Blood

by Emily Thompson

  The crewman shrugged, not looking up.

  “Why does he seem to know what you’re talking about, when I don’t?” Twist asked, pointing to the crewman.

  Jonas looked at Twist almost sadly. “I guess you haven’t read many romance novels. I’m trying to decide if I want to keep letting her pursue me or not,” he added in a tight grumble.

  “Oh!” Twist said, suddenly understanding. “But…but Jonas, you’ve already kissed her,” he said softly. “What’s left to decide?”

  Jonas smiled at Twist. “Well, aren’t you quaint?”

  The crewman made a low sniggering sound. Jonas flashed him a glare.

  “Jonas, I know you’re a pirate,” Twist began patiently, “but you don’t have to be a scoundrel as well. You can’t go around romancing loads of different women, willy-nilly.”

  “Why not?” Jonas asked with a frown, as if this were the first he’d ever heard of such a rule.

  “But it’s not decent,” Twist said earnestly.

  “And have you married Myra yet? You’ve kissed her plenty.”

  “That’s entirely a separate situation!” Twist snapped, pointing a finger at Jonas.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Now see here!” Twist growled. He paused, finding he really had nothing else to say. His anger chilled as he thought through his own argument again. Jonas most certainly had a point. “Good heavens,” he breathed. “Am I in danger of being a scoundrel?”

  Jonas laughed. “Twist, you couldn’t be, even if you tried. Really. You can’t even touch another girl.”

  “Well, that’s not really the point, now is it?”

  “I don’t know,” Jonas said, shaking his head. He put an arm around Twist’s shoulders and smiled at him. “But if it makes you feel any better, I’m sure you don’t have a single unscrupulous bone in your body.”

  “That does make me feel a little better, actually,” Twist said gratefully.

  The crewman leaned up again to glance back at them in bemused curiosity.

  “Mind your own business, will you?” Jonas snapped at him. “Don’t you have some job to do?”

  “I’m on watch,” the crewman said, turning around to lie down again. “Nearly dawn, and all is well.”

  “Bloody eavesdroppers,” Jonas grumbled.

  By the time the sun rose fully into a new blue sky, the airship was already beginning to sail over a vast gray-and-red desert that stretched from the sea to the feet of giant mountains in the distance. Twist was surprised to find that every other passenger on the ship already knew that they would see the Nazca Lines this morning. Not long after he and Jonas had come outside, people began to crowd out onto the deck and sit in the netting to get a good view, even though it was still long before breakfast would be ready.

  Skye and Myra both appeared with the others, joining Twist and Jonas. Myra sat beside Twist at the edge of the netting and peered down to the dusty ground eagerly, chatting lightly with Twist.

  “How interesting,” she toned, searching for any disturbances in the desert floor. “Skye told me all about these lines we’re going to see. I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

  “Oh, good,” Twist said, calling a questioning look from her. “Well, I hadn’t heard of them either. Apparently, everyone else in the world has. Jonas teased me for not knowing,” he added with a plaintive expression.

  “What a beast!” Myra gasped. Twist smiled, feeling her protective anger flash through his Sight from their intertwined fingers.

  “I’m only joking,” Twist said, patting her hand with his free one. “He wasn’t so terrible.”

  “Still,” Myra muttered, looking cross as she glanced to where Skye and Jonas sat in the netting, peering straight down together. “Well, never mind the brute,” she said, looking back to Twist with a sweet smile. “How did you sleep, darling?”

  Twist’s eyes twitched away from hers. “Oh, fine. How about you?” he asked, looking up to her hopefully.

  Myra was watching him carefully through slightly worried eyes, while her emotions wafted cautiously at the edges of his Sight. “Fine, fine…” she said almost absently.

  Twist’s fears rose; she must have sensed something amiss in him. He silently cursed his overly honest nature yet again. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” he asked, feeling desperation creep up the back of his throat.

  Myra nodded, looking to the sky around them. “Yes, quite lovely.”

  Twist looked away, searching the world for anything to talk about—anything but dreams. His eyes found Skye as she spoke to Jonas with a warning look in her sharp blue eyes. Jonas nodded submissively, looking down through the netting underneath him. Skye leaned closer, threateningly, speaking again. Twist saw a small smile play at the edge of Jonas’s mouth as he nodded his understanding again. The buzz at Twist’s neck felt only cool and calm.

