Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) (25 page)

“I think it’s because I tried. No one tried with you; you had to deal with all of that alone and you couldn’t.” Haruka sighed, resting her chin on Bella’s shoulder. “The downside is that I now know for sure I could’ve helped if I’d met you then.”

Isabella looked at her, laying a hand on one of hers. “It’s not your fault you weren’t. It means just as much to me that you would be willing to try.”

“I would.” Haruka assured her. “You forget I’m not a normal person, Bella. I’m attracted to
that
version of you, too.”

Bella’s eyes glinted as she smiled. “Really now?”

Haruka grinned. “You’re hot in all forms.”

Laughing,
Isabella lowered her head. “Well I’m glad you seem to appreciate my insanity.”

“What can I say, it’s an attractive quality. Plus, I hear crazy girls are good in bed.”

“Ruki!”

“Are you denying it?”

“I’m… I just… Aren’t you easily embarrassed?”

Haruka gave another grin. “Yes, but you’d be surprised how motivating your reactions can be.”

“If you bug me too much, you might not get to test that rumor.”

Haruka chuckled. “I’ll
try
.”

IXH

Freya waved to the two women as they came up on deck, from her position at the tiller. They were back out to sea and once more on their way south, but she had a stop in mind as she gestured for them to come up to her. “Mornin’, beauties. Sleep well?”

Isabella smiled as she ran a hand through her thick hair. “More or less.”

“Aye, I know th’ feelin’.” She leaned on the tiller, looking at them. “Listen, there’s a sorta… stop I wanna make.”

Haruka raised an eyebrow. “A stop? What port?”

“Well, not a port so much as a ship I ‘eard was in th’ area.”

Isabella folded her arms. “We’re not helping you take out some merchant vessel.”

“No, no, nothin’ like that.” Freya winked at them. “Wouldn’t be good manners doin’ that with guests aboard. No, it’s an enemy o’ mine, up-an’-comers thinkin’ they can work in my seas without a deal. Thing is I don’t really stand fer that.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Not completely. Y’see, they’re a bit more violent than I like – like t’ kill all their targets. That’s an amateur move, bad fer business, makes th’ rest skittish an’ means that vessel won’t be back. Can also get attention from th’ Empire an’ I don’t fancy that. I wanna take ‘em out.” She raised a hand. “Now I ain’t gonna force you t’ participate. If you don’t want to, we’ll jus’ keep goin’ an’ I’ll come back for ‘em later.”

Isabella shared a look with Haruka before nodding. “You’ve helped us out a lot, and they sound bad enough that I’d like to deal with them anyway.”

Haruka nodded. “We’ll do it.” She rolled a shoulder. “It’s been awhile since my last fight anyway.”

Freya grinned at them. “That’s th’ spirit! An’ it’s a good thing you agreed ‘
cause we’re already headin’ that way.”

Haruka blinked. “You just assumed we’d agree?”

Freya raised both hands. “Hey now, I jus’ figured you two were good friends an’ wouldn’t let me down. I’d ‘ave turned around if you wanted!”

“Uh-huh.”

Freya gave another grin. “Fortunately you don’t ‘ave to test that theory ‘cause ya did agree.”

Isabella looked at Haruka. “You ever get the feeling we’re being played?”

“Only every day.”

IXH

Night had fallen on the
Black Wake
and no sight had been seen of the other ship. The ship sailed through the dim light lit by the partially-obscured moon; reflections off the water were difficult to see because of the heavy fog that had set in. Freya remained at the tiller, steering the ship through the fog with a sense of unease. Isabella and Haruka sat on the deck nearby talking to each other. “Foggy night, eh?” she remarked during a break in their conversation, sweeping her eyes over the ocean. “Don’t usually see it like this out from th’ coast…”

Isabella looked over, leaning back on her hands. “Is this really unusual?”

“Kinda. Th’ water’s really still, which is kinda odd on th’ ocean at any time. But th’ weather jus’ feels a bit off. It’s like-“

“Ship ahoy! Southeast!”

