Chapter Nine

A bitter sting of mortality slaps me in the face when my eyes open. I'm sitting upright on damp wooden floorboards in a dank, iron cast cell. It doesn't take much for me to realize I'm stuck in the hull of fairly large ship. My body sways back and forth with the rise and fall of each wave beneath me. Crates full of supplies are stacked five to six feet high from bow to stern, only leaving a singular pathway to a set of rickety stairs. My stomach churns when I look to the left, observing Xena and Elani propped up against the metal bars of our enclosure with their eyes closed. I lean forward only to find my wrists are shackled together behind me through the metal slats. The commotion wakes Xena and Elani and they silently gaze at me with sadness across the cell.

I close my eyes and push my head back against the bars. "How long have I been out?"

"About five hours or so," Elani answers, settling back like she's accepted she's not going anywhere. "They're taking us to Nero, for whatever reason."

My mouth runs dry at the mention of our destination. It's the one place I don't want to be. My past will tear me apart limb from limb if I set foot on the filthy grounds of our capitol. "Do they know what we are?"

Xena shakes her head. "Not yet, but they will soon enough. Daylight is only an hour away, so we'll be forced to shift."

I grind my teeth and shimmy myself up all the way. I scrape my fingernails along the planks holding this ship together, searching for a worn piece to use. My index finger finally catches on a splintering edge and I wrench it upwards, splitting a pointed sliver from the hull.

"They're not going to find out. I'll get us off this ship before daylight breaks," I mutter as I insert the tip into the lock on my cuffs and twist it around. "Did they carry anything off the island? Any cargo from the mountain that we know of?"

"I don't know," Xena answers, "But whatever they came for, they got. The four of us just woke up on this ship and…"

I glance over at her sullen face as I continue working on the lock. "The four of us? Where's Adria?"

Elani swallows hard. "She bled out and died two hours ago. They came down here, took her body and threw her overboard."

I angrily bite my tongue, working even harder to free myself from the constraints that bind me. I wish I had the ability to truly mourn the death of others, but I don't. Not anymore. I've been alive over two centuries and lost enough to harden me into a piece of chiseled marble. I've spent a decent portion of my life being beaten, tortured and molded into living ammunition, so mortality isn't something I find myself burdened with. I find a mission, stick to it, and complete said mission, no matter the body count.

Through the course of my life, I've been in a lot of tight spots, but this situation is one of the direst. This ship is pulling me further and further from Freyja, and that distance is a luxury I can't afford. That is, if the assets are still there.

The lock finally gives way and the constraints shimmy off my wrists. I pull my arms back in front of me and scramble over to the door with the same lucky sliver of wood. I insert the pointed tip into the outer keyhole on the cell and work on my perfected technique. It's worked every other time I've had to break out of a jail cell, so why not now?

Two to the left, once to the right, another three to the left and…

It pops open.

I swing the hefty metal door ajar and rush over to the opposite side of the cell where Xena and Elani are bound. I pick the lock in a succinct manner, freeing them in no time. When they stand and jog out of the cell, I turn to face them with seriousness.

"We have to inspect every chest down here. It's imperative to know if they made it up the mountain and got ahold of anything," I instruct. They cast each other a nervous side glance, knowing they're up against unavoidable daylight. They want to scramble on deck and jump overboard pronto, but that's not going to happen yet. My face goes stoic and my voice stern. "That wasn't a suggestion, it's an order."

My icy reaction is enough for them to back down without a word. We silently divide and conquer the hull of the ship, inspecting every single crate resembling the ones our captors had onshore. Xena and Elani might disdain the idea of dying down here, but they don't understand the gravity of the situation. If the assets I've been guarding on Freyja are on this ship and headed to Nero, there's no way in hell anyone is leaving this vessel alive. I'll be forced to end us all.

Lid by lid, I pry back the nailed wooden trunks until my fingers bleed from the strain. So far, I've found nothing of any real value and neither have my girls. Some heavily salted meats, a few boxes of fruit, random jewelry, books that've been worn over time, and disappointingly enough, no weaponry. I push the last box shut and sigh with relief anyways. This crew might be headed for Nero, but they're probably nothing more than experienced pillagers. They settled for unimportant trinkets, so it's obvious that they're ignorant of the valuable assets. They don't know what real priceless items take up residence on Freyja.

I inch my way up the creaking timber ladder that leads to the main deck, each step bowing slightly under my weight. My palms gently guide the hatch door upwards and I scrutinize the ship through a thin slat of vision. Two thick masts stand erect in the center of the ship and enclosed living quarters belonging to the captain lie situated on the bow. A few glass windows span the entrance as an amber smolder from an oil lamp pulsates behind the panes. The crew's accommodations are tucked away at the stern and thankfully it's still dark inside. The lilac glow of the sunrise brimming east reminds me how little time Xena and Elani have to get back into the ocean. If they don't, they'll shift down here and I won't be able to get them into the water. They'll die of dehydration and expose our existence as Sirens.

Once the coast is clear as it'll ever be, I push the hatch door open, gently resting it atop the deck. I climb out and usher the girls up behind me, still scanning the ship for any crew members. Trade winds from the west fling curled tendrils of hair around my face as we hustle over to the port side of the ship. The massive white sails stay taut on the masts, drilling us towards a destination I'm about to disembark. I gaze down into the aquamarine waves as they crumble into a salty spray against the exterior hull, quickly glancing over my shoulder at Xena.

"Go," I whisper. She nods, jumping up onto the railing and nosediving over the edge. Elani follows suit and she tumbles effortlessly into the ocean behind Xena. I spring up onto the misty polished wood and wrap my right palm around the frayed rope shroud. I lean forward with anticipation as the sun peers over the ocean. I release my grip on the shroud, loading my legs to jump, but I don't move. A hand snatches me around the waist and throws me to the deck with a thud. I roll to my knees and growl underneath my breath, casting a hateful glare up at a girl with mocha skin and short black hair. My eyes flicker down to her side. She's holding a dagger cloaked in midnight with strikes of voltaic yellow lightning ripping through the blade.

She's holding my knife.