by Faith Hunter
Sharing a knowing look with Chopra, Miku tugged at the ropes that bound her, yelling in protest as Delphine’s body was carried out. Kicking her closest captor, Miku rammed her heel into his nose, spraying blood across the small room.
Pretending to faint, Chopra dropped, her body weight surprising Val into letting go. Freed, she somersaulted forward, using her neomage speed and strength to rise and run for freedom.
Outside the entrance, a man swung a sword to block Chopra’s path, but she slid under it like a Pre-Ap baseball player sliding into home plate, before rolling up onto the balls of her bare feet and rushing down the hall.
“Run, Chopra!” Miku shouted.
The fastest and most agile of the three captives, if anyone could escape and fetch help it was Chopra. The pirates had confiscated her change-purse full of spelled coins, but the ones on her belt were still there. Plus, her prime amulet might still hold enough power to protect her from the saltwater below.
She barreled up a set of stairs, the smell of fish and spicy food from Mumbai’s harbor slamming into her. Finding herself on the main deck, Chopra wove between the busy crewmen, her bare feet slapping the damp wood. Rushing up a second set of stairs to a higher deck, she dove between someone’s legs as the Persephone began to pull out of the harbor, and leaped to the ship’s rail.
Her only option was to jump and swim for help. Everyone knew who owned the Persephone. Though the Indian Ocean was ruled by many pirates, this ship and her captain, Katara, were famously feared.
The rail was no more than four inches wide, but Chopra confidently balanced on it. Judging distance for the dive into the water, she squatted for push-off when a scream pierced the air and her heart. Even though she knew better, Chopra turned to look. Standing at the door that lead to the lower decks was Miku, her blue eyes alight with fear as an Indi-woman with long, dark hair pressed a knife against her throat and walked her across the main deck. Val joined them, shoving the barrel of his gun against Miku’s temple.
“Do it and she dies,” said the Indi-woman.
Miku’s voice sounded in Chopra’s mind, “Jump!”
“You know I can’t. Not now,” Chopra mentally replied. If that gun fired, it wouldn’t matter if she escaped.
The woman tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing as they flicked from Chopra to Miku and back again. “Well well. Val, you definitely have some explaining to do.”
Hearing her displeasure at her own crewman, Chopra wondered if the Indi-woman might be open to a bargain. “How do I know you won’t kill us anyway? You have a reputation, Katara.”
A smile crept over the captain’s face. “Do I, little one? Even where you come from?”
Chopra sat, straddling the rail. “Yes, ma’am. So I’ll ask, do you swear an oath on your ship that you’ll keep us safe?”
Someone near Chopra whistled low at the challenge. To swear an oath on one’s ship was something even the darkest of pirates took seriously.
“I’ll swear, on one condition,” Katara said, adding, “Liran?”
A slender man in glasses and short, curly brown hair, who moved with the ease of one who’d lived his whole life at sea, rushed to Katara’s side. She whispered something in his ear, and with a nod, he maneuvered up to Chopra and sat on the rail. Leaning in, he whispered, “What is your elemental affinity?”
Chopra turned to stare into Liran’s bi-colored eyes, one sea-green, one honey-brown. For a moment, she entertained the idea of playing dumb. But when Katara raised an eyebrow at her, Chopra knew that lying was pointless. “Yes, I would be willing to be your bladesmith. Bargain?”
Katara removed her knife from Miku’s throat. “Yes, agreed.”
Begrudgingly, Val holstered his gun and untied Miku’s hands.
Chopra hopped down to the deck and ran to Miku, throwing her arms around the slender sixteen-year-old.
“You should’ve jumped,” Miku whispered in Chopra’s ear, the fierceness of her embrace belying her words. “We’re dead anyway.”
“Not necessarily.”
Liran placed a blanket around Miku’s shoulders, which she promptly used to cover her mostly naked body.
Katara pulled the captives apart and looked at Chopra. “What’s your name, boy?”
“Chopra Adya Gulati,” she said with pride and a pinch of snark.
