Fourth Vector Ch. 13

"I'm just surprised he wanted to do the killing blow himself. He seemed a little worked up once he found out that you would be equally as armed as he was," said Greg with a chuckle.

"Maybe now we have a real chance to help these people," said Jack as more Andalucians danced around him. "Maybe we can set things right once and for all."

"It sure would be nice if they'd stop fighting us at every turn," said Greg. "I don't know about you, but I could use a vacation."

Jack started to laugh. "I never thought I'd see the day when you were tired of war."

Greg shook his head. "Not tired of war. Just tired ofthis war."

Jack grinned as he looked back out to the crowd, his smile slowly dipping when he realized one face he didn't see. The face of the one person he came here specifically to liberate. He turned to Greg in a hurry.

"We have to find Kat."

*****

"Bless theTur'hava! TheTur'hava lives! Long live the new king!"

Berimund stiffened as the cries rang out from the nearby tent of Vertulis, the blood soon draining from his face. It had only been a short while since he'd separated from the king, and he'd been eagerly awaiting the appearance of Jack Easterbrook's head as a sign of the final triumph. Yet, like the rest of the camp, his attention had been spiked by the sounds of gunfire. The Andalucians didn't use firearms, so there was only one explanation for the gunfire in the tent.

Easterbrook.

Berimund pulled out his own firearm and stalked closer as the rapid gunfire kept coming, the sounds of screaming filling the tent. But as abruptly as the noise started, it ended just as quickly. That's when Berimund heard the yelling.

"Long live theTur'hava! Andalucia is saved! Long live King Jack!"

Pulling away from the tent, Berimund had to get away quickly. If there was a new king, it meant that Vertulis was in no position to help him any longer. Worse still, if the new king was Easterbrook, their plans were in serious jeopardy. He needed to get away. He needed some serious distance between himself and the new king.

Around him, the Andalucians in the camp faced similar conundrums as he at the sounds of cheering in the tent. The vast majority of them hit their knees as he fled away, their faces dipping to the sands in their version of homage. Berimund sneered at them.Fools. Changing allegiance at the drop of a hat to some foreigner who couldn't care less for them.

Others were more like-minded. A small cohort of Vertulis' former followers scattered, making for all directions as they used the nearby dunes to conceal their tracks. It wasn't like anyone else in the camp was off to follow them anyway. The celebration in the center tent was too strong of an attraction.

Berimund ran until he couldn't run anymore. Then his gait descended into more of a shuffle, his feet slipping into the sandy dunes below. Lord Avila would not be pleased with this turn of events. He wouldn't like the loss of coin that resulted from the Andalucian mines, no doubt to soon be put to an end by Easterbrook.

No, Lord Avila would not surrender the place so easily. Jack Easterbrook had not seen the last of the Swabians.

The fight for Andalucia wasn't over yet.

*****

"A prayer for your good fortune, Your Majesty," came yet another reply from someone Jack had never seen before. It was obvious the man was a servant in some capacity although it was still off-putting to be addressed in such a way when he was only a prisoner a half hour ago. It was something that would take some getting used to, although Jack couldn't yet tell if being the king of Andalucia was a desirable post or not.

It was something that he wasn't able to dwell on in the current moment. The only thing that consumed him was finding Kat. As Greg worked to organize theSciavo to defend the camp, Jack searched around to find the whore pens. He doubted that Vertulis would have left his fortress without them, and surely they would have to be nearby. At least, he hoped they were.

"Long live the king," said a reverent girl no older than twenty as she performed a deep curtsy to Jack. Despite her dark-colored headgear, he could just make out her features underneath—short, dark hair and deep brown eyes.

"Ah, thank you," said Jack awkwardly, not yet figuring out a proper response to such a greeting. "Tell me, did Vertulis bring his whore pens with him to this camp? Or did he leave them in Septhada?"

The girl let slip a knowing smile. "Vertulis never went anywhere without them. You can find them just on the other side of the main tent over there." She pointed in the only direction Jack had not yet searched.

