Voidhawk: The Elder Race

  Voidhawk: The Elder Race

  Voidhawk [2]

  Jason Halstead

  CreateSpace (2010)

  * * *

  Rating: ★★★★★

  The elves are back, and this time they have no interest in taking prisoners. Dodging guile and dark magic, the Voidhawk is thrust from bad to worse. Escape seems impossible until Dexter Silvercloud and his crew discovers an ancient secret long hidden by the elves. A secret so old even Jenna knows little about. Invoking the power of the elders is not for the weak of heart; it could leave them lost forever. Everything has a price in the void, and the cost the crew of the Voidhawk must face to survive is one they may not be willing to pay.

  About the Author

  Jason Halstead works by day as an IT Director, developer, and database administator. From time to time he puts on a few other hats as well. In his spare time Jason enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, writing, and lifting the heaviest weights he can find. He enjoys reading and responding to fan mail as well, so if you liked Voidhawk or any of his other books, don't be shy! jasonhals@gmail.com

  Voidhawk : The Elder Race

  By Jason Halstead

  ©2011

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For additional information contact:

  www.novelconceptpublishing.com

  7974 Brookwood ST NE

  Warren, MI 44484

  Cover art © 2011 Willsin Rowe

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Check out these other Voidhawk books:

  Book 1: Voidhawk

  Book 3: Voidhawk – Redemption

  Book 4: Voidhawk – The White Lady

  Book 5: Voidhawk – Lost Soul

  Chapter 1: Fight or Flight

  “Aren’t you getting tired of this?” The lithe elven woman said. She used Dexter’s shoulder as a pillow and looked up at him.

  “Tired? Of this? I don’t know what you’re used to, but where I’m from men don’t grow tired of this kind of thing!” The Captain of the Voidhawk smirked.

  She slapped his trim belly. “I don’t mean me, I mean this back and forth trading.”

  Dexter grunted, then shrugged his free shoulder. “Been making some solid gold.” After a moment of thought he added, “Safe too, the swords are getting dull around here.”

  Jenna nodded, her blond hair tickling Dexter’s cheek. “I know… it was nice, but it’s getting boring.”

  “Boring?” He felt it too, but moving on meant risking things that had become more important to him than he’d ever imagined. “The others whining too?”

  Jenna sat up in bed, stretching as she did so. The sheets fell away from her, allowing Dexter to marvel at her slim and toned athletic beauty. She turned to look at him and rolled her eyes. “Get that look out of your eyes or we’ll never get out of here.”

  He grinned.

  “They don’t talk as much as they used to,” she admitted, stepping out of bed and standing up. “Not to me, at least.”

  Dexter rolled on to his side to watch her slide her breeches on. He laughed and said, “They talk, you’re not listening. You’re too busy sleeping with the captain.”

  She favored him with a disdainful look. Dexter laughed again. Her pose, one hand on a clothed hip and her shoulders cocked, only served to enhance her naked upper torso and the attractive charms he’d just sampled.

  “Making up for lost time,” she told him before slipping on a vest in a meager attempt at modesty..

  “I’m not complaining.”

  “No, finally, you’re not,” she admitted. “Keep acting like this and maybe I’ll give you a reason to complain!”

  Dexter laughed again and rose to get dressed. “Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking it was near time to move on. Deepingdale has ships enough trading with it.”

  “Spoken like a true merchant,” Jenna teased.

  Dexter opened his mouth to retort but Jenna opened the door and was out before he could defend himself. Scowling, he followed the elf and wondered why he let himself get caught up in such a complicated relationship. Well, it wasn’t really that complicated: he was a man and she was a woman and they cared very deeply for one another in spite of their differences. The tricky part was he was the captain and she was his mate. First mate, that is.

  Up on the deck they could see a slowly growing ball of blue and green ahead of them. “We’ll be there soon,” Dexter said, glancing briefly at the sails of the Voidhawk. “Four, maybe five hours.”

  “Then what?” Jenna asked, her eyes watching the crew as they tended the sails and rigging. A straight course between ports required little work between tacks against the solar wind, if even that was necessary. The winds were with them this time, allowing the deck to run on a skeleton crew.

  Fair haired and fairer of skin, Willa sat on the deck whittling on something she’d carved from a block of wood with her good hand. The carving was wedged between her knees since her other arm ended just below the elbow. Rosh and Keshira worked the sails, though Rosh was lackadaisical about it and spent most of his time talking with Willa and the other woman.

  The raven haired beauty hauled the heavy lines and drew the sails taut with the strength of three normal men. She worked without pause or fatigue because she was a construct, created from the magic of a depraved wizard with a taste for submissive women of unnaturally beauty. Dexter had freed her of a future of servitude, only to unwittingly end up binding her to himself. It was on his list of things to do, finding a way to undo the bond and let her have the freedom she deserved.

  “Then we see what else there is to see,” Dexter said somewhat wistfully.

  “You’ve something in mind then?” she asked, hearing the tone in his voice.

  Dexter straightened. “We’ve found a fair bit of things that ain’t been found in a while, why not see what else there might be?”

