by Alexie Aaron
“I’ll be careful,” he promised.
“Me too,” Mia said.
The water went from choppy to smooth as they crossed. It took them three tries before they had the angle right. Mia powered down and looked at her crew. Kevin was squinting at the sun, and Fergus kept pinching himself and saying, “Ouch.”
Mia was poked a few times. “Get it out of your system,” she said and powered the boat deeper into the GSD. She stopped after ten minutes, turning the engine off, and letting the boat drift. The only sound was the waves gently lapping at the sides of the skiff. “This is the area where the birdmen fly the lowest to make the transitions,” she said. “The Devil’s Pride should be in this area if she’s still hunting.”
“Why do they call ships shes?” Kevin asked.
“Cid once told me it had to do with the word ship in the Romance languages being feminine. So, the sailors in the Mediterranean started calling ships she, and it just was adopted as she after that,” Mia said. “Ironically, it takes the romance out of it, knowing the explanation.”
“Maybe,” Kevin said with his hand on his stomach. “I feel weird.”
“You’re probably hungry. I have packed us some food. It’s in the cooler if you want to eat now, or you can have one of Ted’s candy bars that I stole.”
“You’re married; the candy bars are yours too,” Kevin said.
“That’s a very good way of thinking about things,” Mia said. “After you departed this earth, a rather famous Irishman named James Joyce wrote, ‘What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.’ My husband only follows this rule when it comes to sharing snacks.”
“And you don’t mind?”
“Of course not, it’s one of the quirks I love about him. Besides, a stolen candy bar tastes all the sweeter.”
“Mia, you’ve spent too much time in Hell,” Fergus said, shaking his head.
Kevin picked up the oars and placed them in the oarlocks. “I think we’re drifting out of position,” he said. “Best not waste the fuel. Besides, it’s too noisy. We may call undue attention to ourselves, and I can’t hear myself think.”
“Mia, would you mind explaining to us whose doublet you are wearing?”
“It’s from the house of Abigor. He’s the Grand Duke of Hades. He commands sixty legions of demons. He and I are inextricably interrelated.”
“What?” Fergus said.
“Sorry, that means we wouldn’t exist without the other. I was genetically engineered and nurtured to be able to seduce and kill him. He is alive because I refused to kill him. I wouldn’t be alive had he not existed, and he stayed alive because my programing failed. We are…”
“Inextricably interrelated,” Kevin said, liking the way the two words sounded.
“Because of this, I fear, he and I will bump into each other again and again. One of his squires found me in the pit and notified him. He got me out.”
“So, he likes you,” Fergus said.
“I would say he’s too wary of me to like me. After all, I could kill him.”
“Would you?” Kevin asked.
“I wouldn’t want to. It would satisfy the ones responsible for making my young life so horrible. They would win.”
“Please explain, Mia, if it doesn’t hurt too much?” Kevin pleaded.
“There is a council of very powerful women who operate on the side of good, as in good versus evil. This spiritual group has played a long game. First, they brought together demons, birdmen, angels, and humans so that, genetically, I had these gifts and talents for battle and magic. After I was born, anytime anything good happened in my life, they destroyed it. I was, for the most part, uncared for, ridiculed in school, and lived some time on the streets of Chicago. I found protectors and love amongst some young men who were killed when they came upon a hoard of demon treasure. I fled west where I found acceptance and love with a crippled man. Then I lost my unborn daughter and my bedridden lover in a fight with a ghost. It twisted my mind, made me bitter.”
“But you’re not bitter. You’re the most loving person I know,” Kevin said.
“Thank you, you’ve honored me,” Mia said before she continued with her tale, “This plan of theirs started failing because they couldn’t control three things. One was your son, PEEPs, and my determination to be normal and accepted. Also, there were a few entities who pulled a few strings. What happened was, instead of a demonic-fueled oversexed assassin who would attract Abigor, I ended up, well, me. I didn’t learn about what they had done to me until I met the being I was to kill. My birth was foretold by Lucifer, and Abigor was sent to kill me. He held me in his arms and showed me mercy. Me, his assassin. Think about it. Abigor had the opportunity to destroy this thing that was going to grow up and destroy him, and he didn’t.”
