Traveler (28 page)

An angry sigh escaped her.  “Alex, why won’t it work?  What the hell am I doing wrong?”  She placed her hands on her hips, a low growl escaping her as she looked at him, and then abruptly she vanished.

***

The deck of the
Maiden’s Voyage
was tilting under the swell of the sea, making it nearly impossible for anyone without years of experience on the waves to walk on it with anything but a steady gait.  To Luc, though, it was a normal experience, and he walked it with the best of them.  With a laugh, he finished singing the sailing song the crew was bellowing before climbing down belowship to freshen up into something that didn’t smell like tar.  

Aislin popped into existence in this world right before Luc.  His eyes bugged out for a moment, his mouth flapping like a fish on a hook.  Her red hair was in her eyes, a slightly dazed expression on her face.  “Rogue...?” she whispered, unsteady on her feet.  “How...how did I get here?”

“You tell me, mermaid,” he commented, looking a little too long at how her clothing clung to her curves.  “You’re the one who popped into existence in front of me.”  

“Right,” Aislin mumbled, staggering forward a little.  “Can you help me g-” the phrase wasn’t destined to be finished as Aislin collapsed into a heap at his feet into a dead faint.

Luc swore, looking around quickly to see if anyone was looking before scooping her up in his arms.  He needed to get her out of sight.  Luc busted in his cabin door, laying her gently on the bed.  And now he needed to put her into more comfortable clothing.  He had an idea, one that would be a little easier to get her into than a dress.  He would just dress her in his clothes!  A satisfied smile on his face, Luc rummaged through his drawers to get his smallest pair of pants and a shirt to dress her.  

Sitting down next to Aislin on the bed, Luc hooked a finger in the waistband of her yoga pants, trying to slip those off first before he slipped the pants on.  He didn’t want to get her clothes dirty, after all.  At least that’s the excuse he gave himself.  In reality, Luc just wanted to see her.  He had been attracted to her since he had first pulled her from the ocean, naked as the day she was born.  And now that Ghost wasn’t here, he could properly introduce himself.

It was in that moment that a darkly clad Alex materialized within the small cabin, having used the silver pendant to track his wayward student.  Blue eyes darkened with rage when he caught sight of Rogue leaning over an unconscious Aislin.  With an angry growl, he leapt forward and tackled the man, slamming him into the ground.  “I should rip your balls off and make you eat them!”

Luc found himself tackled to the ground, losing his breath as he got slammed into the wooden planks.  “Wait,” he gasped.  “Wait...it’s not what it looks like!”  Luc tried to shove Ghost off of him, his own green eyes flinty.  “And my balls are just fine where they are, thank you!” he snapped.

“And what exactly should it have looked like?  Because it looked to me like you were trying to take her pants off.”  Strong fingers wrapped around his throat as Alex deliberately slammed him against the wooden floor again.  

Luc’s hands grabbed the assassin’s wrists as they began to tighten on his neck.  “Gods, man, let me go and tone down your anger!” he snapped.  “And why in the bloody hells should you care if I was?  She’s your student!  And, for the record, I was trying to put some more appropriate clothes on her than the outfit she was wearing!  She looks like a loose woman dressed like that!”  

“Why should I care?! You pathetic little bastard, you and your Captain already caused her a great deal of pain, just with the whole island fiasco!”  He glared angrily at him, not letting up on the pressure at all.  “Because of you two numbskulls, she had to play the part of a courtesan to a sadistic bastard...and why...all because neither of you were man enough to save the girl on your own.” Growling angrily at the mere memory of the bruises that covered her body, Alex suddenly slammed a fist into Luc’s face.

Luc felt the fist slam into his face and saw the stars a few hours early.  Gods, but that hurt.  “For Gods’ sake, man, let me up before you kill me!” He gasped, his face turning red with rage.  “We didn’t know what she was going to do!” He gasped.  “The Captain and I couldn’t do anything.  We would have forfeited the entire crew, all of those lives, if we had gone off-deck.  But, I think we’ve finally found the great Assassin’s weakness,” he laughed weakly.  “You feel much more for your student than you let on.”

“What is between my student and I is
our
business, not yours.  As for all those lives...if you were willing to sacrifice the Traveler for one girl, you should have been willing to do the same with all those lives.  But obviously the girl wasn’t as important to you as you pretended.”  Alex snapped coldly as he leapt to his feet, leaving Luc on the floor.  Grumbling angrily under his breath, he went over to check on Aislin.

