Renegade Skyfarer

by R. J. Metcalf

  Anger boiled in Blade as he thought of his former friend. He refused to refer to Slate’s airship as the Sapphire. How dare Slate name his ship after her? After all that he’d done, he dared to parade her name? Truly, Slate deserved what was coming.

  It would be best if he could find Slate or his first mate before everyone returned to the ship. Blade wasn’t about to share their due deaths with his own men. He pulled his garrote out of its pocket and opened the med-bay door with blasé ease. Shock rippled through his body.

  Doctor Jaxton wasn’t dead. Not yet. And one of the men from the camp sat on a bench, a silver circlet pressing down his reddish-brown hair.

  Jaxton’s head whipped around and he froze, gaping. His pupils dilated. “You!”

  “Me.” Blade stepped into the organized room and shut the door. He didn’t want any interruptions. Not for this unexpected prize. He’d wondered where he would find his former master, if he was still alive. Finding him on Slate’s ship was a shock—and yet it further proved Slate’s treachery. Blade slipped the thin metal string back and pulled his crimson sword free of its matching sheath. The small room would be difficult to maneuver in. But it was only fair that Jaxton taste what he’d created.

  Jaxton stumbled over a chair in his haste to put the medical table between himself and Blade. The young man separated them, his face blank, as if free of thought or emotion.

  Memories of suppressed rage and helpless horror raced through Blade, leaving him breathless against the tumult. He raised his sword and looked at Jaxton over the tip. “You will not destroy another life like this.”

  Jaxton dropped his hand into his coat pocket as Blade lunged across the room. Before Jaxton could grasp whatever he reached for, the edge of Blade’s sword bit into his neck, severing the artery there. The traitorous doctor collapsed on the floor, legs akimbo. The white of his uniform rapidly changed to crimson. His fingers trembled as they lifted to the blood pouring from his neck. His eyes widened in shock. Jaxton’s hand slipped down, leaving bloody streaks on his neck as the light in his eyes dimmed.

  It wasn’t enough.

  It wasn’t nearly enough.

  How dare he die so easily? How dare he not pay for his crimes with the same pain and blood that he’d forced Blade to experience?

  Blade hacked at Jaxton, uncaring of time, noise, or mess. Finally he stopped to wipe at the fluid dripping off his face. Blood stained everything in sight, including the man that still sat on the med-bed.

  Rage appeased by his act of justice, Blade wiped his sword clean on a linen bandage, then sheathed it. He came around the bench and looked at Jaxton’s most recent victim. Splashed blood dripped from the back of his head, and only his vibrating pupils indicated any sort of emotion.

  “Leave, or you risk death,” Blade said as he tugged at the sticky circlet. “Anyone left on this ship will meet a similar fate as him.” The silver band popped off, and the man’s blue eyes rolled up into the back of his head before he collapsed on the medical bed.

  Blade nudged the unconscious man and shrugged. “I’ll give you a day to recover. You’ve been warned.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Jade

  Jade tried to be subtle as she eyed the large airship and walked past it. Smooth, clean lines made it appealing at first glance, until she spotted the large water tank tucked under the deck. A steamy. No, she wanted to avoid transferring to one of the modern ships if she could help it. The whole point of leaving the Sapphire was a fresh start in a place where her skills would be used and appreciated. Being one of many mechanics on a ship like that wouldn’t do her any favors.

  “She looked good at first, huh?” Zak’s voice broke her musings, and Jade startled, heat rising to her cheeks. Zak didn’t know what she, Krista, and Briar were planning, and she couldn’t let him suspect anything until they’d already left.

  “At first, yes,” Jade stammered. She’d specifically avoided any sort of conversation that could put her in such a tricky spot, and now she had to finagle her way out, and without lying to Zak. She looked ahead to where Krista and Briar walked, hoping that one of them had overheard and could offer a distraction of some sort.

  Briar brushed his nose against Krista’s, and he whispered something before kissing her. Jade’s stomach clenched, and she looked away. Was she really thinking of leaving with those two lovebirds? Ben was getting his memories back in fragments and didn’t need her anymore. And Zak was starting to warm up to her again. He seemed to be reclaiming his position as her friend. Things were looking up.

