Hidden Island Chapter 19, part 3 of 3

Hidden Island
Chapter 19, part 3 of 3

"He wants me to stay close anyway," Janie sighed. "Couldn't I just stay in here with you?"

"Only if you want to watch me getting stuffed from both ends," Tonya smirked.

Janie's brows furrowed in confusion as she tried to puzzle out what Tonya meant, and then her eyes went wide. Her face would have burned bright red if she hadn't been wearing so much makeup. As it was, only her ears flushed noticeably. Tonya laughed. Janie needed to figure out where to look.

Unbidden thoughts of the apprentice witch having carnal relations with men rushed into her mind. She glanced around for something to focus on, anything but Tonya, her eyes finally falling on her feet. The strappy leather shoes she'd borrowed were ridiculous. They had a heel that made walking difficult, but she had to admit they were elegant.

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Tonya snickered, reading Janie's answer in her flustered behavior.

"Both... ends?" Janie whispered. "Wouldn't that take... two men?"

"If I'm lucky," Tonya shrugged. She gave herself a once over in the big mirror on the wall and turned around, one hand on her hip, a coy, mischievous grin on her pixie-like face. "How do I look?"

Janie looked up, still blushing. Suddenly, she pictured Tonya on the table as if Bella had returned to the lighthouse. Only this time, there were two Wills, and they were... "You look very nice," she stammered out.

"Get a handle on yourself," Tonya said gently. "What would Evangelina do?"

"I don't know," Janie said. I've never... No, I have. I've thought about it many times. Evangelina is like Bella—bold, unabashed, and like Belita.

Confident and bold."

"You have the costume, you have the character, now you just have to sell it to the audience,"

Tonya said encouragingly.

"I don't know if I can," Janie swallowed, her eyes wide and wild.

"Just go out there and take a walk around. If you decide you can't handle it, you can just come back here," Tonya said. "If I don't need to pull the curtain, there's no reason you can't sit here and pretend to be my assistant."

Janie took a deep breath. That sounded all right. "All right." She stood up and smoothed her—usually, it would be her blouse. She wasn't wearing a blouse. She'd just run her hands across her breasts and down her stomach, petting the soft lace of her bustier. She glanced down at herself, seeing her cleavage on full display. Again, apprehension welled up in her.

"Do that again," Tonya said.

"What?" Janie asked.

"That thing with your hands, where you just ran them down your body like that," Tonya said, trying to imitate what Janie had just done.

"Why?" Janie asked, wondering what was going on. "It's just a habit."

"It's a sexy habit," Tonya smiled. "That will get you some attention."

"That is not what I'm trying to do," Janie tried to remind the feisty little witch. "I'm in disguise, and I do not want attention."

"Well, you're going to get it. Besides, it’ll help you blend in," Tonya shrugged, a big grin still on her face. "Go. Take a walk. Say hi to Caine. If you get overwhelmed, you can come right back."

Janie nodded and swallowed, gathering her courage. Why was this so difficult? She'd faced down armed thugs. She'd been taken hostage yesterday, and it hadn't made her feel like this.

Wasn't a part of her excited about being looked at? Hadn't she just had that conversation with Bella not long ago? Why was she so nervous?

She was good at discerning lies, truths, and intentions, so this should have been easy.

However, walking out there meant showing off her body to a packed crowd.

Men. Strange men. Men like the ones who'd dragged her from Kaduska's cart and threatened to kill her. Men like the ones who still wanted to kill her now. They were why she was stuck in this brothel instead of at the lighthouse or on the ship.

Suddenly, she was angry. She hadn't been afraid of them yesterday. Why was she afraid of them now? Why should they get to influence how she felt at all? The fact that they had such power over her made her furious. She wanted those feelings gone. She had to face them.

Some of the men from Jakob Kidd's band of thugs might be here tonight. She might even recognize them. What would she do? How would she react in the moment? What did she want?

Justice? Vengeance? A small smile crept across her face. They wouldn't recognize her, but she might recognize them.