  Jenna stared at him suspiciously. “Dex…”

  “There’s nothing special,” he told her with a sly smile. “I just figured we’d head out and see what the Void’s got waiting for us.”

  Jenna’s eyes narrowed, but Dexter walked off the forecastle and headed towards the staircase. He smiled when he heard Rosh call to her. He knew she’d be frustrated at being bound by her duty. She took her job seriously, a legacy of her being born an elven princess. It was one of the many reasons he’d offered her the job as First Mate.

  * * * *

  Port Nimman was created with a few derelict ships lashed together centuries past. Now it spanned nearly a mile in length of ships and paths and buildings lashed together with wood, ropes, and nails. Thick ropes made of magical materials dangled from complicated pulleys on the port, their ends disappearing into the atmosphere of the planet below. The ropes operated as elevators and lifts to one of the many small islands dotting the predominantly water filled world.

  Jenna sat on the deck, cleaning a selection of weapons that she used to be personally responsible for. Rosh handled the job of weapons master
now, but given Dexter’s decision to leave her and Keshira to tend the ship, she had little else to do.

  The elf tossed a sword she finished oiling back in a barrel harder than she should have. The barrel tipped over and the other blades in it slid out. She cursed and jumped to her feet, ready to kick it.

  “Is there a problem?” Keshira asked, causing Jenna to throttle her anger back.

  “No, just clumsy,” she said, scowling and bending over to pick up the spilled steel.

  “You and the Captain are lovers,” Keshira stated, drawing Jenna’s attention.

  The elf turned, her cheeks flushing a little in spite of herself. She reveled in a lack of modesty that most races found brazen. Yet, for some reason, Keshira’s statement bothered her.

  “Why do you never join him at ports?”

  Jenna looked at her and laughed. “He never lets me,” she said bitterly. “My duty, as first mate, is to stay with the ship when the captain can’t.”

  Keshira smiled, an odd expression considering Jenna’s frustration. The elf looked at her, then finally when the pleasure golem turned deckhand offered no further comment she said, “Why are you smiling? Do you know something I don’t?”

  “The Captain is scared,” she said.

  Jenna blinked, surprised. “Scared?”

  “Yes, he cares for you very much.” The grin remained on her face, proving that she still needed to work on her expressions even if she was now able to experience and feel them. “He wants to keep you safe.”

  Jenna grunted, then looked away, her eyes watering in spite of her irritation. “Damn him,” she muttered.

  “Does this not please you?” Keshira asked.

  “No. Yes… I don’t know,” Jenna admitted. “I know he loves me, even if he’s too damn human and confused to admit it to me. That must be why we’ve been doing milk runs for the last few months. Not much chance of running into any trouble that way, even if we’re all dying of boredom.”

  “I am not dying or bored,” the construct said.

  Jenna nodded. “Of course you’re not. But do you know what it means to be bored, Keshira?” She waved her hand, “Never mind. Look, the problem with Dexter is that he didn’t learn anything from Kragor. His best friend died when we were out of harm’s way! It can happen to anyone, at anytime. Loving me doesn’t put a target on my head.”

  Keshira nodded. “That makes sense, why would he feel otherwise?”

  “He’s human?” Jenna snapped irritably. “Or maybe because he’s a man.”

  “Is Dexter back yet?”

  Both women, magical and natural, turned to the slightly strained voice. Bekka hurried up the gangplank with someone wearing a hooded cloak behind her. Jenna’s eyes narrowed and she stepped in front of the weapons cache on the deck.

  “No, he’s still looking for work,” she said. “Or whatever it is he’s doing.”

  “Should I let him know you seek him?” Keshira offered.

  “Not yet, what’s this about?” Jenna asked.

  “Show her,” Bekka said, stepping aside to allow a clear path between her guest and Jenna.

  The stranger gasped audibly at the sight of Jenna. He stumbled backwards, calling out, “You’ve betrayed me!”

  “No, wait!” Bekka said, hurrying to stop the attempted flight. “Jenna’s not what you think!”

  “I’m not…what?”

  “She’s an elf!”

  Jenna noted the hooded man was short for a human.

  “Yes, she is an elf,” Bekka confirmed. “But not like the elves we know.”

  “Bekka, who is this?” Jenna said, stepping forward and making the stranger back up fearfully.

  “His name is Zhirt,” Bekka said. She hesitated then closed her mouth without saying more.

  “Zhirt? That’s it?” Jenna pressed.

  “His story is not mine to tell,” Bekka said.

  “Well Zhirt, are you going to tell me or let us talk about you as if you’re not standing in front of us?” The first mate said.

  He made another gasping sound beneath his cloak, but said nothing.

  “Jenna is the First Mate of the Voidhawk, Zhirt. Dexter, our Captain, is still in Port Nimman,” Bekka explained, trying to reassure him. “Dexter is human.”

  Jenna ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted to demand to know what was so wrong with being an elf, but she already knew. She had forsaken her people for a better life. Not just her people, but her family and her position as a princess among the emperor’s family.

