Devil May Care

by Unknown

  “A decent life doesn’t entail torturing children and selling them as slaves.”

  “I’m alive, ain’t I? Have the captain to thank for that.” His eyes strayed to the girl. “And I’ve watched over her as best I could, but… the captain likes her… too much. Maybe you can help her. Get her away.”

  “To do that I need to get away.” Ewan ran his hand through his hair. Lord, help the world. Monsters lurked everywhere. Had Wellington been leading a double life? Gentleman of the court half the time and slave trader and deranged child molester the other half?

  The boy moved toward the door. “I need to get back to fixing the nets before I’m missed.” He peeked out. “I’m leaving your door unlocked.”

  “Thank ye, lad,” Ewan said.

  “I’m only doing this to help the girl,” he grumbled, but Ewan knew that haunted look in the lad’s eyes. The look of angry fear, fear of the life you suffered and fear of something worse if you tried to leave it. He remembered Dory’s face as she talked about “bad pirates” and he’d argued that they were all bad.

  Which are the bad ones then?

  The ones that profit from human suffering.

  As he watched the wee one, his heart ached for the hurt children in the world. None of them deserved to live with fear and violence around them. Not even one who’d abandoned his own mother. He swallowed down the bile with the memory.

  Dawn came like creeping mist, a bit at a time until it surrounded a man without him knowing when it had arrived. The normal sound of routine had progressed outside the room. He thought of leaving the cabin, but wasn’t sure how to ensure the girl’s safety. She’d have to learn to trust him more before she would quietly let him carry her.

  “Ship!” a voice from above came muffled through the door. Activity ratcheted up, shouts, thudding feet. Ewan looked out the port hole but apparently the spotted ship was off the bow. After several long minutes of listening, boots stopped outside the door. He drew his sword and motioned for the child to hide behind him.

  “Brody,” came the voice.

  “What do ye want, Wellington?”

  “We need to discuss an issue.”

  “Would it have anything to do with this ship ye see?”

  “It’s the Queen Siren.”

  Ewan’s heart drummed a deep beat in his chest. Och, but he’d swim for the bloody ship if he could get over the side. As if to remind him, the child curled her fingers into the back of his shirt. He’d never forget her. He slipped his arm behind and gently squeezed her hand.

  “Give the little lass to the Queen Siren, and I’ll convince them to leave ye unharmed.”

  A low chuckle penetrated the door. “Not part of the plan, but I’ll take it under advisement.”

  “Bastard,” Ewan swore. “Why don’t ye come inside then and tell me yer plan.”

  The latch moved as if he knew the door was unlocked. “I have the boy before me, so you can put down your sword and dagger near the door.”

  Ewan swore in Gaelic and dropped the blades, kicking them over. Wellington cracked the door and shoved the boy into the room while grabbing out the blades. Then he pushed the door open wide.

  “Stupid prig.” Stephen sneered behind him. The girl latched onto his arm.

  Wellington stood by the door, several grim-faced men behind him.

  “It seems your wife is headed right toward us.”

  “What do ye want with Dory?” Ewan kept his fury internal. Losing control wouldn’t help the situation, even though pounding the man would certainly make him feel better.

  Wellington’s look darkened. “She’s a bastard and was never meant to be born.”

  Ewan’s hands fisted by his legs as Wellington continued.

  “Katharine, her mother, was a slut. I sent her away when I found out about her adultery. She couldn’t tarnish the Wellington name. My brother thought she left him, but I convinced her to set sail. My associate was supposed to take her.”

  “Ye mean kill.” Ewan scoffed.

  Wellington smiled. “She deserved to die. She was an adulteress and now we know she was also a traitor.”

  “Ye were the third traitor all along, weren’t ye?”

  Wellington’s face squeezed a bit. “No, but Katharine’s disgrace is already priming Cromwell’s suspicions.” He flopped his hand. “Wyatt ended up taking her aboard even though I’d already paid my associate to take her. Then Wyatt kept the whore’s baby. It’s time to rectify that mistake.”