Luc rolled to his side, coughing hard as he struggled to regain his breath.  “Dammit, Ghost, it was the Captain’s idea, not mine!  I didn’t even want to let Bird go in the first place!”  He rolled to his knees, head down and trying not to get too dizzy.  “She’s passed out cold,” he remarked.  “I don’t know why...she just showed up and passed out like that.”

“She ran out of energy...that’s all...she’ll be fine with some rest.” Alex commented idly, paying more attention to the unconscious girl than the pirate for the moment.  Gently he brushed the hair from her face, a sigh escaping him.  Then he glanced over at Luc, frowning slightly.  “Your Captain was an idiot...then again, he’s been that way for twenty-four years.  I suppose I shouldn’t expect him to change now.  I suggest that you keep this visit to yourself...no one else needs to know about her abilities.”

“Twenty-four years...you’ve known him that long?” Luc asked, an interested and narrowed look on his face.  “And who would we tell?  Silvertongue?” he asked, an amused look on his face.  “I’d tell that rat-bastard to go to hell before I told him anything about Traveler,” he said honestly.  “She is safe with us.  Even with everything that happened with Bird, she is safe here.  The Captain is somewhat paranoid, if you haven’t been able to tell.  His paranoia has kept him alive.  How...how long will she be out?” He asked, his face showing more concern than was really warranted.  

“It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.”  He commented quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Aislin.  “Not too long...it’s just a matter of magical exhaustion.”  Then he looked over at the other man, a serious look on his face.  “How far are you from land?”

Luc pondered for a moment,  running calculations in his head.  “Two days,” he said finally, glancing over at Alex.  “Give or take.  Why do you ask?”  He stood, crossing his arms across his chest.  “And who’s after the Captain?”  

Alex nodded slowly, observing the man for a moment.  “Before I answer your question, tell me something,
Luc
...how far would you go to protect your Captain?  Would you lay down your life for him?”

“In a heartbeat,” Luc answered without hesitation.  “Rahim and I have known each other since he started on this vessel.  We have been friends ever since, partners even.  And then he became captain of this ship...and asked me to be his first mate.  I have already risked my life for him, more times than I can count.”

“Well...to put it bluntly, your Captain is number one on Silvertongue’s hit list.  He has been lucky enough to hide from him this long.  But I have a feeling that things are going to get much more...dangerous, especially from the moment he chose to abduct his little bird.”

Luc’s eyes narrowed.  “She already knows him,”he murmured offhandedly.  “She mentioned having met him, I think.”  He shook his head.  “Then isn’t having her off ship the best place for her?  The safest place?  We need to protect them both...but I have no idea how.  You’re still keeping much from me, I think,” Luc said honestly, his eyes meeting Alex’s head on.  “Aren’t you, Ghost?”

“Truthfully...sending her off ship would do no good.  Silvertongue is just as interested in finding her as he is in killing Dragon, though his reasons for her are vastly different.  At this point, separating them just makes them both miserable...and it makes the girl more vulnerable.” He replied seriously.  “Yes...there are things that are being kept from you.  Dragon thinks he is protecting you by hiding certain facets of his past from you.  It just isn’t my place to tell you his secrets...not yet anyways.”

Luc snorted.  “Story of my life...” he muttered.  “I won’t say anything, I promise.  Now...take care of your Traveler...and if you hurt that girl, I will personally kill you.  She is far too valuable to be treated like an ordinary woman.”  He looked at Alex pointedly.  “If you know what I mean.”

Alex rolled his eyes in response, rising to his feet.  “Traveler will have ripped me to shreds by the time you ever got close to killing me, Rogue.”  Slipping his arms beneath Aislin, he lifted her up and cradled her close before glancing back towards Luc.  “Keep your guard up.  There is an ill wind blowing.”

Luc nodded and touched his forelock.  “You too, Ghost.  I’m sure we will see you and your wayward student soon.  Hopefully with less clothing this time,”  he joked with a wink, completely playing around.  “But seriously...I don’t know how this jumping thing works....but  you and she are both needed here, more than you know.”  He glanced at the sleeping girl in his arms.  “So don’t stay away too long.”