Freya jerked her head forward at the lookout’s words, peering at the area. Sure enough there was a dark speck along the horizon, barely visible but there for practiced eyes to see. She steered the Wake towards it, keeping a steady speed. As it grew closer the lookout yelled down, “That’s the ship, Captain! Flag matches the description!”

“Somethin’ ain’t right,” Freya muttered to herself.

Haruka stood up and walked over, with Isabella right behind her. “What’s not right?” she asked as she peered in the direction, spotting the ship.

“It ain’t movin’,” the pirate said in a serious tone. “It’s not runnin’ from us, but it ain’t movin’ in any direction, either.”

“Could it be a trap?”

“Odd trap. We’ll see.” After minutes of quiet travel they finally neared the ship. “All hands on deck,” the captain yelled out. “Furl th’ sails an’ run guns out
th’ starboard side! Keep watch in all directions! Boardin’ party, meet near th’ bow!” As her crew jumped to and worked quickly she expertly brought the galleon alongside the much smaller ship. Someone else then took the tiller as she headed to the boarding party with Isabella and Haruka behind her. She stood at the railing, looking over, but no one was visible on the deck at all. “Maybe an ambush or… somethin’ worse. No point in standin’ around thinkin’ about it, though.” She slid one foot back and looked over her men before ending her gaze on the knight and monk. “Hope you two are ready; t’night may be excitin’ after all.”

IXH

West of the
Black Wake
… West of the coast, west of the plains, west of the cities, west of the rock plain of Mithlain, west of the Dead Forest, west of the mountain range past that… Thousands of miles away, in the land of Areya, something was stirring. Upon a worn throne sat a young man, a teenager by appearance. His skin was ashen as he rarely left the keep he sat in; an old sword rested against the throne, rarely touched. An advisor sat nearby speaking with others; the young king rarely spoke with anyone.

No one noticed him looking down at his lap. No one noticed his lips moving slightly, whispered words escaping them. No one noticed the odd white spider on his leg. And no one noticed when the corner of his lips lifted in the slightest of smiles.

I respect her wishes and I have faith in her. As long as she is beside me, I will not fall.

Freya released the rope as her feet touched the deck of the ship. She took a few steps forward, looking around as Isabella, Haruka, and the rest of the boarding party followed. She set a hand on her hip, looking around. “No one’s up ‘ere.”

“So they’re all below?” Haruka asked as she glanced at the door leading lower. “Waiting or hiding?”

“Let’s find out,” Freya said, drawing her pistol and cutlass and kicking the door open. “Th’ rest of you, watch th’ deck.” She went down the steps with Bella and Haruka behind her, listening as they walked.

“This is kind of creepy,” Bella commented, gripping the hilt of her sword. “I don’t hear anyone.”

As odd as it was, the ship seemed entirely empty. What’s more, everything seemed to be in the middle of use. Half-eaten food remained on tables, lamps and candles remained lit and burning, books lay open on beds with messed-up sheets, half-drunk bottles of ale and other alcohol were sitting open on tables. “It’s like they disappeared suddenly with no warning,” Bella said, touching a half-eaten apple.

“No signs of struggle,” Haruka added.

“Struggle? No signs of them even bein’ in a rush.” Freya gestured around. “No chairs pushed out, no recent scuff marks. It’s odd, I gotta say.”

“Wait!” Isabella held up an open book that was beside a quill and inkpot. “Looks like we’re lucky, someone was writing in their journal.”

“Well, does it ‘ave any clues?”

Isabella held it open, reading it as Haruka looked over her shoulder. “Still don’t know where we are. Ship is moving but we aren’t doing it. Tiller moves by itself and Cap can’t turn it. Figured I’d feel better if I got this down on paper, but it’s just making me feel more insane.” The ship creaked loudly and they all looked around as it seemed to shudder before she kept reading. “Don’t know where it’s taking us but Cap says we’ll just have to wait for us to get there. It’s been an odd few days and none of us are sleeping; weird nightmares happening to all of us. Some are starting to act a little weird; I hope this doesn’t keep up. Hold on, I hear them on deck yelling about lights, maybe there’s finally another ship that can help? I’m going up to look.”

