by LJ Andrews
The throaty snore of a man at her feet made her jump. The man clutched a small dagger on his chest and Nova saw he was missing his right foot. In its place was a wooden peg with a leather strap tying a smaller knife to his person.
The messenger bag nestled against her chest was the only comfort to her. A rough looking blanket was crumpled in a far corner, away from the stench of pirate. Nothing was homey about the far corner and stained blanket, but she claimed it as her own and thought of her father’s deep laugh. She smiled, imagining his strong arms wrapping around her. The memory served as a loving reminder as to why she was on the ship. She’d wanted to find pirates, and now she was on a pirate ship.
Nova wiped away a stray tear as her eyes grew heavy. Thoughts of her mother also filled her with a pang of guilt. She twirled one of her curls around her finger, disgusted at the grimy feel her hair had taken on. Closing her eyes, Nova remembered how Kamali would stroke her curls and sing a lullaby in the forgotten language of Launi.
Now, as she sat alone in the damp belly of a pirate ship, Nova thought of all the things she wished she’d asked her mother. Where had she learned to speak the lost Launi words? Why did they never visit her home island? Did she miss her family, if they were even alive?
It had been two weeks since she’d left. Her mother’s heart was broken, Nova was sure. But she wondered if Kamali had written her off like she’d let go of her father. The tears burned more as she thought of the possibility no one could be looking for her−ever.
Pain seared her shoulder as Nova was angrily awoken by her body slamming into the side of the ship. Frantically, she gathered her wits and tried to figure out what was happening. When she tried to stand a hot, sweaty palm struck the side of her face stinging her cheek like a swarm of Mollem bees attacking all at once.
A hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing and forcing the breath from her airway. Stormy eyes locked with hers, and in a terrifying moment she recognized her attacker.
“I’ll kill you demon,” the fanged prisoner growled like an angry animal.
“Stop,” she gasped, clawing desperately at his hand around her neck.
The rhythm of her heart thumped angrily in her ears, but as life was seeping from her body another force burned her blood. Time slowed. Everything in sight sharpened with a crispness impossible for a human eye⸺ cold water droplets leaking along the side of the ship, the puffs of breath shooting into the air from a distant sleeping pirate, and the glint of a silver blade slicing through the air toward her neck— all filled her line of sight in a slow, yet instantaneous second.
Her bag was wrapped around her neck. She didn’t remember putting it there, but in a flash her free hand withdrew the jeweled dagger. Nova locked eyes with the fanged man. His lips curled into a snarl and he spat unfamiliar words in her face.
“Maledictus quendam, maledictus quendam…”
The repetitive words burned Nova’s ears, something swirled inside her and blurred her vision.
“Nova,” a voice broke through her fuzzy thoughts. She tried to fight through the haze of remembering who the voice belonged to, but her attacker’s chant kept forcing her to succumb to weakness.
Her palm burned with fire, but her mind seemed to be melting like old candle wax. Her father’s smile faded⸺ her mother’s beauty aged⸺ her mind was dimming, but her palm burned on.
Why is my hand burning? The thought pressed along the haze. Just let me go, she pleaded to the pain.
The image of the blue sapphires filled her mind, and the memory of the beautiful blade flashed in the back recesses of her thoughts. The idea of the dagger seemed to deafen the strange, life-sucking chant for a moment.
Nova opened an eye and saw someone pounce on the back of the enormous creature holding her throat, but the fanged man quickly shrugged off her rescuer. Her eyes shifted to her burning hand and a rage of fire filled her veins.
Though her body was weak and drained, her arm filled with strength as if the jeweled weapon transferred some kind of power to her.
The blade flew through the air, slicing along the wrist of the fanged prisoner. His shrieks stilled the night with pain and anguish. Some sleeping men woke with a jolt of panic. The startled pirates scanned the deck, but their eyes never fell upon the battle in her corner. It was as if Nova and the fanged man were magically concealed from their view. It didn’t take long for them to close their eyes and leave her to face her battle alone.
