CHAPTER NINE
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Alana Hurd
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15th of Decepter, 935 PC
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Alana Hurd was a mixture of everything her mother had always told her not to be; a bit of a liar at times, a cheat when necessary, a manipulator when something mattered, an impulsive fool for sure, and worst of all, a Lotus. There would never be a lazier, more inept Lotus in the history of the Lotus Army. At least that’s what Captain Ek’Regar told her regularly. Not one to give anyone a whole lot of credit but he was particularly hard on her. She might be lazy, but at least she was alive. That bastard was killed by that terrifying criminal they’d wandered through the woods with. She’d seen it coming, Gant had those eyes that made a man look desperate and crazed. Captain Ek’Regar would have seen it too if he wasn’t so blinded by arrogance. That was just her opinion though, lots of smarter people than her out there.
Now, she had to deal with Captain Laspin Rouille on a daily basis. Ek’Regar had held his leash tight, kept him at his heel, but now the pitbull chomped at anything and everything that caught his eye. Which was often Alana. Who cared if they caught Gant? Not her. In her opinion, he’d done them all a favor. But she’d gone and gotten ambitious, thinking she could get off Captain Rouille’s bad side. How was she supposed to know Gant had just thrown a rock through the trees? It sure sounded like a scared man running for his life. The captain lit her up for that one – caught the back of his big oafish hand right across her face. That sent rage through her chest and tears down her cheeks. She could have killed him. She could have hit him right in the back of the head with a big purple blast – quick and easy – if she could aim. Damn stuff went every way but forward half the time. If she’d missed, oh if she’d missed, she’d still be lying in the mud, not playing cards with her pals on their mighty Cloudcruiser a few thousand feet in the air.
“You’re up, Hurd.” Kit Spader, smacked her arm with the back of his hand. His usual peaceful outlook on life always vanished when they played cards. Yes, ruckus turned his soft features rigid and filled them with greed. If she wasn’t mistaken his dirty blonde hair got a little dirtier too, a shade closer to the color of Leos. The first time she’d seen his shift in attitude she figured it was because he was scrawny and had to find ways to win money since he couldn’t take it from anyone like the bigger men onboard. And maybe there was some truth to that but Kit wouldn’t take money from someone even if no one could stop him. The truth behind his greed was that he didn’t have the luxury of relying on his parents to send him things he needed if he got in a pinch. He’d cut ties with them when his father forced him into the Lotus Army. Not much more could be said about it, not until Kit said more about it anyway. All Alana really knew was that he wasn’t one to mess around with money; not one to mess around at all. Biggest heart in the world though and that made him someone to spend her time with.
“What’s the bet?” she asked, twiddling with a Leo between her fingers in one hand and curling her long blonde hair around a finger with the other. She didn’t have too many Leos left. Bad cards, worse choices.
Kit rolled his eyes the way every impatient card player does. “Two. In or out?”
She peeled back the corners of her cards. She’d done that a lot tonight. Unusual for her, but she kept forgetting what she held while the action moved around the table. Getting hit as hard as she had has a tendency to distract you long after the sting has gone away and her cheek still stung like a paddle on the ass. She figured she had a few more hours of sulking. The cards were shit, again, but she looked around at the officer’s cabin just to try Kit’s patience a bit more. It was a small space, longer than it was wide. There were a few stained glass windows at the back and a few pieces of ugly furniture scattered around, all of which was nailed to the deck. It wasn’t the finest place she’d ever played cards, that honor lied in White Hall but it was much better than below deck though. The pitiful-looking bed in the corner made her mouth water when compared to the dreadful thing she had to sleep on.
“Come on, Hurd,” Kit said.
She tossed her cards on top of the pile of coins in the middle of the table and grumbled nothing in particular.