  Perplexed once again by the dichotomy, Twist continued to watch as Skye tapped a finger on her cheek expectantly. Jonas glanced up at her and then bent closer to place a kiss on the indicated spot. A satisfied smile bloomed on Skye’s face, and she reached out to wrap a hand around the back of his neck. Jonas’s eyes snapped closed, but he didn’t pull away as Skye caught his lips in a warm kiss. Twist felt a blush of heat in the buzz at his neck and tried to turn his attention away.

  “They look like a very smart match, don’t they?” Myra asked, leaning closer to whisper to him.

  “I suppose,” Twist offered.

  “They’re both a pair of scallywags, after all,” Myra added with a grin.

  “Scallywags?” Twist asked, looking to Myra quizzically.

  “Isn’t it a glorious word?” Myra asked brightly. “Skye taught it to me. I simply love it. Scallywag…” she said again, as if the sounds tasted nice on her tongue.

  “It’s a rather accurate description of them both as well.”

  “We have such interesting and entertaining friends, don’t we?” Myra toned, her pride warming his skin.

  Twist could only agree, thinking over the full list of people he might consider to be his friends. To his surprise, the list was getting fairly long these days.

  A woman standing at the bow of one of the two hulls gave a gasp and pointed downward. Everyone’s attention turned to follow her gesture, as a murmur of excitement wafted in the cool air. Twist and Myra looked down through the netting to see a very clear whitish outline, in the simplified shape of a giant monkey with a spirally tail, on the flat, red desert floor. Judging by their distance above the ground, Twist could guess that each seemingly perfect straight or circular line was hundreds of feet long.

  As he marveled at the strangeness of such an image, his mind slowly realized exactly how high he was in the sky. His vision began to swim, and he snapped his eyes up; for a moment he felt relieved, but then he remembered that the ship’s engines weren’t even on. They were literally hanging in open air, on the wind alone. His breath felt suddenly short.

  “Twist, you all right?” Jonas’s voice called from his place on the netting.

  “He’s fine!” Myra called back, already rubbing soothingly at Twist’s back. “There, there, darling,” she added softly to him. “Look, I’m not afraid,” she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Twist looked to her to find an eager light in her eyes. “Can’t you feel it?” she asked, putting on a warm smile. “You can sense what I’m feeling when I touch you, can’t you? Well, I’m only delighted by this view.”

  Twist pulled on his Sight, on the sensation of her touch, and found the usual sunny brightness running through her, colored by a playfulness Twist didn’t expect. “Yes, I can feel it.”

  “Can you keep it in mind when you look down?” she asked. “You could try with me instead of Jonas, couldn’t you?”

  Twist closed his eyes and forced his lungs to take a slow, full breath. Myra’s sparkling emotions flooded into his mind when he pulled at them. Unlike with Jonas’s touch, Twist found that the feeling of Myra’s delight hung like a thin screen before his attention.
He could still see his own fears behind it. After a moment of focusing on her, however, he managed to get his breath to come normally again. When he opened his eyes, he found that the airship continued to sail on easily, despite its precarious position.

  “There, do you feel better now?” Myra asked, smiling at him with the same glimmering brightness that lingered in Twist’s mind.

  “I do,” Twist said, smiling back.

  “Try looking down,” Myra said, glancing to the desert again.

  Doing as he was told, Twist looked down to find the image of a giant bird with its wings outstretched and a long, fanned tail, drawn in the same huge, simplified outline of white. Once again, his fears rose as his eyes gauged the distance. He pulled at Myra’s brightness and used it to push his fears away. With some effort, his fears finally began to ebb as he continued to look down at the desert.

  “How’s that, darling?” Myra asked softly after a long silence.

  “I think I’m all right,” Twist said, glancing back to her with an encouraging smile.

  “That’s wonderful,” Myra said, her happiness burning brighter. “Isn’t that a pretty one?” she asked, pointing to the bird shape. “And look there, is that a spider or an ant?” she asked, pointing farther off ahead of them.