Her vision came back into focus and strength filled all her limbs again. She saw her attacker cradling his arm close to his chest. There was no blood, from his wound only charred skin, just like Dirk. The wound was already festering and the edges were glowing like fading embers.
Atlas watched in disbelief from his knees behind the fanged man.
Atlas tried to rescue me, she said to herself like a silly love-sick girl.
Feeding off his heroism, the feeling of confidence surged through her again. Dark, arrogant thoughts swelled against her heart, though they were halted. She fought inwardly with the idea of taking another’s life, and slowly lowered her hand away.
The fanged man smiled and whipped out a knife buried in the folds of his belt.
“Nova what are you doing?” Atlas shouted from the floor, scrambling with his own weapon. “Fight back.”
Nova closed her eyes, and clenched her jaw, she didn’t want to fight no matter how much the new power urged her onward. She held out her jeweled blade and screamed when she felt it stop against something hard.
The dagger had aimed true and the fanged man looked at her in surprise. Beads of perspiration dripped into her eyes from her forehead. The wound was bloodless, with charred skin surrounding her dagger.
“I’m sorry…” she stuttered, fighting the disgusting happiness the swirling power was forcing within her.
No sound escaped his mouth, but his stormy eyes billowed furiously and he groped the air between them trying to get one last grip on Nova.
As his last breath filtered from his lungs, a flash of red glinted in his angry, gray eyes before the light left completely. The man was dead. Nova stared in disbelief. She’d killed another human. For the first time since setting out to find a pirate, she saw herself just as ruthless as the sleeping crew surrounding her
Chapter 9
A Worthy Mate
Nova shuddered and lowered the fanged prisoner to the ground before wrenching her blade from his burned skin. The storm inside her battled against her dark fury and the fierce guilt she felt. It was as if something inside her yearned to break free, something locked away and hidden from her consciousness.
No sooner had the haunting feeling passed over her, it left and she crumpled to the floor as her legs buckled. Atlas gaped in disbelief and they watched one another for a long moment. It seemed their altercation had gone remarkably unnoticed from the rest of the crew. The only sounds around them were the creaks and groans of the ship and loud snores from the sleeping men.
“Where…where did you say you got that dagger?” Atlas finally asked.
Nova looked at the blade, not a speck of blood in sight. She cleared her throat and spoke softly. “I think my parents may have been keeping something from me.”
Atlas looked at her incredulously. “Yeah, I think you’re on to something there.”
“What do we do? We…I mean I killed a crew member. They’re going to throw me overboard, I know it.”
“Now, hold on—don’t go turning into a whiny girl on me. I know you’re anything but, seeing as you just killed a Lamian…”
“Excuse me? What’s a Lamian?”
Atlas began wrapping Nova’s scratchy blanket over the thick body. “Remember Mount Dia I told you about? Lamians are an ancient religion who believe they’re responsible for the protection of the entire Launi Kingdom. I noticed his Lamian fangs immediately.”
“Protect it from what?”
Atlas smiled sheepishly. “It’s nonsense, but they protect it from supposed monsters of Dia. Really
, girl, didn’t you ever learn about the legends of Launi in your schooling?”
Nova flushed. “My father thought my education should be practical. I did a lot of sword play and hands-on learning,” she admitted.
Atlas shrugged. “Seems to have paid off tonight, I’ll give you that. Listen, Nova,” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “just go to sleep, and don’t let on you’re behind this. You’re small enough no one will ever suspect you.”
“We should throw him overboard,” she whispered frantically.
“Nova, look at his size. Do you really think we can carry him without drawing attention to ourselves? Lamians are vicious and extremely strong. They train from the moment they can walk to defend Launi. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t even place you near the list of suspects. Find a spot in the middle of the deck, and make sure you act surprised when they find him,” he said, pointing toward the hammocks.
Nova pursed her lips, unsure if keeping his body on board was the best plan.
Atlas pushed the Lamian’s corpse against the wall of the ship with difficulty, and placed a reassuring hand on Nova’s shoulder. “Really, everything will be all right. Remarkably, these criminals seemed to sleep right through it all.”
