As Amelia processed that last sentence, the double doors burst open and suddenly there was a cutlass in her face! A real, steel cutlass! Attached to this shining blade was a firm and steady hand, and attached to that hand was a towering figure in a neat black military uniform trimmed with gold. On the top of this figure, a beautiful demon face was snarling at her, with deep crimson eyes, smooth black hair, and a set of magnificent horns.

“A demon! A demon captain!” she exclaimed, admiring the figure that looked like it belonged more in a storybook than reality. She found herself getting lost in the captain’s crimson eyes. Yes…she could work for such a pretty captain.

Especially one that made her heart race.

Oh, she felt her cheeks warming. She wouldn’t blush, would she? What would—

“Port or starboard? Pick one.” the captain suddenly snarled at her.

“Uh…” Amelia frowned. “Why?”

“I’ll let you choose which side of the ship we hang you from after you spill everything you know, human spy.” The last two words were punctuated with little jabs of the cutlass, now millimetres from Amelia's nose.

Well, this job interview was going rather badly!

She would need to fix this quickly.

“I like your horns,” Amelia said with a smile and tilt of her head.

The demon captain opened her mouth and then closed it, a moment of confusion flashing over her face. This was excellent, as it meant Amelia’s cuteness had started to come across to the angry demon. Now was the time to push the attack.

“I mean, they’re super intimidating, of course! If that’s what you’re going for…but they’re also really pretty, you know? Can I touch them? Please?” Amelia made sure to flash her best let’s-be-friends grin.

The captain and her guards were stunned. For a few moments, the captain’s quarters were silent apart from a faint chuckling coming from Anathor. Maybe the compliment was badly timed, but after feeling so good after so many years of feeling bad, Amelia felt like she wanted to be nice to everyone.

“You…” the captain began slowly. “The Republic must be getting desperate to send a mad human to spy after me. Ran out of sane assassins, did they?” The captain punctuated her point by tightening her grip.

“I’m not a spy. Or an assassin.” Amelia protested. “I’m a healer. Would you like to hire me…perhaps?” In response, the cutlass poked her nose a little. Her skin shouldn’t be so easily pierced with the ward active, but Amelia could sense this captain had some real ability. Now that she looked, she saw the demon was glowing with a subtle red aura.

Of course, if it came to it, Amelia was sure she could Speak the First-Word, but that would destroy the captain’s quarters, if not the ship itself! If they were really flying, no, sailing through the skies, then she would rather not condemn the crew to death!

Although…she should have the skills to protect them.

“Captain,” Anathor piped up, interrupting Amelia’s train of thought. “Perhaps we should not be so hasty in our judgment. Perhaps we should confine this human below and have a discussion about how to proceed.”

“Anathor,” the captain dryly intoned, not moving her eyes from Amelia. “The human is a spy or an assassin. There is no reason to keep her alive.”

“Hmmm…the Vengeance has suggested otherwise.”

The captain's eyes widened, briefly snapping to the moose before settling back on Amelia.

“The…ship spoke to you?”

“Yes.”

Amelia couldn’t believe her ears. Not just a flying ship, but a talking one? What a strange place Amelia had found herself in! There were no flying or talking ships in the game.

The captain kept glaring at her for a few more seconds.

Amelia grinned back.

Somehow, she just knew this demon wouldn’t harm a single golden hair on her adorable head.

“Take her below,” ordered the captain. “Kill her if she resists.” At her command, several more demon soldiers appeared. These were male and, despite their horns being larger, Amelia thought they were much less impressive than the beautiful pair the captain sported.

She allowed them to put her in chains and a sack on her head. She soon found herself lifted off the ground and being carried away.

It seemed they didn’t even trust her to walk.

Serena examined the office and her desk for any traps or missing documents. The desk drawers didn’t appear to have been opened and she couldn’t see the telltale marks of any lockpicking tools.

Anathor had told her as much. He’d been notifying her of the spy’s activities since the moment he had discovered her. Still, Serena didn’t fully trust his recollection of events, especially as he couldn’t tell her how the human had bypassed so many locked doors and guards to get into her quarters.

“I don’t understand. How can you, the guardian of this ship, not know how she got in here? You see everything.”

“Hmmmm…” the stuffed head mumbled. “The human was not here, and then she was.”

“Did you see her arrive?” Serena sniffed. “The moment it happened?” For a moment, she thought she caught the scent of something burning, but it was gone before she could identify it.

“No…and there was no change in the aetherfield. I don’t understand it myself. A realm-shift makes the most sense…but there are very few beings capable of hiding that from my eyes, Captain.” Anathor was quiet for a few moments before continuing, “And…even if I was fooled, no power could fool the ship. If this human were a true threat to us, it would have expelled her.”

Serena raised an eyebrow. “A threat to us or the ship? It has allowed assassins to board before.” Anathor didn’t seem to have a response to that. His connection to the ship was only slightly more reliable than her own. Serena waved a dismissive hand. “Enough about the ship. Tell me again how she behaved when you first saw her.”

“She moved…as if she was unfamiliar with her body. At first, she was hesitant in every motion, like your injured soldiers with grievous wounds. The human seemed delighted to find she could move. She did not behave like a spy or an assassin.”

Serena sat in her chair, tilted her head to the side, and began tapping one of her horns in a rhythmic motion.

“And then?” she asked.

“She seemed surprised at her hair and body. She rushed to examine them in detail in the mirror. She was excited. Relieved. As if it was her first time in a new body.”

“Oh? A potential realm-shifter and now a darkblade? Come now, Anathor. We are reaching fantastical levels of theory over a mere human. Tell me of the spells she cast.”

“A low-level defensive spell, silently cast, so she should be at minimum a second-circle mage. However, she cancelled it not long after. Hmm…no, it’s unlikely…”

“What? Speak your mind, Anathor.”

“When the spell was cancelled…the aether was unusual. There was no dissipation into the aetherfield from the residual aether. She might just be a talented second-circle capable of cycling the residue aether or…” Anathor trailed off.

“Or she didn’t cancel it. She cloaked it,” Serena finished Anathor’s line of thought.

“Hmm…if she can cloak even a low-level spell to that degree, then it’s likely she’s third-circle. And if she’s third-circle, then…” Anathor’s eyes flashed. “There’s a chance she knows the First-Word, Captain.”

Serena wanted to dismiss the possibility, but her dutiful military mind entertained the possibility. It was rare for a demon to be a Speaker of the Words, and even rarer for a human. It was improbable such a young human could Speak, but…it was not without precedent. And if she could Speak, then Serena had to wrestle with the fact the ship allowed her to board.

Which meant the human wasn’t a threat to the ship.

Suddenly, a memory of her encounter sprang to mind.

“Anathor, what is she doing now?”

“She’s in the cell, uh…stretching.”

“Stretching?”

“Yes, Captain, and now…she’s doing push-ups. Tomes and Dagon are watching her.”

Serena shook her head. Was her captured human just an idiot after all?

“Does she have a cut on her nose?” she asked. “Any blood?”

“Hmm…no Captain.”

Serena felt her eye twitch. She was skilled with the blade, and she’d definitely given that smug-looking human a poke with her cutlass. If she wasn’t bleeding then the chance that the human had a cloaked defensive spell active was suddenly uncomfortably high. Clicking her tongue, Serena communicated her thoughts to Anathor.

“Hmmmm…time for you two to have another conversation. Not many leagues till we’re at battle stations.”

“Yes.” Serena found herself nodding. “A little interrogation to answer some questions.”

“Try less interrogation, more conversation if possible, Captain…best not to have any Words Spoken on the ship, by either that mystery human or you.”