Free Captain and a Corset by Mary Wine Page B

never been a slave to drinking, but for the moment, the snifter was keeping him in his chair.
    It felt like a monumental achievement.
    ***
    “Come, my friend, we have a fine carriage for you.”
    Grainger cocked his head to one side and looked at the orderlies. They had on white coats and were smiling at him. The wheelchair was a wide one but what alarmed him were the thick leather straps secured to each armrest and on the footrest too. He smiled at them and clapped his hands together.
    “He’s a cheery one,” one of the men said.
    “Aye, lucky for him too, since I heard he was going to face execution for his crimes,” the other remarked. “I suppose the fear was too much for the bloke.”
    Grainger hopped in a small circle, needing a moment to hide his expression. He did not fear an Illuminist. But like any beasts of burden, he had to outsmart them when he was surrounded.
    “Come on… we’re going on a little walkabout,” the orderly cooed.
    Grainger clapped again and hopped toward the chair. It shimmied as he climbed into it and clapped some more.
    “All right then, let’s go.”
    “Shouldn’t I secure him?”
    The orderly behind the chair began pushing it. “Don’t bother. He’s harmless. He might have survived that knock on the head, but it left him simple. It’s in his file from Hawaii too. The man hasn’t made sense since he opened his eyes. If you ask me, they should have just left him there, where it was warm enough for him to run about half clothed.”
    Grainger didn’t have to fake his smile. It was bright and full of victory but the two fools so easily assisting him out of the prison area were clueless. They wouldn’t last a day as Helikeians. Failure wasn’t tolerated among his elite Order. In fact, any member who proved inferior would be eliminated so that his blood could not be passed on.
    There were guards at the end of the hallway, where a large arch went from one side of the hallway to the other. Inside it were Deep Earth Crystals, and one of the guards depressed his ear control device to complete the current so that the orderlies might proceed through. Grainger hummed and moved his head from side to side as they left the prison wing behind them.
    “Must be nice to be so cheerful,” the orderly pushing the chair remarked.
    “I’ll be right happy if he continues to do what we ask without giving us fits like some of the other patients,” his companion responded.
    Grainger continued to smile, enjoying the feeling of impending freedom. He clapped his hands, almost giddy with the knowledge that he wasn’t strapped to the chair.
    Such trusting fools. He was going to enjoy killing them.
    ***
    Sophia punched her pillow, but the action didn’t relieve much of her frustration. She was so tired her head ached, and yet she couldn’t seem to sleep for more than half an hour without waking.
    You’re just waiting on that man’s next visit.
    She grumbled and sat up. The bedding was kicked to the foot of the bed, so it was simple to swing her legs over the edge. The floor was cool against her bare feet when she suddenly realized there was something in the air. Looking through the open bedroom door, she stared at the darkness of the other room, trying to decide what it was she saw. It was like fog, only composed of light rather than moisture. She stepped toward it, drawn forward in fascination. She could see the residue of light drifting through the darkness; she could actually see the particles as tiny pinpoints of light. The room was dark, and yet, it wasn’t. It was as though she could see all the layers that made up the darkness.
    “You see the light flow now… excellent.”
    Sophia froze, her muscles tightening as alarm raced through her. She recognized the voice; she still heard it in her nightmares. Worse still was the certain knowledge that Grainger was standing in the corner of her room.
    “What a trophy you shall be,” he cooed like he might over a newly acquired racehorse. “My