Adventures of Captain Xdey (17 page)

The critter continued to stare at her. She turned to see hundreds of yellow schoomas. Xoey chuckled. “It’s nice that you’re here to back me up, I assume, but where are your weapons?”

The schoomas shook up and down and side to side. She hoped that they weren’t going to explode. She wouldn’t put it past the gnomes to create a cute grenade. Nadine had explained to her that they were yellow due to eating the sun’s rays. Most speculated that the creatures talked to one another telepathically, as they lacked a mouth. The creatures’ fur split under their slit noses revealing a large gaping mouth with razor sharp teeth. “Oh!” she shouted in surprise.

She stood up to see the guards heading directly toward her. “Not a good idea,” she said as the schoomas surged forward and attacked.

In horror, the guards did everything they could to get the crazed cute creatures off of their heads, shoulders, and legs. Xoey dashed through the screaming men and headed inside the tavern. Decyl stood on top of a table with four guns in his paws staring down at the four guards on the ground.

“Xoey!” Mal ran toward her. She smiled wearily at his embrace. “Is Nadine outside?” he asked as he pulled away.

“I need you to come with me.”

Chapter Thirteen

Mal walked in a daze toward his sister. He wanted more than anything for it to be a trick. In a matter of minutes, she’d jump out and yell to scare him and then they’d laugh about it for hours. But instead, she didn’t so much as stir or move. Her closed eyes stayed very still. Mal rubbed his head. “Oh…” was all he could say.

Ramos waited in the doorway. His eyes shifted down unable to look at the beautiful dead girl. Decyl comforted Lesria. Hiddle moved in behind Xoey.

Mal held his sister’s hand. Her fingertips were cold as ice, but her palm was warm due to the heat lamps they had set up around her. He shifted on one leg and kicked a large shell out from under the table. Xoey tilted her head. “That’s the gift from Shiro and Tamashii.”

Mal wasn’t listening. He crumpled in a pile on the floor and cried. Xoey scooped up the shell. “Mal…” She paused. “Mal! We can save her!”

He wiped his face with his handkerchief. “What?”

She, rather excitedly, explained what happened when Nadine held the shell. It caused an outburst of white pure energy. Mal blinked, but the gears turned. He was a Tinkerton, after all. He sucked in a deep breath and released the air in his words. “We just need to jolt her back into the living.” He turned to Decyl. “I need the most accurate gun available.” He paused. “I need someone to hold the shell over her heart.”

Hiddle raised his hand. “I can do it.”

Mal handed over the conch shell. “Whatever you do, don’t let go. Okay?”

“Okay.” Hiddle nodded, looking very intimidated. He clutched the shell, stepped on the stool, and held the shell, tightly, over Nadine’s heart.

Decyl looked over at Gaim who stood by the front door. They exchanged glances and Gaim nodded. From his belt knapsack, Decyl removed a small gun. Mal blinked at the size; it was no bigger than his pinky. “It is a laser gun. Aim and shoot. Be prepared to be knocked back.” Lesria gathered pillows, carefully placing them near the stairwell behind them.

Xoey piped up, “We’re all going to be knocked back.”

Ramos agreed.

Mal marked the ground where he intended to shoot from. He moved around the room measuring the angles of objects, including the magnifying glasses. He arranged them in a particular order that likely made no sense to anyone but him. Xoey pressed herself against a corner. Hiddle grinned. “Does the shell need to be held a certain way?”

Mal backed up. “Point down.”

With a nod, Hiddle turned the shell. “Ready.”

With one eye closed, Mal aimed the tiny gun. He’d learned how to shoot from his father, but there was something inside him hoping that he didn’t miss. With one squeeze of the trigger, the blue laser hit the reflective surface of the table, shot up toward the lowest hanging magnifying glass and hit straight down into the top of the shell.

