A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle (23 page)

One more.

Her mother, her father, Maniuk, Leoa, even
Janu—they could say nothing. They were gone. They had left her
alone.

Her mind settled, her heartbeat slowed, her
thoughts cleared.

They loved her—they would not have judged
what it took for her to survive.

Turning slowly, Jinji unfolded the clothes
Rhen had left. The pants, a deep soft black leather, slipped easily
over her legs, loose and clearly meant for a larger person. But
better that than have them stick to her thighs or her bottom, round
like a woman and not flat like a man.

The shirt hung loosely too, stretching
inches past her fingers. She tucked the fine linens into the hem of
the pants as she had seen Rhen do, rolled the sleeves up above her
elbows. The neckline gaped open, slipping low on her chest. Jinji
looked down, spotting the small but most definitely feminine curve
of her breast, wincing.

But there was one more folded cloth. She put
her arms through the sleeveless holes and awkwardly buttoned the
front. A vest Rhen had called it. Still mildly loose, but, Jinji
looked down, it kept her womanly assets very well guarded.

She felt for the spirits surrounding her
face, as she did every morning, welcoming their familiar presence.
The illusion over her features still held, made only stronger with
time. Running her fingers gently through her hair, Jinji felt the
short strands spike up, hardened by the salty air.

She missed the weight of her curls, the
silky way they spilled down her back, drifting over her shoulders,
made shiny by the sun.

But she was not prepared to completely
abandon her tribe—her hair would never flow freely again.

Jinji stood straight, facing the door. If
she only had one day left onboard, she would try to make the most
of it. She had been hiding out below deck for too long, and fresh
air would likely do her good, even if it meant an inevitable run-in
with Rhen.

Well, she shrugged, she had held her own so
far.

Minutes later, Jinji emerged to the curious
stares of a few men onboard, including the Ourthuri. It was her
clothes, Jinji assured herself, just her clothes. Rhen looked over
momentarily, but didn’t let his gaze stick. He was talking to the
tall man, the one with burns on his wrists. Judging by the puff to
his chest, it was not going well.

No matter, Jinji walked to the front of the
ship, ready to look out past the waves for the first sight of these
Golden Isles she had heard so much about.

The horizon was flat, dark blue fading into
an almost white sky. She could see no mountains, no shorelines, and
after a while, even the line faded away as her eyes glazed over,
full of dreams and not reality.

"Land ho!"

Jinji snapped back to attention, her head
twisting to the noise. She had no notion of how much time had
passed, but her body felt stiff and stuck. Rhen was nowhere in
sight. But one of the crew was in the crow's nest, pointing
straight ahead.

Looking out to sea, Jinji scanned the blue
water but could find nothing. And then there, right in front of her
eyes, was a golden shimmer, a slight spark like a flame in the
distance, almost like the first glance of the rising sun. Could it
possibly be?

"Have you ever seen the Golden Isles?" A
voice asked, deep and unfamiliar. She spun, tearing her eyes away
from the view.

It was an Ourthuri. Eyes scanning, her
pupils took in the rippled and raw flesh at his wrists. Parts of
the skin seemed almost the same color as her own hand. Other parts
seemed a color no human flesh should hold.

He was tall, her neck hurt to look up at
him, but narrow.

"I have not," Jinji answered, looking back
out toward the bright bump in an otherwise smooth horizon, leaning
her forearms on the ship in a relaxed pose.

"I thought so," he nodded to himself, turned
to copy her body language, languidly placing his own arms to the
rail.

"Why?"

"You do not look like the others, and until
today, you did not dress like them. You were not made for the sea
like these men."

"No," she responded quietly, sadly, thinking
of the trees and the grass.

"At first I thought perhaps you were
Ourthuri, but you do not look or sound like us either. And you just
said you have never been to the isles."

"I am Arpapajo," Jinji told him, ignoring
the cloud of confusion that drifted over his features. "My name is
Jin."

