Seagulls soared overhead in a cloudy sky. Now and then, they dived low to search for stray food from seaside vendors.

Four days ago, after the AAH’s rejection of Ridvan’s findings, Camellia decided she needed another look at the crashed ship in Northern Tagtrum, formally Eudor. Armed with additional leave, Camellia walked towards the seashore in search of a vessel to carry her across the small sea. Her leave had come at Adalhard’s approval; though, the man gave it reluctantly.

Camellia had also written a letter to her father’s farmstead. Her vampire sire would not be happy to receive a letter addressed to the whole household when he hoped she would write to him directly. Four months ago, she would have addressed the letter to her mother. Camellia only returned a quarter of her mother’s letters, but she certainly wrote more to her mother than her father, which was never.

Camellia’s current letter said simply that she was on leave from the AAH and planned to travel around Groaza. She also suggested they stop worrying about her, but she doubted they would honor the request.

Now, Camellia was at the shipyard, a combination landing and docking area for both air and sea ships. On the dry side of the avenue, airships bounced in the wind, anchored by cords, extending from their balloons. On the wet side of the avenue, sea-faring vessels bobbed in the water.

Camellia needed a ship, and she wasn’t sure which she preferred. Private airships likely cost more, but the travel would be quick. Sailing ships were both familiar and cheap. Her stomach growled, but she turned away from the food vendors. She searched both lines of ships for a friendly captain.

A string of grizzled and lewd captains later, Camellia spotted a man with an open face. He signed a stack of papers while his crew loaded his seaship. As she approached, he looked up and smiled.

“Hello.” Camellia smiled along with her greeting. “I’m looking for a ship to take me to an island in the far north of Tagtrum. I need a one-way trip, and I have no baggage aside from this.” Camellia pointed to her triangular bag, strapped across her back.

The enchanted bag held all of her belongings: every item of clothing, every trinket, and all of her research.

“I would love to take you to Tagtrum’s far north, but first we are bound for the southwestern Ponk Empire. Rather the opposite direction, I’m afraid.” The captain smiled at Camellia’s face but stole a few glances at her slim waist and figure, curved into a nice hourglass.

“I see. Do you know anyone who might be headed in that direction?” Camellia asked. “Preferably a married man.”

“Well, I’m afraid all of the respectable, married men have left for the very edge of Iruedim this season.” He gave Camellia a look that made him seem less inviting but no less entertained.

“That bad?” Camellia turned away from him.

The man grabbed Camellia’s arm, and she whipped to face him, eyes wide.

He let her go and stated, “If you need a one-way trip, why not try the Groazan airship? Faster and they’ll drop you at a major inland city.”

“I need to go away from the major cities, and I’m looking for a more private ride.” Camellia shook her head. “I can’t take the government airship.”

“Oh, no passport?”

“That’s not it.” Camellia shook her head. “Thank you anyway.”

Camellia walked along the avenue. She had her passport, but she didn’t want it tracked. She didn’t give the man a second glance and dismissed the next ship, which looked like it had been in a fight with pirates. Camellia launched into a guilty fantasy. In her mind’s eye, she starred as the object of a pirate’s desire, with Adalhard cast as the pirate. Before her fantasy could progress beyond her initial setup, the first captain’s voice reached her ears once again.

“You’re headed towards a woman pilot. Airship – not sailing vessel. She’s a few ships down the ave,” the man called.

Camellia stopped and looked back. “Oh, Thank you.”

“No trouble at all. Her ship has supports for landing on ice. Good chance she goes north. Might be what you need.” The captain returned to his ship, shouting orders at his men as soon as he made the deck.

Camellia hurried down the pier, searching for the woman pilot. Before she sighted the pilot, she came upon a small airship, only about forty feet in length. A large, yellow balloon above was secured to a blue yacht below. Camellia wasn’t sure, but she thought the ski-like supports fit the captain’s description of ice landing equipment.

As Camellia examined the ship, her eyes settled on the port side bow. Someone had painted two eyes and a surprised ‘O’ of a mouth. Camellia smiled, bewildered but delighted.

“You like that?” a woman asked, approaching from behind. “Completely my idea. I call her Faustina.”

Camellia turned to see a blond, brown-eyed woman. The woman had an athletic build. Dangling around her neck was a short chain with two pendants. One was a silk flower, originally meant to be worn in the hair, broken from its stick. The other was a metal ring of hands, heart, and crown. The band, also broken, had been rejoined but not well enough to wear as a ring.

Camellia blinked and looked away. She nodded at the ship and its face. “It’s surprised.”

“Yeah, you’d get along.” The woman started for her ship.

“Are you and Faustina headed for Tagtrum?” Camellia asked. “I need to get to a northeast island – far north.”

“I wasn’t really sure where we were going, but we could be persuaded to turn back home. Are you paying?”

“Yes, of course.” Camellia rotated her bag. She brought the front across her chest and extracted a wad of bills. “I know it’s farther north than most like to go, so I’d be willing to pay a little extra.”