A swirling maelstrom of light and vibration plummeted out from the source and into the room. Xoey covered her eyes. He could hear Hiddle screaming. He clutched onto the shell white-knuckled. The light pulled back tight. It buzzed around Hiddle and Nadine. The pure energy slammed into Nadine’s heart with such force that it knocked everyone back. Hiddle hit the ceiling and then the floor.

The light dissipated. There was silence. Then, the only sound was the sound of the swinging chandelier.

Mal pulled himself up out of the pile of pillows. He scrambled over to his sister. “Nadine!”

Xoey slumped to the floor.

Mal could hear a tiny voice, so tiny it sounded like a small child. “I’m here.”

Hiddle groaned. “I think I broke my butt.”

Ramos stepped out of the broom closet. He kicked a bucket off of his shoe.

Decyl, Lesria, and Gaim attempted to brush out the static electricity.

Mal hugged Nadine. “You’re all right.”

Wearily, she patted her brother’s head. “I am.”

Soon, the warmth of sleep took them, as after their reunion, they all shuffled to bed for a long night’s rest.

Chapter Fourteen

Nadine woke under crisp linens filled with the subtle scent of the Mayloozeen. They were found north of Desert Town. Xoey sat on the edge of the bed with the shell in her hands. She had bribed Hiddle to let it go. “This is yours.”

Nadine shook her head. “I understand now. The shell was just a stepping stone. Everything that happened was meant to happen.”

Xoey didn’t believe in fate. “We can change our destinies.”

“Do you really want to? You’re a pirate.”

“A pirate without parents. I don’t know if that’s a good pirate to be.”

Nadine smiled softly. “You have us.”

They paused at the sight of Hiddle and Mal running down the hall. “Breakfast!”

Decyl sauntered behind them with a large gun labeled, ‘Net ‘em.’ He stopped at the girls’ imploring glances. He placed one finger to his mouth and walked on.

“Would you really want to be without us?” asked Nadine.

Xoey patted Nadine’s legs. “For as long as the land is good to me. Eventually, I will have to go back to the sea.”

“But you’ll visit?”

“I’ll visit.”

“Promise?” asked Nadine.

“Promise.”

They walked side by side down the steps to see Decyl fighting his way out of a net. Hiddle and Mal snickered in a corner. Xoey shook her head. “I say he will get you back, but he still hasn’t for you electrocuting him, Mal.”

Mal guffawed. “Why do you have to remind him?”

“Because I’m not the one in the net,” said Xoey as she filled her plate with meat. Gnomes were carnivores, apparently. She smiled.

Hiddle edged over to Xoey. “How do you see out of your eyes?” He pointed at her slanted emerald eyes.

Mal covered his mouth, eyes wide.

Ramos choked on a slice of meat. Xoey slapped his back a few times for good measure. She regarded Hiddle. “I imagine just the same as you.”

“But you don’t know how I see things, so how do you know?”

Xoey chewed on a thick piece of Grun spiced meat. Hiddle held up fingers in her peripheral vision. “You’re holding up six fingers.” She paused. “Four fingers, now eight, and now three.” She turned with a mouthful of food. “Satisfied?”

Hiddle, with a gleaming grin, nodded. He brushed his hair and walked off.

“That is the falling star?” Xoey asked. “Did he actually fall from the sky?”

Mal looked down at his shoes. Decyl shoved the net back into the gun. “He fell, alright. Gesler threw him overboard.”

Xoey raised an eyebrow. There was something they weren’t telling her. She narrowed her gaze. “You best be spilling it.”

Lesria refilled the mug of warm cider. Xoey nodded in thanks, raised a glass, and slurped the drink. Nadine closed her eyes at the noise. Mal shook his head, pursing his lips. Decyl sighed. “He’s Gesler’s son.”

At the news, she took a huge breath as a swig of cider went down her throat. It resulted in a massive coughing fit and a very sore throat. Ramos was halfway done with his second plate of breakfast. He returned the favor and patted her back. Her face reddened from trying to breathe and swallow at the same time. Xoey pushed the empty plate away from her. “We have Gesler’s son?” It was maddening.

