Читать книгу Aqueous Passage - Krystyna Faroe - Страница 7

Oak was livid. What the hell was Denver up to? He hadn’t been able to get a single word or thought from him and it had driven him almost insane. They’d left the cargo hold together and he’d received very little response from Denver. He hurled a barrage of questions at him but received no answers. Denver was smiling until Oak, not amused, had ranted about honour amongst friends, Denver had dropped the look as if it had been struck off his face. Oak had continued to ramble on trying to gain information but Denver had remained silent up until the moment he opened the door to Blackthorn’s room.

Oak stared in surprise at where they were and the fact that he hadn’t noticed where they were going. It wasn’t like him to be unaware of his surroundings. His revelation at the lack in his senses was soon replaced with ire when he figured out that Denver was going somewhere alone and he repeatedly silently questioned him again. He was ignored as instead Denver turned to Jackson.

“See to it that both prisoners do not leave this room.”

Jackson nodded as Denver pushed Oak into the room to join the curious Blackthorn and Jackson.

“Where are you going?” He retorted but his only answer was the door closing in his face.

“I guess that was a no to telling me what is happening,” he murmured to himself as he took in the stares of the curious room occupants.

He passed the interested eyes and took a chair next to Blackthorn muttering to himself, “Self-absorbed asinine Citans believe their size can overcome everything.” He looked up to see both Blackthorn and Jackson smiling until they too quickly looked away. Jackson cleared his throat.

“You spending the night here?” He queried, his eyebrows going up and down in a clowning fashion. “’Coz we only got two beds and that means two of us will either have to get real cozy or one of us will be sleeping on the floor.”

“I’ve slept on harder surfaces,” responded Oak. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Sure thing, I prefer beds myself.” Jackson gave a brief nod to Blackthorn who smiled back and quickly squashed it when he saw the glare from Oak.

“Not in a very good mood tonight?”

Oak gave Jackson the same glare as he’d given Blackthorn to show he was done with his annoying conversation only to be rewarded with a laugh.

“You sure have more expressions than most of the ladies I’ve been around and they’ve come up with some real rip your head off stares I can tell you.”

Oak ignored him and looked out of the window to take his attention elsewhere. There was nothing to see but black, the night had descended quickly as usual leaving nothing to do other than partake in games, conversations or go to sleep. Oak didn’t feel like being involved in any of them. He sulkily stared out into the darkness whilst Blackthorn and Jackson became involved in a game of checkers.

The board had been roughly hewn out of the thick bark of a tree and black squares crudely drawn onto it. Black and grey pebbles were used as checkers and Oak couldn’t help but think how lucky the clan were to have the antiquities that Sequoia had found years ago.

He wondered where Sequoia was now, what he was doing; perhaps he was helping start another clan elsewhere. He wished he understood why he’d left; it still made him angry to think he’d abandoned them all. They’d built something good and Sequoia had left it behind, his reason for leaving hadn’t been good enough for Oak. Oak had sullenly gone over their goodbyes many times.

He’d trusted and respected Sequoia, he’d confided in him, more so than he had with Fern and she knew too much about him, Sequoia had known even more. He’d been like an elder brother even though they were of the same age; he’d always seemed older, more wise and confident.

They’d never doubted anything he’d said, always believed in him, even when he’d said he had to leave. Oak had realized later that Sequoia’s reasons for going hadn’t added up and for the first time since meeting Sequoia he’d doubted him and his words. A long time had passed, all of them had believed he would one day return but Sequoia never had, and Oak had given up on that hope, even if everyone else had not.

He looked at Blackthorn laughing as he took a checker over several of Jackson’s and Jackson pulled a face as he threw his arms up in the air in acceptance of his loss. Blackthorn had never stopped believing they would see Sequoia again. Oak wondered which of them were right.

**********

Denver was going over the plan he was forming. He’d left an annoyed Oak with Jackson. The thoughts he’d sent him had been quite blue in their nature and it made him laugh yet again to think how much Oak had changed. Even with the change he couldn’t involve him in what he was preparing, as much as he trusted Oak he didn’t want to jeopardize his chances of controlling the situation should he fail. Losing one mind reader was bad enough but to lose two was plain stupid. No, he needed Oak safe.

He mulled over his thoughts again, trying to fine tune them to a more definite course of attack. Attack, not quite, it was more subtle than that but would it work? Rancor may be power hungry but he was clever and skilled in deviation, more so than the rest of them. Trying to outwit him would be difficult but he did have the upper hand; he would know what was going on in that foul mind, no matter how disgusting it was he would not break the tie once he’d formed it.

Walking through the corridors he wondered where a vile creature like Rancor would want to spend his evenings. He knew he would have eaten, as everyone else had finished their evening meal long ago and Rancor never ate with any of them. The captain had a room where he and his officers ate, so Denver assumed that was where Rancor was spending most of his time. He just had to find it.

He was wandering down a corridor that he knew he wasn’t given access to when he sensed a presence. It wasn’t threatening, it was curious. He turned to see a petite girl watching him from a doorway. Her heart shaped face eyed him with interest; large brown eyes, almost cartoon like in the way they were oversized for her face, mesmerized him in their lack of fear.

“You must be one of the Citans?” Her voice was soft and soothing, coaxing like a lover.

He walked toward her entranced and keen to hear more of her words, taking in the waving locks of brown hair that fell upon her clavicle, washing upon the bony crest as if it were a rocky ridge at the edge of the sea. “Yes I am.”

He stopped before her, towering her by at least two feet.

The calm gentle eyes held his. “Why are you here?”

“I’m searching for someone.”

