The Price of Freedom (13 page)

Chapter Ten

Bethany sat alone in the small room she now shared with Jess.

Two cycles.

It had been two full cycles since he'd brought her there, and she still had no idea what was happening to the other women. She'd asked, of course. But Jess seemed reluctant to answer. It hardly seemed like a good sign.

For her part, she refused to tell him what had really happened to her father. Even though she had decided to confess to the murder before the revolt, she found herself strangely reluctant to take responsibility now. She was even less inclined to tell him the truth about Moriah. She had no idea what the future held for the woman; regardless, a charge of murder wouldn't help. She knew how quickly the women could turn on their own. Jess had refused to let her return to the barracks because he was afraid that the women there might hurt her if they got the chance. They were convinced that she had had a part in the revolt. As much as she hated to admit it, it was probably a wise choice. The hatred in their eyes had been undeniable.

Of course, she wasn't completely alone. Jess spent every night with her. He spent time with her during the day, too. At least he did when he could. He and his fellow former slaves seemed to be extremely busy. Jess was tight-lipped about that, too. In fact, he hardly spoke to her at all. What he did do was touch her body again and again. There was something about him that seemed to take away her will. Time and again she promised herself she wouldn't consent to sex with him unless he gave her some answers, but as soon as he entered their room, she lost all thought of denying him. It would be denying herself, too.

It wasn't until the end of her second cycle in the room that she got her first glimpse of what the future might hold for her. There was a knock at the door, so she scrambled to her feet, calling out, "Jess?"

"It's Moriah. Will you let me in?"

Bethany unlocked her side of the door immediately. She could hear Moriah working the other lock from the other side at the same time. What must her friend think of all this? she wondered.

The door opened, and Moriah stepped in. It took all Bethany had not to burst into tears at the sight of her. She hadn't realized how alone and isolated she'd felt until that moment. They flew into each other's arms, only to jump apart when a man cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while," he said. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"That sounds good," Moriah said, blushing. "I don’t want to be away from the baby too long."

"What's been happening?" Bethany asked as soon as he was gone. "Who is he? Has he hurt you?"

"I don't even know where to begin," Moriah said softly, shaking her head. "Everything has changed.

I can't even understand what's happening, and we're all having to make decisions."

"Decisions?"

Moriah gave a strange laugh, and shook her head again.

"Well, the station is destroyed, I think you already know that," she said. "The mining complex and greenhouse are intact, but the rest of it won't ever be livable again. The men are dead and now we had to figure out what to do with our lives."

Bethany stared at her blankly.

"I don't understand," she said finally. "Jess hasn't discussed this with me."

"I thought he might not have," Moriah replied softly. "He just whisked you away and we didn't know if you were even alive. They think you were in on the plot, that you betrayed us. Or at least, some of them do…" she added, voice trailing off. Moriah looked away from Bethany quickly.

"What about you?" Bethany asked tightly. "Do you think that?"

"I think that we would be dead by now if the elders had discovered your father's body," Moriah said softly. "And I think that my daughter and I have more hope for our future than we've ever had before.

You did what you had to do."

"I didn't betray you," Bethany said tightly. "I didn't know about the escape. They used me, but I wasn't part of it. I wouldn't have done that."

"Not even after the way you've been treated?" Moriah asked softly.

"No," Bethany said. "Not even then."

An awkward silence fell between the two women. Finally, Moriah spoke.

"They're giving us a choice," she said. "The slaves are planning to leave, and they're going to send us away from here. They said that if they leave us here we'll die. We have to decide what we want to do."

"Have they hurt you?" Bethany asked again. "Have they, well, you know…?"

"No, nothing like that," Moriah said quickly. "Some of them have wanted to, but Logan won't let them. Not all of them are like that, Bethany. Some of them are actually quite nice."

"Have any of them been 'nice' to you?" Bethany asked. Moriah looked away.

"I see," Bethany said quietly. "Was that him, the man who brought you?"

