Shadow Slave

Yesterday, Jet had shared a bottle of strong spirits with Nightwalker. The conversation was relaxed, but inevitably turned to their current predicament.

“The ship absorbs an ocean of essence from the divine flame, but climbing up to the surface will be difficult. We can train young Tyris and her husband to steer the ship, but even with six Saints working in shifts, we’ll run ourselves ragged.”

She gave him a curious glance.

“What are you getting at?”

Nightwalker looked her up and down, then grinned.

“Well, your pool of essence is several times deeper than that of any of us. Plus, you’re the captain. It seems peculiar that you are not standing at the helm, no? Won’t you take at least a shift or two?”

Jet studied him with a relaxed smile. Nothing of what he said was wrong, but she had removed herself from the rotation for a reason. When the Saints of Night steered the Night Garden through the air, all they had to do after a shift was spend a few days replenishing their essence. Jet could not do the same, though — instead, she would have to hunt a significant number of Nightmare Creatures to refill her shattered core. Which was not a problem, usually... however, she would be vulnerable until she did. If someone wanted to eliminate her, that would be the perfect moment to attack.

Was Nightwalker really asking her to take the helm because he wanted to spare the rest of the Saints some exhaustion, or was there a more sinister intent behind his request?

She took a sip of alcohol and shrugged, her smile remaining the same.

“I’ll think about it”

A day before that, Naeve had been making a routine report to her.

“There were a total of twenty-four violent altercations between the civilians yesterday. Fifteen connected to the strife between the Domains, the rest due to mundane reasons. Bruises and lacerations, nothing serious. The troublemakers were detained to let them cool down.”

He checked his notes.

“The food stores are holding up well. A few are depleted, but we are almost ready to harvest the innermost fields. That should cover the difference. All in all, our surplus seems sufficient to feed the additional population. There’s nothing else to report, really.”

Jet nodded.

”Good.”

She glanced at him briefly, then asked in a neutral tone.

”Oh, by the way. Did you change the guard shifts in the Mainmast Pagoda a few days back?”

Naeve remained silent for a moment, checking his notes again. After shuffling through several pages, he nodded.

“Yes, there was a minor change.”

Jet raised an eyebrow.

”Why?”

He shrugged.

“A few soldiers were seen fraternizing with the turncoats, so I had to replace them. That, in turn, required pushing the shift change timing a bit.”

Jet remained silent.

She wouldn’t call changing security personnel a minor issue. Even if it was, why hadn’t Naeve informed her?

Was it peculiar, or was she just being paranoid?

She smiled, then glanced away and nodded.

”Okay.”

At some point between these two conversations, Jet was showing Sky Tide around the ship. They talked as they moved between the decks.

”Anyway. I hear that your daughter has run off to challenge a Nightmare?”

Tyris pursed her lips.

”She did.”

Jet studied her briefly, then chuckled quietly.

“Like father, like daughter. The apple does not fall far from the tree, huh?”

Tyris sighed and fell silent. Eventually, though, she asked:

“Is that where our Sovereign is? Has she run off to challenge the Fifth Nightmare?”

Jet spared her another look. The champions of the Human Domain were naturally curious about where Changing Star was, considering that the world seemed to be falling apart at an abominable speed.

“As I said before, I do not know.”

She wasn’t lying. Jet herself did not know where Nephis and Sunny had disappeared to, only that they had gone to complete a vital mission. Even Cassie did not seem to know, despite the fact that she had been the one to inform them about that development.

Tyris frowned.

“Do you really not know, or are you only saying that you don’t know?”

Jet turned to look at her.

It was natural for Sky Tide to want to know where the Supreme she had sworn to serve was. However... that was the third time she had asked Jet, despite receiving the same answer the first two times.

Was she really asking out of concern... or was she asking because someone else really, really wanted to know where his opponents were?

”I really don’t know.”

Tyris did not ask her the same question again, but would stare at her strangely from time to time after that.

All of it was quite distressing. The suspicion, the ambiguity, the waiting... it was honestly a bit tiring.

Jet almost wished that, if something were to happen, it would happen already.

‘I wonder... can I defeat all six, if things devolve into bloodshed?’

She exhaled slowly.

Tyris and Roan had the terrain advantage here, in the Sky Below. Naeve and Bloodwave were at a disadvantage instead. Aether... she wasn’t sure how his Aspect and the divine flames influenced each other, so it was hard to tell.

Nightwalker was an old monster who was utterly lethal in any environment, as well as the one she was most wary of.

Still...

If Jet had to bet, she would bet on herself. If they were to attack her, she’d probably kill at least most of them.

Possibly even all of them.

She really wished they wouldn’t, though. Chances were, they were not going to. There were easier ways to defeat her than a battle, after all.

There was an entire ship of people under her command, and each of those people could become a hostage. What was she going to do if the Saint at the helm of the Night Garden threatened to drop it into the ocean of divine flames unless she surrendered?

What would she do if they forced her to calculate the value of her own life against the unknown number of lives she was meant to protect?

The golden fruits were usually sweet, but today, the one she had plucked tasted bitter.

Jet sighed.

“Life is indeed full of surprises. But, strangely... I miss the days when I had nothing to lose...”