Beside the Rock and Cloud

by Pete Draper

  She watched Varleo, the boy had no idea what was about to happen. Seeing the money stuffed in his pockets, Rojey invited him further inside.

  While Varleo was talking to Rojey, the thief snatched the notes from his pocket, just like they had from Cassi. Varleo chased the boy through the markets, most likely terrified at what Cassi would do when she found out he’d lost her money. A basket of fruit tumbled as Varleo slid over a counter.

  Cassi fixed her eyes on Rojey, who slipped out of the back of his stall like a ghostly shadow. She followed him to the dark back alley, staying low to avoid the secturions. He faded into the dark, his feet moving lightly. Cassi’s shoe cracked a pebble and he was startled. Swiftly, she backed around a corner; her heavy heart pounding.

  After waiting a while, she peered down the alley, only shadows remained.

  Sure he was gone, Cassi hurried after him. Strips of daylight, thin as fencing steels stabbed through the end of the alley. Varleo had caught the boy, Rojey was about to creep up behind him.

  Walking on the balls of her feet, she silently removed the sword from her belt, then crept towards Rojey.

  Where shall I stab him? She took another step.

  “I could slit his throat,” she considered. No, that would be too quick, he would not see my face.

  Another step with her silent tiptoe.

  “Where’s the best place to stab a man in the back?” She asked herself, wobbling the tip of the sword near him. “Should I kill him, or injure him permanently?”

  She hushed her breath, taking another step. “Where would be most painful?”

  Her target was startled, could’ve been her breathing, or a heavy footstep. His knife turned from Varleo. Rojey’s eyes flashed white as snow as they caught sight of Cassi.

  Cassi was too stunned to move. She should have stabbed him. She could still stab him. Why aren’t I stabbing him?

  The sword prodded towards him weakly. Rojey flicked it away with his knife, then slapped her across the cheek, turning her head aside. Her skin tingled.

  “Nobody slaps me!” Cassi screamed, but didn’t massage the burning cheek despite the tingling skin.

  She slashed diagonally, nicking Rojey’s arm. A heavy kick of her boot sent him tumbling onto his back.

  “Go to his stall!” Cassi yelled at Varleo. “Take whatever you can get, without the guards seeing you.”

  Rojey rolled to his feet, swiping at Varleo’s leg. Droplets of blood leaked out, but the boy escaped with nothing more than a limp.

  A flame lit in Rojey’s eyes, he lunged at Cassi. Stepping aside, she trapped his arm, bending it at the elbow, it gave a satisfying crack and the knife skittered to the floor with an echoing metallic cling.

  Rojey kicked her, the sword dropped as she lost her breath. His face squeezed into a ball of fury. Stomping towards Cassi, he grabbed her shoulders tight. Pulling his head back, he launched it at hers. His skull was harder than steel, the force knocked her to the ground.

  The pounding inside her brain expanded and shrank. A yellow light filled her eyes; she could smell burning, felt sick too. She squinted, a heavy boot thumped down on her waist, crushing the air out of her lungs.

  When she managed to take a breath, the imprint of the boot was still sunk into her skin.

  He grabbed her by the hair, pulling it near the scalp. She was scraped across the gravel, grazing her arm and leg, before being dragged to her feet.

  The knife was in his hand again. “You better get that boy to return anything he steals...” The blade was perilously close to Cassi’s throat. “Or I’ll slit you open and feed you to the crabs, a little whore will make a fine meal for them.” He dragged her down the dusty path to the rocky beach, several strands of her hair broke under his tight grip. “I’m serious,” Rojey grunted. The blade was sharp, the slightest nick on her neck drew blood.

  “Pah!” Cassi spat, thrusting a bony elbow into his stomach. He lost his grip and Cassi seized the opportunity. Jumping on his back, she wrestled him to the ground. They fought over the knife, Cassi slammed Rojey’s hand onto a rock, with a crack of knuckles the blade was lost in the sand. Thrashing and scratching, the two of them rolled further down the beach, sand filling their clothes and sticking to their sweaty skin.

  Cassi scraped all five nails of one hand across his face; seeing the bloody scratches, and feeling his skin beneath her nails. The blood dripped on her face. With his eyes closed, Rojey punched her. The eye and the skin around it stung; she blinked several times, but it wouldn’t open.

