Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Fire Consumes the Past

"Captain Theo herself," a voice echoed throughout the chamber she was in.

It was a large room, ceilings vaulted high in the air. Whatever bit of sunlight peeked through the clouds found itself shining through the large windows framing the entirety of one of the walls. The rest was elaborate stone and there was a finely crafted oak table in the middle of the room where her old Captain was sitting.

"Captain Uncilo," Theo took off her hat and bowed a bit.

Uncilo stood from his chair and began walking toward Theo. He was slow, his old age starting to show. He was nearing 50 now and there wouldn't be much time left for him to rule as Head of the Pirate Council. He was slower, frailer than before but he still could command a legion of soldiers; Theo would bet on that. She made it easier for him and walked closer. Uncilo met her with a tight hug and Theo found herself sinking into it. She and Uncilo had a long and complicated history but she knew he only had love for her and she loved him too.

"I cannot tell you how worried I was, Theo, that you were not going to come back," Uncilo confessed, walking back to his chair.

"I have to admit I almost didn't," Theo said, "I had a group of traders try to execute a hit on me and a ship full of soldiers that were faking distress and we almost got roped into the trap."

"It's bad," Uncilo said, getting straight to the point. There was no beating around the bush, they were at war.

"How bad?"

"We will discuss it more in detail at the meeting tomorrow but we are missing a third of our pirates on the island right now. Confirmed dead or missing? Close to 20 in the last three cycles. They're attacking anybody they can. Small ships, big ships, legends, amateurs," Uncilo looked concerned, aged.

"Who do you think is behind it?"

"Who do you think?"

That was a rhetorical question. The only place with that kind of intercontinental reach and those kinds of resources to execute a long term campaign was The Center. It reeked of orders from the Council.

"It's not the first time this has happened," Theo pointed out, "every few classifications they crack down on pirates. Sometimes worse than others."

Cooker was fascinated with pirate history when they were younger and she used to teach Theo. Every few classifications, pirates became a hot topic of discussion. It was easy politics to go after a hated group and this classification that happened to be pirates. Sometimes it was traders, sometimes it was gambling, sometimes it was underground religion, sometimes all. But what was a known pattern was that nobles on the council tried to go after these easy political problems to guarantee their votes to stay on for another classification.

If The Center was behind it and if that was their working theory it was a lot more manageable than an unknown enemy. The Center was predictable in its strategies and schemes and Cooker had studied their methods in case that moment ever came. Now that they knew their opponent, the offensive could begin.

"It isn't the first time, no. We need to hear from everyone tomorrow, see who else has been subjected to their tactics and what those tactics are," Uncilo said, wrinkles defined on his forehead as he scrunched his brows together in worry.

"And you need me for what?" Theo asked, she had been called there by Uncilo for a reason.

He was her captain for many years and because of that, they knew how to effortlessly work together. With Theo high up on the social ladder within Corinspe, she held sway at the pirate meetings. Solutions backed by Theo usually passed. There was a vocal minority that made things difficult at first but persuasion was her strong suit and she was able to curry favor with many of the pirates on the council. Uncilo knew this and used Theo as an asset, not that Theo minded. Her views usually aligned with Uncilo and she got to have the ear of the Head of the Council.