by LJ Andrews
“There isn’t anyone here,” a man hissed. “Ye were mistaken.”
“I know he took her, the cap’n said so. We aren’t leavin’ without her,” snarled the other.
Nova looked curiously at her mother, who never turned her attention from the room.
“C’mon. He’s comin’ to; we gotta get him to the ship. He’s useless to us if I have to kill him. Now, grab a leg.”
Nova heard the second man shout in frustration before hearing something brush along the wooden floor as if they were carrying a large sack of vegetables. Finally, the house fell under an eerie silence.
Nova and Kamali didn’t move for what seemed like hours. Kamali kept her ear pressed to the doorway, listening for any signs of the men returning. And Nova softly cried into her knees until all feeling in her lower body was gone from sitting in the awkward position.
As soft sunlight cast its happy glow over the carpet, Kamali unlatched the door and they spilled out into the battered living room. Nova stared at the destruction in disbelief. All around her, belongings dear to her heart had been destroyed. Even the pillows she’d helped her mother sew were slashed and unstuffed on the floor.
Kamali didn’t stop and look at her destroyed home; instead, she rushed into her bedroom and Nova watched as she opened a loose floorboard and removed a long box.
“Come on, Nova. We must leave now,” Kamali directed, wrapping her shoulders in a blue cloak.
“Mother…I…we have to get Father…they took him,” she cried, feeling as if her feet had stones tied to them.
“Listen to me, Nova. We must leave immediately.” Kamali paused and Nova saw the truth behind her blazing diamond eyes. Her mother’s heart was broken, but somehow Nova knew she wasn’t going after her father.
“Mother, why can’t…why can’t we save him?” she whispered.
Kamali pursed her lips tight together, placed the box on the floor, and held Nova’s face between her hands. “You must listen to me Nova. We are leaving. This night never happened, and you must promise me you will never try to find your father.”
Chapter 3
Runaway
Arbeiten Island, two years later
Nova pushed the dingy rag back and forth along the wooden bar, ignoring the sloppy expressions of affection from the drunken men. Kamali poured amber liquid from a tap before sliding it along the bar to a particularly crass sailor. She wiped her long, dark hair out of her face and placed her hands on her petite hips. Her face was exhausted, but she never uttered a complaint in front of Nova. Soon, Nova saw a small tea cup in front of her, and her mother placed her smooth hand over hers.
“Don’t forget to drink this,” Kamali said.
“I think I’m healthy enough, Mother. I don’t need to drink this silly tea anymore,” she replied, glaring at the brown liquid.
“Please, Nova, not tonight,” Kamali begged. “Could you simply drink it without argument?” She offered Nova a sympathetic glance before leaving the bar to clean tables.
Nova swirled the liquid around in the cup and peered at it with disgust. After a long hesitation, she tipped the tea into her mouth and swallowed the bitter drink in one gulp.
“Come on, lass. Put a smile on yer face for yer mother’s sake,” Briggs said from behind her. He fingered his pistol and glared at the floundering drunkard trying to reach over the bar for Nova. The long-haired man noticed the weapon and snatched his drink from the bar before stumbling away. “I know this isn’t what ye wanted in life, but I’d be lyin’ if I told ye I wasn’t happy ye was here.”
Nova smiled and hugged Briggs, placing the tea cup behind her. “I know Uncle Briggs. I just can’t pretend like my father isn’t out there. I don’t understand how Mother can pretend he wasn’t taken. I thought she loved him more than that, I guess.”
Briggs slammed his pistol on the bar, startling Nova. “Now I never want to hear those words come out of yer mouth again, lass. Yer mother and pap were soul mates if I ever saw any. Ye know she’s only thinkin’ of protecting that pretty face of yers.”
Nova looked down at the floor, fighting back tears. “I don’t need protection! I’m not a child.” Nova’s shoulders heaved up and down from her outburst. She saw Briggs’s surprised expression and took a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just…we’ve done nothing but wait on drunk sailors since he was taken. I know Mother is hiding something from me, and I don’t know how much longer I can just sit around without doing anything.”
