Claimed by the Desert

Chapter Twelve

As her eyes scanned the canal a thought began to form in her mind. Steamships were made of iron!

All she had to do was find the ship manifest, figure out which ship was headed in the direction of Oman, and hide out somewhere on board until it arrived! Amias wouldn't be able to get to her and she wouldn't have to use up any of her money!

The only problem was she had no idea where, or even if, she could find the manifest and she couldn't just keep running around the docks like a crazy person. She knew it was a risk, but the only solution she could come up with was to stop and ask someone.

"Sir," she called out toward one of the men boarding a ship. "Are there any ships in port headed to Oman?"

Her hopes crashed to the ground as he replied, "Not that I am aware, miss."

Just as she was about to give up he continued, "But there is one stopping at Port Aden. That's in Yemen, so it's pretty close."

"How close?" she asked, practically holding her breath in anticipation.

He thought it over and said, "I'd say about another two or three days if you can find a boat in Aden to take you."

 "Can you tell me where the ship to Yemen is docked?"

"The one on the far side of the canal, I think," he replied. "But they're not taking on passengers, lady."

She ignored the last part of his statement and rushed off to find the ship. A painful jerk on her hair nearly caused her to fall, but Vera picked up speed and refused to turn around. She knew Amias was right behind her and if she faltered for even a second he would catch up and she wouldn't get away again.

As she got nearer to the ship Vera could feel the temperature dropping in the air around her. Amias was furious, and a surge of hope filled her when she realized that must mean she was close to getting away. The white paint on the sides of the ship gleamed like a beacon of freedom in front of her eyes.

Just a few more steps, just a few more steps, she kept repeating to herself. 

She laughed aloud as she saw just how easy it would be to sneak aboard. People were rushing about the ship in a state of confusion and chaos. It looked like the cargo was already loaded and they were about to set sail. She remembered her father telling her cargo inventory was checked as it was loaded and unloaded, so if she could get aboard and sneak into one of the cargo crates no one would notice her there until they reached their destination. It was a good thing she had convinced her father to let her wear trousers. As long as she kept her head down and didn't look anyone directly in the eye, perhaps they wouldn't notice she didn't belong on deck.

Suddenly everyone and everything around her froze – just stopped moving completely. Unsure of whether or not Amias was creating an illusion or if the people around her were actually motionless because of his power, Vera hesitated. It would seem they had come to a stalemate. The ship couldn't leave as long as its sailors were immobile and Amias couldn't get any closer to the ship because of the iron.

 As she looked in his direction her breath caught in her throat. Amias had abandoned his human host completely, his red eyes being his only recognizable feature. His body had become something monstrous: a billowing darkness resembling a mix of a flaming storm cloud and towering giant.

"I'm done trying to be nice, Vera," Amias raged at her. "Now get down from that ship before I kill everyone on this dock!"

She couldn't have moved even if she wanted to. Fear had frozen her in place just like everyone else.

"N-no," she stuttered at first, but gaining confidence once she realized he was bluffing. "You can't kill everyone."

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?" he asked.