Pace stood twenty yards from the inn and his nose wrung. The drunkards waved to him revealing terrifying smiles. No wonder this inn was the cheapest.
There was no telling how long Pace remained in the spot, but when captain Pembroke appeared, it was time to wake up from the trance.
“What are you doing here?” captain asked, not sounding angry.
“Honestly, I think, I zoned out.”
Captain glanced at the drunkards and what struck Pace was the absence of contempt in Pembroke’s eyes. They smelled bad, had no jobs and the society didn’t really benefit from them, and yet, this man didn’t judge them.
Impressive.
Pembroke strode toward Pace and as he reached him, Pembroke signed to the marine to follow.
“I got it, you have questions, but there will be time for them,” captain said after they left the vicinity of the inn. They headed for the port.
“Yeah,” Pace nodded. He still was overwhelmed. Clogs in his brain were turning sluggishly. “How did you catch the bullets?” Despite himself, Pace couldn’t stop an urge to ask.
“Comes with experience.” Bullshit. Pembroke had only a year or two on Pace. He was too young to talk about the experience. Either, there was some trickery involved or… magic.
Magic. A word that didn’t sit well with Pace. Whoever tried to explain an unknown by wizardry earned a friendly punch to the teeth from Pace.
“I don’t buy it, man,” Pace dropped formal stuff. If captain had a problem with it, then who fucking cared? “I’ve never seen… fuck, I’ve never heard about anyone randomly catching a bullet and then send it back to the shooter. Who are you?”
“You grow a bone by a minute. I like it,” Pembroke said. “Anyway, Club hadn’t lied when he told you what’s there.” Yeah, some peeing fetish stuff. It didn’t do much to convince Pace.
“You need to do better than that, cap,” Pace said. He could be broke, homeless even, but not stupid. Though curiosity pushed him ahead, Pembroke withheld something that made Pace dubious about that whole Navy thing. He wouldn’t put a foot on the ship’s deck without knowing it. “Maybe, regular folks buy the sweetness you serve them. I am not one of them; if want me, show me the whole dish.”
They halted beneath the stone arch. Captain seemed slightly withdrawn. But he spoke up without a prompt. “Common people think that the Navy’s only job is to fight pirates. Obviously, there is that,” Pembroke agreed. “But the reality forced us to evolve. There are other players we have to keep in check.”
“Like?”
“The Government.”
“Wait a minute, so the Navy now stands above them?”
Pembroke shook his head. “The Government remains the highest and absolute authority in the seven seas. No questions there.”
“Then, how?”
“Seven admirals, who stand at the head of the Navy, don’t exactly follow the rules; for better or for worse.” For worse? This sounded ominous. Either not all admirals had good intentions, or their intents could drag the Navy down. Pace like everyone knew shit about the Government, except, messing with them was a suicide.
“One more thing, cap,” Pace said relentlessly. “How did you catch the bullets?”
The evening was almost upon them and Pace knew he was pushing his superior’s patience to the limits. Pembroke waited until the port workers walked out of the earshot. Only patrols of two remained in the portside street.
“This has no exact name, but most of us, call it the soul release. It allows you to tap into the stored energy of your spirit. You can enhance your senses, speed, durability, whatever works for you. It’s difficult to learn, impossible to master, but damned useful. Now, do you see that small ship between the two Navy warships? Go there and report to a man called Kinson. He’s my second-in-command.”
This conversation was far from finished. The Soul Release my ass. I’ll press this Kinson for details… just in case captain doesn’t lie.
*
Pembroke
The boy wasn’t stupid. He’ll need answers soon. Master Sergeant isn’t blind. I knew what he saw. If wouldn’t turn someone so promising as Pace without a good reason. Fortunately, Pembroke knew his shit as well. While Pace’s fate had a couple of nasty twists, it possessed an unmatched potential. A sort of Pembroke hasn’t seen since he received his gift of seeing people’s destiny.
