39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
”No!” Nasir”s bellow could be heard over the chaos from ghouls and the clang of metal on metal.
Energy pulsed like a living and breathing thing around them, sending surges of wind. It again whipped the sand into a frenzy, forcing the crew to shield their eyes against the grit. Basset, who had woken amidst the battle, had been taken to his knees by Cobden with a dagger against his throat. Even the ghouls staggered away, scrabbling back on unsteady gaits.
The chamber rattled and shook, coins spilling off the large piles and plunking into the water surrounding the room”s edges. Stone broke away from the ceiling above, crashing down to the sand. One of them barely missed Elodie, who was fortunate enough to zoom away in time, the ghoul having ripped his claws from the carpet”s fabric. It was almost comical, the shreds of the carpet flapping behind her as she flew, but that wasn”t what held Kalia”s attention.
The Luminaria in her palm began to glow brighter until Kalia squinted against the shine. It burned her hand, the heat of it blistering her flesh, but she couldn”t let it go. She winced and cried out before the gemstone blasted apart, crumbling into a red dust that coated her skin.
Two of the djinn disappeared instantly, the woman with the slicked-back curls and a man with a broad nasal bridge, but Reshef and the salt-and-pepper woman remained behind. And, with a surprised squeal that rang out against the stone walls and jewels, Reshef suddenly appeared behind Nasir.
Rahmi”s eyes widened, and he stumbled back just in time for Reshef to place his hand on the crown of Nasir”s head.
”No, no, no!” the corsair shouted, thrashing with all of his strength to tear away from Reshef”s grasp. But Reshef never let go. In the blink of an eye, Nasir”s skin wrinkled and tightened as though he was being mummified before their eyes. His eyes sunk back before drying out completely, and he died with a silent scream wedging his mouth open.
As Reshef released him, Nasir”s corpse tumbled to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of bone dust and tattered clothing.
Everything was quiet, too quiet. Kalia glanced around to spot the ghouls…or what was left of them. The salt-and-pepper woman had removed all of their heads from their bodies, scattering them around the chamber in a flurry of violence and rotting flesh.
Kalia maneuvered the carpet down to the ground, hopping off when she was within a few feet of Reshef. The djinn”s chest still heaved, his breath coming in heavy pants that lifted his shoulders. Her feet sank into the soft sand, no longer packed to the stone thanks to the twisters that whirled it around.
”Why did you do that?” Reshef asked as she stepped closer, though he never turned to look at her. His voice was hoarse and filled with an emotion she couldn”t pinpoint. ”You had the Luminaria. You could have disappeared. You could have had everything you ever wanted.”
Kalia curved around to face him, ignoring the crew that shrank away from them, ignoring that even Rahmi”s gaze was darting between Reshef and what remained of Captain Nasir Al-Mahdi. Instead, she reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. ”Because you were worth saving, my friend.”
Without warning, Reshef tugged her into a hug that crushed her against his chest. Kalia could have sworn that she felt something drip from his chin onto her scalp, but when she looked up, his cheeks were still dry, and his eyes were fixed on something behind her. Kalia pushed away, turning to look over her shoulder and spotting the salt-and-pepper woman staring at Reshef, her lips softly parted.
”Reshef?” she asked, her tone so shaky and disbelieving that his name almost came out in a whisper. ”Reshef, is that truly you?”
Reshef swallowed. ”Mama?”
Kalia watched as his outer fa?ade crumbled away, as tears did well in his red-rimmed eyes, and his head shook in utter denial.
The woman rushed forward with the speed of a parent reuniting with a child, her trembling hands reaching for him. They pressed against his cheeks, swept through his hair, patted his shoulders and chest. And all the while, Reshef”s eyes were shut tight, enjoying every touch, every moment.
”My son, how…how?” his mother asked, her gaze raking over every inch of him. ”You”re grown. You were just a boy when we sealed the stone, when I sent you away with the Luminaria.”
”Yes, I was,” Reshef chuckled. His eyes opened as he sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. ”The obsidian you gave me protected me from Liddros”s hunt. He couldn”t detect me.”
”I never thought I would lay my eyes on you again,” she said, pulling him into a hug that Reshef collapsed into. ”My boy, my son.” She suddenly pushed him away, her gaze sharpening into one that resembled the golden-eyed stare of an eagle. ”He will know you”re here now. You have to go. We all have to go. Liddros, he—”
”I have one more thing I have to do,” Reshef cut in, though he took her hands in his. ”Then, yes, I will go.” He squared his shoulders to face Rahmi, who went suddenly still. ”I could kill you, you know, for what you did.”
Kalia felt the air ice in her chest, and her skin tightened against the bone as she watched hopelessly as the djinn stalked toward the man she loved.
Rahmi, to his credit, nodded his head. ”I understand.” He lifted his chin, pulling back his shoulders as though readying to face his death. Kalia”s belly squirmed, the contents turning into an oily sludge that threatened to crawl up her throat. ”It”s against my nature to ask for mercy, but—” His gaze slid briefly toward the pile of dust that was Nasir.
