by LJ Andrews
Briggs cleared his throat, bringing Kamali and Nova to finally release one another and face him. His gray eyes twinkled beneath his high cheeks and thick eyebrows. “Seems our lassy has a few admirers Kamali.” He nodded toward Kale and Atlas who stood next to one another watching with stunned expressions.
The other pirates who’d survived the attack had long since abandoned the courtyard and no doubt were bound for the coast in search of the Vengeance. The only people who remained were those Nova cared for most.
“Oh, this is Atlas and Kale,” Nova said, ushering them closer to Briggs and Kamali. “They have helped me along the way. I don’t believe I could’ve survived Smythe without them.”
She ignored Atlas’s discomfort as Kamali stepped closer to them. They both towered over her, but her presence gave both noticeable anxiety.
“Thank you both for watching over my daughter. I know most pirates are ruthless, but not all of them. I’m grateful she found two who have a soul.”
“Three actually,” Nova smiled until suddenly her stomach seemed to drop to her feet. “Taylor! Where’s Taylor?”
She rushed along the battle field, kicking bones and bodies over searching for the old man. “Taylor!” she cried out.
“Lassy, this one says he knows ye,” Briggs said, kneeling down.
Nova, Atlas, and Kale rushed over and saw Taylor holding a hand over his midsection.
“Taylor,” Nova breathed. “Are you hurt?” She carefully lifted his hand. A wide, bloody gash had sliced into his stomach.
“Not too bad. Who is this one?” he asked weakly, nodding at Briggs. “He looks familiar. Have I battled ye before? Perhaps ye be a rival crew?”
Briggs smiled. “That must be it.”
Taylor nodded, seeming appeased before smiling kindly at Nova. “Them dead ones got me good, lass. I suppose it be as good a time as any to take the great journey.”
“No,” Nova insisted. “We’re going to get you out of here, Taylor. You don’t get to go just yet.”
He smiled. “If ye say so, missy.”
Atlas and Kale helped Briggs lift Taylor, two holding his shoulders, the other at his feet.
“Nova,” Kamali said quietly. “Can I speak with you?”
Nova followed her mother to a corner near the entrance of the building. “Mother, I’m so sorry for running away,” she cried.
Kamali took her hands into hers. “I know why you did. I only wish I would’ve been honest with you. I can’t imagine how lost you’ve been with the changes you’ve experienced.”
“I saw your note on Mollem, Mother,” Nova said. “How…how did you know about the woman in white?”
Kamali’s head hung low. “So, she has contacted you. She assured me she hadn’t.”
“I know you said I couldn’t trust her, but Mother, she helped me before.”
Kamali shook her head. “Nova, I don’t have much time, but promise me you’ll never trust her.”
“Time? What do you mean you don’t have time? No, you just got here and I’m going with you.”
“I made a trade with Lurlina, Nova. If she would leave you be, she could have me back.”
Nova felt as if she’d been slapped across her face. “What…what do you mean she can have you back?”
“Nova, you must listen to me. There is so much to tell, and some will have to be left to Briggs, but I’ll explain what I can. You come from an ancient bloodline, my girl. I was a fool to pretend I could conceal you forever. Your father and I both understood the risk, but I never imagined you would find out this way.” Kamali squeezed Nova’s hands tighter. Nova pursed her lips together waiting for her suspicions to be confirmed. “Nova, you are from the lineage of the Djinn. But you are so much more than that. You are the first of your kind, a treasure to both worlds.”
“What do you mean. What am I?”
“Nova, you are you, and never doubt that you are nothing to be ashamed of,” Kamali said gently. “But you are a Djinn, but also a human-being. The overwhelming power you have undoubtedly felt is the power granted to all Djinn, and it is trying to lead you.”
Nova released a sob as she thought of the dark turmoil. “It’s not trying to lead me. It fights against every part of me.”
“It doesn’t come naturally?” Kamali questioned.
Nova shook her head. “I actually got really sick not long ago because of the inner battle.”
