A spray from the collision of two excited waves burst upwards, sending cool air and mist into the open room and splashing Senev’s feet. While her eyes followed the dancing waters, her mind lingered on the abrupt end of her time with Simon. She let herself fall back on her room’s platform, then kicked her feet above the waves while she stared at the ceiling.

  “Do you think it was something I did?” She asked, glancing at the faded blue stuffed dolphin. “The Katherine girl was glaring at me like I did something. You think there’s something between them? Maybe she was jumping to conclusions, but that wouldn’t explain why Justus was angry. What could I have done to make him mad? I’ve never even met him before.”

  As always, Eji the dolphin remained quiet on the issue. Senev tapped the wooden platform with a finger, thinking and trying to wrap her head around her disastrous first meeting with the adventurer she’d been so eager to meet. A fleeting thought passed by her mind, and she grabbed on to it while simultaneously wishing it had never appeared. She sat up so quickly that she nearly flung herself into the ocean below and had to grab the edge of the floor to steady herself.

  “You don’t think—He can’t know who I am, can he?” Senev reached up, touching her face. It was the same one she’d been wearing for most of her time since running away. “What if he’s been hired to look for me?”

  Senev stood up and fell onto her bed, faceplanting onto her pillow. She lifted her head and looked at her old silent friend.

  “No… No, you’re right, that doesn’t make sense. They wouldn’t go to the adventurer’s guild. Gods, I just hate not knowing. “What could I have done to make them mad? I was only helping their teammate. I wish I could talk to Simon and ask him what the problem is.”

  “The problem should be obvious.”

  Senev shrieked and twisted on her bed, looking at where the voice had come from. The roaring fear in her chest simmered when she saw who it was. Simon’s mentor: Justus. He stood tall and straight in the doorway.

  “How did you find me? Why are you here?” She asked.

  “You weren’t difficult to find. As for why, that depends on you. I’m here for answers, but if I don’t like them, then my reasons may change.”

  “Change?” Senev asked. That almost sounded like a threat, but why would an adventurer threaten her?

  “When did you meet Simon?” Justus asked, ignoring her question. He made no move to step further into the room or relax in the slightest.

  “Um, not long ago. Did you want to sit down? If you want to talk, I—”

  “Why did you approach him?” he interrupted.

  “He had a cute dog,” Senev said. She should have been more upset he’d interrupted her, but she was used to not being listened to.

  “Try again. Why did you approach him?” Justus repeated.

  Senev blinked in surprise. How did he know she’d been lying? It hadn’t even really been a lie, only a half-truth. Was he using a skill? Was it mental, or something else? It didn’t really matter, in the end. Senev could be honest with him. He was an adventurer. There had to be a good reason for his suspicions. Maybe they were on an important quest or being chased by killers. Did she really seem like a killer, though?

  “I recognized his dog,” she answered.

  Justus raised an eyebrow. “From where?”

  “When you arrived in the city. I was by the docks and saw you three leaving the ship.”

  “So why approach him? That only explains how you recognized the dog. Why did you want to meet him?”

  “The clone. It’s a unique skill. I’ve never seen one like it. I have a similar one, so I wanted to see how his worked and maybe learn something about my own.”

  “And? You’re leaving something out. Something you don’t want me to know.”

  How was he doing that? Why was he so suspicious?

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Because I don’t trust you. You’ve been spending a lot of time studying my teammate’s skill. I want to know what you’re planning.”

  “Planning? I’m not planning anything!” Even before she finished speaking, she knew he wouldn’t believe her. She had been planning something, after all. It was nothing nefarious, but it was also not something she wanted to admit to him.

  Justus narrowed his eyes. His intense stare made her uncomfortable. It was like he was scrutinizing her every move.

  “Fine,” she said. “I was sorta hoping to… to run into you. I thought you might be with him.”

  For the first time, she saw a flicker of an actual emotion slip through his guarded expression. Surprise, or maybe worry? He recovered too fast for her to tell.

  “How do you know me?”

