat down on the stool. “A drink would be nice.” Ariana was still on the verge of tears. She sniffled a little.

“Well, we got two options here. There’s ale and there’s whiskey. Which do you want?”

Ariana’s drink of choice was spiced wine or champagne. Whiskey and ale were things that men drank. But she couldn’t very well refuse the bartender, who was trying to be nice to her, could she? “Ale, I suppose.”

The bartender nodded. She filled a large mug up with frothy liquid and deposited in front of Ariana.

Ariana took a small sip. It was bitter and yeasty, but it wasn’t actually that awful. Still, she wasn’t sure she could put away this huge glass of it. “If the comm’s broken, then how do you communicate with other planets?”

“We don’t if we can help it,” said the bartender. “Part of the allure of the colonies is being away from the Evon Sector.”

Ariana’s face crumpled. This was too horrible to be believed. Was she going to be stuck out here, living her life on a colony planet? Would she have to wear the dreadful sort of clothes they wore?

The bartender patted her hand. “Now, now. Don’t worry. This isn’t the only comm on the planet, you know. There’s other towns. You can probably commission someone to drive you to Geirido. It’s only a two-day speeder drive from here, and with you being the daughter of the duke, I’m sure money isn’t a problem.”

“I don’t have any money,” said Ariana. “I was kidnapped.” Even her comm, which could have gotten her access to credits from her spending account, was gone. Keirth had it, and besides, the battery was dead. She really was going to start crying. She felt the lump growing in her throat, tears pricking her eyes. She rested her arms on the bar and buried her face in them, waiting for the sobs to come.

“Okay, okay,” said the bartender. “But everyone knows who you are. Someone will take you. And when you contact your father, he’ll pay the driver. Right?”

Ariana lifted her head. Yes. Yes, that could work. Of course, by the time she got in contact with her family, Keirth would already have killed Risciter. She couldn’t get the authorities here on time. “Is there a police force on this planet?”

“Police?”

“The man who kidnapped me is dangerous. He’s planning on killing someone—someone important. I know where he is, and if I could tell the police, they could—”

“There’s a volunteer militia, but you’d have to pay them too. They don’t work for free when their farms need tending.”

This place was barbaric. It was like being dumped into some kind of pit where civilization didn’t exist. Ariana was horrified. She didn’t know what to do. If she found someone to drive her to the next town, she’d be saved, but Risciter would be gone. Did she want to return to her life without Risciter, knowing that he’d died and she’d done nothing to protect him? He was practically her fiancé. She had to do what she could for him.

She’d have to go back to where she’d left Keirth. Maybe she could get a large stick and bash him over the head with it. Then she could tie him up and wait for Risciter to arrive. When he did, he’d know what to do.

It was her best plan. She started to thank the bartender for her help, but to say she’d have to try something else, when the door to the tavern opened, and Keirth walked in.

Why was he here? Had he already killed Risciter?

But from here, she could see that he’d taken a holophoto of Risciter out of his pocket, and that he’d approached the first booth inside the door. Keirth was asking if the people there had seen the man in the photo.

That meant he hadn’t killed him yet. He was looking for him. Risciter must have given Keirth the slip! Ariana’s heart soared. There was a chance. She’d have to follow Keirth without his seeing her. Once he found Risciter, she’d do something to save her fiancé—her almost-fiancé—and together they’d stop Keirth.

She got off the stool and stepped backwards into the smoky, dark recesses of the tavern. Keirth wouldn’t be able to see her from here. From a distance, she watched as Keirth moved to the next booth, showing the holo picture. She could barely make out the conversation from here.