After nearly three weeks on the ship, Sydney had a sort of rhythm worked out.
In the evenings (well, mornings, now) she took her breakfast with Adrian—talking to him more and more each day but still eating the same, scant amount. Then, she could be found holed up in her room until Abe invited her to walk around the deck. They would engage in simple, strained conversation before parting. Sydney might spend a bit more time up on deck, gazing mournfully out to sea, but ultimately she returned to her cabin and locked herself in. Diner would arrive soon after, and she would be joined by Adrian or Rose or Dimitri, or sometimes all three.
"So," Adrian said on what, unknown to Sydney, would be her last 'evening' aboard The Zmey. "Abe is leaning toward letting you wander a bit through the next city we dock in. It'll be later today, if the winds hold."
Dock in, Sydney thought sarcastically. What she said aloud was, "When will he let me go completely?"
Adrian shifted in his seat, "Soon, I'm sure." That was always his answer. Soon. "It's actually quite strange that he's kept you this long. It won't be much longer."
Sydney nodded, not daring to take his word to heart.
"Let's not focus on that. Let's think about… what you're going to wear." Adrian headed over to the chest where she had grudgingly, reluctantly, scowling-ly, unpacked her dresses.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't dig through my things." She said sharply.
Adrian paused, then shrugged and leaned against the wall. "Well, you'll need something you can stretch your legs in. And something witchy-trick friendly, just in case you get the urge to curse a merchant."
"We agreed not to talk about that." More like Sydney refused to say anything when he brought it up.
"Believe me Sydney, magic or no, where we're headed, you're going to want to throw something nasty at most everyone. You'd best be prepared."
Something in his voice made her pause. Her eyes narrowed.
"Where are we going?"
Adrian grinned apologetically. "Let's call it… Pirate Central?"
Sydney sighed. "Oh. That's why Abe's letting me off?"
Adrian's face turned serious. "We're all hoping you have the sense to not try and pull something. Believe me; compared to the guys we'll be seeing, Abe is a saint, even if he is a Moroi."
Sydney gulped. She could've guessed that.
"Don't worry, though. You'll have a guard."
"You?"
"Half of the time. Someone else—Christian, I think—will be with you the other half." Adrian told her, sitting back down at the small table.
"How many Moroi will there be in 'Pirate Central'?" She asked, surprised that question hadn't occurred to her sooner.
"Some, but not too many. Not many human pirates know about us, and the ones who do aren't exactly friendly. We'll only be there for a day or so." Adrian said while swirling the butter knife around in the jam.
"It's odd." Sydney said abruptly, starting in on one of those rare moments when she said exactly what was on her mind. "Funny, even. No, funny isn't the right word. Ironic, maybe? Ironic that pirates are so often viewed as lesser educated fools. But those fools know more about the world, more about the dark, than most scholars."
Adrian nodded. "True. Although, most of what they 'know' about us is jumbled with Strigoi lore or completely made up."
"It's more than regular people know."
"You almost sound…" Adrian trailed off, unsure (for once, it seemed) of what Sydney was feeling. Her aura was a knot of colors that he didn't know how to untangle.
"I'm not upset. It would be a disaster if your kind were to be rediscovered, I know that." Sydney shivered. "Could you imagine the chaos? And then the Strigoi…"
"It's not my idea of fun either."
There was a moment of silence.
"You'll need to cover any affiliating tattoos. I know you have at least one."
-0-
The crowd of the island city ebbed and flowed, a current of colors and dirt. It was an optical illusion of people.
For a moment, Sydney thought she saw Jaclyn Terwilliger, the village woman who'd first pushed Sydney into the world of witchcraft. A second glimpse, caught on tip-toes, revealed a woman much younger and darker-haired than her teacher. Perhaps a relative?
But then she was gone, replaced by stranger faces.
Adrian hadn't been wrong when he'd told Sydney she'd want to 'throw something nasty' at the merchants. There were few to begin with, and fewer still who were likely to have actual wares. Most were piggish scams. She calmed herself by running through a mental list of curses she was able, and willing, to cast.
They went unscathed, unaware of the peril they'd escaped.
Another thing that bothered Sydney were the sheer number of girls who called out to Adrian as they walked by, sidling up and leaving not a breath of space. Adrian promised the same to each—"Later," accompanied by a smirk and a wink—and politely freed himself.
"Don't give me that look. I'm doing them a favor." Adrian had said after the third gaggle. There'd been nothing more said on the matter.
By observing body language, Sydney could easily tell which humans knew Adrian was a vampire and which didn't. She could also tell the extent of their vampiric knowledge, more or less. Some even—the fools—carried clearly labeled jars of holy water.
