"That was easy," Esilea says, brushing her hands off on her pants. Arboran sits bound and gagged in a corner on the deck of the ship. His crew is unconscious, bound in a circle with thick rope. "Good work on that sleeping drought." she says, patting Icarus' shoulders proudly. He seems to hardly notice the praise; the young inventor hasn't taken his eyes off Arboran the whole time.

"What about the crew?" he asks, his body tense.

"I did have a plan," Xian reminds us, pulling out the jars of turpentine.

"We are not burning these men and women alive," I argue. Xian frowns, but Icarus interrupts.

"He's right. There has to be another way." Icarus says, backing me up. Wikolia steps forward, her tail twitching.

"If I may," everyone turns their attention to her, "we could cast a blood bond on the crew, binding them to one of us. It would ensure their permanent loyalty. It would not work on a mage, but it was used in the Underworld to press unwilling mortal souls into servitude." That's...actually not a bad idea. The Wyvern just got even scarier.

"And how do you know this?" Icarus asks, looking up at the reptilian assassin. The Wyvern brushes a bit of dark hair off her shoulder. How does a lizard have hair? And why haven't I noticed that until now? Oh well, at least she doesn't have a snout. Then, it would start to get weird. And my life is so damn weird already.

"I had to do it many times when I was a Night Stalker."

Everyone starts shouting and I hold up my hands to halt the drawing of weapons. "Who Wikolia was will be figured out later," I say firmly.

"But a Night Stalker!" Icarus hisses. I nod, looking back at the assassin.

"She definitely has some explaining to do. But only Night Stalkers and the most powerful mages can do this ritual. This is our only option, guys."

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"We still have the turpe—"

"No." Xian pouts and Esilea rubs her back sympathetically. I nod at Wikolia, who steps forward, cutting all the soldiers on their cheeks with her claws.

"Who will these sailors be bound to?" Four pairs of eyes lock on me. I shake my head and groan. Oh no. I don't even own a dog! I am not being bound by blood and magic to a crew of bloodthirsty merchant sailors.

"Bind them to Esilea," I suggest.

"What?"

"She's the soldier, and the strategist. She's lead armies, after all."

Esilea turns to me, frowning. "How did you know? I—"

I hold up my hand; don't say too much my large warrior friend. Not everyone here needs to know all your secrets. "It's just in the way you carry yourself," I respond, looking at her evenly. She nods slowly and turns to Wikolia.

"Do it." The Wyvern looks at me, questioning, and I nod. Why does everybody keep looking at me? Wikolia rubs the blood on Esilea and begins to mutter about bonds, pacts, and sacred oaths. Plus a bit of creepy chanting. The usual ritual stuff.

The lantern light flickers briefly, and then shines brightly once more. "It's done," Wikolia says, retreating back behind everyone. We'll definitely need to talk about her being a Night Stalker.

"Great!" Xian claps her hands together and pulls a whistle out. She blows into it, but no sound comes out.

"I think it's broken," I suggest. The little pirate stands still, continuing to blow, looking out over the ocean. Out of the fog, a ship appears. Then another. And another. Dozens of ships with red sails slip out of nowhere, heading right for us.

Xian turns to me, taking pleasure in seeing the dumbfounded look on my face. "What? Oh, you thought I didn't have any backup?" she laughs, slapping her knees. She wipes a tear from her eyes and steps closer. "No, I just wanted to make sure you were capable." She pats my cheek and I hear Esilea growl from behind Icarus. "And you passed. Which means you all," she gestures to Wikolia, Esilea, and Icarus, "get to meet my employer. She'll be especially interested in you." She winks at me.

Xian walks to the stern as her fleet draws closer, her hips swaying in tight pants. I shake my head and take a deep breath. That little...

"I found this in the mage's room," Icarus says. He wheels up to me, handing over my mask.

"Thanks," I say slipping it on. Oh, it's good to have you back, my friend. Covering my face, shielding me from wandering eyes. Anonymity can't be topped. I lean forward, lips next to Icarus' ear. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he snaps.

"You sure?"

"I'm fine." He jerks his wheelchair away from me, rolling over to Esilea. I don't know about that, but it'll have to wait until later. I turn to the fleet of ships steering around us. First, we need to load this crew up. And then, we need to meet Xian's employer. Maybe I can slip a hot bath in there somewhere.