Page 5 of Songs of Retribution

“We got that information from Captain Jessamine.” Her name came sharply in his mouth, like he’d go back and kill her again. He’d snapped her neck like it was the branch of a low hanging tree. I didn’t know what he’d done with her body. Likely, he’d thrown her overboard which was what she deserved. I couldn’t even force myself to feel bad over it. She was the reason Neia lay dying below deck.

Orman turned his face away from a gust that brought a spray of water with it. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they have a few elves on board. Most elf defectors turn to pirating. Good way to use our skills.”

Orman had done a short stint on a pirate’s crew himself. He’d tumbled into our court after hearing about the location of a heart stone. He defected from his crew—long since gone and assumed dead at sea—to bring the information directly to the Maharani. Orman might be unconventional, but he believed in honor. He didn’t think extorting a fairy court for riches over a piece of their heart stone was respectable. He’d joined us on that mission, and we worked together ever since.

“You think they have an elf on board with the same magic as you?”

Orman clutched the steering wheel with sopping, trembling hands as the ship slammed into another wave. The storm seemed to let up some, but we hadn’t outrun it yet. Damn, we’d all be exhausted tomorrow—those of us who survived, at least.

“It’s rare magic,” Orman gritted through his teeth. “But not unheard of. I don’t know how humans would otherwise navigate this.”

We tried to outmaneuver a ship that likely had a being who possessed the same power as Orman. That made our chances of losing the tail much lower. Once my magic had restored, I'd thought we could use shadows and memory powers to outrun them, but that would be more difficult if they had an elf with second sight. I ground my teeth together. I hadn’t heard anything more from Lira, and Luz hadn’t updated me on Neia, which meant both still hung in the balance. Fate circled like a wolf, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce, and I knew things could change any moment.

I stepped in closer to Orman, steeling my boots on the rain-slick deck. My voice had grown hoarse with the yelling and standing out in the deluge. “What’s a pirate captain’s weakness?”

“Their ship.” Orman brushed the back of his hand over his eyes, swiping the rain away. “They’ll protect it at all costs.”

I rubbed a thumb over my palm, circling the spot until a thought came to me. “You’re taking us back to the Alegre territory?”

“Nah, mate. Can’t fight the storm that hard. It’s moving us north. We should dock at the siren village by sunset tomorrow, though.”

The siren village. They could heal Neia, maybe, if she could hang on that long. They’d give it their best effort at least. Orman met my gaze as if we shared the same thought.

“Wait,” I said. “There are a great deal of islands and caves around that spot.”

“I may not be a true captain,” Orman said, “but I can navigate us through it.”

“No. I want you to do the opposite.”

“W’d’ya mean?”

“If these other pirates follow us, pull the ship in somewhere that will wreck it.”

Orman tightened his eyes. “You want me to wreck the fucking ship?”

“We don’t need it. This other captain doesn’t know Jessamine is dead. They think she’s betrayed them, but they know she won’t destroy her ship. Pull it in somewhere that will ruin both ships and we can get away.”

Orman nodded slowly, understanding dawning on him, but there was a tension to his lips. He didn’t enjoy destroying the ship, and I wasn’t sure if that was because of personal pride or the principle of the matter. “How do we get Neia off?”

“We’ll figure it out. Just get us as close as you can.”

* * *

The next day, after we’d both had a few hours of sleep, Orman was back at the wheel as we approached Prasanna land, the other ship still on our heels. We’d outrun the typhoon at least, and only a soft misting of rain fell from the gray sky with a perfect wind to push us rapidly towards shore. I clapped Orman’s shoulder then stepped down and through the door that took me into the dank, shadowy belly of the ship.

When I reached Neia’s room, the siren stood at the bed’s head, singing. Neia still looked pale and limp, her stomach more inflamed than the previous day. Luz stood in a corner with their arms crossed. Shaan rested near the foot of the bed, his head leaning on the wall, his chest rising and falling slowly as he slept. Lennox and Elisa were both awake, though, sitting in front of Neia. Elisa still held Neia's hand and leaned against Lennox for support. He hadn’t even changed clothing, so he hadn’t left her. It reminded me he’d once sat up an entire night to let Lira sleep. It was frustrating to see good in the man when I desperately wanted to hate him. Neia had disliked him, and it felt like betraying her to shift my position now.

The mood in the room was grim, like death waited in the shadows just out of reach from the oil lamp’s dim light. The siren stopped singing and reached out to touch Neia’s forehead but grimaced. She stepped across the room, inclined her head to me, and exited. Grief and fear curled in me like weights that would pull me to hell. Perhaps this was selfish of me. The siren didn’t believe Neia would live and maybe I prolonged her suffering and dragged out Elisa’s hope. Maybe I was making everything worse for everyone. My team’s lives had always rested on my shoulders, but now that we might lose someone—might lose Neia—the burden of that role was unbearable.

I stepped in, my boots clipping over the floor, and Lennox and Elisa both looked up at me. Elisa’s face had swollen with her tears, even her lips had darkened in color and grown puffy. I moved closer to Neia and at the sight of her all my doubts dissipated. Damn the world, I’d fight to her very last breath to save her. “We need to move her soon.”

Elisa stumbled to her feet with the help of Lennox who rose slowly, like his body had grown stiff in the position. He apprised me curiously, his eyes skimming over me then holding my gaze again. Shaan woke and stumbled up, rubbing his eyes.

“How are we to move her?" Luz asked as they pushed away from the wall. "The siren says shifting her even a little may change her condition.”

My eyes darted back to Neia who lay so still and pale she could be dead. If we didn’t have this other ship following us, we could dock at the siren city and have a healer's group board the ship. We didn’t have that luxury, though. “We have to figure out some way.” Elisa's eyes had grown watery again. “We’ve made it to siren territory. They can help her.”

“Not if she doesn’t make it there,” Elisa whispered.

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