by Lux Miller
I’m not about to start barking at him like a dog, though, because even my bleary eyesight can see that he’s heavily armed, mostly with traditional weapons. I can see a glint of silver hidden within his garb that tells me there’s more to this man than meets the eye, and that it’s probably wise not to mess with him. Even if I was at my full strength, it’d be suicide to allow myself to slip into a manic episode and put Nova at risk. Especially when the tall, redheaded female standing at the man’s side looks like she’s had a hell of a night and isn’t ready to put up with anyone’s bullshit.
Clearing my throat, I focus my gaze on the blond man’s bi-colored gaze, or at least I try to, anyway. The duplicity of the color of his eyes makes it hard for me to focus on both at the same time, and instead, I find my eyes flitting back and forth between them. The growl that tumbles from between his lips sounds like a warning call of a feral animal. If I was on my feet right now, I’d be hightailing it out of here. This joker reminders me of a Navian hellhound… and I know from personal experience that their bite is far worse than their bark. I’m not one to test the limits of a wild thing’s patience these days, but my cylinders aren’t firing on full capacity right now, either.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply, replying simply, “I am nobody, and nobody is mine.”
The man doesn’t miss a beat as he replies coyly, “Nomads? Half-dressed like Kingsmen?” He smirks as he motions to our state of undress, then continues, “And under that sigil? You must be pirates. I’ve never met a Nomad in the habit of stealing ships and crashing them into the sacred ruins of Atlantis? I thought your lot avoided this place like it’s cursed?”
I grunt as I close my right hand into a fist, but I tamp down the frustration roiling around in my gut as I hear the man’s clunky boots take several steps closer to me. Natural instinct kicks in as I protectively pull Nova closer, smashing her against me as my heart thunders in my chest in an offbeat rhythm. I grit my teeth together as I grind out a simple reply, “It is cursed…”
Silence follows as I keep my eyes pressed together firmly, waiting to see if the feral man has a temper like the beasts he reminds me of, but there’s no explosion. Instead, I feel gentle hands touch me, and my eyes fly open to find the beautiful girl kneeling in front of me without an ounce of fear on her face. I blink my eyes several times, because I swear to the gods she’s glowing. But right now, I’m probably the equivalent of three sheets to the wind and drunk on adrenaline. Hell, for all I know, it might be the only thing keeping me alive right now.
The caw of a raven catches my attention as one of the damned birds lands near me, just out of reach. I grunt in its general direction, but my earlier strenuous efforts to check Nova over for injuries has drained me of any remaining energy that I had. The only show of strength I can make is to ball my right hand into a fist and shake it meaninglessly at the devil’s feathered companion. “Get away from me, you wretched beast. I will not become one of your enslaved…”
The bird hops several times and leaps onto the girl’s shoulder, pecking at her hair as it caws noisily. She smiles breezily and throws her head back, a tinkling little laugh erupting from her lips. She hesitantly reaches up to stroke the bird like it isn’t a ravenous, nasty critter of the devil. I gaze past her and see Mr. He-Man behind her, eyeing me like he’s about ready to throw me overboard, and that’s when it dawns on me. Did he say this thing crashed into the ruins of Atlantis?
“Where are we?”
The girl pats my arm gently as she stands up and unfastens what appears to be a cape from around her neck. She swings it free of her body as the raven takes flight, squawking in protest as it soars up to the remains of the broken masts. The girl shakes her head, then squats back down in front of me. “As he said, your ship’s crashed into the ruins of Atlantis. I’m afraid it’s not seaworthy at the moment. I’m not much of a shipbuilder, but we can probably help you get it back in the water before the Navians figure out what you’ve done with it.”
The knowing look on her face sends blood rushing to my cheeks, but it is a relief that she at least seems not to care that the boat isn’t technically mine. I don’t know what her allegiances are, but considering she’s in the company of an Outlander, my chances are probably pretty good that at least they’re not allies of the Navians. Those are far and few between these days, but a man can never be too careful.
I bristle as the girl brushes her hand down Nova’s bare arm and glances up at my face, a curious expression on hers, but I just shake my head quickly. I honestly have no clue how we both ended up topless, but I suspect it has to do with the fabric binding my left arm where the arrow pierced my shoulder. “She’s not injured,” the girl murmurs as she shakes out her cape and lays it over Nova, tucking it around the slight girl’s frame.
Her hand travels from Nova’s porcelain skin to mine, and her touch is gentle but firm. Her eyes narrow as the bird squawks from its new perch above me, and she nods at it like she can actually communicate with it. “But you are, and if we don’t do something to counteract the effects of that nasty poison, you’re going to be a raving lunatic before long.”
I narrow my eyes at her, tilting my head to the side as she slides her hand over the makeshift bandages, slowly untying the sloppy knots. As the strips of cloth fall away from my shoulder, the immense pain begins to build again, and I can feel my eyes crossing as I struggle to hold onto Nova. The girl nods to her companion, who begrudgingly walks over and kneels down beside her. His blond hair blows wildly in the breeze that’s legitimately just kicked up out of nowhere. “Can you take her?”