Mal nodded, sheepishly. “He saved Decyl.”

Decyl smacked his jaws in protest, but seemed a bit surprised. “He’s being very quiet. I’m going to check on him.” He walked off.

“I trust your judgment, Mal.”

Mal swelled with pride at Xoey’s words. He grinned.

“What should we do about the circus?” asked Nadine.

Xoey realized, with surprise, that the circus was a day away. She didn’t know how to proceed.

Mal shrugged. “Dad warned us not to go.” He explained to Nadine about the message they found in the house of Mara and Guire.

She tilted her head in consideration, unimpressed. “Would he have left an obvious message?”

“How should I know?”

“Think, Mal. A message in the dark is far too easy for our standards. He would have done something mechanical. We’re the Tinkertons.”

“What if he didn’t have anything mechanical? It’s not like we’re on the ship!” he said defensively.

Nadine sighed. “I think we should go.”

“Well, you didn’t see him,” Mal stated with guilt.

“No, I didn’t. Did you?”

He nodded. “He told us to meet him…but then we dropped and we couldn’t hear him.” He explained how they came across Gesler’s ship, the fall from the sky, and the events at the swamp.

Nadine hugged her brother. “I know you didn’t hear him, but I promised we would save them and that’s what we are going to do.”

Xoey looked down, toying with her spoon in the cider. She wanted her father. She wanted to hear his voice and smell the licorice sticks. She tapped the spoon against the bone china in thought. She stared hungrily at his apparent reflection in the swirling drink. It was just her imagination; a desire of what she wanted that she could dream about it.

“Xoey,” he said.

She looked up from the water-stained book. It was a story about nobles, knights, and dragons. Bran smiled at her. “We’ll be on land in a day. Brighton wants to drop off the shipment before we set sail again. He wants you to go with him to the estate.”

Xoey groaned. “He only wants me to go ‘cause he thinks I’ll like one of the sons.”

Bran barked a laugh. “You? Marry?”

“That’s what I say! I don’t need some man trying to keep me from the sea.”

She’d brushed his hair over an hour ago and tied it back neatly. The wind tugged at the ribbon. Wisps of hair danced across his face. “Not to worry, Xoey. As long as I’m around, the sea will be yours. Brighton can try, but he will fail.” He patted her head and left her to her reading.

Nadine was coaxing Xoey when she snapped out of her daydream to see Mal and Nadine on either shoulder. She felt rather foolish and bit her lip.

“We’re sorry,” said Nadine.

Mal agreed. “Yeah, we tend to forget that your dad is dead.”

Nadine smacked her brother on the back of the head. “Ow!” He rubbed the tender spot. Xoey swore she could see him smile.

“What he meant to say was that we were rude and forgot that your loss is our loss, but it’s not necessarily the same.”

“I think I understand,” said Xoey quietly.

Hiddle ran through the kitchen with a pot and a spoon. Mal leaned down. “He has lost his marbles,” he whispered to Xoey.

Nadine was inclined to agree. “Well, he’s clothed.”

“They have teeth!” Hiddle screamed in explanation before running back out. They looked at one another and followed him.

Beyond the kitchen made of stone and dark wood, down a set of stairs, a landing, and another set of stairs was a large musty basement filled with stone crevices containing bottles of all shapes and sizes. Mal picked up a red fat-bottomed bottle with a cork. He popped the cork from the bottle. A foul odor of the dead that burned the nostrils filled the area. Xoey and Nadine fanned their noses. “Mal!”

He stopped the bottle, chuckled nervously, and carefully set it back.

Hiddle ran around the basement interior wall chasing a yellow ball of fluff. “Mouths and teeth!”

Xoey scooped up the frantic schooma. Mal removed the weapons of choice from Hiddle’s flailing arms. “What are you doing?”

