The door swings silently open. My eyes fix on the portly man sitting behind a desk, his purple skin reflecting the dim candlelight. He looks up, his blue eyes going nearly as wide as mine. Xian is shocked into stillness, and for a moment, we're all frozen in place in nearly absolute silence. This isn't going to end well.

The captain stands so quick his chair flies backward. At the same moment Xian has pulled several throwing daggers out from places inside her cloak, and I've unsheathed my weapon. The portly man spins in our direction, and with a wave of his hands, the light is sucked from everywhere within eyesight. Ah, shit.

I'm knocked back by a huge burst of energy, my back cracking against the wood. That hurt even more than when the security golem did it. Damn Fae mages. I hear Xian hit the wall beside me. I scramble to my feet, shaking.

"What is he doing here?" I hiss. No response. I reach out for the Tempraran woman and she grasps my arm, feeling all over me. I grip her and feel her jawbone underneath my hands. As soon as my fingertips brush her lips, I realize that she's speaking. I just can't hear her.

A large fist cracks me in the jaw, sending me stumbling. I lash out blindly, but hit nothing. What if I accidentally stab Xian? She probably won't want to get drinks with me if I stab her. Something hits me in the ankle, and I barely stop myself from falling on my face. I'm yanked by my hair before I hit the ground and am thrown against the wall for a second time. This time, though, I hear it when my head slams against the rocking wood.

"Night, night." The last thing I remember thinking before I'm beat to unconsciousness is: I hate magic.

||||||||||

It's a slow, painful, journey back to reality. At least last time this happened, I woke up on a couch. And this time? Shackled and chained to a wall. I'm just glad I'm not naked. Now that is an interesting story.

"Thank the gods you're awake."

I turn my head and wince. Everything hurts. Xian is restrained just like I am. Behind her, against the wall, is a large wooden cabinet. That's not good. I know a torture cabinet when I see one.

"What the hell was that?" I hiss.

"That," she looks towards the door, "was the captain, apparently."

"No, not that. I mean," I shake my shackles to no avail, "why was he in there? You made it sound like he would be gone."

"It was a calculated risk," Xian argues. I shake my head and kick my legs, but get no leeway.

"You should stick to piracy, because math isn't your strong suit." I jiggle my legs, but don't hear the familiar tinkling of my picks and tools. He took my tools? The bastard, the thorough bastard! "Calculated risk my ass."

"I'm sorry. I messed up."

"Damn right you messed up." Xian blinks hard, sniffing. We're already going to die here, no need to make it worse. The door creaks open and we both turn our heads instantly.

"Twelve knives, two smoke bombs, one..." He puts a bundle down and examines my kusarigama before tossing it onto a table. "Thing. Six unopened jars of turpentine." I turn to Xian, who doesn't make eye contact.

"You were going to burn the ship?" I whisper.

"We were supposed to leave no trace," She whispers back, her thin eyes locked onto our captor.

"I'm pretty sure the burning wreckage and charred corpses would be a giveaway," I hiss.

"The young man is right," The captain says. Don't agree with me, chubs. I don't need that today. He sets down the jars. "As I was saying. Six jars of turpentine, and one set of thieves tools."

"I prefer to think of it as a universal spare key," I say with a grin. He smiles and steps closer.

"I can appreciate a good sense of humor," he replies.

"Well then you'll love me, pal." Without warning his meaty fist cracks me so hard in the jaw my mask clatters to the floor.

"My name is Arboran," he says. "And you will speak when spoken to. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Xian says. He looks at me and I nod.

"Good," Arboran smiles. "Good. That will make this much easier." The captain unfurls the small blanket of Xian's knives.

"Don't touch my stuff, you indigo buffoon!" she shouts. So much for speaking when spoken to. Arboran's skin flushes and he rounds on her in an instant, pushing at the air with his hand. The chains rattle as Xian is pulled forward and then slammed back against the wall.

"My skin is violet!" he screeches. Soft spot acquired.

"Looks indigo to me," I say with a shrug. Arboran rounds on me.

"Maybe a bit of magenta," Xian says while spitting up blood.

"It is violet," The captain hisses, stepping towards me.

"I just call 'em like I see 'em," I say defensively. He sucker punches me, forcing the breath from my lungs. I lunge forward and snap my teeth shut around the end of his nose. Arboran screams and slams both his palms on my chest and my whole body crumples like a ragdoll. He steps back, rubbing his bleeding nose.

"You," he opens the cabinet, "are going to tell me what I want to know. Or you will face the consequences." Arboran turns to me with a wicked looking curved blade. "Who sent you to destroy my ship?" With tremendous effort, I pull myself up. I flick my eyes from his face to my hand and he does the same. I stick my middle finger up at him, the bandages stretching across my face as I grin. He sighs. "So be it."