by Rob J. Hayes
The woman wore a heavy iron collar much like the ones slaves wore, only she would never be slave to anyone. It was etched with ancient runes, and she wore it at T’ruck’s insistence; he held the only key. Crew members, men and women alike, scattered out of the way as the witch approached, but she kept her eyes fixed on T’ruck. He wanted to shrink from that gaze, curl up in a corner and hide, but T’ruck Khan showed no fear. Not even to devilish witches.
“How can I help, Captain?” she said with a lazy smile and a voice like honeyed poison. “Am I to scrub the deck? Coil a rope? Choke a man to death with his own hands?”
T’ruck attempted to master himself, but the woman was an oppressive force. Even with her magic kept subdued by the collar, she made the sun seem darker and the sea rougher, and every man and woman on the ship stank with fear.
T’ruck pointed at the giant ship anchored in the bay of Innikwell. “What can you do about that?”
The witch glanced quickly at the ship, and T’ruck felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Then her eyes were back on him, and her presence assaulted his senses again.
“If I were aboard it and free” – she tilted her head in such a way to show off the iron collar around her slender neck – “I could probably sink it. A sizeable hole in the hull is usually enough to sink even the biggest ship.”
“I don’t want to sink it.” T’ruck shivered. He never felt the cold, even in his homeland where it snowed all but three days a year, but the witch was under his skin, picking at his nerves. He almost regretted ever bringing her on board.
“You want to take it like you did this boat.” The witch nodded. She looked at Yu’truda, ignoring Zole as she always did. She had little to no respect for the North Gale’s first mate. “I assume you counselled against it?”
“I did, my lady,” Yu’truda said, not meeting the witch’s eyes.
“Then I suggest you listen to your counsel, Captain.”
“I brought you on board,” T’ruck growled. “Picked you clean from the Inquisition’s hands and hid you, kept you moving so they wouldn’t find you. Deal was you magic for me when I need it, woman.”
“I have a name, Captain.” The witch hissed the title.
“Sorry.” T’ruck hated himself for the apology. “Lady Tsokei. But our deal…”
“Was one of necessity. I am not a member of your crew, and I will not be spoken down to even if I am required to wear the jewellery of a slave. Do not mistake my placid demeanour as one of subservience, Captain.
“As I have already said. If you were to get me aboard the ship I could sink it, but I do not believe we would be allowed to get so close. Do you?”
T’ruck shook his head.
“Then I can do nothing,” she whispered.
As the woman turned and made her way back to her quarters, still escorted by the armed pirates, a shout went up from the nest. “Sail!”
T’ruck didn’t need a bearing; he could already see it, and that it was heading their way. He pulled his monoscope from his pocket and looked through it.
“Is it one of ours?” Yu’truda said.
“Can’t tell,” T’ruck growled. Something didn’t feel right in his gut.
“Captain,” shouted another crew member. “That monster is turning, laying on sail.”
T’ruck glanced up into the sky to check the position of the sun. With the big ship lying just south of them in the bay and the new ship heading their way from an easterly position, that left them the options of fleeing north or west, and fleeing was definitely the only choice. T’ruck couldn’t be certain the new ship was unfriendly, but he had the feeling they’d wandered into a trap.
“Turn us north,” he bellowed, “with every bit of speed we can muster.”
Yu’truda raised her eyebrows. “Captain?”
“I reckon those filthy Riverlanders have just fucked us.”
North Gale cut through the waves like a knife, speeding along as fast as her namesake, but the two ships giving chase were just as fast, even the behemoth. For half an hour they kept pace, matching both speed and course. The smaller ship moved a little further eastwards to stop T’ruck ordering a change in that direction. He almost ordered them further west, but he had a feeling that was where the bastards wanted him to go, and he wasn’t about to make it easy for them. If they could survive until nightfall they could douse the lights on board and pray to any god that would listen to cloud the sky and dim the moon. Under cover of darkness, assuming they didn’t hit any hidden rocks, escape would be easy. For now all they could do was run and hope they proved the fastest of the three ships.
