Dropping to the cot, Wendy laid on her back and folded her hands across her stomach. “What is the first step?”
Night had fallen fully by this point. Her mildly rocking lantern created hypnotic shadows.
“I suppose the first step is getting off this ship,” she murmured.
Each blink lasted longer than the last.
“I should be able to walk across the gangplank when we make port tomorrow.” But since Hook seemed to exist purely to make her life more difficult, Wendy knew she had more planning to do. She barely remembered to tend to the lantern before falling asleep plotting alternate methods of egress.
*****
The next morning, Wendy slept in. Breakfast had surely come and gone. That wasn’t part of her plan, and it set the tone in a bad way.
Leq still hadn’t returned, and Disa was off doing who-knew-what instead of helping her. It wasn’t like any other sheeries were on board, so she knew he wasn’t hanging with his buddies ortrying to court a female.
The two buckets of dirty water had disappeared that first night. Wendy was dying for more water to remove the salty stickiness that clung to her person. No way was she going to ask thatpiratefor anything, though. She settled for combing out her hair with great thoroughness. Then she painstakingly braided her hair without a mirror, twisting the sleep-flattened waves into a partial crown that should keep most of it contained.
When she was finally ready, she emerged from the dark hallway, only to be welcomed on deck by a sun-induced headache. Squinting against the glare, she stalked toward what she was beginning to think of asherspot. From there, she could keep an eye on the gangplank whenever they made port.
An unfortunately situated seagull flew off with an indignant squawk when she flapped her arm at it. Checking the space for droppings, Wendy flomped into her seat and crossed her arms. Looking forward, she could see a dark line on the horizon. The sails were full, and it seemed that Maaka’s prediction of a noon arrival might be accurate.
“But how would I know? I’m not a sailor,” she groused.
As the late-morning sun crept toward its zenith, the smudge of land became clearer and clearer. A smaller port than Malu, Buala still boasted a good handful of ships along the piers. Wendy’s hopes grew at the sight. Someone there must be able (and willing!) to help her.
The closer theJolly Rogerdrew toward shore, the more activity she observed from the crew. Instructions were good-naturedly shouted back and forth as they prepared to unload the few passengers. She caught sight of Rahma and her family doing their best to stay out of the way. Adli squirmed in his father’s arms, alternating between pointing at everything and trying to get down.
Seeing an opportunity, Wendy slapped on a pleasant expression and casually wandered over to the family. Adli unknowingly played into her hand by launching himself at her when she drew near.
“Hello, Adli. Would you like another story?”
The boy’s enthusiastic “Yes!” garnered a smile from both his parents. Rahma mouthed a thank-you as Wendy began a tale involving toads and diamonds.
With his hands free, Adli’s father stepped in to help the crew finish the last-minute tasks. Before Wendy’s story had fully reached the moral, the ship had dropped anchor and the gangplank was moved into position. Over Maaka’s shoulder, she saw Hook narrowing his eyes at her. Pretending not to notice, Wendy meandered a little farther away as she concluded the story.
“Kitty!” Adli strained over Wendy’s shoulder.
A soft tail bumped against her heels. “Yes, that’s a kitty,” Wendy said. She twisted to address the cat. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to create a distraction, would you?”
A large, fang-filled yawn answered her.
“I thought not.”
By now, it was time to disembark. Hook went first to talk to the port official who was walking toward them on the pier. Wendy stuck close to Rahma, keeping the woman between herself and Hook. She planned to walk with the family as far as they would let her. If no one from theJolly Rogerprotested, she would keep walking to the naval police station. If the alarm was raised, she was confident she could lose the crew in the tiny alleys that always riddled this sort of place.
A small delay caused by some confusion over which parcels were staying and which had been gifted to the family had her dancing in place. She tried to play it off as a game to entertain Adli. When the way was finally clear, she took her first step toward freedom. The toddler was promptly removed from her arms and handed to his father.
She gasped, then looked up to find Hook at her side. Somehow, she had lost track of him. As soon as he turned his head to answer a question from one of his crew, she tried to slip down the gangplank anyway. Her attempt at sidling ended when the cat appeared under her feet and Wendy landed on her rear.
“Why, thank you, Mirai,” Hook said to the fiend twining around his ankles. “As intelligent as you are beautiful.”
“Traitor,” Wendy hissed.
Hook then reached down in a move that probably looked kind from afar and hoisted her up. Once her feet were under her again, Wendy darted toward the pier. Her forward momentum was stopped with a jolt. At her back, she could feel the coldmetal of his hook holding onto the ribbon that adjusted the waistline of the dress. Before she could think her way out, he turned his arm—which twisted the fabric tighter and ensured she couldn’t leave—then pulled her close to his side.
On the pier, Rahma turned back to wave goodbye. Seeing what no doubt looked like an embrace from her perspective, she winked at Wendy. Moments later, Rahma’s family was on their way and the crew of theJolly Rogerhad reversed all their landing preparations. Only when the shore was out of reach did Hook release her.
Wendy planted her hand on his chest and shoved. He didn’t budge, so she stepped back, pretending that had been her purpose all along. “What is your problem?! You don’t want me here, so why won’t you let me leave?”
