Chapter 9
I was still wondering if we might’ve been better off with the whole Garth-winding-up-being-a-serial-killer option. Because my knees were quaking as Moll and I strode toward the torchlit docks an hour or so later.
With a little luck, this excursion could end our whole search, just days after I’d found out about the clock’s existence. But, as awesome as that would be, it had just as much potential to go horribly wrong.
After Garth’s insistence that ‘you’d have to be a pretty sexy wench to get in as a serving girl now that it’s already started’, followed by a very pointed and rather insulting glance in my direction, we’d settled on a pair of disguises.
Moll would dress up as a girl from the village looking for work while I took a page from Cissy Petway’s book and disguised myself as an adolescent boy looking to join one of the crews, complete with tiny dabs of shoe polish Moll had painted on my chin like stubble, and a red silk tie across my waist in place of a belt.
And, while I had an easier time of it than Moll had when we’d been forced to cut and dye her hair back in Alabaster, I definitely wasn’t happy about waiting a good year or two for it to grow back.
I glanced up at the sky and let out a breath. Fetch surveyed the area overhead, ready to rejoin us once we were finished. Worst case, I knew I could count on him to peck a few eyeballs out if need be, but we were still headed onto a ship full of pirates.
I shot Moll a worried glance, but she seemed to be in a fair mood, considering the seriousness of our current situation.
“You have the knife I gave you? And the incapacitator, yeah?”
She tipped her head in a curt nod. “Yup. For the third time, I’m armed and ready, Mom.”
“If you want me to do this alone, I’m happy to find you a place to?—”
Molly wheeled around, grabbed both of my lips and squeezed them flat like a duck bill. “What did I say about that? After the last time you pulled some shit like this?”
I stared at her and tried to reply, but the words were nothing but a series of muffled hums.
“Exactly. Me and you are like bread and butter. You go, I go. And besides,” she added, releasing my lips. “I’m not afraid.” She let me go and I rubbed at my recently pinched lips.
“How is that possible?” I replied, picking up the pace again. “I mean, fear is a healthy response here. This is a scary situation.”
We walked for another ten paces before she answered.
Pausing, she turned to face me, her expression solemn.
“The worst has happened, and I’m still here, that’s why.
I refuse to let that sadistic fuck break me.
And if one of these pirates wants to try me, he’s going to find himself right next to Heinrich.
In the bowels of the underworld with my knife in his gullet.
” The fierce light in her eyes died and her lips twitched.
“To tell you the truth, the only thing about this particular situation that’s scary is your new haircut.
Truly hideous…” She snicked her tongue and then doubled over with laughter.
I played along and swung my mouth wide, perching my hands on my hips in outrage. “You’re really getting a kick out of this, huh?”
“It’s just so…bad. And the funny part is, you let that crazy old man with cataracts the size of dinner plates cut it because you were afraid I was going to mess it up on purpose.
You have to admit, that’s rich.” She reached over, plucked off my cap, and ran her hand through my freshly-shorn hair that stood out in tufts that ended at my chin.
“I never bought that ‘best revenge is living well’ crap anyway, but this seals the deal. The best revenge is seeing someone get a worse haircut than they gave you.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but grin at her, delighted even if it was at my expense. “We’re even now.”
She looked over, incredulous. “You think that makes us even? After that vow of silence and the fake leg? Pfft. Not even close. You owe me for all eternity. You do make a pretty good boy, though. Not exactly my type, but you have a certain charm that I would consider if my options were limited…”
“You do know that gold from Duncan is all the money I have in the world, right?” I asked in mock confusion.
She chortled as we took our first step onto the wooden dock. “Look, when a lady aspires to a standard of living…”
She trailed off and I followed her gaze, the laughter falling away. Massive ships loomed all around, bearing flags of skulls, blades, krakens, and anchors. Each one was intimidating in its own right, but the one at the very back dwarfed them all.
The Floating City, Garth had called it, and the closer we got, the more apt that name seemed. The moon hung just behind the mast, giving it an eerie, otherworldly feel. A burly man stood just in front of it, next to a steep wooden walkway that led up to the deck.
Despite the bad feeling I’d had in my gut that we would surely cross paths with Captain Hook, none of the ships looked like the one in the drawings at the amphitheater, or the one shooting cannons our way a few days before.