“Nova, ye listen to me,” Briggs said. “There be some things about life out in the skies that yer better off not knowin’. Ye gotta find peace about yer pap, lass. He wouldn’t want ye to spend yer days sulkin’ over him. Don’t overestimate yer sword fightin’ either, girl. There are a lot of better swordsmen out there ye wouldn’t stand a chance against.” He looked at her and narrowed his eyes.
After a long moment of his intense staring, Nova raised her hands in defeat and chuckled. “All right. I’m not good at sword play.”
Briggs rolled his eyes and puffed his pipe. “Now, I didn’t say that. I said there be better fighters out in the skies. I’ll be the first to say I never seen a female use a blade like ye can.”
“Nova,” Kamali said, setting a tray on the bar full of large glasses half full. “A naval ship is coming in to port tonight, so I will be here late. You know to−ˮ
“Lock all the doors and windows. Yes, Mother. I’ll be fine. Besides, Uncle Briggs will be right next door,” she answered with a forced smile.
“Ye sure ye don’t need me here to look after ye, Kamali?” Briggs asked.
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine,” Kamali said with a smile. She glanced at Nova sadly. “Are you sure you’ll be all right tonight? I know tomorrow is a difficult day.”
Nova stiffened as the thought of going through another anniversary of her father’s kidnapping froze her heart. “I’m fine. I’m just going to go to bed.”
Kamali nodded and for a moment Nova thought she saw a glint of sadness in her diamond eyes. “Be safe,” she finally said.
Briggs strolled with Nova up the stone pathway to the shack, as she called it. The house Kamali had rented was a wooden box. It had one full bedroom, a small kitchen, and a living room. Nova had used thin bed sheets to give herself a little privacy in the living area. The plants surrounding the house were dried and prickly, nothing like the lush tropical foliage at their home on Mollem.
Arbeiten was industrial, with very little wildlife and forests. The air was smoggy, and the only place Nova found peace was a small water quarry at the edge of the island, but even then she didn’t dare swim. The water had a greasy look to the surface and she wasn’t sure what else was on the quarry floor.
“Nova, girl,” Briggs asked after walking in silence for nearly the entire mile from the pub. “I been meanin’ to talk to ye about somethin’, but I don’t know how to say it exactly.”
Nova furrowed her brow and stopped in front of her shabby front lawn. “What is it, Uncle Briggs?”
“Well, I can’t help but noticin’, lass…” He kicked a stone nervously. “Ye don’t seem to have the same brightness inside yer eyes. A gal like you should never lose the light inside. Ye don’t swim no more, ye don’t even do that darn island jumpin’ no more. Girl, ye had such vibrancy on Mollem, ye’d never back down from a fight. Now when them ruffians at the pub come-a-sniffin’, ye cower like a frightened pup, even though ye say yer still skilled with yer blade.”
Nova pursed her lips, trying to keep the hot tears from pouring down her face. Briggs took notice and put a loving hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t mean this to upset ye, but I just am worried is all.”
Her eyes fell to the dry, yellow grass which grew in rough patches over the dusty soil. A small blue and lighting-green beetle flexed its wings on one of the dead blades as she gathered her thoughts.
Finally lifting her head, Nova met Briggs’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Briggs. That girl left when my father was ripped away.”
/> His disappointment and concern was obvious in his crooked frown, but he didn’t press it any more. Briggs simply patted her shoulder and forced a sad smile on his lips.
“Well, ye know I’ll be right there if ye need anythin’,” Briggs said pointing to the gray box he lived in. His home wasn’t any better, except he did have a wooden porch which he enjoyed sitting on, puffing his pipe as the sun burst through the smoggy sky.
“Thanks for walking me home, Uncle Briggs. I’ll be fine.” She kissed his cheek and unlocked the chipped door.
Inside, the house was dark and uninviting. Nova obediently locked the front door and all the windows before pouring herself a glass of pear juice. Her lips puckered as the liquid dripped down her throat and she longed for the mango flavor from the sweet Mollem fruit.
