Adventures of Captain Xdey (14 page)

Xoey knelt down in front of the far bench. Her small fingers picked at the floor panels under it. She squeezed her small frame down into the belly of the ship. Her fingers held on to the floor until her toes touched the wood beaming, and when it was safe, she let go. The last thing she wanted was to fall as no one would ever hear her screams. Nadine squeezed through, listening intently to Xoey’s guidance. They carefully edged across the beam to the other side where the captives were stored.
Nadine did not appear comfortable sitting on the beam as Xoey carefully pushed a panel up to listen. If they fell trying to escape from reaching hands, they would be in bilge water swimming with the rats. She could hear them squeaking below. “Come here,” a man’s voice commanded. Xoey froze in the moment, daring not to breathe.

She was grateful that it was too dark for them to see the removed panels. “Yes, captain.” The scent of vomit reeked. Nadine covered her mouth. Xoey was deathly afraid that the perverse scent would make Nadine’s stomach churn. Slowly, Xoey’s hand reached out to the perpendicular beam for support. From where she sat, she could only listen as the only way to get their faces was to peek above the floor…and well, she wasn’t that brave, considering her white hair.

“Rumor has it we will be reaching land in a few hours. That is when you will take control of the vessel.” She could hear the second individual moan.

The captain continued. “No need to become hesitant at such a prospect. Nix is notorious for his illustrious affairs obtaining the pirates, and if we aid him in this endeavor, we can be heroes. Imagine the fame of turning over an entire crew.” The second one paused, perhaps hesitating.

“But we are pirates, Captain Pene.”

“That is what makes this plan so glorious.”

Xoey slowly rose to her feet, keeping a tight grip on the beam that now rested at her back. She was inches from the opening. When she heard the name Pene, she almost fell backwards. Pene was the captain who disappeared after killing Captain Towler in the keel haul. Xoey quietly placed the panel back and gestured rather rudely for Nadine to hurry up.

Xoey rushed into Zaren’s quarters without announcing her presence. Zaren motioned for her to calm down and speak coherently. “It’s Cap’n Pene.”

Zaren’s face brightened. “Him? I captured the tyrant.”

“He works for Nix,” Nadine said. “They want to take the ship.”

“Then we must work on that plan of yours, Xoey.”

“I just need them to talk,” Xoey said to Zaren. “His voice is deeper than the rest.”

Nadine piped up. “Judging by his shadow he has a long, profound nose.”

Zaren and Xoey paused. The deck’s hold tensed, the ship slowed—silence upon a ship was never a good thing. Zaren shoved a gun into Xoey’s chest. “Whatever you do, don’t go up.” Xoey watched Zaren disappear up the steps.

“Zaren’s one of the best.” She felt she was assuring herself, too.

In the darkened captain’s quarters, they listened to every sound—or lack thereof.

A low rumbling sound radiated through the room. Nadine dropped her jaw and before Xoey could ask, she pushed Xoey to the ground. They squeezed under the musky cot. Nadine refrained from speaking her thoughts regarding hygiene. The sound intensified as though a train was setting straight for the ship. Xoey peeped, unable to question. The two girls held onto one another as the wood pulled apart, the nails ripped from their holding place. Wind ripped through the decks, destroying everything in its path. Then Xoey, Nadine, and the cot were blown into the vortex of wind and rain.

Nadine buried her head into Xoey’s shoulder. It was one thing to loop, but to spin in strong fast circles made her feel as though she was going to hurl. Xoey used the cot as a shield from the flying debris. They reached the top of the twister and were thrown out of the encapsulating wind. Nadine and Xoey screamed as they arched over the remains of the ships and plummeted into the ocean. Nadine held onto Xoey as Xoey swam up for air.

Nadine reached for a floating plank of wood. “Here.” She turned her head away and hurled. The sudden stop sent her equilibrium to a very unhappy place. Xoey grimaced and paddled away from the floating bits of regurgitated food. Nadine swam to keep up with the pace of the current.

