Free Bound in Darkness by Jacquelyn Frank Page A

on to Calandria.”
    “That’s just fine,” Maxum said.
    “Very well.” He eyed Airi. “Keep this one under control. I don’t like women on board. Makes the men restless and stupid.”
    “I’ll keep an eye on her,” Maxum promised, hustling her away before she could work herself up into getting offended. “Come on,” he said. “We have to fetch the men.”
    “I can’t believe you negotiated a price like that! How am I ever supposed to pay you back three gold?”
    “Don’t worry about it.”
    “I am worried about it! Why are we even going to Thiss?”
    “Someone there has something I need.”
    “Are you always going to be this evasive? Will I ever get a full answer out of you about anything?” she demanded.
    “Probably not,” he said honestly.
    “Wonderful.” She sighed and let him lead her back through the city to the inn where they had left the men and their horses.
    All of the men except Kilon were there waiting. Maxum frowned when he saw Kilon was missing.
    “Where is he?”
    “He said he had some business to take care of,” Doisy said with a grimace. He knew what was coming next.
    “I told him to wait here!” Maxum snapped. “This is my party and we follow my instructions!”
    “Tried to tell him that,” Dru said. “Wouldn’t listen.”
    “I’ve booked us passage to Thiss. Pack up and ready the horses. If he isn’t here by the time we’re ready he gets left behind.”
    “You heard the man, boys,” Doisy said, jumping to his feet. “Let’s be on our way!”
    Suddenly unsure about her choices, Airi went to the stable and saddled up Hero, checking all of her bags and putting her shirt in one of them. She had already grown used to the way the corset felt, but she wasn’t used to the way people were looking at her. Doisy raised a brow at her and Dru flushed when presented with the new view of her cleavage. But Kyno thought nothing of it, probably hadn’t even noticed. She turned to Doisy, who was as well kempt as he was handsome.
    “Do I look all right?” she asked.
    “You look wonderful,” he assured her.
    “All right,” she said, believing his enthusiasm. “But do you think it’s smart to be so…so…”
    “Bold?”
    “Yes.” She exhaled with relief. He understood her perfectly. “Bold.”
    “I think it’s great. The trick to it though, is you have to believe in it. If you act like you’re not to be trifled with, then no one will trifle with you. Got it?”
    She nodded. She agreed with that much at least. And that’s what she would do. She would own this new look and to the eight hells with anyone who tried to tell her different.
    “So what do you think about this whole Isle of Thiss thing?” she asked him.
    “I think that Maxum has made me very well-off so far and I think I would probably follow him anywhere, knowing it meant great rewards were in the offing.”
    “What exactly do you do in this group…besides bring a level of charm and companionability?” She grinned at him.
    He grinned back. “As a cleric I am the male version of a mem. Some mems, as you know, have the gift of healing. I am actually a very powerful healer. I can help anyone who is injured, both in and out of battle.”
    “And the staff?”
    “Even a man of the gods has to be able to defend himself.”
    “I suspect you can do more than just defend.”
    “Perhaps,” he said with a sly smile. “But only to a point. We all have our limitations. I am not meant to be a great fighter. I am meant to look good and seduce women.”
    She laughed at him when he winked at her. “And seducing women is not contrary to your duties as a cleric?” she asked.
    “Not at all. It is merely another form of healing. I make the woman I am with feel good—sometimes that is a form of healing in itself. All women need to feel beautiful and worthy. I try to bring that to them, even if it’s only for a little while.”
    “I see,” Airi said, still smiling at the roguish man.
    “You know, you could always