Nova pulled back a sheet leading to her small sofa bed and took off her barmaid dress. She breathed a sigh of relief once she’d slipped into her cotton nightdress and curled up beneath her quilt.
Her fingers caressed the old blade of the small sword her father had given her, and she thought back to the happy times they’d spent sparing against each other. Sleep evaded her as happy memories shifted to the dark night that changed her forever and the two men who had ripped her father from her life.
Restless, she pushed the quilt off her legs and paced in front of the small chest of drawers holding her few belongings. Nova glanced over a fancy announcement, written in beautiful curled letters. Kamali had returned to Mollem days earlier to retrieve final pay from the shipyards. The lump in Nova’s throat grew thinking of it. The final pay out meant her father was officially assumed dead.
While on Mollem, Mrs. Carter had stopped her in the street and given her the announcement. Nova read Dria and Jovany’s names and smiled through her tears. As of yesterday, her best friends were married, and she’d missed it.
The silver blade, patched in rust, was the only comfort as she clutched it tightly to her chest and imagined her father walking into the house any moment. Anger seared through her blood and with a cry of frustration she threw her sword across the room.
The blade hit the far wall hard before thudding onto the floor. Nova collapsed and released all the tears she’d kept locked within her for two years.
“No one talks about you anymore, Father,” she sobbed to the empty room. “I know you’re alive. I know it.”
Wrapping her knees in her arms, she rocked back and forth, crying for what seemed like hours until she had no energy to cry anymore. Nova wiped her puffy, sore eyes and walked across the room toward her sword. The blade had cut a large gash in the cheap wooden slats and revealed a small compartment behind the wall.
“Something’s back there,” she said to the empty room.
Nova pulled against the slat until the nails loosened and the hole in the wall opened up. The long brown box was dusty and left a film of cobwebs in her hands as she inspected each side. A memory flashed in her mind from the night they’d left Mollem; her mother had taken a box from the floor. She’d never asked about it since they’d left, and had since forgotten about it.
Her heart beat in her chest with apprehension. She knew her mother would be furious if she opened the box, seeing as she’d gone to such great lengths to conceal it. Curiosity won out and Nova lifted the battered top. A small circle of wood and a slender dagger with bright blue sapphires embedded in a gold hilt were tucked close together inside.
She picked up the dagger and marveled at the craftsmanship. The blade was unlike any metal she’d ever seen, with bright glitters of gems melted into the metal. The sapphires gleamed in the moonlight like silver fire was trapped inside, and they ignited Nova’s soul as if another part of her had seen the weapon before.
What is this for? She wondered.
Carefully, she placed the dagger on the floor and picked up the wooden circle. It was unremarkable; the front had an engraved moon with a sword and a flintlock pistol crossed in the front. But her eyes widened when she saw the burned message on the back of the wood.
If you ever need a wish, you need only ask
̴ P
Nova flipped the wooden circle over again and studied the image on the front.
“No, it can’t be,” she whispered, rubbing her thumb over the design.
Nova paced the room for several minutes, occasionally glancing at the wooden seal. She released a frustrated sigh before sliding her feet into her leather boots and slipping out the door.
The prickly bushes scratched her legs as she crossed the borders of her home onto Briggs’s property. Briggs’s house was quiet, and only a single oil lamp burned low in the front window. Slowly, she pushed his front door open, clenching her teeth when the hinge creaked loudly.
Briggs snorted and rolled over on his small sofa at the noise. Nova held her breath before concluding he was asleep. Briggs’s small home was cluttered and smelled of fish, but the grime he’d once lived in was gone since Kamali and Nova had moved next door. Kamali would scrub the floors once a week, telling Briggs it was her pleasure, but Nova knew the truth—it was the only way Kamali would step foot in the house.
Briggs snored loudly as she stealthily stepped around his front room. Once she began her search, it was as if her feet floated above the floor, never making a sound. Nova pulled a small drawer in a cubby shelf against his wall and smiled when she finally found what she’d been looking for. She removed the leather cover of the tattered book and flipped through the yellowed pages until she saw it—the sign of Captain Phoenix.
