She’s going to run, and she thinks I have no idea. If I happen to get ahead of her, to lie in wait … Is she actually breaking her vow and fleeing if she’s running to me?
Something strange and fizzy takes root in my stomach. I’m not sure what to think of the sensation. It almost feels like excitement, but that can’t possibly be it. I catch sight of Dia over by the mast, the bright orange spot near her lips making her easy to pick out. “Dia.”
She doesn’t rush, but then I don’t expect her to. I’m also not a captain who expects people to drop everything and sprint to me the moment I call. My navigator strolls over to me and holds out a joint. “Care to join me?”
“You know I never touch the stuff.”
She shrugs. “You should try it sometime. Might loosen up that sphincter a bit.”
I never know what to say when she makes comments like that. They’re highly inappropriate, but this woman has been on the ship for longer than I’ve been alive. If Ezra was something of a grandfather figure, I suppose that makes Dia a grandmother figure. It doesn’t mean that she gets special treatment, exactly; more that she chooses which orders she feels like obeying, and no one can force her to do otherwise. I’m certainly not going to. “You’ll be up for a bit yet?”
She inhales deeply, and exhales a perfect circle and then another inside it. I’m not sure how she’s managing that in the rain, but Dia is plenty magical at times. “That depends. Why are you asking me to watch over the helm?”
There’s no point in lying. She’ll know if I do, and then she’ll just ignore my request. I blink rainwater from my eyes. “The witch is going to try to escape. I mean to stop her.”
“You could just let her go.” She flicks ash away. “If she’s so determined to meet her bloody fate, you could just allow it. No one escapes the C?n Annwn. You know it, and I know it.”
That’s the problem. I can’t stand the thought of Evelyn’s green eyes going faded and blank in death. I’ve seen enough life snuffed out from this world. I’m sure if I explained as much, Miles would say that I’m soft and unforgivable and further erode the crew’s faith in me. I’m not the kind of stern shit a captain of the C?n Annwn should be made of. Maybe it’s even true. There are more than a few captains, like Hedd of the Audacity, who have no problem hanging crew members who question too many orders.
But if Evelyn flees and a hunt is called, it won’t matter that I’m not a captain like that. I won’t have a choice about joining in.
“I would rather catch her now, while there’s a chance to save her, than catch her with a blade in my hand.”
Dia considers that. I can’t read the thoughts on her wrinkled face. I don’t bother to try. She’s never had a problem telling me exactly what she thinks, and I highly doubt this will be the exception to the rule. “Go on, then. If you leave now, you can get ahead of her.” She takes another drag. “She’ll know better than to try to seek shelter in the village, so she’ll head into the trees around the perimeter. If I were a betting woman, I would say she’d head east. It’s easier going that way, and it will take her farther from the sea.”
Farther from me.
“Thanks.” I move back so she can take my spot. “The crew knows the protocol. I’ll be back to relieve you as soon as I’ve dealt with the situation.”
She cackles. “Take your time, Captain. These old bones were made for the sea. I have no interest in land.” A sly light comes into her dark eyes. “Maybe give that girl a good ride. That might be enough to convince her to stay.”
My face flames, and there’s no way she doesn’t see it. “That’s not why I’m doing this.”
“I know.” She grins. “But no reason you can’t have a little fun along with doing your duty.”
She’s still cackling behind me as I flip up my cloak hood and move to the railing. A deep breath and I wrap my power around myself and lift off the deck. I cross the water in seconds and descend to lightly land at the outskirts of the village. It’s still early enough that dawn is barely a hint in the sky on the horizon. No one will be out and about for a while yet.
I consider the various routes through and out of town before deciding that I agree with Dia; the witch will go east. Now it’s only a matter of finding a good spot to wait until she makes her attempt.
Each of the islands have evolved to match the portals they contain. This one is no different. The trees are monstrous, thick and curling things that are blue and green and purple. I hate being on this island, to the point where I avoid it whenever I can. I’ve never quite been able to put my finger on why, though. There are other islands that are even more unsettling. Islands where trees grow upside down. Islands where there’s no organic life to be seen, just rocks and dirt and death. Even islands where gravity seems to shift based on the time of day.
None of them make me feel like this one does.
The small hairs at the back of my neck stand on end as I turn in a slow circle, squinting against the rain falling in sheets around me despite the interwoven branches overhead. I’m close enough to the village to see the ladders and the lift that lead up to the walkways strung between trees. Even on a clear day, the buildings themselves are almost indistinguishable from the trees they’re built into and around. Today, with the rain obscuring my vision, they might as well not exist at all.
I’m surprised the residents left the ladders down, but I don’t know why. There are predators in these woods, but they don’t venture close to the village. They certainly don’t have hands to climb ladders.
No, the sensation bothering me isn’t one of being hunted. I’m all too familiar with that. Instead, this almost feels like … memory.
I shake my head and do my best to ignore the feeling. I’ll deal with the witch and then make my way back to the ship. We’re well stocked, so there’s no need to go up into the village to negotiate or trade. My crew knows the rules, and they know the consequences of disobeying them. All in all, it should be an uneventful stop.
If not for the witch.
I turn and head east, deeper into the trees. The sensation plaguing me only gets stronger with each step I take. I’ve never been out this way before, but judging by the well-trodden path I follow, others have. I continue down it, grateful for the rain making it hard to see.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This place isn’t familiar. I’ve been to the village before, but I’ve never walked this path, never spent time in these woods. There’s no reason for me to be feeling like I could name every one of the array of blue flowers climbing a nearby tree trunk. They’re pretty. That’s all I need to know.
That’s all I do know.
“This is far enough.” I use my magic to rise to land on a well-hidden branch. It’s easily thicker around than I am, and it’s one of the smaller branches. I don’t even need to use my powers to balance as I crouch and survey the path below. Yes, this is a good spot. Now all that’s left to do is wait.
CHAPTER 10
Evelyn