“You were a baby. Who destroys babies?” Fergus asked.
“Demons do, you eejit,” Kevin said. “But he didn’t, why?”
“I don’t know. A tortured man named Shane Quivers told me that when Abigor held me, I didn’t see the demon. I only saw the angel he was before he fell. Shane said he saw the transfer of love from a human baby to a demon and back again. This is why he didn’t kill me. But he followed me throughout my life until Shane took me back in time and broke the connection. But still we’re…”
“Inextricably interrelated,” Kevin said. “Fergus, your turn to row. My arms haven’t felt this burden since I last held a pickaxe.”
He opened his hands and Mia saw the blisters forming. She took his hands in hers and healed them.
“It works,” she said.
“What works?” Fergus asked, fighting with the right oar, splashing everyone.
“I can still heal in this realm. That means I can do other things too.”
Kevin saw her sly smile. “Mia, what are you thinking?”
“I have a bigger arsenal than just my intellect and wings. I can read minds, mesmerize, start fires, move objects, and move out of my body. Plus, I can sense your son…” Mia closed her eyes and spoke, “He’s alive and over there.” She opened her eyes and pointed.
“There’s nothing there,” Fergus scoffed.
“Let me start the engine, and then you’ll see,” Mia said, climbing over Fergus.
He reached out a hand and steadied her. Fergus was so surprised his hand didn’t go right through her, he forgot to let go.
“Excuse me, I need that leg,” Mia said.
“Oh, sorry. Kevin, I could touch her,” he explained.
“You shouldn’t be touching a married lady,” Kevin scolded.
“He wasn’t being forward,” Mia said. “Just stopping me from falling out of the boat.”
Mia started the engine which made any further conversation difficult. She steered the craft towards where her heart was telling her Murphy was. There was no reciprocal feeling coming back. She dismissed this as the fault of the saltwater on which they traveled.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Small craft off the port bow,” the day watch called.
The quartermaster picked up a spyglass and was surprised to see a woman dressed in a uniform accompanied by two men in working garb.
“Slow, prepare to receive visitors,” he instructed.
Fergus tied the boat off to the side of the ship while Mia called up, “Permission to come aboard.”
“Who be askin’?” the quartermaster inquired.
“Emissary Cooper of the house of Abigor,” she called back.
The quartermaster looked at Captain Crocker. He nodded.
“Permission granted. You may bring one escort with you.”
“Thank you. Be advised, I am armed.”
This raised the eyebrows of the few within earshot. Who volunteered that kind of information? They were used to visitors arriving armed, but this was the first to admit the fact.
Mia climbed over the side and waited for Kevin before addressing the boatswain before her. “I’ve been sent to make a trade. May I speak to whomever would be in charge of su
ch a trade?” Mia asked, looking around. She thought she had spotted someone who resembled Murphy. He was leaner than she remembered, and his beard and hair had grown. Gone was his death-pale skin; he was tan. It was his eyes that gave him away.
“That be the Capt’n, follow me. Leave your man.”
Mia turned to Kevin and whispered, “Your son is standing to the right of the water barrels. See if you can make contact.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mia followed the tattooed man to where a tall man wearing elegant boots stood before a door, she assumed was the way to the captain’s cabin.
“Quartermaster Waite at your service. Please surrender your weapons.”
Mia looked up at the man and drew the dagger from her boot, handing it to him hilt first. “I expect this back,” she said sternly.
“That will be up to Captain Crocker,” Waite replied. He opened the door.
Mia entered the lavishly ornamented cabin. She stood still, letting her eyes adjust to the light inside She saw, seated behind an ornate desk, a clean-shaven man wearing a brilliant waistcoat. His strong, thick shoulders and arms were barely contained in the voluminous sleeves of his linen shirt. Mia bowed quickly, addressing him with one word, “Captain.”
