The young woman gasped suddenly, catching everyone’s attention. One hand covered her gaping mouth, while the other pointed at Jonas’s left arm, hidden fully by his jacket sleeve.
“He has a tattoo of the charm!” she said urgently to the others. “And I think it carries a spell! But I can’t see what kind.”
“What?” Jonas scoffed, clinging to denial for dear life while Twist felt his fear spark hot in the buzzing at his own neck.
The man moved very quickly, grabbing Jonas’s arm and shoving his sleeve up to his elbow, baring his tattoo. The woman in black and Tasha both gasped to see it. Jonas seemed too startled to react quickly enough and didn’t manage to free himself from the man in black before the stranger bent down and ran his tongue across Jonas’s tattoo. Jonas let out a disgusted cry and shoved the man forcefully away.
“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” he demanded, enraged.
Twist had been so shocked that his mouth was still hanging open, his heart pounding in fright. Myra and the others seemed equally disturbed, silent in their shock.
“That’s gypsy blood magic!” the man announced, his expression only astonished. “I can taste it. It’s fresh, as well. It’s strong, but still settling in.”
“Try that again and you’ll lose your tongue, you freak!” Jonas growled, wiping angrily at his arm with his other hand, before pulling his sleeve back into place.
Twist realized with horror that the rest of the woman’s friends were now approaching them as well, undoubtedly drawn by the commotion. Tasha looked to Jonas with clear uncertainty, while Myra and Kima were clearly confused, and Niko seemed only annoyed by this entire experience.
“But you must believe in the story,” the woman in black said soothingly to Jonas. “Why else would you have that? Not to mention going to all the trouble of finding a real gypsy witch. Why, you have to be the most devout enthusiast of us all. Why are you fighting us?”
“I don’t believe in anything!” Jonas snapped. “I’ve nothing to do with you or your mad little club. Now leave me and my friends alone or I’ll trounce the lot of you!”
“Is anything the matter here?” a new voice asked. Twist and the others turned to find a pair of porters had arrived. “Because,” one of them went on, “as I’m sure you know, Aden has forbid all violence aboard this ship.”
“There’s no trouble here, officers,” Jonas said with a snide tone to his voice. “We were just leaving.”
“We’re not police,” the porter began, but Jonas wasn’t listening.
Jonas turned immediately, took Twist by the arm, and led him swiftly away while Myra followed close at Twist’s side without a moment’s hesitation. Their other friends followed a step behind, but no one else did. Twist heard the group of enthusiasts speaking urgently; some of them seemed to be calling Twist and his friends back, but Jonas only hurried his pace until he and his companions had all begun to descend the stair down into the atrium.
“What was all of that about?” Kima asked.
She, Twist, and the others all reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped out onto the wide floor of the ship. Jonas finally released Twist and glanced up to be sure that they weren’t being followed by any of the mad people. So far, no one had come after them.
“Holy hell, Kima,” Jonas answered. “You really don’t want to know.”
“Well, I certainly want to know,” Myra declared, looking cross. “Why did those people want to see your watch, darling? Who are they?”
Twist cringed at the idea of telling her, but he knew better than to refuse.
“Do you remember what the dragons and the djinn and Mama all said about Jonas and I?” he asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to go over all of it again. “That my watch and how old I am are ways to know who I am?”
Tasha’s eyes grew wide in alarm, and she stared at Twist bewildered, while Niko and Kima only seemed confused. Twist glanced to them hesitantly, unsure what to expect.
Myra’s face washed over with alarm. “You mean that story about you two?” she asked Twist, glancing to Jonas as well.
“Yes, all of that,” Twist said, doubly relieved that he wasn’t forced to be more specific in front of Tasha. “Apparently, those people know the story as well. Only they’ve turned it all into some kind of epic tale. That woman who recognized me wore a symbol like the one on my watch on a pendant around her neck.”
“That man had one as a pin,” Jonas added darkly.
“But how can they even know about your past, darling?” Myra asked. “I thought only dragons and djinn knew anything about it. And the gypsies, of course. But they are a part of it all,” she added quickly.
