Ch.7 Ships

Chapter 7

When Birdie was younger she had once accidentally fallen into her grandparent's pool.

Her lungs had started to scream immediately as water rushed in through her nose, burning all the way down and filling her tummy. Her eyes had watered and her vision blurred, making everything seem unreal and hazy. Her little arms, stuffed into a thick wool jacket grew heavy as it drank up the water. Birdie could feel herself getting heavier with each passing second. She knew she was headed for the bottom of the pool when her fingertips could no longer feel the air above the surface.

But luckily, Exton, her grandfather had seen her fall in from the second floor window of the farmhouse. He ran out and fished her out as if he was a bear snatching a fish out of the river.

Struggling against the strong waves that seem to want to keep her forever, Birdie was suddenly reminded of that day in her grandparents' pool. She looked up, pushing her body to rise and break the surface, hoping to find a savior like her grandfather to come scoop her up.

With her lungs burning and her eyes stinging, Birdie fought against the strong currents and shot forward, rising out of the water. Breaking the surface like a mermaid, she gasped for air, spreading her arm to keep her afloat.

"Baba!" a little child yelled.

Birdie opened her eyes to find a large fishing boat bobbing in the water a few feet away. A small child peeked over the sides, his curious eyes watching her as he called to his father.

"Abdullah, get away from the edge!" A man yelled, rushing forward and snatching the child back.

"There's a lady in the water," the little boy said, trying to turn back to look at Birdie.

Birdie pushed the water in front of her and swam the short distance to the boat. Her cold fingers gripped onto the edge as she tried to pull herself up. But before she could escape the cold waters, the man began to beg for her not to come onto the boat.

"Please," his face twisted in fear. "Please, we don't want any trouble."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Birdie said, half her body in the water.

"I have children, please," the man continued to beg, his eyes ready to fill with tears.

"Sir, I am not going to hurt you," Birdie repeated. "I just need to get out of the water."

"Find another boat," the man said, his fear making him a little aggressive.

"What other boat?" Birdie looked around for the first time at the dark waters.

She could see a town a few miles away with a busy harbor. The sun had set, leaving a trail of purple and pink on the horizon. Other than the fishing boat, there was nothing else for Birdie to find shelter in until she figured out where she was.

"I just need a second," Birdie pulled herself up and rolled onto the boat.

"Bilaal!" A woman called out in fear.

"Please!" the man, Bilaal, folded his hands together in plea. "Please, leave. Get off our boat."

"You're...." Birdie slowly climbed to her feet. She peered at the man and the child standing behind him. "You're a jinn."

"Y-yes," the man said. "I have the paperwork for the boat. I'm doing no illegal business."

"Where....where am I?" Birdie's legs shivered as she let go of the edge of the boat and looked around.

On one side of the harbor was the busy town with the boat and little shops that were lit up like Christmas. One the other side, much farther away from where the boat was, the riverbank rose up to meet stone walls that showed off neatly kept gardens and bungalows.

"What is this place?" Birdie looked at the man once more. "Where are we?"

Her questions seem to make the man grow pale. He looked at her as if he was both concerned for her and frightened by her.

"What's the name of this town?" Birdie asked, louder and slowly. "Where are we?"

"Deserati," the little boy said.

"And where is that?" Birdie asked as she watched the man push his son behind himself.

"What do you mean?" The jinn asked impatiently. "It's there, across from Yori!"

Birdie stared at the man for a few seconds. She could not figure out why he was looking at her with such fear and hostility. Surly, he must have been her face at court. All jinns were required to attend court at least a few times every year to pay their respects to the Sultan. He had to have seen Birdie beside Heyder. Then why was he....

"Oh no," the jinn's eyes grew wide and shifted to something behind Birdie. "Anjali! Take the kids inside. Stay inside! Don't come out."

"Baba!"

Birdie watched the little boy try to grab onto his father's legs as the jinn pushed him into the little hatch that led to the bottom of the boat. Bilaal shut the hatch and rushed to get his papers out of his pocket.

"No, no, no," he chanted as his hands shook. "I have the papers. I have the permit."

"What's hap-" Birdie turned just in time to see the large ship, twice the size of the fishing boat, ride up beside them. Four men, dressed in all white jumped off and landed with a loud thump on the deck of the fishing boat.

"Hands where I can see them," one of the men in white commanded, holding up a spear with a round crystal dome that was caged in by twisted brass and iron that seemed to glow with the intensity of the heat the crystal radiated.

"Woah, woah," Birdie held up her hand, her magic stirring up under her skin.

"Ma'dam, are you alright?" Another man in white asked Birdie.

They were all dressed identical to each other. Their heads were covered by helmets with a glass panel over their face, hiding them.

"I don't know yet," Birdie said, "Who are you? What is happening?"

"Did this man force you onto his boat?"

"What?" Birdie looked back at the jinn who had begun to weep. "No!"

"How did you get on this boat, ma'dam?"

"I...."

Yes, go ahead, Birdie thought to herself. Tell him how you fell through a mirror.

"On your knees. Now!" One of the men turned to the jinn as he watched Birdie's hesitation. "Get on the floor. Now!"

"Wait! Wait!" Birdie held up her hands. "What the fuck is going on? Who are you people?"

"Ma'dam, please step away from the jinn," the man said. "We have him. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Hurt me?" Birdie's eyes widened. "I think there has been some misunderstanding heer. He did not hurt me. He helped me."

