Page 27 of The Lost Child

I squared my shoulders back as I stepped onto the ship, prepared to take my command. I wasn’t intimidated. I wasn’t afraid. I was a good captain and pirate. There would be nothing these men would report back that would embarrass me. We would easily prevail against Macguire’s crew, just like we did last. Even if I was exhausted and starving.

Hai appeared in front of me and mutely handed me my sword and belt. His eyes were intent, clearly asking a question.

“Worry about yourself,” I murmured back. “I’ll be fine.”

One dark eyebrow rose, but he turned and made his way back to the helm with his brother.

It took no time at all to secure the sails and set out toward the open sea. Hai and Kai did their best to navigate, but the heavy fog and constant mist made navigation impossible and the mood was just as damp as the sky.

“Are we expected to simply bump into him?” I grumbled to no one, anxious to have no bead on the enemy. The element of surprise was my bosom friend, but that wouldn’t work today.

“It’s a bad job, miss! Can’t see anything!”

Toby called down from the crow’s nest, his young eyes squinting and face pained. I liked Toby. He was fast as a whip, had keen eyes, and sang bawdy tunes I knew he didn’t understand with a pleasant voice.

“It’s alright, hop on down. The gods themselves wouldn’t see shit in this,” I urged him, crossing my arms over my chest.

My men seemed just as confused as I was, but I couldn’t let it show. “Cutlasses and steel out, boys,” I barked. “Our moment could come in a moment or a day. Don’t let each passing one be your last.”

I descended the forecastle deck to the main one itself. Gerrick was by my side, still with that smirking grin on his face.

“I would hope,” I began sharply, making that smile twitch, “that my lord father knows something we don’t.”

The older man opened his mouth to respond, baring his three remaining teeth and black gums, but I cut over him. “And that he wouldn’t risk his men in a plight of folly.”

His mouth snapped shut, his smirk gone. “I told ‘im you was smart, but all the good it’ll do a bitch out here.” He spit on the ground, gave me a crazed grin, and crossed to the other side of the deck.

My hands clenched into fists at my side. I knew it. This was a setup. Father had been allied with Macguire too long to suddenly become enemies. The last raid had been rigged, but likely had only been a warmup for the real thing. Macguire would have more than just his ship here; I bet his entire fleet was about to set upon us.

“TOBY!” I yelled, suddenly wanting him down from the nest and by my side as soon as possible. His blond hair blew in the wind as he turned to face me from his perch, his mouth opening to reply.

BOOM.

A cannonball ripped through the air and the crow’s nest exploded, raining shrapnel and wood and blood down on us.

I didn’t have time to mourn Toby or gape in horror as more than broken wood rained down on me.

“ATTACK! FROM THE NORTH!” I bellowed as the men scrambled to get in a defensive position and man our cannons. If it were my crew, it would have been done in seconds. This crew hemmed and hawed over who would fight on the deck and who would take the cannons. The ones that did run for them argued with each over regarding which cannon they would man.

All the while timber and Toby’s blood still rained down on us.

Holy fuck, we were all going to die.

A battle cry called out from Macguire’s main ship, which was quickly pulling up to our right. Not a moment later and they were flying over the railings and landing on our deck, skewering my crew left and right.

I screamed and ripped the sword off my back, plunging it deep into the closest man. He made a gurgling sound of protest and fell to his knees. I yanked my sword from his chest and whirled, cutting another man’s legs out from under him. The wheel was abandoned, meaning Hai and Kai were fighting. I spotted them further down the deck, whirling in perfect synchronization as they cut a path through Macguire’s men.

Jagger was holding his own against three men, and Gerrick was nowhere to be found.

“Hold the middle!” I ordered, but doubted these men would obey. They were already a formation-less mess, spread out wide across the ship and thus easier to pick off one by one. The pressure began to build in my chest, and fear spiked in my veins.

There was nothing for it. I had to call for help.

I raced to the captain’s quarters, practically sliding across the wooden floor with the amount of blood on my boots. I locked the door behind me, just in case. I braced myself against the large wooden desk and threw open the bottom right drawer.

My father was a scoundrel and a cheat, but the one good thing he did was mandate that every vessel flying his colors carried this tool in the same spot in every captain’s quarters. My fingers wrapped around the small cylinder and withdrew it, my hands shaking.

THUD THUD THUD.

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