Nova followed his eyes and took in the sleeping crew. She smiled and placed one of her hands over his on her shoulder. “I’m glad there’s at least one more person who isn’t a pirate on this ship.”
Atlas chuckled. “You’ll never see me as one of these creatures,” he whispered. “Now get some sleep. Just act natural and all will be well.”
Act natural—easier said than done, she discovered the next morning. Every noise made her jump as she pictured someone coming up behind her ready to attack. Any look in her direction sent her mind rushing in a torrent of paranoid thoughts.
Nova’s hands were calloused and dry from pushing the scrub brush back and forth along the grimy deck. No amount of cleaning was ever going to free the wood of grease and liquor, but she kept her head down and didn’t draw attention to herself.
Atlas tended to the helm as if nothing had taken place and coached Nova into acting surprised when the body of the Lamian was found below. He’d been spared the harsh punishment of unruly chores because of his sailing talent and stood by the helm master, learning the different sensitivities of The Star’s Vengeance. Occasionally, he stole a glance in her direction and Nova blushed under his stare. She tried to convince herself his interest was more brotherly than romantic, but it didn’t stop her from hoping.
With another painful scrub of the deck, the brush slammed against a heavy leather boot. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked up into the angry face of the man with the red patch over his eye.
He gnawed on something burrowed in his cheek, and his ugly face turned up into a malevolent grin. He’d shed his gray prison rags and replaced them with brown pants tucked into his boots, and a billowing, black shirt with two leather straps crossed over his bony chest. Each strap was lined with knives of all lengths and design, but each had a deadly shine beneath the hazy sunlight.
“I know what ye gone and did,” he snarled in a low voice. “Killin’ yer crew is against pirate law.”
She shuddered as he circled her and walked his fingers along her head like long, hairy spider legs. His touch caused her skin to crawl. The strength she’d felt against the Lamian was gone; instead, her mouth dried like rough sand and her skin paled in fear. She needed to leave and soon.
“I…I don’t know what you mean,” she stuttered in a low voice.
He leaned in closer, the rotten smell of his dirty mouth and old tobacco burned her nostrils. His tendrils of greasy, brown hair tickled her forehead and cheeks as he whispered next to her ear. “Ye can drop the act. I remember ye from the Freedom and it only makes matters worse that ye be a woman. I sense the Below is callin’ yer name. Of course, we could always come to’n agreement.”
Slowly, he stroked the side of her arm with his dirty index finger and swiped his sticky tongue over his lips.
“Get your hands off me,” she said through clenched teeth, pushing her scrub brush hard against the deck.
His spider fingers wrapped around her hair, twisting her short curls until she was forced to face him. “I wouldn’t be so quick to refuse me, girl,” he hissed under his putrid breath. “Smythe don’t know what ye done. If ye want to live, do as I say and I’ll make sure he never finds out.”
Nova felt like throwing up, imagining his disgusting proposition. Quickly, she thrust her elbow deep into his stomach, knocking him off his feet. She rolled away from him, but her heart sunk like an anchor into her stomach when she realized he held her hat. Now that the crew had turned their attention to the commotion, he swung it in her face and laughed wickedly.
Nova’s short golden hair shone brilliantly in the warm sunlight, and the peachy clouds made a red sheen coat her head as if it had been kissed by strawberries. She wobbled on her unsteady feet as men all around her widened their eyes in shock, or curled their lips in anger. The heat in her cheeks surely reddened her naturally pink skin. She knew her secret was out.
“A wench be on board. We’re doomed,” someone called out in the stunned crowd.
Nova hugged her thin waist and saw Atlas from the quarterdeck gripping the helm until his skin pulled white over his knuckles.
“Toss her into the Below,” said another.
Grievances and mumbled curses overwhelmed her and, slowly, she curled against the side of the ship, covering her ears as the crowd of pirates closed in on her.
A single blast of a pistol silenced the agitated crew. Smythe stood in the doorway of his cabin and glared at the stagnant crew.
