by Ellie Margot
“Fuck,” he grumbled. It came from low in his chest and stopped people in their tracks walking by.
“Keep your shit together,” said Cassian, but his jaw was clenched, and the words sounded choked.
“Both of you,” said Riette. “We need to ask around. Someone would have seen her.”
Neither of them moved, and Riette let out a breath. She walked up to a woman cleaning fish on a small stoop outside of a wooden building. She was older with gray hair. She had a deep tan to her skin, one that the sun had given her, but she seemed motherly. That was until she looked up, and the coldness of her eyes told a different tale. The woman considered them and then threw down her fish. She wiped her hands on the cloth apron that laid over her knees. The woman lifted a brow and scratched the side of her face. Riette saw dust, sand, or salt fall to the earth at the action. Riette knew she was an Elf by her build, even if she was rounded in places that Riette had seen. It made her feel more comfortable approaching her, even if only by a little.
Riette swallowed. “Have you seen a new girl around here?”
“Besides you?” Her voice was smoke and harshness.
“Yes. She’s a little shorter than me. Brown hair, about to her shoulders. Tan.”
“No. But I don’t look around at things that aren’t my business.” The woman snorted and then spit out something opaque near Riette’s feet. She looked down after that as if to dismiss her.
“Where do people go when they first come here?” asked Riette.
The woman raised her eyebrow again. She cracked the knuckles of her left hand against her thigh before answering. The pops sent a shudder through Mekhi as he stood next to Riette. “It depends on what they’re here for.”
Riette looked to the others before looking back. She opened her mouth to speak, but the woman spoke first.
“Ain’t nothing on the ports for anyone. Your girl came here? Then she’s boarding a boat. Anybody, even a shit for brains, knows that.”
“Why would she board a boat?” asked Mekhi, his hands clenched by his side.
“Trade, magic, bad ideas. You find them all on the other side of the sea.” She picked up the fish again and went back to work with taking off the blue and purple scales with the knife from her apron pocket.
Riette took a step forward. “If I wanted to cross the sea, who would I need to speak to?”
“What brought you here?”
“I thought you minded your own business?” asked Riette.
One side of the woman’s mouth lifted before she barked, “Captain Georgette. She takes on most of the lost souls who find themselves here. That and the gilium ore on the other side.” Her teeth were dark, and some were missing. The ones that were left were ragged and worn.
“Excuse me? Gilium ore?”
“Is this girl as chatty as you are?” the woman asked. “Because if so, someone might have killed her by now.”
“Excuse me?” asked Mekhi, stepping forward. Riette put a hand on his chest.
“Thank you for your time,” said Riette.
Riette turned and pulled Mekhi with her.
“Don’t piss off the locals,” said Riette. “We need answers, right? That means we make friends, okay?”
“If everyone’s like her, I don’t think the locals will be too interested in making friends,” said Cassian. He didn’t keep his eyes focused on any one area. They moved in a constant rhythm of right to left.
“Aw, everybody makes friends,” said Riette, coloring her voice in a sing-song manner.
“Now let’s go find Captain Georgette.”
They searched for the better part of an hour. A fair number of ships were docked at port, but very few people were willing to give two shits about strangers. Riette’s jaw felt like ticking too after asking yet another person about the captain and hearing nothing in return.
Finally, she found some help.
“She’s on the end. Red hair. You can’t miss her.” The man pointed toward the end of the docks. He was older, in his mid-fifties. There was gray in his hair and a dust layer of dirt on his cheeks. Underneath was a ruddy hue that only the wind next to the water would bring.
“Thank you. Truly. Your kind—”
“Now what do I get for being helpful?” He took a slow tour of her body with his eyes before grabbing at the crotch of his pants.
“Excuse me?” Riette pulled her head back in shock. She knew exactly what he was asking, but her ears refused to believe it.
“You get the pleasure of keeping what’s left of your teeth,” said Mekhi. His chest was puffed up as he steered Riette away from him.
The man lifted the side of his lip in a snarl, not unlike a dog would. He said something else, but no one caught it.
The group moved quickly at this point.
If Corin was anywhere, she had to be with the captain, and now that they had more sense of direction, there was hope again.
Most of the ships they had seen in passing so far seemed barely able to weather a puddle, let alone an ocean of monsters and everything else.
When they saw Captain Georgette’s ship, it was something else entirely. People were boarding the ship as they approached it. Crates were being pulled by ropes up ramps to the left side of the boat. Crew members, all men from what Riette could see, moved smaller boxes by hand on the far-right ramp.
Riette moved faster. She adjusted her bag, praying Bark was okay inside. She hadn’t had time to check on him. Besides, she didn’t want to hear anything from the others about bringing him along.
The only person who had agreed with her about bringing the sapling was Corin, and they hadn’t had time to discuss what parts of the plans she listened to and what parts she didn’t.
When they got closer, Cassian moved ahead of the pack. A man about his size shouldered past him, but Cassian didn’t say anything. Riette waited for something to occur. The tattoo on her shoulder tingled to prepare her for confrontation, but Cassian moved too quickly to keep contact.