“I recognize your colors. Why is a member of Abigor’s household motoring in the realm of the ghost ships?”
“We have lost a valuable prisoner in a blast. He’s a farmer carrying an axe. I was sent to make inquires in the GSD. I am prepared, should you have him, to offer you recompense once he is returned to us.”
“What makes him so valuable to the house of Abigor? He is just a farmer.”
“He has information we would like to ease out of him,” Mia said, lifting an eyebrow.
“His memory could be faulty. We picked him up out of the sea.”
“I have been entrusted to bring him back whole, not to make a judgement call on the man’s sanity.”
“Why would Abigor employ a woman?”
“Abigor likes females,” Mia answered.
“That’s what I hear. Would you join me in a brief respite before we search my crew for your farmer?”
“I would enjoy that very much. The sea air gives one a certain appetite.”
Crocker liked this woman. “How do I address you?”
“Cooper is fine, Captain.”
“Do you have a first name? Mine is Daniel.”
“Mia,” she answered, frowning.
“Is there a problem, Mia?” Crocker asked.
“It’s been too long since I’ve heard my name or thought of myself as Mia.”
“I take it you weren’t born in the house of Abigor? You bear no markings of a demon.”
“Upon my honor, Captain, Abigor held me as a baby,” Mia said.
“Daniel, call me Daniel. It has been too long since a gentle borne woman has said my name.”
Mia lifted an eyebrow and said, “Daniel, it would be a pleasure.”
Kevin walked over to the water barrel and nodded to Murphy. “May I have some water?”
Murphy looked to the boatswain, and he nodded. Murphy lifted a ladle full of the brackish water and cautioned, “It’s not fresh.”
Kevin took a sip, letting most of it evaporate in his mouth. He pulled out his flask and chased it with a measure of his whisky.
“Thank you,” he said and walked away to stand by the ladder to the boat.
Murphy was at cross purposes. He knew they were there for him. He knew there was going to be a negotiation before they took him back. The question was, did he want to go? His father looked over at him, and Murphy saw concern in Kevin’s eyes. Mia did nothing more than glance his way. She was dressed in a black uniform. He thought there was the emblem of a flying horse on the front of her waistcoat. If so, she appeared to be representing Abigor. What happened to her in the pit? Did she join the other side? But if she did, why was his father supporting her?
“The Devil’s Pride is an amazing ship,” Mia commented, sipping on the sherry the captain had given her. She was cautious to not drink until he did first.
“We’re a trading vessel. I do a little hunting when the opportunity presents itself.”
“You don’t look like a whaler,” Mia said.
“No, I hunt flying monsters.”
“Angels?” she asked. “Dragons?”
“No, although, I imagine they could be brought down by the same method.”
“And what is that?” she asked.
“Barbed harpoon. The trick is to anticipate the flight path and aim in front of the fleeing birdman.”
“Have you downed many?” she asked.
“One or two a year, but recently, I brought in three.”
“That is a remarkable story,” Mia said.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I’ve seen the bastards fly. They are strong flyers.”
“I see you have no love for them,” Daniel said.
“I do not underestimate their talents. To do so is folly.”
Daniel liked this emissary. He knew better than touch anything that Abigor owned. But if she were to offer herself? He had to get her interest.
“I could show you the birdmen. I have them on ice in the hold. You must keep them contained or they dissipate, and then no bounty, only a wild tale to share with the captain of The Risen.
“What is the bounty on a birdman?” Mia asked.
“A few gold pieces. Gold buys a lot in this realm, and as you can see, I have expensive tastes.”
Mia got up. “Daniel, may I look at your treasures?”
“As long as you keep them out of your pockets,” he teased.
Mia laughed. “How large are these birdmen?” she asked.
