Page 37 of Taking Jenny (Planet Orhon #4)

Mal

A jem’hora called out in the distance as I tried not to look around my cell again.

Those eyeless silvery birds were harbingers according to the unclassed, so the new shift guards fought the urge to shiver by distracting themselves with idle chatter.

Inside the royal prison, they were safe from the birds, but every Ladrian knew what those predators were capable of, and none of us were exempt from their menu.

The jem’hora’s call gave me hope that soon, this would all be over.

My cell was particularly wretched, and though I knew what I had stepped in upon my arrival, I tried to convince myself it was just thick swamp mud, but the stench was unmistakable.

There was no bed, no waste bucket, no window.

Windows were a hot commodity in the humid royal prison.

The only fresh air entered from other cell’s rare windows, and the nearest cell with a window was five cells away.

It was late, but I couldn’t sleep. To sleep would have meant to relax in the swamp mud , and I certainly was not capable of such a thing. So, I occupied myself with the guards and eavesdropping on their horrid conversation. Anything to keep my mind from my circumstances. Or Jenny’s.

“You think he’ll rip ‘em out?” a guard asked his partner.

“What else is he gonna do?” the second guard replied. “His mouth was sewn shut. I woulda ripped them stitches out days ago.”

They were speaking of Thyme, and I grunted and deliberately cut in to their conversation. “He’ll probably die of dehydration or hope. Probably both.”

They turned around to glare at me through the bars of my cell door. The first one raised his brow. “You think he’d die rather than destroy his pretty face?”

“Not that you can relate, but when your pretty face is all you have going for you, what do you do?” I asked, shoving my hands into the front pockets of my pants as I addressed the pair.

“Thyme is not particularly smart, according to the guards who were here earlier, nor is he well-liked by most of the other guards, even before he started sleeping with Justice. As I understand it, he cheated on his former lover to trade up, so to speak. I would bet good money that he’s counting on Justice to release him before he dies of thirst.”

Both guards shot me a wary glance before the first one asked, “How much good money are we talking?”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “I’d go as high as twenty-thousand credits, but it depends on who I’m betting with. I don’t like to take money from men who can’t afford it.”

One of the guards narrowed his gaze at me. “You tryin’ to say we’re too poor to gamble with you, Executioner?”

I licked my parched lips. “I was trying to say it kindly.”

“I’m in for five hundred,” the second guard said.

His cohort smacked his chest with the back of his hand. “Too scared to make a real man’s bet?”

“Jaffa would kill me if I bet more than that.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “You’re worried about your significant other’s approval? No wonder you’re just a guard.”

He stiffened. “I may be just a guard, but I’m on the right side of those bars you’re standing behind, so watch your mouth.”

My lips smoothed into a sinister smile. “You do know who I am, don’t you? And that I never forget a face?”

The man gulped audibly. “Six hundred credits.”

I laughed again, my eyes shooting to the other guard. “And you? What’s your manly bet?”

“I’m in for two thousand,” he said, with slightly more confidence.

“Better,” I drawled. “But still the bet of a child. I’ll stay by my bet of twenty thousand—don’t worry, I don’t expect you to match it—and if I lose, you two can split the profit.

But if I win, I’ll give you the option of either paying the credits or I will take a finger.

I’ll even let you choose which of your digits you get to keep. Deal?”

“You think I’d lose my finger instead of paying two thousand credits?” the first guard asked.

The second one shrugged. “It’d be easier to explain to Jaffa I lost a finger at work than I lost all of a month’s grocery money on a bet. Alright, I’m in. For a finger.”

The first guard shook his head, laughing at his cohort. “I’m in, too. For the money. Either that boy rips his stitches out of his face and we win, or Thyme waits until either he dies or Justice pardons him, then you win, yes?”

I nodded. “Or, if I win, you keep your money and your finger, and you just let me out.” They both had a laugh then, so I joined them. “Kidding, of course. Wouldn’t want you to lose your jobs or your lives over a bet.”

The first guard said, “You know, I’m surprised you haven’t asked about your lady love.”

Until he mentioned her, I had done a respectable job of keeping Jenny from my mind. If they thought she meant anything to me…that would not bode well for her. “I’m sorry, who?”

“The avatar. Come now, you didn’t forget about her already, didja? She’s the whole reason you’re down here. You can’t go helping the doomed. Ida thought the Executioner woulda known better than that.”

