The Pirate and the Amber Cat 28

Chapter 28

Suili awaits Juriz.

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Cortleno stood at the Nysse's quarterdeck, looking out over the sleeping port town early the next morning. Much as he hated to admit it, Suili's prediction as to Juriz Shaenen's reaction did make disturbing sense. He hadn't thought much about the possibility of Shaenen refusing to part with even one slave for his fiancée's life. His consideration had centered more around his course of action if Joshan had not survived the Ibereth mine collapse.

He watched the port slowly come to life as the mists hung over the waters. Most of the ships docked were pirate and a few he recognized as thinly disguised slave transports. It was a safe port for questionable traders like himself, where the felonies of one criminal blurred and paled against the rampant corruption.

But it wasn't the magnitude of the city's decadence that played on his mind. Earlier that morning he had dispatched Lucas and two other men by horse to scout out the Shaenen mines near Lusson. Juriz's mention of the mine could be a false ploy altogether, but Cortleno wanted to know if Joshan was there. Juriz Shaenen would buy the boy with his own life if he refused to bargain for Suili. Surely the mine overseer wouldn't deny an offer to ransom his master's life.

If Suili was correct in her analysis about Shaenen, he also knew, there may be an attempt to take her from the Nysse while they were docked at Cold Rock. An unpleasant smile crossed his face at the thought. He would welcome such a confrontation, knowing it would result in Juriz's demise.

He scowled. But that was not his ambition. He only wanted Joshan back.

The day passed leisurely without sign or word from Juriz. The bustle of the town activity rose and fell as the day wore on, oblivious to the two figures waiting on the Lita Nysse. Suili observed the business of the docks, watching for a familiar form that would confront Cortleno and, hopefully, take her home. She had little faith, however, in such an encounter. She believed Juriz would come without Joshan, and Cortleno would refuse any negotiation or payment.

It wasn't loyalty or love that made her wince at the thought of Juriz's death. She wasn't anxious to see him take the full punishment for a crime initiated before his birth. Juriz was not innocent, she rationalized from her perch on the upholstered bench at the bedchamber window; he was only continuing an illegal family practice.

But most of her turmoil came from visions of going home to Luxil. She couldn't tell her father of the Shaenen family secret. She must return as the unfortunate bride whose future no longer held a bridegroom.

It had to be that way, she told herself.

She could never prove Juriz as a slaver to her father, not without months of constant doubt. There was no proof, only Cortleno's word—if he even consented to vouch for her as a firsthand witness to the Shaenen slave practice—and that would only be taken for what it was: a pirate's honor. She looked to the bedroom doorway as he appeared there.

"Get your wrap. We're going to find some supper."

Suili took his arm without hesitation as they walked down the long pier and into town, feeling a security with his nearness. The thoroughfare still swarmed late in the day with a variety of criminals, prostitutes, and a scatter of legitimate shop owners. Again Cortleno was approached by a slaver to part with Suili, and his answer was the same, but this man was more persistent. His eyes went over her in a way that made her feel invaded without being touched.

Cortleno shook his head adamantly and spoke briefly in a dialect she didn't understand. He ushered her down the cobble street quickly. "Put your wrap up."

She complied, pulling the shawl over her head like a himation.

"You really look Lux now."

She adjusted the draped hood as its edge swept the street. "Is that good or bad?"

He shrugged, feeling her hand tighten on his sleeve. "Good, I guess. If you like Lux women. Which I do," he added. His tone grew stern. "Did you know him?"