- 12 -

Before he knew it, Gamal had spent the entire day thinking of how best to get back at that witch. Not only had her mere presence taken half his earnings on the last job, but her greed to take the kill for herself had led to his pay being docked. Their fight had ended with him forced to waste 100 mils worth of blood to mend a broken nose. Add in another 100 for the humiliation and he figured she owed him a sizable debt.

He overturned his coin purse, letting his money rain out over the heavy wooden writing desk that sat in his suite's far corner. He could already tell it wasn't enough by the meager size of the pile, but he set to counting it anyway. The succubus job was meant to recoup his losses, especially since the one-eyed bitch wouldn't be around to ruin things, but it had been a waste of time.

His employers waited until well past dawn to let him know he was hunting Gregor's little brat and they didn't know where she had fled to. He should have left then, but blinded by the pay he decided to stay and track her anyway. Pandora left for Lunden the minute she was paid; a payment that included one of those tickets. She knew they were missing. Knew and said nothing because it was obvious why the tickets had disappeared. She meant to take the youkai for herself and leave him running around the sticks looking for something that was half-way to Eden already.

Thanks to those incompetent church hunters she nearly got away with it. They had let night fall again before they decided to mention the missing tickets to him. A near 24-hour head start for Pandora. Then, when he told them exactly where they could find their youkai, they had the nerve to not even pay him for the lead. They wanted it killed first. He couldn't help but notice, they had still acted on the information; posted up outside the ship. Not that it mattered. Those idiots couldn't hunt an apple from a tree branch, let alone something intelligent. The succubus would find its way onto the ship, then would get back every coin.

Gamal added the last of his coins to the neat stacks he had formed while counting then wrote the total in his notebook. All in, he had ended up with less than half his expected payout. Barely enough for the blood he needed to stave off graft rejection, let alone to pay for more supplies. Not wasting a day in Coventry would have helped. At least then he could have avoided first-class prices when he bought a scalped ticket. Another 3200 milliliters of his meager pay wasted.

No, even before that Pandora had made the entire trip to Brittania wasted effort. Leaving Coventry in silence had only been the final straw. To get any worth out of this trip he needed to find that succubus before she did. If he captured it alive it would be worth way more than the church could have ever given him. There were so many more payment options that way.

He could stick a tap in it and make a blood fountain. Succubus blood was valuable if you found the right buyer. Keeping it alive would require upkeep though; more trouble than it was worth. He could sell it as a slave, but youkai with human intelligence were hard to handle. They made buyers nervous. No, his best option was to cut it up and sell the pieces as grafts.

But how would he handle Pandora. Killing her would be easy enough. Getting away with it would be harder. The witch hunts ended a decade ago; you couldn't just lynch them anymore. Oh, how he wished to go back to those days. Now, it either had to look justified or accidental.

Gamal lined up all the blood vials he had remaining and took stock. He counted 32 vials of Minotaur blood. That would last him until Eden with a few weeks extra. He noted the number down in his journal and moved to the next blood type. A smile rose on his lips.

He still had a decent stockpile of healing vials. If his count was correct, 23 in total; each with a five-minute duration. If he took Pandora alive he could force one down her throat, then start breaking digits one by one. Begin with the fingers, then move on to the toes. By the time he reached the end, her fingers would be ready for a second round. When he ran out of vials he would wait for night, then toss her into the sea under cover of darkness. Of course, the 100 mils for each vial would be added to her debt, but that was acceptable. She would pay back every coin she owed with blood and flesh.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Gamal hopped to his feet. Inventory could wait till later, he was suddenly in a good mood and didn't want to waste it. He grabbed his key ring and set out for the galley. He was going to celebrate his brilliant new plan with cold beer and good food.

The scent of the ocean carried past him on the cool night air. Without the lights of the city, an endless sea of stars stretched across the sky above. Nothing could bring down my mood right now, he thought before being immediately proven wrong. Further down the ship's deck, he spotted Pandora walking towards him. The mere sight of her set his teeth grinding against themselves.

He considered heading back to his cabin but he noticed something odd. The witch was with someone; a young blonde woman. That bitch didn't have any friends, by her own admission, and her personality wouldn't win her any new ones. So who was the blonde? He plopped down on a nearby deck chair, stretching out to get comfortable, and watched from a distance. If he was careful, he wouldn't be spotted.

Pandora's head craned around before her gaze finally settled on a doorway to the ship's interior. She reached back, grabbed the woman's hand, and marched inside. Once she was out of sight, Gamal jumped to his feet and rushed over. They had entered the ship's other kitchen, the one for second-class passengers. His feet seemed to glide on air as his good mood returned. Pandora was taking the woman to eat with her. The witch had even taken her hand, though the woman seemed a bit surprised by it. At the very least it looked like she was attempting to make a friend.

Good. If Pandora wants a relationship, then I have something to destroy.

Gamal stepped into a wall of noise. The collective effort of hundreds of guests talking over their meal. His first-class ticket granted him access to the first-class dining hall. It would be quieter, less crowded, and have better food. But he could eat here once for the sake of having a little fun. He scanned the crowd and found the two women in a queue across the room. He crept closer until he was able to make out their conversation.

"—think it's best for you to take your mind off it for a bit. Do you have any hobbies?"

"I... I like to read."

"I have some books in my luggage, but they're encyclopedias and bestiaries. They might be a bit dry for your—"

Gamal raised his voice so it wouldn't be lost in the clatter of plates and silverware. "I'm disappointed, Pandora. You told me you didn't have any friends."

He could see the witch's whole body stiffen even under that mangy pelt she wore. His cheeks were liable to ache for days with the intensity of his grin. Pandora turned, so slow and deliberate he could swear he heard her creak. Now he just had to wait... Wait for the exact moment she opened that stupid fucking mouth of hers.

"Wh—"

"Pandora, don't just stand there. Introduce me!"

Gamal had to clench his teeth to keep from laughing. He could hear the curses she was mumbling under her breath. Maybe if he made her mad enough she would have an aneurysm and die on the spot. But then, where was the fun in that?

Pandora huffed like a child, then gestured towards the blonde. "Graham, this is Lilith. Lilith, this is someone you should really avoid." She dusted her hands off with a loud clap. "There, all introduced. Now fuck off, please."

"L-Lilith?" he stammered.

The air went stale. The dining hall evaporated to nothingness as Gamal's focus drew to a razor point. Every sound, every scent, every color; all meaningless. All that mattered was the witch. He couldn't give her any clue; let her catch his changing demeanor.

"Very good~ That was a hard one. Two whole syllables."

Time came unstuck and the sound of the room returned. She hadn't figured it out; didn't know exactly what she was off flirting with. Despite Pandora's usual bitchy demeanor, Gamal found a smile crawling across his face. He had been worried for nothing. The youkai she was looking for was right under her nose and she was clueless. He knew he was a better hunter than Pandora, but the gap was wider than he could have imagined.

"Well, I had come to warn the poor girl... but you don't even try to hide how you are." Gamal turned for the exit. "Until later, Lilith, Pandora."

"Wow, Three syllables. A new record."

The corner of his mouth twitched at the taunt launched at his back, but he would let it slide this time. Or more accurately, he would add it to the ledger. Her bill would come due soon, but for now, he had decisions to make. Endless ways to play with those two women; prove they were beneath him. Of course, Pandora's ignorance left only one real option. What could be more fun than pitting those two against each other and watching how they destroy each other?