Hiddle pointed at the culprit. “I was minding my own business and that approached me from behind and bit me!”

The schooma brushed his pointed ears down with a shake of his head. Its furry eyebrows rose up, expressively.

Nadine attempted to chide Hiddle. “They don’t have mouths.”

Another schooma appeared from the darkness. He walked on his hind legs, using the long slender tail for balance. He stared at the one in Xoey’s arms. They nodded in an apparent agreement. Xoey shifted on one leg. She knew they had teeth and sharp ones at that. “Well…they do, actually.”

Decyl entered the basement with a look of intrusion. “What are you doing?”

The schooma slid out of Xoey’s grasp. “I saw them. They attacked the guards surrounding the tavern.”

Hiddle widened his steel-colored eyes. “I told you!”

Nadine shook her head. “They’ve been creatures of burden for many years. I think that if they had teeth, let alone a mouth, we’d know.”

Decyl rubbed his mustache. “They are clever creatures, Nadine. They know more about the goings-on of Grittle than anyone. Why? Because they are seen as not being able to tell what goes on behind each set of four walls.”

“You sent them to help,” said Xoey.

Gaim descended down the steps. “No.” His dark eyes shifted to the schooma that slid out of Xoey’s grasp. “That was me.” He removed his spectacles and blew hard on the glass. Gaim adjusted the curled wire behind his long ears and scooted the frames down his slender nose. A bit shorter than Decyl, Gaim made up for it in stockiness at his shoulders.

Nadine narrowed her gaze. “You use them for information.”

“It is a mutual arrangement. We do not hinder them with chores and they eat to their heart’s content. I simply ask to know what Nix is up to.”

Mal leaned in. “What is he up to?”

He smiled a soft smile. “I will let them tell you.”

They walked in silence down the intricately carved steps and entered into a side door at the base of the stairs. The room opened up into a marvelous circular cavern with a level above and below. Stretched out before them and winding down in a circular fashion was a long and narrow path. Every ten paces or so, there was a wooden bridge that ended in a corridor along the main walls. They were webbed and in a crisscross pattern that made Xoey dizzy trying to keep up with which bridge went where. The path seemed to be the main area of traffic as it led directly down to a large circular base, and resting upon that base was a singular throne.

Xoey could hear a high-pitched giggle escape from Mal’s lips. Hiddle pointed in horror. “They are going to eat us.”

Decyl chewed on something thoughtfully. “They don’t eat humans, but I imagine you would be the exception.” He walked further down the steps, leading the group. Gaim took up the rear.
Nadine marveled at the sight. “It’s amazing.”

“It really is,” said Mal.

The dark stone walls loomed in all around them. Floating above were the little fairies that Xoey had seen on the Tinkerton ship. Except this time, they flew free. Gaim moved in beside Xoey. “The King of the schoomas is always the oldest and the wisest. His name is Wylar.”

They reached the platform. The throne was carved of the same wood that she had seen in the presence of Isena and Lir. Sitting in the redwood chair was an elderly schooma. Wylar’s dark circled eyes were consumed with wrinkles. He had bushy eyebrows, a tear in his left ear, and most of his fur on his tail was gone. Hiddle sucked in air and moved behind Xoey. With a long clawed paw, Wylar gestured Xoey forth. “Come here where I can see you better,” he said.

Xoey moved forward, and Wylar tilted his head. “You are the pirate who can see the Djinn.”

She nodded. “Aye.”

“Have you learned why Nix is stealing them?”

Xoey looked down, rather embarrassed.

Wylar rose from his throne. A much younger schooma clothed the King in a red robe. “Well, child, it is good you are here.”

He limped over to Xoey. “Some marvel over lagers that heal, while others focus on living life as it is meant to be.” When he moved in, she could smell sweet berries. His haggard features revealed that he was very old. As to how old, she couldn’t tell. “But Nix,” he paused. “Ah Nix. Did you know that he died?”