When a third sail appeared to the north, T’ruck knew they were out of options. He wasn’t sure how the Five Kingdoms ships had coordinated the trap, but they’d pulled him and his crew right into it, and now their only escape lay to the west.
T’ruck stormed over to the wheel, where Gurner was looking as nervous as a virgin. “Turn us east,” the captain said, and the navigator stared at him with uncomprehending eyes. “I ain’t about to be herded into their trap. They think they have us? We’ll break free straight through their net. Turn us east.”
In the face of his captain’s fury, Gurner obeyed and set North Gale on a course for the smallest of their three pursuers.
Chapter 51 - The Phoenix
Keelin’s swords were in his hands as soon as he saw the rocks begin to move, but even that was too late. They were too late from the moment they stepped into the little clearing on top of Ash and the moment they stepped into Tanner’s trap. The boulders shifted and rolled aside to reveal Tanner’s crew hidden beneath, and only then did Keelin see the rocks for what they truly were: wooden constructs excellently shaped and painted to mimic the island’s stones. Tanner had clearly put a lot of effort into his trap, and it had paid off.
“Weapons down, if ya please,” Tanner shouted over the wind as one of the fake wooden boulders caught a gust and began a tumble to the sea. Keelin counted ten pirates, and all appeared to be armed with pistols.
Drake looked calm, almost as though he’d expected the trap and had still walked into it willingly. He slowly drew his sword and threw it into the middle of the clearing.
“Now, luv,” Tanner said to Beck, “I suggest ya follow Drake’s example. I know just who and what ya are. If I see you so much as utter a word I’ll have my boys test how hard it is ta kill an Arbiter. That said, I’d really rather not start a fight with ya Inquisition, so if ya put those lovely pistols down and keep ya pretty hole shut we’ll be having no problems.”
Beck didn’t look convinced, but Drake nodded to her and she disarmed, throwing all seven of her pistols to the ground.
“You too, Stillwater,” Tanner continued. “Just in case, ya see. Not that I expect any trouble from the likes of you.”
Keelin dropped his cutlasses.
“Excellent.” Tanner grinned and signalled to the pirates behind them.
Two men rushed forwards and grabbed hold of Drake, forcing him to his knees and twisting his arms behind his back. Another two men gave Beck similar treatment, pausing briefly to stuff a dirty gag into her mouth. The fury on the Arbiter’s face was enough to give Keelin nightmares, but Tanner only smirked at the rough treatment.
“Don’t want ya casting any of ya magic while we do this, now do we?”
“We should just kill her,” Blu shouted, only to earn a hard stare from his father.
“Aye, because we currently don’t have nearly enough enemies. Boy, ya foolish as that damned sister o’ yours.”
Keelin was left wondering why he was the only one not being restrained by Tanner’s crew. Not that he was about to argue with Tanner if the man had decided to spare his life.
“I gotta say, Drake, I’m more than a little surprised ya turned up as ya did.” Tanner stepped forward, putting himself close to Morrass. “Ya must ’ave seen this comin’. No?”
“I thought you’d be smarter, Tanner,” Drake hissed. “Killing me won’t sa
ve you or the isles. My ships will…”
“Your ships will turn and fight mine and we’ll all go sinking down to Rin’s watery abyss? Fair words, mate, but I doubt them very much. Without you to lead them, I reckon your boys will do the only sensible thing left. Join me. Especially with your little mate, Stillwater, beckoning them over to my side.”
Drake turned his head to look at Keelin. Keelin in turn looked at Tanner. Tanner laughed.
“Aye. This was his plan. His and my daughter’s, that is. Ya put ya trust in the wrong captain, Drake. Stillwater is as loyal as a shark and twice as treacherous.”
Keelin thought about arguing, but he was still a little dumbfounded. He’d conspired to bring Tanner and Drake together on Ash; he just hadn’t suspected Elaina’s true intentions. He could only assume Elaina had told her father that he was in on it. Elaina had saved Keelin’s life at the same time as condemning Drake to death.
“See how he doesn’t even refute it, mate.” Tanner looked down on Drake. “Don’t feel bad. The little shit betrays everyone. First it was me, then my daughter, and now you.”
