by Mac Flynn
"A witch? In this day and age? Not bloody likely," the captain scoffed.
I snorted. "That's what I thought until we met that vampire."
The captain's eyes widened. "Vampire? There aren't any vampires on these islands."
"Not on the islands," a voice spoke up. From the deep shadows beside the bed stepped Methuselah. "But certainly on this ship."
CHAPTER 2
We all jumped to our feet and the captain pulled a sword from his waist. He brandished the long weapon at the vampire.
"Get off my ship, you walking corpse!" he growled.
"Wait! Wait!" I scooted between them and held my hands over my head and towards the captain. "He's a good vampire! He helped us get off the island!"
The captain sneered. "The only good vampire is one used for compost, and he'll be that if he keeps his undead carcass on my ship."
"Some patience, captain," Erik pleaded. He moved to stand beside the old lake-dog and he gingerly lowered the man's blade with his hand. "My mate is telling the truth when she says he helped us escape. We should at least give him the courtesy of telling us what he wants." Erik turned his attention to our guest. "Why do you follow us?"
The well-dressed vampire looked comfortably at home in the old cabin. He took a seat on the bed, and Erik had a hard time keeping the captain from jumping forward and strangling his pale throat.
"I wish to see if Cassandra's son can entertain me as well as she once did," he explained.
"I'm afraid I don't have time to entertain anyone," Erik argued.
"From what I overheard, you have enough going against you to do so," Methuselah argued.
"From what you heard, that's enough to get you killed as a spy," Captain Black growled.
"Vampires can only be destroyed, and I am no spy," the vampire corrected him. "My allegiance is to myself. No one else."
"Then we don't need you along with us. A lone wolf is too unreliable to be counted on," Erik pointed out.
Methuselah stood and bowed at the waist. "Then I put my trade at your disposal, within sane limits, that is. Do with me what you will."
I half-turned to the vampire and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so if I wanted to I could tickle-torture you?" I spoke up. All eyes turned to me in disbelief. I grinned and shrugged. "What? It's a legitimate question."
"But hardly one to be asking right now, missy," the captain argued. He turned his angry eyes on the vampire. "We don't need your help, nor want it, fiend."
Erik put a hand on the captain's shoulder. "Hold a minute, captain. He has proven useful before, and a friend is a friend, no matter what quarters."
The captain whipped his head around and showed Erik his aghast face. "He's a vampire, Greenwood! They're nothing but shadows of death for us! To be keeping in the company will have us lose face with everyone!"
I snorted and jerked a thumb at the vampire. "I think people are going to notice this ship before they notice Fangy here."
"They will not know I am present. You did not smell my presence, and my appearance won't cause alarm," Methuselah assured him.
The captain scoffed at his words and nodded at the vampire's body. "How do you expect to hide yourself looking like that?"
"A consistent supply of blood will give me the flesh color I need," he explained.
Captain Black snarled at our acquaintance. "No! Not that on any account! Yer not feeding off my crew-"
I raised my hand. "I'll do it," I spoke up.
Erik whipped his head to me and frowned. "No, you won't."
I folded my arms across my chest and glared back at him. "And why not?"
"Because I will offer myself," he replied.
"I will give some of my blood, as well," Greg chimed in.
"I called it first, and that means I have dibs," I insisted.
The vampire chuckled and the sound caused us to return our attention to him. It was a dry laugh that sent tingles down my spine. "I will accept all and refuse no one. I have had enough to please me for this evening, so if I might sit here and rest during the day I will be content."
The captain shook and blustered. "Stay here? In my cabin? What god has cursed me with such a thing as this on my ship!" he growled.
"We'll make it up to you, captain, but how long is this voyage you're taking us on?" Erik interrupted his tirade.
The captain kept one dark eye on the vampire and turned the rest of his attention to my mate. "We should get where we're going in a few hours. The wind isn't so reliable during the night, but we'll get where we need to be before the sun rises." He turned his head to the vampire and lowered his voice to a mumble. "And I hope it's a bright one. . ."
"But where are we headed?" Erik persisted.
The captain snapped himself from his homicidal reminisces. "I suppose I should be telling you. It ain't no fun being in the dark." He walked over to a table with drawers along the wall and pulled out a rolled-up map from one of the drawers. He spread it over the table. It was a map of the lake and showed a long line of islands over the waters. They arched like a crescent moon with the largest island, Wolf, at one end and the smallest, one appropriately called Tiny, at the other. A few miscellaneous islands dotted the landscape around the main chain. Captain Black pointed at one of these islands that hung off Maritime Island.
"This here is where we're headed. It may not look like much, but she's got the best cove in the islands and a village of good people above that."
"So they can be trusted with seeing us?" Erik wondered. "We would rather avoid another incident such as what happened on Market."
"Yeah, reruns really suck," I agreed.
Captain Black chuckled. "You couldn't ask for a more loyal village. Most of the men are my sailors, and the womenfolk are their mates."
Erik tapped on Maritime Island. "And what of the people here? I know this was a large fishing town a some years ago, but I haven't been there for quite some time."