Katara touched Chopra’s half-inch of hair. “So, you’re a girl.”
“Don’t let my straight frame and flat chest fool ya. I’ve got me some lady parts.”
Katara lips pressed together, doing their best to conceal a grin her eyes couldn’t hide. She turned her attention to the Asian girl. “And you?”
Chin high, Miku replied, “Miku Rin Bhatti-Sato.”
Katara motioned to Liran. “Go with my boatswain. He’ll get you settled. Behave, sleep well, and maybe I won’t kill you in the morning.” Without waiting for either to respond, she looked to Val. “Come with me, quartermaster. You have much to explain.”
Chopra kept a protective arm across Miku’s shoulders, pulling her in close as they followed the boatswain back into the belly of the massive ship, their future in the hands of the most feared pirate of the South Seas.
November 19, 95 Post-Ap – South China Sea
Days turned into weeks. Two months went by and the girls spent most of their time assisting crew members before doing their own chores, which included Chopra creating blades as promised. They fell onto their mats every night exhausted, sacrificing precious sleep to talk, the sound of water slapping against the hull of the wooden ship their only company.
Miku rolled over to look at Chopra. “Did you hear those crewmen at dinner talk about what they do to neomages?”
Chopra lay looking at the ceiling. “Katara and Liran will keep our secret and Val is dead, so try not to think about it.”
Miku fingered her bird bone and feather bracelet. “She gave it back today, but I’m afraid to wear my prime amulet during the day. It’s an obvious sign I’m a mage. I wish mine was like yours . . .”
Chopra rolled to face Miku. “You wish a watcher had experimented on you, leaving you unable to work spells that require your prime be placed away from you? Always carrying an easily detectable proof of your true nature?”
“Obviously not. That’s not my point.” When Chopra grunted, Miku added, “He did it to save your arm.”
With a dramatic sigh, Chopra replied, “I know, it’s just . . .” her voice drifted off.
“At least they allowed us to become mind-bound. This way we could use my prime when we work inside a circle together.”
Chopra lifted her right arm to stare at the long scar there, the only clue to the metal prime amulet hidden beneath the flesh, used to heal her shattered bones years ago.
Miku traced the crescent scar from eyebrow to jaw on the right side of Chopra’s face. “You mask your mage glow but not your scars. Why?”
“I might’ve only been eight, but I knew what I was doing when I tried to save your mother. I just wish I hadn’t failed.”
“You saved me,” she said, taking Chopra’s hand.
“That’s why I wear them. They’re my badge of honor. I may not have saved our Enclave’s priestess, but I was able to save her daughter.”
Miku smiled as a tear trickled down her face. “She’d be so mad at me right now for letting this happen.”
Chopra wiped it away, gently easing an arm around Miku. “Shhh, don’t think that way.”
Miku rested her head on Chopra’s shoulder. “You’ll hide my prime amulet for me then?”
Chopra nodded. “Yes.”
Miku gazed at her bracelet. “I’ll feel naked without it, but it’ll be here with me at night, and I’ll have you.” She paused and added, “Better together . . .”
“For you’ll always be in my forever,” Chopra replied with the other half of their saying, meaning it with all her heart.
“We should do it now, just to be safe,” Miku suggested.
“As you wish.”
Sliding the box under a loose floorboard, Miku set her mat over it and they went to bed.
Chopra pulled Miku’s head to rest on her shoulder. “Now sleep. We have the same horrible routine tomorrow.”
November 20, 95 Post-Ap – Bandar, Malaysia
“Land ho!” someone shouted from the crow’s nest on the mainmast.
Chopra and Miku rushed to the rail to stare at the city from the main deck.
“That, my little ship-rats, is the city of Bandar, Malaysia,” the new quartermaster, Val’s replacement, explained while wiping sweat from his bald head. “It’s where Jetrel reigns. His men will pay us handsomely for you.”
“What?” Chopra blurted.
“Well, maybe not you, with your boyish looks, but I know Jet has a soft spot for pretty Japanese girls.”
“I’m only half-Japanese,” Miku stammered.