Keelin wanted to defend himself, but he couldn’t. Everything Tanner was saying was true.
Tanner waved to Blu, who stepped forward and handed him a small metal contraption. “First things first,” he growled.
Tanner grabbed hold of Drake’s head and forced his teeth apart, thrusting the little metal device between them and turning a screw on the side. It was a jack, and before long Drake’s mouth was stretched wide open. Keelin could see real fear in his eyes. Morrass started to struggle then, but the pirates behind him held him tight.
“Tongs,” Tanner said with a smile, and Blu handed his father a large, rusty implement. Tanner inserted it into Drake’s mouth, gripping hold of his tongue.
“Knife,” Tanner said, staring down into Drake’s terrified eyes. Blu handed him a serrated blade. “Let’s see just how silver this tongue of yours is, eh?”
“Stop.” Keelin’s voice came out as a whisper that even he couldn’t hear over the violent roar of the wind, and he struggled to take his next breath.
“Stop!”
Tanner looked at Keelin just for a moment. “Nah.”
Keelin didn’t have time to think; he had to stop Tanner. “Kill Drake and you condemn us all to death.”
Tanner was still holding Drake’s tongue out in front of him, the knife just inches away. “I actually thought you’d be smarter than this, boy,” he said. His crow, Pilf, shrieked at Keelin. “Elaina tried ta save ya. We all knew it ta be shit, but she tried. And here ya are, throwing away all her good nature by siding with this?” Tanner waved the knife in front of Drake’s face, catching his nose and opening up a bloody gash. “Not very smart, boy.”
“I won’t follow you, Tanner,” Keelin said.
“Well, no, probably not once yer dead.”
“And neither will they.” Keelin pointed towards Drake’s three ships floating just off the coast of Ash. “Or any of the others. Your little fleet is as big as it will ever be, because everyone is too scared of you to join you.”
Tanner narrowed his eyes and Pilf let out a scream.
“Don’t listen to him, Da. Stillwater’s a damned salt licker.”
“Quiet, boy,” Tanner hissed. “They’ll fall in line once this one is dead.”
“No,” Keelin said. “They won’t. They’ll run as far from you and the isles as they can get. You’ll find yourself facing Sarth and the Five Kingdoms alone.”
Drake, thankfully, kept quiet; not that he could have spoken if he’d tried, with Tanner still holding his tongue ready for removing.
“You followed me before, lad,” Tanner said.
“And never will again, Tanner. You rule by terror. I’ve seen you beat your children for just voicing an opinion, and I’ve seen you kill for no reason other than someone looked at you. No man or woman wants to live under that sort of fear, and we pirates have no need to live that way. We can sail wherever the winds and the ocean take us, so why would we suffer you? That’s how the old Captain Black ruled, and look what happened to him. The other kingdoms came for him and his people deserted him, just like they will you.”
“Yet you’ll follow this lying sack of mouldy puss maggots?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Tanner roared.
Keelin hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if he truly believed in Drake. He didn’t. But then, it didn’t matter. Drake Morrass was the only one who could bring all the pirates together. He was the only one they would all follow.
“Because he doesn’t just want to rule us, Tanner,” Keelin said. “Drake wants to save us all, and he knows he can’t do that unless we change. He knows he can’t do it unless we stop fighting each other and band together.
“Drake came here suspecting a trap,” Keelin continued, risking the lie, “but he walked right into it because he knows he can’t kill you. Because he needs you. You need each other.”
Tanner released Drake’s tongue and threw both the knife and the tongs to the ground before stalking over to Keelin. Keelin wanted to back away, to run from the fury in Tanner’s eyes, but he stood his ground and hoped he wasn’t staring into the face of his own death.
“Why do you,” Tanner shouted into Keelin’s face, and punctuated the words by prodding him hard in the chest, “follow him?” He pointed at Drake, then lowered his voice so only Keelin could hear. “If not to betray him like ya did me? Like ya do everyone.”
