The sky was a flat, grey plane of clouds, slowly roiling. The air was warm and charged. The winds were gentle. An electrical storm was brewing.
Will stared at Jack for a long time. “Do you ever think about what you’re about to say before it comes out of your mouth?”
“Come on, Will! You never used to care about the words. You could see right past them and knew exactly what I meant. Try that now,” Jack demanded. She was barreling straight on, trying to get Will to catch up.
Will wasn’t having it. “No.”
“Will, this is important!” Jack said. She was clearly excited, and frustrated that Will wasn’t.
“Jack, you just implied that all my bad luck, and everything that has happened because of it, is my own fault! That’s not something we’re just going to skip past on your way to your next revelation, especially not right now. Talking about us and how we’re making each other feel is the whole reason we agreed to have this conversation,” Will said, trying to be patient. “We’re not just going to ignore it all because you think you’ve made a discovery.”
“I didn’t say it’s your fault,” Jack said. “It’s my fault. We established that. What I’m saying is that who you are is screwing with how it’s supposed to work!”
“That’s a pretty fine hair to split, don’t you think?” Will asked archly.
“Fine. Yes, it is. Can we please move on? I think I have this figured out!”
“No!” Will snapped. “You can’t tell me that I’m the problem and then change the subject.”
“I’m not!” Jack pleaded. “I’m staying right on the subject. You’re just not seeing what I’m seeing,”
“Then make me see it! Tell me what you meant instead of just blowing on past any kind of explanation!” Will demanded. “If you think it’s me and not the curse, then how is it not my fault?”
“If I gave Bella’s monkey a gun, and it went off, would it be the monkey’s fault?” Jack asked.
Will stared at her for a few moments, then sighed. “You really do have a knack for putting things in the most insulting terms possible.”
“Just answer the question, Will,” Jack said flatly.
“No.” Will said, clearly humoring her in the most exasperated tone possible. “It would not be the monkey’s fault.”
“Whose fault would it be?” Jack asked.
“Yours. You gave the monkey the gun,” Will said flatly.
“What if I didn’t know it was a gun?” Jack asked. “What if it was one of those hidden gun things? A cane, or a trapped box. What if I thought I was giving the monkey something nice?”
“Then I guess it’s no one’s fault,” Will shrugged. “But it would still be your responsibility to deal with the consequences.”
“Yes. Exactly. That’s what I’m trying to do,” Jack said quickly “The problem is, the stubborn-ass monkey still doesn’t know how the gun works, and isn’t paying attention when I try to point out where the trigger is. The monkey is still just scared about the noise and the smoke, and is mad that I gave it the gun in the first place.”
“And about the people the monkey already accidentally shot.” Will gave Jack a pointed glare. “Maybe the monkey doesn’t trust you anymore because it knows you gave it something that scared the hell out of it?”
“I bet the monkey would be pretty damn excited if it could stop freaking out long enough to figure out that I was trying to teach it how to use the gun right,” Jack asked sardonically. “Does the monkey need a treat to get it to relax?”
Will tried to come up with a retort, but couldn’t. He rubbed his forehead and found himself trying not to laugh. “This analogy has gotten out of hand. How about we never teach Bella’s monkey to use guns? That thing is enough of a menace as it is.”
Jack grinned in spite of herself. “Deal. Now, moving on?”
“Fine.” Will was exasperated, but agreed. “How am I broken?”
“The curse is about luck. Good, bad, doesn’t matter. The curse doesn’t differentiate. It just reacts. It’s a tool,” Jack said quickly.
“Like a gun. How it’s used determines good or bad,” Will nodded, following along.
“Right. When you want things, luck conspires to make them happen for you,” Jack said, holding her arms wide in revelation. She clearly thought that was an amazing bit of information and was waiting for Will’s reaction.
She didn’t get one. He shrugged. “Yeah, I figured that part out.”
“What!? You knew? It’s incredible, Will? It means we know how it works!” Jack said, baffled by his muted reaction.
“No we don’t. It means we know what it does. That’s a pretty far cry from understanding how it works,” Will shook his head.
“Well, it means we have something to work from!” Jack stood up and started pacing again. “We can figure it out!”
“No we can’t,” Will said.
Jack stopped pacing and turned to face him, her arms wide in invitation and exasperation. “Why not?”
“Because I’m still a monkey with a gun,” Will said. “I’ve tried to figure it out. I might get what I want, but it’s always dangerous as hell, and then right when I think all the risk is about to pay off, something happens. People get hurt and I usually lose what I was trying to accomplish. This monkey might have figured out what the trigger does, but aiming right is nearly impossible. The best thing I can say about it is that I guess I’m lucky I haven’t blown my own head off. There’s no sense in taking more risks.”
“Will, you’re a monkey with a gun, regardless!” Jack said. “It’s going to be worse if you don’t learn how it works. Right now, it goes off randomly whether you like it or not! It was fine when you were alone in the lighthouse, but out here you don’t have the luxury of isolation. Your curse has already nearly killed a bunch of people just in the last few days. If you want to have any hope of keeping those around you safe, you have to try to figure it out.”
Will’s brows furrowed. He sat in silence for a few long moments listening to the waves crash against the hull, then nodded. “You’re right. Damn it.”
“Thank you!” Jack said triumphantly.
“So what do I do?” Will asked.
“You have to want something,” Jack shrugged.
“That’s all?” Will asked, one eyebrow raised and his face a mask of pure incredulity.
“Without hesitation or worry. No holding back. No confusion. You have to want it, hard,” Jack said fiercely.
