Chapter 9 Kaspar #3
Butcher’s crew apparently went to a gambling den and had no plans to come here—thank the goddesses. But all the Wraith pirates I’d befriended, minus Reaper, were here, and they were all having a grand old time from the look on their drunken faces.
Seeing the crew like that brought a big smile to my face.
Sure, they tended to eat dinner together and maybe play a card game, but I’d never seen them so relaxed.
On the ship, everyone was tense, as if waiting for the next encounter with Viper.
But here, they didn’t have to worry about him, and it was easy to tell what a reprieve it was.
Thoughts of Viper made me uneasy. Everyone on The Black Wraith was made to fight, and after what happened last time, after I’d killed a man, I… didn’t know if I could do it again.
Glancing around the saloon, I saw a few other pirate crews that were having just as much fun together as the Wraith’s crew was. Most everyone had smiles on their faces.
Did other crews fear for their lives the way everyone did on the Wraith?
If I was aboard a different ship, would I be forced to fight? Forced to kill again?
As my thoughts twirled and twisted in my mind, the itch under my skin grew and grew until it was unbearable. I couldn’t take it any longer.
I needed to release my magic or I was going to come out of my skin.
Everyone else was occupied and didn’t seem to notice how fidgety I was. They were probably too far gone with drink to care. If I was going to take a chance on another ship, now was my time.
And holy phoenix tails did I need to release this magic.
Now.
I’d been there for nearly two hours before I finally saw my chance to leave. As quickly and as quietly as I could, I snuck out of The Sea Serpents Saloon while the entire bar sang a shanty I didn’t know the words to. They were having so much fun I doubted any of them would even notice I was gone.
When I escaped, I stopped and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath of the foul air—Duskwater Harbor was filthy, and it smelled horrible—before glancing around. I’d memorized the route here, so I knew the way back to the ship.
Should I go back? Or should I explore more?
Or… Or should I take this opportunity and make a run for it?
What did I have on The Black Wraith that I couldn’t have somewhere else? Maybe I could join a different crew and not have to worry about the captain getting pissed at me one day and chucking me overboard.
Reaper’s face flashed across my mind’s eye, and I winced as I headed for the ship. I… didn’t want to leave him here. But I also didn’t like Viper. In fact, I was convinced that the captain was going to wake up one day in a bad mood and decide to make me monster bait just for the hell of it.
And I wasn’t sure Reaper would or could save me if that happened.
“Holy monster balls,” I muttered as I stepped over something steaming in the cool night air, something that looked like goo, something I didn’t want to know anything about because it smelled rancid.
Phoenix tails, this place is gross.
Before I could do anything, I really needed to release some of my pent-up energy. There were way too many people around to chance it here, so I headed deeper into the city where there were less people out and about. It took me at least an hour to find an empty alley that felt safe.
Er, well, safe enough, anyway.
With one more glance around, I listened for any sign of company, but I didn’t hear anything.
So I knelt down and placed my palms on the stone ground, then I closed my eyes and let my magic run down my arms and out my fingertips.
The power that lived inside of me left in an exhale of breath, quickly filling the ground beneath my knees with energy.
I pushed and pushed and pushed, and still, more magic discharged from my hands, the ground below me glowing a soft blue and warming to the touch.
I lost track of time as I let my power unleash for the first time since before I ever set foot on a pirate ship, and it felt good. It was freeing and wonderful and made a big grin spread across my face.
I pushed until I had nothing left, and then I fell back onto my rump, breathing heavily as I wiped sweat from my brow, staring at the softly glowing rock below me. The rocks here were large enough that it would dissipate soon, and even if it didn’t, I wasn’t planning on sticking around.
I’d never needed to release my magic that way before—I’d always used it every day to charge fluxstones for my family and neighbors so it’d never built up like that—but I had to admit it felt… liberating.
Too bad I couldn’t do that on the regular without being found out.
That thought wiped the smile right off my face, and I glanced around, searching for witnesses. I needed to get out of here before someone noticed the energy in the ground and went searching for a fluxweaver.
Shaking my body out, I got to my feet, pulled a couple of loose rocks off the ground, and pocketed them—I always liked to have rocks on hand, just in case I needed to weaponize them the way I had with the king’s guard. Then I oriented myself and turned in the direction of the ship.
