“The boss is expecting a bunch of wizards.Not another child.I told you we should have waited,” a female pirate with hair dyed the color of a belladonna flower said.
Yes, that would have been smart, Jin agreed silently.
“Our informant said they’d be there,” their leader snapped.
“Obviously, they were wrong,” the woman yelled.
Very wrong.
“What do we do now?”
The pirates all looked at each other.
Jin found it amusing that members of a bloodthirsty organization such as Belladonna were so bumbling and inept.
Most of them anyway, Jin thought, his gaze drifting to the man seated on the pallet across from him.
The flame haired man who’d given Kira her black eye stood out among all these others.A diamond mixed in with a bunch of pebbles.
He played with his knife.His expression bored as he listened.
Abruptly, he pocketed his knife and rose.“We hand him over to the powers that be.”
Flame walked over to grab Jin’s chin.As rough as it looked to others, his grip was unexpectedly gentle as he turned Jin’s face to the side to expose the pointed tips of his ears.
Someone cursed.
“A wizard.”
“Ah, man.Another one?”
“Paul is still laid up from what the last brat did to him.”
Flame’s gaze was inscrutable as he let Jin go.“I’ve only been part of this operation for a few weeks but even I know how much a wizard fetches on the black market.And that’s for an adult.I can’t imagine how much more you could make with a child.”
Yes, that was Jin.A pure, innocent, defenseless child.Ripe for the auctioning.
He shivered just thinking of all the fun he could have destroying whatever poor sap bought him.Maybe he could get himself resold a couple of times.
Organizations like this couldn’t operate if there was no market for them.A few dozen dead bodies and that should teach people a lesson.
“He’s right,” Purple Hair said.“They’ll want the child.It should be enough to save our asses.We can worry about the woman and her friends later.”
They kept referring to Kira as “the woman”.Not “the Phoenix” or “the Reaper” as most did once they learned who she was.There was also a distinct lack of concern when they spoke of capturing her.No pirate in this sector worth their salt would be so sanguine about going up against her.Not after what they did to Red Hand and Drake.
It was almost like they didn’t know who she was.
Flame recognized her after their fight though.Did he not tell his friends?But why would he do that?
The questions made Jin’s brain itch with the need for answers.
Gator rapped on the cargo bay hatch.“The pilot says we’ve entered the debris field.We’ll be there soon.”
The leader dismissed the group.“We can deal with this later.”
When Flame would have followed the others out of the bay, Gator stopped him with a hand on his chest.“Not you.You stay here.”
Oh ho.What was this?Trouble in paradise?
