The lines have blurred and broken.

“Johanna, are you okay?” Elara asked, reaching out to hold the captain’s face in place as she peered intently into her eyes.

“Yes, Elara, I’m fine. But you seem upset. Was I talking or moving in my sleep?” Johanna desperately hoped this wasn’t the case, given the content of her dream, but Elara shook her head.

“You were dreaming, Johanna.”

Johanna let out a chuckle, “Yes, people do that when they sleep. My dreams have been especially vivid lately, but they’re only dreams. I’m fine.”

Johanna tried to sit up, but Elara held her in place insistently. “I was there, Johanna. That dream was bad.”

Johanna froze. “You were there? You mean, you, uh, saw that…”

Elara nodded. “Bone,” She said, “He built that dream for you, somehow, and pulled me in, too. How many dreams like this have you had?”

Johanna wasn’t sure whether or not to be incredulous, terrified, or embarrassed. Elara had seen her debasing herself with Bone, and worse, she was suggesting that these dreams were not simply the product of an overstressed and undersexed mind, but rather, some sort of supernatural construct of Bone’s? “Um,” She stopped to think, “This was the third. One each night I’ve been on the island. They’re different each time, but it’s always me and Bone and sex.”

Elara closed her eyes, then released Johanna and got up from the bed. “We continue to underestimate this Bone. It’s not particularly complicated magic, but it’s powerful.” Johanna sat up and watched her rummage around on one of her benches, eventually producing what looked like a length of cord. “If I wasn’t there tonight, this probably would have been the last dream,” She explained, “An old trick. Give someone a specific dream, then wait for their mind to bring the dream into reality. This morning, you’d have probably woken up and let that brute fuck you anyway he wanted.” Sitting down on the bed, she tied the cord around Johanna’s neck, tight enough to stay in place, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. There was a single bead on it, and it rested over Johanna’s throat. “This should keep him from finding your dreams anymore, but I suspect much of the damage is already done, and he’ll no longer waste time with these subtle tactics now that they’ve failed. You must keep your distance from Bone, or he will break you. Do you understand?”

Johanna didn’t understand. “Magic?” She asked, “I always dismissed such rumors as superstition.”

Elara laughed. “You’re on a moving island, an evil pirate has been weaving your dreams, and you made love to a woman with horns who can move faster than wind. Johanna, there is no rumor here, only truth and magic and danger.”

Johanna put her head down. “This is a lot to take in.”

Elara gave a sympathetic sigh and sat next to her, gently running her fingers through Johanna’s hair. “Yes, but you’re strong, Johanna. If you weren’t so strong, Bone would have had you sucking his cock before you ever met me.”

Johanna knew Elara was right, and it was this thought that helped her to light the spark that turned her pity into fury. “Elara. I think I need to kill him.”