Chapter Seven
“Forthwind is doing quite well.”
Blaze joined Link at the shuttle controls.
Leaving Molly’s bed had been difficult, but he’d somehow done it. Blaze wasn’t one for duty above pleasure, but he mustn’t lose sight of the mission and as much as he’d love to lay about all day with her, he had commitments.
At least he was making progress on his campaign to win her affections. Although, Blaze wondered if he was making this harder on himself, ultimately. And yet he couldn’t stop either. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Molly and not in the physical sense either. Blaze needed her in some nameless, urgent way.
I’ve never been in such a bloody bind.
“Yes, he has adapted to the new environment.”
Blaze shook his head, focusing on the moment.
“I’m glad he’s all right.”
A few weeks ago, Faro and Amy had rescued the bird from the elements. The owl had been placed in stasis by the Trovians for shipping. The Trovians bred animals and ran an interstellar menagerie, and they were always on the hunt for new specimens. Presumably due to its broken wing, they’d left the owlet behind. Link had pulled it out of stasis, healed the wound, and now it appeared to be his pet. It rested on a small perch, located on the ship’s console. After eyeing Blaze, the bird preened its feathers, unconcerned with his presence.
While other people on his planet didn’t keep companion animals, it didn’t seem to bother Link. Then again, Link wasn’t humanoid.
“I think Forthwind enjoys being with me.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but what of the future?”
“What of it?”
“We’ll head home soon, and he’ll be left behind.” Blaze didn’t know if he was trying to convince himself or Link about the dangers of getting attached to an alien.
“His life will be short on this planet so leaving him behind is not a wise course of action.”
Short, like Molly’s life would be.
His gut clenched.
Don’t think on it. No good will come of brooding about her fate. That way lies madness.
“You intend to take him with us?”
Link nodded. “This creature is adaptable so he will adjust.”
Blaze knew the decision had been based on careful deliberation, rather than feelings. Like the Knights, Link was a combination of both magic, and machine, so he had a soul or an essence, but he was logical, empirical and thoughtful.
He had the capacity for emotions, but he also retained control of his computer-processing systems and preferred to keep his emotive center switched off. He went back- and-forth between envying Link’s emotional control and pitying the loss. Drake emotions are volatile, intense, and soared to impossible heights, but then plunged into unimaginable depths as well.
It was a mixed bag, to be sure.
“Can you do some research for me on earthly human dating practices? Specifically on what activities are suitable for dating.”
Blaze could spend hours researching the ship’s computer records, or he could have a chat with Link, who was basically a walking and talking database.
So the decision was easy.
He spent most of his time on a battlefield, not in a classroom or library. Blaze was used to taking orders and dipping his blade in blood.
Last night, he’d gotten lucky, but Blaze was out of his depth when it came to courting a woman. He had brief, raw sexual encounters based on lust, rather than longing. And on Iradia, relationships and marriages were more like mergers, heavily contracted, and planned far in advance, especially among the upper classes. It was a means of consolidating wealth, and ensuring the bloodlines remained “pure.”
Women of many different classes had graced his bed, but he’d been an oddity, a raw sexual encounter for them, and he hadn’t been in public with any of them. Instead, noble women came to his jousting matches, offering him tokens and favors. After his opponents had been vanquished, they sought him out for more intimate interactions.
“Why?”
“I’m asking to impress a lady.”
“I will search for it.” Link tilted his head to one side and Blaze heard a whirring sound. “While you did not ask, I should point out, this is an unwise course of action.”
Apparently, his brothers had been talking behind Blaze’s back. He shouldn’t be surprised, they were a tightknit group, and had no real secrets among them, with the notable exception of Mydon, of course, because he was the leader, and had to keep them in line.
“I didn’t come here for relationship advice, I’m seeking knowledge.”
“Yes, and I am about to share mine with you. Getting involved with the human did not work out so well for Faro.”
“I beg to differ, and shouldn’t you be concentrating?”
“Unlike a humanoid, I have the capacity to pursue more than one line of inquiry at a time. As I was saying, do you wish to suffer the same fate as Faro?”
Mydon had punished Faro for his insubordination by giving him the tasks no one else wanted. Corporal punishment was no longer an option because Faro was mated to Amy, and his injuries became hers. They literally became one, mind, body, heart, and soul.
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Mydon would not approve.”
“I don’t care what he thinks.”
“You might reconsider when he has you lashed to a pole with a whip in hand. I do not possess the requisite pain sensors, but it looks excruciating.”
“Believe me, it is.” Mydon was ruthless when it came to keeping the brothers in line. They’d all felt the bite of his lash at one time or another except for Link.
“I’ll send what I find to your neural relay.” The Knights had several implants, one for communication and translation, and an upload center for information.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
He shook his head. “Just remember I tried to dissuade you.” Link opened a port on his forearm and then plugged it into the console. Afterward, he hit a few buttons.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, Link, you can push my buttons anytime you like. I love the way you do it.” The voice was throaty, playful and echoed throughout the ship. Blaze had never heard it before. “Who’s that?”
He blinked. “Never mind. My apologies for the interruption.” With another button push, he silenced the breathless female.
Blaze snickered. “Tell me.”
“It is nothing, do not concern yourself.”
“Don’t make me drag this out of you.”
“It was an oversight on my part. When I put us into orbit, I thought I had disabled all Vixen’s subroutines. Clearly I left one or two out.”
“And who, pray tell, is Vixen?”