“What just happened?”

Nadine shook her head. “I don’t know. If I had to guess, somebody had a wind tunnel.”

Xoey recalled hearing the name being called out in Under City. Nadine explained that when the large device is plugged in the interior fans spin at such a high rate it creates a large tornado. She went on to say that it was expensive and the gnomes would know who bought it. They didn’t need to ask. All instincts pointed to Nix.

Xoey gripped a large mound of sand and pulled herself to land. Nadine rolled on her back. “Do you think the others are okay?”

It was a question they wanted to avoid. Xoey shook her head. She wanted to say anything to reassure Nadine, but nothing came out. Xoey looked up to see a forest of tall white fans. Taller than any building she’s ever seen. “Where are we?”

Nadine tilted her head back to look. “We’re at the wind farm.” She explained that it was south of Storm’s Hold. They were a day’s trip or so from Old Town. Xoey groaned. She didn’t want to think about walking for five minutes, much less two days.

Xoey pulled herself up and shivered. “We’ll need to find a place to start a fire.” She wanted nothing more than for her clothes to be dry.

Nadine nodded. “There are woods not far from here. We can camp there for the night.”

Xoey looked over the path beyond the large wind farm. Squinting, she could see figures beyond the ridge. Nadine reached out a hand and touched Xoey. “Run!”

Happy to be barefoot, Xoey kept her stride beside Nadine. She was hungry, cold, and tired. Her stomach churned in disagreement as the burst of energy was limited. She knew they couldn’t run for long, but the sound behind them would keep the momentum going. She wanted to look back. She had to see what they were running from. She craned her head over her shoulder and wished she hadn’t let curiosity take over.

Captain Pene, a man with dark eyes and a long nose, strode behind his crew. He walked with grace, as though he didn’t need to lift a finger. Xoey envied the loyalty, but it was only for a second before she reminded herself that she didn’t need to envy anything about the man.

Nadine grabbed Xoey’s hand and yelled something, but her voice was drowned out by the large ship that was landing in front of them. Xoey pulled her to the right, hoping to zig and zag out of their range should they decide to shoot. She could hear shouting and clamoring on either side. Nadine slowed down; they were surrounded.

Unhappy, Xoey watched as Captain Pene approached. His long dark hair was pulled back and tied tight with a red ribbon. He had a graveyard smile and long spindly hands. There was nothing about him that Xoey liked. Captain Pene forced a bow. “Shackle them.”

Xoey’s hands were bound behind her back, and Pene kept a hand on her shoulder, pushing her along. Pene wore a frock coat, high black boots, and a large hat. He must have obtained his peacock clothing on the ship. His second in command, a large man with greasy hair of a dull brown color, shoved Nadine forward. Upon his white shirt was a black stain of something thick and likely toxic.

“You must be troubling yourselves with what happened. I assure you, the plan was exquisite.”

Unimpressed, Xoey rolled her eyes. She wasn’t very happy being in this situation. Despite her reaction, Pene continued. “Nix had assured us he would be ready, even if we were captured. On land, he set in motion a chain reaction of events, which included the wind tunnel. Quite brilliant, if you ask me.”

They walked together up the plank and into the belly of the flying ship. It was quite empty and quite dark. Small flames rested on the candlesticks giving an eerie glow in the back corner.

“It’s funny how wind tunnels work. You never know where they are going to end up. It’s like taking a shot in the dark. Sometimes, the risk is worth it all. And so, you two were caught in the storm and the rest of the crew ended up in the sea. One can hope their desperation of kicking in the gentle waves gave enough momentum for a swim back to the shore. Of course, wherever they end up, they’ll be arrested for harboring a fugitive.” She could feel him staring at her, but she could also feel someone else in the room before them.