Tonya watched Janie think, wondering what was going through her head, but knowing now wasn't the time to interrupt. She took a moment to adjust her small breasts in her green corset so they were practically spilling out. She would have to get a proper fortune-teller outfit at some point. She had to look the part now that she was taking over for Bella. She wasn't looking forward to giving up the fancy dresses and corsets.

Janie suddenly walked out of the small room with a determined look. Tonya remembered the first time she'd put herself on display like that. Bella had thrown away all her kitchen maid rags and spent hours raiding the communal wardrobe the new girls shared. The transformation had been daunting. She felt awkward, exposed, and nervous that everyone who saw her would know she was a fraud. The first steps out into the lounge had been one of the biggest challenges of her life. She'd been stared at, judged, lusted after, pursued in ways she never had been before. She'd struggled to find words. His tongue had felt thick in her dry mouth, and her mind screamed at her to run.

She hadn't. Within fifteen minutes, she'd made so many small discoveries about who she was and what she was capable of. Looking back on herself before that night felt like thinking about someone she'd known long ago. She hoped that Janie would have a similar experience. She watched Janie's straight back and prim steps as the slender brunette crossed the lounge toward the bar. She was already doing better than Tonya had done. She was walking like a schoolmarm, which translated well to brothel work. She was distracted by a young man approaching. She met his eyes and smiled. It was time to work.

Caine did a double take. Not long ago, Janie had looked and smelled like someone dragged through a gutter. Now, she was one of the most stunningly alluring sights Caine had ever seen. From him, who'd spent years working at Mary's, that was saying quite a lot. "You clean up nice," he said.

Janie was wearing too much makeup for her blush to show, but her eyes flicked down self-consciously. "Thank you. I feel like I'm being stared at."

"You are," Caine agreed. I count five men and two women eyeing you like they're interested. A few others look curious, but it might be because you're new."

"You didn't even look around," Janie said incredulously.

"Sure, I did. You can take a look and check my numbers if you want." Caine's eyes were the only things that gave away his delight.

"No. I think I'll sit here with you and try to ignore them if you don't mind," Janie said, carefully sliding into the seat next to him.

"Want a drink?" Caine asked.

"Yes, but I'm not sure I should," Janie said; she folded her hands on the counter to keep them from trembling.

"Rum, wine, or ale?" Caine asked.

"Wine?" she asked with a slight shrug.

"Jewel, one for her. Put it on my tab," Caine said to the blond bartender.

Jewel handed a patron a mug full of ale and gave Caine a surprised look. "Since when do you have a tab?"

"Since now," Caine shrugged.

The bartender laughed and poured Janie a glass of wine. "He doesn't buy girls drinks often.

What makes you unique?" she asked, sounding more amused than judgmental.

"I don't know," Janie said, unsure how to respond.

"Wrong answer," Jewel said. "Around here, everyone has something that makes them unique.

Sometimes it's all made up, but it's something to say.

What's your thing?"

"I... can usually tell what people want," Jaine said after a moment.

"Around here, that's going to be pretty obvious," Jewel smirked. It's a good answer, however.

Just the right amount of mystery." At the other side of the bar, a patron raised his cup. Jewel slid away to get back to work.

"I have never thought of myself as mysterious before," Janie mused, unsure what to do with that idea.

"The girl I met earlier tonight might not have been, but the one sitting next to me now sure is,"

Caine said. "The whole outfit sells it. Combine that with how you walk and sound, and I think you'll have many people wondering."

"The way I walk? And sound?"

"Proper. The accent tells people you're educated and not low class, and you walk like you spent much time learning how." Caine explained. "I'm betting you had someone who used to make you balance books on your head or something? A governess?"

"My mother. She was a tyrant about posture and proper diction," Janie nodded, surprised at how astute Caine's observations were.

"It shows. Many people will wonder what a girl like you is doing in a place like this. Better come up with an answer," Caine took a pull off his mug.

"I can't exactly tell them the truth," Jaine swirled her wine in her glass, staring at it while she thought.

"Nope."