"So, they just let you walk among them?" Sydney asked at one point.
"For the most part. There are vigilantes, hunters, but few others venture beyond dirty looks." Adrian answered.
"I understand why we're not staying long."
She winced. She hadn't meant to say 'we'.
-0-
The sun was setting when they arrived at the entrance to the port. This was where Adrian's foretold "later" would officially commence.
Sydney looked out on a horizon dotted with black flags. "I never realized there were so many of you. And this is just a small gathering."
"We're a big bunch." Adrian agreed.
"That's a lot of looting." Sydney began doing the numbers in her head.
She was startled out of her calculations when Adrian called, "Christian! You took your sweet time. Did you pick us some flowers?"
Christian sauntered over to them, his boots falling heavily on planks of rough wood. "The meeting time was sunset. I don't know what you see when you look to the west, but I see a sunset.
"Have you been feeding her?" Christian asked.
Sydney had been sailing on The Zmey for several weeks, but some of he crew still had trouble speaking to Sydney directly. Granted, she also had trouble speaking to them, but Christian didn't have to act like she wasn't there.
Adrian answered, not entirely kindly, "I fed her around 3:00, but I haven't watered her in a while."
"Then we'll walk to the bars with you, and we can return to the ship after." This last part, finally, was addressed to Sydney.
They began the walk back into town, but Sydney didn't take part in the small talk. She was focusing on her shock, unable to believe she'd felt relief at being told she would soon return to the ship. By admitting to relief, she'd admitted she would rather be trapped on a boat of begin vampires than wandering a town with humans like the ones in 'Pirate Central' (she still wasn't sure what the city was called).
Sydney and Christian entered a bar of, if not quality, than at least better lighting than the ones surrounding it. Like the one Adrian had ducked into.
Christian and Sydney were seated at a table near the middle, as the ones in the corners were unfortunately taken.
She'd ordered a soup, figuring she could solve the problem of possibly contaminated drinks and the need for sustenance at once and as quickly as possible.
Christian tried to start up small talk, but… something about this was wrong. It should've been Adrian across from her, trying to engage her. Not some near-stranger whose name she'd only learned the day before.
But, Adrian was off doing whatever those winks and smirks had promised. She didn't want to think about that.
In the act of avoiding eye contact with the Moroi in front of her, she found a new set of peepers to meet.
He was handsome, she supposed, but that didn't count for anything around people like these.
His eyes darted between her and Christian, who had given up chatting and was now devoting his time to a tankard of ale. Then, like so many observers before him, his gaze traveled to her neck.
Sydney felt her face flush with anger, and she dramatically swept back her hair, revealing her untarnished skin. She made a face at him and his head did a 180.
Sydney slumped back in her seat. She was tired of people checking to see if she was a feeder. She finally let herself freely, articulately think, it will be a relief to leave.
"Don't let it get to you." Christian said.
"What?" Sydney asked.
"The looks," Christian clarified. "I have a lot of experience with those, and believe me, it's best to just not let them bother you."
Sydney took another sip of broth before replying, "That's easier said than done."
"True." Christian digressed.
He would have said more, but just then a low chime sounded, hushing the crowd.
There was a moment, a moment in which nothing moved. What is going on? What is happening? She wondered.
But that bell, that ominously low-pitched bell, told her something was very wrong.
Christian cussed.
And then there was pandemonium.
Christian tried to reach for her over the table, but they were both swept away, carried by the mass of the crowd.
The streets were flooded with panic—and various states of undress—by the time Sydney was finally squeezed through the door and out onto the main street.
Swords were being drawn, and several people were accidently run through, and everyone was headed a different way. Some were rushing to battle while others rushed away from it. Though, seeing as no one knew where the attackers were, no one was making any sort of progress.
It was absolute disarray, and Sydney had never been more alone.
Then, "Sydney!"
Sydney felt a bruising grip clench around her hand, and she was being led through the bedlam. Her wrist ached, but she could have cried for joy when she was yanked out of the confused, deadly bustle and into a side alley.
"Adrian." She gathered herself, taking in deep breaths and slowing her heart.
He didn't let go, didn't even loosen his grip.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"What's going on?" Sydney asked.
"We're being attacked." Adrian said.
Sydney was a bit disappointed by the pirate's lack of composure. "Doesn't this happen all the time? Why is everyone so scared?"
"Not by Strigoi, it doesn't." Adrian said. "Even those who don't know about Moroi know what that bell means. It means monsters."
Sydney's breath stuck in her throat.
Adrian was pulling on her wrist again, and she stumbled along. The back ways he took were far less crowded then the main roads, and she was grateful for it. She was still jostled by passerby, but it was a far cry from the turmoil just blocks away.
