Starfinder

ALISAUNDRA

IT TOOK NEARLY AN HOUR for Skyhigh’s nose to stop bleeding. While the Avatar’s surgeon sewed up his torn lip, Commander Donnar peppered him with questions. The Avatar had lifted off again, and Rendor and his bizarre captive had disappeared soon after coming aboard. Skyhigh’s dragonfly had been badly damaged, but Donnar assured him it would be repaired.

“Wing damage, mostly,” said the commander. “She won’t look like much but we’ll get her back in the air.”

At the moment Skyhigh didn’t care about his craft or his broken nose. Just as the surgeon trimmed his last suture, Rendor came onto the bridge.

“Coralin?”

Skyhigh rose unsteadily out of his chair. “You used me,” he spat. “You dangled me out there like a piece of meat just so you could catch that… thing.”

Rendor turned without apology and started back the way he’d come. “Follow me.”

“Hey!” barked Skyhigh. He hurried after Rendor, catching up to him in a narrow corridor and grabbing hold of his shoulder. “I almost died out there!”

Rendor reached up and forcefully removed Skyhigh’s hand. “Captain Coralin, any one of us could die out here,” he said. “If you want an explanation, keep your mouth shut and come with me.”

The Governor strode off quickly, his polished shoes clacking against the metallic floor. Skyhigh shadowed Rendor to the aft cargo area, sighting a pair of men with rifles at the end of the corridor. The bays were the most secure area of the airship, where the weaponry was usually stored.

“Open it,” Rendor ordered.

One crewmen lifted the door. The other trained his rifle inside.

“This,” said Rendor, “is a Redeemer.”

The little chamber was completely empty except for a figure secured in chains, kneeling against a steel wall. The guards moved in, pointing their weapons. A head of long blond hair lifted to stare directly at Skyhigh. A fanged maw smiled grotesquely.

“Beautiful man…”

The voice was human, and yet it wasn’t. Just like the eyes. A dark robe hid most of the creature’s body, belted around the waist by a gleaming silver chain. Scales instead of skin gave the thing a gray-green pallor. Clawlike hands ended in twisting, crusty fingernails. A gargoyle’s face masked what might have once been a woman. But most amazing of all were the wings. They sprouted from its back, poking out of its robe, twitching in the chains that bound them.

Rendor took a cigar from his vest. “Ugly as a mud fence, isn’t it?” He lit his cigar with his fancy lighter. “I figured you should see it for yourself.”

Skyhigh moved in closer. “What is it?”

“A priest of the Skylords,” said Rendor. “A Redeemer. Go on, take a good look. I think it likes you.”

“Beautiful flying man,” repeated the creature. Its pink tongue darted out, making Skyhigh jump. “So scared!” it laughed. “Run, run. Fly away home!”

“She’s going to help us,” said Rendor. He went right up to the creature and blew his cigar smoke in its face. “Aren’t you?”

“The children have to pay,” said the creature. “They broke the forbidden law!”

“What law?” squawked Skyhigh.

“Crossing the Reach,” said Rendor. “For coming into their world.”

“The Masters’ world!”

“The Skylords?” puzzled Skyhigh. “Rendor, what is this thing? Not its name. I mean what is it?”

Rendor pointed at his captive with his cigar. “Look at it, Captain. Can’t you tell?”

“It looks… human.”

“It was human,” said Rendor. “This is what happens to humans who get caught by the Skylords. Take a good look at Skylord mercy, Coralin.”

The creature proudly tilted up its face. “I serve the Skylords!”

Rendor shook his head in disgust. “Still think I’ve been telling fairy tales?”

Skyhigh didn’t know what to believe. “Why are they called Redeemers?”

“You heard her—they serve the Skylords.” Rendor’s expression was contemptuous. “Bloody slaves. They come through the Reach hoping to find something better. Poor folks mostly. And criminals. Get used to it, Coralin. You’re going to see a lot of strange things over here.”

“Let me out now,” purred the creature.

Rendor flicked his ashes on the floor. “Your friend Moth’s been lucky so far. These things roam in territories. Moth and my granddaughter had to have come this way, but somehow they managed to slip past it.”

“How do you know?” asked Skyhigh. “How can we be sure they’re all right?”

“Because this thing wouldn’t be here if she’d found them. She’d have taken them to the Skylords by now.”