Jack thanked her profusely as he dashed away, no doubt leaving her thoroughly tickled at her first interaction with the new king. At that moment, Jack didn't care. There would be time to learn the proprieties of kingship later. For now, he had to release the person he came here for.

After he got to the other side of the tent, he found the slave pens. A mobile wagon, barred up on each side to prevent escape, sat in the sand and remained covered from the intensity of the late morning sun right above them. It was also the only wagon filled with women—desirable women at that. Jack gripped the outer bars, his eyes searching inside for the features he longed to recognize. At first glance, his search came up empty, not finding the mane of blonde hair that he'd expected.

"Can I help you find something, Your Majesty?" asked an older woman close to the entrance to the wagon. She was much more scantily dressed than those on the outside of the enclosure, and her lascivious smile was extremely inviting. "My name is Lina. How can I serve you?"

Jack looked back to the rest of the girls in the pen. "I'm looking for a blonde woman, about mid-twenties in age. She goes by the name of Kat."

The smile dropped from Lina's face as a scowl soon replaced it. Before she could respond to him, Jack heard the sound he'd been waiting to hear for weeks.

"Jack!"

He turned to look as a figure sat up near the back of the pens. She was heavily-covered but as soon as he heard his name, her pale fingers quickly pulled the clothing away from her hair, unleashing the blonde mane he'd been hoping to find. It was her.

"Kat!" He then turned to look back at Lina. "I need you to open this door."

Lina pursed her lips in disinterest as the metal bars that made up the door were unlocked, the enclosure opening with a loud creak as Kat made her way to the front. She quickly pushed off past Lina, nearly jumping into Jack's arms. He caught her with a small laugh as her hair fell against his face and her sky-blue eyes locked on his.

"It's you. It's really you, Jack," she said as her hands caressed his cheeks.

"I told you I'd come back for you," he whispered.

"I knew you would. I didn't know how you would but I didn't doubt you'd find a way."

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked.

Kat shook her head. "No, not in the slightest." She then turned to look back at the pens with a worried look. "Although I'll be happy to be out of there. I don't think they liked me too much in there."

"Vertulis is dead," he said, drawing her attention back. "Apparently, I'm the new high clan king of Andalucia."

For a moment, a look of disbelief crossed her face, as if what he told her was too fantastical to believe. Yet, that expression yielded after a few seconds, and a look of knowing confidence replaced it.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," she said finally. "I knew the first time I laid eyes on you that you were going to be important to all of this. I see that I'm not wrong."

Before Jack could respond, he heard one of the women in the pens clear her throat. Turning to look back, he saw Lina giving them both a disgusted look. "I'd hate to interrupt this, sire, but what are you to do with all of us now? Are you going to keep us on as whores or what?"

"Whores?" said Jack with a laugh. "No, I have no use for whores. You're free to go. Either back to your clans or to your homelands if you're not from Andalucia. I don't need a slave harem."

The expression on Lina's face changed. "You mean we're free? Are you certain? You don't want to think about it more?"

Jack chuckled. "I'm quite certain. You're free to go." With that move, he pulled open the bars further and extended his hand to Lina in an offer to pull her down. She eyed his hand warily for a moment before accepting it, her fingers warm to the touch when she finally did. With a quick pull of the hand, he helped her down from the enclosure as her feet hit the sand.

"I haven't been free in quite a long time," said Lina with a hint of a smile.

"Enough time has been stolen from you," said Jack. "Perhaps it's time for you to start living?"

One by one, each of the whores exited the enclosure. Many of them stopped to offer a prayer to Jack as the new king. A few of them set off right away, making for the nearby road to leave the camp. Some joined together in small groups, content for the friendship of the other whores made throughout the years. The majority of them were happy at finally having their freedom, now looking for a place to call home.

Even Lina wore a broad smile at the end of all of it, especially as another woman pressed against her side. "Thank you for our freedom, Your Majesty," she said before looking at the woman. "Nadira and I won't forget you."

It was obvious that there was something between the two women, and the looks they gave each other only confirmed it. "Go now and enjoy your lives," said Jack as he reached out to pull off the metal clasp from around their necks. Both women beamed as soon as the ugly metal hit the sand, walking away hand in hand.