The man sitting across from her smiled and leaned forward to rake in his winnings. Io Pallani referred to himself as a philosopher. Everyone else just called him a bullshitter or a drunk. His stringy black hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks but other than that small complaint, he wasn’t a bad looking fella. He had softer features than most men and far less aggression. On the few occasions he was willing to show off his abilities, he was quite the fighter in all senses of the word, but he spent most of his time trying to solve the world’s riddles. His younger sister sat beside him with the hardened appearance of a woman who loved the military. There was a reason Lieutenant Ulla Pallani called this cabin her quarters. She had the same tan skin and green eyes as Io, but she was a soldier through and through – fierce from head to toe and capped off by the infamous Yilan warrior braid down her back. There was a saying where Alana grew up, you mess with the bull, you get the horns. That notion fit Lieutenant Pallani perfectly. There really wasn’t a reason for the ambitious lieutenant to spend time with the rest of them but Io and Kit had become friends, then eventually Alana by extension, and since siblings from the west seldom wandered far from one another, Ulla found herself stuck with a group of misfits.
“What’s wrong with you tonight?” Kit asked Alana. “Are we not good enough entertainment for you?”
She shrugged. “Just not in it, I guess. That alright with you?”
Io counted his Leos as he said, “By all means, remain distracted. It’s doing wonders for my coffers.”
“You don’t have coffers,” Ulla said. “You spend every coin you earn on rum and books. Pointless books I might add.”
Io smiled, eyes still on his coins. “Words, sister. Simply words.” Bullshitter or not, Io sure did sound like the smartest one in the room when he was sober. Eventually, the alcohol would get him and brilliance became gibberish, but until then you could learn a thing or two from him if you listened hard enough.
“Shuffle,” his sister said and dropped the deck of cards in front of him.
Things could always be better, she knew that, but she was content with her place at the bottom of the filthy barrel that was the Lotus Army. The people that dwelled there with her were simple and easy to understand. Alcohol made them happy. Extra lotus capsules made them happier. And if she ever felt like a romp, that made whoever was around very happy. Not like her parents. She could seldom figure out what would erase their nagging frowns. And when she did manage to do so, they’d change things up on her like some kind of game. Truth be told, they were the reason she’d decided to take lotus magic in the first place. Anything to get out of that house. Maybe not her best choice but she’d made worse.
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Her mother had been devastated when she saw Alana’s purple fingernails. She’d screamed and shouted and cried, couldn’t believe Alana had thrown away the opportunities she’d been given by the purge. Before the Lotus Queen, commoners faced the harsh reality of living in a world where they only had about a dozen paths to choose from when they grew up and most of those involved back-breaking hard labor, belittling servitude, or dignity-stealing sex work. It wasn’t easy to make a living in anything else when if the wrong Purist saw your talent they could outperform you by simply opening up their soul and letting a few drops of magic pour out. It’d only take them five minutes at the most to be twice as good as a commoner who’d spent their entire life trying to get great at whatever it was they fancied.
That had changed though when the Lotus Queen sent the Purists into hiding. Commoners could do anything their heart desired and didn’t even need to be all that good at it. Alana had a job at a bakery lined up but she’d chosen to get to know a different kind of powdery sweet. She had barely thought twice about the decision since the recruiters promised at least a decade or two before the magic soaked up too much of your blood to keep kicking. They even explained that measures were being taken to eliminate the side effects of the magic altogether. However, tales of Lotus drying out in the first few years started piling in before Alana had unpacked her bags the first day. That was an eye-opener to say the least. There was no turning back though – one dose had you hooked and since you could only get lotus capsules from the army she didn’t have much choice but to stay put.
Lieutenant Pallani said, “I still can’t believe we let Gant get away. I was looking forward to slapping the shackles on him.” Guess I’m not the only one still thinking about tonight.
“I for one am glad he did,” Io said.
“Blasphemy,” Lieutenant Pallani said sharply. “He killed Captain Ek’Regar. He deserves whatever the Lotus Queen intends to do to him.”
Io stared at his cards as he said, “And Captain Ek’Regar, may the devils own his soul, had an entire village slaughtered so he could kidnap two elderly people. An eye for an eye as they say.”
“It’s a war, brother. People get captured and killed in wars. Gant is a monster that needs slain. He deserves what’s coming to him.”
“A war, you say. It seems more like a one-sided affair to me.” Io tossed two Leos toward the middle of the table and said, “Two.” while staring at his sister.
“Those innocent people were Purist sympathizers,” Lieutenant Pallani said. She shook her head in disgust. “You’ve always been like this.”