“Would seem like the first thing they teach you at Executioner School,” the second guard joked. “No helping the doomed.”

“Actually,” I held his gaze and calmly said, “the first thing they teach you at Executioner School is how to kill a man with your bare hands. Not safe to put a weapon in untrained hands, you know.”

Interest flickered in his eyes. “How…what’s the best way to do that?”

“Are you an aspiring executioner, sir?”

He gulped and tried to put on a brave smile. “Just want to know what to look out for, in case I get too close to you down here.”

Smarter than I thought. “Clearly, you’re the prudent type, so a little advice for you. Never, ever let your guard down. No matter how close or how far you are from an enemy. You never know how far someone’s reach truly is.”

“Aye, but you can’t reach your girl,” the first guard teased. “Or your boy. I heard you gone soft, Executioner. That you like the prisoners you been torturing. How’s that work, eh? They kinky or something?”

Your boy. Those words were all it took for my gut to churn. I was glad Tiger hadn’t been taken into custody, but that also meant I had no idea where he was. If anyone could take care of him, it was Discord and Longshot. They would keep him safe until I could get out of this literal mess.

I lifted my shoe and scraped it on the bottom bars. “Don’t you people clean up around here?”

“Aw, he don’t wanna talk about his lit’le loves,” the first guard taunted. “Must be something special for him, eh?”

The second guard asked, “Why are you like that, Mire? If someone is in love, you don’t gotta be a dick about it.”

The first guard slugged his shoulder. “Just because you’re a little bitch for Jaffa don’t mean the Executioner is a little bitch for his pieces.

Besides, I don’t think he’s in love. I was only teasin’ him.

How could he be in love? Someone in his line of work ain’t gonna be falling for the doomed.

How stupid do you think he is?” Then he turned to me.

“ I know you’re smarter than that, Ripper.

Don’t be insulted by Brush. He just ain’t that bright. ”

Brush and Mire , good to know. “I’m more insulted by the state of this cell than his belief that I could care about someone.”

“Well, just because you lost the avatar and the boy to Justice, that don’t mean you’re not still his favorite,” Brush taunted. “Just means he likes himself more.”

Ice shot through me. “What do you mean by that? How exactly did I lose them to him?”

“Just that…Justice…he took her. To his bed. The boy can’t be far behind, right?”

Blind rage shot through me, and before I could school my emotions I gripped the bars and roared, “Open this fucking door, now!”

They both jumped, startled by my outburst, but neither moved to get to the door.

Mire’s voice shook nervously when he spoke. “I’m sorry, but we can’t—”

“Fucking do it,” I yelled, delirious with the need to get to Jenny. “I’ll pay whatever you want, just get me the fuck out of here!”

“We don’t even have the key,” he said.

“Then get the guard with the key and bring him to me now !”

“You’re not getting out, Ripper,” Mire said, his voice thin with nerves. “You gotta make your peace with that.”

I began to pace, searching my cell for a way out. I couldn’t wait any longer. If I take off my jacket, wrap it around the bars, then tie—

A jem’hora called out again, this time much closer, like it was inside the prison. Then a pair of grunting sounds distracted me from scheming. The guards were gone and in their place, Surge. He waved his hand at my cell door, unlocking it with a sizzle.

“You rescued Jenny first, right?” I asked as I passed through the doorway.

“No, but—”

I cut him off, panic sharpening my voice. “We have to get Jenny. Justice took her to his bed. He’s going to go after Tiger, too, so we have to—”

“He didn’t, he’s not.”

I stopped abruptly. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “When I came in, there was a scuffle between the palace servants over who would be Jenny’s handler for the trial, because they had to start preparing her now.”

“Which means she’s in the palace, and she’s safe from him. For now.” Relief hit so hard I had to brace a hand against the stone wall to steady myself. “Thank you, Surge,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“Of course,” he said. “I knew I’d have to know where she was before you’d be willing to leave.”

A harsh laugh escaped me. “You know me too well. But I’m surprised it took you this long to get here. The jem’hora calls, that was you, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “As if those majestic birds would come anywhere near this sewage pit.” He shook his head. “They have standards.”

“Good thing we don’t.”

“True.” He laughed. “Now, come on. We need to move fast. The others are already heading to the hunting ground.”

I nodded, refining my focus. “Before we go, there’s one more thing we have to do.”