by Travis Bughi
“Because I woke up just in time to hear who the traitor is,” Heliena leaned forward and breathed into Emily’s face.
“No, Heliena! Listen to me! He lied! He was lying!”
“I should have listened to Belen,” Heliena tisked. “It all makes sense now. How is it possible you never saw the woman but you saw the samurai, hmm? How unlikely is that? No wonder you wanted to come with us tonight. You wanted to kill him and cover your tracks! And what amazon would marry anyway, huh? Your own mother, that’s who!”
“Heliena!” Emily yelled, stretching to her tiptoes as the knife pressed harder. “Think about this! How can I be the traitor? I didn’t even know Adelpha or any of you at all until a few days ago. Why would I want to kill her? What possible purpose would that serve? I didn’t even know what a basilisk was until Chara told me!”
Heliena paused. The seething hatred in her cold, blue eyes had receded as Emily’s words struck her, and she took in a deep breath through her nose and looked over at the samurai, then back at Emily. When she did, the fury had gone, and in its place was a look of realization.
“Ah!” Heliena yelled, pulling the knife from Emily’s throat. “Damn it!”
Heliena sheathed her knife and dropped to her heels. Her hair fell over her beautiful face and she buried her forehead into her palms. Emily lurched off the wall and put a hand to her throat, rubbing where the blade had pricked the skin. She muffled a cough and realized she was shaking. Heliena had almost killed her, thanks to that samurai.
That bastard, she gritted her teeth.
“Emily,” Heliena said through her palms. “Do you know what this means?”
“We can’t know who the real traitor is now?”
“Besides that,” she sighed.
Emily just shook her head. Although Heliena didn’t see it, she read the silence clear enough.
“I killed Okamoto,” the amazon said, voice frail and meek once more. “They’re going to think I did it to keep him quiet. I’m doomed.”
Emily didn’t say anything, because she had been thinking just that. Or, more specifically, that Heliena had killed the samurai intentionally, and when Heliena turned back to look at Emily, she saw that in Emily’s eyes and shuddered.
“You, too!” Heliena gasped. “Oh, Adelpha is going to kill me. She might really, actually kill me this time.”
Then, to Emily’s shock, Heliena began to weep. Her breath caught in her throat, and she whimpered while her eyes moistened, though Heliena turned away to hide the shame, but Emily had seen enough already. She dashed her previous thoughts and knelt down beside Adelpha’s sister.
You have no proof, Emily thought. The traitor can still be anyone. Don’t judge so quickly.
And then Ephron’s words came to her, clear as a bell.
“As for the woman in your ranks,” he had said, “if you are right, then you must be careful. However, I would also caution you to guard yourself from feelings of distrust. Humans, all too frequently, are quick to assume guilt in others they do not like.”
Caution, Emily reminded herself.
She put a hand on Heliena’s shoulder, but the amazon tossed it off. Emily was hurt at first but then decided that was for the best. They weren’t that close.
“Actually,” Emily spoke up, “I think it’s probably better you killed him. If you didn’t he would have lied some more and had us at each other’s throats. We would have torn each other apart. I’ll tell Adelpha I killed him. I’m clumsy enough.”
“Thank you,” Heliena said, sniffing back tears. “Thank you so much. I owe you for that and don’t let me forget it. You know, I was just thinking.”
She paused to took take a breath and steady herself. When she pulled her hands away, her eyes were red. Emily and she both stood up.
“It’s strange that they saw Adelpha’s approach,” Heliena said. “I’d swear they were intentionally looking for it. And to have a samurai on guard below the main deck? They were certainly prepared. I think you might have been right about that trap. And Okamoto, too. He killed two of our sisters. How did he know to wait? Damn it. I knew them, too. We all did.”
Emily was going to reply, but just then Adelpha and her group of amazons entered the room from the decks below, and as they emerged from the stairs, Emily saw that one was missing.