“Someone?” Her eyes were melting like swirling toffee, sticky and enticing they drew him in.

He didn’t reply and she said no more for a moment as they both seemed to sway in a strange dance of souls. Their eyes were locked but their bodies did not move, yet he had the sensation of waltzing, a thrilling sensation of whirling about with her in his arms. His senses heightened by the feel and smell of her, his skin tingled and goose bumps began to rise on his arms even though they were covered by the shirt he wore.

“Who is it you seek?” Her voice hovered over him until it washed upon him in a glorious quenching of his yearn for a soul mate.

“Rancor,” he replied with no thought to what he was saying or its consequences.

A slight raise of her eyebrows momentarily made him stagger but the eyes drew him in once more. “Why do you seek Rancor?”

“Sabrina! Stop!” The strong words reverberated through his head.

Denver stumbled backwards as Captain Rumello grabbed hold of him and pulled him aside.

“Go into your room now Sabrina or I will throw you off this ship at the next stop.”

The brown eyes suddenly deepened in colour and the pretty face took on a sardonic scowl as she spat out. “Just you try and see where it gets you!”

Turning on her heel she was gone and a closed door was all that was left of the fleeting moment of exhilaration.

“Stay away from her. She’s dangerous and not to be trusted. I’d like to get her off this ship but she’s useful so I put up with her devious nature and endure it instead.”

Pulling Denver into step beside him he guided him away from Sabrina’s door and down the corridor.

“You know you’re not allowed on this side of the ship.” Captain Rumello gave him a quick sideways glance. “But apparently you want to see Rancor and that is why you’re here. So, what do you want with Rancor?”

With the spell broken Denver stopped dead, appalled that he had given away information, shocked that he hadn’t even attempted to read her mind. How easily he had been duped into telling her whatever she wanted made him quiver at how dangerous his situation could have become if not for the arrival of Captain Rumello. He turned to him now his face stricken with panic at what had happened.

“Don’t worry yourself, I stopped you in time. Obviously you have a plan and yes, she would have got all of it out of you and it wouldn’t have taken her long either.”

He snickered briefly as Denver paled further and put an arm across his back to keep him moving. “We’ve all been there, next time you won’t be drawn in as quickly. You’ll have more of a chance of keeping your senses. She’s always difficult to overcome the first time.”

Captain Rumello gave another small chuckle. “Even Rancor was baited by her for a while. I was the one who sent her of course; everything was going beautifully until that dolt brain Detroit turned up. I could so easily have had all the information I wanted but no, fate turned against us. Now he won’t even have her in his sight, so she is almost continually in her room. She misses the company, especially at dinner time; she always enjoyed plying her winning ways on the rest of the crew.”

Denver had been at a loss for words for all of this time but now his wits were returning and he gave Captain Rumello a long look.

“She’s dangerous, yet you keep her around, even if she is useful, you’re taking a great risk and she doesn’t seem like the type to want to help anyone but herself.”

Captain Rumello dropped his arm and faced Denver. “You’re right there and she’ll switch sides as quick as lightening.”

“Then why?”

Captain Rumello stared hard at him before answering. “Because she’s my sister.”

Denver’s mouth fell aghast; he stared at the round shaped boy before him, the red puffy cheeks and thick eyebrows over warm brown eyes. The only resemblance he could see was she had the same thick eyebrows and eyes that could be warm and inviting until they turned dark and menacing.

“How did she gain her abilities?”

“I don’t know. No one does. Not even she knows. They came gradually and she took so much pleasure in them that she honed and practised her skills until she is what she is today, a siren for the weak.”

Denver gave a shrug of his shoulders as he dropped his head slightly in disgrace.

“You mean for chumps like me!”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, she can do it to anyone, girl or boy it doesn’t matter she wins them all over.”

Denver mulled over the words, swirling them around in his mind.

“You plan to use her against Kisin don’t you?”

Captain Rumello looked away for a moment. “Yes! Not something I’m proud of but it’s for the good of everyone and I know she’ll do it. Any chance at a challenge and she can’t resist. I know it’s disgraceful of me to use my own sister.”

Denver didn’t reply for a moment. He placed his hand upon Captain Rumello’s arm. “There is no disgrace in wanting to save everyone’s lives and if she can do it, then she should, even if she only does it to gratify herself.”

Captain Rumello nodded. “I’ll keep telling myself that but if anything happens to her I know it won’t make me feel any better.”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we keep her safe.”

“Easier said than done, on land she’s like a mountain lion, you can never find her; she only comes to you when she wants to.”

“Then it sounds like she has her own safeguards. I think perhaps your brotherly protection will not be needed.”

“Let us hope. Let us hope.” Captain Rumello’s words were spoken with sadness and disbelief.

Denver wished he could see into the future and know what awaited them but all he could see was what was going on in people’s heads. He’d intruded into the captain’s mind and gathered information that he knew was very personal. Had seen visions of scrapes that he’d pulled his sister out of and taken the blame for, fights that he had suffered through to protect her whilst she had stood aside laughing. He saw Rumello entreating her to behave for her own safety and vicious retorts of rejection back from her. He wondered whether using her was worth the risks involved but they needed every advantage they could get and she had skills no one else had.

“Now…” said Captain Rumello as he slowed to a stop. “What was it you wanted of Rancor?”

Denver smiled as he looked down upon the captain. “Now you sound like your sister.”

“Heaven forbid!”

“Take me to him and you’ll find out.”

A quirk came to the side of Captain Rumello’s mouth. “That’s just a sneaky way of saying mind your own business!”

Denver continued smiling. “Believe me this will benefit us all.”