by Jill Braden
Slamming into the water was like hitting a wall. Someone hit the water beside her with a loud splash. She hoped it was Kyam, but didn’t waste time finding out. She struggled up to the surface and swam as hard as she could. Her wet blouse clung so tightly to her arms that she could barely lift them. The waves pushed her back toward the boulders at the base of the fortress.
There was another loud splash nearby. Her toes brushed against something but her vision was too clouded to see. She forced her inner eyelids to open. A welcoming path of warm gold led to the last arc of the hot orange sun on the far horizon.
A huge wave bore down on her. The silhouette of a long, dark shape that could have been Kyam or a wolf moved under the translucent water.
She gulped in another breath and dove deeper. Her toes brushed against wet fur. It was like the nightmares where she tried to run but her feet rooted to the ground. She screamed as pain shot through her ankle.
Red foam capped the wave that curled overhead. The sting of salt water on her ankle made her think the blood was hers. Summoning up her determination, she kept swimming.
Something scaly undulated past her. Water filled her mouth as she yelped in surprise. The water near her roiled. Red bloomed. Desperate, she swam for the fishing boats.
A shark fin sliced through the water between her and the small boats.
Then, thrown by a wave, a naked, headless body slammed against her. She gritted her teeth to hold back her scream. A shape moved quickly through the water, headed straight for her. She braced for the impact and the pain of the teeth.
A creature’s head rose several feet in front of her. Its eyes were pits of darkness. Long barbs like whiskers sprouted above the nostrils at the end of a long, thin snout. Thick bloodied teeth the size of daggers curved from its upper jaw as the head rose higher above the waves on a strong, thick, snakelike neck.
QuiTai treaded water as she unwound the silk scarf around her neck. His talons gently gripped her waist and pulled her closer. She looped the scarf around his long, sinuous body above his arms and mounted his broad back. “He bit my ankle, Kyam,” she said through chattering teeth. “It’s bleeding. The sharks are coming.”
As Kyam lurched forward, she slipped down his body. She tightened her grip on the scarf and hoped it didn’t choke him. Waves threw her from side to side until she wrapped her legs around him. His scales were surprisingly smooth. She could feel the strong muscles beneath her as he surged across the harbor. They wove through long shadows cast by the towering monolith stones.
Men shouted, but she wasn’t sure if their voices came from the fortress or the deck of the Zul junk, the Golden Barracuda. She glanced behind them. The fins of more sharks sliced the tranquil harbor water. The headless werewolf body jerked, then disappeared under the waves.
~ ~ ~
QuiTai gripped the side of the wharf. Weak with exhaustion, she didn’t have enough strength to pull herself out of the water. Kyam boosted her. Gasping and panting, she climbed onto dock. Splinters tore her clothes.
She rolled onto her back. Above her, the cloudless lilac sky deepened to indigo infinity.
She felt the heat of Kyam’s body along her side as he slithered onto the deck, and then the energy of a shift surging over him. She didn’t watch the change.
Then his bare human skin spooned against her. He brushed water drops from her face Okay?” he asked.
“I’ll survive.”
“That’s my girl.”
Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head. “Say that one more time, Mister Zul, and I’ll teach you what it means to be my boy.”
“You assume I wouldn’t like that.” He stood and offered her his hand.
His thigh muscles were thicker than she’d imagined. All that swimming must have sculpted them. Her estimation of his chest hadn’t been too far from wrong, though.
There was no need to stare at the rivulets of water that trailed down his chest to a damp line of dark hair under his navel. But she took her time lifting her hand to his.
Kyam pulled her to her feet. “I told you that you’d get out alive.”
“You plotted with Voorus. Ouch!” She winced and balanced on her good leg. Her ankle wasn’t as mangled as she’d feared, but it bled freely. She turned to look at the harbor. Sharks thrashed in a feeding frenzy that sent sprays of bloodied water flying. Beyond was the fortress. She knew she was safe, but her body still wanted to run. She shook. In a day filled with brushes with death, she knew this was the one that would leave her with the most nightmares.
