The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster Read Free Book Online

burned her hand.
    “Look, sweetie,” the quartermaster said, hurrying over to Shina, “I know you want to get north, and I know you have a
fuck ton
of money, but—”
    “Hold up.” The Captain stepped toward them. “You mind explaining to us
why
you want us to go back to the boat right now?”
    “I can’t,” she blurted. Not here, not pressed for time like this, and certainly not while trying to hold in this storm. “I—I can’t.”
    “What do you mean, you
can’t
?” Tazir barked. “You’ve got a mouth in your head, don’t you?”
    “It’s—just believe me, all right?” Her belly churned and ached. To distract herself, she ran her thumb in a painful circle around the compass. “I can get us out of here, but we have to get to the boat.”
    “I don’t know where you think we’re from,” said the Captain, “but it ain’t a place where we’re just gonna go take your word on it and sit in a boat while these sons of bitches burn the town down around us.”
    “Let’s go!” Kodin said. “Whatever plan you have, ours is better.”
    “I have to get back to the ship,” Shina pleaded. She couldn’t hold the storm in much longer—and when it came out, it was going to be awfully hard to explain herself to these frantic islanders running from the approaching raiders. “Look!” She pulled her hand from her pocket and held the compass aloft. It was glowing now, a bright sunset pink that stood out against the darkening sky.
    The Captain hissed and drew back as if she’d touched it herself, her eyes wide and her teeth bared. “What the fuck is that?”
    “It’s a compass,” Shina said. “Sort of.”
    “Did it tell you the Dragon Ships were coming?” said the Captain.
    “Yes!” Shina said. “I can—I can explain everything, I promise, but I need to be back at the ship.” A breeze—a product not of the storm in Shina’s gut, but of the nervousness pounding through her veins—was starting to whip across the beach. It wouldn’t be long now.
    Kodin stepped toward her. “And why in the hell can’t you—”
    Without a word, Shina turned and sprinted back toward the boat. The breeze was picking up, chilling the beach and speeding her feet. She could see them, now—two of the great longboats pulling around the northern tip of Kuhon.
    “Hey, wait!” Chaqal called after her. “Ohhhhhhhh, if you wreck our boat—”
    As she got closer to the water, it was easier for Shina to run. She hadn’t been planning on piloting a fifty-foot dhow by herself. She didn’t even know if she could. It certainly wasn’t something that people did because they wanted to.
    “Dammit, girl,” came a voice from behind her. Was it the Captain’s? Shina was wading toward the boat’s ladder; her head was spinning. She clutched at the compass. She couldn’t lose the compass—she couldn’t fall into the water—but it was so hard to stand—
    Shina reached out to balance on something before she fell, but there was nothing there. She splashed and flailed in the water, dimly aware that the storm was escaping from her gut but not at all sure of what it was becoming once it got out.
    “Holy
shit—
”
    “For fuck’s sake, don’t
drop
her!”
    “I’m
trying—
”
    “Try harder!”
    Shina’s rib cage pulsed; her jaws ached as if strange hands were forcing them open.
    “What do I do?”
    “Here—keep her head down so it don’t flow into her lungs—”
    “Holy
shit
!”
    “Or you can
keep screaming—
”
    “You’re not helping either. Now, step to the side—good—”
    Shina began to cough and spit. She’d shut her eyes against the salt water, and couldn’t bear to open them again. Her insides burned like she’d swallowed the—
where was it?
    “My compass,” she gasped. “Where is my compass?”
    “Fuck—Kodin, do you see it down there?”
    “I need my compass—” Shina kept fighting for air. She needed to breathe—why was it so
hard
?
    “Okay, hand her up here.”
    Shina tried to