The captain pursed his lips together and shook his head. "Not good, I'm afraid. The fishing hasn't been good in a great many years and the earthquakes haven't been kind to us. There's many a house that was standing that isn't now."
"And the people? What do they think of my family?" he wondered.
The captain smiled and patted Erik on the shoulder. "You won't find the same welcome as you did on Market Island, curse their hides. There are some loyal to that scum Deacon, but they are few and far between."
"If what you say about the voting is true then why haven't you spoke to the Council about your suspicions?" Erik asked him.
Our nautical friend scowled. "That son of seaweed is sharper than he looks. We can't prove with anything other than our words that he's lying. We could make a show of hands how many voted for him or not, but that doesn't matter against the hard proof of the ballots."
"Aren't people's names on the ballots?" I spoke up.
The captain shook his head. "No. We don't put names so none can steal 'em and see who voted against them, and through that avenge themselves."
"Then your method of voting is against you," Erik commented.
"It is right now, but that's what yer here for," the captain countered. He gave Erik another hard slap on the shoulder. "If he's as big a scoundrel as I think he is then you'll give that Deacon something to cry about."
Erik blinked at him. "I'm afraid I don't follow."
The captain pulled on his beard and shrugged. "Just a little favor to us loyalists. We were hoping you'd put that Deacon in his place and send him packing from the elections. That's one of the reasons we brought you from that disloyal slum of an island and onto the ship. Other than to quell the temper of Draco's lovely and terrible mate," the captain explained.
"So you wish for us to convince Deacon not to run in the next elections?" Erik guessed.
Captain Black gave a nod. "Aye. It would be a great help. Of course, if you're not able then we'll help you, anyway, but it'd be helping yerselves to do what we're asking."
"If we were to install anot
her person more loyal to the house of Greenwood than it would be more advantageous for us," Greg spoke up.
Erik frowned and crossed his arms. "It would be, but the interfering with the islands in such a way would be against the Council pact and the Alliance of the Islands."
"I'm pretty sure that was thrown out the window when you were thrown into the Braille," I quipped.
"Perhaps on that island, but there are the others where we shouldn't make a bad impression with meddling," he scolded me.
"There is some wisdom in what Sophie says," Greg insisted.
I turned and glared at him. "'Some?'"
"Our enemies may take advantage of our hesitation to concern ourselves with the islands and ingratiate themselves with the citizens, as they did at Market," Greg pointed out.
"Exactly!" Captain Black agreed. "That's why ya have to help us. I don't want no one listening to a slimy devil sent to turn my people away from their senses."
Erik pursed his lips, but nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but otherwise we must keep a low profile. Our goal in traveling these islands was to find the extent of Gethin's influence, not to lead a navy against the disillusioned citizens."
The captain furrowed his brow and stroked his beard. "But a war might just be where we're headed, and ya better be prepared for it."
"I hope not, but what other plans do you have for us on the island?" Erik asked him.
Captain Black shrugged. "Getting ya there, for one, and keeping ya safe there, for another, but I'd need to know what your plans are before I can help ya more than that."
"I prefer the plan where we not almost get killed by a bunch of angry villagers," I spoke up.
Erik smiled. "We'll try to avoid that. As for our plans, I honestly can't say because I don't know. We're looking for evidence to convict Gethin in the theft of explosives that caused the earthquakes-"
The captain's bushy eyebrows shot up. "Wait. What's that about explosives and the earthquakes?" the captain wondered.
Erik frowned. "Haven't you heard that the earthquakes were caused by stolen explosives?"
The captain shook his head. "First time I've heard any such tale, and I'll wager no one else on the island has heard such a thing."
"So news travels slow from island to island?" I guessed.
Erik shook his head. "Not this slow, and not when the Council has been alerted. You will recall we were the ones who told them of the gunpowder plot, so they know what transpired."
"The citizens on Market Island were unaware of your bravery as well, my Master," Greg reminded us.
"So nobody's telling anybody anything they need to know to not kill us?" I inferred.
"Or at the very least to no longer fear the earthquakes," Erik mused.
"And how is this Gethin involved?" the captain wondered.
"He's a leader in the Guards, and we captured one of his men setting the last of the explosives. We tried to extract information from him, but he died before we could get it," Erik explained.
"Something killed him," I reminded him.
"Perhaps, but our main concern is with the living. Gethin is involved, but how we can prove that is something we hoped to find on the islands," Erik commented. "My servant here-" he nodded at Greg, "-heard from others that mysterious boats were sighted leaving Wolf Island and traveling the full length of the islands."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't anyone I know of. There's no better fishing than the southern islands, and those are on the opposite side of the lake from yer home."
"Have you seen anything suspicious recently regarding unknown boats?" Erik asked him.
Captain Black shook his head. "No, but I know someone who just might. The owner of the Fisherman's Rest on Maritime Island just opposite our tiny rock."
"Can we get an audience with this person?" Erik requested.
"You should if I speak for ya personally," the captain offered. "We'll do that first thing after we land."
"Then we'll say nothing more until we meet the owner," Erik agreed.