  And now she’d taken a human for a lover. She wondered how much farther she could fall, in her parent’s eyes. It nearly made her grin.

  “Go ahead, ‘Shira, let him know,” Jenna said.

  Keshira looked at her, smiling in a pleasant way. “You called me ‘Shira’.”

  Jenna looked at her, then shrugged. “Yeah, I did. Don’t you like it?”

  Keshira nodded. “I… I do like it. That’s a nickname?”

  Jenna nodded.

  Keshira nodded and smiled again. “The Captain has been notified,” she said, then turned to resume working on cleaning the deck.

  The newcomer twisted his head back and forth between the two women. His confusion and curiosity was nearly palpable. Jenna saw and couldn’t help laughing in spite of herself. He trembled a little and looked to Bekka.

  “Keshira is a pleasure golem,” the bald half elf said. “She is a magical construct created to be a servant. She is bonded to the Captain.”

  “A pleasure golem?” He asked. “She is his servant? You mean he… She’s beautiful, but a construct in bed?”

  Jenna bristled. “No,” she said more sharply than she intended. “The Captain does not share his bed with her.”

  Bekka smiled and glanced away; pretending not to notice Jenna’s sudden reaction. Zhirt reacted as expected, shrinking back from Jenna’s barely controlled display of anger. They lapsed into an awkward silence for several minutes until Dexter and Jodyne returned. Dexter paused while Jodyne took a sack bulging with supplies below to restock the larder.

  “You must be Zhirt,” Dexter said, coming up the gangplank and looking suspiciously at the cloaked man. “I might be happy to be at your service, but you’ll have to show your face first.”

  Zhirt looked at him for a long moment then raised his hands and grudgingly pulled the hood back to reveal a handsome man’s face. He had reddish brown hair, including a sparse beard and mustache, and faintly elvish features.

  “No reason to hide that,” Dexter said with a wary smile.

  Zhirt didn’t smile, nor did he look relieved. He kept glancing at Jenna nervously, expecting her to show some reaction to him.

  “You two know each other?” Dexter asked, turning to look at his first mate.

  Jenna shook her head. “Just met him,” she said. “I think he’s nervous because he’s a half-elf and I’m a full elf. Expect he thinks I’ll clap him in irons and eat his children any minute now.”

  “You’d do that?” Dexter asked, looking at her in surprise.

  Jenna shook her head. “Already had some dwarf babies earlier. Surprised me how stringy and tough they are even at that age.”

  Dexter shrugged and looked back to Zhirt. “See, there you go, no threat from her. So, how can I help you?”

  Zhirt’s eyes widened and he turned to leave. Bekka’s hand on his arm and whispered reassurance made him stay, although grudgingly. He looked at Dexter and pointedly ignored Jenna.

  “Captain, I don’t think it’s safe for us to be out in the open,” he said. “Can we go below deck?”

  “Sure we can,” Dexter said with a steely smile. “Thing is we won’t. Not until you tell me why I’m to be worried about you being safe to talk to.”

  “Captain, please,” Bekka added.

  Dexter looked at her and then nodded. “Alright, you got her vouching for you, you’d best not mess that up friend.”

  Jenna led the way below deck, heading to the spiral staircase that delivered them
to the ship’s small galley. She sat next to Dexter on one side while Bekka and Zhirt sat opposite them at the table. Behind them Jodyne was still putting away her latest purchases.

  “Talk,” Dexter said, leaning forward.

  He glanced at Jenna then nodded, more to himself than to Dexter, and began. “I lived in a small settlement called Grifford’s End.”

  “It’s a small rock on the edge of a vast void of nothingness deep in the Elven Empire,” Jenna offered, confirming that much of his story.

  He nodded. “The elves came a few months ago and captured us all. Said something about relocating us for our own safety. We spent weeks in cells in the hull of a ship, fed but forced to dwell in our own filth. When we finally docked we were taken away to what they said was our new home..”

  “I managed to slip away unnoticed,” he said, shuddering at the memory. “I hid as best I could until I managed to stowaway on a supply ship. From there I worked passage out of the Empire.”

  “Congratulations,” Dexter said drily. “I’m not needing more crew right now, so you’ll come to your point soon?”

  Zhirt looked at him, a little surprised, but nodded. “My friends… family, they’re still there. We were taken to Fort Prudence, less than a score of them survived, and-“

  “Fort Prudence?” Jenna asked, interrupting him. “The shipyard?”

  Zhirt nodded.

  “Dex, we’re done here,” Jenna said, her body language indicating she was ready to get up and move on.

  “Fort Prudence is a shipyard?” Dexter asked.

  Zhirt and Jenna both nodded.

  “They grow mostly warships there,” Jenna said. “It’s supposed to be secret though, or at least its location is. Not a standard planet or moon, it’s a living ship itself that moves around slowly.”

  Dexter nodded thoughtfully. “And your people?”

  “Slaves,” Zhirt said in a rush. “Imprisoned in the tunnels and forced to care for the fort.”

  “Slaves, eh?” Dexter turned to look at Bekka, a glint in his eye. “You spoke for him on deck, so you’ve heard his story?”