“Oh, forgive me. I thought you meant… I’m sorry.” He donned his coat and checked his pistol before tucking it in his pocket.
Mia waited and deliberately leaned into him as he placed his hand in the middle of her back. She knew she was playing with fire. This ghost probably was well equipped to take advantage of her. Yet, she was an emissary of a demon house. Demons were highly sexual.
He turned her to him. “After we conduct business, maybe we could discuss things of a more intimate nature?”
Mia smiled wickedly. “First, business. I value my head too much to ignore the task I was given.”
“That is understandable,” he said. He advanced towards her, but a knock on the door stopped him. “Come,” he called.
The door opened and the quartermaster stood there. “Capt’n Crocker, the farmer wishes to speak to you.”
“Tell him I’ll see him after I’ve given Emissary Cooper a tour of the hold.”
“Yes, Capt’n,” the quartermaster said, leaving the door open.
Mia followed Crocker out of his quarters, down first to the cannon deck and then down into the darkness of the hold.
“Brrrr, it’s cold in here,” she said.
“It’s necessary,” he said. “Come over here. I’ll warm you up.”
Mia looked over at him. “Here, you want it here?”
“No, of course not. Forgive me, I’m not talking to a common whore.”
“Do you bring your whores down here to fondle them?” she prodded.
“No.”
Mia walked by him, stopping to put one hand on his arm while the other picked his pocket of his pistol. Mentally, she pushed into his mind and planted the seed of an alternate reality.
Daniel was on fire. He couldn’t think straight. He took a step away and looked down at the woman. “Forgive me, there isn’t any privacy here.”
“I’m sorry. You were going to show me the dead birds?”
“Did I say they were dead?”
Mia backed under his arm as if in fright. “You mean they are alive? You said they were on ice.”
“Forgive me for leading you astray. I didn’t know your motivations,” he said, sliding his hand down her side, caressing her hip.
Mia tried not to cringe. There was too much at stak
e. “Show me the birdmen. Daniel, I may be able to make you a better offer. Abigor likes his sport. If you have live birdmen, then you could get more than a few gold pieces for them,” Mia said excitedly. “Think of the things you could buy with a chain of pure gold…”
There was a gleam in his eye that could only come from gold. Mia knew that her seduction was forgotten. The man was gold hungry. This relieved her. She didn’t want to think of how far she was going to have to go in order to save Murphy. Her mental seduction of the man was a necessary evil, but she would have to be very careful it didn’t become physical.
He walked her deeper into the hold. She passed an open set of barred doors, and then she viewed something that broke her heart. There, behind a barred, locked cage, nursing the wounds of gaping holes in their wings, were three birdmen. They were very thin and pale. She took a step back and said through her nose, “They’re sick.”
“I think you could fatten them up for Abigor’s uses,” he said.
“Mind if I inspect them?”
“I don’t know…”
Mia took off her coat and said, “Pat me down. I carry no weapon.”
Daniel looked at the way her shirt pulled at the full breasts and pulled her to him and ran his hands roughly over her. She bore the indignation with a vow to get even, possibly gelding the man before she left the ship.
“Go ahead. Be careful, they are chained, but they are still dangerous.”
Daniel opened the cage with a set of keys he pulled of a hook on the far wall. He closed it behind her. Mia walked up to the first of the birdmen. She didn’t recognize him or his jailed brethren. She pulled off her gloves and ran her hands along the broken wing as if to see the soundness of it. The birdman jerked as a healing started. He looked at her in alarm, and she sent a thought into his head. “I’m Mia Cooper Martin, a colleague of Angelo Michaels. I’m a healer. Don’t let on. Look at me with disgust. Treat me as if I’m a demon.”
He did just that. He howled in pain and spat in her direction. The others responded in the same way as she touched them. Mia laughed as if it were a sport. She whirled around with wild eyes looking at Daniel. “These will do. I’ll send a ship for them,” she said. “Come, let me out. It’s time to find that farmer.”