“The guard got to the decks below and warned the other men,” Adelpha explained. “But with long, narrow corridors and nowhere to hide, they were easy to take down. We tried to capture another samurai down there, but when we got close, he took out a dagger and stabbed himself. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Neither of the samurai you saw were Okamoto Karaoshi,” Emily said, then nodded to Okamoto’s corpse. “He was.”
Adelpha looked at the dead body, the arrow through his chest, and swore.
“Who killed him?” she demanded, teeth clenched.
Heliena looked down in shame then glanced over at Emily. Emily in turn summoned the strength to lie to Adelpha’s face.
“I did,” Emily said. “He was going to kill Heliena, so I shot him. I meant to hit his shoulder, but I missed.”
It was the least Emily could do. Heliena did risk her honor to bring her along and had saved her life from the other men on the ship. The least she could do was take the blame. Plus, with Emily's poor aim, it was believable.
Adelpha growled in anger and kicked one of the cannons. She looked down at Okamoto’s body and then up at Emily.
“The next time we tell you not to come, you stay! Got it?”
“Yes, sorry,” Emily replied.
“At least your miss didn’t go clear over him,” Adelpha continued. “Otherwise, probably you and Heliena would both be dead.”
“Yes, and sorry again.”
Adelpha looked down at Okamoto and swore one last time.
“Let’s get moving,” the princess sighed.
Chapter 23
The three dead amazons were carried out to be buried on the shore. Unfortunately, the graves were going to have to be shallow, because the living amazons would have to flee the city soon, and the only tools they had to dig with were their hands.
“Our tradition is to cremate our dead. But in times such as these, that cannot be the case,” Chara explained. “We don’t want to wake up everyone with a funeral pyre. We should actually be thankful. Sometimes, our dead have to be left where they fall.”
Dirt digging was nothing new to Emily. In fact, it was something she’d done her whole life. Many thought it was an insult to call her dirt digger, but she was never offended. It was quite accurate. Most of the digging was to plant seeds, but there had been a few graves, too. Once to help a traveling group of gnomes, another time to help a neighbor who’d lost a family member, and the last one had been for the gunslinger, John Bagster. Besides those graves, she’d buried a few unicorns—after their meat had been stripped, of course—that had outlived their ability to survive the harsh farming conditions on the Great Plains. It was funny, she realized, to call the Great Plains harsh now that Emily was just beginning to see how harsh the world could be.
This dawned on her as she helped dig the three graves. For some reason, it felt good—not the deaths, of course, but digging the soil with her bare hands. It was the least she could do for the three amazons who had given their lives in the failed attempt to learn the traitor’s identity. The other amazons, the ones closest to the dead, wept and wiped their faces as they dug. Despite their efforts, tears slid down their cheeks and mingled with the dirt that they’d unknowingly smeared on their cheeks.
Emily looked at the dead amazons and couldn’t help but feel a measure of responsibility. She wanted to change events, to go back in time and right the wrongs. If Heliena and Emily had never left the top deck, perhaps they would have seen Okamoto, and he wouldn’t have been able to strike two of them down. Maybe if Emily had been able to nock an arrow, she could have killed the guard who’d alerted the rest of the crew. Maybe then, the woman who had died defending Ade
lpha, taking a pistol shot from the captain of the ship, would still be here.
She burrowed her hands into the dirt again, pulling the soft soil away. Perhaps if she hadn’t followed Heliena down to the lower deck, a different scene would be unfolding now. Maybe Okamoto Karaoshi would still be alive. If only those three crewmembers hadn’t seen Adelpha’s group, then maybe this could have been avoided. And how did those guards know to look outside? Emily thought. Heliena had commented on it, saying it was strange, almost like they were prepared.
Like someone had warned them.
Emily’s mind conjured Belen in a flash. She remembered watching the cloaked form of the older woman sneaking out as soon as the battle plans were finished, and how she’d returned, still under cover, sneaking back inside with no one taking notice. And, thinking back even further, how fiercely she’d argued with Adelpha, trying to stop the attack from happening at all.
Adelpha had said there was a traitor among them.
Emily jumped up, fiery determination setting her soul alight. She had to warn Adelpha, now, before anyone else was killed. Emily moved over and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Adelpha, I need to speak to you in private,” she whispered.
