Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,119

need to be careful.”

Moe rubbed his chin in a contemplative manner. “Oh, I’ll be careful. I’m just not sure how good a thing that is, to be honest.”

“Yeah, but it works for them,” Jack said. “Well, gotta go now. See you at the tribunal. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Mom.” Moe terminated the link and gave Klara a smile.

Somehow, Klara doubted that Moe’s family had very many secrets at all—at least none that remained secret for very long. “You’ll have to let me in on that Statzeel secret, along with a bazillion other things.”

“That, my dear Klara, will be my pleasure.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze before pressing it to his lips. “Today, tomorrow, and always.”

Chapter 31

If the stands in the arena had been crowded the day before, they were positively overflowing now. Pelarus, to Temfilk’s obvious delight, had been placed in a cage in the center of the field, his wings still clipped together by the chains placed on him the day before. Klara didn’t know whether to be pleased or annoyed that all of the weaponry had been removed from the walls of the enclosure, although eliminating the temptation to use them on the deposed tyrant was probably for the best. Enough blood had already been spilled on that ground.

Yirland stood before the throne Pelarus had occupied only the day before. After raising her hands for silence, she began to read from a scroll. “Branethan Pelarus, you have been accused of theft on a massive scale against the people and planet of Haedus Nine and also of ordering the murders of countless native Haedusians and offworlders, including the mother and possibly the brothers of Klara Tavock. Do you deny this?”

A night trussed up in the dungeon had done wonders for Pelarus’s lofty demeanor. Gone was the haughty arrogance that had characterized him in the past. He was terrified, and it showed. “I did not order the murder of Klara’s brothers. That was entirely the doing of a band of Nedwut bounty hunters.”

“Hmm… not guilty of two murders,” Yirland drawled as she made a mark on the scroll. Shaking her head, she went on, “And the rest?”

“Those who competed in the arena were either gladiator slaves or accused lawbreakers.” Pelarus seemed to take heart, as if he believed he could actually talk his way out of his predicament. “Any who survived trial by combat were released following three victories.”

Yirland tilted her head to one side as though searching her memory. “Tell me, did anyone ever survive three battles in the arena?”

“A few,” Pelarus replied, though without much conviction.

Yirland barked out a laugh. “So few that none can recall any prisoners ever being released.”

Pelarus lifted his head and swept the stands with his gaze. “Isn’t that what the citizens of this city want? Criminals taken off the street and punished for wrongdoing?”

“Perhaps,” Yirland conceded. “If the punishment did indeed fit the crime. But it did not. Many were only stealing to enable themselves and their families to survive.” Yirland regarded Pelarus with a mixture of pity and contempt. “You cannot be so deluded as to deny that most infractions were of that nature.”

“There were always…complaints.” A slight tremor in his wings caused his chains to rattle. “I did nothing wrong in capturing them and bringing them to justice.”

“Justice? What you meted out was not justice.” Yirland’s voice rang out across the expanse between them. “Stealing a loaf of bread does not warrant a sentence of death.”

“Ah, but you people are every bit as guilty as I.” Pelarus sneered as he drew himself up to his full height. “You have allowed this so-called injustice to continue for many years. No one ever lifted a finger in protest.”

“Again, that was your doing. After our concerns were ignored for such a long period of time, we lost heart, most of us forgetting that there is strength in numbers. But that time is past. We have been awakened and discovered that we are stronger than one arrogant usurper who cannot even claim to be of this world—or even begin to understand what that means. Your wants and needs are insignificant compared to the suffering of our people. Therefore, it has been deemed necessary to exile you from this world forever.”

“And just how do you plan to do that?” Pelarus demanded, a trace of his old arrogance evident in his tone.

“We have received an offer for your starship,” Yirland replied. “Ownership of it in return for taking you to Goralus Five,