Chapter 29

"Save the ship. Captain goes down with the ship," I muttered, repeating the words as I made my way through the corridors.

With every step I took away from Dahlia, the static in my mind increased. I hadn't attempted a mass use of my glamour in... well, I couldn't remember the last time I'd attempted to influence more than a handful of people at once. Even at my strongest, my mind wasn't able to send more than a whisper out beyond a small group of people. I may have talked up my skills a tad too much, if I was being honest.

What if I couldn't do this for my darling? If I failed her, she'd die, and it would be my fault. I couldn't let that happen. It wasn't an option. It was time for me to show up as the true captain I was. Her power increased after bonding with us all. So had Kai's, Hades's, and Tor's. It would stand to reason I would be more powerful as well. I had to believe that.

And Kai had also mentioned that we might wean a bit of each other's power or even skills as a side effect. I could only hope it was true. Goddess knew I was going to need every drop of help I could get.

Tick

Tick

Tick

I flinched as the ticking took up space in my head once more, but it was still faint at the moment. I had time before the madness dragged me under. Picking up speed, I raced through the estate, frustrated when I found the place all but empty. Bloody cowards.

"Hello!" I called. "Is anyone still here?"

No answer. I kept searching, making it all the way to the greenhouse before someone finally answered. However, the voice that met my ear in reply was not one I'd expected.

"Over here, pirate! Have ye come to help us?"

I narrowed my eyes, finally zeroing in on Rhys, the pixie man we'd seen at Christmas. "Are you lot running as well?"

"Jax has the shimmers already safely tucked away with Polly. We're going to stay and fight. Blackwood is our home."

I had to swallow back a groan as the ticking grew louder. How were the five of us and a smattering of wee pixies going to stave off an entire village?

Tick

Tick

Tick

This was not the glorious showing I'd hoped for.

Rhys's irritation would've been obvious from his posture alone, but the agitated way he fluttered about caused pixie dust to come off him in a flurry, the glittering motes falling from him and coating the table below.

"Where are your cohorts?" I asked.

"They're here. Hiding in the plants."

"Gather them. I have an idea."

Rhys gave me a suspicious look but ultimately obeyed. Good man. I didn't have time to waste, and frankly, neither did he. The roar of the approaching villagers was loud enough that I could hear them from in here.

Or were those shouts in my mind?

A familiar and unwelcome slithering sound caught my ear, causing me to twist my head in search of the wicked reptile I could never seem to escape.

"Where is it?" I hissed, finding no trace of him.

"Where's what?"

The pixies had returned while I'd been distracted. Good, good. More eyes meant we'd been more likely to track the bastard down.

"The crocodile. Where?" As soon as I asked the question, I knew I'd made a mistake. My madness was already sneaking up on me.

"He's lost his marbles, hasn't he?"

"Aye. We should leave while we still can."

Threading my fingers through my hair, I gave a tug sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes. The pain helped me focus.

"No. No. Stay. I have a job for you."

"We're a little busy, if you haven't noticed. We don't have time for a side quest."

I had to pull myself together. If they weren't on my side, I'd never gather the troops in time to fight. Closing my eyes, I willed the ticking to stop, or at the very least, fade. My power was right there, pulsing within me. I grabbed a tendril and opened my mouth, whispering as I did.

"You'll help me because it's the only thing you can do to stay alive. Go, find every last resident of Blackwood and dust them until they're drawn to you like moths to a flame. Bring them to the courtyard. Wait for me there."

As soon as I finished speaking, the pixies blinked in unison, their eyes sharpening as they refocused. Immediately, they began to strategize as if the plan had been theirs all along.

"All right, lads. We need to find those cowards before they clear the gates."

"Divide and conquer. It's our best bet. Rhys, Owen, you go north and east. Tawny and I will go west and south."

"Where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"Search the castle, ye daft bastard. Have ye lost yer brain along with your wife? Goddess."

They flitted off in a whirlwind of pixie dust, and it was only after they were gone that I allowed myself to sway on my feet.

"You're too slow."

"They're getting away."

"You'll never stop them."

Tick

Tick

Tick

Hitting myself in the head with my palm, I forced myself to focus. I couldn't fall victim to this. Not now.

"Captain goes down with the ship. Captain goes down. Captain..." I murmured as I lurched out the greenhouse door and into the night. The angry shouts of the mob were louder out here. I could almost make out what they were saying.

I collided with a cloak-covered lump of a creature, the sound of porcelain and silver scraping together unmistakable.

"Ah, a looter. Fancy meeting you here. I'll have to ask you to release your pilfered goods and change course."

The creature snarled, then stood to its full height, which only brought them to my waist.