"You're full of surprises today, Jack," said Kat with an amused giggle as he resumed his attention back on her.

"My life has been full of surprises since I got here, and most of them have been bad," he said as he reached out to undo her own clasp. "This should never have made it around your neck in the first place. At least I can finally set this right."

Kat rubbed the area of her exposed throat once it was gone. "I'd almost gotten used to it. You have no idea how amazing it feels to have it gone."

"It's just amazing to see you alive and well. It was hard to sleep thinking about you being here and in these conditions, Kat."

"Thankfully, my protector came to find me," she said with a grin before she wiped some sweat off of her brow. "Can we have some time to ourselves? I really need to get out of this sun."

A short while later, Jack had set the two of them up inside the king's tent, creating a partition for just the two of them. He'd grabbed several comfortable pillows to make a comfortable place for them to recline against, and soon Kat pushed into his arms as he wrapped them around her body.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Jack," she whispered once they were finally secure and alone. "I thought about you every second since I last saw you."

"As did I," he said while caressing her hair. "I knew you were captured to be a slave from the beginning. The hardest thing for me to accept was that they'd make you a whore."

Kat locked eyes with him. "Some whore I turned out to be. I didn't have to do anything. Or anyone for that matter."

"Truly? How does that happen?"

"I don't think that condition would have lasted much longer," she said with a shudder. "But not just any slave gets to be in the king's harem. There's training that has to go on. I'd almost call it like a breaking instead of a training. They aim to create the perfect whores for the king, by teaching what he likes, his tastes, how to greet him. There's even a hierarchy for them. Long story short, I never had to lay with the king."

Jack wanted to let out a deep sigh of relief. He hated to even think about Kat being a slave in the first place, but being a whore was worse than anything else. No one should have such intimate use of Kat or her body in his mind.No one except me maybe, he thought silently. That's the part that had worried him the most. For a long while now he had thought that eventually Kat would be his. The idea of another man with his hands on her filled him with a torrent of rage. Knowing that it never came to pass was the best kind of relief.

Kat seemed to understand the range of emotions boiling below the surface. She reached up to caress his face once again. "Vertulis never had me, Jack. In fact, no man has ever had me."

His face filled with confusion. "None at all? Does that mean you're a—"

"It does," she said with a smile.

"Wow, I didn't have any idea," he said sheepishly. "I mean I thought you might of. With how gorgeous you are . . . and um, it just didn't seem right that you wouldn't have done it. I thought there'd be many who might have tried." He finally stopped talking, realizing he wasn't making much sense. To his relief, she started to giggle.

"You're so very cute when you're flustered," she said with eyes sparkling. "I haven't laid with any man, but I do have one in mind that I think I'll pick ultimately." She ran her finger along his jaw, her eyes glued to his to give no doubt to her meaning.

"Truly? You're sure about that?"

She nodded her head emphatically. "I'm sure. It's not the right time yet, but I know what I want. I know who I want. And that's you."

She bit her lips in such a way that couldn't hide her inner desire. Jack stared into her sky-blue eyes for several moments, feeling the intensity of their connection. Kat's feelings blazed like a bright beacon of emotion, and the vulnerability in her eyes had him quickly losing sight of everything else. His lips pressed down to hers with gentle eagerness, and her response was unquestionable.

She slipped her hand around his neck and pulled into his kiss desperately, moaning against his mouth while their tongues greeted like long-lost lovers. She turned her body so that she could press closer into his, her breasts rubbing against his chest as they sought the depths of each other's mouths. It was a moment of extreme passion and tenderness that only melted to resolute longing as the kiss went on uninterrupted.

Jack wasn't sure just how long they'd sat there kissing as time soon lost all forms of meaning. He gently explored Kat's mouth just like he'd wanted to do the entire time she was gone, and her soft moans of approval continued to beckon him forward. It was only a long time later that Kat pulled away from his kiss, her moans having stopped completely. When he opened his eyes, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What's wrong," he whispered softly.

"Jack, I'm so sorry about Vera," she said with a faint whimper. "When I got captured on theSwordfish, I was one of the first to be caught. I couldn't do anything to help her. I feel like she's now dead because of me. Because I let us be separated from you and go on that damn trading ship."