  “I don’t. But you’re an adventurer, right? You help people? And you travel around the world? That’s what the real adventurers do, the ones who make a difference.”

  “I help people who post jobs for the guild. Our travels are only temporary. We’re heading back home. That’s it. If you need help with something, I’d suggest finding someone else. So is that why you’ve been hanging around with him? You were hoping to use him to get to me and ask me for a job?”

  “No!” Senev said, but hadn’t she? It sounded bad when he said it like that, but she had been hoping for just that. “Sort of. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy helping him, though.”

  Justus opened his mouth, then his eyes flickered to the side. Was he looking at his shoulder? There was nothing there. He looked back at her, seeming to have an internal debate. Senev tried not to squirm under his stare.

  “What do you need help with?”

  Senev couldn’t help but squirm at that question. That was a very dangerous line of questions for both of them.

  “I wanted you to take me with you.”

  Justus raised an eyebrow. “What are you running from?”

  Senev bit her lip. “Home,” she answered, hoping it didn’t ask more. She wouldn’t be able to be honest if he did.

  “Why can’t you just leave then? You’re clearly over fifteen. No one would stop you.”

  “I don’t have any money.”

  Justus glanced back at his shoulder and paused for a long time. He shook his head.

  We’re not in the business of helping every person in need that we meet. Whatever problem you’re dealing with, I don’t want my team getting mixed up in an unsanctioned job. Is that all?”

  Senev nodded, trying not to show her disappointment. She knew it had been a desperate, nonsensical hope, but she’d still hoped that he’d be able to help her all the same. Even heroic adventurers couldn’t help everyone. And really, a true hero would probably turn her in once they knew the truth.

  “So why were you two upset at me? Did you think I was—”

  Justus looked back at the doorway, holding a finger to his lips. He looked back at her.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” he hissed.

  Senev shook her head. Justus stepped fully into the room, putting his back to her and watching the door. A few moments later, she heard footsteps and creaking wood. A figure appeared outside the doorway and stepped into the room. She recognized the tall, pale man immediately. His large beak-like nose and ever-present grin were hard to forget. Scupper, the self-declared leader of this station. He didn’t lead at all, though; he just had the most weight to throw around thanks to his gang.

  Scupper looked her up and down. It was much different than how Justus had scrutinized her, and it sent shivers down her spine. She hadn’t forgotten the last time she’d run into him. If an enforcer hadn’t shown up, things would have gotten bad. She was glad when the greasy-haired man turned his attention to Justus. Though he was half a head shorter, Justus didn’t flinch or back up when Scupper stepped closer to him. He stopped less than a foot away.

  “You’re the one who's been poking around my station. You should know the Warrens aren’t welcome to your type.”

  “I don’t really care to be welcome,” Justus said. “If you have a problem, then I’d suggest you go run back to your little gang and get some backup."

  Senev shrank back from the two, slowly standing up from her bed and grabbing Eji. If the two started a fight, she had a skill that would keep her safe. The two men stared each other down for a few long seconds, then Scupper backed off. He didn’t take his eyes off Justus, but he backed up to the doorway, giving Justus space but blocking the exit.

  “What’s your business with her?” he asked.

  “None of yours.”

  Scupper scowled. To Senev’s surprise, Justus turned his back to the man and looked at Senev. She kept her eyes on Scupper, whose pale cheeks were growing red with anger.

  “I’ll be going. You can continue seeing your training with my teammate, but—”

  Senev opened her mouth in warning as Scupper lunged, pulling a blade from his side. Before she could even make a sound, though, the scene changed in an instant. One moment Justus was talking, and the next he was behind Scupper, a short dagger of his own in his hand, which was pressed against the taller man’s neck. The room remained still for a long time, with only the sound of the waves below. Scupper dropped his blade, breaking the stillness. It fell onto the wood with a dull crash.

  “As I said, I’m leaving, Scupper. You're lucky you don't have any bounties on your head. I usually avoid killing as a general rule. It attracts attention I don’t like. But I’ve heard of your little gang, and I don’t like the way you run things. I don’t think anyone would care if you disappeared. As it is, you aren’t worth my trouble. You should make sure it stays that way.”

