Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
-Excerpt from ‘The Mourning Bride’ by Bill Kong
The edges of Yasmin’s eyes turned black as the tiny vessels in her sclera seemed to carry pure darkness through them. Two tendrils of black liquid emerged from her sleeves and coiled around her like snakes. Her eyes never left Trent’s, the pair engaged in a battle of wills.
Despite the looming threat, he didn’t draw his cutlass or reach for his pistol. Instead, he raised his arms in surrender and continued to advance towards the counter.
With every step he took the energy in the air thrashed more violently and Yasmin’s eyes grew darker. The tendrils of dark liquid, which Rose realised were ink—fitting for an artist, and quite inspiring to her—rose up and aimed towards her captain.
“There’s nothing you can do to me that hasn’t already been done, Yasmin. I know what I did to you was awful, but I wouldn’t be here if there was any other choice,” he sighed, lowering his hands and stopping half a metre away from her.
Rose watched the woman’s eyes soften and the murky darkness recede from her bright eyes. The snakes of ink were sucked back into her body and her rage deflated.
Trent smiled—a genuine smile, not his trademark smirk—and took another step towards Yasmin. A deafening crack, halfway between a whip and a thunderclap shattered the silence. Trent’s head jerked to the side and he staggered back a couple of steps.
Yasmin had caught him with a vicious slap right when he least expected it. Rubbing his reddening cheek, Trent stepped back up to the counter.
“I deserved that. You’re just as fiery as the day I met you, Yasmin. And somehow more beautiful,” he said.
“Well, you’d be shocked what a stress-free life can do for one’s skin. Perhaps you should try it someday. Out of respect for the girl, I won’t kill you on the spot. You have 30 seconds to explain yourself.”
Wait a minute, why did Trent get here so fast? Don’t tell me he abandoned the stall to follow me the moment I was out of sight? He was like an overbearing father. Even her own dad wasn’t this protective.
She considered the idea that Trent knew she would end up in this shop, leading him to his old crewmate—lover?—but it was too fanciful. He wasn’t a god, just a man with a little more magic in his bones than most.
He didn’t panic, even given the stringent time frame. Rose wasn’t sure why getting this woman on board was essential for their journey, but Trent had his own reasons.
“I’ll start with a gift. Rose, give her the tidestone,” he said, waving his hand at her.
Rose’s jaw fell to the floor. Just how shameless was this bastard? After all his rambling about leaving her with the spoils of her efforts he was selling her out to a stranger?
Despite her internal protests, she walked towards the pair and grudgingly pulled up her inventory to get the tidestone out. If it got these two to stop arguing, it might be worth it.
Before she could even bring the stone out, Trent squealed like a pig. Rose was shocked at the scene. Yasmin had grabbed him between his legs and placed an inky finger against his neck.
“Don’t you dare, you bastard. Give me both the tidestones you’ve got hidden or I’ll rip the little one out of your chest right now,” she uttered coldly.
Rose was in awe of this woman, who had tamed the seemingly ineffable Trent in seconds—a feat that no one else they’d met had managed. Even the sea serpent hadn’t dampened his rogue-like charm.
“Damn it woman, I was only joking. Of course I wouldn’t make a little girl pay for me,” he gasped, fumbling in his jacket. “Here, take them. And let me go before they explode.”
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What’s going to explode? I don’t understand. Adults are weird sometimes. Trent finally found what he was looking for and two huge blue crystals appeared in the room.
One of them vanished before it hit the floor and Yasmin placed a hand on the other, not releasing Trent despite his protests. “That little stunt cost you ten seconds. You’ve got fifteen left. Use them wisely,” she declared.
“Evil witch,” he muttered. He gasped as she tightened her grip. “Okay, okay. My dear Yasmin, after suffering these wounds for so long I’ve finally found a cure. Unfortunately, I don’t have the skill to navigate there. In fact, almost no one does. It’s hidden in an impossible to reach location. Impossible, unless you’re a divinely blessed navigator. I wonder where we might find one of those?” he rushed to spill everything before his time was up.