Jack held her closely, but he shook his head vigorously. "Kat, Vera's not dead. She's very much alive."

Her head snapped back to his. "Are you sure? She's alive?"

He chuckled lightly. "Vera's alive. She's back at our camp on the coast with the rest of my army."

"How though?" she asked with confusion. "The last I saw of theSwordfish, it was burning and starting to sink. She wasn't one of the women brought off the ship. How did she survive that?"

"We weren't that far behind you. We saw theSwordfish on the horizon as it burned and changed our course to intercept," said Jack. "We were able to pull her off the ship. She was only one of a very few who were still alive at the time. Despite some bumps and bruises, she's still with us."

"Oh, thank the heavens," said Kat as she pressed in a tight hug. "I was so worried about her. It was so chaotic that day on the ship. I feared I'd seen the last of her face."

"Now that this is over with, we'll have to bring her to us," said Jack. "If this war is truly over now, I can arrange to have my army meet us in Septhada."

"Your army?" whispered Kat. "How much has changed in these three weeks, Jack?"

He started to chuckle. "Quite a lot. I'm afraid it's a long story."

"Luckily for you, we have plenty of time," she said while once again caressing his jaw. "I really don't plan on leaving your side anytime soon."

"Good, because I wouldn't let you anyway," he teased in return.

She gave him a coy grin. "I can't believe you're the king of Andalucia. I knew that one day . . ." Kat stopped, clearing her throat before resuming her speech. "I mean, of all places to become a king, it's Andalucia. That was completely unexpected."

"For you and me both," said Jack with a laugh. "Maybe we can do some good here. There seems to be a lot of backwardness here in Andalucia. Perhaps this can be a good thing? We can set things right."

Kat started to nod eagerly as her hand slipped behind his neck. "I like that idea. Now, kiss me, my king."

Jack obeyed her order without any further words.

*****

In the days that followed, Jack had quite a bit of work carved out for him as the new king of Andalucia. The first thing that needed to be done was to get word to the rest of his forces on the coast. Thankfully for that, Greg had managed to smuggle his command radio under the robes he'd taken from the deadSciavo warrior, and Jack was able to get the first message down to Abigail about their change in fortune.

"Thank god that plan worked," she said through the radio. "We were as nervous as could be with all this radio silence."

Jack started to chuckle. "That silence was necessary so that theSciavo didn't find out that Greg had infiltrated their ranks. But all is well now. Come on up to Septhada with the rest of the army."

"What about the remaining clans in front of us? They still don't look too friendly just yet."

"Don't worry about them," said Jack. "I'll make sure they get word from me."

Thankfully with all theSciavo now under his control, he was able to send a small group out to relay the ending of the war to all the remaining clan chiefs, including those that had once surrounded his forces. In that matter, Jack wasn't sure what to expect. He always found it discomforting the way Andalucians were able to pick up alliances with their former enemies within a split second, but would those that had fought him so hard truly be able to set aside their differences now? It was one thing he was eager to see how it played out.

It was clear though that Vertulis' death had sent out a shock wave throughout the land of Andalucia. The old king had been at the helm of this island for quite a long time. Many Andalucians had only known that man as their king. What was even more challenging for them was the new king was recognized as theTur'hava, the one prophesied to unite the clans and change Andalucian society forever.

While Jack wasn't sure he believed all that nonsense about about prophecy, he knew that Kat did. And just like when they were back on Sorella, it appeared that once again, she seemed to hold back something from him. A knowledge of something that she just wasn't quite ready to share. Even though he made several half-hearted attempts to pry it out of her, it was clear she wasn't going to divulge it to him just yet.

Not that it would have made much of a difference for him in the moment—he had too much to occupy his time as the new king. Especially after they arrived back in Septhada to find two clan chiefs already waiting for him. As they assumed the knee in front of him and swore their fealty, Jack realized his life had changed greatly. More riders continued to slip into the fortress, all of them bearing messages from other clan chiefs as they wished him good fortune and pledged to arrive in Septhada soon enough to bend the knee.