One, two—pause—one, one two—pause—one, two—pause. Xoey pushed her wrists against the tight shackles. Above them, humming light flickered. She squinted her eyes, wishing she had her hat to avoid the glare. She felt very vulnerable, and it wasn’t a good feeling.In the moment before she lifted her gaze to see the man before them, she thought of her father and how much she missed him. Dressed in a blue jacket with fine gold buttons in rows, khaki pants, and polished black shoes, Nix smoothed out his pressed hair. He adjusted his sleeves in contempt.

“The one and only Xoey. The pirate girl—”

She interrupted him. “I ain’t a girl.” She could see colors within his body swirl. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Nadine didn’t appear to notice.

“And rude, too.” Nix blew on his nails and rubbed them on the lapel of his coat. He gestured someone forward. That someone slammed a fist down and everything in her world turned black.

Chapter Eleven

For a moment upon waking, Xoey swore she was on the ship. She smiled thinking her father was near. It was but a small, futile moment and as the haze of sleep washed away, she could see Nadine kneeling over her. “Are you okay?” Xoey sank into her clothes, attempting to hide every feeling of sadness and disappointment. Nadine understood her reaction, it seemed. She smiled faintly. “You don’t have a concussion. My mother watched over me when I slipped and fell on the slippery deck of the airship. I’d give anything for that moment again.”

“I’d give anything to see my father again,” she said softly.

The enclosed room of stone and dirt lacked windows. Even the iron door shielded them from the outside world. The smell of musk, old moth balls, and poor hygiene filled her nose. It was far from the worst thing she’s ever smelled. Nadine, however, looked pretty pale. Xoey couldn’t understand how they were to be seen as heroes of Grittle. She didn’t feel like one and every step of the way they’d always been one step behind Nix. She didn’t know if Ramos survived. They were still missing the little one to fall from the sky. Xoey pressed her head against the wall. She didn’t feel well. Her stomach gurgled. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and yawned.

The sliding peephole on the door opened with a resounding thud. A speckled man with dark eyes squinting underneath wired eyebrows peeped in, catching their curious glances. “Message for the pirate.” He paused, shuffling through his pockets, and shoved a stack of cards through the slot. The deck scattered across the stone floor. He giggled and shut the peephole. Nadine picked up the bloody triangle card. “Taire…”

“This is my fault,” said Xoey. “He’s dead because of me.”

Nadine looked down. “It’s not your fault. Taire helped us because he wanted to.”

Xoey sniffed, suddenly feeling very small. “There were plenty of places along the way to gather up provisions. The crew decided to go to Grittle because I wanted to. If I had not been so selfish…” She chewed her lower lip. In the dark, under Nadine’s watch, Xoey began to cry.

Nadine edged over to her, slid down the wall, and held the pirate tight. “We’ll get out of here. I promise. This isn’t the jail.” She gestured to the far wall. “See the water?”

Xoey wiped the tears from her face. Outstretched like roots, the water trickled down the rough stone. “Where is it coming from?”

Nadine thought about it for a moment. “There’s only one place in Grittle that is old enough to leak water.” She pulled herself up. “It’s in Old Town. It’s a small wading pool. There were always complaints that the water levels were never consistent.” Her eyes shone brightly as she looked back to Xoey. “Best part is no one swims there anymore.”

For once in her life, Xoey was tired of water. She swiped up the All Things Dark game and placed it in her back pocket. “I think we should discuss this.”

“Too late,” Nadine said. She lifted up her hand toward the ceiling. The conch shell buzzed to life. Radiating white light filled the cell. Lifting up her arms, Xoey covered her eyes. She pressed flat against the wall, as she didn’t want to experience being thrown again. A large resounding boom radiated so hard it shook the iron door. Mud and foul water poured down through the crumbling stone. Nadine grabbed Xoey’s hand. “Whatever you do, don’t let go!”

“Why would I—” She jerked as something touched her leg.

Legends of sea creatures filled the ship’s dead time. The stories that were spread from vessel to vessel had been around for generations. But, this was different. The room quickly flooded with hundreds of gallons of dirty water not from the ocean. “Something just touched me!”

Nadine no longer smiled. “Water worms. Just keep as still as possible,” she said in a hushed tone.