“Like what?” Io asked.
She looked for words. “So… So…”
“Logical?” Io said.
“Why are you even here?” the lieutenant said.
“Spend enough time in any building and you’ll eventually see a bird wander in,” Io said.
Alana made a face. “I gotta say, Io. I can usually figure out what you’re getting at but I’m not following this one.”
“My point is, I am much like a bird in the sense that I end up in places I don’t belong. I’m here now. Next year I might be in a monastery. I hear they have wonderful wine in monasteries.”
“They wouldn’t let you near a monastery if you were The Creator’s son,” the lieutenant said, chuckling at her own humor. Her chuckle being one short breath and a horrible excuse of a smile.
“We’re all her children, aren’t we?” Io asked sarcastically. “As is Gant.”
Kit slid into the conversation like he often did when the Pallanis started down their path. “Well, lucky for Gant, Hurd was around.” He waved his hands over his head, just as Alana had earlier that night. “Over here! Over here!” Laughter around the table, including Alana. She could take a joke, dished them out better, but she could take them too. The blonde turned to her. “Thought you were going to impress Rouille, didn’t ya?”
“Captain Rouille,” Lieutenant Pallni said, then slid two perfectly stacked coins toward the pot. Kit rolled his eyes.
“Shut up. You were just strolling through the forest, looking at trees,” Alana said back to him.
Kit leaned away in shock at the suggestion that he should have participated in the manhunt. “Not this again. I’ve explained myself plenty of times. I have no bone in this fight. And until I do, I will not hurt anyone.”
“I think it’s admirable that Kit refuses to fight,” Io said. “His circumstances are horribly ironic, of course, but he’s admirable nonetheless.” He looked like he was pondering something for a moment. “Is there any worse environment for a man of your particular persuasion than one full of blood and death?” Kit didn’t respond. There was no need to.
Alana tossed her hand across the table, choosing not to lose more money on shit cards. Io’s comments had left Kit as the one not concentrating on the game now. “You’re up, Spader,” she said gently.
“Right. I’m out.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
Whatever was running through his mind couldn’t be erased with a few words of sympathy but she figured she’d give it a go. Unfortunately, as she opened her mouth she vomited on the table. The others sprang away from the black bile and chunks of her chicken dinner, their chairs scraping loudly on the deck. She leaned forward, suddenly feeling like an animal had been gnawing on her insides all evening. She’d broken into a sweat at some point. Her eyes felt wet and wild.
“What in the three hells?!” Kit asked.
“Sorry,” Alana said weakly. “It came out of nowhere.” Had it though? She’d been puking for weeks. This just happened to be the first time it had hit her so quickly she couldn’t do so in private.
Lieutenant Pallani placed a firm hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“I will be. I think I just need to lie down.”
Io had already started fishing the Leos out of the disgusting mess in the middle of the table. “I doubt it,” he said nonchalantly. “I’ve seen you doing something similar over the side of the ship several times lately.”
Kit and the Lieutenant looked shocked by what Io was doing and by what he’d said.
Kit asked, “Is that true?” Alana nodded. She didn’t have the energy to argue.
“You should speak with Sathariss,” the lieutenant said. “Come, I’ll take you to his quarters now.”
“I already did.” The news the apothecary had given her wasn’t the kind of thing you just mentioned over a casual game of cards and since that’s how the group spent most of their time together, she’d avoided the whole thing altogether.
“Well, what did he say?” Kit asked. All she could do was make a face. “You’re drying out?! That can’t be. They say you get at least a decade or more. You just took the shit six months ago.”
“You don’t think I know that,” she said. Her shoulders slouched. “He thinks my blood is rejecting the magic for some reason. Figures it’s collecting in my stomach since I keep puking.”
Lieutenant Pallani asked, “What does he suggest you do?”
“Stop taking my doses.” The idea put all three of her comrades in a state of confusion.
“But without it…” Lieutenant Pallani said. “I won’t stand for this. I will speak to him in the morning.”
Io rubbed his chin philosophically. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
“Is it going to kill you?” Kit asked. Alana nodded her head. “How long?” No answer. “How long, Hurd?!”
“Weeks. Months, if I’m lucky.”