  Twist continued to focus heavily on Myra’s delight as they both admired the inexplicable, gigantic images in the desert floor. They passed animals of all sorts, plants and flowers, simple geometric lines that could have stretched for miles, and many spiraling shapes, while the sun climbed higher into the morning sky. The other passengers around them pointed and chatted excitedly at each image in turn, while Twist clung tightly to Myra’s hand. Even after what felt like a long time, Twist’s focus still slipped away far too easily.

  “How’s it going over here?” Jonas asked, coming to meet Twist and Myra. He crouched on the deck beside where Twist sat. “You dizzy yet?” he asked Twist with a taunting smile.

  Twist readied a snappy reply, but Myra spoke first.

  “Not a bit of it. He’s just fine,” she said proudly to Jonas.

  “Really?” Jonas asked, looking overly startled. “Who are you, and what have you done with Twist?” he asked quickly.

  Twist shot him a glare. “I’m not that fragile, am I?”

  Jonas gave him a hesitant expression.

  “Shut up,” Twist snapped, looking away from him.

  Jonas laughed under his breath.

  “Are you teasing my poor Twist again?” Myra asked sourly, her emotions chilling on Twist’s skin.

  “I can’t help it,” Jonas said with a sigh. “I tease everyone I like. Force of habit.”

  “What were you saying about us having interesting friends?” Twist asked Myra. “Perhaps another adjective would do better.”

  Myra giggled into a hand.

  “Oh, you stuffy little dandy,” Jonas said, reaching out to shove at Twist’s shoulder harmlessly.

  Twist initially began to build a retort, but the moment of contact filled his Sight with the cool, calm, soothing fog that Jonas’s touch always bore. After all the diligent focus he’d spent to banish his natural fears with Myra’s touch, he was stunned to find his fears and anger vanish so easily into Jonas’s white fog, without leaving a trace. He looked up to find Jonas smiling at him with brilliant, deep-blue eyes.

  “Bloody pirate,” Twist shot back as sharply as he could manage, forcing his face into something resembling a cross expression.

  “Hey!” Skye’s voice called from where she still sat in the netting. “Big lizard coming up!”

  “Oh, I like the lizards,” Jonas said brightly, already hurrying to meet her.

  Myra shook her head slowly, watching him. “I tell you, that man makes less sense to me the longer I know him.”

  “Never mind the brute,” Twist said, echoing her earlier sentiment and calling an instant smile from her. “Now, where’s this lizard?”

  After its tour of the Nazca desert, the airship set off for the dense jungles and the long, tall mountain chain that filled the eastern horizon. The engines were restarted as the ship dropped to meet the windy peaks, and the sails went slack. After being so long in the quiet of pure wind power, Twist was alarmed by how much noise the engines actually made. The giant propellers angled slowly, guiding the ship through the thin mists that wandered in the highest mountain valleys. While many of the other passengers retired to the lounge, Twist and Myra stood at the railing to get a better view.

  “This place seems very familiar,” Myra mentioned, watching the mists scurry over the hearty green trees and grasses that clung to the gray rock.

  “It’s not unlike Nepal, is it?” Twist asked back.

  She shook her head slowly, her gaze drifting down into an immense valley full of white cloud. Twist felt her emotions chill and fall still. He could only imagine how many memories she might have kept of her life in her childhood home and how many she could have lost in all the years she had spent alone. He reached up to wrap his arm around her shoulders. Somewhat startled from her musings, Myra gave him a smile and leaned comfortably against his side as they looked out together.

  Alerted to Jonas’s approach by the buzz in his neck, Twist wasn’t surprised to hear his voice behind them. He couldn’t, however, catch the words as Jonas seemed to speak very softly to someone else. Glancing back, he saw him whisper in Skye’s ear. Skye nodded in understanding and gave Twist a wink before approaching to stand beside Myra.

  “Oh, what pretty weather,” Skye said brightly to her, smiling up to the open blue sky and the fingers of lacy white cloud that reached across it.

  “Yes, it is nice, isn’t it?” Myra asked back, smiling as she looked up as well.

  “So which of the shapes in the desert was your favorite?” Skye asked, her keen eyes gleaming with intrigue.