A surprise, but a welcome one. Walking into a den of thieves and murderers in search of a guide brave enough to take us to The Weeping Fen was bad enough without having to also grapple with seeing the one I’d had dream sex with, who’d turned out to be the worst of the bunch.
I turned back toward Moll. ”You looking to win the heart of a pirate today? I hear they have a lot of gold.” I gestured toward her chest, which seemed ready to burst free of her buttons.
“Nope. I’m over the whole husband hunting thing.
I’ve got you, and that’s enough for me. I’m just using what I got to get us inside this shindig,” she said with a shrug, lowering her voice now that the guard was almost in earshot.
“One of us had to do it, and it certainly wasn’t going to be you.
” She shot a look at my chest that hadn’t even needed to be bound for me to pass as a boy.
“Cruel.”
I took one last, steadying breath as we approached the man guarding the ship, who was already eyeing us up and down.
“Names?” he grunted, his gold tooth glinting in the torchlight.
“Harmon,” I answered gruffly, “and this is my sister, Molly.”
“We’re from the village,” Moll blurted nervously as she dropped into a low curtsy, leaning forward to show off her ample chest.
“I know we’re a bit late,” I said, praying that she’d leave the rest of the talking to me, “but I’m hoping to find a crew to join, and my sister here wants to see if you need any more servers.”
“Can always use more servers,” replied the man, wetting his lips. “Head on up, toots.”
Moll and I stepped forward in unison, but he held his arm out in front of me. “Yes?” I asked.
He tore his gaze off Moll for the first time to look me up and down in surprise. “You’re looking to join one of the crews, boy?”
“I’ve dreamt of it since I was a kid.” I added more bass into my voice for good measure. Garth had told us loads of the local boys looked to piracy as a way to get rich.
“A little scrawny, no?” he remarked, frowning. “How old are ya?”
“Twenty.”
He reached over for the nearest torch, pulling it off of the holder. “Let’s see those arms.”
I held back a wince, thinking fast. My boobs were small, but they weren’t that small. If he ended up looking me over too closely, there was a very real chance that he’d see through my disguise.
Maybe I could win him over if I called Fetch?
A tinny plink sounded to my left, and I turned in unison with the guard, looking over at Moll.
“Oh my,” she chuckled as she tugged at her shirt.
“What’s the matter?”
She flashed him a doe-eyed glance. “One of my buttons popped off and I can’t seem to find it…”
“Well, if you need some help, I could?—”
“Oh, thank you.” She held a hand to her heaving chest.
It only took a few moments before he came up with the good, lofting the pearly button high in the air.
“Got it!”
“So clever!” She glanced at his arms. “And strong, too. I’m sure your crew is lucky to have you. You know, I wouldn’t mind hearing of your adventures over a mug of ale, if you’ll be staying another day or two…?”
Her acting was terrible, but he was far too addled by her creamy bosom to notice.
It was like a frigging superpower, I realized, suppressing a laugh.
The man puffed out his chest and nodded. “I’ll be here. We’ve just come back from two months at sea, so we’ll be staying in town at least a few more days.”
Moll nodded, her eyelashes fluttering. “Sounds great. I’ll stop and see you after I leave later tonight and we can plan where to meet, then?” She was already backing away toward the wooden plank leading to the ship, tugging at my shirt sleeve as she spoke.
“See you then, Miss. And tell your brother to watch hisself. A lot of us are just gods-fearing, sea-fairing men looking for a semi-honest way to make a living. Others…well, they’d as soon gut ya as greet ya.”
The wooden walkway stretched a solid twenty feet out, with frayed rope on either side in the place of railings, and we strode carefully across it.
“Fucking hell,” I said once he was out of earshot. “I thought we were screwed for a second there.”
She chuckled. “We’re lucky there wasn’t a woman down there instead checking on those coming to the gathering.”
The noise within grew louder with each step toward the enormous warship, and I sucked in a breath as we reached the top of the walkway.
A few stray sailors milled around the well-manicured deck, but the crowd was still clearly inside.
A line of lanterns against one wall marked the entrance to the cabin, and I glanced over at Moll as we stepped onto the deck.
“Ready?”
“Ready. I’m going to try to feel things out with the kitchen and waitstaff like you said.”
“Great. I’m going to do some eavesdropping,” I said.
She smiled, looking eager to get inside, but then paused. “Thanks for letting me come. It’s a lot better than hanging back alone, worried you’re never coming back.”