Page 36 of The Sea Witch
Moments later, Van der Meer’s vessel appeared at the entrance to the cove. Everyone aboard theSea Witchwent silent, collectively holding their breath, as they watched the pirate schooner sail into the inlet.
Alys’s heart climbed into her throat. If it came to a fight, she and her crew would give Van der Meer and his company a brawl. But, stars above, she prayed to avoid it.
The prow of theEdelsteenturned into the quay, the rest of the ship following. It sailed farther into the inlet, its progress marked by the lamps and torches gleaming on its top deck and glowing from the portholes.
Alys put one hand on the handle of her cutlass, the other on the butt of her pistol. She balanced on the balls of her feet, ready in case she might be called into action, a cry of command to attack already forming on her lips.
And then...
Van der Meer’s ship sailed right past theSea Witch. The captain himself stood on the forecastle, gaze aimed straight ahead, looking for his target. TheEdelsteencruised forward.
Alys bit back a cry of exultation. It had worked. Neither Van der Meer nor anyone aboard his ship had spotted Alys’s vessel, hidden as it was by the glamour conjured by theSea Witch’s company.
“Now, Captain?” Stasia whispered eagerly.
“Not yet.”
TheEdelsteensailed farther into the inlet.
“Now?” Stasia pressed.
“Hold a moment longer... only a breath...”
TheEdelsteensailed forward in slow degrees.
“Now,” Alys said.
At Alys’s command, her crew leapt into action. The company armed their cannon as Hua steered the ship away from the cliff. The helmswoman positioned theSea Witchbetween Van der Meer’s vessel and the mouth of the cove, blocking theEdelsteen’s only means of flight, and trapping it in place where its crew’s only option was to abandon ship and flee onto the island.
Once they were in position, Alys ordered, “Drop the veil, beauties!”
As if burned away by a blazing sun, the mist surrounding theSea Witchimmediately disappeared. Alys raised her pistol into the air and fired. The sound echoed off the cliffs and into the depths of the dark blue night.
The crew aboard theEdelsteenrushed to rails and collected on the aft deck. They gaped as theSea Witchappeared seemingly from nowhere.
Alys smirked at Van der Meer, who stared along with his crew. Beside him, his mage was just as immobilized by shock. The two men stood at the rail of the quarterdeck, gawking like greenhorns on market day, not seasoned buccaneers. The piratecaptain collected himself enough to scowl, and with his reputation for cleverness, it was no wonder. Falling victim to a ship full of witches’ glamour wouldn’t enhance his standing.
“Impolite,” Alys called across the expanse of water that separated theSea Witchfrom theEdelsteen. “Paying a call without properly announcing yourself. It makes a woman wonder at your motivations. Surely, they can’t be nefarious, can they, Jacob?”
Van der Meer’s features creased as he made himself smile widely. “So many guns pointed in this direction,” he shouted. “Such displays of aggression are unbecoming in old friends.”
“Arewe friends, Van der Meer?” Alys wondered. “My memory recalls you attempting to swindle me out of my share of the gold in Île-à-Vache.”
“That was a misunderstanding only, liefje.”
“It’s Captain Tanner. I’mnotyour sweetheart.”Not anymore.“Explain what you mean by chasing after my ship, with no friendly flag flying.”
“I—”
Alys held up a hand. “We parley on the beach. Thenyou’regoing to give me a thorough report of your actions and plans. If, for any reason, I don’t like your explanation, over a dozen witches aboard my ship will use their collective powers to summon a hundred whirlpools to sink your ship. There won’t be anything left, not even a length of cordage floating on the water, to show that you or theEdelsteenever existed.”
“Can wedothat?” Stasia hissed in Alys’s ear.
Alys answered lowly, “Van der Meer doesn’t know what we are and aren’t capable of. Let him believe we can mobilize all the fiery beasts of hell, if it means we keep him in fear. Answer quick, Jacob,” she called to the other captain, “or things may start to spin for you.”
To punctuate this, Alys made a swirling motion with her fingers.
Van der Meer nervously held up his hands. “We shall meet you on the beach at once.” He turned to speak to a man who was likely his second-in-command.
