Salvage Rights (Distant Worlds Book 2) (9 page)

Kira watched her and breathed
out her own nerves.  “I would gladly render assistance in any way I can.”

Danika licked her lips
nervously.  “Then, where do you suppose we should start?”

“I will get the icom
unit and we will find colors that you like.  Then we will discuss flooring and
fixtures and such.”  She fidgeted with her dress.  So very afraid was Kira,
that it made Danika forget about her own worries in an effort to comfort her.

Her voice dropped to
soothing as she sent a blanket of safety over the girl.  “Then you lead and I
will follow.”

Kira blinked for a
moment, then looked around as if she had not seen the room before.  Danika
smiled, feeling the tension leave her.  “What do you think about making the
blue room, blue again? Like the sea?  There would be a certain balance to that,
don’t you think?”

 “Anything would be
better than harlot red.”

Danika tilted her head
in inquiry.  “Harlot red?”

“That was the color
Briar picked out for this room because she liked the sound of it.”

Danika tipped her head
and searched inside herself for the meaning.  “Harlot, origins Old Earth Middle
English, rogue, buffoon, female prostitute, from Old Earth Anglo-French herlot
beggar, vagabond.”  She shrugged, knowing her perplexity showed on her face.  “A
strange choice.”

Kira blinked a few more
times, and then actually giggled.  “Briar did not know the true definition I
think.”

“Right,” Danika
muttered.  “I do not think I will like this Briar.”

Kira lost her smile, her
eyes going to their usual sad, making Danika wish she could take back what she
said.  “I do not like her, but I am a servant. Briar does not have time for
such as I, unless it is to play hurtful games.  But the men seem to like her,
and she has many followers among the ladies of the island.”  Her smile came
back a little.  “The Furgarians do not like her.”  She pointed to the crystal
pearls and fine weavings that Danika was wrapped in.  “She has long wanted the
Furgarians’ crystal pearl weavings for her own, and many men have tried to give
them to her, but to wear them pricks her.  Like bristles.  No one can find
anything wrong with them, and others wear them with ease.  She gets red and
swells so she has given up, and rages whenever she sees anyone else wearing
them.”  Kira lost what was left of her smile.  “Be careful, Lady Danika.  She
hates you already for taking her out of Sir’s bed, and diminishing her power on
PortSea.  When she sees you like this . . .” she motioned an elegant hand
towards all that was Danika, “she will hurt you if she can.”

Danika studied the
worry on Kira’s sweet face.  She knew from seeing Kira’s memories what kind of
person this Briar was, and what she meant by ‘hurtful games.’

Her own eyes flashed
determination, and though she did not know it, sadness.  “I may not know all
that I am capable of, but I do know that it is Briar who needs to be careful. 
I am not weak.  Whatever I am behind my lost past, I am not that.”

Danika was amazed at
what they were able to accomplish in one afternoon.  Granted the days were
longer here than when on ship, but by the setting of the second sun, the room
had been painted a soothing tropical blue.  The bedding was a plush and crisp
white, while the floor was solid wood waxed to a shiny natural sheen.  She bade
the workers remove everything but the bed and they brought in a plush chaise
lounge and placed it in the daylight.  More soft chairs and a table on the
porch and she was done.  It was Kira that suggested the small rugs besides the
bed, the fireplace, and the chaise lounge to soften.  The end result was
feminine and easy without being gaudy or overdone.  Once all the workers left,
it was only Kira and Danika.  They both looked around and then at each other,
and sighed happily at the same time.  Then Danika winced when she heard the
loud pounding from the other room.

Kira smiled shyly when
Danika laughed.  “They will be working on the bathroom through the night.  We
will have to talk to Sir about another place to stay while they finish.”

“They will cease work
after we return from dinner and finish while we are out tomorrow.”

The voice came from behind
them; there the solid wood door leading to the main suite was no longer hidden
by gaudy drapes and wallpaper. Lucan looked around the room while Kira froze
besides Danika.  He looked surprised by the starkness of the room, but not
displeased.  With the doors opened, it felt more like an extension of the beach
than a bedroom.  “Tomorrow we will see about filling the closet,” he said,
noting the doors flung open and the bareness of the space.  Considering the
closet was bigger than the room she stayed in on the ship, it did look
conspicuously empty with only one extra pair of trousers and tunic that Lore
had provided when she left the ship.

“I do not . . .” Danika
started to protest only to be interrupted.

“And do not tell me you
don’t need clothes.  The Furgarians are forever draping you in crystal pearls,
they look slightly ridiculous over ship standard.”

She looked down at the
weaving of light and energy they decorated her from neck to waist and had to
agree they did not show best in what she was wearing.  She looked at Kira.  “Perhaps
something like what Kira wears?  Just a few lengths would suit me fine.”

Kira was shaking her
head, her eyes big.

“Kira is wearing the
garb of a servant, not a lady of the island.”

“That is fine.  I am an
employee.”