Maybe, he should tell Pace a little more. Pembroke could imagine the amount of pestering the boy was going to deliver to commander. Kinson was going to be furious. Explaining didn’t lay in his nature, despite his patient appearance.
Oh well, I’ll just take the blame for this mess, but first, I must deal with admiral.
Before he reached for the contact sphere, which allowed him to speak with other people over the great distances. Lieutenant Mist came out of the gloom that descended on the island over the last few minutes.
“Cap,” Mist said. “We got intel about Karu island.”
Finally. Vacations were lovely as long as they were short. One day was enough.
“Is the kid on board?”
“The one who is driving Kink-son mad right now? Oh, he is. He seems a good fit for us. Riss can’t take her lusty eyes off him,” lieutenant grinned.
If these two would get along well, captain might follow Kinson’s steps.
“Alright, be ready to sail off, once I return. It shouldn’t be longer than ten minutes.”
Mist nodded, a mischievous smile decorating his face, then faded away into the shadow. Torches employed by the port gave too much opportunity to thieves, captain noted. But he had no time to speak to the port master.
His hand grabbed the ambient contact sphere. To operate it, the soul release was mandatory. It fueled the connection.
“Pembroke,” admiral’s voice sounded strained. That man couldn’t ease even for a second. Having the entire sea under his command must be draining. “I didn’t expect a call from you so soon.”
“I’m happy to hear you too, admiral.”
“Just get on with it. There is nothing more stressful than an unplanned call from you.”
“We got the intel about Karu, but that aside. I believe we must change our plan. Radically.”
Admiral sighed. “Get on with it.”
Chapter 5
Ines
Ines’s heart was clawing its way out.
Her last birthday arrived. Any of her breathes could be the last one. Did the other two Karu felt the same terror? No. Their faces seemed calm. Composed.
How could they accept their deaths so easily? Maintaining calmness at such a moment. The girl and the man looked as if it was another ordinary day.
Ancestors help me.
Hundreds of faces stared at them. When Ines was younger, she has witnessed the last birthdays of other Karu. Not even once so many Karu have gathered in one place. This was Hakima’s doing. Her final attempt to get at Ines. And it was working. Ines’ nerves were frayed, and she barely held it. If she lost it, wouldn’t it be bad for the tradition?
If she only could steel herself and speak up. Karu needed to stop this madness! There must be a way to end this cursed fate.
The first tears appeared in the corners of her eyes; of all things, her mind filled with memories of him.
Marus. Why did you leave me that day? Why? You had promised me that you’ll never abandon me… A woman with an ashen face who claimed I had been barren. She destroyed my life. Our life. The rumor spread faster than a wildfire. Marus had vowed to stay with me and the next morning he left me. Some time later, he and Hakima…
Pain bloomed in her stomach. So, this is the end.
Instinctively, Ines glanced back, but Marus wasn’t here. At his core, Marus was a coward.
The finest warrior of Karu. What a joke.
A sound of a falling body on her left brought her self-inflicted torture to halt. Temporarily, her thoughts fled.
“Blessed be her soul,” Hakima’s voice came from the back of the scene. How many
people came to see governess in the flesh?
In three weeks, you’ll kneel here. I bet many will come to see you off, bitch.
Hundreds of gathered echoed the words. Some of the younger ones looked eager, while the older ones were silent, their faces pale. This ritual meant to prepare Karu for the last journey; Ines saw how bad the job it’s been doing.
Another body dropped on the worn parquet.
“Blessed be her soul in the next world,” governess said with a hint of zeal. Oh, yes, she was minutes from declaring her biggest enemy, dead. The satisfaction Hakima felt must have to be overwhelming.
The pain in Ines's stomach receded; her eyes closed, they seemed heavier than usual. Was this the moment?
At first, the murmurs rippled throughout the crowd, then the shouts exploded.
“Die!”
“Witch!”
And worse.
She no longer fought the tears. She couldn’t care less if people like her or not, but this open hatred? What did I do to deserve it? It wasn’t my choice. I wanted a child more than anyone could imagine.