"His name is Kresn," she replied softly. "And he hasn't tried to force me to do anything. But he has convinced me I have a choice about how I want to live. You see," she continued earnestly, "there are going to be four ships leaving here. One of them will take women and children to Karos, to the Temple.

The Pilgrims there will help them. The slaves are even sending a load of ore with them to help pay for their expenses when they arrive."

"That seems awfully generous," Bethany said, confused. "Are you sure it isn't a trick?"

"What do they have to gain by tricking us?" Moriah said with a harsh laugh. "Our lives are already in their hands. We don't have any choice but to cooperate with them. They don't have to treat us this kindly."

"Maybe they want you to like them," Bethany replied. "Maybe this kindness is just a way to convince you to have sex with them."

"It's possible," Moriah said softly. "But I can tell you that in the last month I've been forced to have sex more than once by a 'decent' Pilgrim man. I like Kresn's approach better. So what if he's being nice to me so I'll sleep with him? It's better than being blackmailed."

"So you are sleeping with him?" Bethany asked.

"No," Moriah replied. A strange look came over her face, and she hesitated before continuing. "No, I'm not. He wants me to, but I don't think I'm ready for that. He hasn't tried to make me do anything I don't want to do. He's not like some of the others."

"Give him time," Bethany said darkly. "You can't trust men."

"I think I might give him some time," Moriah said, her face wistful. "We don't have to go to Karos.

Some of us have decided we don't want to be Pilgrims any more."

"What do you mean?" Bethany asked, confused. "Of course we're Pilgrims. We were born that way. We can't just be something else!"

"We can now," Moriah said. A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and Bethany was struck by her beauty. She'd never realized how lovely Moriah was. She'd never seen her as anything but a frightened young woman she had to protect.

"I don't want to be a Pilgrim any more, Bethany. I want to be a free woman. Imagine it! I don't have to marry anyone. My daughter could grow up and do whatever she wants. I can even send her to school!

I don't even really understand what that means, but it sounds like a wonderful thing. Did you know that she could even be a doctor? Like that man, Bragan? He's been examining all the women who will let him.

He knows how to fix all kinds of things, Bethany. He made the shaking in Marta's hands go away. He even fixed that thing on Anna's neck! It's been causing her pain for three years, and now it's gone."

"He's an Imperially-trained physician," Bethany said quietly, trying to understand what Moriah was telling her. "He's also the one who took all the implants out of the slaves so they could revolt. I didn't know women could become doctors. Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes," Moriah said, face lighting up. "Yes, they can! I asked him about it. He's been letting me help him."

"So, where is this wonderful place that you might go?"

"It's part of something called the Saurellian Federation," Moriah replied in an excited voice. "Logan is a Saurellian, and he has a whole planet that belongs to his family, and we're all going to live there."

"Oh, really?" Bethany asked skeptically. "And you believe that? If Logan is so important, how did he end up a slave here? I think they're lying to you, Moriah."

"Maybe they are," Moriah said softly, looking away. "I know I want to believe them, but I understand they could be lying. I still don't want to go back to the way I was living before. For the first time in my life I have a chance to do something else. We've never had a choice before! How can I just go back to the way I was living before, knowing that I had a choice about it? I won't do that to my daughter."

"What if it's worse?" Bethany asked.

"It can't be that much worse," Moriah replied forcefully. "I was being raped by a man older than my father. He was already talking about a marriage alliance for my baby. I'm willing to take the chance."

"How many others are going with you?"

"About sixty, including children," Moriah said. "Logan says that when we get to his planet he'll help us. He'll help all of us."

"What about the slaves?" Bethany asked. "Do they believe Logan?"

"No, not all of them," Moriah said. "About thirty of them are taking their share of the ore and heading out on their own in the third ship. None of the women are going with them."

"What about the fourth ship?" Bethany asked, a tight knot forming in her stomach. "Who is going to be on that one?"

"That one is for you and Jess," Moriah said after a brief pause. "At least that's what Kresn tells me."

"We aren't going with the rest of you?"

"No," Moriah's replied. "Kresn says Jess hasn't told him where he's going. But he's taking you with him."