  Justus looked at Senev, his dagger still pressed against Scupper’s throat.

  “Meet us tomorrow. Same time, early.” Justus focused back on Scupper, digging the dagger tighter against his skin, enough to draw a thin cut and cause a drop of blood to trickle down. “If she isn’t there, alone and unharmed, then I’d suggest you turn yourself in to the enforcers before I can get to you.”

  Then, just as suddenly as before, Justus was gone. Scupper spun on his heels and looked behind him, only to find no one there. He looked out in the hall, then cursed. Senev pressed herself further against the wall as the tall, pale man turned back to her. Though she understood what Justus had been trying to do, she couldn’t help but notice that he’d still left her alone with the gang leader. What kind of a hero was he to gamble with someone's life like that? There was nothing but a threat keeping Scupper from killing her, or worse.

  Scupper reached up, wiping the thin trail of blood from his neck with the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Little shit. I can’t tell you how hard it was to resist killing that arrogant fuckwit. Damn Adventurer’s guild. Whatever. He's not the reason I came here.” Scupper met her eyes. “You and I are going to have a little talk. I have a job for you, and you’re going to do it. Consider it payment for freeloading here."

  Senev opened her mouth, baffled. What would make him think she’d do anything for him? She prepared her skills, ready to run if he made a move toward her.

  “Oh, you’ll do it,” Scupper said, as if he could hear her thoughts. “Unless you want me to tell the enforcers just who has been staying in my shelter. And I know you don’t want that, do you, Senev?”

  Senev’s insides went cold. She hadn’t told anyone her name since running away and changing her face. If he knew that…

  “What do you want?”

  ****

  Katherine hated this floating city. She wanted to let loose and burn something, or maybe use her Deflection skill to kick down a tree. There was no safe way to do that here without risking getting someone hurt.

  She’d gone back to the inn after leaving the park, and after ten minutes of pacing back and forth, she decided to head back into town. There was no goal in her mind; she just needed to be moving. If she stopped moving, she’d start thinking. Her eyes darted from person to person, to buildings, to signs her guidestone translated, to the clouds in the sky, to the textured grain of the waxed wood beneath her feet.

  There were too many people on the streets. People were the last thing she wanted to see. Every time she looked at someone, all she could do was see reasons to hate them. She began cutting between buildings, navigating through the sharp angles of narrow alleyways. Finally she stopped next to a sturdy wooden fence with thick metal support beams. Rearing back, she threw her weight behind her fist as she drove it into the metal. She screamed, then struck the beam again and again until the pain overshadowed her anger.

  A few minutes later, she was sitting on the ground, back up against the wall. Her knuckles were throbbing, and the pain flashed every time she squeezed her fist shut. Despite that, she flexed it in time to her heartbeat.

  The emotions that had been boiling over began to simmer as she forced her attention away. There was no mantra, no coherent thoughts to cling to. She focused fully on the ever-slowing sharp waves of pain that came from her hand. Finally, she felt in control again and let her hand relax. It still throbbed horribly, and she knew before looking that she had broken something. She’d need to ask Simon to fix that for her.

  The thought almost sent her spiraling again, but she pushed the emotions down. Katherine knew what she had to do. She pushed herself up, wincing as the movement sent prickling shivers through her hand.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Katherine stepped out of the alleyway, passing buildings she didn’t as she started to walk. Getting here had been a blur, and it didn’t take her long to realize she was lost. As she wondered what to do, one of the street trolleys passed her by. It was time to find out whether those were free or not.

  When she got off the trolley, she was back outside the park, just a couple of blocks from the inn. She held her hand in her pocket, which hurt every time she took a step, but kept the injury out of sight. The stares and glances bothered her more than the pain did. The short walk felt much longer than it had earlier when she’d left for the park with Justus.