  As Myra put on a thoughtful face, Twist felt her emotions lighten considerably when her thoughts changed direction. He let his arm fall away, taking her hand again instead before she began listing her favorite shapes to Skye. Stepping up beside him, Jonas gave Twist a questioning look and nodded to Myra. Understanding dawned quickly on Twist, and he gave Jonas a confident nod.

  “She’s all right,” he said to Jonas, careful to keep his voice low enough not to catch Myra’s attention. “Good idea, though,” he added, glancing to Skye as she and Myra got more enthralled in their discussion. Myra’s emotions continued to lift and brighten.

  Jonas shook his head, gazing off into the mist and jagged rock around them. “We live in a dark world, when even Myra has demons.”

  “Which one did you like, darling?” Myra asked, turning to Twist.

  “The monkey,” he said, naming the first one that came to mind.

  “Oh, that one was awfully cute, wasn’t it?” Myra asked back, her thoughts high and sunny once again.

  “I liked the spider,” Jonas offered.

  “You would,” Skye said. “Boys…” she added to Myra with a sigh.

  Myra giggled.

  Jonas half laughed, watching Myra, before he glanced away. “Oh, look,” he said, pointing into a billow of pure white cloud before them, “we’re nearly there.”

  “Where?” Twist asked, squinting into the mist. His eyes couldn’t find any shape at all within the field of blank white.

  “Oh, right,” Jonas said. “Sorry. You’ll see it in a moment.”

  Intrigued now, they all stared into the cloud intently. It seemed like a long moment before the bow of the ship finally cut deep enough into the cloud that the mist began to thin. Soon Twist’s eyes managed to find a wide, circular, plateau valley that swept out below a few of the highest peaks. He then saw that the curved side of the mountain was layered with very systematic-looking—but now somewhat overgrown—stone steps, like a gigantic, green amphitheater.

  When the mist finally vanished completely and pure sunlight fell over the valley, Twist, Myra, and Skye all gasped at the vision that met them. Valleys and foothills rolled off into infinite gr
een jungle and cool blue haze, beyond the edge of an ancient, gray-stone city that clung to the slopes of the high plateau like moss. Soft, bright, green grasses covered the ancient stones, giving the place an oddly natural feel, as if the city had grown instead of being built. Mist swirled at the edges of the city, while sunlight poured down uninhibited, making the whole area seem to glow.

  “See?” Jonas asked lightly. “Told you.”

  “What is this place?” Myra asked, her jewel eyes alight with wonder as she took in the breathtaking vista.

  “Machu Picchu,” Skye said, before Jonas could answer. “I’ve never seen it before, but I’ve read about it,” she added with excitement. “Didn’t they just find it a few years ago?”

  “I read that they spotted it from the air,” Jonas answered, nodding.

  As the ship glided closer, Twist started to notice people wandering about in the stone ruins. There also seemed to be stalls and huts placed here and there.

  “Pretty, isn’t it?” Jonas asked, smiling. “They make great tamales over there,” he added, pointing to one of the huts. “But those people over there will try to sell anything for something shiny,” he added, pointing to one of the many stalls that were set up along what appeared to be the only road along one side. “Be careful not to buy everything by accident.”

  “Is there anywhere in the world that you haven’t been?” Skye asked, looking at Jonas in amazement.

  “Singapore,” Jonas answered instantly.

  “We should go to Singapore next, just to clear that up,” Twist said.

  “No, no, leave a few flaws in him,” Skye hissed to Twist quickly. “Keeps him human.”

  Jonas frowned. “Am I crazy, or was that a backhanded compliment?”

  “Oh, knock it off,” Skye snapped. “You know I think you’re awesome.”

  “Don’t flatter him so,” Myra said with a playful swat at Skye’s arm. “He likes it too much.”

  Twist kept his light laughter in and his gaze out over the vista. Jonas gave a pleased tone, a smile lingering at the edge of his lips. The aeronauts called out to each other as the airship came in to dock on the side of a tall building of large, stacked, gray stone. They threw the mooring ropes out to men who stood on the second-to-highest level of the stone structure, and the ship came to rest—propellers beating constantly to keep it hovering—beside the ramparts.