Reshef grinned that shit-eating smile Kalia knew so well, extending his hand toward Rahmi. The captain glanced at it, hesitating briefly, before lifting his own to grasp it. She felt her entire body relax, a breath escaping through her lips that she hadn”t realized she had been holding. Reshef said nothing else as he released Rahmi”s hand and turned to Kalia.
”You”re leaving then?” Kalia asked, taking a small step toward him. Her throat tightened, a lump forming and burning there.
Reshef”s smile turned brittle at the edges as he nodded. ”I must. Liddros, he…he”s more than he says that he is. I have to go before he finds us again.”
Kalia glanced away from him, taking in the chamber. The sand had finally settled, dusting the crew in golden orange. It stuck in their hair, their clothes, and against their skin. Thomas had been healed, and he was sitting up with the help of Shirin, who had propped him against her legs. Even Alaric had woken, and the injury to his head healed, though the dried blood remained.
”I don”t want you to go,” Kalia finally said, her voice cracking against the strain of her sadness: her first friend, the one who had methodically chipped away at the wall around her heart.
Reshef placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug that she was desperate not to let go of. ”And you”ll still see me. In all of the familiar places. I”ll still be here in the apples you eat and the tobacco you steal.”
A sob stifled her laugh as he finally pulled away from her.
”Now, I”m not in the business of granting wishes,” Reshef lightly continued, his boyish charm flaring to life. ”I find the whole notion to be unbelievably absurd. But…as a thank you for what you did, I”ll give you one. What do you want more than anything in this world?”
What did she want? Wealth? She was surrounded by it. Even a handful of these coins would be more than enough. Power? She had felt it, had dug into that well of magic, and realized that she wanted nothing more to do with it. Security? Elodie was there, as were Shirin and Rahmi…
She paused, gazing at Reshef, who looked at her expectantly. ”Can you break his curse?” Her gaze glided over to meet Rahmi”s, and something was shining there that she couldn”t pinpoint. Something that she hadn”t basked in for a long, long time. Pride. Excitement. Love. ”Would you want that?”
”Before you answer that,” Reshef interjected. ”I cannot keep your life as it is now. I am close to limitless in my power, but I am not Liddros. If you wish to be made mortal, to have your curse lifted—”
”Yes,” Rahmi answered immediately, not allowing Reshef to finish. ”Yes, that”s what I want. All I want is her.”
Kalia”s heart swelled in her chest, so much so that she thought it would burst. But Reshef only smiled and nodded his head. ”So be it.”
There was one final rise of power, one final crest of that phantom wind. Rahmi hissed in pain, groaning out a primal need to shout, but Kalia could only keep her eyes fixed on his markings. Each disappeared, one by one, fading and fading before only his unmarked flesh remained. Rahmi turned his arms over, staring at them in utter shock before looking up at Kalia, his eyes only for hers.
”Kalia, I—” Rahmi began, but she was already running. She leaped into his arms, not caring that the crew was watching, and kissed him. Their lips met in a tangle of tongue and teeth. A coming home. A new beginning. He pulled away long enough to whisper, ”I love you, I love you, I love you.” Each proclamation noted by another kiss. He twirled her around before setting her down.
”And I you,” Kalia responded, wrapping an arm around his neck to tug him into one more embrace. She knew there would never be enough, could never be enough. And her heart, once only a hole in her chest, began to thud beneath his touch.
Behind them, Reshef had approached Alaric, that boyish charm evolving into a fragile vulnerability. ”Alaric, I—”
Alaric stepped forward, taking Reshef into his arms. ”You”ll come back for me, aye? When all settles, and you find us somewhere safe, you”ll come back for me?” His single eye studied Reshef”s face, a plead etched into every line of his features.
”Yes,” Reshef said, sagging with relief that slumped his shoulders. ”I”ll come back for you.” His lips pressed against the quartermasters, a promise sealed between two who weren”t meant to fall for one another and did so anyway. He stepped away from Alaric, hesitantly and wistfully, and glanced back at Kalia. He blew her one final kiss before disappearing altogether, his mother with him.
The chamber was silent as the crew looked at one another.
”What now, captain?” one of the men asked, stepping away from Basset”s slumped body. Kalia didn”t know when Nasir”s crew had been killed in the chaos. ”What do we do?”
Rahmi looked at Kalia before pulling the old parchment from his pocket. ”Where did you find that?” she breathed out, watching with rapt attention as he unfolded it.
”Captain”s office before we came here, nicked it off his desk,” Rahmi responded with a wink and a shrug. He tore it to shreds, slowly distributing the tiny pieces around the chamber. ”And to answer your question, Elric, we are still pirates after all.” He opened his arms wide to gesture around the chamber. ”I say we empty this hall until we cannot stuff our pockets anymore.” The crew cheered, and even the magic carpets happily zoomed around. Rahmi turned back to Kalia, reaching out to tuck a strand of her hair behind an ear. ”And then, we go home.”
”And where”s home?” Kalia asked coyly, a smirk playing on her lips.
Rahmi”s brows rose as he gathered her in his arms once more. ”You”re my home. But…I do recall there being an escape strategy for Sha”Hadra. Maybe we should start there?”
Kalia couldn”t think of a better idea than that.