Starfall

Chapter 9 - Elyse

We find ourselves in some kind of unified hesitation. I wait for Leola or Kamal to answer him, but neither of them do, so I begrudgingly take it upon myself to do the explaining.

"Most people include Parlem City in their trade business, since it's on the trade route anyways. But we don't do business with them."

He's still not satisfied with this response. "Why, though?"

Another hesitation finds its place in my throat—because do I really need to give him an answer? We haven't established that amount of trust yet. Besides, I want to know how he acts once we're out of Parlem City—that'll be the true test. Because after that, who knows whether he'll still find a need to try so hard not to drag this crew down?

Coming to a concrete decision on my stance with Ben, I say, "We do not do business with Parlem City. Not usually. But we do today."

Since I haven't exactly told anyone of my specific plans, Leola sits up a bit straighter. "What are we trading? We don't have any supply from Norin—all we have is malt and beans."

"We have jerky, too," Ben adds. All he receives in return is a sharp glare that is not meant to be funny. I shoot Leola a look that says something along the lines of, How would he know you hate jerky?

"Information," I tell my crew. "That's what we're trading."

Without being too obvious, I watch Ben for any reaction. He's the only one that knows our next destination is the Isthmus of the Sky. But I'm still the only one that knows we can't get to the Isthmus until we have either the directions or the charts. And I have an idea of who might have them.

"Information on what?" asks Kamal, his brow lowering.

I raise my eyebrows. "A captain never tells, does she?"

Leola laughs skeptically. "Oh, I think a captain usually tells."

I eye her, making sure she sees the wariness in my gaze. "Let me ask you something, then." She sets her hands on her hips, ready for a fight, whether it's humorous or not. "Do you still think Doxemity was a cult?"

This catches her off guard. She takes a step back, even, and her gaze flicks from side to side in uncertainty.

"This feels like a trick question," she whines, crossing her arms.

I just shrug and wait for her answer. The boys watch in silence.

Her words come slow and careful when she says, "No, I guess not."

Even though it's a bit forced, it's good enough for me. I give a short nod and look back at the sky's path ahead. "Good. Because we're going to the Isthmus."

"Wait. We are?" Kamal sounds legitimately shocked. "You've always talked about it, but I didn't know you really . . . meant it. And so soon."

"Yeah, I thought we would go once we were, like, old and crusty," Leola exclaims. Then she stops. Thinks for a moment. Suddenly she gasps. "Oh! My speech!" She curses and runs her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Oh man, my speech. I thought I had at least a few decades to get it perfected."

Ben appears between us all with the most lost and confused expression I've ever seen on his face. "What am I missing here? I feel like I'm missing a lot."

I nod. "You are."

"Care to catch me up?" He smiles something innocent. I decide it won't hurt to give him something. Besides, it's nothing too personal.

So I tell him the exact words I spoke to him just an hour ago. "We're going to the Isthmus, Ben. That's where we've always been going."

Recognition flashes behind his eyes. "Always?"