I’m not sure if I actually snap my jaws at her or not, but the responding growl from the girl’s tow-headed companion makes me stand down slightly. I’m not itching to get into a brawl when I can barely lift my dominant arm as it is. The girl smiles at me as she makes a whistling sound at the demon spawn flying overhead. It swoops low over us, just out of reach if I were to try to snatch it out of the air, and drops some kind of plant into her waiting hand. With a sigh, she rips the leaves off the sprig and stuffs them into her mouth, chewing quickly before spitting the macerated mess into her hand. “Finn will take care of your… sister?”
The horrified expression on my face makes her chuckle nervously as she nods quickly. “Sorry, not your sister then? Wife? Girlfriend?”
I shake my head quickly. “Just… friend. Her name is Nova. I passed out first. I don’t know what happened to her, but she may have been exposed to the toxin, too.”
The girl nods and motions to the man, who unceremoniously pulls Nova out of my grasp, gingerly tucking the cape around her as it begins to slip free. Okay, so he’s not a total bastard, but I still don’t like him. Something about him makes me uneasy, but if I don’t let the ginger-haired girl do something about the Navian poison, I’m not going to be able to protect Nova, anyway. So I relent and let “Finn” take her aside.
I can’t see what he’s doing to her. From the hurried conversation that passes between Finn and the redhead, I get the feeling he’s making Nova some kind of tea out of the rest of the plant that was given to them by the raven. I’m too exhausted to fight any of it anymore. Grunting as I watch the man pour something into Nova’s mouth, I ask cautiously, “What’re you two? Some kind of shamans?”
I mean, it seems like a legit question to me. They’re doing medicine man-type stuff, and they just happened to be at the ruins of Atlantis. Which I’ve no idea how we got to, since we weren’t really that near their fabled location. If these are really the ruins. She shakes her head softly, and that’s when I realize that my vision’s gone double So, I squeeze my eyes closed again to keep myself from puking on her.
“No, he’s an Outlander, so he’s probably pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, but I actually have no clue what I’m doing. I’m a dome dweller and just stumbled upon the ruins a few hours before you. I’m following the raven’s instructions and doing what she tells me to do. Which by the way, she says this is going to hurt...”
Yeah, now I know that I’ve lost my mind and descended into madness. This girl is following the instructions of the devil’s bird? “The raven? Why would you listen to what the raven has to say? That blasted bird is fucking crazy and the devil’s minion! Where there’s a raven, there’s trouble...”
She leans over me, and I’m hit with the sickly sweet smell of pine and bergamot as she slaps her hand against my back. True to her word, a searing pain zings through me as she grinds the pulverized plants into the exposed cut. I nearly howl with agony as I throw my head back, grinding my teeth together. Her voice sounds far away as she replies contritely, “Because, she’s my mother…”
Chapter Nine
Nova
As my eyes flutter open, I reach both arms out to grab hold of whatever I can reach. My heart’s thundering against my ribcage as I gasp for air, trying to swallow down more than a shallow breath in my panic. I sit bolt upright, gathering the softness of what feels like blankets in my fists as I try to gain my bearings. Wait… blankets?
Blinking at the strange light fixture that’s swaying over my head, I quickly realize that I’m no longer on the deck of the Navian ship. As I untangle my hands from the blankets that are bunched around me, I realize that my hands have been carefully wrapped in some kind of bandage. The material seems to be something that’s actually medicinal and not crudely fashioned from someone’s clothes.
Eyes widening, my hands fly to my chest where I practically grope myself in surprise. Somehow, my nakedness has been covered in what might be the most luxurious fabric I’ve ever felt. It’s not quite a shirt, really… it’s more like a loosely secured length of silk that’s wrapped around my chest and fastened in place with some kind of brooch. It’s certainly nicer than anything I’ve owned, that’s for sure. And it’s also unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, too.
The fibers are finely woven in a rich green that looks like emeralds against my skin. My heart rate quickens just thinking about where it could have possibly come from. Drake certainly didn’t have anything like this… oh shit… “Drake!”
“He’s resting, somewhat fitfully, I might add, but he’s going to make a full recovery, thanks to you.”
The female voice is almost lyrical as it snaps me out of my panic. I crane my neck to peer around the corner of the stone wall that’s blocking my view of everything. There's a girl sitting there in garb similar to the material that’s wrapped around me. I frown slightly and tilt my head to the side as I eyeball her outfit. My gaze travels along the detailed embroidery work that lines every edge and seam of the garment that she’s wearing. I can’t help but stare in awe at how beautiful the intricate details are. The gold thread pops against the same color green that’s swaddled around me, and in contrast to her fiery red hair, she’s a vision. I’m probably staring at her like an idiot that doesn’t know how to speak.
“I, uhm, thank you…for this, I guess? And for however we got here?”