“It can only be your humanity fighting against it,” Kamali said simply. “No other Djinn has ever had to worry about that side, so the power is as natural as breathing. I should have warned you of the change, but I fought so hard to keep it from happening.”
Nova smiled. “The tea?”
“Yes, the tea. It worked until you left, of course. I knew it wouldn’t be long until you felt the power come. I knew things would start to happen, and I knew Lurlina would be able to find you. Once the power is granted to a Djinn, the connection to the temple is formed.”
“It’s real then, the Djinn Temple?”
Kamali nodded.
“Mother, are you…a Djinn? You know so much about them, it couldn’t possibly be Father.”
Kamali smiled, tears falling down her beautiful cheeks. “I was at one time. I’m not any longer. I sacrificed my power for the life of a human. I chose your father. I chose you, and in doing so betrayed the temple. I’ve tried to stay hidden ever since because if they found you or your father, they would stop at nothing to repay my betrayal. Nova, this is what I meant when I bargained with Lurlina. I am to return to the temple of my youth, in exchange for you going free from her grasp.”
“Mother, no, you can’t leave me,” Nova begged, her voice breaking through the silence of the eerie courtyard.
“Nova, it must be this way,” Kamali cried, twisting one of Nova’s curls around her fingers. “She’s already pulling me away.”
“I’ll come after you,” Nova said defiantly. “I won’t let you go.”
“Lurlina has assured me she will destroy the map to the temple. I already saw to the spyglass. She allowed me my power back temporarily so I could see you off this wretched island safely.”
Nova’s jaw dropped. “You allowed the spyglass to be destroyed? Mother, why would you do this?”
“Nova, I will not allow you to live the life the Djinn have in store for you. It is no life, darling. I want you to be free, and if this means I go back, then so be it. I know your heart and I knew you would try to come after me. You are your father’s daughter.”
Nova wiped her tears that fell freely. “I can’t lose both of you,” she sobbed. “Can you tell me…why did we let father go if we…we have this power? We could’ve saved him.”
Kamali wiped away a stray tear of her own as she looked away. “That day, that awful day, your father knew something might happen. He saw the pirates in town. He knew they’d found him. I promised him I would keep you safe, and I wouldn’t tell you the truth. I wouldn’t put you in harm’s way. I promised to run and lead a life without him until he could return, if he ever could. I should’ve known you’d think for yourself eventually,” she smiled. “Nova, you must know whatever you may have heard or learned about your father, please understand he isn’t the man he once was. When he took me from my home, I thought him nothing more than a brutal pirate, but we changed one another, and we got you.”
“You’re…you were the treasure, weren’t you?” Nova said quietly. Kamali nodded, but didn’t expound. “I know he’s still out there, and when I find him, Mother, if you think he’ll let you go you’re wrong,” Nova said fiercely.
Kamali looked at her sadly. “To protect you, he will. Nova, it’s time, I must leave. Stay with Briggs. He knows it all, love. He will be with you and your friends. Be happy, my girl. Do not dwell on what could have been. It is not what I want for you.”
Kamali seemed to be fading in front of Nova’s eyes. “Mother, how do I choose?” she cried. “How do I decide which side to let in?”
Kamali was dimming as
if she were only a spirit. Nova could hardly feel her hands still clasped tightly in hers. “Nova, be you. I fought to conceal you so you might think for yourself,” Kamali said, her voice fading.
Briggs was now near Nova, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Kamali smiled at him. “Take care of my daughter, Briggs.”
He nodded, with tears in his eyes. Then before Nova could face the truth, Kamali was gone. No trace of her was left except the sweet smell of the perfume she’d always worn. Nova held her arms out before collapsing in Briggs’ arms and sobbing harder than she’d allowed herself since she’d ran away.
“There, there, lass,” Briggs soothed after allowing her to unleash her tears against his chest. “Yer mother loves ye. She had to, girl. She just didn’t have another way to save ye. We didn’t know where ye were. But, now we have to go, Nova. Yer mother made certain this island wouldn’t stay for another to find. We must go back to the ship, and yer friend needs some healin’. I’ve got a safe place for us to go all arranged.”