Xoey didn’t want to think of how silly it sounded to be swimming in water and not moving. It usually suggested drowning. They were a few feet from the floor of the pool. One hand still gripped to Nadine, she used the other to slowly remove her suspenders. “What is a water worm?”

She tossed one end of the suspenders, hoping they’d catch onto something. The make-shift rope slapped down into the water. A large slender worm with wrinkled green skin, white bulging eyes, and a large gaping mouth jumped up out of the water and swallowed the shiny clasp of the suspenders and dragged the rest of it underwater. Xoey opened and shut her mouth. Nadine grasped the rugged stone opening and slowly pulled Xoey close to her.

“Climb on my shoulders and reach up. Once you’re up there, you’ll pull me out.”

Xoey looked at her. “We’ll go together.”

“We can’t go together,” she said. “We can’t reach that far. You need to step on my shoulders.” It’ll be okay,” Nadine reassured her. “Just go.”

With a huff, Xoey climbed onto Nadine’s back. Her boots dug into her shoulders. Nadine pressed her discomfort into the stone.

Up in the pool, a few worms flopped around desperately looking for a source of water. Xoey lay down on her stomach, slid over to the hole, and reached out for Nadine. “Come on.”

Nadine smiled wearily. She grabbed Xoey’s hand. Her boot scraped against the rocks. The movement stirred up the worms. One jumped up and bit down on her leg. Nadine screamed in pain. All the strength that Xoey possessed was used to pull her out of the hole. Her entire body ached, but the pain dulled at the sight of Nadine’s leg. A big chunk of flesh was ripped from her calf. The blood flooded the floor underneath them. Xoey spotted a door. She lifted Nadine and carried her over her shoulder. She feared each step would be agonizing. Instead, Xoey didn’t feel hindered by the lack of food. She pressed forward.

Xoey grabbed a dish cloth from a clothesline between two buildings. In the back of a small cart, Nadine stifled a scream as the pirate wrapped the wound. Many times on a ship, injuries would happen. Bleeding was one thing she could slow down. Restoring missing flesh, however, was not her specialty. “Nadine, where is the Ichen Lager?”

Nadine didn’t respond. Xoey hurried down the streets of Old Town and down the steps into Under City.

She grabbed the arm of the first gnome she spotted. He adjusted his spectacles and cleared his throat. “Please,” she said. “My friend is injured and I need to find Ichen Lager. I don’t have time to go to Storm’s Hold. Is Ferr around?”

He narrowed his gold-colored eyes, possibly weighing her words for truth. “Ferr is not here. If you seek help, go to the last house on the right. She’ll be able to give you what you seek.”

The last house on the right was a two-story corner home. It was wedged between a larger home and the wall of Under City. She knocked on the door with haste. Nadine coughed up white spittle. Xoey could feel it dribble on her shoulder. A female gnome with long lashes and painted nails answered the door. She tilted her head at the sight and said, “Come in.”

The floor was covered in rugs of all shapes and colors. Along the walls, every bit of space available was hidden by posters of theatric quality. She ushered the two down the hall and into a small room with a long silver table. “Place her there.”

She tugged on a magenta string near the door and a chandelier of magnifying glasses descended. The gnome introduced herself. “I’m Lesria.”

“Xoey. This is Nadine.”

Something with Lesria’s black eyes shimmered. “I have heard of you. How is Decyl?”

Xoey tried not to shrug, but she was too exhausted. “I don’t know. He went with Mal.”

Lesria smiled a toothy smile. She carefully examined the wound. “Not to worry, child. Decyl is my husband.”

“Oh…” She felt rather dimwitted. “I didn’t know.”

The gnome waved it away. “Male gnomes are reserved about their family life. We women, however, gossip away.” She paused. “It seems your friend here was poisoned. Can you tell me what she was bit by?”

Xoey lowered her gaze. “A water worm.”

“Ichen Lager only helps with wounds,” said Lesria. Her voice softened in the dull light. “She will have to fight the poison on her own.”

