Aster’s face pinches, and Reva glares at me like that was an offensive question to ask, but I ignore her. “What? He has to be a witch, right? It’s a fair question.”
It’s not that I don’t trust either of them... but I wouldn’t say Idotrust them either. They could have persuaded their way onboard, and we have no proof that this woman really is Kit’s mate, or that she knows him at all. And sure, Cap says he spoke to her via Kit’s scrying glass the other day, but who’s to say he remembers what she looked like. It’s not as if Finch is all that observant around people, especially when he’s been so distracted recently.
“The sorceress is the one who drew us all in,”Aster says, as Reva translates with a fierce scowl etched on her face.
Something twists in my chest at her expression, something a little too close to meenjoyingher looking at me like that. I shift in my seat, willing my cock to remain disinterested. But he’s a needy little fuck who loves any sort of attention, and he particularly loves being told off.
“She was good at persuading people. Being what people want to see and hear. By the time I realised she wasn’t what I thought, it was too late.”
“I wonder what Kit saw, then,” I reply thoughtfully. “A damsel in distress maybe, he seems to love those.”
That earns me a glare from both Torin and Aster, while Reva just snorts down at her lap.
Not the reaction I was hoping for, but oh well.
“I doubt he had a choice over coming with her,”Aster says. “If she had enough magic stored up, I think she could make anyone do anything.”
“Right. So it’s agreed,” Finch says. “Jack, you’ll contact your family first thing tomorrow. Tell them we’ll meet them in Mistlemarch in two days' time.”
I squeeze my eyes shut again and then give a single nod. Captain Finch doesn’t make many decrees of his crew, and even fewer with me or Tor. But with this, I can tell I’m not going to persuade him to take a different course of action.
And even with my brain being pickled right now, I have to admit Reva’s suggestion is a good one. We have no idea where Kit or this sorceress might be, so we need to try to find out who she is and speak to her ex-partners. There aren’t many people who hold a grudge like sorcerers. They’re also a bunch of nasty gossips, obsessed with family lines.
I should know, I used to be one of them.
So, I’ll suck up my reservations and give my dear old mum a call on the scrying glass tomorrow. And then we can head back to Mistlemarch, my hometown, to mingle with the snakes.
I stumble out the door on dead feet. If I need to speak to my mother, I’m going to need a cold wash and a vat of coffee.
What’s that phrase? Oh yeah, out of the fireplace, into the... pit of vipers.
Chapter 20
Reva
The next couple of days seem to pass interminably slowly. I’m a bundle of nerves and find myself drifting around the ship. I alternate between getting shouted at by Cookie when I try to help with making dinner, throwing myself into sweeping seawater from the deck, and avoiding thinking about what might be happening to Kit right now.
I even kill a bit of time in the med bay, where it turns out the crotch rot I was told about the other day isn’t actually a joke.
It’s an epidemic.
I guess that there have to be some ill effects of the crew being stuck together for so long without any outlets other than targeting random ships to attack.
Thankfully, Aster surprises everyone by heading into the storage rooms at the lowest level of the ship and spends most of the day whipping up a remedy that we then dole out. It helps to kill a good portion of time, and also means Aster’s too distracted to constantly shoot concerned looks my way.
There was also this moment when a couple of the crew came back after slathering their nether regions with Aster’s remedy. They were crowing about how good it felt and slapping Aster on the back, thanking him for saving their rotted cocks. And Aster’s face lit up, he looked so damn shyly proud of himself my insides just about twisted themself into a damn heart shape.
Still, I’m distracted and in a weird mood for the whole time, wanting to gnaw my fingers down to nubs. It doesn’t help that Aster’s magic still hasn’t replenished itself and my link with Kit seems to be growing fainter by the day. I can still feel his heartbeat whenever I focus really hard, but it seems to be quieter—although no less strong. After so many days of being battered around by events beyond my control, I’m clinging to the proof in my chest that Kit’s somewhere out there and the hope that we’ll find him soon.
Three days after our visit to the Dry Dock, the four of us leave the ship again. We leave the crew in high spirits and I have a feeling that once we get back, Aster might need to whip up another batch of the crotch rot remedy.
We port in this little nothing town in the middle of nowhere, where we discover we’ve grossly miscalculated how remote it is. There are no train lines or transport links into the city, and unless Torin fancies rowing us another twenty miles, we don’t have many options of how to travel the final part of our journey.
After an hour of trudging around the little town, we manage to find a farmer who’s travelling to the city ready for the Monday market. With enough coins in his pocket to make it worth his while, he agrees to let us scrounge a lift with him.
It’s a slow ride from there. The roads are uneven, and the farmer’s horses need a long rest, thanks to the extra cargo. Aster and I wind up sprawled in the wagon with all the sacks of grain and vegetables and the farmer’s dog while Torin sits up front. Meanwhile, Jack flies overhead, stopping every so often to perch on the wagon to rest his wings.
I don’t know exactly what we’re heading into, or why Jack seems so reluctant to make this journey, and I don’t get a chance to ask considering he doesn’t shift forms all day.