  Jade shook her head. No, she had to do this. Her father’s overprotectiveness hadn’t abated at all, and she knew better than to try to ask him about her apprenticing to be a captain. He’d give her the wide-eyed look and then monologue about how she could be so much more, and not to sell herself short, and to just wait a bit longer and she’d find a better station in life.

  “Jade. Are you feeling all right?”

  Jade flashed a quick smile up at Zak. “I’m…fine. Just, a bit on my mind right now. Sorry.”

  Concern ebbed in Zak’s eyes, and a corner of his mouth lifted as he nodded. His fingers skimmed over her hand. “If you ever need to talk, I’m not Krista, but I’m good at listening.”

  “I know.” A tiny fissure opened in Jade’s heart as she dipped her head, avoiding his gaze. “Thank you.” Did he have to be nice now? It wasn’t making things any easier for her. Krista. She’d be a good distraction. Jade jerked her head up to call out, saw her friend, and wrinkled her nose. “Really? You two need to just get married already.”

  Krista pulled away from Briar and mock-glared at Jade. “You’re just jealous.” Krista shot back. She waggled nimble fingers between Jade and Zak. “Maybe if you two were a couple—”

  Jade inhaled sharply as Zak choked next to her.

  “—you wouldn’t feel so awkward about this.” Krista pulled Briar’s head down and pressed her lips against his.

  Jade ducked her head and listened to the smoothed gravel road crunch underfoot as she avoided making any eye contact with Zak. Unseen electricity between her and Zak raised the hair on her arms, and she bit her lip. Krista, she moaned to herself. That was not the distraction that I needed. She flicked her eyes up to judge how close they were to the Sapphire. Almost home. Good.

  Minutes passed as she walked in awkward silence by Zak’s side. Should she leave more space between herself and Zak? Stay as they were? His knuckles nearly brushed hers, and her entire arm tingled.

  Something about him was magnetizing, and she wanted to be by his side as Krista and Briar were with each other—close to one another, no gaps between their bodies. She wanted to feel his arm wrapped around her waist. But any time the topic of her and Zak being together came up, tension would rise. He radiated it. His smoldering glances warmed her belly, while the hard set in his jaw warned her away.

  What was so bad about liking a mechanic?

  They arrived at the airship, and Zak disappeared downstairs under the excuse of helping load cargo. Jade whirled on Krista the moment he vanished from sight and she could no longer hear the soft clatter that his leather boots made on the metal steps.

  “I can’t believe you said that!” Jade’s hands flew up to her burning cheeks. “Why would you do such a thing?” She waved her finger under Briar’s nose. “And quit your laughing, blimp-for-brains, you’re just as guilty as she is!”

  Briar waggled his thick eyebrows at her and winked. “Who do you think gives her all these fantastic ideas? It’s time you guys start communicating.” He grinned at Jade’s speechlessness. “Now, if you don’t mind, I actually need to get started on dinner, and I need Krista’s help with all the prep work. We’re going to try something new tonight—pancakes!”

  Krista laughed and followed Briar, leaving Jade alone on the abnormally quiet deck to bemoan the death of her dignity. She spun and hit her palm against the thick mast, then thunked her forehead against it with a heavy sigh.

  A keening gro
an raised gooseflesh on her arms and she twirled around, back against the wood as a superstitious shiver ran down her spine, causing a flash of pain to radiate from her injured shoulder.

  She rubbed lightly at the bandage as she held her breath. Muted thuds below deck told her that the crew still loaded merchandise, and odds were good that her father and aunt were still in town. The groan sounded again, and this time she could tell it was coming from the med-bay.

  Ben. Had he and Jaxton had any luck? Jade shook off her unease and trotted across the deck to investigate. Ben had proven to be a good friend for her. Maybe he could distract her from her earlier mortification.

  She knocked on the med-room door and waited. No one said anything, but the low moan sounded again, and this time she recognized it as Ben’s voice. Interrupting Doctor Jaxton wouldn’t be favorable, but no one answered. She turned the brass knob and pushed it open slowly.