The intensity of the yells didn’t cease. Governess wasn’t to show any mercy.
Something is wrong.
Ines didn’t feel like dying. She opened her eyes. Her body stiffened from kneeling in the same position. A lot of angry Karu went suddenly quiet.
Instinctively, Ines looked back and found disbelief on governess’s face. Something was terribly wrong. I should be dead by now. The sun passed the position where the last known Karu passed away on its last birthday. I’m still breathing and… oh, by the moonless sky, I’m alive.
Her moment of happiness didn’t last long.
The rage erupted from the crowd. Some in the first front made a move. They wanted to lay a hand on her. Ines jumped to her feet, shocked by the destructive emotions in the eyes of Karu. How could her people be capable of such hatred?
Footsteps from behind, she spun in time to avoid the guard’s hand.
“Take her!” governess ordered. Hakima looked like she’d been punched into her forbidden face. She was even uglier than normal. “She a witch!”
You can’t be serious…
“Ines the Defier!” a roar came from the crowd; metallic sounds of clash erupted before her eyes. “Lead us, Ines the Defier!” Karu fought before her eyes, but why? What did they expect to gain from this madness? Why would anyone wanted her to lead?
Lead what?
Hakima gritted her teeth so hard they cracked. The guards stood rooted watching the wedge of fighters split the mob. Whoever was coming to the scene; were they friends or foes?
Everyone in the crowd tried to flee from a man in grey clothes with a masked face. He raced toward Ines, cutting down everyone on his path.
“Kill her!” governess shouted to the two guards. Once they shook off the shock, they moved fast. Their hands dropped on her shoulders.
“Leave her!” a cry of pure wrath erupted from the grey man. It, literally, fell people over around him. A part of her awoke and she sensed terror in the hearts of the guards.
“Kill her!” another shout came from behind Ines. One of the guards reached for the knife; the grey man stepped on the worn parquet, at that moment.
A breath of air; a scream of agony, and the guard dropped on the scene. The other one let go of Ines and disappeared in the side exit.
Hakima. Ines whirled around, but governess was gone, too. Her eyes returned to the crowd… or rather the chaos that remained in its place. Bodies were scattered everywhere. Her heart burned with shame.
The grey man’s eyes settled on her.
“There is no point to feel sorry for them. They were about to tear you apart,” his voice sounded different than anybody’s she has known. The rescuer’s body seemed larger, too. He was taller and bulkier even than Marus. But Ines hardly cared, her mind still tried to comprehend this.
“Who are you? What do you want? Why… all of this?” Thousands of questions flooded her mind.
“You’re the one we’ve been waiting for three generations.”
She looked at him with a mix of bewilderment and resignation. This man was insane.
“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Asaif and since the day I’d learned the truth of this place, I searched for you.” He unwrapped the long grey material from around his head. She understood why he’d come with a covered face.
He wasn’t Karu. Asaif had long thick mustaches and a goatee beard. The skin of the face was well-tanned and wrinkled. There were hints of grey in his hair. This man was many years past twenty-one.
“How… how old are you?”
“Forty.”
“How’s it possible?”
Alarms all over Maharat began sounding. No other district possessed them anymore. Asaif’s accomplices dispersed immediately into the side streets. He looked unperturbed.
“I think, we should go. The news must have reached the tower by now. If they decide to make a move, then we’ll stand no chance.”
“The tower? You mean, the Gleaming Tower? What does it have to do with us?”
“Everything. Come.”
*
Hakima
Hakima trotted into the Governor’s Hall. She had problems breathing. The shock was slowly fading away and panic rose in her gut. That terrible sect came out of shadow… finally. Councilors didn’t believe her after she’d told them. The Cult of Defier was real. The council had no choice but hand over absolute control over the city.
