24. Revenge

24. Revenge

Tucked around a corner of the cove, in the shelter of the cliffs, carefully out of sight, Loula and Ozzo had remained in blissful ignorance of events inside the caves. Because they weren't complete fools, they had noticed when a pirate vessel had crept past while Ramorran and Hakan were inside – and they'd kept a note of its bearing.

"How did you know they're pirates?" Ramorran asked, curious despite the urgency of the situation – or perhaps because of it; grabbing at something to distract himself from the danger looming around them.

Loula grinned like a shark. It was Ozzo who answered. "No cause for a boat to be lurking this close to the shore this time of night. Suspicious, you see. Like calling to like."

"Ramorran's people will chase them. And us," Hakan said, tone grim. "We need to get away."

"Open sea?" Loula queried.

Ramorran shook his head. "Get close to shore. They'll stay away from human settlements."

The crew swung into action, waiting until the dhow was underway for Hakan and Ramorran to explain what had happened.

"But you got your skin?" Loula asked when they finished.

Ramorran's eyes widened. "You know what I—" he couldn't complete the sentence, glancing at Hakan. Had his secret been betrayed?

"I know what you are," Loula replied calmly. She set a hand on his arm, the touch so unexpectedly soft for a woman who seemed to be all angles that Ramorran twitched. "And what your people took from you."

Ozzo clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We aren't stupid," he declared. "You gave us enough clues to work it out. Especially after the stories we heard from Sixblades."

Ramorran's insides felt as though they'd been scooped out. He barely knew these people – did he dare trust them?

Ozzo shook his shoulder gently before returning to the tiller. "No need to worry we'll blab." He grinned. "You'd be surprised at the secrets I know."

He nodded, a little numb. He had to trust these people, because what was the alternative? But still...

"You should sleep," Loula told them. "You've had all the excitement while Ozzo and I spent most of the evening napping."

"I don't think I can sleep. And you might need me. If my people track us down..." Ramorran knew it was going to be a race.

"We can stay within sight if it makes you feel better." Hakan snagged his fingers and tugged him out of the way of Ozzo and Loula. They ended snuggled together in a corner, his back against Hakan's broad chest. He'd been a fool to seek out his family. This felt more like home than the cavern ever had.

"There," Hakan said with a happy sigh, chin resting on Ramorran's shoulder, arms tight around his waist as though he feared he might run away.

Ramorran had done quite enough running; he was glad to rest. His thoughts, however, continued to whirl. "I hate to ask," he murmured, watching as Loula and Ozzo guided the boat to skim across the waves. "But – can I trust them?"

Hakan's arm tightened, hauling him closer still. Ramorran felt a kiss against his neck and some of his tension drained out of him. "You can trust them," Hakan promised against his skin. "Hey." Hakan pressed a finger against the hinge of his jaw, making him realise how tense he was. "We're one crew," Hakan continued. "We're as close as brothers and sisters now."

Ramorran huffed.

He heard Hakan's smile in his voice. "Okay, maybe that's not the best comparison. But crewmates – it's as strong as a blood bond. We'd die for each other. I mean, only if there was no alternative, but we would. You can trust Ozzo and Loula like you'd trust Zelzie."

Ramorran nodded, trying to let the assurance settle in his bones. A sudden realisation swept through him. "You didn't enslave me."

"Of course I didn't!"

"No, I mean…" Ramorran hugged the arm hugging him. "I kept calling you a thief and a slaver. You could have enslaved me ten times over, but you didn't."

"I never would. I'm not a slaver any more."

"I see that now." Ramorran snuggled back against the broad chest. "It shouldn't have taken me so long to realise. You never tried to harm me. You helped me get my skin back. What did my family do? Condemn me for sins not my own."

"I'm sorry." Hakan pressed a kiss to his temple. "But don't blame yourself for being cautious. I was a slaver. And I'm still a thief. I just promise never to steal from you."

Ramorran sighed and let his eyes close. "It'll be nice not to have to hide myself," he admitted.

"Honour among pirates," Hakan murmured, with another kiss. "You're one of us now."

He shifted. Ramorran was warm everywhere they touched. Sleepiness tugged at him, the adrenaline of the fight ebbing away, even though he knew they weren't out of danger.

His thoughts were still spinning lazily when a sudden cry on the water made him straighten.

"It's not close." Ozzo stood on the starboard side of the boat, spyglass trained on the waves further out. "I think your people found Esrell's boat."

He held out the spyglass. Ramorran didn't need it, but Hakan took the tool as he got to his feet.

Tension shivered down Ramorran's spine. Scant moonlight reflected off the waves. When he focused he could hear an occasional splash, although he couldn't be sure whether that was from the pirates or the selkies. He watched intently. There.