She looked behind her. Mekhi scrunched his face, but he didn’t ask her what was bothering her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The air shifted.
The people around them were not all Elves, but the ones that were were made of thicker stock. Maybe they had lived in the ports for generations. The fact they existed at all put a lot of things into question. Riette looked back toward the cliffs she could see beyond the buildings, and she couldn’t tell that her home was on the other side. It looked like an angry wilderness of dense trees and darkness despite the sun that still surrounded them. It didn’t look like home. It looked like danger, from the cliff itself and the impenetrable dark that would meet a person if they could make it past the snaking vines. Magic was at work there. Riette knew it. There was no other way to make sense of how this world had never met her own before now. She just hoped the magic would accept them if and when they were ready to return.
“Cassian,” Riette called, but he turned only briefly before stopping at the edge of the water in front of the ramps. She didn’t keep his attention, and when Riette looked up, she knew why.
The woman on the ship had long red hair. It was the color of burned berries. Her lips were full, and there were dark streaks on her face.
“That’s her,” said Mekhi. Riette turned toward him and saw him swallow. They shared a look and moved to where Cassian stood.
The woman looked down, but Riette knew the second she saw them. Her face pinched like she smelled something awful. Or something different. Like the fact they didn’t belong there colored the world around them. The woman’s lip turned down, and she pushed past a few bigger men with more scars than face to get to the ramp.
Cassian checked behind him to make sure the others were with him, and then he turned and walked to the end of the ramp. The woman was there before he was.
“No beggars,” she said, and her lip pushed up to show a bit of one of her teeth. She glanced at Riette, and her eyes opened a little wider as if she recognized her, but her face s
tilled right after.
“We’re not begging. We’re searching.”
“Speak. I’m running a crew not a service counter.”
“My sister. She’s supposed to meet us. We were told she would be with you if she was anywhere.”
The woman said nothing, but she lifted her eyebrow.
Mekhi moved closer. “Please, if she’s with you, we need to speak with her.”
“The boyfriend?”
“Yes,” said Mekhi at the same time Cassian answered, “No.”
His eyes cut left to Mekhi, and the woman laughed.
“As fucking precious as this is, there’s no girl here.”
“If a girl wanted to cross the sea and she wasn’t with you, where would she go?” Riette asked.
The woman considered her for a minute. The noises around them were loud, but none of them heard any of it.
“See all these ships? Bullshit show. All of them except for mine and one other.”
“What do you mean?” Riette asked.
“You think you’re the first ones to run down the hill? I’ll take anyone if the pay is right.”
“There’s no way my mother—”
“Riette,” said Mekhi, but Riette glared at him.
The captain lifted a hand to stall their arguing. “It’s all right. I know who she is. You all might not know anything worth anything about being down here, but I do know you’re not from around here. Shit, we were you before we got several fucking clues and lined them up together.”
“My mother would never allow regular travel outside of Vitan.”
“Turn around, girlie. You see where you came from? You see those cliffs? Your mother’s reign ends right there at the tip. Down here, money works, or favors, and if your girl is down here and she isn’t with me, then I’m guessing she’s paying Guy in some other way.”
“My sister would never—”
“Your sister may not have a choice,” said the woman.
“Who is Guy?” Riette asked. They weren’t quite at a fight, but she didn’t want it to get to that point.
“He’s the only one dumb enough to think he could take my business.”
“Georgette—” started Riette.
“Captain,” she said.
“Where is he?” asked Mekhi. There was color showing on his face, and he was biting the inside of his cheek.
“He left. First thing this morning. There was some activity around him too, like something was happening. I thought I saw a girl, but I wouldn’t know who was with him. But if your girl was in a hurry, she would have left with him.”
“You saw her?” asked Mekhi. “Brown hair, short. Beautiful?”
“I wouldn’t have been able to draw her picture from where I stood, but someone female was with them. I know that much. I didn’t make it a point of being in his business though. She have money?”
“She might,” said Cassian. His brow was pinched. He didn’t know if she took anything.
“Well, if she didn’t, and excuse the fuck out of me for doing the math for you all, she would have to pay her fare one way or all the way the other.”
A growl left Mekhi’s throat.
“Look, we don’t know that she left,” said Riette. She pulled on Mekhi’s arm to bring his focus to her instead of Georgette’s words.
“I hear tell you all still have access to your powers, if legends are true. What power would she be?”
“Fire,” said Mekhi.
“Is she pretty?” asked Georgette. Unlike before, her voice was tilted, lighter, as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle that she didn’t have all of the pieces for.
“Yes,” said Cassian, his voice choked.
“Like her?” she asked, gesturing at Riette.
There was a burn in Riette’s cheeks she hoped the natural tan of her skin hid. She almost growled herself.
“Prettier,” Riette answered. She didn’t want to give the others a chance to say anything otherwise.
“Oh, girl, you don’t know?” Georgette said.
“Don’t know what?”
Georgette laughed. “She’s with him, okay? Guy’s a sucker for a pretty face. Always has been.” Riette wasn’t going to fight with the only woman who could help them. At least not then.