“I go north all the time. I used to serve on an ice ship – sailing ship.” Meladee grinned. “Then again, haven’t half of us? You can keep the extra.” The woman paused and studied Camellia. “My name’s Meladee Arai. Who are you?” Meladee directed a casual wave at Camellia’s person.

Camellia pushed her bag back into place and kept her money in hand. “Camellia Zaris. I’m an anthropologist.”

“Is that a daywalker’s stone?” Meladee asked, pointing at the necklace around Camellia’s neck.

Camellia started. She grasped her daywalker’s pendant. “I’m surprised you noticed. It’s not well known.”

Camellia wondered if her eyes had tipped Meladee off more than the stone. All over Iruedim, vampires and dhampirs of any land possessed constricted pupils of a more oval shape. In the dark, their pupils expanded and looked like anyone else’s. In the light, they could be accused of having cat’s eyes. Camellia bet that was what Meladee saw first, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe, they had just checked out each other’s jewelry.

“I’ve shipped a lot of precious stones. I don’t like shipping that one.” Meladee shook her head. “Well, are you a vampire? I hate vampires.”

“Dhampir. Is that also a problem?”

Meladee looked Camellia up and down. Her eyes lingered on Camellia’s cash. “I hope not. I’ve met a couple of dhampirs. One of them was struggling with his blood addiction. The other was nice enough. I’m trying to figure out which kind you are.” Meladee walked close to Camellia and stared intently. “You aren’t running from any vampires?”

“No, I’m not. The only vampire with an interest in me hardly leaves his land,” Camellia said.

Meladee circled behind Camellia, and Camellia shrunk away.

Meladee raised an eyebrow. “You don’t get hungry for blood often, do you?”

“I haven’t tasted blood in fifteen years,” Camellia turned her head to seek Meladee’s eyes.

“So, I don’t look tasty to you?”

Camellia almost laughed, but Meladee cut her off.

“I really am terrified of vampires....ghosts, werewolves, anything like that. This isn’t a joke to me.”

Camellia narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry. Groaza doesn’t seem like a good place for you. We have those things in abundance. Maybe, you should head home, but please take me with you. No one is chasing me. I just don’t want my colleagues to know where I’m going.” Camellia studied Meladee’s wary eyes. “And, I won’t bite,” she promised.

“I know magic just so you know,” Meladee said. “I hope I won’t need to use it. You seem like the nice kind, and judging from how you approach the other captains and deal with me, maybe even a bit mousey. I can take you to Tagtrum.” Meladee beckoned Camellia to board the ship.

“Thanks?” Camellia accepted the compliment with a knit brow and followed Meladee aboard.

Meladee climbed a plank to gain the deck, and Camellia copied the ship’s captain. She moved slowly, keeping her balance. Meladee sighed and offered Camellia her hand. Camellia took it and stepped onto the deck.

“Afraid of heights?” Meladee asked. She nodded towards Camellia’s feet. “Shoes off, this is my ship, and I don’t wear shoes.”

Camellia slipped out of her shoes and put them in a basket with Meladee’s.

She answered, “I’m not afraid of heights. I’ve been on many ships, mostly sea faring.” Camellia’s eyes swept the deck. She surveyed the clean floorboards and enclosed helm. “Truthfully, this is an improvement to the average sea vessel. Like most dhampirs, I can’t swim, and I’ve never been on a private airship before, only the public Groazan vessel. Faustina’s lack of crowds is a bit disconcerting but peaceful.”

“That’s the best damn thing about having your own ship. I took a government airship once. They suck. They only fly once a day - one way - and the bathrooms always smell terrible. There’s this particular one that always reeks. I’ve nicknamed it shit ship.”

Camellia wrinkled her nose but said nothing. She felt the description was accurate at least some of the time. She looked around the deck. “Where’s your crew?”

“It’s just me.” Meladee watched Camellia’s alarmed reaction and smiled. “Airships require fewer flyers. It’s reasonable for me to be on my own. Besides, I can do magic, remember? I enchanted this little ship to respond to commands, so I never have to leave the controls. Even the anchor cords respond to a single request. It’s great. Oh, and if I can figure it out, I might enchant some extra speed into it.”

“Speed?” Camellia struggled for breath. “What do you do at night if something goes wrong?”

“Most of the time, I can finish my flight in a day. I land to sleep,” Meladee said. She focused on Camellia, and her mouth betrayed a hint of a smile. “But, you’re right. To get across the Groazan ocean, we’ll need to fly overnight. When I make the trip, I set the ship to autopilot, and I have an alarm to wake me if something goes wrong. It’s not a perfect system, but I like my crew.”

“Just you…”

Meladee smiled and nodded. “Yeah, like I said, it’s great.” She took Camellia’s money, divided it in half, and gave the rest back to Camellia. “I’ll get that at the end of the trip.”

Meladee tucked the money away and walked to the controls. Camellia watched. She put away the second half of her payment and marveled at the small ship.

As she entered the cockpit, she assured herself, This ship is ideal. No one will be able to track me. No one will know what I’m up to. And, I’ll find out exactly what is going on with that ship in Old Eudor and Ridvan’s artifact. I have to know.