I stood among my crewmates before daybreak the next morning. A hush had settled over us in the early morning light. We stood silently, every eye on the door to the captain’s cabin. As the first ray of sun broke above the horizon the door to the cabin was thrown open, our captain stalking out to stand before his silent crowd.
“Jumé-falio with Obsidarian and Forcan; Fame-jujio with Steel and Braze; Xament with Flame and myself.” Mají-jalio rattled off. “For those of you who remain here, don’t grow lazy at your posts, change is coming. Each to their station, the raid begins soon.”
The captain turned to leave in silence, but was stopped when a voice rose from our crowd. “Ye see that lads? Our captain fancies the girl. Keeps her out of trouble he does, brings her on the raids when she’s still wet-behind-the-ears. It’s disgraceful. What makes her so special?” Karius called.
There were a few murmurs of assent, but the captain did not rise to the bait.
“Do you need a reminder Karius?” I growled. “Having both witnessed and tasted of what I can do, do you doubt your captain’s judgment? Or are you so dim-witted that you truly cannot recall, and must be made to remember in a way that shall never again be forgotten?”
“No such thing occurred,” he hissed. “You lie!”
“As a pirate,” I purred. “That is part of my life, however, if you are not to green-gilled to take off the scarf you wear in the land of eternal summer, our crewmates may see for themselves the marks you bear from our last encounter.”
Karius snarled, pulling his yellow-hilted cutlass from its sheath. I reached for my dagger, but the captain threw open his door and yelled once more.
“Flame! Xament! Report! I said all to their stations you lazy swabs!”
I took my hand away from the hilt and turned to the stairs again. Xament was a half step behind me, separating Karius from me, herding me up the stairs to the captain. He closed the door behind us.
Mají was lounging behind his desk, acting as if nothing had happened on deck. He stared at the chart on the wall behind him.
“There is little left to take that hasn’t been taken already,” he said softly. “We are going to focus on a different objective today.”
“PIRATES OFF THE PORT SIDE!!! CAPTAINS STORM AND VINYÉ WITH THE ROGUE LEADER APPROACHING!”
Mají vaulted over his desk and beat us to the door, drawing his rapier as he kicked the door out. He strode coolly to the port rail, clamping his hand over the pirate who had been shouting.
“Very good Forcan,” he hissed. “But Griffon knows you talk far too much. Next time come directly to me instead of hollering for the whole damn world to hear.”
He released the unfortunate man, waving for the rest of us to approach the rail. My breath caught in my chest. The men stretched across the field, spanning the length of the ship with a depth that seemed our ship’s length three times over. Each bristled in their place, weapons drawn as the watched the three leaders stand at the forefront. It was a show of force, a quiet rabble that milled about at our camp’s entrance. For the first time I thought of how exposed our camp was. Captain Storm’s crew lived within his fort, with pointed walls and a moat. Captain Vinyé’s crew lived underground, the entrance to the camp disguised amongst the roots and underbrush of the surrounding forest. Even those who served Captain Carnie had made an attempt to keep safe by living in the ramshackle huts instead of beside the storage building. Yet we, the best of the best, lived defenseless, protected only by the rope ladder presently on deck.
YOU ARE READING
FireSweet
Fantasy"My name changed before my eyes, the paper before me read "Welcome Gittoran Scarlet", I felt a searing pain in my left shoulder and the world spun around me. I dropped to the floor, and blacked out." Gittoran was your average party-girl with attit...