"I am called nothing now." He stood taller,
bringing his hands behind his back, out of eyesight, a pose both
strong and suffered. "But I was once Mikzahooq."

"Where did your name go? I don't
understand," Jinji said. How could his name just be stolen away?
Erased? Her people were gone, her life shattered, but her name was
one thing no one could steal.

"Then you are definitely not from the
isles."

That seemed like a very good thing, Jinji
suspected, shivering as she caught sight of his mangled hands once
more. The isles did not seem like a very forgiving place, though
now, growing in her eyes, sparkling like the gems on Rhen's
clothes, she did not see why a place so beautiful should be
anything but good.

Though
, she thought with a smirk,
looks can be deceiving. Everyone aboard thinks I'm a
man.

"Why do they shine like that?"

"Those islands are not made of plants and
dirt like Whylkin, but of metal and rock. They leap from the ocean,
harsh and jagged, as though knifing their way through the waters.
The edges are steep cliffs, full of silver and gold and copper, and
when the sun hits them, well, you can see." He shrugged, eyes glued
to the sight even though he had likely seen it a thousand times.
There was something wary in his expression, but nostalgic too.

Minding his words, Jinji turned to look over
her shoulder. It was true, she hadn’t even realized it, but the sun
had crossed overhead, starting the slow descent back down to the
earth. The deeper it sunk, the more brilliant the islands before
them became.

"And that is why you were chopping down my
trees?" She asked, flashing back to the first time she and Rhen had
met, a memory she wasn't fond of reliving. But remove the men, the
deaths, the pain, and she could still envision her trees, mutilated
and chopped to pieces. Stacks and stacks of them, more than any man
should use in a lifetime. A waste.

"Not me." He grinned, stepping back
playfully as if whipped from her tongue. "But yes, I believe that
is what I was meant to do when our ship arrived. Steal trees and
animals that cannot grow or survive on islands made of gold."

"But why steal?" It was not a term she was
used to, but neither was
gold
, or
ship
or anything
that had seemingly transitioned into daily vocabulary for her.
Money. War. Steal
. All things the Arpapajo had no use for,
but the rest of the world seemed all too eager to discuss.

"That is for kings to know." He shook his
head. "Not me."

"Why not?"

He laughed, a deep baritone that vibrated
through her chest, catching her off guard. "You ask a lot of
questions. You always seem so quiet. I didn't realize what I was in
for."

Jinji bit down on her cheeks to keep from
smiling and to keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks. "So much
of this world is new to me."

"And I thought your friend put you up to it.
He is also a man with a lot of questions. Too many."

At his mention, Rhen popped into Jinji's
peripheral vision, his eyes boring into the side of her head. She
felt them there, staring at her. A tingle spread down her neck,
stretching across her back and to her fingertips, an awareness. She
shifted slightly, so his body was no longer in view, but that did
nothing to calm the nerves cascading down her limbs.

Had time run out?

She coughed and swallowed, gripping the
banister tightly, trying to focus on the islands still coming into
view. A second had poked through the horizon, to the left of the
first, close behind it.

A thought popped into her head as she
silently stared ahead. Maybe she asked so many questions to avoid
giving many answers. Maybe she could use that against Rhen.

Maybe.

Her gaze flicked to the Ourthuri, his deep
brown eyes were studying her, trying to read her reaction. They
were almost black, she realized, but there was no sign of the
shadow there.

"You do not seem happy to be going home,"
she said quietly. A crease surfaced in his olive skin, just above
his brow. He released a long breath, looking through Jinji and not
at her.

"I have no home."

A feeling she knew well. But surely the
Ourthuri were still alive, unlike her people. She couldn’t help but
wonder what could be so bad that this man was an outcast to his
family, his land? But she held her tongue. There was a haunt
hovering over him that she did not want to awaken.

"So what will you do?" What did other people
who had no home do? Did they travel the world looking for answers
that might never come? Or was that just her?