Chopra took Miku’s hand. “I won’t let him take you without me.”
“If Katara chooses to sell you, then you’ll be sold. The sex-slave trade is very profitable.”
They’d heard rumors about Jet and his business. But to have it validated and learn Katara was involved caused Chopra’s stomach to flip.
“Chopra,” Miku asked, her voice trembling, as the new quartermaster walked away, “What if she splits us up? What if—”
“Shh.” She pulled Miku close and kissed her temple. “I go where you go. I’ll do all I can to keep you safe, you have my word. Better together, remember?”
“Chopra! Miku!” Katara shouted from the quarterdeck before leaping down to land in front of them. “Come with me. Now!” Katara grabbed their hands and dragged them into the captain’s cabin. “Stay here. Don’t come out for anything!”
“But—” Chopra started.
“If Jet’s men find mages on board, they’ll take you, do you under—” Katara flushed. Sudden fear lit her eyes. “Son of a seraph, he’s here! He’s never here. Quick. Hide!” Katara slipped a few things into the rear pocket of Chopra’s pants and opened a secret panel. “Get in now!” Katara shoved them into a narrow space. As the door closed, they heard the captain moan.
Unable to reach behind her in the painfully tight space, Chopra whispered. “What’s going on? Can you reach my back pocket? I think she put—”
“Can’t you feel it?” Miku said mentally, pressing her body into Chopra’s.
She felt something, new, unknown. Chopra had no idea what the warmth in her center could be, but it was growing by the second, causing her heartrate to speed up. “What is this?”
“Mage heat . . . oh my . . . a seraph or kylen must be on board.”
“Or a watcher,” Chopra stated, understanding now what Katara had meant.
Looking up at the delicate face of her best friend, Chopra desperately wanted to touch it. Unable to move much, she took Miku’s hands in hers. This amplified the heat she felt and when Miku leaned in and kissed Chopra ardently, she kissed back. Unsure of many things, the least of which how this made her feel, the fourteen-year-old let herself fall into the kiss as tongues entwined and quiet moans escaped lips.
Hearing voices, Chopra fought hard to listen, pulling away from Miku to catch her breath.
“Where are they, Katara? I can feel the heat of more than just you in this room. We had a deal, you and I.”
“Never for mage children, Jet,” Katara said, her voice strained.
“Tell me, or I’ll tear this ship apart and when I find her, I’ll kill her.”
Without warning, the panel opened slightly. Chopra could see Katara through the crack as the captain gripped the cabin door like a lifeline, fighting the mage heat that threatened to consume her.
“It’s okay. Come out. I won’t harm you,” Jetrel said. “You can call me Jet.”
Unable to resist, Miku began to slide out.
Chopra grasped her hand tight. “No, don’t go!”
“His power calls to me,” she told Chopra. “He’ll not harm us. Come, he means well. I can tell.”
Chopra didn’t feel that safety. She mentally pleaded, “Stay with me!”
Miku let go of Chopra and pulled free. Instantly, two spots of heat burned in Chopra’s back pocket. She attempted to lunge for Miku, but was unable to move. She cried out, but her voice made no sound.
“No,” Katara cried, as Miku exited the hiding space.
Chopra watched in fear as Miku dropped to her knees before Jet and reached for his belt.
The tall, handsome man, with dark hair and green eyes, calmly took her hands and knelt before her. “Not now, my Asian beauty. I’m spelled so as to resist your kind at the moment. But soon, don’t you fret.” Jet caressed Miku’s face, causing her to moan. “Good girl, Katara. Now, where is the scarred Indi-girl with the lovely, waist-length hair?”
Chopra again tried to step forward, but still couldn’t move.
“I’m sorry . . .” Katara said, her voice but a whisper.
Chopra felt a third, heated, stinging sensation in her back pocket as Katara opened the door to the hiding space completely.
“. . . but Miku is all we have,” Katara continued.
Jet stared into the small space, obviously unable to see Chopra at all. Standing, he handed Miku off to one of the men who’d come with him. “How is that possible?”