Wind blew against her face, reminding her she was still on the deadly Island of Bones. Taylor still needed help. As Briggs led her away, she lowered her eyes from Kale and Atlas, who had fashioned a cot out of branches for Taylor to rest upon. They kept quiet as she passed.
Once the bloody courtyard was behind them, as Briggs promised, the island began to swirl. The trees whipped violently as a furious storm tore the heavy trunks from their roots. Nova held tightly to Briggs while turning her back against the fury and walking backward to the coast.
“This way,” Briggs shouted back to Kale and Atlas.
The way to the coast was down a rocky slope with jagged boulder-like daggers jutting against their feet. Nova sniffed and was led downward in a trance-like state. She’d had her mother with her, and now she’d been ripped from her. It seemed like a dream. The stories of her childhood swirled in her mind as fiction became a dark reality.
“Easy does it, boys,” Briggs said, guiding Atlas and Kale carefully as they lowered Taylor down the hillside. Nova kept going on her own, wishing she could fall into the furious whirlwind overtaking the island. “Lass, just right there. See that ship, climb aboard.”
Nova crossed her arms over her chest and stomped across the sandy beach toward the vessel. It was a small merchant ship with only two masts and two sets of sails. It seemed only two decks deep, with no gun ports. By the look of it, the ship most likely had never sailed outside of the merchant trade channels. It was a marvel it had survived the rough currents near the Unknown border. Sand whipped like tiny needles against her skin as the beach seemed to curl in on itself. The island was eating its shores, and it was plain to see the Island of Bones would soon be nothing but an empty space in the sky.
“How is this happening?” Atlas shouted, tugging the cot with Kale, who had stumbled along the beach.
“Never mind that,” Briggs said while tugging on a gangplank rope so they could load directly onto the ship. “Just know if we’s don’t set sail we be joinin’ this island as it turns into nothin’.”
Atlas and Kale moved faster, lifting Taylor up the gangplank and onto the small deck. Nova held onto the rope to steady herself along the plank. She turned back for one final look at the islands. Each Key was topped with a heavy black cyclone over the upper most peak. Sand, branches, water and rock all rolled together as the islands self-destructed.
“Come now, lass,” Briggs said from the main deck. He held out his hand, with his twinkling eyes sympathetic and pained nearly as much as she felt.
Nova joined Atlas and Kale against the rail and watched the islands in silent awe as the small ship lifted high into the clouds, sailing far away from the Island of Bones.
Chapter 20
A New Crew
Briggs sailed the ship with expert precision. It was clear he had more experience with a ship than he’d let on. Atlas stood near him at the helm as he pointed out how to make a ship roll with the current, using its force to propel a vessel through rough waters unscathed and without dropping sails.
Kale slept against a bag of gritty meal; he seemed more at peace than Nova had ever seen him since the day he’d been taken captive on the Star’s Vengeance. Nova held onto Taylor’s wrinkled hand as the old man slept. He’d drifted in and out of consciousness since they’d embarked on their escape from the island. Taylor was pale and weak, though the bleeding had stopped. He’d drifted into a peaceful sleep once they were clear of the Island of Bones.
The clouds tickled the hull of the boat in wispy tendrils as they made their way through a busy merchant channel. The noisy business, along with seeing so many other ships in their wake, was odd after so long in the outskirts of the sky. Pirates were nowhere to be seen—only honest, hardworking sailors. And to her surprise, Nova felt rather out of place.
“How is he holding up?” Kale asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, making his way slowly across the deck.
Nova smiled, though inside she was full of emptiness. “He’s weak, but I think he’ll be okay if we can get to wherever Briggs is taking us quickly.”
Kale cleared his throat, sitting cross-legged next to her. “About that—your uncle told me where we’re going.”
Nova lifted her brow. “Oh? And would you like to share?”
Kale chuckled. “Ah, there’s that spirit of yours. Briggs said we’re going to Queen Neah, I mean Raine. She stayed put, I guess, and is helping tend to sailors who need tending to. She insisted Briggs bring us back to her.”
