Hinata was noticing a pattern, a furious rage that rose alongside her bloodthirst. She didn’t notice it at first because the rage started at Gwen, and at the time, it seemed justified and rational. But then she drank from Plenty’s wrist, and her anger dissipated.

  When her rage rose again, she tried to manage it. She didn’t fight with Gwen all day. She didn’t overreact when Plenty recoiled from her. But when she saw Captain Jerome and the crew, a sudden swell of rage erupted in her at the mere sight of them.

  As Plenty swam in the ocean, replenishing himself in the moonlight, Hinata was gripping the railguard, fingers digging indentations into the wood, brooding on the memory of Jerome in the small room below. He cornered her. She remembered feeling afraid, and she wanted to hurt him. She wanted to make him afraid.

  But when she drank the shark’s blood, it was strangely delicious, and all her rage and resentment dissipated. She went to sleep at sunrise with a full belly and high spirits.

  The next evening, she awoke with a dull headache and a rising anger. She took one look at Gwen sleeping in her hammock, and that’s when Hinata noticed it: the rage.

  Rip and tear and claws and teeth and blood and rage. She made me like this.

  She took a sip of her flask of shark blood and noticed it took the edge off. With a satisfied sigh and a doomed realization, it finally dawned on Hinata. It was irrational. She wanted to kill. Indiscriminate. Messy. Violent. Bloodlust. Blood was ecstasy, but only slaked the desperate thirst for a time, and the crash took her to dark places.

  Killing was in her nature now. She looked at Gwen and wondered, was it the same for her? Why didn’t she say anything? Gwen was just a child when she was turned into this. What if she never even noticed it? What if Gwen grew up never realizing her rage was part of her affliction? It could explain the many outbursts Gwen made over the years. Hinata used to believe Gwen was simply difficult, but she was beginning to understand better. It was a testament to Gwen’s considerable self-restraint that she hadn’t killed anyone but the madman who made her this way. Morgan and Rowan deserved credit, too. Gwen if she lost control, was Hinata strong enough to restrain her? If the opposite happened, could Gwen restrain Hinata?

  Hinata looked around. Plenty was absent, and the door was ajar. He was probably on deck, charming the crew, trying to secure their safety by ingratiating himself. Maybe it would even work.

  Yesterday morning, Gwen and Hinata were in agreement: Captain Jerome needed to die. But after her epiphany, Hinata was doubting herself. Was her judgment based on reason or bloodlust? Could she trust Gwen’s logic, now that she doubted her own?

  Hinata needed to get up and move around. She put on shoes and walked to the library. Stepping out of the cabin, dim evening light filled the stairway. The heat on her bare skin felt like metal left out in the sun. No blisters or burns appeared, but the discomfort was immense.

  Hinata considered her new condition with a reluctant scientific mind. How allergic to sunlight was she? Hinata reached out her hand to touch a sunbeam, and the skin on her fingers singed instantly. Quickly, she pulled back as if she’d touched a hot stove.

  Indirect sunlight is uncomfortable. Direct sunlight is excruciating. Noted. I wonder if the book room has something about sunlight allergies.

  Hinata had read Garden: A History after Gwen finished with it. Or rather, Hinata skimmed sections of the book on Gwen’s recommendations. It was dry. There were few illustrations, mostly of architecture.

  Most of Garden City was built by stonesingers and botanical conductors. With a population of several million, no one went unhoused, so the city was in a perpetual state of expansion and reconstruction. At least, Lower Garden was always expanding. The book had less to say on Upper Garden, presumably due to the author’s limited access and lack of magical affinity.

  The library was empty, so Hinata perused the shelves with ponderous abandon.

  Encyclopedias, maps, histories, fictions, and books on countless other topics were there, but nothing stood out. She didn’t know what she was looking for. Something about blood, maybe?

  One title grabbed her attention: “Crime and Punishment, from Cain to Common Thieves,” by Judith Listener.

  Maybe it was emerging guilt or resentment that piqued Hinata’s interest. Or maybe she had heard the name Cain spoken before, but couldn’t place where. Hinata wasn’t a historian, nor was she particularly interested in the law or its enforcement, but for whatever reason, she picked the book up, and she carried it back to the cabin.

