Dagger
It’s not that I wasn’t afraid.
I was.
It’s just that Ezra is more important than fear.
It’s that Ezra is the only thing that matters.
It’s that Ezra saved me, and I had the chance to save him, too.
I slice the ropes that bind Ezra and instantly, he’s on his feet kissing me, hugging me. He lifts me off my feet and spins me in a circle. Then he kisses me more and more and more.
“You are incredible,” he murmurs.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “You would have done the same for me.”
“I’m so pissed at you for putting yourself in danger,” he says. “But you were absolutely, totally, completely incredible.”
“Like I said, you would have done the same for me.”
Ezra just shakes his head, like he can’t believe what he’s hearing, but he doesn’t push the matter further.
“What should we do with the body?” I ask. “Should we just leave it here?”
“Absolutely. It’ll be gone by nightfall. I guarantee it.” Ezra kneels beside what remains of Martin Stremon and retrieves his knife. Then he starts checking his pockets.
“Looking for loose change?” I ask, surprised. Surely Martin doesn’t have anything valuable on him, but I’m wrong.
“Looking for these,” Ezra stands and shakes a couple of keys. “He had to get here somehow, right? I’m guessing he’s a better pilot than you.”
“Hey, come on now. I did my best.”
“I’m just saying that having our very own ship could come in handy.”
“How will we find it, though?”
“Easy,” Ezra holds out the keys. Attached to one is a small locator device. It has coordinates, but it also has a little arrow that points in different directions, depending on how the item is turned.
“Is that a compass?”
“It’s a compass that points to the ship. The coordinates are there, too. We’ll be able to find it and use it ourselves. What do you say, Dagger? I think you’ve earned yourself a ship.”
The idea is freeing and calming.
A ship.
We could go anywhere in a ship. Ezra and I could take on the world together in a ship, but I have the dawning realization that I don’t really want to go anywhere. I kind of just want to stay here. I kind of just want to be where I am, who I am. I kind of just want to enjoy Sapphira for a little while.
I’ve been on edge for so long trying to stay out of trouble and trying not to piss off my employers that I’ve forgotten how to live. I’ve forgotten that life is about more than just survival. Life is about the people you’re with.
And oh, I really want my life to be spent with Ezra.
“It’s incredible,” I say, and he pockets the keys.
“Come on, darling,” he says. “Let’s get on our way.”
“Are we going to the ship right now?” I ask, worried the adventure is about to end. Once we get to the ship, that’s it. Our journey is over. Ezra will probably return to the city of Diamond and me? I’m not sure where I’ll be.
“Of course not. We still have to find the fereers,” but the words have barely left his mouth when we hear a strange, high-pitched chirping noise. It doesn’t sound like a bird, but it doesn’t quite sound like an animal, either.
“What is that?” I ask, glancing around.
“Shhh,” he whispers, sounding excited. “It’s fereers. They’re close.”
The noise comes again and he nods, then holds up four fingers. Four fereers. I’m guessing we’ve somehow stumbled across a nest, which is great news. It means that in just a few minutes, Ezra is going to get the creatures he’s been hunting. He’s about to get his win. He’s about to complete his mission.
I’m silent as he pulls the bow out. He presses a button and the little cylinder-like object expands into an extraordinarily huge, amazingly fancy bow. How will he even shoot that thing? I’ve never seen a bow so huge. It’s almost as tall as me, yet Ezra makes holding it seem easy and simple.
“It’s lighter than it looks,” he explains in a quiet whisper. Then he motions for me to follow him. He moves stealthily, steadily through the grass. He moves with the grace of a dancer, which is incredible for someone of his size.
Who am I kidding?
It’s incredible for someone of any size.
He moves past a few trees and around a corner. I follow closely behind, trying not to be too loud. When I round the bend, I see what he’s looking at. Down a small hill is, as he described, a huge nest. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The nest is more like a small hut with an opening at the top. Inside are four large, long creatures.
They look like a large snakes with legs, but they’re furry: not scaly.
Then I notice something that’s strange.
There are Myrkky berries all around the nest. They’re everywhere. The fereers are eating something inside their nest. Are they eating the berries? The berries that are poisonous to humans? The berries that almost killed me?
“What are they eating?” I ask quietly.
“They’re immune to the poison,” Ezra whispers. “Now, do you see why so many hunters won’t even bother coming here? No one wants to risk someone on their team accidentally eating those damn things.”
I can certainly understand it. If these berries are as dangerous as he says, losing a team member who wasn’t paying close attention would be easy.
Much too easy.
Ezra suddenly lets out a long, low whistle, and the fereers stick their heads up. He snaps his fingers and they instantly start running. He raises the bow and shoots off his arrows at a rapid pace. They’re so fast that before I realize what’s happening, all four fereers hit the ground at the same time. Ezra didn’t even break a sweat.
“How the hell did you do that?” I ask. “And why did you whistle first?”
“I wasn’t about to shoot into a nest,” he says. “And as for how,” he pats the bow. “Apparently, this really is the best.”
“New toy?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Something like that.”
I reach for it and he hands me the bow. It’s light, as he said. It’s so light that despite its enormous size, I can hold it easily. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. It’s a deep purple with white stripes on it and I raise the bow, pretending like I’m aiming.
“Careful, love,” he says. “It shoots easily.”
Cautiously, I lower the bow back down and hand it over. I’m comfortable with knives, with daggers, but bows and guns are another thing altogether. Those are weapons I’m not entirely comfortable with, perhaps because I haven’t spent much time with them.
“What do we do now?” I ask, looking at the fereers surrounding us.
“We need to pack up the animals and head back to Diamond,” he says. “We’ll take Stremon’s ship. It’ll be faster than walking back through the jungle. This is a good haul and the meat will fetch a reasonable price. Getting back faster means the meat will be fresher and the price will be higher.”
“And then what happens?” I ask. The question comes out a whisper, and I hate the way I sound needy when I speak.
I hate the way I sound like I’m begging for him.
I hate the way I sound like a high school student.
“What do you mean?” Ezra turns and looks at me.
“Do I…do I go back to Mars after that?”
Is this the end?