Held by Luna Voss

23

Barion

Dagor demands that I meet with him that night. Melyta and I head over to his restaurant, the usual meeting place. I’m nervous, but not too nervous as we enter. You never know quite what you’re going to get with Dagor, but so far, we’ve mostly been on good terms.

“Barion, Melyta,” he greets us, nodding. He gestures to the seats across from him at the table where he’s sitting.

We join him, and are immediately offered drinks, which we accept. He sips his own in silence, as though appraising us. His face is more gaunt than I’m used to seeing, and I get the impression he’s under a lot of stress.

“So. An Epeshi pirate ship? How the hell did that happen?”

I do my best to laugh heartily. “Well, you know we headed out to Fugarsh 44B to meet with Melyta’s friend. She’s visiting, by the way, staying with us. For the way back, we ended up chartering a flight privately to save time. I don’t know if we got randomly attacked, or if the pilot set us up. But yeah, we got hit by an Epeshi pirate ship.”

Dagor raises his eyebrows. “And?”

I grin at him smugly. “And the Epeshis didn’t count on there being two vostrata on board. Korva and I put a stop to that shit fast. Pilot was killed in the shooting, so we figured we’d rather take the pirate ship back.”

The Agusto boss doesn’t react right away. It seems like he’s taking in my story. Finally, he nods his head several times.

“I wonder if the Dultaz Family put them up to it. Or maybe even the Gallos.” His face breaks into a grimace. “They hit one of our captains while you were gone. Futor. He’s dead.”

I allow shock to show on my face, shock that is actually very real. The Agusto Family is more powerful in Zog than the Gallo Family, or any of the human gangs. For Arthur Gallo to hit an Agusto captain here means the landscape is changing. It means he’s going on the offensive.

“What? Here?”

“In the middle of downtown,” Dagor grimaces. “They didn’t just hit us at home, they made us look like clowns in our fucking city.”

“They have to pay,” I snarl, the perfect idea coming to me as I speak. “Let Korva and I help. We’ll go after their ships. We know Tarsheb space. We can hit them in the Epeshi ship as they move between Tarsheb 8 and Gerbbbexai IX.”

Dagor looks up from his drink, and for a moment his face is suspicious. Then the suspicion fades, and he just looks tired.

“I didn’t expect you to be so eager to help.”

“The Gallo Family tried to kill Melyta and me,” I growl. “I owe them one.”

A little smile plays on Dagor’s lips, as though he understands well vengeance as a motive. “Then you have my permission. Consider yourselves excused. I’m sure you’re both tired and glad to be planetside again.”

I nod, and Melyta and I both stand up. As we’re walking to the door, Dagor says my name.

“Barion?”

I stop in the doorway, turning over my shoulder to face him.

“If you ever betray me, I’ll kill you. And your mate.”

Then he turns back to his drink, and Melyta and I exit the restaurant.

“Well, that worked out nicely,” says Melyta, a little bit sarcastically as we walk back to our apartment, just down the road from where we met Dagor. “At least he didn’t question the Epeshi thing too much.”

I sigh. “Silver lining.”

Melyta takes my hand and squeezes it. “You know I’m not freaked out about him threatening to kill us, right? I’m used to that by now.”

“Good. Because I almost fucking killed him right there. Nobody threatens you in front of me.”

“What we’re doing is even better,” she reminds me, the exact beacon of positivity I needed. “If we get that ditrykium mine up and running, we’ll be bringing in more money than his entire organization.”

My mind is still spinning, trying to make sense of the changing political situation. The Agusto Family and the human mob are in open warfare, and the humans are still allied with the Dultaz Family. The Dultaz Family is trying to kill us. The Agusto Family thinks we’re on their side, and without their protection, we might already be dead.

This thing is a mess, but for once, it’s a mess where I feel like I’m in the driver’s seat. At least, as much as I can be.

“I’ve been thinking about our next move after we get the ditrykium mine up and running,” says Melyta as we enter the apartment.

I help her take off her jacket. “Oh yeah? I’ve barely had a chance to think about that. Did you come up with anything good?”

“I think so,” she tells me hesitantly. “It’s… risky, but I think it solves all of our problems.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

“Well, once we’re in control of a fully functioning ditrykium mine, I mean, that’s big money. That gives us a lot of bargaining power. With pretty much anyone, at least on our scale.”

I nod, agreeing. “That’s true. But I’m not sure how much a deal with Dagor helps us. We’re already on decent terms with him as it is. And considering the circumstances, he’s going to expect a really big cut as tribute. Do you think we’ll be able to change his mind?”

“We don’t need to change his mind,” says Melyta. “I wasn’t thinking we would make a deal with Dagor Agusto.”

Well, now I’m stumped. I frown at her. “Then who? Sarizor?” I suggest sarcastically.

She shakes her head. “Nope, definitely not Sarizor.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Okay, Miss Smarty-Pants. You want to clue me in?”

“I think we should make a deal with Arthur Gallo,” she tells me, her eyes shining. “And tell him if he wants a piece of our mine, we want Sarizor’s head.”

I blink.

Fuck.

That’s good.

I stare at Melyta for a moment, then pick her up by the waist and swing her over my head, a huge smile spreading across my face. She squeals in delight, then kisses me as I put her back down.

“So? You like it?”

I extend my fangs triumphantly, holding her before me like the treasure she is.

“Vulta, that is exactly what we’re going to do.”