“And then I just… get it?” Will asked, still not believing what he was hearing.
“Well, not immediately,” Jack shrugged. “I don’t think so, anyway. It’s luck. The probabilities will arrange themselves so you’ll end up with an opportunity.”
“So if I decide I need money, I just have to want it really hard and a pile of gold will fall into my lap?” Will scoffed.
“You already did that, Will.” Jack’s tone was leading. “You’re plenty wealthy now from what I hear.”
“That wasn’t because of the curse. That was in spite of it,” Will said flatly. “That was my own skill, through sheer stubbornness and creativity.”
“Was it?” Jack asked.
____________________
Danica rolled off her husband and settled into the crook of his shoulder with a relaxed, happy smile on her face. “Mmmm, I love it when you come into port, sailor.”
Coleman North laughed. “You’ll forget me as soon as I’m gone.”
“Never, never, sailor mine,” Danica grinned, quoting an old sea chanty. “I’m as true as true can be.”
Coleman chuckled. “That’s my line.”
“No, your line is something about the sea being your one true mistress,” Danica said.
“I forget the song,” Coleman admitted. “I think if the sea wants me, she’s going to have to fight you over it.”
“Bitch would lose,” Danica said with mock ferocity. A roll of distant thunder echoed in the distance. Danica’s eyes went wide.
Her husband laughed hard. “Uh oh. She heard you.”
“I take it back. I can share!” Danica called out the porthole window of their tiny cabin inside the quartermaster’s lockup.
Coleman rolled out of bed with a groan and started pulling on his pants. “Come on. Let’s go do storm prep.”
“I had to open my big mouth,” Danica sighed, burying herself under the blankets. Coleman waited a few moments then grabbed the blanket and gave it a swift yank, revealing his wife’s small, curvy form and shocked expression. “Traitor! The sea can have you!”
“I’ll check the hold and meet you up on deck,” Coleman grinned.
Danica curled up into a naked, grumpy ball. Her pants landed on top of her.
____________________
Thunder rolled, but Will was too lost in thought to care. His mind reeled. If Jack was right, there was no way for him to know what was really his own talent and success, and what was just the right string of luck. He’d always prided himself on being a self-made man, in spite of all the incredible runs of bad luck he’d lived through. He knew his bad luck was supernatural, but he’d never considered that his ability to overcome it might be as well. Could he really claim credit for his successes? Was it all just luck? How could he tell? What could he pride himself on if nothing came out of his own abilities? “I hate this.”
“Put your ego down, Will,” Jack said firmly.
“That’s rich coming from you,” Will rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious. You aren’t the only one who’s changed in five years. The hardest thing for me to learn was that I wasn’t always going to have the answers, and that I couldn’t always solve a problem. Learning how to let go when I wanted to change things but knew that I shouldn’t has been the biggest challenge of my life. The hardest step was putting my pride aside and being willing to admit my mistakes,” Jack said. “It’s something you need to learn too.”
“You’re really on a roll tonight when it comes to passive insults,” Will glared.
Jack sighed. “I’ve spent my whole adult life throwing myself into situations that let me prove to myself how capable I am, but when it comes to the most important things, like helping the people I care about, and learning from my mistakes, I’m a massive failure.”
“I’m not,” Will said flatly.
“I didn’t say you were. I’m trying to tell you why we were such good partners, and why we aren’t anymore,” Jack said, sounding neutral and drained. “I could always rely on you because your instincts regarding how to do the right thing were exceptional. You didn’t always know what you wanted, but once you made a decision you always knew what direction to head. I was the one who filled in the blanks along the way, and we’d improvise the rest, together. That was how almost all our adventures worked.”
“Yeah, that’s the gist of it,” Will agreed.
“I have never been good at the course-plotting that always came so naturally to you. I’m great at going on the journey, but I can’t tell if I picked the right direction until I look back. It leads me to making bad choices,” Jack said. “You’re the opposite. You always know the right way to go, but you won’t take the first steps unless you’re sure about exactly what you want and who’s going to be affected. You’re always worried about the consequences. We both have decision paralysis about different things. Mine is about where to go, yours is about when to start.”
“I still feel like I’m not really following you,” Will said. “I think that’s a good assessment, but I don’t know what it has to do with what we were talking about earlier.”
“My biggest fear was always failure,” Jack said.
“I know. Me too,” Will agreed.
“It’s alright to fail, Will,” Jack smiled.
“Not when it gets other people hurt,” Will said.
Jack shook her head. “Even then.”
“That’s pretty heartless, Jack.” Will admonished.
“No,” Jack said. “It’s the opposite. If you try to do something good, and other people get hurt, it’s sad, but at least you tried. Heartless would be not trying to do something good because you’re afraid.”
“Isn’t ‘good’ kind of subjective?” Will asked rhetorically.
“Don’t try that with me, Will. I know you, and you’re good. You don’t know any other way to be. You play at being a scoundrel, but you spend more time arguing with yourself about doing the right thing than anyone I’ve ever met. You try to help everyone, and you constantly worry about the right way to do it. It’s like you have a whole college of arguing philosophers in your head. ”
Another roll of thunder punctuated their conversation. Will looked out across the horizon. The moon was bright enough behind the clouds that the entire sky had the faintest grey luminescence. He could see the texture of where they overlapped and rolled against each other. The storm was high and wide, making the rolling dark grey seas match the skies in a way that made him feel like he was caught between two clouded mirrors.
