Adventures of Captain Xdey (3 page)

Nadine arched a thin brow. “Who is Decyl? There is no route from No Man’s Land to the city.”

The Elder responded, “You cannot miss Decyl. It is unwise to take the train for it is heavily occupied by guards. If your parents were taken by Nix, he likely suspects Xoey’s presence as he knows of the foretold future—his downfall by a white-haired child.”

Xoey sighed. “I’m just a pirate. No need to get them in trouble.”

Mal patted her shoulder. “Already involved, and we need to get to the city anyhow.”

Behind them, they could hear fighting—the sound wood makes when it meets metal. Isena did not appear to be surprised. She handed Mal a hanging lantern. “Go now.”

The three ran down the darkened path. The bitter sound of shots rang out far behind them. Nadine pointed to the driftwood bridge that did not appear safe by any standard. It creaked, groaned, and swayed in the slight wind. They huddled together, unsure as to who would be the fool to venture first. Xoey furrowed her brows. “I’m the smallest, so I’ll go first.”

“Don’t look down,” Mal added. Xoey white-knuckled the coarse rope, and took one step, hoping to anyone that could read her fear that she would not fall to the great below. Beneath her, the wood creaked as she put her weight on it. She let out a sharp exhale as she took a step…and another.

Mal stared wide-eyed as the pirate crossed to the other side. “Ladies first,” he told his sister. Nadine crossed over without incident, and so it was his turn. He took a deep breath, kept his chin parallel with the ground, avoiding the temptation to look down, and started across. The girls waved him over.

From behind Mal, a voice chattered. “You’re not going to stick around all night, are ya?”

An orange creature walked on his hind legs. Mal recognized him to be one of the infamous Under City gnomes, known the land over for their superior skill in crafting the finest weapons. He stood at about three feet tall, had large black eyes that merged with the pupil, long thin ears, reddish-orange fur, and a small thin mustache under a slender snout. The gnome twisted his mustache for emphasis as he walked past the boy. “The name is Decyl. The key is to keep moving. Wouldn’t want the lot of them behind us to catch up, now would we?”

Xoey had never seen a gnome before. There was something irresistibly cute about the creature, and as much as she wanted to pet Decyl, she wasn’t sure how many teeth he had. Across his shoulders were holsters that held two guns and strapped to his back was a rather long copper rifle.

Decyl rubbed his pot-belly. “We’ll head past the second wall.” Yorego had a second wall that joined the peninsula together. Once they crossed over the wall, there was a military port along the eastern seaport. To the north was No Man’s Land. To the west was the ocean channel. He continued, “Then sneak into the underwater transport.”

Nadine crossed her arms across her chest. “I have never heard of an underwater transport, and likely it does not exist. Besides, Gnomes do not like to swim.”

“Won’t be swimming,” Decyl added.

“An underwater transport, like a submarine?” Mal inquired.

Decyl shook his head. “Much more complex than a steel death trap.” He offered his hand to Xoey and pulled her along as the two siblings lingered behind. “Might want to put your hat back on.”

She had forgotten it was in her hand, and quickly placed it back on her head.

“Couple of things you should know,” he continued as they walked through the dense brush. “Piracy is forbidden by the laws of Nix. Seems as though your friends, the pirates that is, discovered some illegal tampering Nix was doing to our sources of energy.” Xoey didn’t quite understand. He likely sensed her apprehension and explained, “Coal makes steam, and steam gives a source of energy to the city, weapons, and anything that isn’t covered in flesh…or fur.” He paused to ensure she understood. After she nodded, Decyl carried on. “Like so…” He unholstered the rifle. Upon closer inspection, she could see knobs on the sides—one for power and the other for range. His triangle nose twitched in, what appeared to be, anticipation. He gripped the gun, turned the knobs, and fired the shot. A thin rod, attached to a chain, blasted out of the barrel. The rod wedged into a thick tree. Decyl handed the rifle over to Xoey. “Now try to pull it out.”

She huffed and puffed trying to pull the rod out of the tree, but it did not budge. With a clawed finger, he pushed a small button under the grip, and the chain coiled back in. When the sap-covered rod slid out, Decyl took the time to show her that the rod was, in fact, hinged. So that when it pierced an object, the tip of the rod split into an arrow, and then straightened out. Xoey wanted to cover her insides as it did not seem like a pleasant way to be hit.

“Not to worry,” Decyl added. “We have cures for such injuries.” He placed a finger to his toothy grin.

Nadine piped up, “It’s called Ichen Lager, a rare find as the Ichenberries only grow in Giant’s Pass, to the North West, far in the snowy hilltops. Some believe,” she pointed to Decyl, “that the lager can be replicated, and thus fake Ichen Lager is often found in Old Town. The results aren’t as potent.”

Mal chuckled. “Yeah, Mrs. Chimer hasn’t been the same since her jumper boots powered down half way through the jump.”

“Jumper boots?” Xoey asked

Mal grew wide-eyed. “Oh yeah, I forgot you weren’t from around here. You’ll see.”

They hunched down and ran along the red sand. Mal explained that it used to be white, but the cherry waves dyed the beach.

“How did the water turn red?” she inquired.