“I have no idea,” Twist said, shaking his head.
“Well,” Tasha said, drawing the others’ attention, “it’s a legend among the Sighted. Two people sharing one fae soul: the split soul. One of them is the son of a witch, but the other is a mystery. Both of them are hunted by the fae and use gypsy magic to hide from them.”
Twist, Jonas, and Myra stared back at Tasha in shock. Niko gave a silent sigh and examined his fingernails. Kima’s expression turned thoughtful.
“Why are you surprised by any of this?” Tasha asked Twist and Jonas, looking confused. “I thought everyone Sighted had heard that tale. It’s a popular legend. Those who enjoy the tale like to wear the charms to identify each other, and some of them are even enthusiastic enough to make themselves believe that the charms can actually protect them from evil fae.”
Kima broke her thoughtful silence suddenly. “Do you think these people might know something about what happened to my son? He was taken away by the same creatures.”
“Dear little Storm?” Tasha asked her, startled. Twist quickly realized that no one had properly explained to Tasha that Storm was actually a changeling satyr.
“No, Pahmut,” Kima said sadly. “Storm wasn’t my real son. He stole my son from me and took his place.” No matter how much she tried to sound unemotional when she said this, Twist heard the pain in her voice.
“A changeling…” Tasha said, sounding unnerved. “I knew there was some something odd about the boy, but I had no idea. I didn’t realize changelings actually existed.”
“Well, Storm really is a satyr,” Jonas said coldly. “He’s got horns and all, these days.”
“Oh, Kima,” Tasha said mournfully. “I’m so sorry for you.”
“Thank you,” Kima said grimly. “But I will get my son back.” It wasn’t hope, and it wasn’t a wish. Her voice was a solid as stone, and certain down to her bones. “Now, do you think those crazy people might know anything about where he is?”
“They might, yes,” Tasha answered. “Assuming some of their fantasy is based on fact. As I said, everyone knows something of the tale,” she added, glancing at Twist and Jonas. “But some people have taken the time to ferret out more details. You might want to wait a moment, though, for them to calm down enough to speak honestly with you. I’ll go with you to ask them, if you like.”
“Thank you,” Kima said, sounding surprised.
“And because we hate Sight circles,” Jonas said darkly, his arms crossed, “Twist and I never heard this apparently ubiquitous little story? But everyone else has?”
Tasha looked at him. “I’ve never noticed that tattoo before.”
“Got it last week.”
“Why?” Tasha asked, her innocence very nearly flawless. “You say you don’t believe in all that nonsense.”
While Jonas let the silence stretch, Myra looked between them with obvious concern. “Jonas’s grandmother said he needed the tattoo to keep him safe,” she said to Tasha.
Tasha looked to her in surprise. “Do you believe the story of the split soul? That Twist is the wit—”
“Please, don’t say it,” Twist said, cutting her off. “Not you, Tasha. I hate that bloody title, no matter if my mother was really a witch or not.”
“Do you believe it?” Tasha asked him, her astonishment growing.
“I sure as hell don’t want to,” Twist grumbled. “But…well, I met my grandmother recently. I know she was who she claimed to be because she had a token from my mother. I touched it and saw my mother’s face for the first time in twenty-seven years. My grandmother told me a story very like the one that mad woman repeated to me,” he said with a nod to the lounge above them.
“Good heavens, you’ve been busy without us,” Tasha said, shaking her head. “Did you happen upon any other startling discoveries since we last met?”
“Just Atlantis,” Jonas said with a shrug.
“Of course,” Tasha said, smiling.
“But, Tasha,” Twist began, “you must have seen my watch, in all the time we’ve been together. If you knew the story, and you recognized the charm, then why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“I notice a lot of things,” Tasha said. “If I mentioned each one, I’d never stop speaking. I thought it was odd when I saw it,” she said with a glance to the chain that hung out of his waistcoat pocket. “But you’re a rational man. You never spoke of the split soul at all. You clearly have very limited knowledge of Sighted culture. I assumed you didn’t know what the symbol even meant. I imagined it was nothing but a curious coincidence.”