Keelin shook his head. “Because he’s the only one who can bring us all together. He’s the only one every captain and pirate and settler in the isles will line up behind. He’s the only one with a plan to fight back and stop those bastards from Sarth and the Five Kingdoms from purging us ever again.
“Piracy the way we know it is all but dead, Tanner. There’s too many of us, and the merchants know it as well as those navy fucks. Either we’re wiped out, or they sail elsewhere. We’re bleeding the bastards dry and they can’t afford it. That’s why this is happening. That’s why they’re coming for us, killing us. We can’t just beat the bastards. We need to change as well.”
Pilf screamed from Tanner’s shoulder, but the man silenced the bird with a hiss. “My crews won’t follow Drake,” he said, staring down at Keelin.
“They will if you tell them to. That’s why Drake needs you alive as an ally, not dead as a martyr. Help us, Tanner. Help us turn the isles into something other than a graveyard.”
Tanner stared at Keelin for a few more moments before turning and fighting his way through the gusting wind to where Drake knelt, still restrained by two pirates.
“Terms?” Tanner shouted down at Drake.
Drake glanced quickly at Keelin before spitting out some of the blood that had run into his mouth from the gash on his nose.
“You keep command of your ships, but you follow my orders when I give ’em. You leave the ships I tell you to leave and attack any navy vessels you can take. You protect Fango and New Sev’relain and the people that live there.”
Tanner growled but didn’t argue. “The loot?”
“You keep half.”
“That’s a little steep, mate. Not many folk have the stones to impose such terms from their knees. I’ll take seventy percent.”
Drake shook his head. “You’ll take half, and the other half will go to fortifying the towns, building new ships, and recruiting new crew.”
“And I suppose I’ll have ta kneel and call you king?” Tanner’s lip curled as he said the title.
“Aye, you can call me king,” Drake said. “But I don’t give a fuck about your knees.”
“Da…” Blu shouted, but he was quickly silenced with a hard stare from Tanner.
Tanner bent down close to Drake and said something Keelin couldn’t hear. It didn’t look much like Drake was pleased by it, but after Tanner had finished he nodded all the same.
Tanner Black stood back to his full height and stared down at Drake. He had a look on his face
as though he was deciding whether or not to disregard their negotiations completely and gut the man there and then.
“I want ya to remember, Drake, when ya calling yourself king. Remember that I had you on ya knees and spared ya miserable life. Let him go. The pretty bitch too.”
The two pirates behind Drake let go of his arms and he slumped, slowly pushing himself to his feet. He was a dishevelled mess, his hair slick and his face pale and streaked with blood from his nose. The pirates holding Beck were less gentle, shoving her forwards and dancing backwards lest her rage be directed upon them. She tore the rag from her mouth and surged to her feet, cold blue eyes flashing with all the calm of a violent storm.
Drake stumbled over to Beck and reached out to calm her, but she knocked his hand away and shoved him back.
“I should kill all of you,” Beck screamed over the gusting wind, her voice breaking on her rage.
“I don’t reckon that’d be too smart, luv. After I’ve just struck a deal with ya captain.” Tanner smiled, all teeth and threat. Keelin remembered that smile well; it usually preceded violence.
“Beck!” Drake shouted, shaking his head as he did.
The Arbiter seemed to calm a little. She stalked over to her discarded pistols and began shoving them back into their holsters. Keelin let out a heavy sigh and picked up his cutlasses. He noticed for the first time that some of the ships had their sails up. It took a moment for him to realise that they were also much further away than they should be and were not any of the three ships that had accompanied Tanner or Drake.
“Tanner,” he called over the wind. “Are they yours?” He pointed.
Tanner looked and cursed. “Not mine.”
“I count five ships,” Beck said, and Keelin could only wonder at how good her vision was. “At least two are as big as that Man of War we took.”
The ships were moving fast and had the wind on their side. Whoever they were, they were coming straight for Ash.
“Are we good here?” Drake said to Tanner. He was trembling, shaking on his feet. “We have a deal?”
“Aye.” Tanner nodded. “Deal’ll stand, mate. Long as we get outta here alive.”