He had almost forgotten how well Jack knew him. Janie was incredible at reading people in general, but Jack was a master at reading him specifically. It was hard to be confronted with that, especially considering that Jack wasn’t nearly as careful with her words as Janie was. He tried to change the subject. “There’s still the monkey with a gun problem,” Will said. “Putting the monkey somewhere it can’t shoot people doesn’t seem heartless to me. It seems like that’s the only good thing to do.”
“Exactly. I chose the worst possible gift for you. I wanted to give you a better way to choose when to start your journeys. I knew I wasn’t going to be around, so I tried to give you something that would replace my role in your life. You don't do anything unless you’re reacting with no time at all, or you have all the information to make the right choice. If it isn’t an emergency, and you feel like you don’t have enough information, you will wait forever. With the curse there was no way for you to understand what was happening, so you couldn’t decide what the right choices were. So you retreated more and more because you felt like you couldn't do anything without failing.”
“Without hurting people,” Will corrected.
“You don’t define failure any other way, Will,” Jack said. “When I say I’m afraid of failure, I mean I’m afraid of not being smart or skilled enough to accomplish a goal. You mean you’re afraid you won’t be smart enough or skilled enough to keep people from being hurt while you accomplish a goal. I worry about succeeding. You worry about collateral damage.”
“So you think I just didn’t want to take any risks,” Will said. He couldn’t help but nod. She was right.
“So you locked up the monkey,” Jack shrugged. “You put it in an old tower where it couldn’t accidentally hurt anyone.”
“Monkey’s out now,” Will said, narrowing his eyes in thought. “I guess there’s no choice but to teach it how the gun works.”
“Or at least teach it how not to fire it accidentally,” Jack agreed.
“How?” Will asked.
“What do you want?” Jack countered.
“A lot of things. Right now, I want us to be able to trust each other again,” Will said with a small shrug.
“I never stopped trusting you, Will.” Jack corrected. She sat down next to him, hip to him. He put his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head back on his arm and looked up at the sky. “I understand why you stopped trusting me. I wish I’d been more willing to accept my failures years ago. I think my choices would have been the same, but how I dealt with the aftermath would have been much different.”
“Can you at least tell me what the deal with you and Quinn is?” Will asked. “I really don’t get how he’s connected to any of this.”
Jack thought for a bit. “Sort of.”
“I’ll take what I can get.” Will’s voice was exasperated, but also a bit amused.
“People have been trying to figure out Quinn’s people for centuries. The secret is that they aren’t one people. They just look alike. I’m aware of three different… I’m not sure what to call them.”
“Factions?” Will asked.
“That’s not really accurate, but we’ll go with it,” Jack continued. “They all have somewhat similar views on serving people, so from the outside it’s hard to tell there are differences, but they have very different criteria and rules about who they serve. The rules for one faction don’t apply to the others. I know more about it than most humans do, and I still find it pretty confusing.”
“Sounds complicated,” Will said, waiting for her to get to the point.
“If humans ever figure it out, they’d be able to manipulate Quinn’s people in ways that would keep them from being able to leave the service of a master. They’d become slaves,” Jack said.
“Or they could just… stop living by those rules?” Will said.
“They can’t. That’s their curse,” Jack said.
“Fuck,” Will laughed. “How many curses are going around out there?”
“More than you think,” Jack smiled.
“And it can’t be broken?” Will asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer.
“I don’t think so. Quinn was evasive about that, but the feeling I got was that breaking it would be very bad for him,” Jack said.
Another low roll of thunder added itself to their conversation. The ship was starting to come alive. The handful of crew on duty through the night were moving across the deck checking knots. Lace and another rigger came up from below deck and headed right up the main mast. Missus North came up a few moments later and headed for the helm. Will looked at the sky again. It was looking like a pretty mild storm, but the crew was diligent. He decided not to worry about it. He wasn’t assigned storm duties beyond being a backup swab when it was called for, so he kept talking.
“So what does Quinn’s people’s curse have to do with you, or me?” Will asked.
“Part of the terms of Quinn serving me is that I am trusted to keep the secrets of his people. When he leaves my service, I’ll forget the details. That’s one of the good sides of his people’s curse.” Jack explained “But if I tell someone else, and then Quinn leaves my service, the person I told won’t forget. A little more information about his people will be out in the world.”
Will nodded, understanding. “Enough information out there and someone will eventually figure out how to use those rules to enslave Quinn’s people.”
“Exactly,” Jack said grimly. “Humans have a real knack for solving puzzles.”
“I hardly think I’m a risk to Quinn’s people,” Will said rhetorically.
“I agree. So does Quinn, actually,” Jack smiled. “The thing is, if anyone suspects you know, you’ll be a target. You do not want that, I promise. Some of the most powerful people in the world have devoted a lot of time to figuring this out, and one of the ways they do it is by finding people who have been told things secondhand. I’m protected by Quinn’s service. They can’t find me, and they can’t read my mind or anything like that. You aren’t protected. You might not think you are a threat, but there are people out there who devote their lives to learning this stuff. Just imagine if a Magistrate Prelate, or a N’madi Thoughtpicker, or a Master Inquisitor wanted to know something they thought you knew? Could you stop them from learning it?”
“No,” Will said suddenly understanding. The thought of being a target of people like that was chilling. “I think that’s enough of an explanation. Not telling me anything keeps all of us safer.”
“Thank you,” Jack said earnestly. “I really wish I could tell you.”
“If you’d been willing to explain that part earlier all this would have been a lot easier,’ Will said.
“I was afraid you’d figure it out. I’m still afraid you will. If that happens, we will all become targets. You most of all,” Jack explained.