The boat rocked, harder than the waves demanded. The cries from the pirates increased in volume; edged with desperation. Ramorran shivered. Another splash, followed by a thud. The vessel groaned. Even in the poor light he saw clearly that it was listing to one side.

"Skies above!" Hakan muttered. Spyglass held fast, he groped for Ramorran's hand. Ramorran squeezed his fingers. Finally, Hakan understood how dangerous selkies were.

Ramorran could almost picture it. There were probably three selkies beneath the boat. Either they'd used rocks to hole the hull, or perhaps they'd snatched a rope and used that to tip it onto its side.

Human shouts and the wrench of timbers continued, sending shivers down his spine. A splash rang out when the mast hit the water. Three smaller splashes marked the crew jumping into the waves. The end was inevitable now. It might take long minutes for it to take on enough water to sink, but sink it would. While the selkies would deal with the sailors.

Ramorran sighed.

"It's not the sea that causes so many shipwrecks in these parts, is it?"

Loula's voice made him turn. She was guiding the tiller, half her attention on their destination while she glanced aside to watch the fate of Esrell's boat.

"It's only partly the sea," Ramorran confirmed. The wrecks that littered the water beneath the cliffs were blamed on the waves, or storms, or carelessness, but that was rarely the cause. The tribe valued their privacy, and they'd gone to greater lengths than this to maintain it many times in their history.

Loula whistled a note of awe and turned her attention back to their boat. "Trim the sail, Ozzo," she called to her crewmate. "I think we can get a little more speed on a tighter heading. We want to stay out of their reach."

Ozzo strode into action. "Agreed."

"I can help," Ramorran said. Loula opened her mouth, probably to protest they had it in hand. But Ramorran didn't mean he could help with the sailing. Or, not the way they thought.

He tugged his skin free.

"Do you need me?" Hakan murmured.

"Stand in front of me." He smiled. "I don't want to give your crewmates a show."

Hakan made a possessive noise in his throat that sent heat through Ramorran and stood where he was directed.

Ramorran unrolled his skin and took his selkie form. As he slipped over the edge of the dhow the saltwater slid cool and welcoming around him. He dived to the seabed, twisting and spinning for the sheer joy of it, nosing through the pebbles and shells that littered the bottom. He returned to the surface, took a breath and nudged high enough out of the water to grab one of the dhow's lines in his jaw.

Landing back in the water with barely a splash, he swam towards the shore, towing the rope with all his strength. Emancipation lurched. He dimly heard an order called out. Several minutes later he slowed as they drew close enough to a fishing village on the coast for him to be sure they were safe. The open sea was peaceful. He hoped the tribe hadn't realised two strange boats had been close that night.

Ozzo leaned over the hull to drop the anchor and Ramorran climbed back on board.

"We'll be safe here?" Hakan greeted Ramorran with a towel he didn't need and clothes he did.

"Yes," he confirmed, pulling on his shirt.

Worry lurked in the back of Hakan's dark eyes. Tucking his shirt into his pants, Ramorran gave in to temptation and grabbed his love by the waistband of his shorts, hauling him close.

"I'm here, and we're safe." He waved to where the lights from the Gabalnuan village gleamed on the waves. "They won't come this close to land."

"I'm sorry it ended like this," Hakan said gently.

Ramorran opened his mouth to declare, I'm not, but the lie wouldn't come out. He clamped his mouth shut, took a deep breath and rolled up his skin. He glanced around, and sighed. "I lost my chest. I'm not even sure what happened to it."

"Your chest?" Hakan looked around as though the item might spring into sight. "Ah." His furrowed forehead cleared. "Your treasure chest held your skin. Of course it did." He chewed at his moustache. "I'm sorry for prying into it."

Ramorran shrugged. "It doesn't matter now."

"You can get a new one." Hakan gestured to the land. "The souks in Gabalnu provide everything a man could want. Or a selkie could want."

"And we've goods to sell," Ozzo called brightly.

"You do?" Ramorran wondered what the pirates traded in if it wasn't kidnapped human lives, although he didn't quite like to ask. He was a pirate now – wasn't he? Another group he needed to fit into without being sure how.

"Yeah. We acquired a few trinkets might be worth something," Ozzo said with a grin.

Acquired. He meant stole, Ramorran assumed. He told himself thieving was better than killing, or slaving.

"And I've got a length of only slightly bloodstained silk to sell," Loula stated, deadpan.

That was alarming, but no one else seemed to think so. Ramorran swallowed.

"Actually." Ozzo swung to him and he braced himself. "I had an idea about treasure."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I think you might just prove invaluable."