Twist looked to Jonas, silently wondering if he believed her explanation. Jonas looked back at him with yellow-green eyes. If Tasha’s Sight truly showed her as much as it seemed to, it stood to reason that she’d noticed that Twist and Jonas were the right age and shared a unique connection through their Sights.
“Of course,” Tasha went on, “it’s also a bit amusing that the two of you happen to have very strong Sights and seem to both be just the right age. If I believed in all of that silliness about evil fairies, then the two of you would indeed be a perfect fit for the legend of the split soul. You, the witch’s son,” she added with a gesture to Twist, ”and you, the other half,” she said to Jonas. “But of course the story is rather ridiculous.”
Tasha’s sarcasm was as plain as day as she spoke, supporting her meaning perfectly. She had noticed but hadn’t believed. Her answer seemed as flawless as every other part of her: honed and refined to a degree that could only be artificial.
Before Twist could mention this, however, Tasha suddenly seemed to fall backward as if she’d been grabbed roughly from behind. She let out a startled gasp and vanished entirely from sight, faster than a blink. She never hit the floor, and there was no one behind where she had stood. Twist stared into the empty air where she had been and at the empty floor where she should have fallen, in complete confusion, while the others all did the same.
“What the hell?” Niko asked, breaking the silence first. His voice was shaking with fear.
Niko’s exclamation woke Twist from his confusion in an instant and sent his heart racing with his own panic. He turned to Jonas—with a glimmer of relief, finding him still at his side—and grabbed a tight hold of his arm as memories of Jonas vanishing from a dreadful tea shop in London threatened to rob sanity from him. Jonas’s fear and confusion hit his Sight like a hot blast of fire, but it quickly cooled and receded to the back of his mind.
“Where did she go?” Kima asked, her face a mask of alarm.
“Darling, she just vanished!” Myra said to Twist with her own sudden panic blazing in her azure eyes.
New fear washed over Twist, stealing his breath from him. He reached out to Myra, his arm around her shoulders, holding her close beside him as her fear bled into his mind as well. He began to feel lightheaded from the effect of two frightened minds mingling with his own, but he didn’t release his hold on either of them for fear that they might vanish as well.
“It wasn’t a dragon,” Jonas said quickly, looking around with fearful amber eyes. “We all still remember her.”
“Dragon?” Niko snapped, his fear shifting into anger. “What are you talking about? What’s happening? Where is Tasha?”
Each question grew in volume and force as he continued to look uselessly around for her. No one answered him; none of them had an answer to give. Tasha had vanished into thin air, right before them all. Niko gave a sudden gasp, as if struck with inspiration, and then took off at a run.
“Twist, this is really awkward,” Jonas said as he, Twist, and Myra hurried to follow after Niko, while Twist continued to hold both of their hands. Kima followed very close behind them.
“I’m not losing you again,” Twist muttered. His head was still swimming with both Jonas’s and Myra’s fear, but the worst terror he could imagine was to lose either one as shockingly quickly as they’d lost Tasha.
“I’m not going to vanish,” Jonas said gently. “There’s only one dragon left on Earth, and he kind of likes us.”
“It’s not dragons,” Twist answered, not letting go of his hand. “You said so yourself. We all still remember Tasha. It could be anything. We don’t know what’s happening.”
“Twist…” Jonas began, tugging at his grip as Niko ducked into a cabin just up ahead of them.
“No. I’m not losing you again,” Twist said firmly, struggling to focus with all of the chaos in his mind. Myra looked to Jonas worriedly as they all reached the cabin Niko had entered. Jonas gave a sigh and stopped tugging.
They found Niko inside, having dumped the contents of a trunk out on the floor. Small metal contraptions, each one looking like something Niko had made himself, littered the blue carpet. He knelt beside his pile of copper, silver, and wire and searched through the items hurriedly until he snatched one of them up with purpose.
“What’s that?” Jonas asked.
“The same thing I used to find Myra when we first met,” Niko said, standing now as he fit his fingers into the contraption.