“Can it wait? This is a time for mourning and digging, and after that, fleeing.”
“I wish it could, but you need to know as soon as possible.”
Adelpha sighed and pulled one more scoop of dirt out of the hole. Then she turned to the other women.
“We’ll be right back.”
Adelpha walked with Emily from the shore to the closest building, but Emily insisted on being out of sight lest Adelpha, or herself, make an unintentional glance at Belen. They continued around a small house and the wind died away. To her relief, it felt warmer already. Emily was not used to exposing so much skin to the elements. She hoped it was warmer in Themiscyra.
“Well, what is it?” Adelpha asked.
“I saw Belen sneak out of the tavern, out the backdoor, after the plans for tonight were made. Then she snuck back in before we left.”
Adelpha paused before answering. “Is that it?”
“Look, Adelpha, you said it yourself that this crazy woman is one of us. Maybe it’s Belen. I think she warned Okamoto that we were coming, and that’s how they knew to look for you. Maybe that’s how Okamoto was able to kill those two.”
“They knew to look outside, because one of us accidently hit the side of the ship climbing up the rope.”
“But what if they knew to look anyway, and they were just waiting?”
Adelpha looked down and put a hand to her chin.
Emily waited patiently and wrapped her arms around herself. How could the other amazons wear these clothes? Even when out of the wind, she felt cold. Bumps started forming on her skin, and she rubbed her arms.
“You’re getting cold, too?” Adelpha asked.
“Yes, how do you wear these leather skirts all the time? It’s so darn cold.”
“It’s not the skirt,” Adelpha replied, crossing her arms. “I don’t understand. I’ve never been this cold before, not even in the shadows of the Khaz Mal Mountains.”
Emily sucked in a breath and looked over Adelpha’s shoulder already guessing what she’d find there in the shadows. Adelpha, seeing the apprehension in Emily’s face, spun and drew her bow with an arrow already nocked and aimed in the direction of the shadowy figure who was just now coming into view.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “Get any closer, and I’ll put an arrow in your head.”
“That would be most unfortunate,” the voice was icy calm, as smooth as frozen water. “Arrows are not the easiest thing to make.”
The man stepped closer, but Emily didn’t need her eyes to know who it was. The chilled air and cold voice were more than enough to identify Count Drowin as he approached, hands held open as if in a truce. He was dressed elegantly again, hair carefully groomed, and his pale skin highlighted his figure in the dark. His smile exposed painfully white teeth and two small fangs.
The temperature plummeted as he approached, and Emily’s breath turned to frost as it escaped her lips.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t watch?” the vampire asked. “That I wouldn’t wait for you after last night’s little mishap, Emily Stout? I was going to kill you all when you attempted to climb aboard Okamoto’s ship, until I saw my little basilisk trapper sneaking onto the docks with you. Of course, then I realized I couldn’t kill you all anyway. After all, who would carry my business partner safely back to the jungle?”
Adelpha pulled her bow string back for extra force and loosed her arrow. It flew straight and true, striking Count Drowin in the forehead. The arrow pierced his skull with the audible crack of shattering bone. Drowin twisted from the force, his head reeling back and dragging his body along. He fell to the ground but, unimaginably, caught himself with one hand.
“I warned you,” Adelpha scowled.
Count Drowin panted, growled, and shook his head. The arrow shaft shook along with it, and Emily couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Drowin was breathing hard, but he was breathing nonetheless. After a moment passed—a moment that shouldn’t have been possible—the vampire stood back up, the arrow still halfway through his forehead. He looked at Adelpha as he reached an ice-cold, pale hand up to the arrow and yanked it out. The wound, miraculously, sealed the moment the arrow tip left it.
Blood had dripped down the vampire’s face before the wound was fully sealed. Carefully, Drowin pulled out a handkerchief from his coat pocket and dabbed the blood, being sure not to smear it on his handsome face.
“Ow,” he mumbled.
