Chương 78: An Emergency
They rested on the sand of the cove for a while, thoroughly exhausted.
The corna was waiting for them, useless in the barrels without anyone to chew on it. Serenica suggested improving the condition of the crew by dispensing some of it.
The repairs would have to be completed after they could come into the actual harbor.
Serenica didn't partake in the corna feast. Instead, she sought the company of her most trusted people and opened a bottle of rum that had been saved just for her.
It was sweet of the other pirates to think about her like that.
She fell asleep on the sand, without her obsidian, eager to meet the object of her affections again.
"You're in danger," the Dreamer said.
They were walking towards the hills, in Neul, and Serenica felt strangely tired, even though she was asleep.
"You're in danger, you hear me?" the prince repeated. "She will not be as tired as you wish her to be. She's got other means to stay awake. I'm afraid for your safety."
Serenica stopped. "That's nice of you. What do you reckon we should do? We counted on her being too out of it to function once we get there."
"Don't get me wrong," the Dreamer said. "The corna thing mattered, but it won't be nearly enough."
"Then what would be enough?" Serenica asked, staring at that handsome, bony face.
His eyes were full of thunder. He lifted a hand to reach out for Serenica's hair.
She closed her eyes for a while, feeling him untangle her mane gently.
"If you can poison her, she will never see that one coming," the prince said finally.
"I doubt I can do that," Serenica replied. She opened her eyes.
"Then you have to beat her up," the Dreamer said, shrugging, but obviously uneasy about the subject.
"Aye," Serenica said. "We will."
"Last time I was not in control of myself." The prince shuddered. "I almost doomed you to yearn for a being like myself. No. You're far too good. Far too pure for that."
"What makes you think so?" Serenica withdrew from his touch. "These hands of mine, they have killed."
"They must kill again before this is done, and I don't want to be around to disturb that process," the Dreamer replied.
All of a sudden they were in front of the manor, the one place Serenica truly dreaded.
"Look!" The prince pointed at the biggest window.
Two huge, muscular men were stretching in front of the open window. They were both taller than Spade, taller than the Admiral, even, and their frightening forms left no room for imagination. These men could crush skulls.
"Those are her personal guards. If you want to know more, I can't show you, it would be too dangerous," the Dreamer said.
At that very moment a gull screamed in the real world, yanking Serenica awake.
She found Spade chewing on an opulent amount of corna nearby.
"The Dreamer thinks Kinley is still dangerous without corna," she explained to the captain.
"Well, that much is obvious," he said. "We just have to hope we're even worse than her, you know? I got a lot of nasty hexes up my sleeve. And my boys, they make a living killing people. I wouldn't be so worried."
"Her personal guards are huge," Serenica said. "They will take manpower."
"Then it's good that we found Theod's men. Be calm, my friend. We will find a way to take her life. After that, the city watch and her guards will not be a concern anymore."
As she was chatting with Spade and Myorka, one of the Johns came.
"Heike's having a seizure again!"
Serenica cursed herself for letting the drunkard have any corna at all. Of course stimulants were bad for someone prone to seizures. Heike was now in danger. He couldn't be expected to keep himself under control.
They made their way to the Princess. Heike was in the hold, twitching again gruesomely, vomit spurting from his mouth.
Serenica tried her best to make sure that he wouldn't choke, shielding his head with her coat. She still felt bad. It was impossible to avoid guilt, with the old sailor in the throes of the seizure. It was brutal. It was ugly. It was so shameful that even though Heike himself would have only laughed about it, Serenica covered her face, as if it would have made the situation any better. It didn't help to pity the man, Serenica knew that, but in his future, a good old moral sermon would be in order. He had been outrageously selfish, sacrificing himself, an important piece in a functional whole.
Serenica waited in vigilance and worry until the seizure ended and gave way to blissful sleep. She didn't know if people had dreams after such medical emergencies. She hoped the drunkard would have nightmares.
She knew Heike would demand a hair of the dog after waking up if he lived to complain about his condition. She left him a flask full of cough syrup that tasted terrible and went back ashore.
They could always call for her help later. She just wanted to relax for a while.
They lounged on the shore for quite some time, and Serenica felt herself growing sick of leisurely activities. As they were no longer aboard the Princess, gambling was permitted, and she lost a few games and won a few. Rum was staining everyone's shirt before long. There was a sickly atmosphere of idleness that felt sticky and made everything harder.
Finally the captain announced that enough days had passed. They would attack Kinley as she was most likely sleeping, pushing through the guards in the middle of the day when no one would expect them.
"When do I come?" Serenica asked.
"You don't. Didn't you say you preferred to stay in the Blue Girl? Have fun. Get the innocent bystanders drunk enough that they can't intervene."
They entered the subtropical jungle just as it started to rain. The birds were screaming. The fertile trees and bushes allowed fast and tasty snacks to those who knew which ones were poisonous.
Serenica kept thinking about poison and Kinley. There could be something to be done about that, but she didn't know how.
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