Once Stolen by D. N. Bryn

Author:D. N. Bryn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: D. N. Bryn
Published: 2021-07-06T09:23:12+00:00

THIRTEEN

The Future is a Geode

A thief, a coward, a liar, and a hypocrite walk into a boat.

Only three of them walk out.

(You thought this was going to be a joke, didn’t you?)

THE SILT SWIRLS AROUND me. It settles once I do, the occasional coppery fish stirring up a fresh trail of it. I stare up at the shadows of three cartel vessels. One of their two small flat-bottomed fan boats sinks a little deeper into the water, a massive crocodilian tail hanging over its edge. The larger boat sits between them, its hull plunging halfway to the riverbed.

It possesses no fans or sails or motors, but a twistable device at its back harbors a massive blue ignit, all its wouldbe power directed out one side. The stone lies dormant now, taunting me with its faint glow. I sweep my tail in agitation, stirring up more of the loose bottom dirt and making a catfish dart away in confusion.

An ignit the size of this boat’s would be impractical to carry and all but impossible to remove from the boat. And we didn’t come for it. We came for the compass device in Rubem’s cabin, where there will likely be more ignits of many sizes and colors which I can take instead. I refuse to try anything Thais would call stupid bottom-dwelling hurricane behavior. No matter how the pulsing rock tempts me.

Near the back end of the large boat, a tiny amethyst hits the water. It sinks straight down. Relief rushes over me at the sight, both because I missed its presence against my collarbone and because it means Xera made it.

I snatch the stone before it hits the swamp bed and fit it back into my necklace. Following its path upward, I poke my head out of the water to find an open cabin window. Xera crouches within, so motionless they nearly fade into the background of the tiny room. I search for any dangerous vibrations, but I only sense the rattle of something dice-like across wood in the nearest small boat and soft rumbles of human speech after it. No warning signals from Thais or Fern.

I grip the window and pull myself into the boat, drawing my tail after me. It fills almost the entire bathroom space. Xera climbs onto some kind of toilet to avoid me.

“Quiet,” they sign.

They arch over my bundled tail and open the door, landing beyond it with such light feet I barely feel their leather shoes touching the deep-red wood flooring. I slide out after them into a much wider main cabin. We both go still, two trespassers on a new planet.

The red wood stretches everywhere—floor, walls, and ceiling—framing the double-wide windows on either side of the cabin and reappearing in the tables and counters and shelves. Maroon stones line the bottom of a giant fish tank mounted across the back wall where an assortment of Murk-dwelling fish swim, including one mighty green bass nearly as long as my torso. A caiman relaxes on a bundle of scarlet blankets in the far corner, but it scuffles beneath a stool when it notices us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.