  When she arrived at their room at the inn, she stood outside the door to their room for a few minutes, trying to think of what to say. Nothing came to her, so she just went inside. She shut it behind her. Simon was inside, and to her surprise, she found him sitting on one of the chairs reading. It wasn’t a book but a newspaper. He glanced up at her but didn’t say anything. Belle hopped up from where she’d been lying at his feet and trotted over to Katherine. She bent down and scratched the eager dog behind the ears.

  “Where’s Justus?”

  Simon shrugged. “Dunno. He left a little bit after you did. Didn’t say where he was going. Where have you been?”

  “On a walk.”

  “Mm.”

  Katherine took a seat on her bed. The room only had two. Justus had volunteered to sleep on the floor.

  Simon peeked over the top of the newspaper at her, then laid it down on his lap.

  “Hey, about what I said… It was fucked up. I’m sorry.”

  “No, you were right. I was being a jerk. Sorry for overreacting. I just…” Katherine shook her head. “Sorry.”

  “So we’re cool?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine," Katherine said, though fine was far from how she felt. She wasn’t angry with him anymore. She’d never really been angry at him.

  “Cool. What did you—what the fuck happened to your hand?”

  Katherine had taken her hand out from her pocket and rested it on her thigh. She looked down at it. It was swollen now, and her knuckles were a nasty mix of purple and red.

  “I, um, sorta punched a wall.”

  Simon stood up, putting the newspaper down on the table. He walked over to her, holding out his hand. She lifted hers, then looked away, wincing as he gingerly grabbed it. A split second later, she felt a numb tingle and a shifting sensation under the skin as the small fractures ground back into place. The numbness faded, and her hand felt perfectly fine. The sudden contrast was almost euphoric. She hadn’t realized how horrible it had been hurting until the pain vanished.

  “What did the wall say to deserve that?” Simon joked, though it sounded a bit forced. Katherine didn’t answer. She wasn’t in the mood for banter.

  “Hey,” Simon said, his voice absent of any joviality. “Don’t do that again. I won’t heal you next time.”

  Katherine nodded, wishing she had a skill to turn invisible or teleport somewhere far away.

  Simon stood there for a while, then went back to the chair. He picked up the paper.

  “What are you reading?”

  “Newspaper. Figured it might be a good idea to learn about what’s going on. Nothing much useful in here, though. Apparently a festival is coming up soon, but we should be gone before then. Bummer. It seems pretty fun. There’s a whole carnival, parade, and concert. They also have an annual high dive competition. I’d bet you’d kill that. You could just absorb the landing.”

  “You think they’d allow skills for a competition?"

  The door to the room opened. Both of them looked up to see Justus step inside.

  “Where did you go?” Simon asked.

  “Were you shopping?” Katherine asked, looking at the thick paper bag Justus carried at his side.

  “Among other things. Have you two made up already?”

  “Cool as cucumbers,” Simon said. “What did you buy?”

  Justus answered by reaching into the bag and pulling something red out. He tossed it at Simon. He nearly missed it and had to scramble to catch the thing from the air.

  “Damn it. Fucking depth perception,” Simon grumbled as he held up the item. “Is this a bathing suit?”

  “Swimming trunks. You’ll need them tomorrow.”

  “Oh, thanks. Wait, what?”

  A small white head poked out of Justus’s shoulder.

  “We’re going to the beach!” Lyka shouted.

  “For what? Do you want us to practice fighting in the water?” Katherine asked Justus.

  “Are you going to make us swim laps until we cramp up and drown?” Simon asked.

  “No. We’re going to have fun,” Justus said.

  Katherine and Simon stared at him.

  “Seriously, what’s the plan?” Simon asked.

  “There is no plan. Tomorrow is a day off. No training. No job.”

  “But what about the sparring? I thought you wanted to practice your new skills?” Katherine asked. The last thing she wanted to do tomorrow was try to have fun. She wanted to fight.

  “We can do it later. Right now it’s more important that we focus on team cohesion. We’ve been training and working together, but a team is supposed to be more than that. I’ve been told the best teams are… close.” Justus hesitated at the last word.

  “And training for three hours a day doesn’t make us close? When Simon and I fought that robot, we worked pretty well together.”