  By then, Plenty had returned, and Gwen was awake. They seemed to be arguing.

  ‘What’s up?’ Hinata asked as she entered the tense room, closing the door behind her.

  ‘Plenty’s idealism is going to get us all killed!’ Gwen declared.

  ‘No, Gwen’s bloodlust is going to get us exposed, then killed,’ Plenty answered.

  ‘Okay, I assume this is about the captain,’ Hinata signed. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think we should kill him anymore.’

  Plenty looked relieved, but Gwen just scoffed.

  ‘Whatever. I already agreed to leave the captain be. This isn’t about him. This is about one of the crew. Kevan, the skinny one with the orange hat. Raf heard him talking. He plans to rat us out to the keepers once we dock at Garden.’

  Hinata’s heart started pounding.

  Plenty signed, ‘I don’t trust Raf. He claims to hear things no one can confirm.’

  ‘You’re the one who told Raf to listen!’ Gwen gesticulated with rage. ‘You just don’t like what he heard, or what it means.’ Gwen’s jaw locked. Her signs were sharp and decisive. ‘It means Kevan needs to die.’

  Plenty sighed with heavy frustration. ‘Kevan knows nothing. He’s an asshole, but he’s no real threat to us.

  ‘So you’re saying we just let Kevan finger us to the keepers? Let’s all hope they don’t look too closely!’ Gwen looked furious.

  But so did Plenty. ‘Killing cannot be our only solution! If you kill Kevan, you may have to kill the entire crew to keep them all silent, and then we’ll really have keepers up our ass!’

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ‘Well, your charm offensive didn’t work! He just thought you were a suck up!’ Gwen signed with dripping disdain.

  ‘Okay!’ Hinata stomped. ‘Let’s all take a breath. I agree something has to be done, but we have to be careful. The goal is to minimize attention. Maybe some accident can befall Kevan. Something simple that won’t raise suspicion.’

  Plenty dropped onto the stool in the corner, looking defeated.

  ‘Finally, now we’re getting somewhere,’ Gwen exclaimed.

  Plenty’s head fell in his hands, hiding his face.

  Hinata felt monstrous. “Look, I don’t like this either, but Kevan made himself our enemy. His decision. Now it’s him or us. We didn’t pick this fight, and I’m not going to lose sleep over him.”

  Plenty looked up. ‘Let’s game this out. If we do nothing, he informs the keepers. They take a look at us. We stick to our cover, and they’ll look away. We’re in the clear. But if we kill him, our problems change from one paranoid malcontent to an entire crew seeking justice for murder. After Kevan openly stated his intention to inform the keepers about us, we’ll look mighty suspicious. His death would bring more attention to us. Killing him isn’t only wrong, it’s reckless.’

  Gwen still wanted to argue. ‘Reckless would be to let him bring keeper attention to us at all. We can handle one malcontent. We cannot take on the entire Garden Justice System.’

  Hinata responded, ‘So we better make sure no one investigates Kevan’s demise. An accident. No witnesses. What’s the plan?’

  ‘We push him down the stairs,’ Gwen answered immediately.

  ‘How do we do that without being seen?’ Plenty asked.

  ‘Raf,’ Gwen answered. ‘He was the one who overheard Kevan tell his mates his plan to inform the keepers. Raf has super senses and can detect when Kevan steps aside to piss or whatever. We wait until he’s alone, bash his head in, and then make it look like a falling accident.’

  ‘Ehh,’ Hinata shrugged noncommittally. ‘Stairs on this ship don’t go very high. It’s hard to believe that he’d fall hard enough to die.’

  Gwen groaned. ‘Fine. We… stage a crushing accident. Drag his body to the cargo bay and drop some barrels on him.’

  Plenty stood up reluctantly. ‘Okay. This is happening, so I’m in it with you. Keep in mind, Captain Jerome told me we’ll soon arrive at Garden City, which means we may have mere hours to murder this man and stage it like an accident. He’s usually surrounded by crewmates, so we won’t get many opportunities.’