  The rolling stopped briefly, allowing Cassi to slap Rojey’s cheek a couple of times before he shoved her down the dune again.

  They tumbled over an ant’s nest, the furious insects bit her arm, covering it in a red rash with a few yellow spots. A warrior-ant the size of a satsuma bit Rojey’s neck. A thick yellow zit grew from the bitemark, the puss-filled sack bulged. It was all Cassi could focus on, she wanted to pop it. She clawed at his neck, digging her fingernails into his windpipe.

  Rojey grunted as the zit popped, splashing the puss all over his neck. A foul stench filled her nostrils. After the final roll, Cassi grabbed a handful of sand, scraping it into the thick wound. A long throaty breath escaped between his clenched teeth.

  Cassi tried to stand. Rojey grabbed her ankle, throwing her headfirst into the sand.

  He wrapped his long fingers around her throat, kneeling over her. His teeth were gritted, eyes wide as they could go. The knuckles in his hands were whiter than his teeth.

  Cassi slapped and scratched his face; feeling the grains dig deeper into her hair.

  She thrust sand into his eyes and mouth. Despite a cough and splutter, the vice-grip remained, it felt like a coarse rope was being tightened around her throat. Kicking and flapping at the ground around her did little to help. As Cassi moved, she felt a rock beneath her back. She twisted her arm behind to grab it, but it wouldn’t reach.

  It was hard to breathe, Rojey’s grip was so tight, her body could barely move, her skin was turning purple. She rolled again, this time her fingertips stroked the rock. At least Cassi managed to steal a breath. The grip loosened a little.

  With another turn, she grabbed the rock, but dropped it when Rojey slammed her head into the sand. One hand remained on her throat, the other was furiously grabbing her face, squeezing it, and shoving her into the stony sand. He dug his thumb around her black eye, trying to gouge it out, blood leaked from the corner of it. Cassi ground her teeth, the specks of sand between them cracked, filling her mouth with a salty taste.

  Her head hit the ground again, grains exploded into the air. The sand cloud encompassed the two of them, filling her eyes and mouth. She coughed, feeling the salt sticking to her lips. Rojey’s grip was relentless.

  Cassi fumbled for the rock, finding it eventually. With a firm grip, she swung it around.

  Crunch.

  A couple of Rojey’s bloody teeth spat out into the sand. His gormless eyes rolled around his head. As he reeled back, she smacked him again in the temple, and he was out cold.

  “Pah! Fucking thief!” After a violent cough, Cassi licked the grains of sand on her teeth, then spat a dry gob on Rojey, who slumped face first in the sand. She thought about finishing him off, but he wasn’t worth it. A brown spatter of blood stained the sand beside his head, with the cracked teeth next to it.

  With an exhausted breath, she ran her bloody, sandy, puss-covered fingers through her sticky matted hair, trying to get the sand and ants out, but only rubbing more grains in. With her forearm, she wiped salt from her dry lips. One eye wouldn’t open as much as the other, everything was covered in sand. The damned sweat made the sand cling to her back, she took in panting breaths of unbearably hot air.

  Damned sand, damned sweat, damned thieves. Damned Kataly.

  Sail with Me

  It thrust out like a spear. Gold glimmered from the dragon’s head beneath. Wooden frames either side curved like a couple of beaming smiles. Behind the forecastle were a set of latti
ce hatches which dropped into the cargo hold. Surrounding the foremast were coils of rope wrapped behind wooden handles. Under the mainmast sat a base shaped like a crooked top-hat turned upside down.

  Below the quarterdeck was the sign painted in red on a black background: The Howling Dragon. Around it, ten steps fed from either side up to the quarterdeck.

  “How did you get that up here?” With raised eyebrows, Carilyo gazed at the oak chest in amazement, it was long enough to fit a man inside. The varnish gave it an exquisite shine; the design was intricate. Each curved corner was covered with gold. The lock was nice and shiny too, it even had a gold key. In the dark wood was a carving of Alissa firing her arrow at Levac, she was painted a soft orange colour, Levac was blood red.

  Varleo shrugged, his shaggy hair made him look like a bearded collie. “It has wheels. I managed to roll it out the back of his tent and down the alley. I got this too.” The tiny hand held Gianlo’s silver sword by the handle; diamond shapes were cut into the red cloth of it.