He pulled the copper sphere apart until it grew to the size of a small melon, and a spark of electricity flashed to life in the empty center of it. Niko adjusted the controls with his fingertips, and the electric spark moved as if of its own accord.
“I gave Tasha something that this can track…” Niko muttered distractedly as he continued to adjust the controls.
Then, the light in the center of the globe was suddenly snuffed out. Niko watched this in horror and hurriedly readjusted the controls. The light came back to life, moved a bit once again, and then was snuffed out just as before. Niko let out a furious growl and threw the contraption at the nearest wall. It bounced off, collapsed in on itself, and fell to the floor.
“That didn’t work?” Jonas asked hesitantly from the doorway, where he, Twist, Myra, and Kima all still stood.
“It should find her anywhere on the planet,” Niko spat spitefully at the crumpled contraption on the floor. “It’s like she fell into a different universe or…”
His anger faded an instant before he covered his face in his hands. Twist felt an arctic chill seep into his mind from both Jonas and Myra, while the same thought occurred to him as well.
“I'm sure she's all right,” Myra said gently to Niko. “She's just not here right now.”
“Then where is she?” Niko tried to snap back at her. The pain on his face and the dampness in his eyes marred the false rage. “She just vanished!”
“Where the hell is Arabel when I need her?” Jonas grumbled.
Myra’s emotions flashed with sudden brightness, startling Twist. “Oh!” she gasped at the same moment. “We can tell Aden things!”
“What?” Kima asked.
“He can tell us if anything we say is a lie,” Myra went on. “Come on, let’s go tell him Tasha is alive and have him tell us that it’s true.”
“That still won’t help us find her,” Jonas said with a sigh.
Twist looked to Niko and was astonished by the naked desperation he saw in the young man’s eyes. Twist knew exactly what it felt like to have a dear friend ripped suddenly away from him. Niko was too proud to say it, but he deeply needed to know if she was still alive.
“It’s a good place to start,” Twist said to Jonas.
Niko took no convincing at all. The five of
them hurried back down to the ship’s open floor and toward the glass-enclosed bridge. Once there, the guards at the door barred their entry, saying that no one but ship personnel was allowed on the bridge.
“Then get Aden out here!” Niko growled savagely at them. “This is urgent. Someone has just vanished right before our eyes!”
“Another one?” asked one of the guards in alarm.
“Another one?” Jonas asked back.
“I’ll get him,” the guard said, turning for the door into the bridge. The other guard shut the door behind his fellow.
“Someone else has vanished into thin air?” Jonas asked the remaining guard.
“Aden is trying to keep this quiet,” the guard answered coldly. “We don’t want to start a panic.”
“Too late,” Jonas snapped. “We’re all in a right state.”
The guard glared back at Jonas ungratefully but didn’t respond. Not a moment later, the door to the bridge opened. The other guard and Aden both emerged.
“Who’s vanished now?” Aden asked them in a hushed and frightened tone.
“Tasha,” Niko answered, his voice soundly like it was barely holding steady. “She just disappeared right in front of us.”
“Oh no, not Natasha,” Aden moaned, appearing genuinely distressed. “Quick. Someone tell me she’s alive.” Myra complied instantly, speaking the statement simply. “Thank heaven,” Aden said. “That’s not a lie. She is still alive, wherever she is.”
Niko let out a held breath, nearly collapsing with relief to hear this news. Kima took hold of his shoulders to steady him.
“How many people have vanished?” Jonas asked.
Aden looked to him hesitantly. “I thought we were enemies.”
“You want Tasha back, don’t you?” Jonas asked coldly. “She’s not just our friend, she’s your celebrity trophy. Be we enemies or not, fighting each other isn’t going to help her.”
Aden paused thoughtfully before he spoke again. “So far, seven people have been reported missing, and now Natasha makes it eight. Three have been actually seen to vanish into thin air, while the others were simply missed and unable to be found. At first, we thought we might have a killer on board, but then people started to vanish in plain sight. There is clearly something else going on.”
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