Sea of Secrets

Chapter 15 - Mira

Better to wait outside for Kai.

Mira passed through a few girls, incidentally bumping into them, in which they shot her dirty looks, but she brushed them off and continued her slow journey to the front door. Shoving, nudging her way through the thick crowd, and eventually, Mira saw the promising gleam of the gold doorknob. Get me out of here.

She outstretched, the knob in her grasp, but two hands grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to them, taking her back into the red light.

Gods. The man towered over Mira and the fiery glow of the light cast a scary shadow on his already frightening face, with his empty eyes and wide smile, though lacking teeth.

He breathed into her neck, holding her closer, "Where are you going, little lady?"

"Get off." She muttered, the words more of a warning than a plea.

She tried to wiggle from his grip, but she was no match for his strength. Her dagger. If she could just get it from her satchel then she could...but she didn't want to cause a scene, not here.

"Why don't we go find a room?" He groaned, and Mira almost retched at the thought. Forget not causing a scene, she needed that damn dagger.

But Mira still couldn't get my hand free, not far enough to reach into her satchel, and the man began pulling her back, deeper into the crowd. She let out a grunt as she used all her strength, trying her hardest to free a single hand. It was no use, and her panic began to arise rather quickly.

They were making the way down a hallway, and Mira began thrashing around. The countless patrons in the brothel encompassed in their own interests to bat an eye. That dagger-

Then the man's grip was gone, just as quickly as it had come. Mira turned around, breathless, and there he was on the ground, clutching his bloodied nose. Her eyes shifted to the one above him. She saw his patch before she saw his face.

"Kai." Mira breathed, as she tried her best to conceal her trembling voice.

He didn't respond, the red gleam casting the shadow of his hard expression, his harsh eye as he looked down upon the bleeding man.

Cordelia knelt beside the man, examining him with her feline eyes, before yelling up at Kai, "Oh gods, Kai! Always trouble! Every time with you, dammit."

The crowd was quiet, staring.

Kai didn't respond, eerie silence as he grabbed Mira by the wrist and pushed them to the front door. Now in the outside, the fresh air, the night sky, her eyes finally adjusted. They hurried down the steps and onto the streets, the women in their silks still eyeing them both. Kai's hand was still clutched tightly around her wrist, his bloody knuckles.

"Kai," Mira called again, but there was no answer.

They were far from the brothel now and back on the main road, heading towards the lower Eastside and the Flat, and still, Kai had refused to say a word. The tense silence was anything but comfortable, and it needed to be broken.

"I lost sight of you back at the Brothel," Mira muttered, the words not wanting to roll off her tongue.

"No shit." He cursed, his hand still clenched around her wrist, pulling her along down the road, "Did he do anything to you?"

She looked shyly towards the passing cobblestones, not wanting to admit how weak she'd been.

"Mira?" His tone was stern and fiery.

She was quiet for a moment, "No."

Finally, his bloodied hand let go of her wrist.

He stopped and turned back to me, his one pale eye fierce with a hidden rage that she hadn't expected. "I said to keep close."