“There had best be a good reason for you dogs not to be working,” he shouted. The black raven glared hungrily from atop his shoulder as Smythe absently stroked his head.
The man with the red patch looked at Nova with arrogance as he raised her hat in the air. “Cap’n, there be danger aboard.”
“Who said that?” Smythe called out. The crowd parted, opening a direct pathway to Nova and the pirate snitch.
“Harvey Jones,” red-patch shouted back.
Smythe glared at him, but his black eyes turned slowly to Nova huddled close to the edge of deck. With thundering steps, Smythe rushed toward them.
“She be a woman, Cap’n. She’ll bring a curse upon us and we’ll be sunk in no time to the Below unless we shove her off,” Harvey rambled as Smythe got closer.
“Shut it,” the captain demanded. He stepped next to Nova, and on instinct, she cowered beneath Smythe’s large frame.
“That’s not all, Cap’n.” Harvey continued, ignoring the command to close his mouth. “She be the one who killed Drachen.”
“You best be closing those flapping lips, or you’ll be the one in the Below,” Smythe snarled at Harvey.
Harvey stepped back and pursed his lips against the chew stuffed in his bottom lip.
“Now,” Smythe said looking at Nova again. “What do we have here?”
He tipped her chin upward with his finger. A smile crossed his face, but she couldn’t detect whether he was amused or if he was going to throw her overboard for enjoyment. “Men, we have a lass among us,” he shouted with open arms. Smythe laughed loudly and soon much of the crew hesitantly followed suit. “I knew there was something off about you. Normally, I’d throw ye off without a second thought, but I admit I’m intrigued. What was a skinny tart like ye doin’ on a prison ship, and how did ye get past a pirate’s judgment?”
Smythe smiled, but his dark eyes narrowed as if silently warning her to choose her words wisely.
Nova straightened up and glanced to both sides, feeling the steely glares of the pirates break down her strength.
“I…snuck onto the prison ship because…I’m looking for my father. I thought pirates on Dieb could help me find him.”
“And why exactly is your father missin’?” Smythe asked, notably amused.
Li
e, the words clearly came to her mind. Her imagination led her to believe it was her mother’s voice, and somehow it comforted Nova. Quickly, she built an explanation, choosing to take heed of her sudden instincts.
“He’s a sky trapper and his ship set sail but never came back. If anyone knows the open skies, it’s a pirate.”
Smythe studied her and cupped her chin in his palm. Nova held her breath as he pulled her face closer to his as if scrutinizing her expression to determine if she was lying.
“Now, Harvey seems to believe a tiny lassy like ye took down the only Lamian I’ve ever had the pleasure of havin’ on my crew. My sensibilities tell me that ain’t true, miss. Are ye going to tell me somethin’ different?”
Nova released her breath and shook her head. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, sir. You said yourself, how would it even be possible?”
The raven squawked loudly, causing Nova to jump back. Smythe chuckled and grabbed a clump of Nova’s short curls, forcing her next to him again. “Now, I don’t think that’s true.”
Nova glanced at the bird; its beady black eyes laughed at her. “I…I…sir it was an accident. He attacked me. I didn’t seek to kill him,” she said in trembling voice.
Smythe released her hair and stepped back one step. His brow furrowed and slowly he stroked his dark beard with his black fingernails. “Can’t be true. How can it be possible for a stick of girl to kill a Lamian? What powers do ye have?”
Nova watched Smythe curiously. “It was pure self-defense.”
Straightening her shoulders, she prayed inwardly that she’d survive the day. A faint tingle of confidence built inside her chest. If she kept her wits about her, she knew she could convince Smythe to keep her aboard.
A squirrely man with a red boil painfully bursting on the tip of his nose whimpered behind Smythe. “Cap’n, the…the law of the sky clearly states…no…no female aboard. No matter how little…of a threat said f…f…female seems to be,” he stuttered.
“Enough, Mr. Phipps. My ship, my rules,” Smythe snarled without looking back at cowering, plump Phipps.