“Two seconds. Be direct or I’ll make you even less of a man,” she said with a cruel smile.
“Only you can help me get there, Yasmin. I need the Daughter of Scaralon.”
She seemed conflicted for a moment. Finally releasing Trent, who clutched at his legs and bent over to catch his breath, Yasmin walked up to Rose.
“Take the other tidestone. You deserve it more than this idiot,” she said, tapping the crystal and winking at her.
Before the terrifying woman could change her mind, Rose took it into her inventory. It wasn’t as high level as the one she already had, but she wouldn’t say no to free money. Even if it came from her captain.
Saying no to Yasmin seemed like it would end far worse than taking the stone from Trent. I can always give it back in secret. I know he needs them to live.
“The Daughter of Scaralon is dead. She died the same day your chest was cleaved in two,” she lamented.
Holding up a hand to stall Trent before he could respond, Yasmin continued. “However, I will help you. Consider it a final favour. I have two conditions. The first is that you must obey every command I give while we’re sailing.”
“Done. What’s the second?”
“I have a little problem that you need to solve before I can leave the gallery and set sail. Nothing too difficult, just a misguided governor with some hotheaded romantic tendencies.”
Trent laughed, a single, dry cackle. “Have you been to a single country and not managed to make at least one of the local nobles fall in love with you?”
“There is no nobility in Zoria,” she replied, walking around the shop and picking up the items that had fallen from the tables and shelves during their spat.
“Oh, my bad. The totally democratically elected council of Zoria, who are in no way nobility or a ruling class, one of whom who has developed feelings for you, is our target?”
“Exactly. He shouldn’t be hard to find, just look for the biggest mansion in the city and he’ll be there, pompously lording over Clissolt.”
“And how, pray tell, do you want us to solve this minor problem of yours, Yasmin?” he said, rolling his eyes. This definitely wasn’t the first time they’d had a conversation like this.
“You don’t need to kill him. That’s caused us enough trouble in the past. Just a stern warning to leave me alone. Let him know what will happen if he gets any funny ideas about messing with my shop while I’m gone,” she said with a malicious grin.
Every single person she met seemed to be a demon in disguise. Even the mild mannered Nasar carved a sea monster the size of her hometown into fillets with a single slash of his knife.
“Leave it to me. We’ll pay him a visit tonight. Meet us tomorrow morning. Nasar said he was going to get us rooms at The Golden Cannon,” said Trent, turning and walking to the door. “Are you coming, Rose?” he added, when she didn’t move.
“Uhh, sure,” she replied, looking between the two adults with some confusion. She started to walk out when she remembered the yellow crystal. “Oh, you never told me how much the crystal was. Can I buy it?”
Yasmin tossed it to her without a second thought. “Keep it, dear. You’ll get more use from it than I. Landscapes aren’t really my style,” she said, walking into the back.
“Thank you,” she called out after her. When she didn’t receive a response she ran after Trent, who’d already left the shop.
“Oi, bastard captain,” she yelled. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He turned around, all traces of the encounter gone from his face and replaced with the usual smirk. “Whatever do you mean, dear Rose?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I won’t give you the tidestone back unless you tell me.”
“I don’t need that piddly crystal. Some things are better left unsaid,” he replied. “Now, follow me. And don’t be so disrespectful in public. People might think I can’t keep my own crew in line.”
“You can’t,” she whispered.
“I heard that,” he said without turning around.
Rose continued to grumble under her breath as they went deeper into the city. It was difficult being saddled with such an infuriating captain, but her torture wouldn’t continue for long.
With the demoness Yasmin joining the crew, there would be someone around to run to for help anytime she needed. That woman turned her captain into a docile puppy with a single touch. I need to learn the grabbing trick. It worked really well…