Page 30 of Scourge of the Shores
“I’ll return tomorrow. I’ve got an enchantment that might save her, if she’s still breathin’. I’ve lost men with more color in their cheeks.”
Ervin slipped his hand into Robert’s and squeezed. Robert squeezed back, showing him his strength.
“Why not come tonight then?” Ervin asked.
Robert’s gruff chuckle filled the space between them. “In the pirate world, trust is slow-earned and fast-lost. If I vanish too long, the men’ll start whisperin’ mutiny. I’ll come back under the guise of talkin’ trade. No one’ll question it.”
Ervin yanked his hand back. “Fine. Come alone. No weapons.”
“Speakin’ of weapons,” Robert crooned. “May I have me guns back? They’re lined with gold, and ye took ‘em both.”
Ervin emptied the charges and handed the guns back to Robert. “Leave ‘em at camp.”
Ervin locked eyes with Robert as Robert passed by him.
“Aye, I’ll see it done,” Robert said.
Robert walked off alone and unescorted. He took in the damaged settlement and wondered how he was going to keep his fellow pirate kings from taking advantage of the islanders.
He returned to the camp only to be met by Rosa, Blackwood, Garrick, and Damien. Frank leered at them from a distance, but perhaps within earshot.
“Well, look who finally came crawling back,” Garrick said. “So matey, did ye warm that pretty wench’s bed?”
Robert laughed as they formed a semi-circle around him. “Hardly. Though, I’d wager she sleeps just fine without me and is likely to be an ally.” He leaned in with a smirk. “Unlike you lot, who seem awfully restless without me.”
“She held a pistol to yer skull, matey,” Rosa said. “She ain’t our ally.”
“She did what she had to, same as us. We’re pirates. We loot, steal, and kill. And by your own rules, Captain Rosa, she was dead right to assume the worst.” He paused with a deepened grin. “If ye ask me, her quick wit was more dangerous than her pistols.”
Damien stepped too close and leaned into his space. His fishy breath blew into Robert’s face. “Watch yerself. Don’t let a buxom beauty cloud yer judgment.”
“I haven’t,” Robert said, meeting his stare in a cool facade. “But we’ve a chance here for an alliance. They need us, and we need them.”
Garrick grunted. “What’s the deal then, Captain Jaymes?”
Robert stared Damien down until Damien returned to his place. Robert perched a small grin on his lips before he scanned the pirate kings.
“We start assembly lines today. They make pitch and tar; we cut wood. We work all day, all night; we’ll be outta here fast.”
Garrick grunted a satisfied “Aye, that’ll shave weeks off.” He walked away, shouting orders to halt everything and cut wood only. Damien did the same, though his stare lingered a little longer than Garrick’s.
Rosa ran a thumb over each ring on every finger. “I don’t like this Danna Chadwick.”
Blackwood tapped his fingers on the butt of his belted pistol. His other hand tenderly dabbed at the healing wound Danna’d left him. “Nor do I. She’s saucy and she’s trouble. What’s to say, they stockpile tar and pitch, burn our ships in the bay, and leave us stranded?”
“Think, mates. They want us gone—off their island. The sooner, the better for ‘em.” Robert looked around while Rosa and Blackwood stepped closer. “And me offered to lend a hand with their sea dragon.”
“Why help ‘em?” Blackwood asked, crossing his arms.
Robert leaned in with gleaming eyes. “Imagine it, mates. Pirate Kings of the North Sea: Jaymes, Rosa, and Blackwood—the ones who slew a sea dragon and saved an island of former pirate kings. We could spin the tale any way we like. Be legends carved in song with a dragon relic in hand, a prophecy from the DeepMother. Maybe it’s a myth. But no one has to know. Sea dragon bones are revered by every sailor who’s ever kissed salt. With one in our hold, we’d be untouchable.”
A smug grin formed on Blackwood’s mouth as he stroked his beard. “Sea dragons be the last true beasts left in the wild. Slay this one, and the North Sea bows to us. South Sea Kings’ll stay tucked behind their tides till we decide it’s their turn.”
Robert nodded with a half-grin and cracked his neck. “Aye, and this one’s already wounded. Weakened. It’s as easy as it’ll ever get.”
Rosa and Blackwood shared a glance and a grin. Rosa slapped a heavy hand on Robert’s shoulder. “Thought I’d lost me matelot to some isle wench.” His deep chuckle, though tinged with testing, spread to Blackwood. They were both a few years older than Robert, but they had always treated him like a child, needing correction.
So, to even the score, he slapped a heavy hand in return on each man’s shoulder and shook with a firm grip to show them who was in control.