“Then we need to go,” Riette said. She turned to the others. “If she left, we have to find her.”
Cassian looked over their shoulders. Frown lines appeared on his face.
“We’ve looked everywhere else,” Mekhi said. He adjusted his bag, but his shoulders were drooped in a way they weren’t before.
“Are you going where Guy’s ship is headed for sure?” asked Riette.
“Without a doubt,” said Georgette.
“How do you know all of this?” asked Mekhi.
“My family has been in trade for generations. This ship was my father’s ship. I know how much each one of you would be sold for, down to the fucking penny.”
Riette’s face warmed, as did the tattoo on her shoulder. She didn’t think people were bought and sold. Nothing like that occurred in Vitan, so it was hard to understand now.
“Easy, sugar. I didn’t say I agree with the practice. I’m Elf myself. To an extent. A generation back or so, we might have introduced some more fun into the bloodline, but I know trade and I know ships.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Other things? Maybe not as much.”
Cassian ran a hand through his dark hair. It was short but long on top, enough to worry with his fingertips. “Let’s go.”
“This isn’t a charity,” said Georgette. She stopped, cleared her throat. “Look, I’m not a total bitch, okay? But I can’t take in boarders because they have a mission made of gold. You have to pay me, or I can’t take you on. There’s not enough space as it is. I’m sorry.”
Riette turned to the others. They didn’t bring anything to trade with. They hadn’t known they would need to. Truthfully, in Vitan, money wasn’t something they used as often. They shared resources and just about everything with each other.
Pulling their arms to have them move a step away, Riette whispered, “I’ll give her a blood oath to get on the boat, and we’ll square it away later. It’s the only way.”
Cassian shook his head. “No, not you. Someone in your position would be screwed if she called a ransom when you come into power.”
“I’m not going to let your sister die.”
“And I’m not going to let you ruin your future to do something that I need to figure out.”
Mekhi jumped in. “Cassian, if she wants to do it and it will save Corin, we need to try. If the boat leaves—”
“This isn’t a discussion. I’m doing it. I’m not going to let her suffer out there if there is any chance my power can help save her. I can’t live with that. I won’t.” Riette’s voice had gone low at the end, and she waited hardly a second before turning. She gave Cassian a look first, but he clenched his jaw and didn’t respond.
“Would you take a blood oath?” Riette asked Georgette.
“Explain,” Georgette said. “I want to make good and sure you know what you’re offering.”
Cassian stepped forward. “She’s pledging by blood to owe you a debt in exchange for an agreed-upon favor.”
“And you’re sure you want to do that?” Georgette asked, her eyes widening.
Riette knew what she saw in them, and it made her stomach clench like she was standing on yet another cliff but couldn’t see the bottom. She nodded because if she spoke the words, she’d have to acknowledge the taste of a bad idea on her tongue.
“Then it looks like I’m going to have to make some space.”
Chapter 9
Georgette led them up the ramp and onto the boat. A few of the people who worked for her looked them over, some more than others, but no one spoke. In fact, when Georgette passed them, each person stopped moving to let her through.
Riette wondered where she got her respect from, how she earned it, but did she really want to find out the answer?
Maybe not. Strength like that wasn’t earned through pleases and thank-yous.
The ship was bigger than most of the others, but it still looked smaller than anything that could face what she only got a glimpse of from the forest’s edge. She shuddered. It was colder by the sea, the wind mixed with the waves to bring sprays of water onto her face, but it wasn’t all that chilled her.
They were barely on the top deck of the boat before Georgette walked them into a small private quarters near the middle of the ship. The door had triple locks, and Riette hadn’t noticed any other women on board. The fact that there was more than one lock wasn’t surprising.
“Have a seat,” Georgette said. There were two chairs in front of a desk that was not unlike the one Riette’s mother had in her office at home. Riette took a seat, and after a moment, Mekhi sat down next to her. Cassian stood silently behind her seat, and with a quick glance upward, Riette saw the small shake in his hands from gripping the back of her chair tightly. She righted herself and faced forward.
“You know what a blood oath is,” Georgette started.
“More than most,” Riette said.
It was bad enough that she was making the decision. She didn’t want a morality lesson in how serious the decision was too.
“I don’t want you thinking you can go back on it once it’s done. It’s final.”
“And I don’t want you acting as if I were a child.”
“You speak as one right now,” Georgette said. “Bringing emotions into business will not serve you well.”
Riette prickled at being checked, but Mekhi touched her hand. Georgette didn’t miss the gesture. Her eyes narrowed, and an expression crossed her face that was lost before Riette could define what it was.
Riette took a breath. “I know you’re busy, and I know I intend to be on this ship. If the blood oath is how that happens, then it needs to happen.”
“So be it,” Georgette said. She stood and wiped a hand down the clothing she was wearing. It was tight fitting around all the curves she had. Despite her soft features, she wasn’t a slight woman, but she wasn’t big. She had muscles that hard work alone brought and red hair that brought only attention.