"Where are we going?" She was gasping for air again.
"The port."
But the port was on fire. Ships manned with enough people to set sail were pulling away without their comrades, and those that couldn't push off were incinerators.
"There," Adrian spotted a ship that looked promising.
They were running again, sprinting.
For a moment, their path was blocked by a looming creature with red eyes and a hungry smile. She saw his fangs and her mind went blank.
Later, Adrian would tell her that Dimitri Belikov took him out, and they hadn't stopped running, despite Sydney's blackout.
Then she was jumping alongside Adrian, several others following behind them, and they were on the ship. They were going away and that was all that mattered.
The disorder on the ship was easier for Sydney to handle than the disorder in the city. She was given tasks and she did them, even though it was clear she was no sailor. She and Adrian never strayed far from each other and finally, finally, when the lights of the fires and the sounds of dying, screaming people faded, Sydney woke up.
And promptly slumped against a pole.
Her eyes were slumping too. Slumping, slumping… slumping…
"Hey there, little one. You're one of the prettier additions to my crew, you know. Even covered in soot."
Sydney looked up with heavy lids to see a man not much older than herself. Pieces of Adrian's earlier advice—had it really been just that morning?—floated back to her in slow, hazy waves. Believe me; compared to some of the guys we'll be seeing, Abe is a saint.
She roused herself and studied him.
He didn't seem like much of a threat, but still, she said, "I'll be on my way soon."
The man laughed, crouching down to her level. "Stay as long as you like. You've had quite the day. Would you like some cheese?" He held out a chunk.
"Are you really a pirate?" The question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She was afraid she'd insulted him, but he just laughed, as if she'd said something incredibly funny.
"No, I just like the good company you find on a black-flag island." Sydney wasn't entirely sure what that was supposed to mean—was he joking or was he really a pirate?—but she forced a small smile anyway.
He stood up, addressing the crowd. "Well, that was exciting!" He said, his eyes sparkling. How could he be so upbeat? Had he seen that blazing city?
"Fresh faces," he grinned at them. "You must all be tired and hungry, and I hope you find our boat hospitable. Welcome to the…" he sighed. "Damn. Sabrina, darling, we really need to name this ship."
"I'll get on it, Captain Finch."
-0-
Sydney's forehead pressed against the railing and her eyes watched the waves with an almost obsessive avidness. She'd assumed the position just minutes before, after nightmares chased her out of sleep.
She heard footsteps, prayed they would pass her by, but they didn't. In her peripheral vision she saw Adrian take a seat next to her.
"You were screaming." He said softly.
"I'm sorry if I woke you." Sydney said, not taking her eyes off the waves.
"Don't apologize." He said.
They listened to the waves lap against the side of the ship.
"For all my reading and insider knowledge, I'd never seen a real vampire—living or dead—before all… this." Sydney paused. "I thought I was scared when I realized you were Moroi. I thought I was scared when I realized I was trapped on your ship. But that wasn't… back on the island, that was fear."
Adrian nodded. "I know.
"I'd never seen one before either, you know. Not up close like that." Adrian finally said. He reached out and fingered the singed edges of her sleeves. "I did tell you to wear something magic-friendly." He whispered; his voice cutting through silence like the ship through the waves below.
"I don't remember casting any spells." Sydney told him.
"You threw a fireball at a Strigoi. Several, actually." Adrian told her.
"Oh."
Sydney pulled her sleeve up a bit, revealing her wrist.
"That's an alchemist tattoo." Adrian recognized it from the few times he'd seen it.
"Among the upper families, it's all the rage. My father had my sisters and I marked immediately. The formula isn't perfect yet, though. It will fade in a few years, and the magic in it fades within months."
Adrian nodded, as if he'd heard this before.
"So… what happens now?" Sydney ventured to ask.
"There's an island we're headed towards. It's just a week away and then we'll be rid of The Nameless."
"You don't like it here?" Sydney asked.
"Not particularly. It's nice, but Marcus and his crew are much too…merry for my sensibilities."
"Isn't that what you're all about? Cheer?" She'd not known him long, but Adrian seemed like a joking, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. Like Marcus.
"No. Charming and merry are two entirely different things. What about you, though? Are you coming?" He asked, a note of trepidation in his voice.
"Do you want me to come?"
"I thought we could stick together." Adrian said.
Sydney thought about it.
In the past month, she'd been trapped aboard two strange vessels, with two strange captains, when all she'd wanted was freedom. And Adrian… he was a vampire, he ate people, but right now he was her only friend.
She needed a friend, she would go crazy without one.
So she said, "Okay."