“Why me?”
“You’re brave.Courageous.You don’t panic but use your brain instead.You have an adventurous streak, and you’re independent.Those are skills I require to help me find the lost village of the Maphra race.”
“I’m not adventurous.”She straightened her shoulders.“I weigh the pros and cons before I act.”
“From what I’ve seen, I beg to differ.”A little part of him died.Lying to her hurt.This was betrayal.This quest, as she called it, would not end well for her.Him neither, since the guilt and fear would remain for life.
They stared at each other.
Scarlett broke first.“Do you have a map?X marks the spot.”
“Your talk is peculiar.”
She flapped her hand in dismissal.“Yeah.Yeah.I’ve heard that before.You’re the one who’s talking weird.I’m speaking the King’s New Zealand English.Never mind.A map.Do you have one?”
“You can study it while I dress.”Ransom struggled with a yawn and failed.
“Why do you get so fatigued?”
“I’ve been sick,” he said, striving for honesty in at least part of this partnership.Admiration for her intelligence filled him, propelling him to give her more.“A coma.”
Perhaps if he confessed the truth, she might help him win against Prince Kalim.No, that’d place her in greater danger.His people too.It was best to keep the facts to himself.
“What happened to you?”
“A crash in the mountains.My pilot broke his leg.I injured my head and fell unconscious.”
“And you’re healthy now?Apart from your fatigue?”
“My mind functions as it used to,” he stated.“I’ll get the map.We can discuss our journey once I’m clothed.”
“Your body is fine,” she stated and accepted the map he’d drawn from the details relayed to him by Prince Kalim.“You look better since you’ve gained weight, but you’re still too thin.”
A spurt of pleasure shot through him.He turned away and found himself swaggering.By the gods!He schooled his thoughts to obedience since he never knew when Prince Kalim might make contact.The man loved to screw with him, keeping him off balance by pouncing into his mind.Lately, though, contact had occurred during the blacklight.
Ransom grabbed a pair of black trews and a tunic from his bag.He dressed rapidly, pulled on foot linings, and slid his feet into his boots.
“This map looks new.Where did you get it?”Scarlett asked.
“I drew it from memory.”
“Memory?”
This was where his story turned sticky.“I was given an account of the old civilization.They were wealthy, but disease struck, and those remaining left the city.”
“How do you know this information is correct?”
“I don’t,” he said, “but my sources are reliable.”
“Will you share your sources?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand why you need me.”Scarlett’s penetrating gaze skewered him and swamped him with another wave of guilt.
“From my observations, you’re resourceful and interested in jewelry design.I learned this when I asked about you on Dalcon.When I was in the market, I spotted your jewelry, and the stall owner told me where to find you.”
“Which still doesn’t tell me why you’ve dragged me from my family to help you.”