She now understood Katara had slipped amulets into her back pocket and tears ran down her face. The amulets kept Chopra silent, immobile, and invisible.
“As you can see, Miku is all that’s left. The Indi-girl jumped ship when Val killed their blonde friend.”
“No!” he shouted, backhanding Katara across the face, knocking her to the floor. “How could you let that happen? They are more powerful together! I needed them both.”
Katara wiped blood from her lip. Standing, she gripped a table to steady her resolve as sweat glistened along her brow, evidence of her fight against the mage heat. “That’s what you get for using Val to do your dirty work,” she said through clenched teeth.
“And where is my good and faithful servant?”
Eyes full of hate, a slow smile crept over Katara’s face. “I slashed his throat and tossed him in the ocean like chum!”
Jet grabbed Katara’s chin, forcing her eyes to his. “You’ll pay for that, for I’m not so easily disposed of, Katara. And neither is Nakir.”
Use of the Black Angel’s name chilled Chopra to the core, and likely Katara as well, seeing as the captain’s body visibly shook. Somehow Katara was still able to resist the watcher even though he touched her.
Jet stared Katara down. When he finally let go of her with a frustrated growl and stepped away, her suffering visibly eased. “How do you fight your heat for me? I can smell your need. I’d be more than happy to give you a litter of kylen—”
“Over my dead body,” she growled as she sat behind the table.
“Tsk tsk, that’s no way to answer your master. How do you—”
Leaning forward, she spat, “I despise you! That helps a lot.”
Tossing his head back, a deep, mocking laugh escaped him. “Fascinating.” He walked over to Miku, who reached for him. Placing his hand on her breast and his lips on hers, his passionless kiss swallowed her groan of pleasure.
Chopra fought the bonds that held her. Pulling on the power in her prime amulet, she moved an inch forward.
Katara’s head whipped in surprise to glance at the space where Chopra stood, “No!” Quickly she refocused on Jet, adding, “Leave her be!”
Without looking away from Miku, he replied, “You know I’m going to investigate your story, Katara. If you’re lying to me about the Indi-girl, I’ll find out. Then I’ll hunt her down and own her, just a
s I do you.”
“Damn you to the eternal fires of Hell!” Katara said, shooting out of the chair, her venomous tone raising goose bumps on Chopra’s flesh.
Jet laughed, but there was no humor in it, as he glared at Katara. “You have no power over me.”
He again handed Miku off to one of his men and Chopra saw a hint of fear in his eyes. Maybe Katara’s words were powerful enough if a seraph of the light was nearby and heard her. Chopra could only hope.
Without warning, Katara closed the door to the hiding space, the latch on the secret panel nestling into place without a sound. “I’ll show you out.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “Have no fear, Katara, this Air mage will fetch a good enough price to save your hide, for now.”
At these words, Chopra once again tried to break her bonds. Unable to, she fought to reach her back pocket in the tight space to remove the stones.
“You’re a monster,” Katara growled.
“And yet you take my money.” A clinking thud could be heard—a change-purse hitting a table. “I know you stop at Mumbai often. If you see that girl again and you don’t bring her to me, I’ll have your head mounted at the palace as a decoration,” he promised. “Let’s go.”
Chopra screamed without sound, fear squeezing her chest as she fought against the conjures, yet all she could do was listen in horror, the weight of unfulfilled promises settling onto her heart. Miku was alone and Chopra had failed to keep her safe.
Chopra awoke on the carpeted floor of a small, oddly shaped, low-ceilinged cabin she’d never seen before. Rolled sleeping mats were nestled in a corner with blankets and pillows that appeared to be moving. A black and white cat emerged from them, stretched, and gracefully maneuvered across the room to sit by the door moments before it opened.
Liran walked in and petted the cat. “Hey there, Sadie.” He stood hunched over. “Please, come in and beware of the low ceiling.”
Filing in behind him came fifteen women of different ages and ethnicities, smiling as they followed his instructions. One in particular, a red-headed woman, had to bend over a good amount to enter the room.