Kyam wrapped his arm around her waist. “Months ago. Idle talk over drinks. We both want to see the Devil in chains. But you – no, you’re not part of the deal.”
“Until you have your Ravidians.”
He shook his head slowly.
He bent down close enough to kiss her, but stopped a breath away of her lips. His gaze dropped to her mouth but rose to meet hers again. “Please trust me.” And then he gave her no time to answer before kissing her.
“Kyam!” a man called out. Kyam groaned. The hand pressed to the small of her back dropped away.
“Danger?” QuiTai hobbled into a defensive stance to face the new onslaught.
“Worse,” he said. “Family.”
Chapter 12: The Golden Barracuda
“What have you got yourself into now, Ky-Ky?” A Thampurian with a weathered face clambered out of a boat onto the wharf. He was a bit shorter than Kyam, with an unmistakable air of authority. His hair was more silver than black. The gold epaulets on the shoulders of his dark blue wool shewani jacket were tastefully restrained, unlike the fussy loops of braid she’d seen on the shoulders of other captains.
“Ky-Ky?” QuiTai’s lips curved.
“Not a word,” Kyam growled.
While his sailors secured the ropes to the cleats on the dock, the new arrival clapped a hand on Kyam’s shoulder. The men embraced. Then the captain looked QuiTai over. When he saw the blood streaming from her ankle, his smile faded. “The lady is injured! Why didn’t you bind that?”
“I was a little busy,” Kyam said through gritted teeth.
“Yes. I saw your idea of busy.” The man bowed. “Captain Hadre Zul. From the civilized branch of the family.”
QuiTai pressed her hands together and bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I’m QuiTai of the QuiYalin Provence.”
The Captain startled. “You’re – But of course. Who else would Ky-Ky drag into one of his crazy exploits?”
“He doesn’t hate anyone else enough.”
Laugh lines radiated from the Captain’s eyes as he chuckled. “I’ll have to salvage the family’s reputation then.” He swept QuiTai into his arms and carried her with no more effort than if she’d been a child.
“She doesn’t like to be touched,” Kyam said hastily, and reached out as if to take her from his cousin’s arms; then a sailor coughed discreetly and handed him a pair of trousers. He yanked them on.
“We got your message. We’re ready to sail,” Captain Hadre told Kyam as he gently handed QuiTai to the waiting arms of sailors on the boat.
“Sail? Oh no.” QuiTai tried to climb off the boat.
“Have you forgotten about the werewolves?” Kyam asked.
“They can cause all kinds of mayhem inside the fortress, but you know as well as I do that the only way out is over the wall, and I’m sure after they saw the sharks eat Ivitch – at least, I think that was Ivitch, it’s hard to tell without his head… At any rate, I’m sure they’ll stay put and hope for the Devil to save them at the last second.”
Kyam slammed his hand down on his thigh. “He wasn’t one of the prisoners? Damn it.”
“Kyam! Language,” Hadre scolded. “Now, Lady QuiTai, I understand your desire to return to the familiar comforts of your home, but it would reflect poorly on our hospitality if we allowed you to leave without first tending your ankle. And maybe a little bite to eat? A glass of wine? I must insist.”
While his tone was gentler than Kyam’s, it
still brooked little argument. He was a ship’s captain, after all, and from his confident bearing, used to being obeyed. Reluctantly, QuiTai sank onto the wood bench in the boat. The terrible thing about excruciatingly good manners was that there was absolutely no defense against them. She used that ploy against others often enough to know she’d been outmaneuvered by a master.
Smiling again, Kyam boarded and put his arm over Hadre’s shoulders. “I owe you for this, cousin.”
Hadre sighed. “Saving your neck seems to be my job. At least this time you brought pleasant company.”
~ ~ ~
QuiTai sat on Hadre’s bed aboard the Golden Barracuda. His cabin wasn’t big, but it was a marvel of efficiency, with cabinets that opened to reveal all sorts of fascinating things that she wished she had time to explore.