Freya tapped her foot as Isabella closed the book. “Okay… That’s… a bit creepy.”

“You don’t know of anything like this?” Haruka asked with a look at her.

Freya shrugged. “Jus’ tales. Ghost ship tales. ‘Course every tale’s got a root in reality, don’t it? This must be one.”

“In that case, staying on it may not be the best course of action,” Haruka said with a look at Isabella, who nodded.

“You came downstairs,” a male voice interrupted them. “That’s unfortunate.” The three spun around to see a young man walking out of a dark hallway. He wore what Freya and Haruka recognized as a modern-day suit, black in color with a black shirt. His hands were in his pockets as he walked and he appeared unthreatened even though Freya’s pistol was pointed at him. He had odd gold-colored eyes and fairly short dark brown hair, spiky and with longer bangs. Despite his apparent age (early twenties? Late teens?), he was a serious-looking man who spoke in a calm, bored tone.

“Why’s it unfortunate?” Bella asked, more curious than suspicious.

They all looked up as the sound of a door slamming came from above them. “That’s why.”

Freya cursed and ran upstairs with Haruka behind her, while Bella chose to peek around the corner, remaining with the man. They could hear Freya’s crew calling for her and pounding on the door, so the pirate captain figured it was locked somehow. However, when she tried it, it opened with no trouble only to reveal an empty deck. Freya blinked, stepping out onto the deck and looking around. “What the…”

Haruka walked out with her, looking to her left first, then around. “The
Wake
is gone.”

“What?!” Freya ran over, leaning off the edge and looking back and forth. Haruka was right; the
Black Wake
was nowhere to be seen. There was also a great deal more fog than she remembered there being a few minutes ago, enough so that they couldn’t see very far from the ship.

Isabella stepped out slowly, looking around. “Um… Where is everyone?”

“Gone… Jus’ gone. I want some damn answers.”

Haruka growled as Bella gripped her arm, loosening a fist to take the other woman’s hand. “Did they leave?”

“Course not! You ‘eard ‘em yerself on th’ other side o’ th’ door!”

She was right, of course. They looked over as the young man stepped out onto the deck and looked around. “Just like last time.” He looked between the three. “You’re all still here, though.”

Haruka gave him a hard look. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Bella looked over. “Or did you see what happened to this ship’s crew?”

He shrugged without removing his hands from his pockets. “I don’t know any more about what’s going on than you do. I don’t even remember how I got on this ship; all I know is when I woke up I was in the hold with a painful headache. I broke out expecting to fight, but the pirates were going crazy about some lights. They all ran up on deck and I followed, but when I got up here, they were gone.”

Isabella tilted her head. “You have amnesia? How much do you not remember?”

“Just getting here. I remember where I was before this; I remember going to sleep – I was in an inn at a town that wasn’t even coastal. I remember everything before that, I remember who I am. My name is Able.”

“Isabella.” She nodded to her side. “This is my girlfriend Haruka, and the dirty one is our friend Freya.”

“Not
that
dirty,” Freya said as she put her hands on her hips and looked out through the fog.

“This ship has too many mysteries,” Haruka stated with annoyance.

“Wait a sec!” Freya jumped, looking around. “Ship’s movin’!” She ran up to the tiller, finding it moving on its own. She tried to move it but it ignored her force completely. Looking up they all noticed the sails unfurling and the mast turning itself.

“Ghost ship is right,” Bella said as she looked around nervously. “What do we do here?”

“I’d rather not disappear like they did,” Able added. “We should look out for whatever lights they mentioned.”

“Can you-
“ Bella blinked. “Did… any of you hear that scraping sound?”