  Fire churned through Ewan, an inferno that could wipe out half this crew if he could get his sword back. But could he take them all down? Not likely.

  “What do ye want from me?”

  Wellington’s lips twitched upward. “Ah… when you came to me in port I couldn’t believe my luck. With you on board, she will possibly bargain for your release. My associate was just going to use the girl trembling behind you to lure Pandora in, but I think you make much better bait.”

  “This isn’t yer ship, is it?” Ewan asked. He looked at Stephen. “He isn’t yer captain.”

  “I’d never serve this prig,” Stephen said and spit.

  “Really Brody, did you think I had a ship and crew just waiting out on the Thames for me? My associate was doing some business at the docks—”

  “Ye mean picking up stray children to sell into slavery.” Even though there weren’t any other children on board, Ewan was certain he knew what ship he was on.

  “’Tis quite a lucrative business. Working with him, I’ve been able to double the Wellington fortune over the last twenty years.”

  “What will ye do with Dory?” Ewan asked. If the bastard had wanted her dead before she was born, he wanted her dead now.

  “I understand she has talents,” Wellington said. He frowned. “My associate is in need of her services after you maimed him.” Wellington smiled then as if he were the cleverest man in the world. “Master Brody, welcome to the Raven.”

  …

  Dory stood on the deck of the Queen Siren, looking through the eyeglass. “Blast, where are you?” She searched the deck of the Raven. Would O’Neil’s ship sail without him? Could he have survived the tournament after Ewan had sliced him, knocking him unconscious?

  “Come out of hiding, you black-souled devil,” she said. The wind tugged her hair. She’d taken the helm next to the quartermaster as soon as they’d turned around, Captain Bart giving her the task of blowing them back to England’s western shore. This morning when dawn had lit the ocean, she’d spotted the dark smudge of a ship. And now as they raced toward it, she could plainly see the red flag with a black shape emblazoned on it. The sight of it churned her stomach.

  “Captain,” she said as her father stepped up next to her, his hands behind his back as if watching a scene unfold. “It’s the Raven. O’Neil must have survived.”

  “Have you seen him?”

  “No, he’s not on deck, but his crew looks the same.” Dory searched the corners, the shadowed edges where a child might hide, but no head of red curls came into view.

  Anger unfurled through her tight chest. Agony had plagued her since she’d left the Tower, and now she knew she must hurry back, but to scuttle the Raven—’twas too good to leave.

  “We need to stop them, Captain,” Dory said, her words nearly sticking in her throat. “The crew will continue their shipments even without O’Neil.”

  “I agree, but it may delay us,” he said, his voice every bit the authoritative captain she needed at the moment. He tugged the end of her hair that hung down her back. “You can blow the bastards out of the water with your lightning.”

  “What if there are children aboard? If they were picking them up in London.”

  Her father took the spy glass and scanned the Raven’s deck. “I don’t see any.”

  “They could be below, chained, or in the captain’s cabin.” She felt the acid in her stomach try to boil up into a gag. Her father had told her long ago that O’Neil had wanted her when she was born. What would ha
ve happened to her on the Raven? The thought ate at her, but the memory of that little red-headed girl could cripple her.

  “He always brings them up on deck if he has them when we’re within sight,” Captain Bart said. “Knows you won’t blast his ship with children on board.”

  She scanned the deck as it neared, her winds blowing them toward their target in record time. If she saw any evidence of children they would have to board.

  Captain Bart issued a series of orders to the quartermaster, who left to disseminate it to the rest of the crew. He kept the wheel turned in a direct course to the Raven while Dory continued to search. O’Neil’s quartermaster steered, his eyes straight on the Queen Siren. Her jaw ached and she opened her mouth to stretch it.

  Something didn’t feel right. Dory gathered the water droplets overhead with a few deep breaths. Thunder clouds billowed and puffed under her direction. As she imagined the bits of air sliding across each other, lightning flashed through the clouds and the seas tossed with the wind. Dory’s hair flew up and around above her head as she concentrated, giving her the look of a great magician controlling the heavens.