“You are not a servant. 
Tomorrow, we have you fitted as the lady you are.”

Danika was confused and
knew it showed on her face.  Then she brightened.  “We will see the market
again.”

He tilted his head, as
usual studying her.  “You wish to visit the market again?”

“There were so many
things to see there.”

“Fine.  Kira, you will
accompany us tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” she said
bowing her head in agreement as Danika felt the shot of fear even through the
buffer of peace she had wrapped around the girl. 

“Why does it scare you
to go to market?”

Kira’s eyes widened at
the question and then shot to Lucan, and back again.  She swallowed, and Danika
felt the emotions shooting around them.

Lucan, too, had turned
to study the girl.  “Has someone been bothering you?” he asked, his voice
dropping to a deadly growl.  Then he barked, “Speak!” and both Danika and Kira jumped
at the word.

Danika turned and
glared at him, stepping in front of Kira when she looked petrified with fear.  “You
are scaring her worse. Give her a chance.”

“Kira is under my
protection.  If someone is bothering her it is an insult to me.  That will not
be allowed to stand.”

“I understand that, but
give me a minute with her and I will get the information without scaring her
worse.”

“Fine.”  He bit the
words out, then turned and left.  “Come to me when you are done and we will
discuss it.”

That sounded ominous
enough that Danika was shaking her head when she turned to find Kira’s wide
eyes on her.  “You would protect me from sir?”

“Do you need me to? 
Has he hurt you?”  She was not aware how badly she needed the answer until it
was given.

“He has not.  Others
like him, before I came here, but Sir saved me.”

Danika released a
breath she did not realize she had been holding.  “Then why be afraid to tell
him if someone else is bothering you?”

Kira bowed her head.  “It
is not my place to complain.  I try to stay away from the market and hide when
he comes here.  He has not truly hurt me, but he says that eventually Sir will
grow tired of me and I will be cast out, that I will come to him.”  Her little
chin firmed.  “But I will not.  I will embrace the sea before I am that again.”

“I was told there were
no slaves on PortSea.”

“There are not; Sir has
outlawed the practice, but powerful men with money do not always follow the
laws in private as they do in public.”

“I see.”  Danika tried
not to react to the flood of images coming at her from Kira’s misery.  She did
not shut down the connection though, and finally she was rewarded by the face
of a man that had Kira shuddering and closing her eyes at the memories.  He did
nothing overt in his dealings, but in her mind behind his smiling face and
pretty eyes, lurked a spoiled child that liked to rip the wings off
butterflies.  Whether because of Kira’s past experience or because she saw more
than others, Danika did not know, but she would find out.  “I will ask the
Furgarians to attend you tomorrow if you will come with us.  They will ensure
this man does not get anywhere near you.  Will that be enough for you to feel
safe enough to come?  Otherwise, I will tell Lucan that you are staying home.”

Kira blinked, her eyes
widening at each word.  “You would let me stay home?”

“You are not a slave,
Kira, and much too valuable a friend for me to risk.  It is up to you.”

“But Sir . . .?
”

“He would not like you
to feel a slave in his employ, he will agree.”

“The Furgarians?”

“Yes.  They are
guardians.  I would ask them to guard you, and they will see you are pure of
heart and agree.”

“Pure?”  She whispered
the words, her eyes filling with tears.  “But you have seen . . .”

Danika interrupted her
words firmly, “I have seen the evil men can do.  And I see very clearly that
even as much as you have faced, you have not let it make you less.”  She took
her shaking hands and pressed them between the warmth of her own.  “I see your
heart, Kira.  Do not doubt me when I say it is kind and true.  Anything else
that was done to you does not change who you are.  It only makes the crime
perpetrated against you that much more heinous.”

Kira sucked in a shaky
gasp, while tears flowed down her face.  Danika sent soothing peace her way,
but it was Kira who raised her chin and swallowed.  “I will go with you.”

“And the Furgarians
will protect you, as will I, and Lucan.  Can you think of anyone that can get
through such an army as that?”

“Tuft will accompany us
as well,” Lucan said coming back into the room as quietly as he had left,
making them both aware that privacy was an illusion, “but Danika is correct,
you are not a slave here, and you are under my protection.  If anyone threatens
you in any way, by word or deed, I will expect you to come to me, or Tuft on
the issue.”  He looked at Kira, his hard gaze softening slightly.  “Should you
ever desire to quit my employ for any reason, you merely have to say and we
will find you work that you prefer, with an employer of your own choosing.”

Kira blinked unaware
that her mouth had opened in her surprise.  She pressed her lips together, her
eyes beseeching, going from Danika to Lucan.  Then she licked her lips, holding
the moisture gathering in her eyes with an obvious effort.  “Truly Sir, I would
not like to work for anyone else.”

“And you will tell me
when you are bothered?”