"I wish Jess would tell me what's going on," Bethany said quietly. "Does he know you're here?"

"No, I don't think so," Moriah said. "In fact, Kresn says he hasn't talked about you at all to any of the men, at least not that he knows of. That's why I asked him to bring me here. I didn't think it was fair that we're all getting a choice and you aren't. Kresn told me Jess hasn't let you out of this room since he brought you here."

"He's taken me out long enough to go to the fresher and clean myself up," Bethany said wryly.

"Otherwise this place might have gotten a little fragrant by now."

Moriah blushed, then giggled.

"Well, I guess you're doing all right," she said. "So tell me…if you haven't been talking with Jess, what have you been doing?"

Now it was Bethany's turn to blush.

"That's what I thought," Moriah said. "For someone who's been locked away for two cycles you seem pretty happy. Although your hair looks awful," she added. Bethany started, then laughed.

"Yes, it does need to be trimmed," she said. "I don't have anything to trim it with, though. I'll have to ask Jess."

"How is he treating you? Is he good to you? Do you want me to talk to Logan or Kresn on your behalf?"

"I like Jess," Bethany said softly, shaking her head. "Or rather, I like touching Jess. I don't really know all that much about him, though. And I don't know where we'll be going after this. I guess I thought we'd be with the rest of the slaves. Now I don't know what to think."

"Maybe you should ask him?"

"I'm not sure I want to hear the answer," Bethany said slowly. "Things were so horrible. Now everything's changed so suddenly. In a strange way, these past two days have been pleasant, Moriah. No talking, no worries. I have no control over the situation and I can't do anything to change it. Instead, I've just been enjoying another person's body, and having him enjoy mine. I hate to think beyond that."

"Well, you'd better start thinking," Moriah said. "This isn't a dream. This is reality, and the choices you make over the next couple of cycles will determine where you live for the rest of your life. Don't forget that."

"I won't," Bethany said quietly. There was a knock on the door, and they looked at each other quickly. An hour hadn't gone by yet.

"Open the door," Kresn's voice came through, sounding strained. Bethany stood and quickly unlocked it.

"Jess is coming," Kresn said. "He found out I brought Moriah to see you and he's upset. We need to get going."

"If he's angry, I'll stay here with Bethany," Moriah said quickly. "I won't leave her to face him alone."

"No, it's all right," Bethany said. "If he was going to hurt me, he would have by now. You should go."

Kresn nodded, and reached out a hand for Moriah.

"Bethany's right," he said. "Jess isn't going to hurt her. I'm more worried about him hurting me," he added with a grin. "Let's go."

Moriah looked to Bethany one last time, then took Kresn's hand. Bethany noticed with a pang how gently he touched her, as if she were incredibly fragile and might break at any moment.

Jess never treated her that way.

Then the door was closed and she carefully locked it. She went back to the pallet and sat down to wait for him. It didn't take long. The door slid open and he entered the room. She was struck by his sheer size, just as she was every time she saw him. He was so much bigger than any man she'd ever met before.

"I hear you had a visitor," Jess said softly, his voice dangerously soft. A chill ran down her spine, but she refused to show how nervous he made her. She hadn't done anything wrong, she reminded herself.

And neither had Moriah. She took a deep breath, steeling her courage.

"You know," she said, ignoring his comment, "you sleep with me every cycle. If I wanted to hurt or fight you I could have done it by now."

"I don't think you want to hurt me," he said.

"Then why do you keep me cooped up here?"

"For your own safety," he replied. "You can't go back in with the women, and I'm afraid to leave you alone with the men. You know that already."

"So if you're only keeping me here for my own safety," she said lightly, "then I don't understand why you would be upset that I have a visitor. I can only assume you don't want me to have any information about what's happening to the others."

"We've been over this before," Jess said, running a hand through his tousled black hair. He didn't look as angry as he had before. By asking him questions she'd managed to deflect him. Something to remember. "The women and children are fine because Logan and I are protecting them. I told you we'd take care of them."