Pop.


    The force of changing air pressure shook through the ship, and Wen took a few gulps of air as she walked up the stairs and onto the deck. The rest of the bounty hunters were outside, looking out over the railing as the ship soared against a blue sky. They had arrived at Diamond Peak.


    "Excuse me." Kali burst past Wen with her camera in hand, ready to take pictures of anything that might prove interesting, and already dressed in a heavy coat.


    Everyone was dressed in their warmest clothes, but Wen wasn''t sure it would be enough. Below the ship, most of the island was covered in grey clouds, and it didn''t take a meteorologist to guess that it would be snowing.


    "It''s far too chilly." Antonio rubbed his arms as he looked over the waters below. "We''ll need some good warm meals if we want to find this bearcat matriarch."


    Click.


    "Diamond Peak is the coldest island on Erth," Kali said as she took another photo of the island down below. "The information I researched before you all picked me up said it was because of the aetherstorm. It enhanced the natural cold climate of the mountains and turned it into a perpetual winter island."


    A smirk cracked Wen''s face. Researching articles reminded her of her work back on Earth. When she was an undergrad at Oxford, she worked with The Oxford Student, the school''s newspaper. A good reporter always did her research.


    Thump.


    "We''ll be going in for a landing soon." Bibi exited the door on the side of the ship and stepped out onto the deck. "I expect that we''ll have to trek up to the keep for the day and then scout out from there to find the bearcat''s nest."


    Wen grimaced. The expedition wasn''t going to be quick, which meant more time around Bibi. Wen took a deep breath as she looked down at the island. She just had to keep reminding herself how much money Bibi was paying.


    "Ship repairs, ship repairs," she whispered.


    "Is there supposed to be a ship in the docks?" Mister Foley asked, preening his whiskers with his long nails.


    "What do you mean?" Bibi asked, approaching the railing and following Mister Foley''s gaze.


    "There''s a ship in the docks." Mister Foley pointed down.


    Crack.


    "Trespassers on my family''s land." Bibi clicked his tongue, his armored hands clenching hard into the railing until the wood splintered underneath his grip. "I need to go speak to the captain. One moment."


    His face burned a bright hot red as he went back over the deck and to the door. In a few moments, they could all hear yelling inside. Wen shook her head as she looked down at the ship below. Whoever it was that was on a quarantined island, they were about to make her job very complicated.


    Thump.


    "We can''t be landing on land with this ship." The bent old captain burst out from the door moments later, his body wrapped in a warm coat with a white hat that matched his short hair. "That''s something Military Police ships do."


    "There are people on that island." Bibi stomped after the old man, his face still burning red. "On my family''s island. We must confront them immediately and remove them!"


    "That''s not what you''re paying us for," the captain said, walking over to the railing and leaning on it to look over at the island. "We''re here to see you safely to the island and pick you up when you''re done. There''s nothing in the contract about landing out in the middle of a snowstorm!"


    Clink. Bang.


    Wen''s hand went to her revolver, but it was too late. The old captain looked down at the hole in his chest, his eyes wide as blood seeped out from the wound on his heart. Bibi stood with one arm extended, a panel on his armor open with smoke rising out of it.


    Clink.


    "Then we''re going to change the contract," Bibi said as the panel closed and the captain fell backward over the railing. "This ship is now the property of the Abrams Family."


    Two men stood near the door the captain had burst through and looked at each other as Bibi turned on them. Wen watched as they walked out onto the deck with clenched fists. There were few rules out on the nightsea, but betrayals were never tolerated.


    "You just murdered a man in cold blood in front of all of us." Wen pointed out, her hand on her pistol as she raised an eyebrow at Bibi. "We''re bounty hunters. People who do what you just did are no different than the scum we track down."


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "The scum you track down aren''t nobility." Bibi sniffed, rubbing at his mustache with his golden gauntleted fingers. "Know this. If you raise a finger against me, you''ll be the one who is turned into the authorities when we return to the Core. My father has connections. He will ruin any of you if someone so much as scratches me. If any of you try and harm me, you''ll be hunted down like dogs."


    That was a less-than-satisfying prospect. Wen knew the ins and outs of the Twelve Kingdoms better than most people. She looked over to Hopkins, but the man just shrugged back at her, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Hopkins was a professional, but she was sure he was more interested in the money than standing on principle.


    She sighed. She just had to take the job. No amount of money was worth dealing with a man like Bibi, but now she was stuck. If she took him out, she''d be the one to face the consequences. She forced down the anger that was rising up her throat and forced a smile on her face.


    "Alright then, what do we do now?" she asked, tilting her head and glaring holes into Bibi.


    "You two." Bibi snapped, pointing at the two crewmen. "Bring us in close to examine that ship. If there''s no one aboard, we''re going straight to the keep. If there are people on my island, they''ll go to the keep first!"


    "Yessir," one of the crewmen grumbled as they went back into the cabin.


    "Are we all on board?" Bibi asked, looking between the bounty hunters.


