“Aye, sir.”
“And when you’re done and cleaned up, come find me. I’m expecting a full
report.” The pirate king leaves the ship, taking his men with him. Tylon and his
men follow.
My crew have already removed all the weapons from Draxen’s men. They are
now moved before me in a line and forced to their knees. Several of my girls have to wrestle Draxen’s sword from him. Even though he’s surrounded, he still
won’t go down without a fight. But he’s forced to the ground in line with everyone else.
I survey them slowly, letting the fear sink in. I have experienced a great many
things while on this ship that I’d rather forget. These men will not suffer the same misfortunes. They’ll only face death or imprisonment. So a little fear is healthy for them right now.
“This feels oddly familiar,” I say to the pirates who are now at my mercy. I
knew this day would come; I just hadn’t expected it to feel so good. “Who wants
to live? Should I be merciful? Or should I kill you all like you tried to do with my crew when you captured me?” I address that last part to Draxen specifically.
“Do what you will, woman,” Draxen says, spitting on the deck.
I hadn’t expected him to face death so nobly. “Your men should be
disappointed that you don’t even try to bargain for their lives.”
“If it’s all the same,” one pirate pipes up, “I’d prefer to live.” This from Kearan.
I smile. “Very well. Wallov, Deros, take this pirate to the brig.” Wallov and
Deros are the only two men in my crew. They are all muscle, both of them, and
they’re handy dealing with prisoners. Particularly large ones like Kearan. But their muscles are not the only things that make them useful. I need at least one
man on my ship at all times. Men are the only ones who can hear my song. Or at
least be affected by it. When I’m parted from my crew, it’s good to always have
a way to contact them quickly when they’re within reach of my song.
“Take this one, too,” I order, pointing to Enwen. “And the captain. Also, you
should find an injured man, suffering from two gunshot wounds in the rooms off
the main deck. Take him to the ship as well. Mandsy?”
“Aye, Captain?”
“See to him, will you?”
“Of course.”
I order several more to be brought over, a few of the really young ones. It’s
harder to allow such youth to be taken from the world so easily. I’ll let them go at the next port, and Kalligan will be none the wiser.
But the others, those who were cruel to me, those who are truly despicable lowlifes, like Ulgin—those I want to see rotting at the bottom of the sea.
“Kill the rest,” I say.
Sorinda is the first to take out her sword. She starts stepping behind the men
and slitting their throats one after the other. Killing is practically an art for her.
The way she moves is magical.
Everyone hurries to follow orders. The prisoners are taken over to the ship. I
arrange for a few of my crew to stay aboard the Night Farer to steer her toward the meeting place. The bodies are dumped overboard, and everyone returns to their positions.
It is only when everything is sorted out that I can return to my own ship.
When I finally step onto the deck of the Ava-lee, the taste of freedom hits me. I
was never really a prisoner while on the Night Farer, of course, but there’s something truly sweet about being home again.
Chapter 21
I TRAIL MY HANDS along the wooden railing as I walk. It was damaged once during a battle against a ship that tried to desert my father’s fleet. A cannon from my ship tore through the opposing vessel’s mizzenmast, and the whole thing managed to come down onto my ship, tearing through the railing and denting the
deck. The crew and I quickly sailed for the island of Butana, where we stole wooden planks from the island’s fine lumberyards. Nearly lost a member of the
crew, too. Men with saws and axes chased us away, but even carrying heavy wooden planks, we still all made it out alive. We rebuilt the railing ourselves and replaced the damaged planks in the deck.
Each piece of this ship has a story. Each piece was fought hard for and earned. It makes the whole so much more rewarding, because it took so much effort to put her together.
I love my ship almost as much as I love my crew.
I see the door to my quarters, and I feel a strong pull in that direction, but I
ignore it. There will be time to get comfortable later.