Chapter 14

chapter 14

Lizzie

Though I want nothing more than to chase down the bastard who put that look on Maeve’s face and rip his heart from his chest with my bare hands, the innkeeper isn’t particularly happy with the outbreak of violence in his establishment.

“I can’t have you attacking the locals. The only reason the re—Nox’s goals work is because they’re done in secret. What you did to Bronagh was not secret.”

I open my mouth, ready to tell Ralph that he’ll share Bronagh’s fate if he keeps up with that bullshit, but Maeve stirs enough to place her hand on my arm. She does it instinctively, the touch light with warning, and the intimacy of it stops me short.

Which gives her the opportunity to smooth things over. “What happened with Bronagh has nothing to do with Nox. It was personal. He stole something from me.”

The innkeeper grimaces. “I believe it. That boy has been bad news ever since he started up that business of his, but that still doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to murder him in the middle of my dining room.”

“Come on, Ralph. He wasn’t murdered. There isn’t even any blood on the floor. It was a little disagreement that got out of hand.” She looks shaken down to her core, her freckles standing out starkly, but she still manages a sweet smile. “It won’t happen again. You have my word.”

He sighs. “It would be best if you didn’t stick around for very long. I’d love to continue to help you, but I can’t afford for you to endanger what I have here. You understand.”

“I do. We’ll wrap up our business in a day or two and be on our way, and you’ll never have to see us again.” She lays her hand on his forearm, all sweetness and innocence. “I promise.”

She’s good. Even freaked out and shaken, she’s handled the innkeeper with grace and a heart-wrenching sincerity. He holds up his hands and takes a step back. “Just finish your meal. I’ll make sure no one bothers you again.”

“Thank you.”

I consider the exit, but Maeve didn’t eat enough. More, as soon as Ralph hurries away, she seems to wilt. I actually put out my hands to catch her, but she doesn’t need the help to get back to the table and sink wearily down into her chair. She picks up her spoon and pokes at the stew listlessly, her eyes dimmed. “You can’t kill him, Lizzie,” she says softly.

“You’ll find that I can do exactly that.” I kick one of the chairs around the edge of the table so I can sit at her side. “The real question is: Do you think I scared him enough that he’ll risk running immediately or wait for high tide?”

“He’s back aboard the Serpent’s Cry. With his crew around him, he’ll convince himself that there’s nothing to fear. I doubt he’ll run at all. This is his home.” She sets her spoon down. “I’m really not hungry anymore. Let’s go.”

We pull on dark cloaks that Ralph provided and slip out into the night. I immediately sneeze. “I fucking hate this island.”

Maeve laughs softly, though it’s strained. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that a time or two.”

Across the square, the tavern is still filled with the voices and music and bright lights, but we skirt the edge and stick to the shadows. I hold my cloak to my face, but it doesn’t stop my intermittent sneezes as we slip through the buildings to the edge of town. The trees’ floral scent clogs the air, making it impossible to smell anything else. I don’t like it. They even block out the moon overhead, which makes my skin prickle. Too close. Too claustrophobic.

I breathe a sigh of relief when we emerge from the forest on the far side of the bay from where the docks are, near where we left our boat. Or I try to. Despite my best efforts, I sneeze, and then sneeze again. The air still tastes like strange flowers on my tongue, at least until the sea breeze chases it inland. I rub furiously at my nose. “Don’t laugh.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I glance at our boat. It hasn’t been nearly long enough since we were trapped aboard. I don’t want to go near it, but we’ll need it for what comes next.

I crouch next to Maeve near a boulder on the rocky shore. We both have excellent night vision, but even I’m having a hard time picking apart the ships bobbing gently in the distance. They each have a handful of lanterns, but it does nothing to differentiate one ship from its neighbors.

“Tell me about his ship.”

Maeve draws in a ragged breath. She seems diminished from the woman I’ve come to know, and my fists clench with the need to fight something and revert her back to the steel-spined, quick-witted woman who told me she wants to spend the rest of this journey in my bed.

Bronagh escaped because I acted impulsively. And okay, fine, she may have a point about killing him before we divine the location of her pelt. If he’s finished his trading circuit, it might already be gone, but it seems risky to sell a pelt within a few days’ travel of Viedna. Surely he’d be looking for a buyer with deeper pockets, which means going farther afield. He hasn’t had a chance to do that yet.