"Joffrey?"

The troll-like man threw his hood back and shot me a look that would've killed a weaker person.

"What's it to you? Not like I'm taking anything out of your pocket."

"No, but you're fleeing when I require you to stay and fight. That's an offense worthy of walking the plank, mate."

Joffrey scowled. "I don't take orders from you, captain."

The insincerity in his sneered words had me ready to throw him overboard. Collecting a fistful of his shirt in my hand, I lifted him into the air, holding his eyes and gathering my magic as I whispered, "You will stay. And you will fight. To the death if need be. Blackwood cannot be lost."

I staggered at the drain on my power and was caught completely unaware when a saucer-sized palm collided with my ear. He was surprisingly strong.

"Unhand me, you blackguard. I'm trying to defend Blackwood. Can't you see the enemy is already at the gates?"

I dropped Joffrey and watched as he skittered back into the estate, leaving his stolen wares behind.

"Result," I muttered, wincing as my head began to throb right behind my eyes.

Slowly, I made my way to the courtyard, happy to note there was already a small crowd gathered and waiting for me. One thing I had to give the pixies, they might be tiny, but they worked fast and that dust of theirs was potent.

One by one, the residents of Blackwood joined our group, as well as every staff member, with the exception of Dr. Masterson. It couldn't have taken more than ten minutes for thirty of them to arrive, but the insistent tick, tick, ticking would not leave me be.

"You're going to fail."

"They're coming."

"You're all going to die here."

Thankfully, the restlessness of the crowd brought me back before I could descend too deeply.

"What are we doing here, Hook?" The big Russian bear shifter asked, his hands partially shifted into claws.

"We're fighting."

"We didn't come here to fight. We were sent here to recover. This is ridiculous." Aiden, a mage I'd encountered once or twice, popped the collar on his peacoat and turned to leave. "I have better things to do with my time than die here with you." He linked hands with a burly man who must've been part giant. "Come on, Hans. We can catch the next flight out and be back in Berlin by tomorrow if we hurry."

"You won't make it to the airport. Those wards will pull you right back," Sorcha said, her attention not on the Germans but on her chipped nail polish.

More mutters of dissent started up in the crowd. I was losing them. The pixie dust brought them here, but it wouldn't keep them complacent for long. I needed to get myself together before it really was too late.

"Save the ship," I whispered, another image superimposing itself over the crowd of people in front of me. For a second, I would have sworn we were all on deck of my ship. It was so real I could even feel the spray of the ocean against my face.

"What wards? What is she talking about?" a woman I couldn't spot asked.

"Oh, bleeding hell, they don't know," I muttered as the ticking intensified.

If I was going to get them on my side, I needed to do it now.

"Everyone listen!" I shouted.

They quieted down, but the occasional grumble of disapproval still seeped through.

Closing my eyes as I had with the pixies, I grabbed my power with everything in me, knowing this wasn't even the entirety of the Blackwood residence standing before me. That meant I'd have to reach out farther than I could see, and who knew if I'd succeed.

"Save the ship," I murmured again.

Once I held every ounce of power I possessed, I released it in a trickle, allowing it to infuse my words, my whispered speech impassioned and leaving no room for contradiction.

"This is our domain. We must protect it at all costs. These townsfolk aim to kill us all, and we cannot let that stand. We were sent here because we were too powerful, and they've already taken enough from us by locking us up because they're afraid. You won't let the outside world continue to persecute the residents of Blackwood. You will save our ship, or you will die trying."

"That's right. They have no reason to come here and hurt us," Aiden said. "We have to fight them. We have to win."

"I'll stop them before they get far. No one can come up against a bear and survive," Ursa said before he let out an almighty roar and transformed into the very bear he'd spoken of. He was easily ten feet tall, his claws deadly weapons and his eyes shining bright with fury.

Other voices joined him, each and every one of them committed to the cause.

Some I recognized: Sorcha, Kit, Merri. Others were new to me. But all were in agreement. They would stay, and they would fight. Relief slammed into me as my head throbbed so intensely I had to bite back a pained groan. Something warm dripped out of my nose, and when I wiped my hand across my upper lip, it came away crimson.

That couldn't be good.

Tick

The crowd had all rushed to take up arms, leaving me alone in my success. Good. That was good. They couldn't see me weak. It would be bad for morale. They'd worry about their captain.

Tick.

"I did it, darling," I muttered, the world swimming and dipping before me.

Tick

I took a couple of unsteady steps, spotting the door to Kai's tower. If I could reach it, I could take a second to regain my strength. "I saved..."

Tick

"The ship..."

But I didn't reach it. As soon as I attempted my next step, the ground rose to greet me and the world went dark.