Page 35 of The Sea Witch
Luna arrived moments later, a chart tucked under her arm.
“We can try to outrun Van der Meer and theEdelsteen,” Alys said without preamble. “But it solves nothing. A persistent bastard. He’ll dog us from one end of the Caribbean to the other, burning valuable time.”
“A fight?” Eagerness gleamed in Stasia’s eyes. She curved her palm over the pommel of her blade.
Alys covered Stasia’s hand. “Our aims can be met without a single drop of blood staining anyone’s decks. Cheer up,” she added when Stasia looked downcast, “if all our strategies fall short, I give you permission to be the first in the fray. Spells or steel—it’ll be up to you.”
Stasia looked slightly cheered. “Give us your strategies, then.”
A quick consult with Luna followed, and Alys outlined her plan. As she spoke, her quartermaster and navigator nodded. When everything had been determined, Stasia strode about the ship, issuing orders to the company. Three of their witches were assigned to summon winds to give them speed, but others possessing magic were instructed not to use their power until Alys gave the command. Limited as their untrained magic was, they needed to hold some back in reserve, or the plan wouldn’t come to fruition.
Tension grew as theEdelsteenkept a close pursuit, the distance between their ships holding steady, but it was only a matter of time until the larger vessel caught up.
What Van der Meer had planned for them remained unknown, but hard lessons had taught Alys that buccaneers remained ever capricious. Early in her career as a pirate, other captains had offered her alliances, only to have them decide after raids that they wanted all of the plunder for themselves. Murder or harmony—either were possible.
It didn’t change matters that she’d spent a few weeks in Mérida sharing a bed with Van der Meer. If anything, their time together made him even more unreliable.
“How long until we reach our destination?” she asked Hua at the wheel.
“Quarter of an hour,” the helmswoman answered, absently brushing at strands of straight black hair that had pulled free from her two thick braids. She adjusted the brim of her round cap. “You see it there, just off the port bow.”
A thin finger of land emerged on the horizon, one of countless tiny islands that were scattered all across the Caribbean. Hua expertly steered theSea Witchtoward the island as the sky overhead deepened to sapphire with the coming night.
Alys stood on the quarterdeck, anxiety and excitement mingling in her belly like a potion. Life up north had been a constant series of identical days, with chance moments of fear from storms that battered the coast—and the constant threat of having her magic discovered. Her only glimpses of a life beyond that airless existence came after Samuel’s death.
But even then, life had always come slamming down like the top of a pillory, locking her into place, whenever she’d had to sail Samuel’s boat back home and resume her workaday life. It was only after they stole their ship and escaped Norham for good that Alys gave herself and the women who followed her the freedom she’d always hungered for.
For all the uncertainty and treachery and risk of sailing the Caribbean as a buccaneer, there was an untamed, reckless joy init. Alys would rather meet death at the end of Van der Meer’s cutlass than return to the drudgery of a fisherman’s wife.
The sky darkened further, long streaks of gold piercing through the indigo, as theSea Witchapproached the tiny island.
Summoning the soft murmur of a late spring breeze, Alys whispered into her hands. The spell made sure that her words would be heard by her whole crew, but no one beyond the decks of theSea Witchwould hear even a sigh.
“We know what to do, my friends,” she quietly informed the company. “Wait until I give the signal, and then we give them a display to rival any man-o’-war.”
“Aye, Cap’n,” came the whispered replies.
At the helm, Hua guided theSea Witchinto the inlet. It formed a cup, lined with tall rocky cliffs, and a narrow white sand beach meeting the water at the farthest end of the cove. Beyond the beach stood a fringe of mangrove trees, turning black as the night progressed.
Hua positioned the ship close to the base of one of the cliffs at the mouth of the cove. It was tricky work, ensuring that the vessel didn’t get caught and founder on any of the rocks that lurked beneath the water, and that the masts didn’t smash against the face of the cliff. Hua was one of the best at the helm, hailing from the East China Sea, where she had piloted her uncle’s cargo ship, and now here, in the Caribbean.
Once theSea Witchwas in position, Alys whispered to her crew, “Witches, gather on quiet feet at the mainmast.”
Those of the crew that possessed magic collected at the base of the mainmast, Alys and Stasia included. Eris perched on the yard, keeping close to her mistress, but she kept her usual trills to herself when, at Alys’s nod, the witches held hands.
Everyone exchanged concerned looks. Twice had they attempted something similar, and only one of those efforts had been successful. When they had failed, they’d barely escaped with their lives.
“Stone and rock and sea and surf,” Alys murmured, “veil us, hide us from those we don’t trust.”
Everyone softly but urgently repeated her words.
“Think of the cliffs, my girls,” Alys urged, “and the water below. Let them form a cloak to hide us.”
Intense concentration filled each of the crew’s faces as they summoned a glamour to shroud the ship. At the center of their circle, a mist collected, faintly at first, then with growing thickness. It smelled of rain pattering onto rock. The mist deepened and condensed, collecting around the deck and then rising up the masts and spilling over the sides.
“That’s it, beauties,” Alys pressed. “They say women are tricky and hide their true selves. If that’s what they believe, we’ll give it to them. And reap the benefits.”
The haze continued to grow, enveloping the ship. As it did, Alys kept wary attention to the mouth of the inlet, waiting for Van der Meer’s ship to take the bait. Hopefully, her crew’s magical ruse would work.