  Carilyo took the katana, slashing it around like he was Zernando, Lord of the Lightning trying to fight off Corsov. It made a sharp, swishing sound as it cut across. He could imagine the mountains around him, the crisp wind biting his skin, the snow crunching under his feet. He jabbed forwards with the sword, feeling the smooth tip pierce the air.

  The sun painted a yellow glow through the sky, heating his skin and bones.

  Sheepishly, he looked at Varleo, realising the boy was staring. “Great work Varleo.” Carilyo slapped the skinny youngster on the back so hard he nearly toppled over. “Cassi is so careless; how did she lose this?” He placed it under his arm, like an officer with a baton.

  Cassi stood before him, her hair, skin, and ruined clothes were covered in a dusting of sand. “What were you doing while Varleo was obtaining the goods?” He hadn’t asked for much, just some contraband from her contacts in Puritudo; she’d been working with them for years. “It shouldn’t have been too hard. Maybe next time I should send Varleo instead while you play on the beach, you could build yourself a sandcastle.”

  A ring of crusty sand decorated one of her nostrils, she dug a finger around to remove the sticky grains. After an exhausted breath, she spoke, “I’m not in the fucking mood Carilyo. Let’s get out of this dog-hole of a country.”

  “Very well,” Carilyo addressed the crew, swirling his arm around like he had a lasso in it, he walked in a circle. “Ding, ding!” He shouted, pretending to ring a bell. “Time to go, the Princess has decreed it!” He hopped up the worn, cracked wooden steps two at a time until he was stood on the quarterdeck. Cassi followed him, snatching the sword from behind.

  “Cast us off Barolos!” Carilyo yelled to the first mate. “Next stop, Corov!”

  “Aye, aye Captain.” Barolos walked to the mooring and untying the thick white rope.

  “Why do we need to stop off in Corov?” Cassi complained. The diamonds in the hexagonal bangle on her wrist sparkled when she placed the hand on her hip.

  “We always stop off in Corov, it’s tradition.”

  “So is racing down the hill in Parpey with a truckle of cheese on Ancestors Day, but you don’t see us doing it every year. Besides, it’s your tradition, not ours. Just so you can stock up on your rum and beer supplies, no wonder you’ve never made enough money to buy me out, you piss it all against a wall.” Cassi clawed at her hair; grains of sand wriggled from the scalp with every scratch. “Why can’t we get this job out of the way. I want to see Argosa, I’ve heard the shops there have things I’ve never seen before in the Merged Seas. Jewels, brighter than the sun itself.” Her eyes lit with an excited glow; her cheeks raised into a smile when she looked at the jewels in her rings.

  “You will Cassi, I promise it will not take long.” Carilyo stroked the steering wheel gently, leaning a firm fingertip on the handle. “We won’t even stay the night in Corov, how does that sound?”

  “Fine,” Cassi said. She wiped sand from her mouth, it looked like she had a thick lip, or her tongue was poking up into it. It was probably the latter, she did that sometimes. There was no way she would have been in a fight. “We need to be careful there after what happened last time, your thirst for alcohol puts us in so much danger sometimes.”

  “I’m always careful.” Carilyo narrowed his eyes at the bottle of rum, but thought better of taking a swig while Cassi was watching.

  “What happened to you?” With astonished eyes, Barolos eyed Cassi, he leaned close to her face, looking at the sore eye and busted lip. “You have de biggest shiner I’ve ever seen.” He nudged her cheek aside, the handprint from Rojey’s slap felt like it had been branded onto her cheek. Barolos pushed the collar of her shirt back, seeing the hand marks on her neck.

  Cassi knocked the hand from her shirt, scratching the palm with her sharp nails. “I’m fine. You should see the other guy.”

  “Nobody messes with Cassi D’Silva,” Barolos grinned. “Still, I should have come with you. Your papa and brother would never forgive me if anything happened to you.”

  “Pah! I can look after myself, a lot better than my brother could.” Cassi spat out more sand, it had seeped into the cracks in her lips and melted in the cuts, filling her mouth with a bitter, salty taste. She shuffled more of them from her filthy, greasy hair. It was like they were breeding in her scalp. “Carilyo didn’t even notice the black eye.”

  “Well it is hard to see through de sand I suppose, and he is probably drunk.”