Nadine’s cracked lips turned a hue of a periwinkle. In the dead of silence, each breath was more raspy and hollow than the last. Xoey fought back tears. “There’s nothing anyone can do? Where is Ferr? Ferr can save her.”

Lesria slowly brewed the concoction for the gaping hole. “She must save herself. Poison of the water worm is something we, even Ferr, cannot remedy.”

The buzz of Under City stopped. Lesria’s long ears perked up. Her vanilla-colored pelt stiffened. She turned to Xoey with a large ladle of Ichen Lager. Xoey was glad to see that it was not boiling. “Hide. I can hear the steps of guards. They are unlike ours.”

“What about Nadine?” Xoey pleaded. “You have to save her.”

”I will find a way,” said Lesria. “But you need to go.”

Nadine coughed up a swill of white, heavily tinted with red. Her hand felt ice-cold to the touch. Her porcelain face paled significantly as water droplets formed on her forehead. Lesria placed a soft cloth upon Nadine’s brow. “The battle against the poison has just begun.”

Xoey leaned in so that her friend could hear her. “You can’t give up. You have to see Mal. He’s waiting for us.” Xoey squeezed her hand. “I believe in you.”

She looked up at Lesria. “If she glows white, duck and hold onto something.”

The gnome regarded her curiously, but did not ask for a clarification. Xoey ran out the front door.

Outside of the house, the gnomes ushered along the outside of the center where the guards grouped together. They each looked large and imposing. Coordinated in black suits, they looked rather silly huddled in a circle. Xoey set her boots near the front steps. It was better not to trip when on the run. She snatched an orb labeled Smoke ‘em out from behind a stall. Xoey glanced at the instructions that said to just throw it. With a shrug, she whistled and as the guards turned, she waved and threw the ball. It landed a mere foot in front of them and a large cloud of multi-colored smoke billowed from the broken remains of the orb. She ran across the street, around the train, and waited.

Shouts and commands echoed throughout the cavern. She peeked to see the wide-shouldered brutes kicking and shoving gnomes of all ages out of their way. One gnome refused to get out of one guard’s way and he kicked the poor soul into the boomerang booth. Xoey leaned over and grabbed a large gun from on top of a booth. It was twice as long as her arm with spiked arrows sticking out of the barrel. She retrieved Decyl’s lighter that she had used in Desert Town and lit the fuse. She stepped out into the open space where the guards were picking on an elderly gnome. They kicked his cane and broke it.

“Not too bright to be picking on the very creatures that are always armed.” She pulled the trigger after the elderly gnome ducked and covered his gray ears. The arrows whizzed through the air. Some went high and others went low. They all stopped next to the cowering guards. The noise and the light struck them like being hit with a bottle. The shock scared them more than the noise, but she imagined the bang caused temporary hearing loss. A small crowd gathered to help the gnome up and handed him a new cane.

Xoey froze at the sudden grip around the back of her small neck. The stranger tossed her into the side of the train. The gun clattered and slid under the imposing transport. A figure, dressed in a gray twill jacket and black slacks, slapped her across the face. Her knees buckled as she had never been hit before. Not like that, at least. The warmth of his handprint settled across her face. She looked at her attacker. He had a wide face with a large red mustache that greeted his rosy cheeks. However, there was nothing rosy about the man. Upon the lapel of his jacket was the familiar gear pin.

A voice settled from behind the council member. “No one hits a child.”

Xoey peered around the large man to see a large number of gnomes with their weapons drawn.

“Now, now…” her attacker said. “Let’s not get too hasty.”

“You sent your guards in here. Question is…where are they?”

He looked to his right to see the guards were indeed missing. The spectacled gnome that Xoey had grabbed earlier stepped forward. “Seems to me, sir, they are missing. So, if you’ll be so kind, hand over the pirate.”

The man’s large hand enveloped her wrist. He held it tightly, unwilling to barter. He pushed her in front of him. “You do not want to start this war. Over a child, no less.”