  ‘We have to wait for Raf to give the signal,’ Gwen signed. ‘We can’t be seen watching Kevan or mucking about in the cargo bay, but Raf can watch both from here.’

  Plenty’s jaw locked. ‘I’m compelled to mention this entire mission was precipitated by and hinges on an entity neither Hinata nor I can communicate with, and which I have heavy reservations.’

  Gwen raised her chin imperiously. ‘Your prejudice is noted.’

  Plenty's cheeks reddened; otherwise, he didn’t respond.

  After that, the room simmered with resentment. Everyone went to their separate hammocks to sulk, killing time before a murder.

  With an uneasy conscience, Hinata read the forward of Crime and Punishment.

  The First Murder

  Long ago, at the dawn of man,

  Cain murdered his brother Abel.

  The Holy Mother was disconsolate.

  The Holy Father furious.

  But God, God was something else entirely.

  As Cain invented murder,

  God invented something, too.

  Justice.

  For his crimes, God cursed Cain and banished him to the land of Nod,

  Where he would live forever bearing the weight of his crime.

  From bloodlust to madness.

  In God’s absence,

  This judgment inspired the Holy Mother and Father,

  To carry on God’s Will,

  That punishment suit the crime.

  Hinata put the book down and wondered, What the shit? This is all made up, right? Do people really believe this crap? She continued reading.

  After God forsook Eden,

  Godfather Adam stepped up to stand in judgment, and in His wisdom,

  Heinous criminals were banished across the Strait of Exile to never return.

  Most presumed to have perished in the untamed wilderness.

  But unknown for centuries, in the jungles and deserts of Exile,

  Villages, towns, and then cities grew.

  In time, a great shimmering city of Atlantis rose to prominence,

  Wild and industrious.

  Graciously,

  Godfather Adam pardoned the descendants of exiled criminals,

  Welcoming the Honored Nation of Exile into His Holy Dominion.

  With strange exotic fruits and spices,

  Exile became a major player in global trade.

  But as their wealth and power grew,

  Exiled leaders grew arrogant and willful.

  Apostates,

  They rebelled against Godfather Adam’s divine mandate to rule.

  As punishment for their crime, Godfather Adam sank the city of Atlantis.

  Thus, for the crime of heresy, a ruling was made and a precedent set,

  Punishment for heresy is death.

  Hinata was shaking with rage and fearful memories. She skimmed ahead until she found what she was curious about.

  Exile became legitimized.

  The Strait of Exile was decommissioned.

  It exists now as a tourist attraction and resort for premier families.

  Now, heinous criminals are condemned to life in the mineral mines.

  Though some argue a lifetime of heavy labor is cruel,

  With the steady rise of violent crime in recent years,

  Punitive judgments are likely to grow harsher, not softer.

  Eden’s bounty is great, and mankind has thrived,

  But since the dawn of man, crime has also thrived.

  So to those who defend the indefensible,

  Justice may be cruel, but it is never excessive.

  May murderers and apostates never again see the light of day.

  Hinata shut the book with a snap, fighting the urge to throw it across the cabin. A migraine was forming behind her eyes.

  Then suddenly, Gwen gasped audibly. Hinata looked over.

  Gwen’s eyes were wide, her face scrunched in confusion. She looked around the room as if to confirm Hinata and Plenty were still in it.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ signed Hinata.

  ‘It’s Kevan,’ Gwen’s signs were slow and uncertain. ‘He’s dead. One of the crew stabbed him. He’s bleeding out now.’

  ‘Shit!’ exclaimed Hinata. ‘Wait… is this good for us or bad?’

  ‘Bad,’ Gwen signed. ‘He was stabbed in the back of the head while pissing. Our plan was to make it look like an accident. That’s gonna be difficult with a gaping knife wound and a puddle of blood.’

  ‘Shit!’ Plenty repeated. ‘Did anyone else see the murder?’

  Gwen was reluctant to answer. ‘No. And the killer already dropped the knife out of a porthole.’

  ‘We’re being framed,’ Plenty signed, dawning horror on his face.

  Then outside their cabin, a loud bell rang, followed by a loud voice shouting, “Land ho! Garden City in sight!”