“That’s a pretty good reason,” Will agreed. “I’d have done the same thing.”
“And you’d have been pissed if I wasn’t willing to take your word for it,” Jack added.
“True,” Will smiled.
“Are we better?” Jack asked.
“We’re getting there,” Will said.
“So what do you want now?” Jack asked.
“That wasn’t really a very good test of my curse, was it?” Will laughed.
“No,” Jack shook her head. “I think you’re going to have to pick something I can’t just give you right now.”
Will considered making an innuendo about that, but he was worried that Jack would take it as an offer. He wasn’t quite ready for that yet. “I feel like I’m sailing blind. What I really want is to know what’s coming so I can plan for it.”
“That is the most you answer to that question ever,” Jack sighed. “You might need to be more specific.”
Sheet lighting lit the sky, and was reflected by the sea, briefly lighting everything from horizon to horizon.
“No, I don’t think I do,” Will said, staring out at the horizon. “Go tell Mister Reeve to wake the crew. Now.”
Jack whirled, looking where Will was, but she saw nothing in the storm-dimmed gloom.
“Ship ho!” Will bellowed across the deck. “South-easterly!” He was moving quickly across the deck.
“Don’t see it!” a voice called down from the crow’s nest.
“Keep looking! Wait for the lightning!” Will called up. Jack ran past him and down into the hold. He burst through the door to the Captain’s cabin.
Bella was face down between Belita’s thighs. The brunette’s knees were bent, her feet aimed upward with her ankles crossed happily. The blond captain had her head thrown back against the headboard and had her hands clenched in the witch’s hair as she writhed in the aftermath of an orgasm. In the mirror, Janie was sitting in a chair with her legs spread wide and her skirts gathered around her waist. Her hand was working furiously between her legs as she watched the two women coupling.
The entire erotic scene abruptly stopped as Will rushed in. Bella rolled to her side and looked down her body towards him. Janie threw her skirts down, looking embarrassed, like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. Captain Vex hadn’t moved hardly at all, but she had a pistol aimed at Will. He had no idea where she’d pulled it from, but he stopped abruptly. She raised it upward with an exasperated sigh.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Will said hurriedly. “That ship we’ve been seeing is behind us again, and closer.”
The Captain’s brow knitted. “The weird one? The derelict?”
“Yes,” Will said. “It’s sails are down now. It’s coming at us.”
Belita gave Bella a nudge. The Witch rolled up to her knees and let the Captain swing her legs off the bed. “I’ll be right there. Rouse the crew.”
“Already done,” Will ran back out the door and pulled it shut behind him.
Belita stood up and started getting dressed. “If you know any ways to bring us luck, now’s the time,” she said to the concerned witch.
“It… doesn’t really work that way, but I might be able to come up with some ways to help,” Bella replied, reaching for her blouse.
“Whatever you can do,” the Captain said simply.
“Is it that bad?” Bella asked, still not really sure what was going on.
“Best case scenario, we’re going to be running in the dark, away from pirates,” Captain Vex said. Her words were simple, but her tone was deadly serious.
For Janie, not knowing was always worse than knowing. She had to ask. “What’s the worst case?”
“Running in the dark away from a ghost ship, headlong into a storm, and getting caught by both,” Belita said as she tucked in her shirt and reached for her weapon belt.
“There’s a ghost ship?” Janie gasped.
“There’s a storm?” Bella’s eyes were wide.
“You didn’t hear the thunder earlier?” Janie asked. “Even I heard it.”
“I had thighs on my ears for quite a while,” Bella said, as if that should have been self explanatory.
Belita couldn’t help but laugh at that. It was what she needed to focus. Suddenly grinning, she swept her coat around her shoulders. There was an excited light in her eyes. “It’s going to be a long night, and we might die. Make some magic happen.” Then she was out the door into the night.
Janie and Bella just stared at each other for a few long moments. Another roll of thunder echoed overhead. “What can I do to help?” Janie asked.
Bella’s mind was racing. “Is Tonya there?” she asked.
“I’ll find her,” Janie nodded her head a little frantically and rushed off.
“Caine too!” Bella called as Janie left the frame of the mirror.
“Alright,” a fading voice echoed from the other side.
Then Bella was alone.
________________________
“Weigh anchor!” Will called across the deck. “Double time!” A few sailors looked at him with expressions of confusion, but enough of them recognized the military term and started hustling. Will rushed up to the helm. “Light all lanterns! Ready for night sailing!”
Danica North came up from below in time to catch Will’s shouting. “Report!” she called.
“Ship sighted, south-easterly!” the sailor in the crow’s nest called down. “No confirmation yet!”
She headed up the stairs to meet Will, who was lighting a taper off the watch lamp and moving the fire to the larger rear-facing running lanterns. “What’s going on, Sterling?”
“That ship we’ve been seeing. It’s coming for us,” Will said. “I have Jack rousing the crew.”
Danica knew better than to question. If he was wrong, they’d sort it out later. “I’ll take over here until the Captain’s on deck. You figure out the best direction to run.”
“Don’t wait. As soon as the anchor’s up, head north at full sail,” Will said.
“Full sail at night, into a storm?” Danica looked at Will like he was crazy.
“Yes. We should have open waters for a while, and the storm hasn’t broken yet,” Will said. He closed the first lantern and opened the shutter, bathing the ocean behind them in light. As soon as it was done he headed to the other side of the aftcastle and started working on the second lantern.
“It won’t matter if that ship catches us if we capsize or hit a rock, Will,” Danica said, not convinced. “That other ship can’t run at full sail right now either.”