My magic had that one glorious moment of freedom, and maybe the rest of me could have something like that too. Maybe I didn’t need to be bossed around and thrown grunt work left and right. Maybe I could find something better, something safer.
Again, Reaper’s face flashed in my mind’s eye, and I cringed. I really didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to keep getting to know the man, but I also wanted to feel safe, and with Viper in charge, that would be impossible.
After witnessing the whipping Willy received, I was even more wary of the pirate captain. That had been one of the most awful things I’d ever seen in my entire life, and I was praying I didn’t have to witness a repeat. Or hellfire, have that done to me.
I shuddered at the memory, then shuddered again when I thought about it happening to me.
Quickly, I made my way through the streets and up the tall steps to the ship, ignoring every single person I came across whether they were yelling at me, trying to get into my pants, or trying to pickpocket me. I didn’t stop for any of them because I didn’t want to get into a fight.
I’d drawn enough blood since joining the pirates. I didn’t want to hurt anyone else, even if they were trying to steal from me—not that I even had anything on my person to begin with aside from my weapons. Maybe if I found another ship, I could barter a deal so I wouldn’t have to fight.
When I reached The Black Wraith, I sighed in relief.
No one else was here from the sounds of it, so I boarded and headed for the lower deck where I slept. I had a blanket and a few other small things I wanted to take with me.
Reaper’s face flashed in my mind’s eye, and I grimaced again. I… really didn’t want to leave him. I really, really didn’t.
But shouldn’t I try harder to get to the Asteris Kingdom and set up Kayla and Cody in the capital? Shouldn’t getting there faster and much safer—anywhere was safer if it was away from Viper—be my priority?
The soft expression Reaper had given me just last night when I was talking about my sister and nephew flashed in my mind again, and I paused. Should I go? Would boarding another ship be worth leaving Reaper?
And not just him, but the others I’d befriended on the ship too?
Was this a huge mistake?
My hands kept at it, automatically folding my things while thoughts and memories raced through my head. My heart was unsure, but my body seemed to be on a mission.
A little trill came from near the ladder as I packed my belongings, and I glanced up to find two amber eyes staring at me without blinking. It was freaky, but the little vexling let out another trill, and I sighed. “What do you want, Sprocket?”
They turned in a circle, trilled at me, then took a couple of steps toward the ladder that led back up to the main deck.
“I don’t speak vexling.”
They let out an angry bark at that.
When the vexling did the same circle thing again, I knew they wanted me to follow them. From what I knew of the little guy, if I didn’t comply, they would start climbing all over me and bothering me until I did, so I may as well give in.
I packed my things into the small bag I’d acquired from the raid—I wasn’t proud of myself for taking it when Hawk-Eyes handed it over, but desperate times and all that—and I turned to the little beastie.
With my bag over my shoulder, I followed Sprocket onto the main deck. They led me straight to Reaper’s private room, making my brow furrow. Why in the world would they take me there? I stopped a few feet from the door and whisper-yelled, “I’m not going in there, Sprocket. Are you crazy?”
The vexling turned an angry look my way and started chattering loudly and banging on Reaper’s door. My eyes widened. Was Reaper in there? Was the little brat giving me away before I could make a run for it?
Sprocket chattered even louder at me, and I flinched.
What in hellfire was that little beastie doing? Why were they trying to get me in trouble? Were they trying to get me killed? Did they really hate me that much?
Sprocket suddenly let out a small trill and ran past me in excitement.
“Ghost?”
I froze at the sound of my nickname, a scowl forming on my face before I turned around and breathed out, “Reaper.”
Dragon balls, he caught me.
Apparently, he hadn’t been in his room, but with all the racket Sprocket made, I wasn’t surprised he’d come to see what the fuss was about.
Glancing down, I saw Sprocket pulling on Reaper’s pant leg with one little paw and pointing at me with the other. Obviously, the overgrown rodent brought me here to tell on me. Ugh.
But I didn’t really care about the vexling. I only cared about the pirate first mate, who was staring at me with the saddest expression I’d ever seen on his handsome face.
Phoenix tails, he didn’t want me to go, did he?
And I really didn’t want to leave him, but shouldn’t I want to leave? Shouldn’t I want to get away from these bloodthirsty pirates?
But… did I have to?