Chapter 76: Running Into Trouble

Shivai let out a long breath. We'd reached the edge of town, and nothing but the pathway to the jail on our left and stony farmlands ahead greeted us.

If we kept walking, we'd eventually end up in Northridge.

Which, admittedly, didn't sound like the worst thing right about now. They didn’t have a legendary enforcer looking around for me.

But I had to stick around. Whatever resolution Seaport was going to find regarding the pirates, it was going to involve me. That wasn't just my decision, but the Black Ship Raiders' decision, too. They'd burn down every last building trying to find me. I couldn't just skip town and leave everyone to their fates.

I had to fix this.

"Should we turn around?"

"I kinda don't want to, but yeah, we should," said Shivai.

Overhead, the stars somehow seemed brighter than ever. Only a few candle lanterns still burned in people’s houses, lighting windows with a muted orange glow. Trees and grasses stood like gray shadows under the meager moonlight. 

Another breeze gusted past, this one almost cool. I took in a deep breath of salt and sea spray. It was good to smell the coast again after so many days of heat and sweat.

We circled back, retracing our footsteps toward the inn. I'd make sure we took the scenic route. The more time Lady Talia had to grapple with her feelings, the better.

Shivai's small arm looped through mine, and she tugged me gently toward her.

"You know, you're kind of a big softy at heart," I told her. “For a hardened criminal, I mean.”

She slipped her tail around my waist and nuzzled her head into my shoulder. "I know. But I wasn't cuddling just now." Gently, she pulled me into her again, tugging me slightly off track. "It's just that you don't have darkvision, and I do."

"Oh, so you're protecting me. Is that it?"

"You keep trying to walk off the trail or fall into rodent holes, so yeah. We don't want you twisting an ankle before you save the day."

If she had darkvision, then…

“Do you have hellish rebuke?”

“You mean, like, fuck off, you skeevy cur?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

Our pace had slowed again, languid and almost carefree. Funny how not talking about stabbing people as a scared youth can bring the mood up.

I put an arm around her and kissed one of her bony, skin-covered horns.

She shivered under my caress.

"Stahhhp. Seriously, you're going to make my bits explode."

"Sorry."

"No, I liked it. If we weren’t in public…” She looked over both shoulders, then groaned as she saw a lone person scurrying down the street. “Ugh. I want you to kiss my horn again. Maybe we can pick this up where we left off when we get back? If it's safe, I mean."

"You're insatiable."

"I'm a succubus!”

It was long past time for me to ask about that. I needed to know what I’d gotten myself into. Whatever air of mystery she’d wanted to cultivate had done its job.

As the houses of the town started to get more plentiful and the road more worn, I tried to learn more.

“So, where I’m from, succubi are mythological beings,” I said.

She scoffed. “Really? I mean, I know we’re rare around these parts, but a world without us would be so sad and dull.” Then, as though just hearing the words come out of her mouth, she ducked her head and winced. “Er. No offense to humans, of course.”

“None taken.” She didn’t need to know how histrionic social media had made our kind. We could give succubi a run for their money, I was sure. “Back on Earth, the lore is that your kind prey on mine.”

“No thank you! The only thing I want to eat is that cock. The only thing I want to swallow is your cum,” she gushed. “It just makes me feel so alive and refreshed!”

“Uh. Well…” I cleared my throat. “I mean, yeah. That’s pretty much the lore exactly.”

“Wait, seriously? Okay, well, it’s not like that, though,” she said, somehow backpedaling while walking forward. “We don’t like, suck your life force through your genitals or anything. But we do feed off of heightened emotion. So, sex? Sexy stuff? Well, I’m told that can really charge up our abilities."

"What do you mean, so you're told?"

"I mean, um." She bit her lip nervously and looked away. "I mean, I've only ever tried to charge up my abilities solo. Never had any help."

"Wait, seriously?"

She was undoing everything I thought I knew about succubi.

"Yes, seriously! I've been kind of a loner. Life of crime, remember? Not many opportunities to make connections with people, and even less so with people that I trust. Especially not for my first time."

"Huh. Yeah, I completely understand that." Now wasn't the time to get into my own sordid past. Even though I'd left a history of bad relationships back on Earth, I still felt like I was trying to run away from it in some ways.

We passed a small mill. Lumber littered an unkempt, rocky field. Piles of planks lay haphazardly under a broad, open structure that looked like a janky pergola. Leaned against it were broader poles shaved down almost square, like oversized four-by-fours.

Most of the fences in town started their lives here, I knew. The proprietor, a satyr who went by Miller (I know, I know), was always prancing about with a heavy cart and a loaded-up utilikilt.

No light flickered from inside his house. He probably wanted to draw as little attention to himself as he could, given how flammable his business was.

Shivai let out an audible sigh and slowed down, looking out at the sea. Little edges of white appeared from the black, like wrinkles in satin.

“Drew?”

“Yeah?”

"Did you really mean what you said earlier? Do you think it would work?"

The topic change gave me whiplash. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you think Lady Talia would let me stay if I help save the day?"

"Yeah, I do."

And I believed it.

"And do you think my charm powers could help send them off?"

I shrugged. That was a question she could probably answer better than I could. I didn't really know how they worked at all.

"Pirates are pretty tough and scary," I hedged. “Maybe they have iron wills, too.”

“They're just bullies. Loud and aggressive, with no convictions of their own. Might-makes-right types are natural followers underneath. They just don’t realize it over the sound of their protests.” She took a few steps back, tugging me along to follow her. "In my experience, the biggest bullies are the easiest to manipulate.”

“And they sent their biggest,” I said, stumbling after her as she tried to pull me off the path. “Hey, watch where you’re going!”

“They didn’t send him alone, either. If they did, that’d worry me. But sending him with a group?”

“Strength in numbers. Might makes right. I get it.”

Shivai looked around wildly for something. Her mouth twisted, and her eyebrows knitted together in concern. Her gaze lingered on the thin shadow of a sapling, then over the fence to the lumber pile.

She tugged me again, beckoning for me to follow her behind a thigh-high burst of grass. Shadows slipped around her as she kneeled. “Can you see me?”

“Yes.”

“Dammit.” She stood, dusting the sand off her knees. “In theory, it should be easy to charm pirates. Especially if they hate their jobs, which they usually do.”

I nodded sagely. “Bad bosses?”

“The worst.”

On Earth, usually the worst thing to happen was getting fired. On a pirate ship, I assumed people got beaten. Or had to walk the plank. Or got keel-hauled.

Probably, none of that was true. All my pirate knowledge came from popular media. Something told me Hollywood wasn’t the reigning authority on historical accuracy. And here in Seaport, I couldn’t access Wikipedia to check how pirates actually ran things.

But I’d met them, and they were total dicks, so I assumed their bosses were, too.

“Well, I trust you,” I assured her. “You know your charm ability better than anyone. I don’t suppose there are any weird complications we should worry about?”

"Just the usual ones.” She didn’t explain any further. Instead, she circled back like a VP in a Zoom meeting. “Anyway, I’m really, really hopeful that desire can heighten my powers. We're going to need that."

I chuckled. "Why is that?"

That’s when I realized she was peering intently down the road. Her demeanor had shifted once more. Early in the night, she’d been casually aware. A minute ago, she’d become anxiously alert.

Now, she held herself almost rigid. The spaded tip of her tail flicked dangerously behind her, as though ready to skewer an errant moth. Her fingers tightened around my arm. 

“No place to hide,” she muttered. "Okay. Maybe you can kiss me again? And mean it. We need to test that heightened power theory right now.”

In the distance, about a football field away, a gruff shout rang out. "Oy! You two! We got some questions for you!"