Page 13 of These Eternal Bones
The man laughs, the bold sound only attracting more attention to us. He carries on like that for mere seconds, but they seem to drag on for a lifetime until the sound dies abruptly, his scruffy face paling as he looks behind me. “Lord Onogahara.”
My entire body trembles as he all but flings himself away. I glance behind me, knowing who I’ll find here, but nothing…nothingcould’ve prepared me for the changes in him. His eyes are swallowed entirely in black, so much so, it seems to bleed from his irises onto his skin. The dark veining on his neck lengthened, curling upward toward his lips like networked serpents. “Syringa, come.”
His voice worms into my chest, making my heart shudder as I turn away from him. It’s hard, harder than it should be, like ripping off a bandage. “I need passage. I can work.” Shame fills my gut, making it churn as I take a step closer to the man. My hand falls limp between us as I reach for his chest, only for him to take another step back. “I…” My words feel like glass in my throat. “If it is not coin you require, I am good for other means of pay–”
My words cut off abruptly as I’m jerked back, hauled against Elric’s chest with jarring violence. “Leave. Now.”
“I-Lord Onogahara, we haven’t finished stocking for this trip.” The man urges.
“You will fare better at the mercy of the ocean than mine.”
My blood heats where it should chill, his spice and cedar cloying around me as I’m hurled back toward the main road like nothing more than a leaf on the wind. His words lay credence to his earlier vow. Although his intentions might be good, he’s dragging me to the exact place I need to be away from.
“I can’t be here!” I hiss under my breath, minding the growing sets of eyes on us. “I need to go, now!”
His eyes slam down to mine, soaking up my panic with deep pools of ink before his head snaps to the side as if he’s hearing something I can’t. No amount of wrenching frees me from his grasp, like my plight is no more substantial than a gnat as I upset my hood. The townspeople suddenly avert their eyes as I struggle in his grasp, making their stance on helping clear.
“Told you I seen her! Captain!”
“Oh god.” I whimper, where my hands were struggling, pulling and slapping seconds ago, I cling, pressing myself deeper into his chest. My eyes turn to his, pleading, for what? I’m not sure. His annoyed stoic expression shifts, again robbing what little air I have in my lungs beforethe sound of boots on the wooden pier breaks the electrified tension. I can feel something moving behind my back, long and serpentine. It seems to writhe and vibrate in barely concealed anger. The thought should terrify me, but not more than the Captain. The idea of being on that boat…I know this time I will not fare as well as the first.
“Molly.” His lips tickle my ear, a rough breath leaving me as I feel the prick of something sharp, something drips, heating and tingling my skin. “What does this man want with you?”
“I-I need passage on a boat, anything, Lord–”I cut off my butchered attempt at his last name. “Please.” My stomach churns as Captain Faine stomps closer, his ruddy face red and assured.
Elric’s arms flex around me. “When you said you were hiding in the cottage, is he why?” I gasp as he tugs me deeper into him. So deep it almost hurts. “His scent is familiar to me. I smelled him on you that first night. Tell me, Molly, did you offer him your–”
“Better to offer than for it to be taken!” I hiss. “Release me now!” The moment those words leave my mouth, I realize I didn’t mean them. That I would rather be gripped in this monster's arms than stand alone in front of the captain. Something deep and guttural bubbles in his chest, a growl that makes my stomach flip as it rumbles against my flesh, but he obeys. Much to my relief, he doesn’t go far, keeping close, so much so that a simple shift would have my back brushing his broad chest. By the time the enraged captain reaches us, his sour breath wars with spice and cedar and makes me wonder how I’d ever stomached it. “This woman is my ward! She’s a stowaway on my boat, and I have half a mind to return her to where I found her. Did you think I would just sail away without the coin you promised me!?”
“I-I don’t–” I shudder, frustration building in my chest.
“She is no longer your concern.”
The captain's head snaps up, taking in the man at my back for the first time. That alone seems to lessen the color in his ruddy cheeks and some of his bravado. “Found another cock to keep you, eh? She owes me a fucking debt.”
Elric ignores him, but I can feel the anger rolling off him like it’s a physical thing as he leans in, whispering to me again, “Shall I kill him for you, little human?”
My pulse hiccups, his lips brushing my ear, sending goosebumps over my flesh.
You will come to no harm when I’m near.
Perhaps it’s the naivety of spending my whole life locked away in the desert, or my desperation, but I believe him. His earlier vow ringing in my ears, even so, what makes my belly tighten is my hesitation.
Do I want the captain dead?
Yes, yes, I do.
“The hell is wrong with the freaky people in this damned town! I AM OWED A DEBT!”
“Your word, Molly…” he urges, “it would be nothing, truly.”
“No.” I breathe out, forcing the word from my throat.
“You’re lying, syringa.”
Faine’s face pales, his hand slapping to his chest as he grows unsteady on his feet.
Elric straightens, brushing even closer to me. “She is under my employ now. Any debts she incurred are mine. Name your price.”