    "So long as he pays is there, I''ll do any job," Mister Foley said, a smile cracking across his face. "I don''t know about the rest of you, but that''s always been my motto."


    "I will do the same." Antonio nodded, and two eyes now turned to Hopkins and Wen.


    "I''ll need an increase." Hopkins shrugged in his dark coat, his face still masked and unreadable. "I was hired on to kill an animal, not hunt down people."


    "But you are amenable to it?" Bibi asked. "Money is no barrier for any of you. My family has enough wealth to pay you all handsomely for your assistance in this delicate matter."


    Wen narrowed her eyes as she felt the gaze of all four men turn to her. She might be able to take a few of them out in a few shots, but in the end, she would lose. There were too many of them and only one of her. Hopkins alone might have the skill to take her on.


    "I''ll do the original job," Wen said, locking eyes with Bibi. "That was what we agreed on. I won''t interfere, but I will not be a party to murder."


    "There won''t be any killing if they don''t resist." Bibi shrugged, looking over the railing where the captain had fallen. "I didn''t take any delight in that, but I will not risk my people''s land for one man''s stubbornness."


    Wen highly doubted that, but she wasn''t about to show it. Instead, she turned and looked down at Kali. The reporter hadn''t said anything, but the hand that wasn''t holding her camera was shaking. Wen grimaced. That might turn into a problem. She imagined the girl dead with blood staining the snow around her. If Bibi was willing to kill the captain so easily, there wasn''t anything stopping him from just shooting Kali. Wen wasn''t in a position to stop him, either.


    "Now, Miss Kali." Bibi turned on Kali, a grin that didn''t reach his eyes on his face. "I understand that you just witnessed something that I would rather keep below the table. I''m still open to including you on this expedition, so long as your report is on the hunt and nothing else."


    Kali''s eyes widened as she looked over the railing.


    "Yes." Bibi chuckled softly. "If you don''t agree, I''m afraid our contract might not have an amicable end. Even if your report includes those details after we part ways on more amicable terms, my family will be forced to take drastic measures."


    He flexed his gauntlet as he said it, and the implications were clear. Whether in the snow or in the Twelve Kingdoms, if any of them crossed the prince, they would end up dead. Wen didn''t like being threatened, but she also liked her life as a bounty hunter. It wasn''t like studying languages back at Oxford, but it kept her stomach full and at least let her live out on Erth.


    "I understand." Kali gulped and took a deep breath. "I will use my utmost discretion in my article."


    "Great!" Bibi smiled, turning to walk back toward the cabin. "Let me go make sure of the crew''s loyalties. When we do land, I''ll have to make sure that they can''t just leave us here."


    Thump.


    The cabin door closed as he entered the interior of the ship, and Wen''s shoulders slumped. All of the tension fled her body, and she relaxed her grip on her pistol. She almost had to try to freeze four people at once. It wasn''t a conscious thing, but the possibility had been stuck in the back of her mind. She let out a deep breath before turning on Hopkins.


    "You''re okay with this?" she asked, keeping her voice low.


    "A contract''s a contract." Hopkins shrugged. "You don''t get far in the business if you go around crossing powerful families either. The only difference between us bounty hunters and assassins is that the government pays us."


    "And that doesn''t count Section Zero," Mister Foley said, holding up one sharpened fingernail. "The Military Police has its own spies and assassins."


    "I''ve never been so scared in my life," Kali whispered before collapsing to her knees.


    "That''s life away from the Twelve Kingdoms." Mister Foley laughed, squatting down next to her. "Strict morality is something that you can enjoy when you get back to civilization. Out here in the Fringes, all that matters is that you''re strong. The strong do what they will."


    "I''m just now beginning to understand that." Antonio nodded, crossing his arms as he looked down over the railing. "This entire expedition has been an enlightening experience."


    "You''re not going to be a problem, right?" Hopkins asked Wen, his hand on his sword. "I don''t like to kill other professionals, but he''s our pay, and if he dies out here, we''ll have real troubles when we get back from the expedition."


    "I won''t be a problem." Wen sighed. "I don''t like it, but I understand.


    She walked over to Kali, reaching out a hand to help her up. Kali took it, and Wen hefted her up to her feet. The reporter was unsteady, but after a few steps, she found her footing. Wen smiled. One thing she could do in all of this was make sure that Kali made it out.


    "We''re settled in this then," she said, looking between all five of them. "All of our decisions from this point on are to get back to the Twelve Kingdoms alive and with our reputations intact."


    "Yes, ma''am." Hopkins tilted his hat with one hand.


    "I''m just starting out, but I''ll have to agree," Antonio said, his smile cracking.


    "I won''t bite the hand that feeds me. Just make sure you don''t do the same." Mister Foley narrowed his eyes.


    Wen nodded as the lodestones around them hummed, and the ship began its descent. As the ship''s bow pointed down, she could just make out the docks with its ship in the distance. She had a bad feeling about the entire thing, but she would survive it. Just like she always did.