Mercenary Mage - A Dark Space Fantasy (Star Mage Saga Book 4) by J.J. Green

Author:J.J. Green [Green, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InfiniteBook
Published: 2020-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lomang had requested a parley. Atoi thought this was hilarious. The large, muscly woman had been hanging out on the bridge when the request came through the ship’s comm to Carina, courtesy of one of the man’s guards.

“Parley?!” Atoi exclaimed. “Who the hell does he think he is? You’d think the weeks locked in his cabin would give him the clue he’s a prisoner, not an adversary.”

The scarred man, whose name Carina had learned was Chandu, was also present. He scoffed, saying, “Maybe he wants to discuss his method of execution. I don’t know why he’s still alive, to be frank.” His eyes were hard as he directed his gaze Carina.

“Got anything else you want to say?” she asked.

“Yeah, I do. Lomang and his crew are a liability. We should have spaced them all the minute we got them under control. Keeping them alive is dumb.”

“Well it was my decision not to murder them in cold blood,” Carina said. “So you’re saying I’m dumb?” She held Chandu’s gaze, unblinking.

“No, he didn’t mean it like that,” Atoi said, suddenly serious.

Chandu muttered something Carina didn’t catch.

“What was that?” she asked, maintaining eye contact with the man.

“Nothing,” Chandu said. He strode off the bridge.

“Don’t worry about him,” Atoi said. “He’s always got something to complain about but he’s all words and no action. He’s just blowing off steam.”

“I’m not worried about him,” said Carina, “but he should worry about me if carries on like that. The ones who mouth off all the time are the worst. They don’t do anything because at heart they’re cowards, but they ruin morale, which is worse. I’m going to talk to Cadwallader about him.”

“A coward who joined a merc band?” asked Atoi. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“He has big strong girls like you to hide behind, don’t forget,” said Carina.

“Now that, I understand. What are you going to do about Lomang?”

“Give him his parley, I guess.”

Carina still hadn’t come up with an answer to the problem of the smuggler and his men. She wasn’t a murderer, and by every measure she could think of, she was the one in the wrong. It didn’t matter how many crimes Lomang had committed, that didn’t make it okay for her to be a thief.

Though her grandmother was long dead, Carina could feel the old lady’s disapproval whenever she thought about stealing the Zenobia and its illegal cargo.

Sorry, Nai Nai.

She hoped that returning to the birthplace of mages would excuse her sins.

***

Carina invited Cadwallader along to the face-to-face with Lomang. He was more experienced at that kind of thing and she trusted his judgment.

Lomang had lost weight while he’d been in captivity. The folds of rich fabric that made up his expensive clothes hung loosely on his shrunken frame. Even his favorite blue hat, which he’d seemingly put on especially for the occasion, now looked a little too big for his round head.

“First,” he said, holding up a finger as he sat opposite Carina in his cabin, “you must promise not to do that thing you do.

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