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Episode
I The Corsair
The way into the brothel was guarded by two
impressively large men, but Melissa did not
hesitate. It was her boldness
that got her by them. She was
up the stairs and through the door before either one of them reacted, Che
Sha and the two Silvani rangers right behind
her.
“Hey, what the Hell…!” yelled
one of the toughs. He was an
unshaven thug, standing well over six feet tall and sporting a thick beard
that hung down to his chest. He
scrambled up the steps, his hand reaching for Shasara as she entered the
lobby of the building. His face
turned white when the silver-haired girl stepped inside his reach and held
the razor edge of her hunting knife against his
throat.
His companion was equally
unsuccessful. He came barreling
up the steps only to fall flat on his face as he stumbled over Che Sha’s
outstretched foot. He fell hard
and stayed down when he felt a pair of dragon forks held to his
throat.
The commotion brought several other armed
men running. The brothel seemed
to have more guards than Melissa had thought it
would. She drew her sword as
the first man came at her. His
attack was so awkward that she didn’t even bother to
parry. She just stepped to one
side as he lunged at her and hit him over the head with the pommel of her
sword. The man went down in a
heap. The fourth and fifth man
drew their swords and then considering the fate of their comrades, slowly
backed away. By this time Vayasha
had fitted an arrow to her bow. As
she drew back the feathered shaft both men took to their
heels.
Melissa looked around
her. They seemed to have the
foyer of the brothel to themselves.
However, at that moment a door on the far side of the room opened
and a beautiful but very red-faced woman
entered. In spite of the scene
in front of her she seemed quite unafraid.
“What in Sufrit’s name is going
on?” she asked, invoking the name of the God of
Sinners. “Who are you and
what do you want?”
“I am the Red Dragon,” answered
Melissa and I and my companions want a job.”
“A job?” the woman asked, clearly
confused at the request. She
folded her hands over her full bosom.
Melissa estimated the woman to be in her mid
thirties. But she might have
been even older. She had dark
hair and bright blue eyes. Her
bearing and demeanor were those of one used to being
obeyed. Before she could repeat
her request the woman spoke again.
“You four don’t seem the type to want to take up the
trade.” Her brow furrowed
as she tried to fathom why four beautiful young women would walk in off the
streets and ask for a job in a brothel.
Melissa
laughed. “Not that sort
of job! We are offering to provide
security, and we won’t ask for any more pay than the lackeys we just
disposed of.”
“Security?
Why should I offer you a job as a guard in my
house?”
“There are several reasons,” answered
Melissa smoothly. “First
the ruffians you hired to do the job were not capable of keeping four women
out of your establishment. Second,
we clearly have the skills to do the job; and third you won’t have worry
about any of us laying a hand on any of the girls.”
The woman thought a
bit. “You have a quick tongue,
Red Dragon. But your arguments
make sense. However, I don’t
do any hiring. The captain sees
to all of that. I just run the
house. I’ll have to get
his approval.”
“And how long will that take?” asked
Melissa.
“Not
long. I’ll take you to him
if you will just release my
doormen.” She pointed to
the two men still held at knifepoint by Shasara and Che
Sha.
Melissa nodded to her companions, and they
let the two men go. Neither wasted
any time in hustling through the open doorway and into the
street.
The woman
nodded. “I’m Daria,
the house mistress. Welcome to
the White Swan. We feature nothing
but the most beautiful women; clean and well-mannered and willing to
please.”
Melissa bowed, smiling as she did
so. Daria sounded as if she were
addressing four men, rather than four
women. She decided it was probably
a speech the woman had given many times, and as such was almost
automatic.
Daria moved to the door through which she
had entered. “Follow me,”
she said. “I’ll take
you to the captain.”
Melissa and her companions followed Daria
through a\the doorway. They found
themselves in a long hallway off which were several
doors. The dark-haired madame
walked briskly ahead of them and then, just before the end of the corridor,
she turned quickly into a doorway.
The move was so quick that it caught Melissa off
guard. Before she could follow
the door closed and there was the sound of a bolt being
thrown. “A trap!” Melissa
cried, turning back the way they had
come. She was just in time to
see the door at the far end of the hall slam
shut. There was a “thunk”
as a heavy bar sealed it shut.
Quickly each of the four women checked the doors on either side of
the hall. They two were all
locked.
Melissa was seething with
anger. Not at Daria, but at
herself. How could she have been
so easily ensnared? She had been
arrogant and overconfident, and had led her friends into a
trap.
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