“We will be back when she has learned enough to be moderately safe without me following her every step.  And believe me...we know how much we’re needed.  We’ll be back as soon as it’s possible.” He replied quietly, nodding towards Luc before grasping the ever present tendrils of magic to carry the two of them back home.

***

Appearing within the living room of their house, Alex carefully carried his unconscious student back into his bedroom.  He settled down upon the bed and drew the blankets over her before leaning down to press a light kiss on her forehead.  He wasn’t too worried about her, well aware that she would awaken when she had rested enough.  Silently he left her to rest in bed, going into the living room to lounge on the couch.  Flexing his fingers, he pondered the day’s events, glad that she had managed to jump to the pirate ship despite the little scene with Luc.

Aislin slept silently, not even stirring for another hour or so.  She had been more exhausted than she had been willing to admit.  Groggily, she opened her eyes, waking up in Alex’s bed, confused.  “Alex...?” she asked from the bedroom.  “Alex?!” she asked, in a growing panic.  She had been awake, last time she knew.  And on the pirate ship.  What in the hell had just happened?  And why did her head hurt so badly?

The sound of her calling him drew Alex from his thoughts and plans.  Rising to his feet, he walked into the bedroom, taking a seat on the side of the bed.  He gave her a reassuring smile, touching her hand gently.  “Yes, Aislin...is something wrong?”

“How did I get here?” she asked softly.  “Why am I in your bed?”  Confusion clouded her green eyes.  “Why...why does my head hurt?”  Her legs drawn up, she put her head between her knees, her hands pressed against her temples.

“I came and found you...as promised...and brought you home.” He replied softly, just watching her.  “Your head hurts because you used far too much power at once...that combined with not eating enough made you faint.”  Alex leaned close and kissed her forehead lightly before standing.  “Lie down and rest.  I’ll bring you something for your head.”

She groaned and threw herself back on the bed, laying against the pillows.  “This sucks,” she mumbled.  “So many more rules I had no idea about,” she whined.  “When will there be no more rules?” she asked, a little louder.  “And I eat plenty!  You are just trying to make me fat!”

“Now you’re just being childish, Aislin.  As much energy as you’re using, you need to take in more calories...not diet.”  He called out to her from the kitchen.  Grabbing a bottle of pills and a glass of water, he returned to the room.  “Just because you use your mind for it, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t tax your body as well.”

“And if I want to look like this into my twenties, and not like some fat blob, I can’t take in more calories!” she yelled back, sullen.  “I’ll tax your body as well,” she grumbled.  She had a bad feeling that this was going to land her back in bed for a while whether she wanted to or not.  Well, maybe she could get some reading done then...right?

“You, my dear vixen, are entirely too stubborn.  Here...take this and get some rest.”  He handed her two pills and the glass of water.  “I’m sure that you’ll figure out that I’m telling you the truth eventually.”

She glared at him over the top of the glass of water and muttered something about stubborn men.  She took the two pills and went to sit up and make herself more comfortable when she winced.  “Ouch,” she yelped.  “What the hell...?”  she reached behind her, under the pillows, and pulled out the thing that had been stabbing her, literally, in the back.  The book popped out, into her hands, the one that she wasn’t supposed to read.  “How did this get here?”  

Alex blinked in surprise, frowning slightly.  “I don’t know.  It was locked away in the basement when we got up this morning.  Perhaps it missed you...or perhaps it has something for you to read.  Or perhaps it thought you were wishing for it to magically appear.”  The last part was more of a playful tease.

“Even if you tell me not to?” Aislin asked, sticking her tongue out.  “Mr, ‘You are not allowed to read from this book’ Bookman?” She caressed the book’s cover, looking at him with amused eyes.  “Isn’t that right?  Or have you changed your mind?”

“Well, I could take it back from you right now, if that’s what you really wish...” He smiled lightly, crossing his arms over his chest.  “But...I think it’s safe for you to look at it.  You can’t accidentally slip through the gateway in here.”

Aislin nodded.  “I’m guessing...you have things you need to do?” she asked, a little disappointed that she probably already knew the answer.  “I’ll just have to...find a way to amuse myself until then.”  Lin propped the book on her knee, opening it to one of the pages in the beginning.  
The capital of Avaldiir was massive, a maze of turrets and aisles, flags and colors.  
Aislin felt...funny.  “Alex...something’s happening,” she muttered.
                The man frowned slightly, moving over to her side.  “What is happening, Aislin?  What does it feel like?”