“I can handle her. Besides, she knows that the longer she holds on to it, the
longer she’ll have to enjoy my company.”
I remind myself that I’m on this ship by choice. I can leave anytime I wish. I just need to find the map first.
I unlock the door myself. The two men allow me to haul my bags into my cell. They don’t bother to help. They wait as I make the three trips. Not that I want their help. I’m in a mood to break bones. Riden’s, mostly. Father would no
doubt admire my restraint. I lock myself back in the cell once I’m done.
Riden holds out his hand expectantly. I hesitate for only a brief moment before tossing the key at him. He catches it effortlessly. A look of skepticism crosses his face. He grasps a bar of the cell and tugs. It stays firmly in place, locked.
“Can’t be too careful,” Riden says to Draxen. “Did you check through her things?”
“Aye,” the captain says. “There’s naught but clothes and books in there.
Nothing of danger. Now, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day. Let’s
go above and decide the best location to stall the ship. And it would be best not to tell the lass where we’ll be. Don’t need her gettin’ any ideas.”
Draxen makes for the stairs. Riden quirks up the right side of his lips before
following.
Once they’re out of sight, I smile. Riden isn’t the only one to have gathered
information during our little chat. I’ve learned that Riden and Draxen are brothers, sons of the pirate lord Jeskor. I’m still unsure as to what happened to Jeskor and his original crew for Draxen to inherit the ship, but I’m sure I will learn that later. Riden’s a good shot, and he has his captain’s confidence. How else did he manage to convince Draxen not to kill any more of my men? I wonder what he whispered to him back on the other ship and why he bothered to
step in, in the first place. Riden’s concerned for the men on this ship, not just with the normal concern that a first mate might have for the men he oversees. I
think back to when he told me all the men on the ship are killers and how saddened he was by it. He feels responsibility for something. Perhaps it is tied to whatever happened to the original crew of the Night Farer.
There are many secrets aboard this ship, and I will have plenty of time to discover them all, starting tonight. I shake my right arm. I feel the metal slide down and slip into my hand.
It’s the key to my cell.
Chapter 3
I HAD AMPLE OPPORTUNITIES to snatch the key from Riden. The trick was finding a way to lock myself in the cell before switching the key with another one I’d brought on board with me. I guessed that the key to my own ship’s brig
would be about the same size. Riden couldn’t have noticed the difference.
He’s not as clever as he thinks. And I am far more clever than he realizes.
Big mistake on his part.
Now that I’m alone, I rummage through my bags to find something suitable
to wear. I can’t stomach this sailor’s outfit any longer. It’ll take an entire bottle of perfume to rid my skin of the stench of the last owner. Who knows when I’ll
be allowed a bucket of water to wash? With Captain Draxen’s cruel demeanor,
I’m sure it will be quite some time.
I select a dark blue corset with wide sleeves that attach with thick ribbons. I
place these atop a white blouse. The corset ties up the front, so I’m able to do it myself. I never had ladies to wait on me like land-faring noblemen’s daughters.
There are not many women willing to work for pirates. And the ones equipped
for a life at sea are not wasted as maids. My own crew back at the keep is nearly entirely composed of women. A fact I am proud of.
I pull on a pair of black leggings and a pair of clean breeches atop that. My
boots, perfectly snug and comfortable, go on next, extending all the way up to my knees. I sigh in contentment once I’m done. Looking good certainly helps to
make one feel good.
Humming as I work, I grab a book titled Depths of the Sea from one of my bags. It’s an index of all the creatures known to live in the ocean. I memorized
each entry long ago, and I’ve spent so much time at sea that I’ve seen more creatures than charted in the work itself. That’s why I had no problem hollowing
out the binding of the book and hiding a small dagger inside.
Voices and footsteps reach my ears. I quickly place the dagger into my right
boot and drop the book back with my other things. I sit down in what I hope is