The Kingfisher ascends. The morning light of the golden moon, called the burning moon by some, suffuses the lake, and paints the Evergreen canopy in a shimmering light. They fly free, the shielding of the deck left off, the runes dormant across the hull. Rico sits on the bottom rung of the narrow stairway leading up from the main deck to the forecastle, wracking his brains. He has been awake for hours now, trying to remember. He needs to know where Izaak is, if they’re to help him. But he also needs to know why he is important, because the part of his mind that knew, the part that acted and moved him… somehow… that part is as quiet as the runes etched in the hull.
In the Captain’s Cabin, Artemis, ever the late-riser, is being force-fed coffee by his impatient Captain. She taps her fingers, nervous energy beating a frenetic rhythm on the tabletop.
“Okay, Captain. Relax. Let’s do this,” Artemis says, grinning with lips stained a dirty brown from the bitter liquid.
“I am relaxed,” Thunder retorts, then sighs, letting out a deep breath.
“One more sip.” Artemis downs the steaming beverage. “Who do you want?”
“Who do you think?”
Artemis taps his nose. “Just remember, don’t shoot the messenger.”
“That all depends on what message you carry.”
The perfect symmetry of Artemis’s face disappears. It’s startling for reasons that are hard to put one’s finger on, except that, in some way, he has changed. Then his jaw goes slack, and his eyes roll back, until all that remains are the icy-whites behind his eyes. The cabin seems to drop in temperature as his body slouches like a limp marionette.
He jerks once. Twice. Then, in a way that would leave you wishing it was just a trick of the light, the white eyes roll all the way back. All the way around, and when they return, after that full rotation, they are different. Red-rimmed and fiery. Artemis’s face scrunched into a snarl as a voice spoke.
“You’ve an awful lot of nerve calling me like this, Erin,” the man inhabiting Artemis says. His voice a deep throated growl.
“You’ve an awful lot of nerve sending me halfway across Shatter smuggling a Ship-Buster in our cargo bay, Haze.”
Haze sucks in a short, sharp inhalation. “You opened it? The deal-”
“The deal we had was defunct the second we found your buyer dead in the middle of hostile Faerie Country with less money than a troubadour on Zeal in his pockets,” Thunder snaps. “Consider yourself lucky I only opened the damn thing. I was thinking of mailing it to your wife.”
“Is that a threat?” Haze whispers, his voice a knife.
“Not armed! Seven Gods man, I’m not a monster. I just wonder whether she’d be glad to know that her lavish lifestyle is thanks to you working again and not a big win in Rezir.”
“That’s definitely a threat,” Haze says, his voice slightly less sharp.
“Well, maybe I’ve earned the right to make a few threats. Things haven’t exactly been - and you know I hate to use this phrase - but it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing with this job.”
“What happened to Ray?”
“Ray? I have no idea. What’s this bomb for?”
“Blowing stuff up. Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Well, what’s your boy Ray doing in Faerie Country that necessitates blowing so very much stuff up?”
“Faerie Country’s dangerous, we both know that. Anyway, Ray isn’t my boy. He’s just a buyer.”
“Well, whatever he did, he spooked something, or someone. I don’t know if he was one of them, but we found three bodies in that cavern, and a practically empty war chest. That’s why we didn’t deliver.”
Haze leans back in the chair, his bombastic movements looking odd on Artemis’s normally more reserved form. He runs his hand through his hair and then slams a fist down on a desk that clearly doesn’t exist in Thunder’s cabin, causing Artemis to hammer his fist into his own thigh.
“Do you think it was the Faerie? What was in the chest?”
“A grown emerald, tiny.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Not a tooth?”
“Oh, what, you think it was the tooth faerie? Be serious.” Thunder sighs, shaking her head. “I don’t know what’s going on down here, but it’s something big. Tell me what you know, there’s more to this than you’re letting on.”
“Oh, I know more than I’m willing to tell you, you’re right about that. But that’s the way it’s going to stay, Erin. You’re not exactly trustworthy, you and your band of wannabe pirates opened a lockbox. That’s just not done.”
“Well, you better start rethinking your position, Haze. Cause I’m in the shit right now, and I’ve got this bomb, and these instructions that can be linked directly to you, and I’d absolutely hate for either of them to end up in the wrong hands.”
“Fine! Fine. Okay, give me a minute.” Artemis’s hands make the motions of someone opening a book, flipping through pages. “Okay, Ray’s little operation was a five man crew, including himself. So we’ve got two MIA. Any sign of more bodies?”
“Actually, it looked more like an inside job.”