"Aye. I should be getting back to the wheel," the captain mused.
CHAPTER 3
Our little meeting adjourned, and we went our separate ways. The captain cast one last, dark look at the shadow in the corner.
"Don't be leaving here or I'll personally stake ya in yer sleep," he growled. The shadow's reply was to merely bow his head. "Damn vampires. Nothing but trouble. . ." the captain mumbled.
Methuselah remained in the cabin, the captain returned to the helm, and I took this chance to see the view from the bow. The deck of the ship sat ten feet above the waterline and the front jutted out over the spraying waves. I leaned against the wood railing and glanced at the dark waters below us. Above and around us lay the thick fog that protected the lake and its island inhabitants from prying eyes.
I sensed someone come up beside me. I didn't have to turn to know it was Erik.
"An artist would have an easy time painting the view around these islands," I quipped.
Erik leaned his elbows on the railing close beside me and smiled. "Yes."
"It was clearer the night I came. Why?" I asked him.
"It was a full moon then. The moon is the only thing capable of dispelling some of the fog," he explained.
"Between the fog, the rocky ground, and the curse, I wonder you guys stay here at all," I mused.
He shrugged. "It's home, and truth be told I believe many of us fear the outside world."
I snorted. "You mean most of them would scream like school girls if they saw a car."
A smile slipped onto his lips. "Something like that. The motorboat that was sunk was one of the most modern inventions we had."
"You guys have to enter the twenty-first century some decade," I warned him.
He sighed and hung his head. "Perhaps, but the force behind this rebellion may make that decision for us. The citizens of Market Island are prepared to break the fog barrier to obtain land, and who knows how many would follow them."
I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you hear after they captured you?"
He shook his head. "Nothing good. They demanded I cede land to them and allow them to go to the shore. When I refused their demands they threatened to kill me, or worse."
"What's 'or worse' for a werewolf?" I asked him.
"Torture by silver."
"That works?"
"Very effectively."
I cringed. "What would it do to us?"
"The mere touch of it burns our skin and hair. It will reopen old wounds and melt our bones," he told me.
I stuck my tongue out. "That's nasty."
"And very painful," he agreed.
"So they said they were going to do that to you?"
"They threatened me, but I don't believe any of the citizens would have done something so terrible. The man, however. . ." He trailed off.
"You mean the guy that led the rebellion?" I guessed, and he nodded.
"His eyes told me he would have done anything to force me to speak, even if the effort would have killed me," he admitted.
I wrapped my arms around myself and shuddered. "Nice enemies we have. Remind me to send them a gift basket of cyanide at Christmas."
Erik chuckled. "An intriguing idea. Now if we only knew the address to send them we would perhaps have our evidence against Gethin."
I looked out on the lake waves and pursed my lips. "You think we'll find anything against him? This whole think stinks of a conspiracy and whoever's at the front seems to be pretty smart with covering his tracks."
Erik stood straight and frowned. "Yes, and that's what makes me wonder if Gethin is the main force behind this rebellion. I've known him for many years and he never struck me as cunning."
I snorted. "It only took me a few minutes to realize that."
"Then you suspect the same?"
"That there's a secret mastermind who wants to usurp the family and rule the islands? Oh yeah."
"Whom do you suspect?"
/> I furrowed my brow and rubbed my chin in my cupped hand. "Well, if I was the betting type than I'd say it was your cousin, Sir Asshole. Besides, it's always the evil peripheral relative. That, or you have an evil twin brother."
"But whether it's my evil twin or Tyrone Blackwood, he stands to lose everything should the family fall," Erik pointed out.
"Not if he has a trump card, and that just might be the Guards in his pocket," I countered. "He could use them to get the peace back."
Erik shook his head. "Many Guards may follow Gethin, but I believe there are still enough so control over most of the islands would be impossible."
I threw my hands in the air. "Then I give up. Maybe it is Gethin trying to rule the lake and he'll probably end up blowing up everything with that dynamite plot of his."
Erik gazed out on the waters. "Whatever the truths, I hope we find them before the time passes when it will no longer matter."
"Land-ho!" the man in the crow's nest called.
I squinted at the fog ahead of us, but saw only variations of gray. "Can they really see through this pea soup?" I wondered.
"Years of training have given them a good sight to recognize land in this fog," Erik told me.
Sure enough, a few moments later I spotted what the man had spoke of. The dark spot arose like a shadow from the mist. It started out the size of a basketball and steadily increased as we drew nearer. The shadow was a large, rock-covered island, and in front of us was the tall, narrow mouth of a large cove with a dome over the top. Moss hung from the top of the mouth and hid most of the hole. Black came up behind us with a lit lantern.
"Pardon me, my lovebirds, but if we don't give the signal we'll be shot out of the water by a dozen cannons perched on the cliffs," he told us.
Erik grabbed my shoulders and forced us aside. The captain stepped to the very tip of the bow and waved the lantern to and fro. A light from the island answered back with the same signal, and the captain lowered his light.
"There we are. They know not to shoot now," he commented as he turned to us.
"Have you ever been forced to shoot anyone?" Erik asked him.