  “Did you? Both of you were scrambling about in a panic, and you nearly died. The only reason either of you made it out was luck. A real team can predict each other and work together. That means implicit trust.”

  Katherine couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  “Yeah, it is, which is why we’re doing this.”

  “You don’t have to convince me, but how the hell are we going to go to the beach? We’re in the middle of the ocean.”

  “It’s not really a beach. You’ll see when we get there.”

  Katherine still would have rather spent time letting off steam through training, but she was outvoted. It was just a day at the beach. It couldn’t be that bad.

  “I talked to your friend,” Justus said to Simon. “She’ll be meeting us tomorrow.”

  Katherine felt her stomach drop.

  “Kella? How? Did you tail her?” Simon asked.

  “No. I made a few good guesses and asked around. I asked her some questions, and her answers were good enough. I don’t think she’s up to anything.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful to hear. So glad you could let me know.”

  “I wasn’t done. She is hiding something. Someone is after her, probably her family. I think she might be from a noble family, someone important.”

  “Makes sense. She’s told me she ran away from home and that she never got along with her family. They were really religious. I was getting cult vibes from what she said. I could have told you all that if you’d bothered to ask before going off and interrogating her.”

  “She could have lied to you.”

  “And she couldn’t lie to you?”

  Justus took off his robe, laying it to the side. He pulled out his folded futon and tossed it onto the ground.

  “We need to get up early. I’d suggest you both get some rest. Try not to stay up too late reading, Katherine.”

  “Hey, don’t just ignore my question! Do you have some sort of lie detector skill or something? I feel like that’s pretty important for us to know about,” Simon said.

  “Have a nice rest,” Justus said as he lay on his mattress.

  Simon looked to Katherine. She shrugged, though she wouldn't be surprised if Justus could tell if someone was lying. After she’d gotten over her initial distaste for his Absolute Awareness skill’s ability to sense bodies, she’d thought through the implications. If he could perfectly detect someone’s involuntary bodily responses, then learning to detect lies was a natural skill to practice with it.

  As Katherine lay back on her bed, a small glowing woman floated down in front of her. Lyka’s dress and hair flowed through the air like always, giving the impression that she was floating through space or underwater. She landed on her knees on Katherine’s pillow.

  “Story?”

  Katherine sighed and sat up. She really didn’t feel like reading right now, but it was hard to tell the spirit no.

  “Fine. Only one chapter, though. You heard Justus.”

  “Yes!”

  The park was busier than usual the next quarter. It was Lenlas, the last of the four quarters that made up the orbits. As such, many people were off work. Unlike Earth, the typical workweek on Varkalus was three days of work, then one day of rest.

  It was still early, though, so the full crowd was yet to appear. Katherine hoped that Kella wouldn’t show up, but the hope was crushed the moment they arrived at the grove. The woman was already there, waiting at a table. Kella looked up and spotted them as they arrived. She waved, and only Simon returned the gesture. Her eyes glanced at each of them, then focused on Justus.

  “Any problems?” he asked.

  “No. No problems.”

  “Good. We’re spending the day at the beach. You’re going to join us.”

  “If you want. No pressure,” Katherine said.

  Kella seemed thrown off by the reason for the meeting.

  “The beach? I don’t know…”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Simon said. “These two aren’t that bad once you get to know them.”

  “It’s not that. I… I don’t know how to swim. I don’t even have a swimsuit.”

  “You live on a giant raft in the middle of the ocean and never learned to swim?” Katherine asked.

  “I’ve never needed to.”

  “That’s fine,” Justus said. “You don’t have to swim. Or you could take the chance to learn. I have a flotation device for you to use.”

  “You keep pool floaties in your inventory?” Simon asked.

  “They’re life preservation tools,” Justus snapped. He looked back to Kella. “I also bought this.” He reached out, and the air shimmered. He tossed an item to Kella. She caught it and held it out. It was a black and white one-piece.

  “It should fit you,” he continued. “But let me know if it doesn’t so I can take it back.”

