The Courier’s Collection

1 The irony of waiting for a princess to rescue him wasn’t lost on Lu. One rarely complains when waiting for rescue even when the timing could mean the difference between his life and death. Lu hung from a hook in the ceiling, his hands tied together and his boots dangling four feet from the floor. In the room the scent of burnt wood and iron permeated everything. A fire at one end of the room was still ready and prepped for steel work, a set of pokers waiting nearby. A large wooden table dominated the center and sat empty except for a small tin cup. There was a wooden stool on each side of the table. The large red man stood between Lu and the table pacing back and forth. Then he stopped long enough to cross his arms and glare at Lu. “What’s a greenie like you doing sniffing around here?” The man’s skin a crimson red accentuating the black of his eyes. “I told you, I’m a courier. I’m in the middle of a delivery. Really, you’re going to laugh when you realize your mistake. I’m no threat to you at all.” “You haven’t yet told me who sent you.” “I haven’t told you because it’s classified. They don’t even tell me. Those are the rules. What kind of service do you think we’re running? Let me go, you don’t want any trouble over this. If they ask me what happened I’ll just tell them it was a misunderstanding.” The man shook his head and prepared a poker in the fireplace, getting it red hot. “Let’s say I’m just a concerned citizen of Bolaji. I don’t suppose a people like the Tero-Joro, trained to spy, would be hanging around my place without looking for trouble. Let’s see if we can’t get to the real reason you’re here.” The man’s black eyes didn’t waver. “That was a long time ago, we don’t do that kind of thing anymore. It doesn’t matter anyway since I’ve renounced any allegiance to Tero-Joro to become a courier for all ten kingdoms.” The man pulled the metal poker from the fire and waved it under Lu’s nose. His eyes never left Lu’s face, even when someone knocked on the door. “Ah that should be for me,” Lu said, twisting in his restraints. “No, you and I aren’t done,” he said. The man opened the door and another red brute carrying an unconscious young girl entered. He arranged her on a second hook. Lu saw she had a bloody cut on the side of her head. “Rash, are you okay?” Lu turned to the man. “What did you do to her?” he exclaimed. “What’s this? Is she with you?” “If you hurt her, you’ll be sorry.” Lu hissed through his teeth as he shook against the restraints. “This whole time you’ve been holding back. Now we see a little fire from our small green friend.” He turned to the other man and asked, “Did you get it?” “Yes.” The red Karmirian held the item up between two fingers. It was a round disk no bigger than the fingers holding it. Neither of them noticed that the girl had woken up. She mouthed something to Lu. He shook his head, not understanding her. She rolled her eyes before closing them again. She groaned in pain. Both men turned their heads in her direction and stared at her. She groaned again. “Looks like someone has something to say.” “I’ll talk, just leave her alone,” Lu called out. “No, you had your turn. Why don’t we give this little Chilalian a chance? I’ve always wondered what the purple girls were like.” The man snickered and gave his companion a poke in the ribs with his elbow. He moved closer, and the girl groaned again. He leaned his face in next to hers. She swung her head back and rammed it into his, making a loud crack. She swung her legs up and snaked them around his neck. Using him for leverage she removed her bound hands from the hook. The man flailed and beat on her legs but she held fast until he passed out and dropped to the floor. She jumped off of him, landing in a crouch. The other man wasn’t coming empty-handed. He’d grabbed another hot poker from the fire and swung it at her. She smiled, encouraging him to step forward. He twirled the poker then tried to jab her with it. She dodged it and moved to his right. When he turned toward her, she leapt for the stool and then the table. She kicked the stool at his head and he swung at it, leaving him open. She spun and kicked him in the side of the head. His eyes rolled as he fell to the ground, and the poker fell, clattering away from him. “What took you so long? I thought he was going to skewer me with that thing. Where are your swords?” “Cutter and Blade are well hidden. I had to make sure he had the disk.” Rasha jumped from the table and using her toes, retrieved a knife from the first man and cut her hands free of the rope. She pocketed the disk and turned to Lu. She lifted him off of the hook before cutting his hands free. A small squeak came from the can on the table. “Don’t,” Rasha warned Lu as he walked over to investigate. Inside was a small beastie, with gold and cream-colored fur covering a wide face with oversized paws. Its large ears lay against its head and came to a point at the ends. It shivered and whimpered when Lu reached to pull it out of the can. “Well, look what we’ve got here. I’ve never seen one of you before,” he said. “Come, remember what happened the last time you picked up a stray?” “Must you always bring that up?” He stroked the little beastie in the palm of his hand until it stopped shivering. “Only because it’s relevant.” “My mom always said I had a way with animals.” Lu took in the little animal’s large ears and big brown eyes. “I think I’ll call you Temi.” He lifted him up and tucked him in the pocket of his vest. “Why do you bother naming them?” Rasha asked, shaking her head. “This coming from someone who named her short swords,” Lu said, following her to the door. “That’s because they’ve never failed me and they’ll never die.”