“But didn’t you send her to your father?”
Kale nodded, knowingly.
“Kale! Does that mean…are you going home?” Nova smiled, feeling truly happy for him.
Kale smiled and nodded. “Yes. We’re heading to Silva where I will finally see my father again, and my sister. Raine sent word with Briggs that I’m an uncle to a beautiful boy. It will be so wonderful to see everyone.”
“And you’ll be back with Geni,” Nova said, surprised how the words bit at her heart.
Kale’s smile faltered as he stared out into the sky. “Of course. It has been a long time.” He met her eye, watching her carefully before speaking again. “Nova, are you all right? Be honest, for once. Don’t be the tough pirate woman you’ve had to become. Be Nova. I want to get to know that girl, now that we’re freed from Smythe’s crew.”
Nova wiped away a stray tear, feeling her chest tighten as it always did when she allowed herself to be vulnerable. “I don’t know what I can say, Kale. I had my mother with me, and we were together again. And…and then…because of me she’s gone.” Nova’s voice trembled. “I never should have left home.”
Kale sat in silence for a long moment. They listened to the wind clap against the sails in a rhythmic song. Slowly, he reached his arm around her shoulders and let her head fall on his. Nova’s face clenched as she fought against the tears, but they came despite her effort.
“I’m glad you left home,” he said. “For so many reasons, Nova. If you hadn’t, you never would have learned the truth about who you are. What would your life be? Serving rum to drunken sailors? If you hadn’t left, I…would still be the same by the book soldier. Living a life that was unfulfilling. I am not the same man I was. And it’s a good thing, Nova. I have you to thank for that.”
“But look what I’ve done to my family,” she whimpered.
“So, we keep looking for them. Just because your mother found you, does that mean you stop looking for your father? Now, we just have to find your mother, too.”
“My mother destroyed the spyglass, and she said the ring would be destroyed, too, though I don’t know how. She made certain I would never be able to find the temple.”
“That isn’t exactly true, lass.”
Nova looked over her shoulder and saw Briggs holding out two tin plates of watery broth.
“What do you mean, Uncle Briggs?”
Briggs huffed as he set the plates down. Taylor snored loudly in his sleep and flopped his head to the opposite side,
causing a smile to lift on Nova’s face.
“Ye know where ye come from, lass. Ye may not be full Djinn, but yer still part of the temple. Lassy, we can find the temple. We may need to take on a crew full of men not of sound mind to do it, but the temple will call to ye. And mark me words—that woman who took yer mother, she’s not goin’ to keep her promise. I’d bet me life on it. She’s still gonna be lookin’ for ye; she needs a Djinn, lass. And your mother is not Djinn no more. Kamali never told me for certain, but I believe she wants to use ye as a tool to take over Launi. She wants control Nova, and yer her ticket to get it.”
“Are you telling me I can find the temple without a map?”
“I reckon it won’t be easy, but if ye wanted to, that power growin’ inside of ye would take ye home to yer origins.”
Nova stood, keeping her eyes locked on Briggs. “Then that’s what we will do.”
“Wait a second, Nova,” Kale said in protest. “You can’t be serious. We have a crew totaling five, well, really four since Taylor is not much help in his state. We can’t barge into a Djinn temple. We don’t know what we’re doing.”
“Didn’t we want to find the temple before Smythe anyway?” Nova questioned. “What has changed?”
“The fact that Djinn are real!” Kale said. “I expected to find a temple full of treasure, not a powerful being that can tempt fate.”
“We can discuss this later,” Briggs said. “We’ve arrived at Silva.”
Kale’s eyes seemed to jump from his sockets and he rushed to the rail. Nova watched as the tropical jungles came closer and closer, but her heart swelled with ambition. She wouldn’t stay here long. She needed to find the temple and rescue her mother. Nova was determined to undo her mistakes, no matter what cost.
“This way,” Kale said with exuberance once they’d disembarked and made their way along the small town, gravel road. “Oh, it’s been so long.”