Her pelt is on his ship. I’d stake my reputation on it.

“His ship is the Serpent’s Cry. It’s technically a trading vessel, but I think they might be doing some smuggling below the radar of the C?n Annwn. I never had proof one way or another, but some of the comments that Bronagh has made suggested that.” She draws in a careful breath. “He liked to brag. I thought it meant he trusted me, but it turns out he just liked to hear himself speak.”

I have the strangest urge to wrap my arms around her and pull her close. I’ll settle for painting his blood across the deck of his ship. It will make both me and Maeve feel better. I’m sure of it. “It would be better not to wait until morning to attack.”

“Attack.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “How are we going to attack, Lizzie? I can barely hold my own in a fight against a single person in this form, and you don’t have Nox as backup. It will take us time to row out there, time in which they’ll see us coming. If they don’t shoot us on sight, they’ll be ready for us when we attempt to come aboard. We’ll die.”

I reach out and catch her chin. “Maeve.”

“No. You don’t get your way this time through sheer force of personality,” she grits out. “Sometimes reality has to be taken into account. And the reality is that we are outnumbered. Vastly outnumbered. At least half the crew have some kind of powers that will turn the tide in their favor even if you somehow managed to cut your way through them. More than that, just because Bronagh is a monster doesn’t mean his entire crew is. I’m not going to condone a wholesale slaughter.”

“Pity. A wholesale slaughter makes things simple.”

She glares and wraps her hand around my wrist. “Are you making a joke right now?”

I ignore the question and release her, turning back to face the water. “There’s no reason to throw out a good resource. We need a ship to sail where we’re headed next. The two of us can’t manage a ship of that size. Therefore, we’ll need a crew. The one on board will do nicely.”

She curses under her breath. “They’re his crew and his ship. Beyond that, he’s not even the captain—he’s the quartermaster. Killing him will do nothing.”

“Killing him will make me feel better, and I think you’ll feel better, too.” I hold up a hand before she can sputter out another protest. “I hear what you’re saying. Bronagh is the quartermaster. The crew has some powerful people on it. Now listen to what I’m saying. If your pelt isn’t on that ship, then we need that ship to get it back. If it is on that ship, it’s right there.”

My plan leaves something to be desired, but there’s no help for it. We’re running out of time. I agree with Maeve that Bronagh won’t turn tail and run simply because we came to Khollu. But he’s arrogant enough that he won’t expect an attack tonight, and after my little indiscretion at the inn, he won’t be at full strength. “Does he have any powers beyond teleportation?”

She curses under her breath. “No. Or at least I don’t think so. That’s the only one I’m aware of.”

That doesn’t really mean anything at all. Since he obviously intended to get close to Maeve and steal her pelt, he was hardly going to share all his secrets with her. Or any of them. It’s fine. He didn’t see me coming before. He’s not going to see me coming this time, either.

Teleportation is a fearsome magic and damn near unstoppable—except for one key factor. The person teleporting has to concentrate on their destination during the teleportation process. It’s only a matter of a fraction of a second, but it’s a weakness that can be exploited. I’ve certainly done it in the past. It’s a trick of timing.

“None of this changes the fact that we can’t even get out there. We might have a chance on the boat in the dark of the moon, but there’s too much light right now. They’ll see us coming.”

“Maeve, we’ve talked about your lack of imagination. We’re two beautiful women. They have no reason to think we’re up to no good.” I stand and slip out of my cloak. Maeve watches in what appears to be horror as I unbutton my shirt nearly to my navel.

“Lizzie.” Her voice is choked. “If you’re trying to seduce me, this is hardly the time or place.”

A surprised laugh slips free. “Seeing a partially naked woman is enough to cause most people to hesitate. They don’t immediately assume attack, which gives us the element of surprise.”

“Imagine that.” She clears her throat. “You’re really not going to listen to reason, are you?”

“Maeve.” I take her shoulders. “I’ll protect you. It will be fine. We’re so close to getting your skin back. Trust me.”

“You are the most infuriating, murderous woman I’ve ever met. This really isn’t how I imagined we’d be spending the night together.” She smiles a little. “Okay. I trust you. Let’s go get the boat.”

