Page 60 of Take No Prisoners
Efren finally calmed his mind by reading several chapters of a sea adventure tale. When his eyes blurred, he tapped the enchanted light globes to turn them off. Then, he made his way upstairs in the glow of the two globes on his dresser. Niall either hadn't bothered to turn them off or didn't know how. Efren couldn't imagine living without his enchantments, but Embertide's commoners had been forced to go without since Coryn had begun her vendetta against weavers after Emperor Hesse's death. Aquarion was lucky to have Allora to make their light globes, airtight trunks, and fire sticks. In return, she wanted to be left alone, claiming she needed space and time to craft each tool after she'd stored the necessary weaves. She was the island's only enchanter, and they left her to it.
Niall lay on his side facing Efren's side of the bed, his arms wrapped around his pillow. Efren was once again awed by how young he looked while he slept, without the play of emotions across his face.
As he dressed for bed, Efren thought over their day. Niall had been full of joy and excitement that morning and had been glad to see him at lunch. He'd even been welcoming at the end of the day. Something had changed before sunset, though. Was it something Efren had said? Or was Niall having trouble with his magic or some other aspect of island living? Efren wished he knew what it was, so he could undo it and return some of Niall's joy.
The next morning started as joyfully as the one before, with kissing and groping in bed. Instead of blow jobs, Niall coaxed Efren to bathe in the surf and they washed away the evidence of their mutual release. Then, they dried themselves off and dressed in their new clothes.
Still, Efren sensed something was off. Niall's smile didn't reach his eyes, and his demeanor changed whenever he thought Efren wasn't looking.
"Do you like it here?" Efren asked as they walked the dirt path to Petri's food stand.
"Yes."
"What do you like?"
"The weather's milder than Landale's." This time, Niall's grin rivaled the sun.
"And the people?" Efren was fishing for compliments, but he didn't care.
"Everyone is so kind." Niall sounded sincere.
"Even me?" Efren was nothing if not shameless.
"Especially you." Niall's dark cloud reappeared. Something about Efren's kindness was the cause of Niall's unhappiness.
Efren didn't know where to begin to address the issue, even when they'd reached the food stand. Petri handed them bowls of porridge topped with fresh fruit, and there was no time to talk between bites. Beatrice arrived before they'd finished, and then she whisked Niall away to the training grounds without another word.
Efren had no time to worry about Niall as his morning progressed. They had to prepareStarlight Specterfor another fast sail to the Equis Islands. Stan careened the ship with an earth weave and Efren covered her keel with a water weave that filled all her crevices and locked out the rest of the ocean. Then, they made sure the sails were unfurled, and the borrowed wind weavers had food and water at their makeshift stations.
Only the sound of Stan's growling stomach pushed Efren to look at his pocket watch. It was almost noon.
"Is she seaworthy?" Efren asked.
"As good as she's going to get." Stan pointed to the gangplank, where Elder Beatrice led Klaus, Tovey, and Codger Tim aboard while the five remaining air weavers from Vadim's old crew waited below.
From the large basket secured over his arm, Codger Tim handed out sandwiches and fruit for each of them. Efren took a mango and a chicken salad sandwich, and then he made sure each of his crew had a barrel of fresh water on hand while they worked.
Then, they were ready to set sail.
Klaus and Beatrice stood at the prow. Thankfully, Efren avoided the shoal he'd almost hit before with ease, even though it flew past twice as quickly. They arrived at the Equis Islands by mid-afternoon, in half the time it had taken before.
He grabbed the nearest wind weaver as the ship began to slow without their wind in her sails.
"Why did you hold back on the way here?"
"Your crew needed their sleep, captain," he said, "and we don't know the way as well as they do. We almost rammed a sand bar as it was. Slower was safer at night. Now, with Tovey in charge and all of us working together, we're faster."
"We appreciate it," Beatrice said as she joined him by the wheel. "If any of you want to join the fight against Coryn, we would appreciate the help."
"Sorry, Elder." He gave a slight bob of his head, and his mop of unruly curls bounced into his eyes. "We're mostly cowards, though Milton's young and aching for adventure. This was his first voyage. What a time to get captured by pirates, aye?"
"Aye." Efren caught the gaze of the young man in question as he took a swig of water. He was slight and wiry, with a serious demeanor. He reminded Efren of Tovey when he was that age.
Efren would ask the young man if he was interested in sailing with pirates later. Now, he felt Beatrice's absence at his side. He turned just in time to see her dive off the prow of his ship into the crystal-clear water.
"What the fuck is she doing?"
"I don't know," Klaus said. "She cut off mid-sentence just as I was about to tell her I could feel the anomaly." He frowned. "Then, I couldn't feel it anymore."