Her ankle had been cleaned and bandaged by the ship’s doctor, who tsked and tutted over every bruise and the scar on her hand. Her ruined clothes had been whisked away with a promise to return with something dry soon. Their definition of ‘soon’ didn’t match hers: every time she asked to get dressed, someone brought her food or more pillows instead. Trapped under the sheets wearing nothing but the chain around her neck that held the vial of black lotus, all she could do was wait.
“My dear lady!” Hadre sat back as QuiTai finished relating most of the events of day. “My cousin has behaved abominably.”
“I’m glad to find some courtesy in your family,” QuiTai said. Then she said in Kyam’s direction, “Unlike him.” Kyam glowered and then returned to reading a message that scrolled out of the captain’s farwriter.
“Ky-Ky, would you put on a shirt? You look positively barbaric running around clad only in trousers. QuiTai had to agree, but she didn’t have any objections.
“I saved her from the funicular wreck,” Kyam said. “That’s hardly treating her poorly.”
Wincing, she touched the purple bruise on her shoulder. “He shoved me out of the window of a moving funicular. But yes, in fairness, it saved me.”
“And a good thing too! The other passengers were killed, you know. And the engineer and ticket seller in the harbor station. We rushed to the scene, and our ship’s doctor did what he could, but...”
“I didn’t know,” QuiTai said. She plucked at the sheet as she frowned. “We were the only two in our car. I didn’t realize there were others on board.” She felt sick. Petrof could be vicious and wild, but she’d never known him to attack innocents.
Then again, could she be sure that he wasn’t one of the werewolves that night two years ago? For so long, she’d been sure that he’d given her the guilty ones… The more she looked back, the uglier the vision in her mind. Thampurian justice wasn’t true justice, but hers had been no better. Was that Petrof’s fault, or hers?
It was hard to accept that in her fury to make someone pay for that massacre, she’d lashed out at the first target she found. But she had. That made her worse than any Thampurian.
Kyam said, “Before you condemn me, Hadre, there’s a little something you should know about Lady QuiTai.”
Her fists clenched. Would Kyam tell his cousin that she was a black lotus user? That she was the concubine of Levapur’s notorious crime lord? How about that she owned the Red Happiness? Or that she’d given possibly innocent men to a mob? Did she feel guilty about any of that?
No. Nor ashamed. She did what had to be done. No one’s opinion of her mattered, even Kyam’s.
Kyam pointed an accusing finger at her and said to Hadre, “She enjoyed every minute of this adventure.” It wasn’t clear whether he was exasperated by her or bragging.
She replied, “That’s not true. I remember objecting vociferously to our visit to the fortress.”
He grimaced. “The soldiers were only supposed to escort us to the harbor, not take us to the fortress.”
“Really, Mister Zul? I’m shocked, simply shocked, to hear you say that.”
A merry twinkle gleamed in Hadre’s eyes.
Kyam said, “You must be feeling better. You sound like your old self again.”
Hadre rose from his chair and reached over to pat her hand. “Don’t you give it another thought. Nothing you could have done. At least those savage werewolves who sabotaged the line will suffer for their crime.”
“While the mastermind goes free,” Kyam said.
Hadre turned. “You know who planned it? I hope you’ve given his name to the authorities.”
“It will be handled, cousin.” Kyam shot a look at QuiTai.
The junk creaked. Through the windows at the stern, she heard the sailors shouting. Deep thrumming vibrated through the hull. Alarmed, she sat up.
Kyam pulled the window shutters closed. “Wouldn’t want you to get a chill.”
“A chill? Even the lizards are hiding in the shade today. As you said, Mister Zul, I am quite my old self again. Captain Hadre, I thank you warmly for your hospitality. Perhaps we’ll meet again under better circumstances. For now I must return your generosity and do what any thoughtful guest does when the hour grows late: go home.” She pulled the upper sheet off the bed, wrapped it around herself in a make-shift sarong, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and carefully came to her feet.
The junk rocked. She staggered a few steps and winced as she put weight on her bad ankle.
Kyam and Hadre both rushed to her side; as Kyam grunted at him, Hadre withdrew his proffered hand and said, “Dear lady, you’re in no condition to walk up that hill to town. Your ankle will start bleeding again.”