"I was excommunicated," Janie smiled. "A priestess, thrown out of the church for unlawful carnality."

Caine choked on his ale, suddenly taken by a fit of coughing. When it passed, he looked at Janie with a judging intensity that reminded her of Prelate Alexandra. She shrank back a bit, second-guessing her recent flippancy toward the church. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and started chuckling. "Perfect. That explains everything."

"What... what was the look for?" she asked.

"Just had to figure out what you want," Caine shrugged.

Her eyes widened. Afraid of blowing her cover, she whispered, "Your magistrate, too!"

"Was, yeah. I'm undercover, same as you." His eyes scanned up and down her figure. "Well, maybe not quite the same."

She blushed as he looked at her but smiled again, more exhaustive this time, thinking of all the ways she could play the role. The knot of anxiety in her chest relaxed. Suddenly, she felt excited. "Sister Evangelina," she said, trying out the name.

Caine gave her an approving nod and raised his tankard. "Pleased to meet you."

She sipped her wine and met the eyes of a man watching her from across the bar. He smiled and got up to head her way. Her stomach began fluttering. She took a larger sip and let her inscrutable mask of poise and professionalism settle over her. No one needed to know what she was feeling. She'd spent years perfecting that art. Tonight, she'd put it to the test.

"You're new, aren’t you?" the man said beside her.

She slowly turned and looked him up and down. "It is my first night," she answered.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I seek out sinners," she said with a small smile tinted with cruelty.

"There are plenty of those here. What do you do with them when you find them?" he wagged his eyebrows at her.

"That depends on the sin and the needs of the sinner. Would you like to confess something?" she asked.

"Lust is a sin, right? I got me a powerful lust," he smirked.

"And are you repentant for it?" she asked.

"Not a bit," he grinned.

"Then, I offer punishment for you," she said coyly.

"What kind of punishment?" the man asked, leaning closer.

She leaned in, too, and whispered in his ear. "The kind that will leave you striped red and aching for release from torment."

"I'm interested," he said, smelling her intoxicating perfume.

"You'll have to offer a tithe," she whispered, tapping the bar with her fingernail.

He rifled through his pockets and deposited some gold coins on the wood. She looked down at them. Inside, her heart was racing, and her blood was pounding in her ears. Was she going to do this? What was 'this' anyway? What did she have planned? On the outside, all she said was, "Good enough."

He leaned back against the bar. "Where to?"

"Wait for me here. I'll be back in a few minutes," Janie smiled. She slipped off the bar stool and headed for Tonya's alcove without a reply. Just as she approached, a flushed-looking young man pulled the curtain aside and said, "Excuse me, ' as he slipped past her. Tonya looked pleased with herself, dabbing at her mouth with a kerchief.

"I have a... client," Janie said.

Tonya laughed. "You work quick!"

"I don't want to have sex with him. I want to... well, I want to make him watch but not touch me or anything," Janie explained.

"Oh, right. Like the stage shows," Tonya nodded.

"What?" Janie asked.

"Nothing. You'll see later," Tonya shrugged. "So you want to get him all worked up watching?"

"Yes," Janie said. "Can I do that?"

"If he knows what he's paying for, then yeah. Tonya said one of the big rules is that no one gets tricked."

"All right," Janie said. Uh... Will you... I need to learn how to ask this. Will you help me ensure I don't botch it up?"

"You want me to help you tease a guy?" Tonya raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Teasing isn't my specialty. I'm more of a sure thing," Tonya chuckled to herself. "I suppose I could use the practice, however. Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"Just obey me," Janie said nervously.

"All right. I can follow your lead. What's the scene?" Tonya asked.

"Scene?" Janie countered, confused.

"The fantasy. What will we be playing out?" Tonya clarified.

"Oh, I see," Janie said, momentarily thinking. Sister Evangelina and her Acolyte will take a sinner's confession and punish him for his wickedness.

"Damn, girl. You don't start slow, do you? That sounds sexy," Tonya grinned.

