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For a second, Nicola forgot her anger as laughter bubbled down her throat. “Jeez. Ruby.”
“Just saying.” Ruby cracked her knuckles and faced the dazed man. “Hey, you. Tell us what those creatures stalking Isaiah were.”
“You are…” Pleasure lit up the man’s face. Nicola groaned.
“Don’t make him enjoy it too much.”
“On the contrary. He needs to believe it’s real, doesn’t he?” Ruby asked, slinging Nicola’s words back at her. The witch closed her eyes for a few seconds and hummed until the magic dazing the man seemed to thicken. Then Ruby opened her eyes. “Tell us what those creatures are.”
Nicola felt a shiver run down her spine at the force of energy in the voice. But what was more mesmerizing was Pan answering with ease.
“They are creatures from La Fleur. Taken since birth and trained to fight for the captain. He’s the only one who could give them orders.”
La Fleur, the Fae’s islands. The one that other creatures didn’t dare visit, with only a fraction of them open to trade and the rest shrouded in mystery.
“Are there any more of the assassins?”
“No. One died earlier when the other murdered it. The captain’s not going to like it when he finds out.”
Nicole nudged Ruby.
“Are there any more creatures?” Ruby restated.
“Yes. Not from La Fleur. From an unknown island. But no one lives there.”
“Where are your other captured ones?”
Five minutes later, Pan was staggering back into the bar with a dopey expression and a mind illusioned into believing that he just had the best fuck of his life. Nicola wrinkled her nose, then supported Ruby when the woman let go of her magic and crumpled.
“We could have kept him and asked him about that island.”
“Would you have had the energy for it?”
“No,” was Ruby’s reluctant reply.
“Then that answers your thought. Besides, there’s no time. You did well. Thanks.”
“You saved my life,” Ruby reminded her.
“Then we are even. I can take it from here.”
“And miss out on seeing magical creatures? There’s no chance, Nic. Lead the way.”
And that was how she found herself dragging a half-energized Ruby out of the alley and back into the streets, where they could put on new disguises.
The game plan was to head to the ship and tell Maddox, but the sun peeking slightly from the clouds had Ruby leaving a message on their rented room instead for Maddox to find later. They raced against time and arrived at another ship just as the sun made its full appearance, with Nicola burning her right shoulder along the way. Then the pain returned and rendered her immobile for a few seconds.
“I can treat the burn,” Ruby offered, eyeing her reddened skin in concern.
“There’s no need. It’s a minor burn.”
She kept quiet about the shoulder, waiting it out until it washed away. Then they proceeded to head deeper into the ship, which looked more like a cargo ship the further they went in. There were no men around, only empty rooms and an operations room that had locking devices.
“This would have ensured it wouldn’t be stolen,” Ruby surmised. “This is so…sophisticated. The man pretends to be so barbaric but isn’t.”
“He’s barbaric,” Nicola said firmly. “Only a barbaric asshole would use creatures instead of nourishing them. His equipment doesn’t change that. Watch out for recording devices.”
“You know about recording devices?”