Another flash of sheet lighting lit the night. “Ship, ho!” the lookout called down. “South-easterly, headed straight towards us at full sail!”
Danica’s eyes went wide. “Stupid, crazy pirates.”
“I don’t think they’re pirates,” Will said as he shook out his taper and opened the second lantern.
“Bosun on deck!” someone yelled.
“Report!” Mister Reeve’s booming voice echoed across the deck.
“First Mate has the helm!” Danica called. “Get us ready for night sailing and storm running, Mister Reeve!”
“Aye!” Reeve boomed. “Everyone tie off! Get that anchor up!”
“So if they aren’t pirates, who are they?” Danica asked.
“Grindylow,” Will said gravely.
A chill ran up Danica’s spine. “No fucking way.” She looked at Will again, just to be sure he was serious, then jumped into action. “Rigging! I want full sail as soon as we are anchor up!”
“Aye!” Lace’s called down. “Sails are ready!”
Sailors at the prow finished lighting the headlamp. Suddenly they could see for a ways in front of them. The first heavy raindrops began to fall.
“Wonderful,” Will muttered. He’d hoped they would still have a while yet before the storm broke.
“I need a heading, Will,” Danica said firmly.
“I have nothing to triangulate from,” Will said, clearly frustrated. “No stars, no sun, no moon, no beacons or lighthouses!” He was scanning the dark, but now that the running lights were lit everything outside the light was just a wall of blackness. “Best I can do is use a compass and try to spot some landmarks on the horizon during lightning flashes.”
“Fine,” Danica said. “As soon as you can.”
Will nodded and headed to the rigging to head up and get a better look around.
“Reeve! What’s taking so long with that anchor?” Danica shouted.
“The storm has us at full tension! We’re caught!” Reeve’s voice boomed.
Sailors were trickling up on deck, most still pulling on their shirts and boots as they went. In the light from the ship’s lanterns hanging from the masts Danica could see her husband leading a group of brawny sailors to help Mister Reeve weigh anchor. “Lookout, where’s that ship!?” she called up.
“No sight!” the lookout called down. “Still a ways off at last sighting.”
“Heave!” came the rhythmic, unison voices of the men hauling on the anchor winch. “Heave!”
“Captain on deck!” a voice called. Belita Vex came out of her cabin, her blue coat and blond hair flapping in the wind. She scanned the deck without a word, then headed up the stairs to join Danica at the helm.
“Tell me,” she said. Her voice was almost conversational in spite of the dire situation.
“Ship sighted and confirmed. No accurate distance yet. Anchor stuck. Sails standing by,” Danica said. “Sterling thinks it’s Grindylow.”
Vex’s blond brows rose. “Hadn’t even considered that.”
“Yeah, because they aren’t real!,” Danica said, sounding more like she hoped they weren’t real than like she actually believed her words.
“Hope Ye’re right. I’ll take the helm. You coordinate,” Captain Vex said.
Danica passed over the ship’s wheel to the Captain. With a quick nod she headed down the stairs to the deck to start organizing the sailors who had come up on deck and not been given orders yet. “Don’t just stand around, start tying off! We’re about to head into a storm at full speed, if anyone goes overboard, they’re gone!” she barked. Sailors started moving.
Will hauled himself into the crow’s nest. The lookout was Harker, the first crewman who’d talked to him when he’d come aboard. “Sterling,” he said with a wry grin. “Come up to enjoy the weather with me?”
“Trying to get our position in the water,” he said. “Seen any islands or other markers?”
“A few, when the lightning hits. Not sure which direction we’re pointed though,” Harker shrugged. He was keeping his eyes locked in the direction they’d last seen the other ship.
Will pulled out his old compass. “I do. Where are those markers?”
Harker started pointing, still looking in the direction of the other ship. “Last sighting, there, there, and there. As long as our nose hasn’t turned much, that should still be accurate.”
Will cross referenced with his compass. jotted some notes on the back of his hand with a grease pencil. “Good enough to start with. Give me new markers as you get them.”
“I’m on ship-spotting duty. Only got two eyes,” Harker said.
“Webber, can you spare a rigger for a second lookout?” Will called down.
“Until they get the anchor free, I can spare as many as you want!” Lace called up.
“I need someone to spot landmarks for me,” he said.
“You heard him!” Lace called out. “If you’re not holding a line, get up top.”
Will started climbing down out of the crow’s nest again. He passed a wiry woman who gave him a nod. He nodded back and continued his way down.
Down below he could see Reeve, Mister North, Colin Strong, and five other large sailors throwing everything they could at the four push-arms of the anchor winch. It looked like they weren’t having an easy time of it. Lightning lit the sky again. From his vantage point in the rigging, he had a clear view of the other ship coming towards them. It was still far enough off that the details of it were hard to make out with the naked eye, but with them at a standstill, it would be on them soon.
“Captain, recommend casting off the anchor!” He called down.
There was a pause from below, then the Captain’s Voice calling “Cast off anchor!”
“Casting off!” Reeve boomed.
As Will climbed down, he saw Reeve and Colin hauling on the anchor line directly, giving it just enough slack that the cotter and anchor pins could be released. After about a minute, North called “Ready to loose! Loose!” Collin and Reeve let go of the anchor line. It unspooled the rest of the way from the winch and came free. The thick, rope-wrapped chain slithered out the reinforced bolthole to vanish into the water forever.
The Kestrel was free.
Reeve blew a sharp retort on his pipe that got the attention of the entire crew. “Brace for sails!” Reeve bellowed.
“Sails, go!” Lace called out.
