Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 66904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“Do you know why my ship is called the Mare, Lettie?”
“No.”
Her eyes narrow further, and her tone takes on a kind of venom that does not bode well for anybody. “Because a mare will fuck you up.”
I nod and smile, and feel a little bit better. I knew all I had to do was find the captain. I knew everything would start getting better once someone else was in charge. This is what I need. This is what we all need. Leadership.
Now that I’m feeling better, I can think a little better. “I know who the source inside the camp is, I think. It’s the same one who took me. His name is Shan. I saw him talking to the purple one with wings that has Raine. What’s his name again? A.. Avi…”
“Avel,” she says. “Okay. So. They’re all in on it. If we were all in on it, that would be easier.” She stops for a second to think, then gives me a very serious look. “I need you to go and find Raine. We need to set up a meeting somewhere we can both reach. If you managed to get here without being caught, you can possibly get to her. Do you know the big bone chapel thing near the skeleton?”
“Yes!” I say. “That’s where they were fucking on the roof.”
“They… okay,” Sullivan says, quickly refocusing. “That is where he works. I think he takes her there most of the time. So that’s one place you should be able to make contact with her. If you find her, make a rendezvous location. It’s hard for me to get out of this house, but it is a huge house, and she should be able to find a way to get Avel to bring her here. Then we can make a plan.”
“I think Avel has my suit. Does Thorn have yours? We need to make contact with the Mare.”
“I will try to get it back, though he’s hidden it pretty damn well.” She looks me up and down. “I don’t know what the hell you’re wearing, but it must work as some kind of disguise.”
“It makes me look like a pile of rags in a corner, I think. They don’t seem to notice me. I just sort of push myself against walls whenever anyone looks at me, and I take the little back alleys. This city has so many little alleys.”
“It does,” Sullivan agrees. “You know, you’re probably the only one of us who can make this happen, Lettie. No pressure, but I’m pretty sure the rest of us would have been caught the second we stepped out onto the street.”
It’s not true, but it is nice to get a compliment and have my efforts appreciated. I know Raine said Sullivan was the worst, most irresponsible, outright dangerous captain, but I think she’s pretty great.
“I’m going to go,” I say. “I’ll get to her as soon as I can. Don’t worry, the Mare isn’t going anywhere without her captain.”
Sullivan smiles, and I think I see a hint of tears in her eyes. “Lettie, you’re probably the only one who feels that way.”
“I’m not. We regretted the mutiny as soon as it happened. Raine talked us into it, you know that. We were upset about the whole shopping center…”
“Raine was right to depose me. I was… I was a fuck up,” Sullivan says.
“No, you weren’t. You were perfect.”
“I wasn’t perfect,” she laughs. “I was a terrible captain.”
I don’t like hearing that.
“We need you,” I tell her. “The ship is in fucking chaos and we’re all at risk of getting caught. They can see the ship. They can see us. We need you and Raine back, and we need to do it now. I’m going to go get Raine. And we’re all going to go back to the ship and you guys are going to be in charge again, and everything is going to be okay.”
With that, I jump out the window. Sometimes, you gotta make an exit.
I slide down the side of the building way too fast to be safe, but land safely in a big pile of trash which is there because that’s the sort of luck I have. There’s piles-of-trash people, and there’s sharp-spikes-at-the-bottom-of-a-window-leap people. I’m a proud garbage person. Also, I saw it on the way in.
I scramble out of the trash and head off to the bone place with a real sense of urgency and renewed excitement. I’ve achieved something. I found Sullivan, and now I’m going to find Raine.
The building is easy to find, being a massive monolith of bones upon which I’ve seen a sexy saurian interlude. At this point, I’ve seen more filthy saurian sex than I’ve actually had, but it does make me feel as though I’m part of a very select club. Gives me something in common with Raine and Sullivan, both of whom I look up to.