She nods with a tinkling laugh and stands up from an ornately carved chair. As she does, I can see now that she’s wearing what appears to be leather breeches underneath a silk overskirt in the same fabric I’m now wearing. Criss-crossing back and forth over her midsection is a cropped top of mixed materials, combining the two fabrics. It looks pretty badass, to be honest. Almost like a mixture of princess and warrior, and it’s a look I definitely appreciate.
Her voice is quiet as she speaks, but I quickly realize that she’s doing that on purpose. Even at that volume, it echoes around us. “You two kinda got yourselves here. Well, I think you had some help, but it wasn’t from me. Finn and I found you two tangled up together on a crashed Navian vessel that you apparently tried to steal. Not that I can blame you. From what I’ve heard of them, they’re nasty excuses for men, and nobody I’d want to associate with.”
I nod slowly, laughing nervously. “Yeah. They’re not very friendly, especially when you take things from them.”
The girl raises an eyebrow as she eyes me thoughtfully. She reaches underneath the chair she’s sitting on and pulls something into her lap that's wrapped in another color of the same luxuriously gorgeous fabric . “Like this?”
She unwraps it slowly and holds whatever was inside in her fist, opening it to let a necklace dangle from her hand. The chain is looped over her middle finger and a pendant with a curiously shaped stone is dangling at the other end.
I probably look and sound like I’ve swallowed a frog. “Whu-uh, where’d you find that?”
She smirks and leans over to me, motioning for me to do the same. I shakily swing my legs out of the bed and scoot over so that my feet touch the floor, but I don’t make any motions to get up. “Relax,” she coos, “...if we’d wanted to hurt you and steal your boat, or this trinket, we’d have done so when you two first washed up. The boat’s sizable and useful, and this thing could go for a pretty penny in the black market if that’s what we were looking for. But I’m sure you already had an idea of what it’d fetch, since you stole it from the Navians.”
My mouth drops open as I stare at the little stone twisting and turning in the artificial light that dances through it like a prism. “That’s what Skink had me risk my life...twice to steal? A necklace? He was willing to pay a month’s rations for that?”
She flicks her wrist, and the necklace disappears into her fist as her eyes meet mine. A nod of her head tells me that she has all the confirmation that she needs. “So, this Skink fellow sent the two of you to steal it?”
I shake my head quickly. “He sent me to steal it. Drake just saved my ass when the Navian tried to feed me to his hellhounds for breakfast.”
She smiles as she worries her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, then muses, “And you returned the favor when they used him for target practice. Seems you two are pretty well matched.”
My eyes widen as my cheeks flush, and I shake my head furiously. “I… I’m not involved with him!”
She shrugs and stands up out of the chair, tossing me the necklace. I barely get my hands up in front of my face in time to catch it. “Shame. He’s handsome and chivalrous. The first isn’t hard to find, but the second is a dying art in this world. He’s been in and out of consciousness since we rescued you, but he insisted that we tend to you first. Just saying it might not hurt to consider the possibilities since you’re currently shipwrecked on the ruins of Atlantis. You might be here a while. Companionship is not courtship.”
My gaze jerks up from the necklace to look at her in surprise. “Did you say… Atlantis?”
She nods as she holds a hand up and disappears around the corner, walking back with a small stack of fabrics in the most gorgeous shade of turquoise I think I’ve ever seen. She sets them on the end of the bed beside me and smiles. “The ruins, yes. We’ve only begun to explore, but so far, we’ve found seven rooms that’re accessible. This one and three more on this hall. And three on another hall, which appear to have been used as storerooms. There are other rooms on that hall that are sealed that we hope to open. The vast majority of the city is underwater, along with any of the legendary technology that’s rumored to be here. But so far, we have stumbled upon a cache of weapons and clothing. There are some rations and medicines, too. Enough to sustain us for a few weeks if necessary.”
I nod blindly as I finger the tiny jewel that’s enclosed in a cage of gold. The girl motions to it and smiles. “Put it on. I suspect there’s a reason it found its way to you, but I still need to figure out a few more things to see if my hunch is right. I’m Kira, by the way. I think we’re going to have a lot of things to talk about by nightfall, which is coming soon, but for now, let’s get you changed and settled in. If those garments aren’t to your liking, there’s plenty more in all shapes and sizes and colors. I’m sure we can find some nourishment once the thought of food doesn’t make you feel like you have rocks in your stomach… or so Finn says. I’ve never dealt with Navian poisons, but he says they don’t leave your system quickly, and they can have side effects fo
r days.”
I nod stupidly as I fasten the necklace around my neck. It sits awkwardly on top of the fabric just above the valley between my breasts, and I’m disappointed at how aware I am of its presence. I stretch my neck from side to side, trying to situate the bauble so that it isn’t so uncomfortably heavy, but it sits there like it’s made of lead. It’s a pretty, little gemstone, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to wear this thing if I’m constantly aware that it’s there. It’s going to drive me absolutely nuts!