  “Hello? How’s it goin—” Jade froze, her question dying on her lips. Along the back wall, written in bold crimson letters, were the words “I KNOW.” Blood coated the ceiling and painted the wood paneling scarlet. She recognized Jaxton’s black shoes, but everything else that she could see around the bed resembled raw ground meat. Her lunch begged to come up as the stench assaulted her. She stumbled back, hitting the hall wall. Her shaking legs wouldn’t support her. She slid down the sturdy partition.

  Ben had collapsed. His arm and head dangled off the med-table. His fingertips grazed the bloody floor. He exhaled, and his moan rang in her ears.

  Shock, terror, and horror finally made their way up and out of her. She screamed.

  How much time passed, she didn’t know. A second, an hour—it all blurred together. Her vision swam. Blood, gore, flayed flesh, so much blood, then green. Green like Zak’s eyes. Zak.

  Jade shook as she blinked at Zak. He held a hand out, and voices babbled somewhere nearby. He answered them, not breaking eye contact with her. She couldn’t look away from him, couldn’t hear anything over the rushing in her ears.

  Zak walked forward on his knees and pulled Jade’s face into his chest before lifting her to her feet. She clung to him as he moved her out of the hallway and into the sunshine and fresher air. He ducked his head to look at her directly.

  “Jade.” He spoke slowly, his eyes searching hers. “I need you to stay here with Krista.” He released Jade and Krista hugged her tightly. Zak didn’t leave. His hand rested on Jade’s back. “I need to check on Ben. Can you stay here with Krista?”

  Jade nodded dumbly as Krista rubbed slow circles by her uninjured shoulder blade. “Doctor Taylor…the blood. He…”

  “I know, love. I know.” Zak squeezed her good shoulder and looked over at Krista. “Take her to the top deck so she stays in the sun.” He pulled a dagger off his belt and handed it to Krista. “See anything unusual, call for me. Do not look over the edge until someone comes for you. You don’t need to see this, either.”

  Krista gently tugged on Jade. “Come on. Let’s do as he says.”

  Tears overflowed Jade’s eyes, and she couldn’t stop them from streaming as she followed Krista past the flight wheel on the top deck. The cloudless blue sky and chirping birds seemed to mock the horror that had happened below. “Who would do such a thing?” she asked, her voice nothing more than a hoarse, broken whisper.

  Krista led her to a corner that they could sit in. Once they were settled with their backs to the short, wooden wall below the metal railing, her friend replied, “Evil. Only someone evil could do this.”

  Jade wiped away the tears and sobbed as the waterworks still came. She hiccupped and buried her face in her hands, but the memories were too fresh to disappear. The shadow of her palms made the image of blood flash in her mind’s eye, and she tilted her face to the sun, trying to burn out the sight.

  What had happened to Ben? Had he been injured during Jaxton’s murder? He had to have been. There was so much blood. What had happened to him? He was breathing. So he had a chance at survival, right? Would she lose her friend in addition to losing the doctor? She shuddered. “No one deserves to die like that. Except the one who did that to him.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Jade

  Jade stared at the toes of her boots, cold despite the warmth of the dropping sun on her face and the heat of Zak and Krista sandwiching her. A shiver ran through her, and Zak wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Krista held her hand. Jade’s tears had dried for the moment, and she didn’t want to move, didn’t want to risk anything that would require her to feel more than the numbness in her chest.

  Why? Who would murder a doctor? And in so brutal a fashion? It had taken William, Kerlee, Geist, and Ash hours to clean the med-bay, and Zak had spent a good chunk of that time trying to determine if Ben was actually injured or not. At this point, he concluded, it seemed that Ben had no physical injuries, but had fallen unconscious, probably his mind’s way of protecting him from whatever he’d witnessed.

  Jade tucked chin to her chest and curled in on herself. What horrors had Ben seen?

  The deck vibrated under her as someone walked by them, but she didn’t look up from her legs. She didn’t want to see any more blood. Not today.

  “Jade.” Kerlee’s gentle voice drew her gaze. He knelt on one knee in front of her, a clean black shirt that she recognized as Zak’s draped over him. He offered a small smile. “Your father wants to talk to you.”