All of Adelpha’s former confidence drained from her face, leaving her gasping and shaken. The air in Emily’s lungs refused to escape.
“You,” Adelpha stuttered. “You’re . . .”
“Immortal, yes,” Drowin smiled. “Did you not know that about vampires? What a terrible leader you are. No wonder my partner wanted to see you dead.”
“What do you want?” Emily asked, stepping close to Adelpha.
The amazon princess pulled out another arrow and nocked it, but didn’t pull it back like she had before. It was just a token of comfort now, Emily knew. That much was abundantly clear.
“I don’t normally do this,” Drowin said, “but I have a bit of a thing for women with spirit. So, if you insist, Emily, I feel inclined to oblige you. What I want is to receive a captured basilisk without paying an extra fee. Such deeds don’t come cheaply, as you can imagine. I want my amazon to make it back to Themiscyra un-harassed. I want power, Lucifan—and to achieve all of this I must accomplish several things, the first of which is to kill you.”
He stepped forward, and Adelpha raised her bow, pulled back the string, and released another arrow. However, Drowin was just as fast as she was and simply put up his hand. The arrow slammed into it, almost passing all the way through. It was gross, but the vampire barely seemed to notice as he pulled the arrow the rest of the way through his palm. With impunity, he tossed it aside.
“I love a woman with spirit,” he smiled.
He lunged forward, hissing with his mouth open and lips curled back, and seemed to fly through the air. His eyes went mad with blood craze, the taste of human flesh only moments away. Adelpha stepped in front of Emily, and Drowin’s hand caught her by the throat, thrusting her back against Emily, pinning her to the wall and knocking the wind out of them both.
He was strong, unnaturally strong. Adelpha tried to speak, but the vampire’s hand closed on her throat, and she could only gasp. Emily looked into Drowin’s cold, blue eyes and struggled for air, but her lungs wouldn’t expand. The vampire took delight in her efforts. Calmly, he dragged a fingernail along Adelpha’s neck, drawing blood. He let it drip onto his finger and then tasted it.
He was leaning in, only moments from sinking his fangs into Adelpha’s neck. Emily tried and failed to take in air one last time. At the last moment, as Drowin bent forward, mouth open wide,
Emily closed her eyes and considered how very, very cold it was. It was in that cold that Emily remembered the last time she’d felt truly warm. The last time she’d felt protected, safe, and loved.
Quartus, she thought.
There was a flash of light, brighter than the sun. It was a warm light, too, filling every crevice and pushing the cold out and away. The warmth was comforting, humbling, and touching. Emily felt protected, cared for, and saved. She was saved. Both she and Adelpha were saved. She knew this, because there was only one being in the world that made her feel this way with its mere presence.
An angel had come.
Quartus and his grey hair were easy to see despite the bright light. He’d appeared out of thin air, and Drowin was instantly repelled. He screamed in pain—his skin hissing and smoking in the light of the angel—shielded his eyes and raised his hand, but the light burned him without mercy, and he stood no chance. With enviable speed, he fled into the dark, screeching in pain as he went. Only when his terrible howls died in the distance did the light steady, and Emily realized that Quartus was flying, hovering just above the ground. His feathered wings flapped slowly.
Adelpha and Emily, now free from the wall, both gasped for air with Adelpha also rubbing her neck where Drowin’s cold touch had nearly strangled her. She might have coughed, too, but she was most distracted. Emily could see it in the princess’ eyes, how the angel’s aura washed over her.
“Is,” Adelpha stared, eyes watering, “is that an angel?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you,” Adelpha said to him. “Thank you so much. What can I do to repay you?”
Quartus did not answer. He didn’t speak at all according to Gavin.
Emily felt Quartus pulling her mind again, and she did not resist his efforts. She thought back to the angel’s chamber. Thought back to Ephron and the warning he’d made. Beware your prejudice, she remembered, or rather, Quartus forced her to remember.
“What prejudice?” Emily asked the angel.
But of course, Quartus didn’t reply. He pointed west before rising up, higher into the sky. There was a flash of light, and when Emily looked again, he was gone.