The Immortal Chronicles | | b o o k 2

6. to be brazen

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IMMORTAL CHRONICLES : BOOK ONE : attus sally

. . .

"Ya really think this's a good idea, mate?" Mose had been on Attus's back the moment he'd rounded up the crew to head back aboard the ship. Not only was it an awful idea to randomly introduce a stranger to them, but it was also dangerous for the peculiar girl to be allowed a trusted spot on the ship. "I don't like the sound a her accent."

"Neither do I, but there's nothin' we can do 'bout that, can we?" Attus replied, turning towards his firsthand appearing mere inches from the tip of Mose's nose. "She's under my wing—don't pay her any mind if ya don't want to."

A sigh passed through Mose's mouth before he pursed his lips and glared past slitted lids. "It's kinda hard not to when the brat's the talk a the crew," he sneered. Attus only stared back at his friend, standing with his arms folded from beside the navigational wheel. They both seemed to give the girl, Neox, it seemed, one last look before Mose relented and strode away, taking the opposite staircase down from the quarterdeck. Neox claimed the other set of stairs as her own, and openly glared at anyone who dared make a pass by her.

Attus caught sight of his navigational man giving him a tilted, questioning look. "What're you lookin' at?" he said, half jesting as he gave the man a nudge in the rib. "Now quit smiling, will ya Mel?"

Mel only smiled wider, leaning an arm through the spokes of the wheel. "You've caused quite the stir, didn'tchya?" he commented. "Not that I'm complainin'."

Attus scoffed his laughter, stifling it behind his hand. He scratched his beard and gave Mel a sidelong look. The man had been with him on Sally East since the day he started commanding ship. Mel was by far the best, and only navigational man worth having on Sally East, especially considering his higher standing back in Eastvale. They were of common descent, only, Mel had received higher education than most men on the ship. He knew his way around the ocean like no one Attus had ever known, and he'd been able to make it through a number of tempests all because of Mel.

"What'dya suppose, Mel?" Attus asked, and upon the inquisitive look Mel gave him, he elaborated, "About the girl. What do ya suppose happened to her?"

Mel shrugged and said, "How should I know? I don't recognize those eyes at all—or the hair fer that matter."

He was right. There was definitely something strange about this girl, and so far Attus had experienced little hope in finding out what, exactly, it was that made her that way. If she didn't have to, she didn't talk. But she stuck around on deck, not minding the nip of the cold air as they gravitated closer to the southeast coast of the nine countries.

"Ya think she's from Faymoore?" Attus asked. "She did say Rochdale was close to her destination."

Mel hesitated in answering, but regardless of what he actually thought about the girl, he said, "It's possible." Attus realized it was probably just to satiate his nerves. In all honesty, he was anxious. It was natural for him to be weary of strangers who had the good sense to keep to themselves, but in doing so he felt as though that wall between them would crush him. He'd rather get to know her better before agreeing to ship her from the island to Faymoore.

As if recognizing that the whispers were speaking about her, Neox turned her eyes in their direction, the thick braids of her hair twisting over one shoulder and framing the scowl she set on her face. She'd caught them staring, and despite the fact that there was nothing suggestive about it, Attus and Mel flushed.