Mal gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Beats me. Some say the residents of Yorego sacrifice a Grun every new moon…others say it’s due to the sediment changing.” She was inclined to believe the latter. Nadine explained a Grun was a brown striped mammal that was used as a primary source of meat and leather. It ran on its hind legs and used its stubby arms to climb—thanks to the help of its claws. The Grun could blend in with tree bark and its antlers resembled tree branches.

Decyl’s ears perked up and forward, and he motioned for them to stop. Mal turned down the lantern’s glow. “Why do we have to be traveling in the dark?” he whispered in frustration.

“Run!” the gnome exclaimed.

Xoey ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The boots were a little loose around her ankles which caused her to stumble a few times. Decyl galloped past her on all fours. The soft glow of his weapons allowed her to keep pace behind him. She turned back to see Mal and Nadine on her heels, and behind them were two men clad in black from head to toe. They were the infamous Shinobi. How could she not have put two and two together? The Shinobi were hunters bred for one thing and one thing alone—to protect or destroy what the hierarchy declared to be fortunate or a traitor. At this moment, she wasn’t sure what they classified her as. They were adept at tumbling, sword mastery, and illusions—making them a bit out of her skill range.
Seconds passed, she stumbled and in the midst of the roll, she could see the Shinobi’s weapons flicker with red and something familiar in them caused her to stop. There was a harsh tug on her arm, followed by shouting. It could have been Nadine, Mal, or both. Flames shot out of their guns. Xoey covered her face. “No!” Three shots fired in return. Xoey peeked through her fingers. Nadine and Mal were screaming at her, trying to get a full look at her form to ensure she wasn’t wounded.

Xoey was focused more on the three fire entities hovering behind them. They must have shot out of the guns and stopped when she commanded. Their heads resembled a single flame with ember eyes that warped and flickered. They were a combination of two arms, two legs, and a long torso.

“She’s in shock,” Nadine announced.

Xoey brushed their wandering hands away from her body. “I’m fine. The fire stopped.” She gestured to the flames.

Nadine and Mal exchanged wary glances. “What fire? They shot bullets.”

Xoey stood beside the beings. She gave a wide gesture around them. “And this is?”

Mal gave a quizzical look. “Um…air?”

Xoey looked down to see the men mortally wounded. She turned back to see Decyl popping up from the brush, holding all of his weapons in three paws. Apparently, he could use his feet to shoot. He holstered the guns with a grin that was a little too happy to have pulled several triggers. Over his beady eyes was a pair of goggles. “You can see them without these?” He motioned an ear to the spectacles.

Mal shook his head. “I feel like I’m missing the punch line.” Decyl moved in beside Xoey. He handed over his goggles to Mal in the process. Mal put them on and gasped. “Oh cool! They have legs and arms…and faces!”

Nadine pulled the goggles off of her brother’s face and took a turn. “How is this possible?” she asked as she pulled them off, and on again.

“These are the fire Djinn, elemental spirits that dwell in No Man’s Land,” Decyl answered in a low tone. “We acquired the means to find them through the use of these goggles, but I’ve never met one who could see them—more importantly, talk to them—without the help of our technology.”

Xoey reached out toward them, but thought better of it. “Why were you in the Shinobi’s weapons?” She shook the gun out of the dead Shinobi’s hand to take a closer look. Confused by all the buttons, she handed it back to Decyl. Mal and Nadine crowded around it.

The Djinn narrowed their eyes, responding with a crackled voice. “Placed there.”

Nadine looked over at Decyl. “Do you have anything that allows us to hear them?”

The gnome shook his head. “I was lucky to acquire those,” he said, indicating the goggles.

Mal furrowed his brow. “You mean you didn’t make them?”

“Do they look like a weapon to you?”

Mal sighed. “I should have known better.”

Xoey tapped her nose in contemplation. “Who placed you there?”

“One like that.” They pointed to Mal. The Djinn stretched to where they touched the ground. “It stopped here.”

Xoey looked up, and presumed by the height, that it was an adult, and a male. She nodded.

A shot fired from the group’s testing grounds. She looked back to see Decyl flopping on the ground. It looked as though he had been electrocuted. Mal pulled his finger away from the second button. “Oops.” He grinned sheepishly.

“Dark orbs and a mechanical limb,” the Djinn chimed.

Xoey thanked them. “Will you be okay to get home, or should we help you?” They blinked down at her. “It will find us again.” Xoey started to ask what they meant, but they floated away.

Decyl had stopped flopping about, at least. Unfortunately, they had to help him up as he was nothing but a wiggling, drooling mass. His long tongue spilled out to the side of his mouth. “Angonnagepaebaeck ‘n ya…”

Nadine placed the gun in Decyl’s bag with an exasperated sigh. “How are we going to find the tunnel?”

Decyl tilted his head to motion a slight shift to the left. “Ova …ova …” Xoey picked up the lantern.

They walked along the dark coast. Nadine coaxed Decyl, and every so often turned his head so he could see. Mal stifled his chuckles upon seeing the gnome’s back paw claws scraping tracks into the sand. “Caen’t make it without rest.” Xoey was grateful as they set up camp.

It was early morning, and the thick clouds clumped overhead, allowing the sun to peek out once in a while. Xoey sat up from the clustered group. Mal’s feet were stretched across her legs. Nadine used Decyl’s back as a pillow, and Decyl was likely smothering Mal’s face. She carefully slipped away from the group, needing a moment to herself. Xoey slipped out of the boots, rolled up her pants, and waded into the red sea. She found herself missing the ship.