“And yet that’s exactly what I intend to do. Walk all the way to my own bed. It’s lovely. The mattress is firm, and the sheets smell of spice berries. The pillows are beyond count, and each one cradles my head like a lover’s lap. But the best thing about it is that it’s hidden far away from every other living being on this island, and I can sleep for hours, maybe even days, undisturbed.”
“You don’t live with the Devil?” Kyam asked.
“Heavens, no. What an absurd idea.”
“You’re his concubine. It’s not that farfetched,” Kyam grumbled. “Although... female werewolves don’t live with their males...”
“Take your time mulling that over. Days, if you must. I can wait for you to reach some wrong conclusion, just not here.”
His face lit up. “Ah, I haven’t delivered my end of our bargain! Would you risk everyone knowing that I got the best of you in a business deal?”
“Mister Zul, if I’d known I’d be nearly killed in a funicular accident, humiliated in front of the entire marketplace, marched into the fortress, attacked by a werewolf, almost eaten by sharks in a feeding frenzy, insulted by your egg-thieving landlady, and forced to eat your cooking, I would have solved Jezereet’s murder my own way.”
Hadre’s eyebrows rose.
“Aren’t you going to blame the sea wasp sting on me too?”
“That I’m saving for the Devil. He might take pity on me when he sees that I was hurt.” She doubted it, but she could always try.
“You’re going back to him?” Kyam bellowed. “After everything that’s happened?”
There were so many mistakes she’d made, and only she could set them right. That meant she would have to face Petrof eventually. She’d expected Kyam to understand that, but he seemed to think she could simply walk away from everything. That was the thing about living on an island, though: there was nowhere to run. Nor would she hide if she could. They were her mistakes, and she had to face the consequences, no matter how painful.
It was almost impossible to have any dignity while wrapped in a sheet. Drawing herself up to her full height was futile when it only brought her head as high as Kyam’s chest, but she did it anyway. “No need to shout. You seem to have forgotten that the Devil’s work is my living.”
Kyam said in a clipped voice, “Don’t take that icy formal tone with me!”
“We’ll never agree on the subject of the Devil, so let’s discuss a matter of current relevance. You handed me over to
the colonial military. They were about to throw me in that cell with the werewolves!”
“I already explained about that! Believe me, I’m going to protest their interference in my operation all the way up the line if I have to.”
“I’ll bet you fill out a vicious form, Mister Zul. Emphatic verbs and terse sentences. I can picture the Thampurian government quaking as they read it.”
Rage twisted his face as he pointed at her. He gave her a warning look and spun on his heel. “Cousin, a word.” Kyam stomped out of the cabin.
Hadre said, “He cooked for you?”
“Rice-and-eggs. Rather crunchy.”
He hid a smile behind his hand as he bowed. “I’ll see about finding some appropriate clothes for you, Lady QuiTai.” He started to follow Kyam out of the cabin, but paused at the door. “We’ve just been introduced, so this might be a bit forward of me, but it’s a rare pleasure to meet someone who lives up to her legend. Although you’re quite more petite than I imagined.”
She was left alone to puzzle out what that might have meant.
~ ~ ~
QuiTai took another sip of the heady wine they’d drunk with dinner. Her glass was nearly empty. The junk rocked rhythmically now and the steady mechanical thrumming had a hypnotic effect on her; the stuffy air in the cabin muddled her thoughts. She wanted to open the window shutters to allow the breeze in, but her strength ebbed. She sank onto the bed.
Kyam and Hadre thought they were being crafty, but she’d sailed before and knew the sound of an anchor being weighed. The increased rocking of the junk meat that they had cleared the harbor and now were at sea, but that didn’t explain the mechanical noise that reminded her of the funicular’s engine. While the junks she’d traveled on before had sailed at night, none had dared the risky maneuvers of a harbor in the dark: There were dangers in Ponong’s waters beyond the harbor that made even daytime sailing treacherous.
The Thampurians were sea dragons, though, so they must know what they were doing. She wouldn’t worry about the ship. She wasn’t even worried about being abducted by a Thampurian spy and his charming cousin. What bothered her most was that she wasn’t alarmed or enraged, even though she should be.