  “Thanks, but how do you know it will fit?” Kella asked.

  “Best not to ask,” Simon said. “Justus can be a creep sometimes.”

  “It stretches, and I made an educated guess. That’s not creepy.”

  “Yeah, sure, sure. So, are you coming, Kella? Come on, it’ll be fun."

  Kella looked down at the swimsuit in her hands, seeming conflicted.

  “If you don’t want to, it’s fine,” Katherine said. “Going to a beach when you can’t swim probably wouldn’t be very fun anyway."

  “It’s not that,” Kella said. She looked at Justus. “How much did this cost? You’re just going to give it to me?”

  “Three chips and fifteen bits, but don’t worry about the cost.”

  “Where did that attitude come from all of a sudden?” Simon asked. “You took the money for my eyepatch out of my paycheck, and I didn’t even ask for it.”

  “You aren’t homeless.”

  “Uh, yeah, I am. My town got destroyed, remember?”

  “That’s not the same.”

  “What do you mean that’s—”

  “I’ll go,” Kella said, interrupting. Simon and Justus turned to her. “If it’s really okay with you all.” Simon grinned, and Justus nodded. Katherine tried to keep the bitter disappointment off her face.

  “It’s Katherine, right?”

  Katherine started as Kella addressed her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Is it okay with you?” Kella asked.

  “Sounds like they’re on board with it, doesn’t it?” she said.

  “Y-yeah, but I know you three are a team, so if you want it to be just a team outing, I’d understand. I don’t want to impose.”

  Katherine clenched her mouth. Simon and Justus were waiting for her response. As if she could say no. Justus would be upset at her for wasting his money, and Simon would be angry at her all over again. Kella was making herself look good, as if she cared. But if she really cared about what Katherine wanted, she would have just declined the offer and stayed in whatever gutter she called home.

  “It’s fine,” Katherine said, making a conscious effort not to spit the words between her teeth.

  Kella smiled. “Thank you.”

  Katherine turned to leave the grove, waiting on the wooden trail in the park. The others followed shortly after. Justus trailed behind, and she walked with him. She slowed until Kella and Simon were a fair distance ahead. The two were talking, nearly bumping shoulders.

  “Why the hell did you invite her for? Is this payback for something?” She hissed to Justus.

  “It has nothing to do with you.”

  “Like hell it doesn’t. I know you aren’t that obtuse. You have to notice the way he looks at her. And buying her a swimsuit? I bet he can’t wait to see it on her. Bitch…”

  “Nothing you just said has anything to do with you.”

  Katherine stopped, turning to face Justus. She looked up at him as he paused a few steps ahead and looked back.

  “I was going to ask him to go to the beach. I told you I was going to! And then you go and set this all up, and it’s got nothing to do with me? You know he likes her!”

  “And he doesn’t like you. Not in the way you want. The sooner you accept that, the better. You were the one who gave me the idea for the beach, sure, but I didn’t plan this trip as some kind of weird punishment or lesson for you. The point of today is to have fun. If he wants her to come, then she can join. If you made friends here, I’d have been just as likely to let you invite them as well.”

  “Having her here isn’t fun for me,” Katherine said, starting to walk away, “but I guess I don’t matter.”

  Katherine was pulled to a stop as Justus grabbed her tightly by the wrist.

  “You don’t matter, Katherine! In case you’ve forgotten, we’re caught up in some serious shit. Look at the big picture for a single second, will you? You aren’t at school anymore. You don’t matter. Simon doesn’t matter. I don’t matter. We’ll all probably be dead before we ever complete our quest.

  “So the guy you like doesn’t feel the same way—too damn bad. He still cares about you, but if you keep acting like this, that’s going to change, and then one or both of you will do or say something stupid like he did yesterday, only you won’t let bygones be bygones. You’ll split up, the party will be separated, and our quest will be fucked because you couldn’t accept that the world doesn’t owe you what you want.”

  Katherine wrenched her hand free. He let her go. As she left, she was unsure which of the many emotions she felt was the one that caused her eyes to water with unshed tears.