"I will die," he said simply,
matter-of-factly, as if there were no other outcome. His eyes
sharpened, retreating from his glassy vision, returning from his
memories. "It is not as frightening once you've accepted it," he
added quietly, voice wavering.

Before she could ask the question burning
her lips, he nodded his head, a quiet goodbye. And then he was
gone, walking away and back to the group of three men who also
looked out of place on this ship.

Who is going to kill you?

She wanted to ask it, almost spoke it loudly
into the wind to make him turn around. Somehow, it felt important
to get the answer, to push for one.

Jinji lifted her foot and prepared to go
after him when a hand clamped over hers, trapping her fingers
against the ship.

"Nice chat?"

Rhen.

And he felt like fire. His skin burned,
flames against her palm, as though the spirits had awakened upon
contact.

Jinji yelped, pulled back, but Rhen would
not release his grip.

"I think you've been avoiding me Jin, and I
would like to know why."

She met his eyes briefly and they flashed
blue. A ghost passed over his face, momentarily changing it,
lifting his cheekbones, darkening his skin, brightening his eyes to
the color of the ocean instead of the grass.

Jinji blinked.

The mirage was gone. But she couldn't get it
out of her head.

Somehow, she recognized the face—a face she
was certain she had never seen before. But deep down beneath her
memories, a primal instinct flinched with awareness.

Fire spirits brightened her vision, circling
his features, surging down Rhen's body. Her fingers tingled,
begging her to craft the illusion of the face again, to study it,
to remember it.

Jinji shook her head, pushing the spirits
out. They clung to her eyes, refusing to disappear, sparking her
fingers until they stung.

All Jinji could think to do was shut her
eyes tight, cramming her lids into her cheeks, blacking out the
world, breathing, until she felt Rhen's fingers release her hand,
felt the fire in his touch evaporate.

She opened.

Everything was normal.

Except Rhen.

His curiosity had been piqued even more.
Eyes narrowed, lips pursed, he studied her, tried to read her.

"Jin?" He asked slowly.

"Yes?" She responded, pretending
ignorance.

"I think you know."

"I'm not feeling well," she said, and looked
back out over the rail, leaning her hands against the wood for the
strength to hold herself upright. A quake rumbled her insides.

"Really?"

She nodded, actually feeling her face turn
green. Something in their touch had affected her, had rolled her
stomach into knots, had made her body turn against itself.

"Will you still not tell me about the
fight?" He asked, leaning in, lowering his voice. "I know you did
something, Jin, I told you before. Whatever it is, you can trust
me."

Jinji just shook her head, feeling bile rise
in her throat.

"I cannot help you unless you tell me the
truth. You might be surprised at how I react. At the," he paused,
sighing and running a hand through his hair, "at the assistance I
can provide."

Jinji opened her mouth to reply, but instead
of words, vomit spewed from her lips. She recoiled, dropping her
head over the side of the ship, coughing as the shakes wracked her
body. Her stomach rolled, forcing everything out, until only vile
air remained, and still she dry heaved, sapping the energy from her
now aching limbs.

He put a hand on her back, trying to soothe
her until it was done.

But her vision had gone blurry. When she
looked at Rhen for help, all she saw were flames, rising from his
body, smoking into the wind, flaring in her eyes.

Jinji dropped to the ground.

"Captain!" She heard Rhen shout, but already
her vision was going spotty.

"The sea has finally claimed its victim," a
voice said. Blue splashed in her vision as an old, gray faced
leaned over her. "It was only a matter of time, Whylrhen, until the
sickness came on. No one survives his first trip without being
tested at least once, not on the open ocean."

"So it's just sea sickness?"

"A bad case, but yes."

"What can we do?"

"He'll be fine by the time we reach port.
And you and I must talk before then. Geoff! Take the lad below
decks."

The voices deepened, words catching each
other, stringing together until one was no different from the
other, and it all blurred into the sound of her own moaning.

Someone picked her up, but she did not feel
it.

No, she was floating, apart, drifting
through time.

Pictures began to dance in her vision.