Chapter 13 #2
My mouth rounded. “No. Just thinking, what if the bad dude sends something meant to take out Misha so the pernicae can get to me?”
“You know, I hate to admit, but that is a valid concern. I’ll see if I can get Misha to reveal any clues.”
“Or we could straight out ask him where we’re going.”
“I’ve tried that. He refuses to say.”
It surprised to discover Cedric had already been making the attempt. “And what’s his reasoning?”
“That the enclave location is a secret that cannot be divulged.”
“Do you think he’s lying?”
The cat rolled his furry shoulders. “Hard to tell. The man has an excellent poker face.”
Indeed, he did. Stony. Square-jawed. Serious. Intent. Up until our sightseeing time together, he’d been utterly inscrutable unless he was insulting or ordering me around.
I lay on the bunk staring at the ceiling as the ferry unmoored and began to chug. Misha had yet to return, and I quickly grew bored.
“I’m going to get some fresh air,” I announced, popping to my feet and putting my hand on the door.
“Is that wise?” Cedric asked.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Falling overboard.”
“Pretty sure I can avoid having that happen.”
“You could be attacked.”
“I’ve got enough magic to nuke a city, according to you guys. Pretty sure I can defend myself.”
“Without sinking the ship?”
“I hope so,” my chirped reply as I left.
The hallway held more people than expected.
While most of the doors were closed, some had been left ajar and folks stood around in clusters either chatting or heading somewhere to avoid stewing in their tight cabins.
While I did see a sign indicating a cafeteria and lounge, I chose instead to emerge onto a deck with a railing, high and sturdy enough to keep even my clumsy ass from tipping into the cold sea.
I chose to stand by it and stared out at the water, the ripples barely visible in the illumination cast by the three-quarter moon.
“We meet again,” said a familiar voice.
I turned to put my back against the rail and saw the man from the bar. “Hello.”
“Given we are sailing companions, I dare say introductions are in order. I am Grigory.” He held out his hand.
“Florence.” I gripped his extended fingers, the flesh of them hotter than expected and got a jolt, not of awareness but of pain, as if my very body rejected contact. I quickly tugged my hand free and resisted an urge to wipe it on my pants.
“Nice to meet you, Florence. Where’s your husband?”
“Checking out the ship. Are you travelling alone?”
“Yes. Alas, my last companion proved to be more trouble than expected. She stole something of mine that I’ve yet to recover.” He shook his head. “My own fault for not realizing she retained such a willful and rebellious side. I won’t make that mistake again.”
I blinked, uncertain how to reply. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“The problem with being complacent and making assumptions. Next time, I’ll ensure my treasure is better guarded and that anyone living with me is properly secured when I’m not around.”
Had he just implied he’d be locking up his next girlfriend? Creepy and my cue to leave. “I should probably head back to my cabin and wait for Misha.”
“I’m surprised you put your faith in the Luxalis so quickly. Then again, I doubt he’s told you everything.”
Hearing the fancy name for Misha’s people, I froze. “Excuse me?”
“The Luxalis do like their secrets but hate outsiders. I’m sure their elders are quite perturbed a human is carrying their precious Anivivi. One has to wonder if you’ll make it to their enclave. Such a long journey with so many perils. And then there’s the fact they don’t allow outsiders entry.”
Despite suspecting, I still asked, “Who are you?”
The slow smile gave me the shivers. “Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin.”
“The Rasputin?”
“I see you’ve heard of me.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“The stories of my death have been grossly exaggerated. Before my arrival to Earth, I used to be known as Duke Valefor, a title I lost when I as banished to this place. Not that the Luxalis knew of my true identity when they took me in. They thought me some poor simple Umbradriad who’d accidentally wandered through a rift and offered me sanctuary. ”
“You’re the dude Misha told me about, the one who stole the spirit.” And he was here. In front of me. Could I assume Grigori wouldn’t do anything given the number of witnesses sharing the deck with us?
“I’m surprised Misha told you that much. Such a close-mouthed bunch usually.”
“What do you want?”
He arched a dark brow. “As if you need to ask. I want what is mine.”
“The spirit doesn’t belong to you.”
“And?” he taunted. “One could argue it’s not yours either.”
“The voice in the necklace chose me.”
“Which is unfortunate for you because I will have it back. However, you do have a choice. You can hand it to me willingly, or I’ll rip it from you by force.”
I hugged my upper body. “I’m not giving it to you.” A brave thing to say that also had to do with the fact I had no idea how to divest myself of the spirit either.
“As if you’ll have a choice,” he scoffed.
“If you lay a finger on me, I’ll scream and have you arrested.”
Grigori smirked. “Do you really think a human jail can hold me?”
Before I could reply, Misha barked, “Move away from the woman, Valefor.”
“Ah, if it isn’t one of the last runts born to your kind.” The man drawled as he pivoted to face Misha.
“Decided you couldn’t wait for your pet to finish its task?” snarled Misha.
“Perhaps if you’d stop interfering…” Grigori taunted.
“Anivivi doesn’t belong to you,” Misha spat.
“As the humans would say, possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
Which led to me interjecting. “Except you don’t have it, I do.”
The chilling glare directed my way brought a shiver. “Not for long.”
“I’ll kill you before I let you have it.” Misha pulled his gun from where he’d had it tucked in the small of his back. No point in asking how he’d managed to smuggle it aboard.
Grigori didn’t look impressed. “Will you really shoot me in front of all these witnesses?” He held out his arms. “Do it. I dare you.”
Sensing a trap, I opened my mouth to warn Misha, who had already raised the weapon and aimed it, which led to people exclaiming as they caught on to the impending violence. Misha wasted no time firing at Grigori.
Who smiled as the bullet passed through his wavering form. A shape that had been solid when shaking my hand but now disappeared as if it had never been present.
Despite there being no body, no blood, nothing, people screamed. A normal reaction to being in close proximity to a gunshot. Panic ensued that included more hollering, pushing, and shoving, as those on deck scurried to safety.
Misha, being a dumbass, didn’t think to put away his gun to mitigate their fear. Oblivious to the chaos he’d sowed, he grumbled, “I should have known that coward would rely on a projection rather than risk himself in person.”
“A what?”
“Basically, a fake version of himself, created by magic.”
“But he looked, felt, and sounded so real.”
“Tricky but not impossible if you have enough magic and skill.”
Meaning Grigori was never actually here. However, enough people had seen him, seen Misha firing point blank, that security quickly arrived and surrounded Misha.
“Put down your weapon. On your knees. Hands on your head.” A uniformed guard for the ferry barked commands in several languages, including English, and Misha, with a wry twist to his lips, complied.
As they cuffed his wrists and yanked him to his feet to lead him to the brig, Misha had one last thing to say.
“Try and not die. I’ll rejoin you soon as I can.”
Thus did I end up escorted to my cabin and ordered to not leave by ferry staff, which led to Cedric waking from his nap and sighing, “What did you do now?”