"Can you... can you take your clothes off?" Janie asked, ideas coming quickly into her mind.

"And set a chair right here behind the curtain, then just stand in front of the table here."

Tonya laughed. "I like the sound of this already." She started taking off her dress.

"Thank you so much," Janie said. "I'll be right back. I... I'll probably be acting differently."

"You're full of surprises, Evangelina," Tonya said, tucking her dress in a small lock box.

Bella walked the color-drained halls of Merry Mary's, navigating by memory, only able to see what was behind her reflection in the mirror. She was headed up the stairs from the baths, through the bed chambers, and finally into the Lounge. She was almost there. Suddenly, she was nearly blinded. She managed not to flinch away from the light. She'd suddenly caught the sun's reflection in her mirror.

"What the hell?" she muttered. She adjusted a bit, turning just enough that the source of the glare was over her shoulder.

It was a man at the bar. She could make out his broad shoulders and muscular back. He looked naked, a being made of light. He brought a shadowy, indistinct shape to his lips and tipped back his head.

"Caine?" she said out loud, shocked and confused. She'd never seen anyone who showed up in the Ways like that.

The glowing figure spun around and looked straight at her. She locked eyes with him in the mirror. Terror gripped her. She had no idea what was going on. She felt like she was frozen, which was lucky because any wrong move would have broken the ritual.

The brightly glowing figure of Caine walked up behind her, just over her shoulder, and looked at her in the mirror for a long moment. Then he moved past her, around to the front. His reflection in the mirror vanished for a moment, then reappeared. She'd expected not to see him anymore since he was in a place where the mirror couldn't see, but then the mirror reflected the back of his head, as though he was standing in front of her in the captain's cabin, but only visible in the mirror. She could see through him like she were a ghost made of light. It was hard to concentrate on looking at her reflection with Caine's glaring light reflected right at her. It was brighter in the room she stood in now. She had no idea how that was possible.

"Bella? Is that you?" Caine's voice asked. He sounded muffled like he was underwater or talking through a pillow.

"Yeah, what's going on? Why are you glowing?" she asked.

"I just do. How'd you get through my wards? I didn't feel them break," Caine's voice asked.

"Those are yours? Why?" Bella was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that Caine, Mary's drunken bouncer, had put up rare and powerful wards on a brothel.

"I have my reasons. Now, how'd you get through them?" Caine asked again.

"The baths. There's an escape tunnel down there. It's behind the towel shelves. Can you please not lock me out? It was hard to do this, and I don't want it to be for nothing," Bella pleaded.

"Go ahead and finish what you're doing. I'll make sure I don't sever your pathway when I open that escape route," Caine said. What are you doing anyway?"

"I need to talk to Tonya," Bella explained.

"Oh, right. That makes sense. She has to continue her education while you're gone. Smart," Caine nodded.

"I've been at it for a while now, and I'm flagging, so I must go. I'll talk to you later, all right?" Bella said.

"Yeah. I hear cutting a path like that is hard work. Do your thing," the back of Caine's head nodded and slipped out of the reflection. A moment later, he reappeared in the reflection behind her and returned to his bar stool.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the glare died down. Moving forward again, she passed through the rest of the lounge to where she knew her alcove would be. Now was the risky part.

If Tonya had moved her mirror, Bella would have had a stormy night. She took a deep breath and stood directly in front of the mirror in her alcove, where she was pretty sure it was.

"In my name and by my power, with the blessing of the Traveler, I have found what is mine."

She released the ritual energy she'd been holding, establishing a bridge between where she was and the mirror in the alcove. It was like a ripple in a pond traveling across the mirror's surface.

"Show me."

Color bled in from the edges of the frame, erasing the reflection of the cabin and replacing it with a view of the nook like the mirror had become a window. She didn't even have time to feel released as the ritual was completed. She sat back on the bed with a sigh, but then her brows climbed up her forehead. She giggled. "Oh my."

She saw Janie, dressed in her bustier stockings, with a lacy veil across her face. She had her arms around Tonya's neck and was kissing her passionately.



To be continued