  The angelic face of the little enslaved girl with red curls flashed through Dory’s brittle mind as she watched the billowing sails of the Raven. Crack! Lightning split the skies above the Raven and the crewmates began scurrying to ready their cannons. Vengeance churned in her core, readying her magic to explode on the ship.

  “We’re ready, Panda,” Captain Bart said. “Give them hell.”

  Dory handed him the spy glass. “If you see children, we’ll have to board. Keep looking.”

  “Aye, aye, Panda,” he said gruffly but she knew he’d do just that. Captain Bart couldn’t stand the death of a single child any more than she could, even when he talked about bringing an end to O’Neil’s reign of terror no matter what.

  Dory tipped her face upward toward the clouds. She funneled the great store of magic pooled at her core through the mark on her wrist. The dragonfly allowed her to focus her abilities to move the moisture and air above her. Her hands rose before her, mimicking the way she pushed the clouds above into a twist. The wind followed her silent commands, shifting into a giant funnel cloud. It danced across the sea toward the Raven. Immediately the ship changed the position of its sails to run a perpendicular path to the water spout. Once the twister was set on a course it was fairly impossible to change it. She dropped her hands and the tornado dissolved into mist. She twisted her pointer finger of each hand next to her trouser-clad legs, spawning two separate twisters to come at the Raven from opposite directions. They would catch the ship in the middle, tearing it apart.

  The ship had changed course again, coming back to head straight at the Queen Siren. Her crew might be from the devil himself, but they knew about riding the wind. They turned their sails, capturing the drafts, but her twisters would still hit the war ship.

  As the tornado closed in on its prey, Dory caught a movement up on deck. Three large men, perhaps. She squinted but her hair blew across her eyes for a second. Brushing the strands away, she focused on one of them and something tugged at her. Still she kept the twisters moving, almost there, just a bit more and she’d blow the ship apart.

  “Panda,” her father called next to her, but she already knew. The tornados dissolved.

  Tall and sure, he bent down and picked up…

  “She’s alive,” Dory whispered. And in the arms of Ewan Brody.

  …

  Ewan looked across the choppy water where Dory stood on the bridge of the Queen Siren.

  Julian O’Neil laughed beside him. “’Twas the child that she dropped the twisters for.”

  “Brody and the child,” Wellington countered.

  O’Neil held his uninjured left hand in the air. “Ready the cannon and bring the ship to port,” he yelled.

  Ewan tucked the trembling girl against him.

  “I thought ye needed her alive,” Ewan called against the wind. The rain lashed down on them as if Dory’s fear and fury filled each drop.

  “I do,” O’Neil said and reached around to hold his useless arm. “But to get her over here under my terms, I will cripple the Queen Siren.”

  “All ye have to do is trade the children for her,” Ewan said. “She’ll come.”

  “I’d rather destroy the ship and Bartholomew Wyatt, but I’ll keep that idea in mind, Brody.”

  “I need that box,” Wellington threw in, his stylish hair being whipped around. “You can’t sink the Queen Siren until I have that box with whatever Katharine left!”

  Ewan could see O’Neil roll his eyes as he stared out toward the other ship. “You’ll get your damn box, after I get me arm fixed. We’ll board her so I can take Bartholomew’s head while you get your Pandora’s box.” He laughed.

  “Look,” O’Neil yelled, pointing. “She doesn’t know what to do!”

  Dory stood talking with Captain Bart, her hair weighted with the rain. Even so she was still captivating, there among the men scrambling to ready themselves for whatever the captain and his daughter would decide. Ewan could see Will’s bulk in the midst of the men, directing and strapping on blades. They were preparing to board.

  Dory raised her hands to the heavens and lightning cracked right over the Raven.

  Wellington jumped and O’Neil cackled. “She can’t hit us without killing all on board! Ha! We’re safe, Wellington!” he yelled in glee and swiveled about to survey his scurrying crew following his quartermaster’s orders.

  Was she thinking to send a lightning bolt down? She said she wasn’t that accurate, or rather, the power in the lightning would roast anything nearby where it hit. Damn! She couldn’t strike while children were near O’Neil.

