Unhooked(22)

As I study her, I realize why the boys are so unsettled by her presence: beneath the vest, her bare skin is a pale alabaster and is covered in a weave of opalescent scales. The scales look like an intricate tattoo, only they have the iridescent shine of a dragonfly’s wings. Even stranger, the scales seem to be shifting, moving. The individual scales melt into themselves and re-form into new shapes with an undulating rhythm that makes the very surface of her skin look alive. It reminds me of the island and the way the jungles shivered with life.

One thing is excruciatingly clear—there is no way the blonde can be human, and I can’t help but wonder if she, too, is Fey.

But there is something else about her . . . something familiar.

I duck again as the Captain stalks toward the stairs. “Bloody hell,” he mutters as he passes a few inches from my hiding spot, up to where the strange girl waits for him. Will is right behind him.

“Fiona,” he calls to her as he mounts the steps. “What am I owing to the pleasure of this unexpected visit?” He doesn’t sound at all happy to see her.

I glance up at the blonde. Fiona. The name strangely enough suits her—beautiful and exotic, just like she is. Not just beautiful, I think as my skin prickles in warning. Dangerous.

Her voice is low, but the ship is so silent, it’s easy to hear her response. “Save your charm for your crew, Rowan. Come. We must speak.” She doesn’t wait for him to follow her to his cabin.

The Captain’s jaw goes tight. He hesitates only a moment before he turns around and eyes the ship full of still and silent boys. “As you were!” he roars, and the boys snap back to their previous activities. Then he follows Fiona through the heavy door.

Quietly, I emerge from my hiding spot, bracing myself for an attack, but not a single one of the boys bothers with me. I make my way as quickly as I can toward the rear of the ship and hurry up the steps.

The Captain’s door isn’t completely closed, and as I edge closer to the opening, I can hear tense voices coming from inside.

“I must be absolutely sure. If I’m to do what you’re suggesting, I need proof,” the Captain says in his soft, lilting voice.

“You do want to end Him, don’t you?” a female voice that must be Fiona’s buzzes in reply.

“Of course. As do you. In fact, I think you may be wanting it a bit more, which is why I’ll require some assurance that this isn’t a fool’s mission.”

“You’ve wasted too much time already, boy,” Fiona says, her voice like an angry hornet’s nest. “If he takes the girl’s life, he may well be unbeatable. Think on that as you hesitate.” I hear a long, threatening hiss, and then a flash of light comes from within, followed quickly by a bark of surprise from Will.

“Bleeding hell,” the Captain growls. “I hate when she does that.”

“The flashing or the demanding?” Will asks.

“Both,” the Captain says simply.

After a moment of silence, Will speaks again. “Do you trust her?”

There’s a hesitation before the Captain speaks. “No. But we’ve not much choice. I’ve seen your arm, Will. I know well enough how you’ve been trying to hide the mark there, and I know as well that your time is running out far too quickly. For many of the others, too.”

“But iffen she’s wrong . . . Iffen we attack Himself and it doesn’t work, or if the girl’s not what she thinks, it could be the end of us.”

“I’ll not disagree, but if we’re to hesitate and Fiona’s right, death might be the best we can hope for,” the Captain tells him.

A moment’s pause settles over the conversation before Will speaks again. “Your mind’s made up, then?”

Another long, tense silence follows, and I’m not sure what’s happening. I’m about to retreat, when the door suddenly clatters open, surprising me enough that I fall back onto the deck. I look up to see the two standing over me, looking every bit as surly and irritated as the pirates they are.

“How much do you think she heard?” Will asks.

The Captain’s face is impassive. “She’ll have heard enough, I’m sure.” He pins me again with his sharp glare. “Gwendolyn,” he says pleasantly. “Perhaps you’d like to join me inside for a bit of a chat?”

It is pretty much the last thing I want, but he already is hoisting me up from the ground with that steel grip of his. “And, Will?” he calls over his shoulder as he pushes me through the door.

“Yes, Cap’n?”

“We’re not to be disturbed.”





When the call to “Stand To!” was passed like a grenade through their lines, the boy stood with the rest, as a good soldier does. They stood and stood and, eventually, began a verse to pass the time. But they never finished it, for another sound broke in and stilled them. . . .





Chapter 12


THE CAPTAIN DRAGS ME INTO his quarters, and the sounds of the ship beyond disappear when he slams the door shut behind us. “Me mother taught me it’s rude to lend your ears where they’ve not been asked for. I’m surprised yours didn’t teach you the same,” he says, pulling me across the cabin.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Of course you did,” he snaps as he deposits me into one of the barrel-shaped chairs to punctuate his point. “I would think that after I pulled your scrawny arse out of the sea, you’d at least owe me a bit of honesty.”