Kira hesitated long
enough that Lucan was scowling by the time she looked up; she blanched, and
Danika was tempted to elbow Lucan for his impatience.  Instead, she sent out a
blanket of safety that Kira responded to immediately by losing the tension in
her shoulders and sighing.  “I will tell Sir or Lady Danika if I am bothered.” 
She did not mention Tuft, but thinking of the large bear of a man, Danika
figured that was the best that they would get.

Lucan must have come to
the same conclusion because he nodded his head in dismissal.  “Please let cook
know we will be ready for dinner within the half hour.  And if you could find
some acceptable clothes for Lady Danika to sleep in, bring them.”

Kira nodded her head;
her relief at escaping filled the air like a spice.  “Thank you, Kira,” Danika
said watching her go, wishing she was going with her, and very much aware of
the man standing beside her.  Kira turned to smile shyly.  Danika gestured
around her with a wave and a smile.  “The room is perfect.  I could not have
done it without you.”

Her smile grew until
her beauty was enough to take one’s breath away, then she turned and nearly ran
headlong into Tuft as he was coming in.  He must have caught the smile, too,
because he momentarily looked dazzled, then she blushed and scampered around
him.  Tuft partially turned to watch her leave.  His face was once again void
of expression when he turned around, but Danika could feel the longing he hid
so effortlessly when he looked at the girl.  And then the overpowering wave of
stubborn resolve, that Kira was not suitable for the likes of him.  It left her
blinking at the new insight into the hard and well-shielded man.  A second
later, it was all cut off again behind impenetrable walls.  She would have to
touch him to see what else he hid so well, and she had to fist her hand to stop
herself from doing just that.  It would be an invasion of his privacy, one she
doubted either man would appreciate.

While she studied him,
Tuft was looking around the newly finished blue room.  Finally, he turned and
looked her over as if he was seeing something unexpected.  “Better than I
expected.”

She tilted her head and
studied the room around her trying to see what he saw.  “Is there something
wrong with the room?”

“No.  That’s what’s
unexpected.”  He motioned to her drab brown ship suit covered in crystal pearl
weaves.  “Any other woman would have demanded the best of everything be
imported from other planets.  In her clothes and her room – shoes, jewels,
furniture.”

She thought about the
insult inherent in his tone with reference to any other woman.  “Kira would not
and she is a woman.  I do not believe that Sera would have either.”  When they
both looked at her questioningly, she went on.  “Sera is the mechanic on the
Jezebel.  She is another woman and she did not demand such frippery as you
describe.”

“Most beautiful women
want more.”  He shrugged those massive shoulders.  “I do not know about your
mechanic, but Kira is the exception to most rules.”

That made Danika
smile.  “I suppose you are correct in that.  Besides the Furgarians, she is the
most unpolluted soul I have encountered since my awakening.”

Both men stilled almost
imperceptibly.  She could feel them honing in on her as if sharpening the focus
her way.  Lucan raised a brow, but it was Tuft who spoke.  “You can read the
Furgarians?”

She studied both men,
wishing quite suddenly that she could touch them and see what had them balanced
on such a razor’s edge.  “I can, though not like other people.  They are warm
and easy to be with.”

“Is that why you were
on the beach?”

“I felt confined and
cold in the blue room when it was stuffed with things.  I did not care for the
. . . I guess the closest description is vibrations.  I did not care for the
vibrations that had been left here.”  She looked around.  “But they are gone
now.”

Lucan looked around the
room, then back at her while Tuft seemed to dissect every word.  “What did it
feel like before?”

Danika thought for a
moment, trying to put it into words.  “It was hard, cold, greedy, and well,
manipulative.  That is as close as I can describe it.”

Tuft raised his brow
and looked at Lucan, something passing between them.  “What does it feel like
now?”

Danika closed her eyes
and breathed deeply, opening herself to the room around her.  “It is open,
clean; there is a touch of Kira, sweet, and funny, shy,” her brow turned down, “lonely.” 
She shook her head then reached up and brushed the crystal pearls at her
throat.  “The warmth from the pearls . . . welcome.”  She raised her hands, her
eyes still closed, moving them before her as if she could feel the men standing
with her.  “Aggression, protection, ruthless determination,” she sighed,
dropping her hands and opening her eyes, “it feels . . . safe.”

Tuft had his blank look
back.  “Kira is lonely?”

“You are surprised?” 
She shook her head, unaware that the sadness reaching her eyes was an almost
physical touch when she looked at him.  “How can she not be? After everything
that was done to her, she feels unworthy of affection and fearful of being
touched.  She sees herself as broken and ugly, defined by her scars, both
inside and out.  I fear the deep cold sleep will take me again, and I would
rather die than go back, but for Kira . . . ”  She was not aware until she
closed her eyes with a shudder that the tears were falling, or that both men
could feel the bone deep agony she was looking at in her mind.  “Feeling the
monster that lives inside her memories, I would say she has never truly been
released from her prison, and her reality was so much worse that my nightmares.” 
She shuddered again, and then met Tuft’s stone cold eyes.  “She is the loneliest
soul you will ever meet.”