Outlanders

Chapter 14: Encounter

Grace stood on a rocky outcropping of the tiny island she called home. She overlooked the frothing ocean, her voluminous oaken hair billowing behind her. From head to toe, her surface was sweat, salt and threadbare cloth. She wore a simple pair of old boots with no socks, and a tattered waistcloth that had once been a dress. As a shirt, she wore the sun-bleached uniform of a navy she had betrayed long ago.

She watched as a steamer ambled by beneath the waning evening sun. A predatory smile spread across her face.

"Nabina!" she called.

A swarthy teenage girl with a single bronze anklet shuffled up behind Grace and said, "Yes? What is it?"

"See that steamer up there?"

"I don't... whoah!"

"Yes. That one. We're going to raid it. Find Michael and Jua."

"That's... a very big ship for just the four of us."

"You don't sound like the girl I hired."

Nabina forced an evil smile and said, "Bring them on!"

"Ah, there she is."

Nabina stepped back, turned around and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Michael!" she called. "Jua! Come see this!"

A salty, small-eyed man came lurching up onto the outcropping, wearing three belts over his bare chest. One held his weapons, one held his healing herbs and the last one held his whalebone luck charms.

"Michael," said Grace, "it's time for another raid. Prepare the boat."

Michael grinned toothily. Without a word, he and dashed off to a dinghy that sat on the beach.

Behind him, Jua lumbered up the stone slope, her gait heavy and bow-legged. Her eyes peeped through a permanent squint, while scars ran down her bare shoulders, and her left middle finger was gone. Her simple grey shirt and her coal-black pants melted seamlessly onto her dark skin, except where the blades of her hand axes caught the sunlight.

"Is it time?" Jua asked.

"It's time," said Grace. "Come, Nabina. Luck is on our side."

Jua registered a weary glance at the steamship, then shuffled off to the pirate's long, slender rowboat. Grace came after her, head high, while Nabina followed, fidgeting with her dagger.

"I can do this," Nabina whispered to herself. "I can do this."

* * *

Aboard the steamer, an idle first mate wandered along the deck. She took in the familiar scent of clean air, and she bathed in the bright equatorial sun, which filtered softly through the oceanic mists. A small, peaceful-looking island floated a few miles off the port side of the ship.

Then she heard a clanking noise behind her. Turning, she looked and saw a rusty, three-pronged grappling hook stuck firmly over the railing.

Mystified, the first mate walked up to the hook and, for one crucial moment, examined it. Then it occurred to her to look over the edge. When she did, the first thing she saw was her own face, reflected in the blade of a saber.

A scruffy woman stood behind it, grinning toothily at her.

"Alright," she growled, "don't try anything, or I'll open you up right here."

"Wha- who are you?" asked the first mate.

"You can call me 'Grace.' Now take us to your riches."