  Zak’s arm gently squeezed her.

  “You’re wearing Zak’s shirt.” Why that was her first thought, she didn’t know. But the words were out her mouth before she could think of anything else to say.

  Kerlee’s lips twitched in a small grimace, and he gave Zak an apologetic nod. “I needed a clean change after…cleaning up, and I wasn’t about to wear something…red.”

  “Right.” Zak’s voice was low, soothing. “Not a problem.” He stood and helped Jade to her feet. “Want me to walk with you downstairs?”

  Jade hesitated, and Krista replied for her, “That sounds like a good idea.”

  Jade trailed after Zak, eyes downcast. She didn’t want to look at the med-bay door. Actually, after all the cleanup…Jade focused on the back of Zak’s shirt, unsure if she wanted to see the floorboards in the hallway.

  He left her at her father’s door and quietly excused himself. She touched her knuckles to the door in a semblance of a knock, and then walked in.

  Aunt Garnet sat at the little desk, just beyond the door, and Jade’s father stood by his bed. Seeing the fresh lines of grief lining their eyes and Garnet’s pale face proved to be too much, and Jade lurched forward and sobbed in his arms. “Why, just, why?”

  Her father steadied her and led her to the second chair at Garnet’s table. She sank onto the wood and shook her head, tears still dripping down her face. Garnet pulled out a handkerchief and slid it across the table.

  “Jade,” her father said softly, his eyes flicking to her, then down to his hands. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”

  Oh no. Was Ben dead too? I’ve lost two friends today. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she watched him inhale deeply. She held her breath.

  “But your real name isn’t Jade.” Her father swallowed hard. “And I’m not your biological father.”

  She blinked. Blinked again. What?

  Garnet’s lips quivered, and she reached out to hold Jade’s still hand on the tabletop. Jade stared at her father. What was he saying?

  “Your birth name is Adeline Grace Doldras. You are the daughter of Prince Brandon; you are a princess of Doldra. I am only your uncle.” He lifted his hand with a broken, weak laugh. “Garnet is still your aunt. Nothing changes there.”

  Jade tilted her head, and her lips moved, despite no words coming out. Her mind was blank. Finally, a question. “But…my mother…Samantha?”

  Her father—uncle?—shook his head. “She’s my wife, but not your birth mother. Lady Sapphire Stohner-Doldras, my sister, was your real birth mother.” He rubbed his thumb along h
is pant leg and didn’t meet her eyes.

  Not my mother? If finding Jax and Ben had numbed her, this was the step beyond. She couldn’t process everything that had happened today, and then this new news. Her father wasn’t her father? Her mother wasn’t her mother? What?

  Garnet spoke softly in the quiet. “We never found Brandon’s body after the massacre. And after losing Sapphire in the same night, along with the entire Doldras family, we just couldn’t risk knowledge of you being alive. We couldn’t lose you, too.” Garnet braced her elbow against the table and rested her hand in her cheek while she watched Jade with sad eyes. “We did what we had to do to protect you.”

  Slate knelt by the table, looking up at Jade. “But with Jaxton…we can’t hold off on telling you. Someone may have figured out who you are, and that person might be trying to get to you.”

  Jade’s heart seized. She grasped at her blouse, struggling to pull in breath, and her father’s eyes widened. “You mean,” her voice was unrecognizable to her, too ragged and raw to be hers. “Doctor Taylor died because of me?”

  “No, no, of course not.” Garnet soothed. “But if someone is coming after those with connections to the palace, they may come after you, or us, or even Zak, and we need you to be aware, and—”

  No. Just, no. Jade straightened, her head light, almost feverish. “I’m not a princess. You’re in shock. Delusional.” The room spun, and she gritted her teeth against nausea. Her father wasn’t her father? There is no way I can believe this.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.” Garnet offered a tremulous smile, her fingers shaking as she touched Jade’s hand. Jade flinched back and Garnet retreated, slipping her hand into her own lap. “Think about it. Haven’t you always hated how we’ve done things different than Krista and William?”