The sails dropped, unfurling in a cascade of white. The ship lurched and creaked, the wood and ropes straining loudly at the sudden pressure of the wind. Sailors held onto ropes and masts, or took a knee and grabbed large eyelets bolted to the deck. Will leaned back and held the ladder tight just in case the ship’s sudden movement threatened to dash him against the mast.
With the winds snapping her coat around her, Captain Vex steered the ship into the dark as fast as the winds would take them.
Will dropped the last few feet to the deck and was running. It wasn’t safe. He should be tied off and moving slowly and carefully, but there was no time.
“Get those side lamps lit!” he heard Reeve bellow just before he ducked into the captain’s cabin. Bella was doing… something in a witch’s circle, but he ignored it. He was too focused on the task at hand. He lowered the folding desk into place, looked at the map, and the notes on his hand, drew a few quick lines on the glass, did some math in his head and ran out the door again.
“Heading, North by northeast!” he called out.
“North by northeast, aye!” Captain Vex echoed from above him.
He climbed the steps two at a time and grabbed the base of the helm to steady himself. “Within an hour, there’s going to be an island coming up ahead to port. Stay near it. On the starboard side, just past it there’s a reef. If we’re too far east we’ll catch the reef on our approach, so hug the shoreline. We’re going to run right between the island and the reef so we don’t have to swing wide around it. If the other ship doesn’t follow us in, we might be able to get clear.”
“I like it! Thank you Mister Sterling,” the Captain said. “After that?”
“Should be open waters for a few hours after that. I’ll double check,” Will said.
“Mister Reeve, get me lookouts at the prow manning the lanterns! We’re looking for an island to port and a reef to starboard, in about an hour’s time!” Captain Vex called.
“Aye, Captain!” Reeve boomed.
The Kestrel’s side lanterns lit up one by one, and Mister North had the clamp-lights brought up from below. They weren’t used often, but for situations like this they were invaluable. North and his men clamped the lights down to the railing a the prow and got them lit. Two sailors manned each. They were designs stolen from theatres, able to be moved and set as needed, and able to pivot and change how much or how little light they let out. The mirrored interior and variable aperture of the lamps allowed for the light they emitted to be tightly focused and cast quite far. In the spray that was kicked up by the Kestrel’s speed and the winds of the storm, the twin lights looked almost solid, like the feelers of some great glowing sea creature.
“Danica says you mentioned Grindylow?” Captain Vex said to Will before he headed downstairs.
“The situation fits the stories,” Will said, sounding worried.
“So do ghost ships, Blood Tide raiders, or just pirates with a gimmick,” Captain Vex countered. “Give me your reasoning.”
“The first time I spotted them was during the day, so probably not a ghost ship,” Will explained. “No Blood Tide nearby, so probably not Skinsails. Too many Magistrate and other armed ships nearby for Pirates. Grindylow is all that fits.”
“Never thought I’d be wishing to face a ghost ship,” Captain Vex said, grinning in spite of her obvious concern. Will wasn’t sure how much of it was real and how much of it was part of the persona she projected when she was wearing her Captain hat, but he liked it. It reminded him of Jack, or at least the way Jack used to be.
“According to the stories, they only attack in open waters, so that’s why I’m taking us toward the island instead of trying to go around,” Will said.
Vex nodded. “Trying to scrape them off. Smart.”
“Just follow the curve of the island. If you go straight you’ll hit the reef. There’s a gap in the reef on the far side of the island. Should be marked with Akula fishing buoys,” Will said.
“You’ve been through here before?” Vex asked.
“Nope,” Will shook his head.
“You have damn good maps.” The Captain was impressed.
“Not that either. It’s the magic,” he said tapping his head. “I can picture the route. Just need to know where I am and where I’m trying to go.”
“That’s damn useful,” Captain Vex smiled, thinking of the possibilities.
“No argument here. I’d love it if not for the downsides,” Will shrugged.
“Right. The bad luck thing,” Vex nodded.
“Speaking of, I’m going to go see if Bella can do anything to keep the bad luck thing from happening tonight. We really don’t need that,’ Will said.
“Any idea how much time we have before they’re on us?” Vex asked.
“Not until we can see them more clearly,” Will shook his head.
“Damn,” Vex muttered. “Go.”
Will nodded and headed downstairs to the cabin.
_______________________
Caine looked at Janie oddly. “What’s she need me for?”
“Ask her. I have to go find Tonya,” Janie said, then rushed off.
Caine sighed, closed his tankard, and got up off his stool. A few eyes in the room flicked towards him, suddenly paranoid. It was nearly closing time, and sometimes that’s when customers got stupid. He ignored them and pushed through the crowd to the witch’s alcove. At least the music had stopped. He crossed the small room and stood in front of the mirror. On the other side, Bella was painting on her naked body, sitting at the edge of a large bed. “What?” he asked without preamble.
“We’re being chased by pirates,” Bella explained. “The captain wants some kind of fortune hex.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Caine asked.
“Luck magic requires a lot of energy, so I’m going to try to draw off the mirror,” Bella continued.
“Sounds like a good idea. Still not hearing what you need me for,” Caine shrugged.
“Don’t play dumb, Caine! You warded the whole damn bar! I know you know more about spellcraft than you’ve ever let on. Inside the Ways you glow like nothing I’ve ever seen. I’m not even sure you’re actually human, but I don’t give a damn about that. You’re still you, and I need your help!” Bella snapped, she was staring fiercely at him through the mirror, no longer painting on herself while she waited for him to answer.
