Dragon Pearl(55)

Had the original sabotage been Jang’s doing, however unintentional? I still didn’t know, and now, when I needed his help, it certainly wasn’t the right time to ask him.

I had no idea how the exposed wiring was related to the meridian, but it made a good target, in any case. I backed up, almost twisting my ankle in the process, and drew out the blaster. I aimed it squarely at the wires. The pistol writhed in my hands like a living creature, and I tightened my grip and shifted my stance, taking slow, deep breaths.

I squeezed the trigger. Red fire splashed the wires and the recess beneath the warped tiles. Sparks sputtered as the wires melted, and a noxious vapor rose from them. I gagged and stumbled away, gasping for untainted air, then quickly replaced the blaster in its holster to avoid accidentally frying my own feet.

Good thing the ship is already undergoing repairs, I thought. They can just add this to the list.

The pain in my gut intensified. Time for me to get out of there. I headed in the opposite direction from the guards and made my way to the elevator.

By the time I arrived on the brig level, I had a ferocious headache. I wasn’t sure whether it was a side effect of what I’d done to the ship, or a result of nerves. Probably both. I should have grabbed some painkillers on my way out of the bunk. Too late now.

This time, I used shape-shifting to imitate Captain Hwan’s form. I wasn’t used to being so tall, and it took an effort to imitate his confident gait. But I figured the guards would be less inclined to stop the captain, especially if I used Charm to dampen their suspicions.

“Sir!” The guards snapped to attention in a way that would have been funny if the situation hadn’t been so fraught with danger. If only they knew who I really was! Of course, if they guessed, this would end messily.

“I’m here to see the prisoners,” I said, discomfited by the low growl of the captain’s voice emerging from my throat. I couldn’t let that show, though. I almost blurted that I had some additional questions for the captives, then thought better of it. The captain wouldn’t owe anyone explanations, after all. Too bad I hadn’t had the chance to impersonate him before this. It would have made my life easier.

“Of course, sir,” said the guard in charge, a burly man. “Right this way, Captain.”

It was bizarre to be addressed as “Captain,” as if I were a real officer. Then again, Captain was just as much a fiction as Cadet. I couldn’t let a fake rank go to my head.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and followed the guard to where the three captives were being held. “Open the cells,” I ordered, “then leave us.” I leaned hard on Charm for this one.

Even so, the guard hesitated. “Sir—”

I decided a bluff was in order. “What’s the matter, you don’t think I can handle them?” I caught and held his gaze in a way I never would’ve dared to as Jang.

The color drained from the guard’s face. “Of course not, sir.”

Did he think I was going to eat the prisoners? I’d never heard anyone so much as breathe the suggestion that Captain Hwan followed such ancient practices. But then again, who would, and risk offending a tiger?

Just out of curiosity, I smiled, letting just a hint of my teeth show. They weren’t sharp fangs, though it would have been easy to conjure some—and that kind of shape-shifting was something even a tiger could do. I thought it might be overkill.

The guard swallowed visibly. “As you say, sir.” He hastened to unlock the cells. I nodded at him, and he fled.

The three prisoners stared at me, frozen. The air was thick with the scent of their terror. It made me uncomfortable, but if it kept them from rushing me, it wasn’t all bad.

I’d already gotten a chance to study the scholar, so this time I took a closer look at the other two. The man had a dour, unshaven face and the breadth of a bear. I made a note not to get close to him in a fight. As for the woman, stringy hair almost concealed her eyes, and her thin, scarred hands twitched nervously. I couldn’t afford to discount her as a threat, either.

I reached for my blaster, and the smell intensified. “Keep your distance,” I said, training the blaster on the scholar, and stepped back. “Out.”

“You’re executing us?” the woman prisoner demanded. She sounded more outraged than afraid. “An honorable captain of the Space Forces?”

You did attack us, I thought, remembering Sujin’s burns. But this wasn’t the time to seek revenge. “I said out.” I narrowed my eyes, directing Charm at her to make her more willing to obey. “I have a bargain for you.”

The weasel-faced scholar made a calm down gesture at his comrade. Then to me he said, “Fine,” in a weary tone. He emerged from his cell, and the other two followed suit. “What do you mean, ‘bargain’?”

This was going to be the dicey part. I concentrated, making sure to keep my blaster trained on the scholar, and shifted back into my cousin Bora’s shape. (If Bora ever made it out into space, she was going to have a certain reputation and it was going to be my fault. I wasn’t really sorry, though.)

The scholar’s eyes widened. “Gumiho,” he breathed. “I thought your kind was extinct.”

The other two were gaping at me as if I’d sprouted fox ears. When I was younger, I would have been tempted to make that actually happen, but I didn’t think it would improve my bargaining position. I wanted to keep the scholar’s attention on my blaster.