Underneath the crude drawing of the moon and crossed weapons was a single written line: Seal of the Scarlet Moon. Nova’s heart beat faster, remembering Briggs teaching her that each pirate’s ship had a seal, so when they pillaged they could leave their mark as a sign of power.
“He’s real,” she said under her breath. “Captain Phoenix is real.”
Nova tore the page quietly from the book and stuffed it into her boot. The clock on the wall chimed one o’clock and Nova knew her mother would be home within the hour.
Maneuvering her way through the cluttered room, she silently left Briggs in peace and darted across the dry yard back into her home. She rotated the dagger in her hand gently, curious why her mother would keep such a weapon a secret, then she re-read the message on the back of the wooden seal.
“Mother knows Phoenix,” she said out loud. “The most powerful pirate in the sky and she never said anything.”
The words engraved on the seal rolled over and over in her mind until a burning fire ignited in her chest and she knew what she had to do.
Within minutes, she had packed her father’s old messenger bag with a change of clothes, several gold coins, a small bag of food, and the dagger and seal. Out of habit, Nova picked up the tin filled with the bitter tea her mother forced upon her each day, then returned it back to its spot on the shelf. No more tea, no more Arbeiten Island. Nova opened the drawer in the desk and unrolled a large map with each island and their positions to the sun.
Throughout the open skies, there were carefully marked areas with black squares indicating dangerous sky. Pirate areas. After tapping her finger on the island she believed would be the best shot at finding Phoenix, Nova rolled up the map and committed to her plan.
Carefully, she placed the envelope with her letter to Kamali on their small kitchen table and ignored the tugging in her chest as she thought of the pain her mother would feel when she came home.
Taking a deep breath, Nova left the run-down shack and darted silently toward the coast. When she reached the quiet docks, she noticed only a few workers loading and tying off the merchant ships in port. Nova pulled up her blonde curls and secured them beneath one of Briggs’s tattered leather hats. She’d changed into brown trousers and one of her father’s old white shirts, leaving it un-tucked to hide her slender figure.
“Excuse me,” she said in a lower voice to the dockhand. “Where is this ship sailing?”
The dock worker spit out a long string of brown
liquid and stared her up and down while lifting an eyebrow. “Ain’t ya a little young to be settin’ sail on this kinda ship, boy? The Galaxy is the largest in port, and difficult to crew.”
Nova shook her head, pleased her disguise was working. “I work hard, and I’m willing to pay for passage.”
The worker clicked his tongue and sucked in a long string of saliva dripping over his lips before speaking. “This ship’s scheduled to make way for Regen Island. Should arrive in three days,” he said, folding his arms over his chest and looking bored.
“Regen? And how far is that from here?”
“What you runnin’ from, boy? I have half a mind to call the officers on you,” he snarled.
Nova chuckled and pretended there was nothing amiss as she tried to salvage her chance at leaving. “I’m just looking for a ride to Dieb.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What business you have in Dieb? Do you have any brains in that head? That place ain’t for young boys to be seekin’ adventure. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”
“I have my own business there. I assure you I won’t cause any mischief on board,” she said, nodding toward the ship. “I just need passage.”
The worker spat again, this time a little brown liquid landing on Nova’s boot. “It’s gonna be two geld to board this ship, and the captain will expect ya to earn your boarding. He keeps a tight ship.”
Nova dug through the small leather pouch searching for the money. Handing the worker two gold coins, he moved aside and allowed her up the ramp leading to the deck. Behind her, the worker’s clumpy shoes pounded up the ramp as well. It made her nervous to have him follow so closely, and part of her wondered if he was setting her up to be arrested—or, worse, taken to an uncharted port.
Tales of runaways being shipped throughout the kingdom and used for whatever King Insel wished were widely known. The harsh king forced many young people into the Royal Navy or to become crew on the exploratory ships into dangerous uncharted territory. Her throat dried as she nervously stepped aboard the ship, praying she wasn’t the next one to be sent into the mysterious Unknown, never to return.