“You’re stabbing in the dark,” Caine said, understanding.
“Well, yeah,” Bella said, throwing her hands wide like it was obvious.
Caine shook his head. “I don’t know anything about witchcraft, or any other kind of spellcrafting.”
“But you can create a damn near perfect spirit ward?” Bella said dubiously.
“It isn’t what you think,” Caine said in a tone that said he wouldn’t be explaining further.
“I don’t care what it is, I just need an energy source. I’m going to be drawing power like crazy, and I don’t have the time to slowly build up a reservoir. The mirror is all I have. I think if it’s being replenished from that side I can use it as a conduit.”
“Shoulda lead with that,” Caine said. “You need a battery. Yeah, I can do that. Might need some help figuring out how to… I don’t even know what it’s called. How to connect myself with the mirror?”
“Tonya knows how. We did a whole lesson about that not long ago.” Bella went back to painting herself.
“Fine. I’m going to go close down the lounge. It’s about that time anyway. I’ll be back,” Caine left, passing Janie as he pushed through the curtain. Janie was a bit out of breath. She’d clearly been running.
“What’s a battery?” Bella asked Janie.
“Like a fortress? With big guns?” Janie said, confused as she took a few deep breaths.
“No,that doesn’t sound right,” Bella shook her head.
“Then I don’t know,” Janie shook her head. “Why?”
“Something Caine said. Nevermind,” Bella shrugged.
“Tonya will be here soon,” Janie said. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing that I can think of. Not unless you know how to draw a containment circle,” Bella said.
“Is that different than a basic ward circle?” Janie asked.
“A circle is a circle. They can be used for different things, or focused with different patterns inside them,” Bella explained.
Janie nodded. “Well, I can draw a circle. I just need things to do it with.”
“There’s a box on the shelf with chalk and string in it,” Bella said. Janie disappeared from the mirror frame as Will came in through the door of the cabin.
“Can you think of any way we can counteract my bad luck?” he asked the naked witch.
Bella pursed her lips. “Yes, but you’ll need to be in here with me.”
“That’s not going to work. I need to be out there where I figure out our heading. This storm and the dark is going to make staying on course nearly impossible, so I’m going to have to keep reevaluating our position and triangulating with the charts. I’m going to be running back and forth a lot,” Will said.
“That’s definitely not going to work,” Bella said, her curls bouncing as she shook her head.
“What do you need to do your job, Will?” Janie’s voice called from the mirror. She sounded distant. He guessed she was still in the alcove, but when she wasn’t standing directly in front of the mirror, she was much harder to hear.
“The charts and tools here in the desk, and my eyes on the horizon,” Will said loudly, making sure she heard him.
“Well that’s inefficient,” Janie said coming back into the frame of the mirror. “Your job needs you to be two places at once.”
“Yeah,” Will agreed. “Not much way around it though.”
“Bella, what do you need to do your job?” Janie asked.
“Just a circle on the ground, and the mirror to draw energy from,” Bella said.
“Will, can you move the desk?” Janie asked.
Will looked, thinking. “Maybe. Not the whole thing, but the table is on a pivot here. I can unscrew these nuts and pull it off. Keep talking.”
“I was just thinking about how we moved the mirror where it needed to be earlier,” Janie explained. “We could do that. Just take the mirror and the desk out where you need them, and have Bella draw her circle there.”
Will and Bella looked at each other. She gave him a nod. “That would work for me.”
“The rain is starting. Won’t that wash away your circle?” Will asked.
“I have stuff that won’t wash away,” Bella said.
The pivot frame on the desk was held in place with butterfly screws, so it wasn’t difficult for Will to take it apart without tools. Whoever had built it was clearly thinking ahead. Far too often, shipboard amenities were designed by carpenters who weren’t actually sailors. On a ship, things needed to be permanently affixed, or easily worked on using the fewest possible tools. There were lots of precautions sailors took to avoid tossing hammers and wrenches into the bilge or having them slide off the deck and into the ocean, but it still happened. The adage Will remembered best was that if something couldn’t be repaired in a rainstorm with nothing but numb hands in wet gloves, it wasn’t designed by a sailor.
“Rahat!” Bella cursed behind him. He looked over his shoulder. She was still drawing on herself, but seemed to have made a mistake. She was wiping away a bit of paint on her arm with the corner of a handkerchief. “Why is the ship shaking now?”
“We are at full sail,” Will explained.
“Feels like the ship is bouncing,” the witch grumbled, trying to draw the careful patterns between the swells.
“At this speed, in this kind of surf, we’re sort of skipping from wave to wave. When they are close together, it’s fine. That’s what those small shudders are. Those big hits and the feeling like you’re about to fall is when they are bigger or far apart. We fall down the back of a wave, and then have to climb back up and ram through the next one.” Will strained as he talked, working a stuck screw free. Behind him, Bella continued slowly painting herself, occasionally cursing and having to redo something.
By the time Will had the surface of the desk free, Bella was waiting behind him, ready. “I can take that if you get the mirror,” she said. She was still nude, with only a satchel over her shoulder and intricate patterns drawn in different colors of paint all over her chest and arms.
“It’s already starting to rain. You’re going to be freezing,” Will said as he looked her over.
“All the clothes I have with me would smear the patterns,” Bella shrugged.
“I thought you said it was alright for the pattern to smear a little?” Will asked.
“For drawing energy with sex, yes. For fortune magic, no. This is going to require much more precise spell work,” Bella explained.
“You’re in for a miserable night,” Will said, a bit worried.
“I think we all are,” Bella said taking the desktop from him. “Come on.”
