Clockworks and Corsets by Regina Riley

he said. “Their dialect is too far from mine. It seems almost familiar, but then it slips away. I’m very sorry.”
    “Great.” Rose turned back to the grinning native and smiled. Between her teeth she whispered, “Jax? Any ideas?”
    “Yes,” Jax said. “I have idea there is more than what we see.”
    “How many now?” Rose asked.
    “I lost count after fifteen,” Jax admitted.

    Rose groaned behind her smile. The tallest native, still grinning at her in return, motioned to his brethren and said a few words. He then looked back to Rose, made a wretched face that twisted his tattoos into hideous proportions while he pushed his tongue between his lips at her until it hung from his mouth like piece of dead beef.
    She stared at his awful face, wondering what the gesture could possibly mean. A sharp pain bit at Rose’s neck and she raised her hand to the spot, but before she could question the nature of the nip, her eyelids grew heavy, her legs buckled beneath her, and her world went black.

    * * * *
    Gabriella eyed Atom. He peered between the wooden bars of the cage at the flickering firelight and the shadows of the natives beyond. Pounding drums filled the jungle air. The wild call of their captors rose in the night. Looking back at the still form of the captain spread across Click’s lap, Gabriella fought her lurching stomach for control of its contents. She wanted to be strong, to believe they could get out of this. Yet for the first time since she’d joined the crew of the Merry Widow, Gabriella was truly afraid for her life.
    Turning back to Atom, she tapped his shoulder. He didn’t respond. Gabriella peered at him, seeing that his attention was focused on the scene beyond their cage. She was fascinated as she stared at him. While he watched the natives in their vulgar celebration dance, his copper eyes followed the action at surprising speed. Occasionally his lips moved as if to speak, but he never said a word.
    “Still not talking?” Magpie asked, sitting down beside Gabriella.
    Gabriella shook her head.
    “What did he say before he went like this?”
    “He said he would get us out of this after he learned what it was all about. Then he just...I don’t know, shut down. Oh, and he said to trust him.” He had added something more affectionate at the end, but that wasn’t any of Magpie’s business.
    “Trust him, huh?” Jayne asked from her post at the far end of the cage. “To what? Go mad on us?”
    “Jayne,” Magpie said. “That’s enough.”
    “What?” Jayne asked. “It’s not my fault her little boyfriend has lost his mind.”
    Gabriella gasped. “He’s nothing of the sort.”
    “Sure,” Jayne said. “It’s a real shame you two won’t have time to get better acquainted since he let us walk right into a trap.”
    “Jayne!” Magpie shouted. “I said that’s enough.”
    A loud moan sounded between them.
    “She’s awake,” Click said.
    “Finally,” Jayne said. “Someone with some sense.”

    The captain groaned again before she sat up. Looking around the cage, she rubbed her eyes, as if unsure of what she was seeing. She got to her feet and teetered for a moment before she fell into Click’s arms.
    “Please sit, my captain,” he said, lowering her to the ground. “You still need rest.”
    The captain rubbed her neck. “Exits?”
    “Not going to be simple,” Magpie said. “The cage is tied to a whole bunch of weights with vines several inches thick. It’d take some pretty sharp blades to cut us out of this. Even if we could, there’s a whole island of natives to deal with.”
    “What...hap...” the captain tried to say.
    “Near as we can figure,” Magpie said, “they hit us with some kind of drugged dart. We were out for about an hour. You’ve been down for nearly three.”
    The captain narrowed her eyes at Magpie.
    “We think they hit you with more than one dart,” Click said.
    The captain raised an eyebrow.
    “They must have seen you two as threats,”