The alarms sounded all over Maharat. Tod was quick and efficient. Unfortunately, even roused and alerted city guards couldn’t search the entire Inherited City. Too much of it stood abandoned; moreover, the witch could have a trick or two up her sleeve.
It might take weeks. Hakima would be gone by the time they catch the dirty bitch and put her to death. Ah, and there was a matter of the hazmat suits, as they called themselves. Now, their demand made sense. They asked to keep Ines unhurt after the Last Birthday. As if they’d known she would live.
“Fuck,” she hissed and whirled when the sound of footsteps reached her.
A man in the yellow hazmat suit appeared between pillars. He walked with a heavy, almost, crippled gait. When he stopped by the dais, Hakima had climbed to her seat. She was terrified of him.
“You failed,” the muffled voice stated.
“We’ll catch her!” she mustered the remnants of her confidence. “It’s a matter of time.”
“We have no more faith in you,” the man said and pulled a gun from a deep pocket. “Hopefully, the next governess or governor will possess more common sense.”
The gun has fired twice.
Hakima’s body fell on the cold stone floor. Governess was dead the moment the first bullet entered her skull through the left eye.
Chapter 6
Pace
It kind of sucked.
They called this small ship, brig.
Well, everything here was turned upside down. Pace couldn’t decide who was the worst out of the small bunch of freaky marines.
Lieutenant Mist avoided everyone. Commander Kinson, who behind his back was called Kink-son, was a diabolical man, who only seemed stern and patience. This guy had no chill. Pace must duck thrice and from the vibrations of the air, he could say these weren’t light punches. The pink-haired woman wore officer’s coat without a rank. When Pace had asked her about it, she only smiled mischievously.
Was this Pembroke’s real crew? What was wrong with them? And why they didn’t take questions well?
Commander threw a fit after Pace asked if they could pack the ship onto a proper Navy warship. He didn’t take better the news that Pace was joining the crew.
“Is captain insane?” he asked. As if Pace possessed an insight into Pembroke’s mental health. “We don’t need strays.”
“Too bad,” Pace answered him then. “I’m already in. And I have questions. Plenty of them.”
Since then, commander has turned into a bully, an
d only captain’s reappearance stopped Kinson from going into a bone breaker
“Pembroke, what is the meaning of this?” He meant Pace.
Pace leaned over the rail watching two men. Kinson had a deep ‘X’ slash under his right eye and a shallower one that ran from his chin to his left ear. A small beard under the chin and thin lines of eyebrows were his only facial hair. Commander looked more like a pirate than a Navy officer.
Captain spread out his arms as if he didn’t have an idea what commander was talking about.
“We don’t need deck hands and this one forgets his place already.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” Riss smirked. In the lamplight, the deck was full of shadows and Pace didn’t notice her lingering around. She winked to him. Riss had a pretty face, though something weird was going on with her pink hair.
“Shut your trap, pink-haired weirdo,” commander snapped.
“I’m not the one who stuffs his belly with garlic,” Riss snarled. Though, she stood quite far away from commander, her muscles tensed in readiness. Despite all the bravado, she respected the older man.
Captain let them banter for a moment; then, he raised his hand. “We’ll speak of this and that later, now, I want to know more about the intel on Karu.”
Commander’s eyes narrowed on Pace.
“Should we go to your quarter?”
“No need,” Pembroke answered.
“Fine,” Kinson grunted. “Our detective trio sniffed out that a certain individual on Santori spreads rumors about Karu and odd comings and goings of ships from Satori’s government port. Our hope is that the man could be a defected government employee.”
Pace skin prickled from excitement. So, Pembroke didn’t lie when he told me about going after the government. These guys are nuts.
“Santori,” Pembroke muttered. “I hope, it isn’t another Riss’ idea. We all know how much she wants to go there.”
“Hey, cap,” Riss jumped on the railing with a cat’s grace. Still, Pace’s heart hammered knowing that one tricky step could earn her a journey over the board. They still were in the port, but so close to the warships, the water was treacherous.
Bonded by the Sea Page 3
