Page 105 of Traitor Witch

These witches have to stop calling my ship a boat or I'm going to make them walk a plank for fun.

"Yup. There are no shrines on myship." I stress the last word.

I don't think Elsie irritates me on purpose... she just... exists. Her unique mixture of naïve innocence and self-composure just rubs me the wrong way. It's not her fault, but I wish she'd just go away and leave me alone.

I think that about a lot of people.

And I'm enough of a bastard that I won't pretend otherwise.

"Nilsa and I could set some up. Give you all a place to worship the Goddesses," she finishes, still smiling.

I glower at her. "No."

She doesn't need to know there are already shrines to both sitting in the Heart of theDeadwood. Remnants of my parents that have somehow survived all these years.

My mother was the religious one. But I'm pretty sure both she and my father would be turning in their graves over the way I've treated the priestesses since they came aboard.

Maybe I'd be a little more respectful if they weren't both lying through their teeth.

Then I feel it.

The unexpected buzz of another mage's magic combined with a crystal. And it's close.

Too close.

It's been happening every few hours, but never for long enough for me to pinpoint the location.

Whatever it is, it's on my ship.

A chill runs down my spine.

No. They wouldn't be so stupid as to try to separate me from my ship again.

I force aside the instant anger, trying to focus. Titan senses my change in mood and flips back onto his front, surveying the deck with me. His ears are flat against his skull, tail up and alert.

But there's nothing there.

As quickly as it came, the feeling dissipates.

Nothing's changed.

Elsie's still extolling the virtues of shrines on ships to me, completely unaware of whatever's happening.

I'm sure I felt...

I let my senses flow into the ship, looking for any mage-tech that doesn't belong.

But everything mage-tech on this ship was made by me. Painstaking hours of burning my own transmutation circles into crystals to create the lamps, stove, and locks. I've even done a few tiny gadgets to help Nos.

Normally, a transmutation circle burns out after using up all the power the mage who cast it infused it with. Butcrystals provide a portable energy source, giving mage-tech an unlimited lifespan.

The discovery was one of the greatest finds of all time. It was going to change the world.

Make us the society of the future, with mages at the centre.

At least, that was until the wraiths started attacking everywhere without salt, including the crystal mines.

"Hey, Nilsa!" Elsie's blabbering ceases as she waves down at the witch poking her head through the trapdoor on the lower deck.