  “Don’t make excuses for him Barolos, he doesn’t deserve them.” Cassi frowned, looking at her pathetic brother steering the ship with ease. It was the one thing he was good at, the one reason she kept him around.

  “I know,” Barolos sighed. “But he’s like a son to me, as much as you are like a daughter.” Barolos’ huge face had uneven features like it was badly carved from stone, one eye rose higher than the other. His face was shaved, but for the white hairs growing in the crevice in his cleft chin, it looked like a hairy ass-crack. “If I don’t stand up for him, who else will?” The old man bit a fingernail anxiously, the backs of his fingers had deep grooves in them. “The night Gianlo disappeared, I knew a storm was coming. I wish I’d known what he was doing. If I had, maybe I could have saved him. It haunts me to this day.” He took a short, panting breath. “He was far too young, to go to the Hall of Ancestors.”

  Cassi patted his huge hunched-over back; despite his age, the muscles were so firm. “There was nothing you could do Barolos.” She felt the heavy lump in her throat but managed to stop the tears reaching her eyes. “Papa knew how bad the storm was. He knew he had to cut as much weight as possible. The anchor and sails had to go, or you’d all die. There was no saving him. He died so that everyone else would live.

  “And you did. Remember that Barolos, remember his sacrifice, rather than what might have been.” Cassi thought about it a while. Her and Carilyo had been left in Kataly at the time, while Gianlo took a job he said was too dangerous for them to be a part of. Maybe that was why Cassi hated Kataly so much.

  “But I could have helped him with the anchor.” Barolos eyes watered.

  “Perhaps.” Cassi shrugged, trying not to look at the tears glittering in his eyes, but they dazzled brighter than the gems on her finger. “But you would not have saved him, you would have only been washed overboard together.” Cassi gripped the back of his calloused hand; each finger was twice the size of hers. “That would have been no good to anyone” She looked him firmly in the eyes, “Papa went out alone because he knew you and Taylan would look after me and my brother while we grew up.” She kept her steady stare, although Barolos’ sadness nearly made her waver.

  “You are strong Cassi, even stronger than Gianlo.” Barolos smiled at her; he stroked her palm with a finger like he did when she was a child. “I wish I had your strength.” His massive arms bulged as he pushed himself up, she stared at his tattoo, she used to like to stroke it when she was little.

  When Barolos was gone, she allowed he
rself a single, sharp whimper, then wiped the salty, sand-crusted tear from the corner of her eye, feeling the sticky specks on her sore fingers. The corner of the eye had scabbed where Rojey had tried to gouge it out. She scooped a fingernail under another one, peeling Rojey’s skin from beneath it, but it only wedged in further.

  “Barolos!” Carilyo shouted. “Come on. Steer de ship,” he taunted.

  Gianlo’s oldest friend strolled up the steps to the quarterdeck. Patting Carilyo on the arm, he took the wheel, wrapping his rock of a hand around it.

  Carilyo walked down onto the deck, descending each step like he was falling.

  Damn, his feet were gross. Cassi peeled her nose and eyes from the smell and sight of them respectively. His toes were longer than Cassi’s fingers, each cracked, yellow, attention-seeking toenail tried to stand out more than its closest neighbour. And the smell, oh the smell; it was enough to make her want to puke. It was like the stench of a man who had been locked in one of those underground Trakian prison cells in the unbearable heat for a week. That, mixed with feral cat piss and gone-off curry.

  He plonked himself on the deck chair, then grabbed the old guitar with its worn lacquer, and started plucking away at the strings. They were badly out of tune, and one was missing.

  “Please no,” Cassi grumbled.

  “Shh,” Carilyo hissed loud and sharp. He pressed a finger to his lips, his fair hair was bright in the sun, but his skin was dull and lifeless. “There is nothing wrong with a little music, it shall make the journey more interesting.”

  Cassi pressed her sharp fingernails into her temples, tightening her eyes. Sofiya took one look at the guitar in Carilyo’s lap. With wide, terrified eyes, she swiftly headed below deck.

  Carilyo strummed, missing half of the strings. “He asked, boy…” the wild strum played the wrong chord; his gravelly voice was out of tune. He twisted the tuning pegs slightly, then plucked the strings. A blunt pop squeezed into the air, some of the strings weren’t held down properly, an ugly muffled sound escaped them.