  “Look!” O’Neil laughed into the wind as Dory threw her hands back down to her sides and nearly stomped with frustration. They were close enough now that Ewan could almost see the strain in her face, the indecision.

  Ewan glanced around Wellington to where Stephen stood. They made eye contact and Ewan moved his gaze back and forth to the rail. The boy looked confused but then his eyes grew round. He shook his head and glared at Ewan.

  Bloody hell! The boy was going to be difficult. He must feel like O’Neil’s floating prison was his only choice in life. If he could just get Stephen away from this, he could show him life could be so much better.

  Ewan balanced the girl in his arm. For a moment, Dory disappeared as she ran down onto the lower deck. She seemed to be arguing with Will, and Captain Bart came up behind her.

  “Well, well,” O’Neil said. “This could be interesting.”

  Ewan’s stomach gripped tight when Will lowered a boat down the side of the ship, Dory in it.

  O’Neil laughed. “Perfect! We’ll wait until she’s aboard and fire upon the ship.”

  “I need that box!” Wellington called.

  “Send the children back with Dory,” Ewan threw out. “To get the box. She’ll return for me.”

  These bloody devils didn’t know Dory hated him. If Dory could get the children to safety, he’d either find a way to swim or he’d go down with the Raven.

  “I really don’t care about the box,” O’Neil said casually.

  “We have a deal!” Wellington seethed.

  O’Neil flipped his beringed hand in the air. “After I get the girl to fix me arm. Then we’ll send my little angel over in exchange for the bloody box, though she is worth a handsome price on the market.”

  “I’ll pay your damn price,” James Wellington swore.

  While the two of them negotiated, Dory and Will paddled closer. The seas calmed so the work was easier. She stared up at them. Damn, he couldn’t let her come aboard. O’Neil would never let her go back to the Queen Siren.

  As Will rowed them into the shadow of the Raven, O’Neil and Wellington moved to the rail to see them.

  “Kill the man with her if he comes up,” Wellington said.

  Will grabbed the rope ladder the men had lowered. Bloody fool! What c
ould he do against twenty ready-for-blood pirates?

  Ewan’s muscles tightened and he brushed the girl’s ear with a kiss. “I won’t let go of ye.” She clutched tighter to him. Did she know? He looked hard at Stephen. The boy stared, his face paling. Jump! Ewan mouthed.

  With a lurch, Ewan leapt up on the rail, the girl tucked against him, and dove.

  Chapter Seventeen

  18 October 1518

  My dear Rebecca,

  I wish I could know you, my tiny, perfect child. I have made such mistakes in my short life and we are exiled. The ring is all I have to offer for your protection. The ring and this good captain that God has sent. Captain Wyatt has a kind heart, kinder than that captain James sent me to for passage.

  I am so very sorry that I am not strong enough to live for you. But I grow weaker each day while you grow stronger. Though my body may die, Rebecca, my love for you will always endure.

  Your mother,

  Katharine Wellington

  “Will!” Dory screamed to call him back as she stood in the dinghy. Will turned at the sound of the splash while holding onto the ladder. Ewan’s head surfaced in the building waves and Dory fought with her magic to calm the sea. “Ewan!” she yelled as he began to swim.

  Overhead, the ear-splitting boom of a cannon went off, ruining Dory’s concentration. The Raven had fired on the Queen Siren, but she wasn’t firing back because she and Will could be hurt.

  Ewan’s fingers grabbed the edge of the dinghy, and he heaved the dripping child up to her. Dory pulled the cold girl in, feeling her heartbeat instantly.

  “I’ve got you,” she crooned against her ear and sent a flash of healing magic through her shocked system, warming her. The nightmare that had been tormenting her, the thought of this child abandoned, knowing she’d not saved her, melted away with the child’s powerful grasp.

  “Will,” Dory cried, “pull him in.” But Ewan had already kicked away from the dinghy.

  “Ewan!” she screamed as he swam back to the rope ladder.

  Ewan grabbed the rung and hoisted himself up. He looked over his shoulder at her, his gorgeous face solid with determination. “There’s a boy up top. The only other child.”