Page 37 of The Sea Witch
Alys was already striding toward the jolly boat. “Stasia, you’re with me. I want Jane, Susannah, Dayanna, and Inés. Polly,” she said to the woman as she strode forward, “you have command of the ship until we return. And ifanythinglooks dubious, if any one of his crew so much as farts suspiciously, open up every gun and summon lightning to strike his ship.”
Though Polly had only actually accomplished the purposeful summoning of lightning a handful of times, she saluted. “Aye, Cap’n.”
The jolly boat was lowered, and the requested crew climbed down the rope ladder to take up their positions in the small vessel. Alys moved to climb down, as well, but before she took a step, Polly asked, “What about the navy man?”
Alys paused for a moment. It had been almost a relief, having Van der Meer chase theSea Witch, giving her a much-desired distraction from sensing Ben’s presence both aboard the ship and within Alys’s own mind. Yet merely hearing his name brought her perception of the sailing master back to the forefront of her awareness. Unrest drummed through the invisible fibers weaving between him and her, adding to her own unease. Something greatly troubled him.
She made herself shrug.
“This is pirate business, and as he’s made clear, he wants no part of pirate business. He stays locked in my quarters.” Alys continued descending the ladder to the jolly boat, forcing away thoughts of Ben. All her focus was needed for this parley with Van der Meer, and determining just what, exactly, the other pirate captain intended.
Whatever Van der Meer planned, she had to be ready for it.
Chapter Eight
Torchlight revealed only wary glances and suspicious glares. It lit the crescent of glittering sand beneath everyone’s boots as both captains and crew faced off on the beach. Hands hovered close to weapons. Van der Meer’s mage stood at the buccaneer captain’s side, his fingers curved in preparation to deploy a spell, but then again, Stasia and Susannah also had glints of reddish magic dancing over their hands, ready to be called into use at the barest hint of treachery. Tension strung taut between the two parties.
Her hand resting on the pommel of her cutlass, Alys kept her attention fixed on Van der Meer. The torchlight rendered him even more striking than he appeared in daylight, cutting in the sharp planes of his face, making his teeth flash white in his sable beard, but she wouldn’t be swayed by his handsome face again. Nor anything else he offered her. Deceit often lurked behind the most beautiful of facades.
Samuel had been widely considered the most fine-looking man in Norham.
“Hostility has no place here,” Van der Meer said in his honeyed voice. “We’re all of us friends, aren’t we?”
“Friends don’t chase each other from St. Gertrude to here.” She gestured to the beach.
“Wecouldbe quite friendly once more, if you only say the word.”
Stasia snorted.
“That port’s no longer open. Besides, I don’t expect you’re tailing my ship just for a sentimental fuck.”
The warmth in his dark eyes cooled. “You won’t share what you know about Little George, and this fail-safe of his? We all saw what happened to Fontaine and theDiabolique. None of us want to suffer a similar fate.”
“I’m a simple woman, Jacob. I keep to my ship, run my raids, and not much else.” Alys was careful to keep her expression shuttered—but she had a lifetime of practice hiding what she thought and believed. Especially from men.
Van der Meer shook his head. “Ignorant people don’t have naval officers pursue them from the tavern. Nor do they sail with such purpose as you have been since leaving St. Gertrude.”
“I’m to believe you won’t find the fail-safe, and then turn around to sell it to the Royal Navy. Stow your protests, Jacob, and don’t pretend like I’ve insulted you,” she said when he placed a hand on the center of his chest, as if personally wounded. “After what passed between us in Mérida and then Île-à-Vache, and your considerable record of betrayal, even Jesus Christ wouldn’t have faith in you.”
The other captain shrugged. “It’s possible I have only been searching for someone thatIcan believe in.”
“That wasn’t me?” Alys feigned a sad frown.
“We needn’t be enemies or competitors,” he wheedled. “Why not search for the fail-safe together? Ridding ourselves of that leviathan would benefit every pirate. It would be an advantage, combining my knowledge of these waters with your ship’s abundance of magical ability. After all, it has been merely a year since you came to the Caribbean, and there are gaps in your knowledge I would be happy to fill.” He punctuated this statement with a roguish grin.
Alys exhaled. “Flirtation’s a poor negotiating tactic when one party has no further interest in the goods being tendered. Besides,” she added, “I recall at Île-à-Vache that you referred to me and my crew asthat seafaring pack of magical bitches. So, much as I appreciate your offer, I decline.”
“Liefje—”
“And if you follow me again,” Alys continued, “I’ll make good on my vow to send your ship to the bottom of the seafloor. There are nearly two dozen witches aboard my vessel, whereas you have onlyonemage.”
She flicked a contemptuous glance at the man in question, who quailed beneath her regard. The mage shrank even more when Susannah and Stasia encouraged the magic around their hands to glow brighter, red light flitting demonically over their faces.
“I favor our odds,” Alys noted. “Now, this parley’s concluded. Good night, Jacob, and fair winds.”
Van der Meer bowed, ever gallant, but he didn’t look particularly pleased by the way negotiations had fared. He muttered angrily under his breath, little knowing that Alys knew Dutch and was well aware of the variety of insults he hissed at her.
“You’re perfectly welcome to go fuck yourself,” she said in cheerful Dutch.
