Page 78 of Witches of Dubious Origin
“Come on, Eloise.” I gently took her elbow and led her back toward Olive and Jasper. She reluctantly allowed me to lead her away.
“You saw that, didn’t you?” she asked. “I wasn’t hallucinating, was I?”
“We did and you weren’t.”
“I don’t want to frighten you, but I think they’re after you, my dear.” She hugged her arms to her chest, looking fretful.
“Do you think the spell I used on Moran would work on the ship?” I asked.
She frowned. “It’s a very big ship with a lot of men.”
Given that I had barely managed to get Moran back in the ground, I knew what she was trying to say. I didn’t have the chops for a job this big. I knew she was right.
“I think I need to try,” I said as we joined Olive and Jasper. “What other choice do we have?”
“Lifeboat.” Olive spun on her heel and led the way to the side door. “You can try your incantation while we launch plan B, which is to escape in a lifeboat.”
“Oh, I like that plan.” Eloise beamed. Of course she did. She was impervious to the cold and wet.
Jasper heaved open the side door and we stepped into the drizzling rain and gusting wind. I was instantly soaking wet and miserable.
“Give it a go,” Olive ordered. “We’ll prepare the boat.”
Thankfully, the inclement weather kept everyone else inside. How my current associates thought they were going to launch a lifeboat without anyone noticing, I had no idea. I pressed myself against the railing. The wind whipped my face and the mist clouded my vision. I centered my gaze on the man with the long scraggly beard, the battered hat, and the lopsided grin sporting several missing teeth. He had the stance of a captain, so I went with the assumption.
Eloise was pressed up against my side like a trusted friend, offering her support much like the raven had last night. Iimmediately wondered where he was and hoped he didn’t appear, as I didn’t want him to get hurt by whatever was coming.
Using all the strength I could muster, I belted the words out from my core. “Corpus regressus ad mortem!”
I kept my gaze on the ship, hoping it would sink back down into the deep, taking its maniacal-looking crew with it. No dice.
“It didn’t work.” I turned to Eloise. She was staring at the pirates as if assessing them for weaknesses. Did she think we were going to have to fight them? My knowledge of swordplay was nonexistent beyond the historical romances I enjoyed on occasion.
“Try again!” Olive ordered from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see that she and Jasper had the lifeboat uncovered and were lowering it to the ferry’s deck. How had no one seen them?
I glanced up at the captain’s bridge. He was staring out the window, looking ahead at the island, which I could just see in the distance. He seemed completely unaware of the massive wooden ship headed for our starboard side with what appeared to be single-minded intent.
“What did you do to the crew?” I asked Olive.
“Never mind, just focus on your task.”
I turned back to the railing. Eloise was watching the ship come nearer as if she didn’t dare move for fear that they’d see her, which I understood completely. If I could have blended into the steel deck, I would have. The ship was close enough that I could see the sailors’ faces now and there was not a kind one among them.
I glanced at the frigid water below, watching it churn and froth as the ferry plowed through the waves, and vowed to myself that this was not how I was going to go.
The ship was now mere yards away. I glanced at the pirate captain and I saw his eyes go wide. He lifted his arm high and I noted that in his fist he clutched a saber, identifiable by its short curved blade. My knees wobbled a bit at the grin he sent my way. I had the feeling he would slit my throat and not think twice about it.
“Steady,” Eloise said.
I drew in a deep breath and focused my energy on the ship. The wind bit at my cheeks and the rain pelted my face but I didn’t flinch. Instead, I bellowed, “Corpus regressus ad mortem!”
For a second, a nanosecond really, I expected the men to fall to the deck and the ship to sink back into the deep. It didn’t. There was no crack of thunder, no flash of light, just the relentless rain and bone-chilling wind.
The captain, as if sensing my dismay, pointed his sword at me, threw back his head, and cackled. It was the most chilling noise I had ever heard. It froze my insides and made my brain flicker out like a candle.
“I’m Captain Cole Wener, and we’re here for you, granddaughter of Toni Donadieu,” he bellowed in a voice that boomed across the water as if punching through the rain to get to me. I stood staring stupidly at the terrifying specter in front of me. If I’d had a target on my chest, I was sure one of the cannons on the side of the ship would have blown a hole right through me.
“All right, ladies, come along, no time to sightsee.” Jasper grabbed us by the arms and pulled us away from the railing.
