Page 94 of Crossbones
“Some of the men are refusing to continue,” he says in a low voice. “Some of them are ours.”
Before I can say anything, Harrison steps forward. “Who here has an issue?”
Four men step to the front of the crowd. Two of them are De’Vero men—Rourke and Gerrald. The other two areTempestdeckhands, Kale and Fletcher.
“We don’t think it’s worth the risk to sail deeperinto the Stormwrack,” Kale says.
I step forward. “You two agree with them?” I demand, looking over at the De’Vero men.
“Aye, there’s no proof,” Gerrald says.
“The risk for something we don’t even know exists—” Rourke shakes his head. “Just doesn’t seem to make sense, sir.”
“I brought you men aboard for your fortitude and bravery—I didn’t expect you two to slink away at the first sign of danger,” I say angrily.
“It’s not the first sign of danger though, Cap—sir,” Gerrald says.
“Aye, we’ve lost men,” Rourke insists. “I think maybe we’re chasin’ nothin’ but ghosts straight to our deaths in this cursed sea.”
Blackwell stalks right up to him. “Are you afraid of ghosts, Rourke?”
“I didn’t say that—”
“You know what you should be more afraid of?” His voice is deathly smooth and dripping with danger. Before Rourke can speak, Blackwell’s fist connects with his jaw—the sharp sound loud across the silent deck. The deck hand falls to his knee, blood dripping from his mouth.
Blackwell yanks his head up by his hair. “You should be more afraid of me—” He leans close. “—than what’s out there.”
I see Gerrald move towards Blackwell. A step brings me to the Captain’s side, and I grab a dagger from his belt before slamming my elbow into Gerrald's stupid neck.
“For someone who doesn’t want to die, you seem to have a death wish,” I snarl in his face.
I glance at Kale and Fletcher briefly, but Harrison and Van are suddenly closer to them than before, and they lift their hands in submission, already familiar with Blackwell enough to know when to step down.
“And what happens if there isn’t any gold?” Gerrald manages, voice strained against the press of the blade.
“There was never a guarantee,” Blackwell says, his voice sharp. “Not for the gold and certainly not for getting out of this alive. If you were looking for that, you shouldn’t have set foot on my ship.”
“But you know what is certain?” I growl. “The only way you’re going back that direction, is if you decide to go for a swim because this ship isn’t turning around.” I shove the knife harder against Gerrald’s neck. “Is that what you want?”
“No, sir.”
“Then quit fucking standing around,” Blackwell barks.
The men dissipate back to their stations in varying degrees of quickness. Blackwell glares out at them, a muscle in his jaw jumps. I wait until everyone is gone beforeI shove Gerrald away from me.
“I hope there isn’t a next time,” I say in a low voice. “But if there is, he’s not the only one you’re going to need to fear.” I thrust the blade backwards indicating Blackwell. Gerrald swallows nervously and his hand goes to his neck. He nods before scurrying away.Fucking idiot.
I turn to see Blackwell watching me and give him a smirk. I flip the dagger, the steel cold in my hand as I give it back to him. I wink and move past him to speak to Van.
“Keep an eye on them, Van,” I say. “First sign of a fucking whisper and I’ll feed them to the Kraken, understood?”
“Aye, sir,” Van murmurs, nodding sharply.
I hear Harrison mutter something derogatory regarding the De’Vero crew under his breath. My attention shoots to him. After getting interrupted with Blackwell and the disappointment in my own crew members, my patience is gone.
“Did you say something, Blondie?”
He’s scowling at me, his stance aggressive as he stands beside Van.
