9. Knot What I Signed Up For #2
Scowling, I drop my hands and survey the crew before finding Astra and Captain Night standing at the helm, intently studying the other ship.
Neither Astra nor Jack slept in their hammocks last night, and here they are, heads still bent over that map.
What are they up to? What’s aboard that ship that they so desperately need?
Jack claps Captain Night on the shoulder before whispering something into his ear. Captain Night responds, and Jack’s head snaps up, finding me across the ship. He jogs toward me, and reaching behind him, he produces a pistol and holds it out to me.
I take half a step back. “You can’t honestly think—”
“Take it,” Jack says, pushing it into my hands. “You’ll need it when we board.”
The pistol feels wrong in my hands, too heavy, too dangerous. I don’t know how to work the thing, but before I can say as much, Jack passes me gunpowder and ammunition until my hands are full, the pistol precariously balanced in my palm.
“Jack, what’s aboard that ship?” I ask as he shows me how to load it, pouring in the gunpowder before shoving a strip of cloth and one of the round bullets into the barrel with something that looks like one of those metal scrubbers used for straws.
Jack gives me a once-over as I pocket the rest. He grins, pinching the large, billowing sleeve of my tunic.
“Nothing you need to worry ’bout. Glad to see you found some new clothes, though.
” He squeezes my shoulder and nods to Mick before rallying the other pirates, his hands raised in the air in triumph.
I clench my teeth, hands tightening around the pistol as we come closer to the ship.
We’re splicing through the water fast, faster than I thought possible, the waves crashing against the hull and making my stomach a mess of knots, but I can start to make out the details of the other ship.
Their crew waits on the deck as we approach.
“Hoist the black!” Captain Night calls out.
I watch as our crew hoists a pirate flag high, the skull with a single dagger splitting through it stark against a blue sky. Though the crew of She Deceitful cries out, teeth bared and flashing, all I can hear is ringing in my ears as the other ship raises a white flag in surrender.
Our crew does not hide as we near it, standing proud in their places around me, some poised at the cannons, others crouched with grappling hooks and netting at the ready. They’re thoroughly prepared, and they have every intention of seeing this through.
Whatever it is.
“Prepare to board!” Captain Night orders.
He strides from his place at the helm, and the crew parts for him as he stops and leans out over the railing, grinning.
He has come alive since this morning, a strange sort of excited energy about him as we pull in alongside the other ship.
There’s nothing left of the gentle man who nursed me back to health, who pressed a damp cloth to my forehead and whispered sweet words.
Even still, though I know nothing will come of these feelings, I can’t help but track his every move.
The crew adjusts the sails, untying and easing up on the lines until the fabric slackens, and the movement of the ship begins to slow, a sudden surge of energy running through the crew as we slide to a stop in the water.
There’s no walking away now, no lying about what I’m going to have to do if this turns to shit.
The other ship lies in wait as the crew around me throws hooks and netting, preparing to board. On the quarterdeck, Astra folds up a piece of paper and pockets it before crossing the deck and murmuring something low in Captain Night’s ear. He nods to them before motioning to the rest of the crew.
“This is it, crew,” he says.
Around me, the crew holds up knives and swords and pistols in response to his words, sweat trickling down their faces, expressions twisted with excitement. They love raids, it would seem, love this part of being a pirate.
“It can’t be this easy,” I whisper, searching the deck of the other ship. There are no weapons in sight; they just stand in wait. Who would give in so easily, and why?
“It is.” I jump in surprise, but Astra is unfazed. They watch me quietly, head dipping low, one hand on their gun and the other on the hilt of a knife. Their voice is a soft tenor, a Surrey accent, I think. “It’s a merchant ship. They want as little trouble as possible.”
“They’ll really just hand over whatever?”
Astra raises a brow. “You’d be surprised what men will do in the face of death.”
So serious.
“Jack, Astra, and Laszlo, with me.” Captain Night beckons us with a wave of his hand. “Come,” he insists when I make no move to leave.
Astra shoves me forward and I trip, catching myself on the railing beside Captain Night, my fingers brushing over his.
My vision tunnels as I grip the railing for dear life, but if anyone notices, they say nothing.
Captain Night’s finger presses into the back of my hand, there and gone so quickly, I can’t tell whether or not he did it on purpose.
As we clamber onto the gangplank, I taste the sea below us, feel the wind shoving against me, and it brings me back to climbing aboard the ship in London, Louise at my heels.
My legs go wobbly beneath me, and I stumble to a stop, but someone’s hand at my back gently nudges me forward, and I force myself to go on, keeping my eyes carefully trained on the ship ahead of me.
I sigh in relief when I hop down onto the other ship, catching myself on the railing and turning to examine the deck.
I pick out their captain at once, an older man dressed in richer colors than the rest of them, a logbook under his arm.
As we approach, he holds out the logbook to Captain Night, who hands it to me. Our fingers brush once more as I take it, and I meet his heated glare before he turns back to the merchant captain.
Jack nods to Captain Night before beckoning to me. “Down the stairs you go, Laszlo.”
I don’t protest, but I pause at the top, freezing when Astra cocks a pistol and presses it into the shaking captain’s chest.
Swallowing, the merchant captain leads the two of them into his cabin, closing the door with a hollow click. Jack says something to me, but I don’t hear it, just apologize quietly before hurrying down to their hold as other crew from She Deceitful board the merchant ship.
As I open the logbook down below and read aloud the contents of the ship’s cargo, I can’t stop myself from flinching as a single muffled gunshot goes off up top.