Skyhigh felt sick.

Rendor puffed on the cigar until the tip glowed ruby red. “That’s right, isn’t it, monster? You just let two humans walk right past you. Kids! What would your masters think of that, I wonder?”

The creature struggled in its chains. A crewman nudged it with his rifle barrel.

“I have to take you,” it told Skyhigh.

“What?”

“To the Skylords,” said Rendor. “To be turned into one of them. They’ll do it to all of us if they get the chance.”

“I was human once,” claimed the Redeemer. “Beautiful once. Like a mermaid.” Suddenly it broke into song. “Mermaid, mermaid, hair of grass! Mermaid, mermaid, pretty young lass!”

Skyhigh turned away. “How’s this thing supposed to help us, Rendor? It’s insane!”

“Oh, she’ll help us,” said Rendor. He leaned forward, coming face to face with the thing. “Because if she doesn’t, someone else will find Moth and Fiona. And if that happens the Skylords aren’t going to be too happy.”

For the first time the creature looked afraid. “Help you.” It nodded.

“But how?” wondered Skyhigh. “You can’t just let it go. How’s it going to find them?”

“Like a dog on a leash, Coralin,” said Rendor. “Ever seen a bloodhound?”

He reached beneath his coat, this time pulling out a length of flowered fabric. Skyhigh was sure he’d seen the pattern before, then realized it was from a dress Fiona had worn.

“Redeemers read thoughts. They can feel the presence of humans better than the Skylords because they were human themselves once.” Rendor hovered over the pathetic creature. “You’ve felt them by now. You must have. Have you been looking for them?”

The creature smirked and looked away.

“You won’t be smiling when your masters find those children,” Rendor taunted. “But if you help me find them first I’ll let you go free. The Skylords won’t even know they were here.”

“I serve the Skylords,” said the Redeemer.

“Do you know where they are?” pressed Rendor. “Or Merceron?”

The creature spied the strip of fabric in Rendor’s hand. “Give it to me.”

“Who’s Merceron?” asked Skyhigh.

Rendor held the piece of Fiona’s dress under the creature’s nose. Skyhigh watched as it sniffed the fabric, its expression melting with longing. He actually thought the creature might weep.

“Young girl,” it whispered.

“She’s been here?” asked Rendor. “You’ve felt her?”

The Redeemer closed its eyes and nodded. “Mermaids lie. But they will be punished too.”

“What’s it talking about?” asked Skyhigh.

Rendor asked the creature, “Can you feel her now? Is she near? Is she with the dragon?”

“Dragon?” blurted Skyhigh. “Huh?”

“Shut up, Captain, please,” snapped Rendor. He leaned toward his captive. “Can you feel her? Do you feel anything with her?”

“A boy,” said the Redeemer. “And something else.” It opened its yellow eyes. “What are you looking for?”

Skyhigh wanted to know the same thing. “What is it, Rendor? What was it Moth stole from you?”

Suddenly the Redeemer gasped. “The Starfinder!”

Rendor jerked back. “Get out of my mind!”

Frustrated, Skyhigh demanded, “Rendor, tell me what’s going on. What’s this thing talking about?”

“The Starfinder!” crowed the Redeemer. “It’s strong! I can feel it!”

Skyhigh felt like screaming. “What Starfinder? What dragon?”

“Later,” said Rendor, brushing Skyhigh aside. Without any malice he asked his prisoner, “What’s your name?”

“I am the Twelfth Priestess.”

“No,” said Rendor. “That’s your slave name, the name the Skylords gave you. What was it before they did this to you? What was the name your parents gave you?”

Her expression made Skyhigh shudder. She seemed to be thinking back to a long ago dream.

“Do you remember your parents?” asked Rendor.

“Alisaundra,” she whispered. “My name.”

“Alisaundra.” Rendor dropped his cigar to the floor and crushed it out with the toe of his shoe. “I’m not sure what else the Skylords could do to you, Alisaundra, but I’m sure they’d think of something. What would they do if they knew you let that boy and girl get away? Would they destroy you?”

The creature cast her yellow eyes to the floor, slumping in her chains. Rendor hovered over her.

“Help me and I’ll let you go free,” he promised. “Forget the Starfinder. Forget you ever saw us. All you have to do is take me to those children.”