As if in answer, an image appeared before them, wavering, flickering on and off. The woman had long blonde hair. She wore a pair of thigh high boots and a thin scrap of cloth between her legs. She had enormous, almost comically large breasts, accentuated by a leather harness, which fastened under them, placing the fleshy globes on display.
Blaze went slack-jawed. Was this some kind of sex program Link used to, er, satisfy his urges?
Link placed a hand on his forehead. He’d been programmed with a wide array of nonverbal reactions. He winked, blinked, sighed, and they all seemed a bit off, pale imitations, but not this time. Link seemed genuinely distressed.
Blaze clapped him on the shoulder. “Are you swiving the spaceship?”
“No, of course not.”
“Link, come here.” She crooked a finger at him.
He shifted in the chair uncomfortably.
“Then why is she coming on to you?”
“She’s an interface, nothing more.”
“And who programmed the ship to proposition people?”
“Like a lot of items used for this mission, the ship and the shuttle were repurposed. They used to be pleasure crafts.” He shut Vixen off once more.
The shuttle was a small transport ship, with a handful of seats, meant for short flights. They’d hidden it near Bleak Bay, for ease of access, and used it to ferry supplies to the larger spacecraft in orbit. A court alchemist had created the spell to hide their activities, a pocket universe to store their ill-gotten gains, lest some hapless fool chance upon them.
Their ship was in orbit, also cloaked by a powerful spell. A scientist would call it a spatial distortion. On Iradia, there was no difference between science, and magic, they were one and the same. Magic and physics had much in common, both influenced the physical environment.
“So?” The rich and powerful owned many starships and used them to sightsee.
Link frowned. “No, you do not understand my meaning. This ship was used by a brothel, it is literally a pleasure craft, meant for small jaunts to service customers.”
“I see.” Blaze smothered a laugh. He must’ve missed it during one of the briefings. Then again, these decisions were made far above his head. The Knights had little say over this mission, they’d simply been ordered to carry it out. “It explains a few things.”
The larger vessel had small bedrooms with a place to lie down and little else. Although, he’d been locked in a stasis pod for most of the voyage, so he hadn’t gotten the chance to do much exploring. Blaze’s curiosity was piqued, and he’d definitely give the ship a more thorough tour.
“Stop pretending, Link. We both know you like the sound of my voice.” Once again the image appeared, and this time, she hopped onto a nearby console and spread her thighs wide.
Blaze couldn’t resist checking out the digital goods. He was curious, if not tempted. Virtual sex was an acquired taste, one he wasn’t into, but he appreciated the effort which had gone into creating her. The programmer must’ve been very talented.
“Very realistic.”
“Thank you, sir.” She blew him a kiss. “And which one are you?”
“I’m Blaze, pleased to meet you.” Evidently, she knew about the Knights, because she had access to all of the computer files.
“Oh, the pleasure is all mine.” Vixen stroked her 3D bosom. “Speaking of, may I suck your—”
Link hit another button, and the rest of the sentence was muted, and then she disappeared once more.
“My apologies for the disruption, she is an annoyance.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is delicious.”
“No.” His lips flattened into a thin line. “She is nothing more than what I used to be, a sexual plaything for others.”
Link had originally been created as a comfort companion before he’d been tasked to this detail. He’d been the paramour of a wealthy, and influential noblewoman before she’d donated his services to “the cause.” Link didn’t speak about it much, and the Knights hadn’t pressed the issue.
“I’m sorry I made light of it, brother. I can tell you feel used.”
“I do not feel anything.”
“Even so…”
“It simply a political reality. Iradia is an imperfect society. There is a distinction made between androids and humanoids.”
“You want rights?”
“Yes, I do. I am a sentient being with my own thoughts and emotions, should I choose to experience them.”
He understood where Link was coming from. Their society didn’t protect those who were considered lesser beings. As far as King Leofrick was concerned, Blaze was property of the crown, too. They’d been created to serve a purpose, and he had no control over his life. Even though drakes were also intelligent, sentient beings, they were viewed as subhuman, and therefore inferior.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Funny. I had always figured you were as much of a rogue as I was.”
“No, I was her toy.”
Blaze didn’t know what to make of his response. It was every man’s fantasy, to be sexually possessed by another, a purely carnal experience and yet, Link made it sound empty.
Perhaps he has a point.
Link swiveled to face him. “You made a telling error.”
“What?” Blaze was too distracted to fully concentrate on the conversation. The thought of Molly was a constant hum in his brain, a distraction he could ill afford, and yet he couldn’t push her out of his thoughts, not completely.
“You spoke in the past tense. You are no longer a rogue?”
“No, I didn’t.” Had he? “If I did, it was simply a slip of the tongue.”
“I do not believe you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I’ve been searching through Earth’s records, and I believe a psychiatrist by the name of Sigmund would call it a Freudian slip.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, you are rethinking your debauched lifestyle.”
“Balderdash.”
“You are taken with this human female, are you not? You are engaging in courtship rituals with her.”
“It is a way to pass the time, nothing more.” He’d nearly choked on the lie.
“By all means, keep your delusions. I, however, have the option of becoming a rogue, should I choose to.” He frowned. “I have not considered it before. My sexual prowess is superior to yours. In my database, I have a vast selection of lovemaking practices from a variety of cultures all across the universe.”
Blaze would give his eyeteeth to get a peek at all the information, but he’d be damned if he asked Link for any tips.
“If you say so.”
“I do, and I am much more flexible than a humanoid male ever could be,” Link said, leaning forward. “And I have enormous genitalia.”
“Well, I have two penises.” Even though this wasn’t a contest, per se, he felt compelled to defend his own manhood.
Link returned to the controls. “Quality over quantity.”