Will carefully lifted the heavy mirror free. Bella held the door open for him and they walked out into the night. Thick drops were coming down haphazardly. The rain was slow and scattered, but quickly covering the deck in wet splatters. It was building. Before long it would be a downpour.
More than a few sets of eyes did a double take and watched Bella’s swinging, bare butt climb the steps, but there wasn’t a single catcall or whistle. The whole ship was dealing with the danger at hand, so as unexpected as a naked witch on deck was, it wasn’t enough to cause a significant distraction.
The Kestrel cut through the waves at top speed. The deck rolled and occasionally lurched as the water battered the prow. Bella had to tightly hold onto the railing as she climbed up the stairs. The darkness, wind and rain amplified the unsteadiness she’d been feeling in the cabin. The alternating feeling of being a little heavier, and then a little lighter, and the jostling back and forth as the waves pushed on the ship made her feel like she barely knew how to walk, and like the ship was trying to buck her overboard.
Will seemed to have no problems with it, even with the giant mirror in his hands. He walked when it was easy, and leaned or braced with the shudders and drops. He couldn’t see where he was headed, but he still had an easier time than Bella.
Captain Vex gave Bella a curious look from the helm. “Ye dinnae want tae stay dry?”
“Blame him,” Bella said, jerking her head back in Will’s direction. “He has to see the surroundings to do his work, and I need him in the circle to do mine.”
“Tie off,” Captain Vex said. “Ye don’t want tae get swept overboard.”
“To what?” Bella asked.
“The mizzen, unless ye need tae move around,” Captain Vex said.
“No, but I can’t have ropes dragging across my circle either,” Bella said.
“Does the size of the circle matter?” Will asked. He crossed the deck and propped the mirror up against the back railing, steadying the mirror while he held on.
“Not really,” Bella shook her head. She leaned the desktop against the mirror and let Will pin it in place with his leg. “There’s some reasons for smaller or larger circles, but they don’t apply for what I’m trying to do.”
“How about we put the circle around the mizzen,” Will suggested.
“I have no idea what a mizzen is,” Bella admitted, looking exasperated and sheepish.
Will pointed to the mast protruding out of the rear-center of the quarterdeck where they stood. “Mizzenmast.”
“That works. I was going to suggest we tie the mirror to it anyway,” Bella nodded. “First I need a loose loop of rope around the mast as a guide for my circle.”
“Big protractor. Got it. You hold Janie,” Will said. Bella took over steadying the mirror and sat down on the bench at the back of the aftcastle. She held tight to the railing. Back here the ship was fairly steady, but the rolling up-and-down of the waves still made her feel nervous now that she was near an edge. Will grabbed a loop of rope off the mast and got to work. In short order he had a loose line ready to trace a large circle. He handed Bella the end of the rope and took over steadying the mirror. Now it was Bella’s turn. She jammed the handle of her paintbrush through the rope and pulled it tight, then started her circle. It was a bit slow going. She dipped her brush in a pot of white paint, then made a short arc with the rope pulled taut. Then she positioned herself, made sure the rope hadn’t snagged, and did it again. Each section was only a few feet long, but bit by bit she traced out an arc of white paint on the quarterdeck just behind the helm.
As she worked another sheet of lightning lit the sky. Will was able to make out two distant islands. He noted their position for later.
As Bella finished her circle she started making another pass, thickening it and defining it. “How long do we have until the other ship is near us?” she asked.
“Oh, a while yet,” Captain Vex said with a shrug. “Maybe hours.”
“What?” Bella asked, surprised. She was already breathing hard from working at a fast pace. Trying to quickly crawl on her hands and knees across the rolling deck to paint the circle was surprisingly tiring. “I thought we were in danger?”
“We are,” Will said. “Most ship chases are endurance races.”
“Aye,” Captain Vex said over her shoulder. “Closing the distance c’n take a long time, especially when both ships are fairly even in speed. Once they get close, it’ll stop being about speed, an’ start being about maneuvering. A lot of it is about trying tae predict what the other ship’s going tae try tae do, and see if ye c’n trick ‘em intae doin’ somethin’ stupid. If we c’n get ‘em tae come about the wrong way, or force ‘em tae round an obstacle we dinnae have tae avoid, we c’n git some distance. Then it’s a chase again, until they catch up. We win this by exhausting them and keeping ahead, or by making it somewhere they won’t follow.”
“That sounds a lot less… I don’t know… less exciting? Than I thought it would be,” Bella said, sounding relieved but a little confused.
“The excitement comes if they catch us,” Will said. “Excitement is bad.”
“So we might have hours to prepare for that?” Bella asked.
“From the looks of things so far, yes,” Will nodded.
Bella started laughing. It started amused, but then became a bit sinister. “Oh, those poor bastards.”
Will and Captain Vex looked at each other, not sure what to say. Bella pulled her brush out of the rope and repositioned it a bit further back. “I’m going to draw another circle. Once I’m clear of the front arc, facing Belita, go ahead and tie the mirror to the mast.”
“Sure,” Will said. “Mind explaining the evil laugh?”
“I didn’t know I had time,” Bella grinned as she started the arc of her second circle. The gap between the two circles was about a foot wide. “My mother used to say that whenever you do spellwork, it’s always efficient, powerful, or fast, and you can only pick two. I thought I needed to be fast and powerful, so I was ready to toss efficiency out the window. I planned on drawing a ton of energy, and wasting most of it just to get the job done. Now I have the time to use all that energy right. I’m going to hit that ship with the mother of all hexes.”
