Page 40 of Ozma

Ozma focused on a dark charcoal ship and studied the side where letters were painted in a deep red, forming the words,The Wizard.

She rolled her eyes at the name, but she was almost sure it would be destined for Orkland.

“Let’s blend in, shall we?” she said, straightening.

He nodded and motioned her forward. “Follow me. I have an idea.”

As she remained alongside Jack, crossing the soft lavender-colored sand, several fae with horns sprouting from their heads carried baskets of jewels past them.

“Excuse me,” Jack called to a female draped in pink silk, her horns wrapped in matching ribbon. “Which ship is headed for Orkland?”

“Right there.” She pointed at the charcoal ship. “Perhaps you would care to join us on our boat instead? For a cost, I can take you to the Isle of Phreex where there will be endless pleasure.” Her tone came out silky as her gaze roamed over Jack in a flirtatious manner. Jealousy stormed through Ozma’s veins, and she drew her hands into tight fists.

Jack made a tsking sound. “Not today.”

“Your loss.” The female shrugged and sauntered, her hips swaying seductively, toward a golden boat.

“You weren’t tempted?” Ozma asked, turning to face Jack, fighting the clench of her teeth.

“Mmm. Having my spine ripped through my throat sounds really pleasurable to me.” He grinned. “How about you?”

Ozma’s eyes widened when she recalled the tale so long ago about the Isle of Phreex. The female fae who lived there would bring males back to tumble, which hypnotized their prey, causing the males to crave more and more pleasure, until they slowly went mad, chopping off pieces of their own selves to feed to the females.

“Let’s go,” she said and barely missed stumbling into a group of brownies headed towardThe Wizard.

Jack and Ozma stood at the pier and watched as fae carried empty glass vials in buckets onto the ship. Ozma followed them onto the deck, and Jack yanked her down behind a stack of wooden boxes, just as a tall male elf with red eyes, a shirt to match, and golden studs along his pointed ears, rounded a corner. The fae was tall and broad with golden skin and hair the darkest of blacks.

“This was all we could bring, Tik-Tok,” a brownie missing two fingers said.

He ripped the vials from the brownies’ hands before shooing them off the ship and slipping somewhere out of view.

“Now what?” Ozma asked.

“Below deck?” His answer sounded more like a question.

She cocked a brow, eyeing the obsidian door and its sapphire handle. “And what if someone’s there? Or what if it’s locked?”

“We’ll figure it out soon enough, won’t we, Blossom?”

Ozma puckered her lips, wondering if it would be better to just remain right where they were.

“Ah, I missed that look too,” he purred, tugging her toward the door.

She kept her feet feather-light beside him. Holding her breath, she drew open the door. A set of wooden stairs lay before her and a flowery scent hit her nose. No shuffling sounds came from below, so she quietly walked down the steps. Jack trailed closely at her heels after he closed the door behind them.

At the last step, Ozma breathed again while Jack searched the large space. The walls were lined with wooden barrels and crates of wine bottles cluttered the area. There were several open rooms without doors that held more crates, stacked high—these filled with faerie fruit and vials containing different colored liquids. Some sort of potions?

A scuffing of footsteps sounded from the other side of the door at the top of the stairs.

“Fuck,” Jack whispered, pointing her to one of the rooms as the door creaked open.

Ozma slipped inside and darted beside Jack into a corner behind the crates. She peered out a narrow crack between the crates as two fae entered the room. The male from before—Tik-Tok—and another female with short red hair. They each set down sacks of something.

“The Wizard keeps demanding more fruit, but don’t they have enough over there?” the female asked. Silver hoops pierced the entire edges of both her pointed ears.

“You would think. But the fiends’ cravings keep getting stronger.” Tik-Tok raked a gloved hand through his sleek black hair.

“I don’t see how fruit does anything to the fae,” the female said. “It should only affect the humans.”

---