Suddenly, one of the men from the back stepped forward and removed his helmet.

"How did you get on the boat, ma'dam?" He asked, locking his gaze with Birdie.

Birdie could not speak. Her heart stopped as her skin chilled like ice. Every muscle and every cell in her body was frozen with astonishment as she stared at the fey in front of her.

"Ma'dam," the man, the fey, arched his brow as his purple eyes waited for Birdie to answer.

"Tell him," the jinn cried from the back. "Please tell him. I have children."

Very slowly, Birdie turned her head to sneak a peek at the jinn who was forced down onto his knees. Her heart pounded in her chest as her head began to spin. She felt her stomach twist and churn as she began to shiver.

"She was in the water," the jinn looked at the fey. "She climbed onto my boat."

"You expect me to believe that?" The fey snared.

"It's the truth," the jinn wept. "We can't lie."

"Ma'dam," one of the other men in white, no doubt a fey too, stepped forward and took birdie's hand. "Please, come this way."

Birdie felt her skin crawl with currents as the fey touched her. She didn't know if he could feel it too as her magic began to quiver and rage at the same time. Her free hand began to summon a portal behind her but suddenly, something she had done her whole life, seemed like an impossible task.

"Take her on to the boat," the first fey said as they guided Birdie towards the large boat.

No, Birdie wanted to protest, but she was shell shocked.

Her silver eyes scanned the men and the brass and iron they carried. She was out numbered. There was no way she could fight off all four. She had never had to. Hayden, Heyder, or Maya were always right beside her or behind her.

Baba, Birdie opened her mind-link. Baba, help. There are feys.

Silence.

Baba!

Birdie began to panic. She was no longer in control of her body as the fey guided her onto their boat and urged her to sit down. Her ears ran with warning bells and the sick feeling in her tummy grew and grew.

From there out, the sickness inside of her only got worse as she realized the boat was filled with feys in white uniforms. They bowed their heads as they passed her, their violet, lavender, and maroon eyes watching her with sympathy and worry.

"You're safe now," one of the fey said as he wrapped a thick blanket around Birdie's wet body. "What is your name? Where is your family? How did you get so far past the borders?"

"One question at a time, Cliff," a girl, with pale pink hair and matching eyes, said as she stepped forward with a warm cup of tea. "Let the poor girl breathe."

Birdie closed her hands into fists as the girl offered her the drink. She wondered if they could hear her beating heart as it tried to run away.

Baba....any day now!

"It's lemongrass tea," the girl said. "It will help with the shivers."

Birdie shook her head.

"What's your name?" The man, Cliff, asked.

Birdie's eyes flickered up to him as a shiver rocked her body. Her teeth began to chatter, making her jaw ache.

"Ma'dam, you need to tell us your name," Cliff sighed. "We need to contact your family."

"Do they live in Yori?" The girl asked.

Birdie looked at her, feeling her mind running around like a madwoman trying to figure what to do.

"Not in Yori?" The girl tilted her head. "In Dalan?"

Birdie stared, her mind blank, her body crippled with fear.

"Not in Dalan?" The girl looked at Cliff and then back at Birdie. "In Cutha?"

With each word she said, Birdie's fear grew and grew and grew. She was so scared the feys would be able to smell her and pin her down just as they had pinned the other jinn down.

"Ma'dam," Cliff clicked his tongue impatiently. "Where are you from?"

The woman placed the tea down beside Birdie and leaned forward.

"Are you from Xaiba?"

"Pihu," Cliff rolled his eyes. "How can she be from Xaiba? How would she have gotten so far out of Yori and halfway to Deserati?"

"I don't know," the woman, Pihu, said. "Look at her hair. She could be from Xaiba."

Suddenly, the door to the small cabin opened and the man in a long brown coat walked in. Cliff and Pihu jumped to their feet and stood on alert, their faces still and eyes lowered.

"Where are we taking her?" The man asked, looking at Birdie. "We need to set sail."

"We don't know yet, commander," Cliff said. "She hasn't spoken a word since she got on the boat."

The commander's face flickered with irritation. He turned his fig green eye towards Birdie and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Where are you from, Ma'dam?" He asked.

Birdie began to shiver. Her breathing labored as the small room grew crowded.

"I think she might be from Xaiba," Pihu said, her voice low, almost as if she didn't want to speak.

"How can she be from Xaiba?" The commander stepped farther into the room. "How would she have gotten so far o-"

Birdie watched the men still in his tracks. Cliff and Pihu looked up as the commander's eyes widened and his body tensed.

Very slowly, the man took a small step forward. Birdie's heart began to pound like a drum as he lifted his nose in the air and sniffed it. Once and then twice...

The commander's eyes narrowed as he peered at Birdie. He leaned forward and picked up a lock of her wet hair. He was standing so close, Birdie feared she might pass out. She held her breath and bit down on her tongue as the man lifted her hair to his nose and sniffed it.

"Commander..." Cliff wondered what the man was doing.

"You..." The commander ignored Cliff and locked his gaze with Birdie. "You're a moor."

Cliff and Pihu looked at each other in confusion as Birdie began to shiver once again.

"Cliff," the commander called to the boy. "Tell the others we're headed to shore. Call for a unit and tell them we will be going to Cutha."

"Sir." Cliff bowed.

"And you," the commander looked at Pihu. "Bring me the brass cuffs."

Where is our girl????