“Shit. Okay. Hold on.” The mimicry of the hands moving is quite captivating, as Haze, wherever he is, fiddles around at his desk. “Ray’s last letter came from a new clerk. I remember bitching him out about hiring outside the known elements, but he was singing songs about this guy, had a real eye for detail. Had really turned things around for Ray, cause he isn’t exactly the smartest tool. Maybe this new kid wanted a bigger piece of the pie.”
“That old story? Comes into a little criminal gang, learns enough to be dangerous, and then stages a violent take over? You think this clerk is the one to look for. He’s probably made off with the money.”
“Look, I don’t fuckin’ know Erin. I’m grasping at straws here. Pretty sure the most likely answer is that Ray and this cat are Faerie food, and your crew just didn’t notice.”
“What can you give me on this guy, you got a name?”
“Maybe…” Haze’s eyes light up. “What’s in it for me?”
Thunder pauses, considering. She leans back in her heavy, reinforced chair - too close to a throne for her liking - and steeples her hands at her chin. She thinks long enough that Haze raises a hand, waving at her.
“Izaak Everwright,” she says finally, her eyes penetrating.
Haze’s eyes narrow, and he glances away. “You got someone else on the call, Erin? Who’s that?”
“I just remembered where I knew his name from. He wrote Mating Habits of the Common Faerie Dragon, I’m pretty sure Kendra has a copy on board. Ridiculous book. He’s a detail-oriented writer, but I guess business wasn’t working out if he joined up with your buddy’s crew.”
“Why on earth would you think it was him?” Haze asks.
“His name popped up down here. And I’m a sucker for unlikely coincidences. It was only a guess, until you flubbed your reaction. Buddy, I gotta get you on board for a game of Two-Hand Jack.”
Haze seethes, and Thunder can hear Artemis’s teeth grinding. “Look Erin, believe what you want, but I’ve gotta request that you immediately return the package, plus a fee for opening it. You know our laws.”
Captain Thunder nods slowly. Then she leans in close, her servos groaning as she gets right into his face.
“You can call me Captain Thunder, and you can kiss my ass. I’ll deliver this bomb to Ray and walk out with the payment before I come running back to your shit-eating grin.”
Artemis jerks, as the line goes dead.
* * *
Lily waits outside the Cabin as a yawning Artemis steps out. His eyes are bleary and he stumbles, almost spilling the dregs of his coffee on the deck.
“You can’t just jump out at people like that,” he hisses officiously.
“What are you talking about? I was just standing here,” Lily says with a sly grin. “If anything, you jumped out at me. We aren’t all lucky enough to be invited to breakfast with the Cap. Some of us have to wait in line.”
“Take it up with her then, she’s in a good mood,” Artemis says as he ducks out of the shadowed doorway and into the morning light. He hisses a second time as the light hits his pale face. “One of those days again,” he mutters, glaring upwards before slouching to the ladder leading below deck.
“Lily!” Thunder snaps, striding onto deck with a storm-cloud brewing on her face. “You see something you like?” She says, nodding to Artemis’s retreating form.
“Oh yes Captain,” Lily says with a drawl. “You know me, absolutely desperate to get my nails dirty mucking about with the men of the crew.”
“Just don’t kill them afterward, Lil. I’d hate to have to spring you from jail again.”
“A girl’s got her vices,” Lily responds, flashing her teeth. She slides her fingernails together, making a deadly rasping sound. “Plus, near as I recall, we had to spring you right after it trying to get away with the money they appropriated from the poor mourning widow.”
“A girl’s got her vices,” Thunder retorts with a bitter smile. “And Widowgas ain’t getting any cheaper. What can I do for you?”
“Well, far be it from me to remind you of what you evidently already know… but Widowgas ain’t getting any cheaper, and I guess I just want to be that little voice of reason whispering in your ear about how even though this barrel may be the cheapest we’ve ever acquired, if we try get it for nothing, we’re going to end up spaced before you can say ‘Lily why didn’t you warn me?’”
“Okay. Okay, I hear you,” Thunder interrupts when Lily pauses for breath. “You say we need to go back. Mudge says we’re about two days from the dogs being set on him. Rico’s gone off the deep end with this mystery man of his, and I’ve got a delivery to make, even if it’s to a corpse. I need more information, and the only…” Thunder trails off, her eyes going distant.
“Captain?”
“How long have we got, before things go south with your fence?”
“We should make contact today to discuss payment. The longer we leave it, the more it’ll cost. But if we don’t at least act like we’re making the effort…” Lily glances at Thunder meaningfully.
“That’s enough time. We need information, and I know where we’re going to get it. Hopefully.” Thunder shakes her head.
“What? Where are we going, Captain?”
“We’re going into Faerie Country. Rouse the crew.” She steps up to the wheel, setting her gaze to the forest beyond. “WILHELM!” She roars, her voice reverberating around the ship like an avalanche.