Song of the Navigator Read Online Free PDF

Cherko. I make sure things get where they need to go. He makes sure people do what they need to do. Understand?”
    Tover focused on maintaining his glare. He didn’t want these men to see his fear.
    â€œYou work for us now,” Savel said. “You jump the goods where we say, when we say it. If you don’t, we hurt you. If you do, you will be rewarded. Every luxury will be afforded to you once you have proven your loyalty.” Savel smirked. “You are not the first navigator we’ve worked with, so don’t think we don’t know what we’re doing.”
    Tover gathered enough saliva together to spit at Savel. The spittle fell short, but the meaning wasn’t lost, and Savel’s expression darkened. He stood and left the room. Tover heard rustling and looked up to see Cherko, arms still crossed, grinning maliciously down at him. The man had no teeth, Tover noticed.
    Savel returned, carrying a thin-gauge restraint wire. Tover almost laughed—where did they think he could go, with no strength to move?—but then Savel jerked Tover’s head back by his hair and wrapped the restraint wire around Tover’s neck.
    Tover panicked and pulled back. Savel twisted both ends of the wire tight and it strangled Tover’s neck. Terror flooded Tover. He tried to fight but all he could do was thrash on the floor. Savel tightened the wire, locked it, and stood.
    For several seconds, Tover writhed on the ground, unable to swallow, unable to breathe…then he realized the wire was painfully tight against his throat but he could breathe, barely, although every swallow was restricted and the wire cut deeply into his neck. It made him light headed, and he had to concentrate not to panic again. He took shallow breaths.
    â€œThe wire cuts off your navigational cords,” Savel said, standing slowly. He no longer smiled. “Don’t want you going off on your own any time soon.” He pursed his lips. “We’ll give you food, and a few days to recuperate. Then you start work.” He cocked his head toward Cherko, and the giant man grabbed Tover by the right arm and lifted him up.
    It felt as though he’d dislocated his arm. Cruz’s touch had been gentle. This man dragged Tover down a carpeted hallway, tossing him like debris into the corner of an elevator. They went down several levels, Tover concentrating on his anxiety, reminding himself he could breathe, regardless of the constriction at his throat. He took slow, deliberate breaths.
    Once the elevator doors opened, Cherko grabbed Tover by the arm and dragged him again, heedless of the uneven grating on the floor. Pain vibrated up Tover’s spine as he was hauled along a darkened corridor. At the first door, Cherko swiped his wristpad against a sensor and the door clicked open. The room was barely bigger than a closet, with steel floor grates and dark concrete walls. A hint of light filtered into the room from the grated ceiling.
    Cherko dragged Tover to the corner and yanked his arms behind him. He pulled a set of magnetic cuffs from his pocket and locked Tover’s right hand to a thick metal pipe that ran along the base of the wall.
    â€œStay,” Cherko said, pointing to Tover like a dog. He laughed, and he locked the door behind him, and Tover found himself at last, terribly, alone.
    Tover slumped against the wall. “Happy birthday,” he mumbled to himself. He emitted a wheezy chuckle with no mirth to it. Without family, Tover had spent many birthdays in lonely places, but being sold by his lover to a bunch of unscrupulous pirates definitely won the prize as being the worst birthday present ever received.

Chapter Three
    Food was everything.
    Ravenous, Tover ate constantly, and it didn’t matter that every bite cut the wire around his throat deeper into his neck, and it didn’t matter that he only had one hand free to eat with. He shoveled meals into his mouth with his left hand, and