Hotbloods 6: Allies

“You guys are super cute,” Kirin said brightly. “What’s the scavenger called? Chances are I’ll definitely know ‘em.”

I was about to answer when a gun went off, startling me. The starter gates had opened, and ten tiny creatures shot out. They were smaller than the weaselly birds in the main casino and looked like miniature dragons, their snouts puffing smoke as they whizzed through the air, snapping at the heels of any pollus in front of them. As they raced, the commentator rattled off a load of words that made very little sense. I knew I was hearing him in English, but he was speaking so fast that it was incoherent.

“I won!” Kirin shrieked, a moment later.

“You did?” Angie gasped, startled, as Kirin nodded excitedly.

I laughed along and clapped the half-fae, half-merevin on the back in congratulations, but I was eager to continue the conversation, desperate to know whether Kirin had any knowledge of Stone’s whereabouts. I waited for the excitement of the race to die down.

“The scavenger is called Stone. Do you know him?” I pressed.

A strange expression fell across Kirin’s unusual face, revealing a mixture of sadness and fondness. “Stone? Yeah, I know him. The two of us go way back,” she said quietly. “Before I met him, I was a sucker for love. Now, I’ve sworn off it for good…and he’s the reason why.”

“Why, what’d he do?” I leaned closer, intrigued.

She chuckled sadly. “He didn’t do anything. It was my fault,” she explained. “We used to fool around a lot, and I adored the guy, but I was always pulling away, not wanting to get serious. He was one of the good ones, with a good heart and a kind soul, but he wanted more than a fling, and I panicked. So, I went off with a Xalassian warlord, and he couldn’t forgive me. It’s the fae side of me—sometimes it takes over and ruins everything. It makes me skittish, but I’ve got no control over it.”

Angie gaped at her. “You were… together?”

Kirin nodded. “Last I heard, he’d gotten himself a new girlfriend. A real smart one, by all accounts,” she said disparagingly. “I guess he never would’ve come back to me, but it still stings, y’know?”

“Wait, are we talking about the same Stone here? Because your Stone and the one we met don’t sound like the same guy,” I said.

“Does he got a third eye?” she asked.

Angie and I nodded slowly.

“There must’ve been a reason he took your friend. He’s not a cruel guy at all,” Kirin assured us. “He probably did it because you pissed him off. I bet he dropped her on some nice beach somewhere, with a pay device and an apology. Your pal is probably out there trying to find you!”

Just for a moment, I wondered if she was right. Then again, if Lauren had been dropped somewhere, she would definitely have found a way to contact us by now—she was smarter than the rest of us combined. Maybe she’d found another way to avoid being abandoned on a random moon or sold off into slavery. I shrugged off the disturbing thought, trying to stick with the positive.

“Where does Stone usually hang out?” I asked, feeling hopeful. If Kirin knew the guy, then she would undoubtedly know where he might be.

“Whenever he’s back here, he pretty much sticks to the Salty Siren Inn,” Kirin replied. “It’s by one of the canals. I can draw you a map, if you like. You thinking of going after him, since he kidnapped your friend?” She sounded weirdly casual about the whole thing, considering she’d just told us that Stone used to be someone she cared about.

I nodded. “Yeah, we want to know if he still has her. You say he wouldn’t have kept hold of her, but I know he’s done something with her. I want to know what.”

“You know, that’s grounds for a revenge bounty, if you were wanting to do such a thing,” Kirin said bluntly.

“A revenge bounty?”

“You guys really are new to all this, aren’t you?” Kirin chuckled, downing her drink and ordering another round for us, prompting Angie and me to down what was left of ours. “It’s something pirates put on other pirates when they’ve been slighted. Now, Stone’s a pal of mine, but if he kidnapped your friend, then you’re due your slice of revenge, regardless of who that might be against.”

Angie frowned. “I thought there was supposed to be honor amongst pirates.”

“There is,” Kirin insisted. “Normally, we don’t kill each other—we can steal and cheat, of course, but killing folks from other crews, and your own crew for that matter, is a total no-go. However, things happen, and folks do stuff they oughtn’t, and we need a way of fixing issues without it turning into a cyclical gang war. So, the wronged one issues a revenge bounty—they set the terms—and when that’s complete, that ends the conflict. Game over, job done! Stops us having feuds that last lifetimes, the way they used to in the old days.”

“And a kidnapping would be grounds for one of these revenge bounties?” I pressed, as new drinks arrived.

“For sure, if you think what he’s done is truly unforgivable, then you punish him in equal terms to his crime. You get me?” she explained. Angie and I nodded. “Now, I’ve got my own revenge bounty out on Captain Notley—he killed my sister. For him, it’s a life for a life, because that’s what he took. For Stone, it might be something less. A kidnap for a kidnap, or a person for a person.”

Angie took a deep swig of her drink, her voice starting to slur. “I thought you loved the guy!”

Kirin cackled, gulping down the entire glass and calling for more. “I did, but he disrespected you, and you’re my new best friends!” she announced. “Plus, he wouldn’t forgive me. I’d like to see him squirm a bit, and a little infighting is always a good laugh! As long as you ain’t going to kill him, I’m game!”

“We just want to know where our friend is and punish him for taking her!” I declared, feeling a little tipsy. I stared down at my drink. “You sure this doesn’t have something… in it?”

“Yeah, man, you gotta let these guys know who’s boss!” Kirin whooped, banging her hands on the table. She’d ignored my last comment, but by then I’d forgotten what I’d been worried about.

“Yeah, nobody is going to push us around!” I shouted back, collapsing in a fit of giggles. “Isn’t that right, Ange?”

“We are queens! We must show we are queens!” Angie cried, happy tears streaming down her face.

“Let’s go back through and show them we mean business!” Kirin suggested, grasping our hands and dragging us back across the lounge and out through the doors, with surprising strength for a woman so small and slight.

My legs felt wobbly as I walked, my eyes blurry, a giggle constantly threatening to bubble up. The Reapers looked at us in amusement as we approached, Angie waving her hand like she was the queen of England. Navan was still waiting in the same place we’d left him, though he got up sharply as I sauntered toward the table, putting his arm around my waist, a concerned expression on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did you find anything out?”

I pushed past him, removing his hand from my waist and clambering up onto the table before he could stop me. Angie climbed up beside me, putting her arm around my shoulders as I raised my voice to the room full of pirates.

“I am Riley, and I hereby put out a revenge bounty on the scavenger known as Stone!” I yelled. The room fell silent. “I want him taken alive, and I’m offering ten thousand credits for him to be brought to me in one piece! The scurvy seadog has disrespected my crew and stolen my pal, and I want him punished!”

The crowd roared my name, cheering my declaration. It seemed I had all the Junkyard pirates on my side.