If that bastard wouldn’t have interrupted our meal, maybe I would be stripping her right now, pulling back the fabric to reveal her soft, lovely body. Trailing each revealed inch of skin with my mouth. Strategically biting her so that she comes apart so many times she loses track.

I will have her in my bed. Whether it’s simply because she likes the way my bite feels or because she’s running from the sensation of helplessness resulting from her skin being stolen, it doesn’t matter to me. I want her. She wants me. That’s enough.

Maeve wades into the icy water next to me as we shove the boat out. It’s not until the water reaches our chests and we haul ourselves into the boat that my brain decides to whisper about all the ways that this is a terrible idea. Not because of the sailors waiting for us. No, it’s the inky water that hides all manner of sin and monsters. Something could be just inches below the boat and I’d never know.

“Lizzie? Are you okay?”

I belatedly realize that I’ve stopped rowing and pick up my pace. “I’m fine.”

I can’t quite see Maeve’s expression in the darkness, but she nudges me with her shoulder. When she speaks, her tone is the carefully casual one of someone who knows that I’m freaking out and has decided not to comment on it. “This bay is heavily patrolled by the C?n Annwn. Since it’s one of the main trade routes from south to north, they stop in regularly to ensure that nothing has taken up residence in the water that might endanger the ships or the people.”

It’s obvious she picked up on my nerves. Embarrassment heats my skin. I told her I’d protect her, and here I am, shaking as we row over water we’ve already crossed when arriving on Khollu. “I’m fine.” At least we don’t have to swim.

“I know.”

We continue rowing, making good time to the first ship. Maeve peers up at it. “This isn’t it.”

As we row carefully around that ship and on to the next, the cold starts to seep into my body. I should have fed before we started this process. I curse myself for my hesitance to bite Maeve again before we reached Khollu. I’m not at full strength, but I don’t have to be. We’re not battling a ship full of the C?n Annwn, each more powerful than the next. These are sailors.

I fully intend to scare the shit out of them until they cower and piss themselves and beg me to become their captain.

At the second ship, we hit pay dirt. Maeve’s soft sound is confirmation enough, but she whispers, “This is it.”

I don’t tell her to stay in the boat while I handle this. I already know she won’t. I just need to keep her close and ensure she’s safe during this process. “Up we go.”

The boat bumps lightly against the ship, and I hold my breath as we wait to see if anyone noticed. We never would have managed to get so close to the Audacity without the lookout catching us, but obviously this captain runs a looser ship. Bad for them, good for us.

Maeve grabs the edge of the ship, steadying us. “Lizzie, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were downright chipper at the thought of killing a bunch of people.”

“Not a bunch of people. Just two.” The captain and the quartermaster. I’ll have to convince one of the crew members to become quartermaster after I stake my claim, which is an annoying but necessary step. There’s all the nonsense about a vote, but I’m not going to let that stop me from taking what I want. What I need. A ship. A crew to sail it to my destination. Even better, it’s a trade ship, so no one will blink twice at it sailing about this realm.

“I think you’re trying to be comforting, but there is nothing comforting in planning to murder two people.”

Then there’s no more breath for speaking as we haul ourselves up the side of the ship. The Serpent’s Cry is not quite as large as the Audacity, but it’s obviously built to carry cargo rather than weapons. There are only a handful of cannons?.?.?. which makes me realize that the Audacity has no cannons at all. I suppose it’s not necessary when nearly every single crew member can function as a cannon themself.

We reach the railing with little problem, and I shift to the side so Maeve can perch next to me. There’s a couple people milling about. The majority of the crew are in their bunks below, sleeping the night away. That won’t do. I need witnesses for what happens next.

Love or fear.Mother’s lessons really do come in handy for a hostile takeover. I need to scare the shit out of these people so they won’t dare stab me the moment I turn around. “Maeve, I need you to listen carefully and do exactly as I say.”

She listens as I detail my plan, her eyes getting wider and wider. “It will never work.”

“It will. Trust me.”

For a moment, I think she’ll continue to argue, but she finally exhales slowly. “Okay, Lizzie. I trust you. I just hope that trust doesn’t get me killed.”