Free Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 by Brian Wilkerson

whole excursion took only ten minutes.
    “Give me the
subjugation collar keys.”
    “I don’t have them,”
the defeated captain replied.
    Raguc kicked him in the
gut. “You have a Bodin class fighter carrier, a full complement of
fighters, and a very nice suit. Therefore, you can’t be run-of-the-mill
slavers; you have to be elfin slavers. If you’re elfin slavers, then you
have to use subjugation collars to keep your cargo under control, which means
you must have keys.”
    “Captain Raguc!” an outlaw
shouted from inside the slaver mothership. “We’ve cracked the cargo bay!
They’re coming out now.”
    She gestured out the
door and twenty elves walked out. Every one of them wore dirty black tunics
that never reached beyond mid-thigh and red-gold orichalcum collars
that covered their necks entirely. Runes written into the later glowed faintly
with the same light used to subdue the engine monster. It was the same power
used by the anti-mage Eric fought. It was ordercraft.
    “Keys, please.”
    “I don’t have them.”
Raguc placed his cutlass next to the man’s neck. “Really, I don’t! I’m not an
ordercrafter! I can’t use them.”
    “Where is the
ordercrafter, then?”
    “He was in one of the
ships that scrambled earlier. He said he was going to board your ship, take
over your mind, and make this ship our new HQ.”
    “Wow,” Raguc said with
his arms crossed. “It sounds like his ego is bigger than my ship.”
    The slaver captain shrugged
and smiled uneasily. “You know, teenagers are already arrogant as it is. Give
them the Power of Absolute Control and they’re insufferable.”
    “His service was
cheap.”
    “Yes, it was.”
    “And you skimped on
crew training.”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “And you’re ugly.”
    “Yes, I am.”
    Raguc laughed. “If
nothing else, then you are an honest man.”
    Attracted by the
commotion, Eric, Nayr, and Tolv descended from the entrance hatch and jumped
into the landing bay. The former’s winged feet slowed his descent and he landed
softly and without a sound. The latter simply landed on his feet and took all
the impact through his legs and spine. For this, his partner criticized him
while expressing concern for him.
    “Captain, I’ll add a
fourth point; his training was incomplete.”
    “You fought him?” Raguc
asked Nayr.
    “I killed him. His only
abilities were negating simple spells and using subjugation collars.”
    Eric held out the
keychain. “Are these the keys you need?”
    Raguc accepted them and
went about unlocking the collars. Meanwhile, Kallen approached Nayr to get a
better look at him. Then she did a double take.
    “Nayr? Is that you?”
    Nayr’s face broke out
in a grin. “Kallen! You’ve gotten even uglier since I last saw you.”
    She laughed. “You’re as
blunt as ever. Tolv, you must have offended The Trickster to be saddled with
such a partner.”
    “Definitely. It’s a
pain watching over this idiot.”
    “This must be why
Jessie mistook my ship for a slaver’s; The Trickster wanted us to reunite.”
    Nayr laughed. “Then,
for once, I do not want to knock his teeth in. Since you’re one of the uglier
humans I’ve met, humans must consider you fetching. Is there anyone in that
ship with you?”
     “I’ve had a few
admirers. How about you?”
    “He still mooning over
this ‘Ariel’ girl.”
    “Shut it, Tolv.”
    “My little sister?”
    “She made that up. I
haven’t crushed on your sister since we were kids.”
    Tolv smirked. Nayr face-palmed.
Kallen, by contrast, looked worried. It didn’t look like sisterly
protectiveness so much as genuine concern. It was clearly distressing for both
sides, so Eric changed the subject. Besides, he wanted to puzzle it out on his
own.
    “Sooo…Where are you
headed now?”
    “Ataidar’s embassy in
Acemo,” Nayr quickly replied. “After we get our bounty, it’s off to a scrap
yard to sell off their wrecks and repair our own. You?”
    “I'm on my way home.”
    Home for