Pirate Lord Page 18

  His children were barricaded below deck – the safest place for them to be in battles like this, they couldn’t waste anyone guarding the doors of the meet room. Not that it would be a waste. His children, Tigerlily’s children, they were more important to him than life itself. If anything happened to them…he tightened his grip on his sword. Merek had better know what he was doing, dragging Tristan and his family into a war. They hadn’t asked for this.

  He lifted his eyeglass, and honed in on the flag. It was just as he had suspected. The kings were rising again, and they didn’t take kindly to a Pirate Lord who claimed one of the most valuable ports in the ocean as his own, locking it off as a point of trade, and allowing merchants to be harassed by ships under the pirate banner. But these kings held no claim over the seas, the seas were free, and Tristan was willing to fight to keep it like that.

  He wouldn’t fight this battle for Merek. But he’d fight for his freedom, for his way of life.

  Tristan glared up at the flag atop the mast. Not their flag, Roselyn had insisted they fly under Merek’s banner, at his orders. Merek wanted to pretend that they were all part of his armada no doubt, and not that it was all a chain of favours and contracts yet to be signed. He didn’t want to show to this King that he stood on rockier ground than he let on. Typical. Another lie from the snake tongued Pirate Lord. Tristan hadn’t put up much of a fight, and nor had Lily. He wasn’t sure whether it was because she couldn’t be bothered to anymore, or for another reason…he suspected the latter.

  ~

  Lily knocked the butt of her sword against the deck, twice. The sound rumbled through the ship, answered by another knock. Chop. He was below deck today, directing the cannons. There wasn’t normally time in a raid or a battle to get them together, to plan out an attack. Ships came on you before you knew it, and it was either fight or die. But this time they had been able to plan it all, and Lily had insisted they use the cannons to their full effect. Roselyn had been more than happy to lend a hand with the gunpowder. She certainly knew how to give it an extra fizz.

  Kilo appeared beside his captain. “Captain Wolf is ready.”

  “Okay.” Lily tore her gaze away from the ships assembled before her and glanced at Kilo. He grinned gingerly, his bright blue hair sticking up at all angles. Her crew, her comrade, her friend. Lily smiled, “You know I love you right?”

  “Wha –?”

  “Be careful in this one, okay Kilo?” She hugged him before he could say another word, and he gripped her back. “And if you see anyone even thinking about heading below deck, you cut their legs off.”

  His laugh rumbled through her, “Will do Lil.”

  Kilo pulled back, and she wiped back the tears threatening to fall. “You alright?” he asked.

  “I’m bloody petrified. Don’t tell anyone.”

  “You got it, Captain.”

  Lily gave him a fleeting smile before scampering up the stairs to the upper deck where Tristan awaited her. He didn’t look nervous, but she knew he was. He’d said it himself, this was no raid, this was a war.

  She knew those ships. They were still lining up, still settling themselves, giving the Pack a little longer to prepare. They hadn’t all fought together like this yet. It had taken a lot of planning, a lot of arguments, before they decided on something that seemed doable.

  Ships from across the seas had gathered for them, ships that answered the call of the Wolves. They would fight, and they would fight hard. There may be less of them, but that was not going to deter them. They knew what the cost would be if they failed, and it would be a lot more than Tristan and Tigerlily being thrown into the Pirate Lord’s cells.

  If they fell, if this King made it to the Pirate Lord, their whole way of life could be at risk. The Pirate Lord kept in the shadows, for the most part, only surfacing when he felt the need to. They liked it like that, they were left to do their own thing, pirate in their own way, sail the seas as free men and women. There were laws, but they were flexible. The main thing that stirred the seas was respect.

  Lily wasn’t quite sure how, or if she was worthy of it, but the Pack respected her, they respected Tristan, and they were willing to follow them into battle. Goosebumps prickled her arms. Tristan ran his hand through his hair and perched his tricorn hat back on his head, adjusting it into position.

  The drums sounded, a resonating boom that came closer and closer until the ships next to Hunter sounded their own readiness. This was the signal. It was time.

  Lily gripped the mallet and brought it down on their own drum, twice. As one, the Pack advanced. The water seemed to cling to the ship, as if reluctant to let them face their doom. They moved sluggishly, painfully slowly. The drums got louder, punctuated with the sounds of swords being drawn, crossbows being loaded, pistols cocked. The drums stopped.

  The silence was sudden, expectant.

  Lily waited, even though her heart was pounding and she could practically feel her blood pulsing through her. She waited until she could see the figures on the opposing ships, then she brought the hammer down once more.

  The cannons sprung into life, clouds of smoke curling up from the entire Pack. The armada before them returned the gesture. Great waves of water rose as missed strikes smashed into the ocean. Louder was the shattering of the hulls as cannonballs met their mark. No one faltered, no one stopped, and the cannons kept up their bombardment.

  There was the scream of wood on wood as the first of the ships slammed into each other, the Pack fitting into gaps between the armada, getting in as far as possible before their ships screeched to a halt, planks, ropes, grappling hooks immediately let loose. Lily was faintly aware of the shouts, of the crack of pistols and clash of swords on swords, but she blocked them out.

  Tigerlily leapt down to the main deck, landing in a crouch. As she stood she ran her fingers over her dagger belt, subconsciously counting each knife, checking they were in place. Her hands found her pistols and she pulled them both from her belt, before striding to the bow. The smoke curled around her, and she stepped from it, raising her arm to aim. Her first shot met a man’s temple. He crumpled to the ground. She flicked the barrel open with one hand while aiming the pistol in her left hand. This shot too met its mark.

  Lily ducked below the balustrade long enough to reload. They’d improved pistols greatly in the years she’d been using them, and they were a lot easier than they had been to reload, but it still left you vulnerable. It took no more than a few seconds, and then she was up again and aiming.

  She used up the majority of her ammo before slipping the pistols back into their holsters and drawing her sword. It was itching to be used. Lily climbed up onto the balustrade and leapt the short distance over to the enemy’s deck. She was done with waiting for them to come to her.

  Tigerlily spun into battle, her sword soon swimming in blood. She used her daggers sparingly, not willing to lose them in the chaos. The air became a blur of blood and sweat and bodies, a dull pounding in her ears the only sound she could hear. She let the haze take over, and turned into the demon she could become.

  She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop. They had to die. They had to leave. Then she would be safe, her family would be safe. They could go back to how things were, they could be happy. And Merek, they would keep him happy too, if that was the price to pay for freedom. If this battle was what lay between her and a future for them, then she would fight, and she would win.

  Her eyes widened as she came back to proper consciousness, and she halted the blade that she’d been about to slice. So close that she could see the beads of sweat trickling down his neck, a knock to his jaw already bruising, his green eyes widening at the kiss of steel. It was Marco.

  He stuck his swords beneath her blade, pushing it away from his throat. His expression was set, his jaw locked, but he didn’t hold back the dark glare he gave her. Lily just stood rooted to the spot, panting. He had startled her, almost crashing into her, and she had just reacted. He ran his tongue over
his teeth, and spat out a glob of spit, dyed red with blood.

  “I’m sorry, I –” she managed to stammer out.

  He pointed one of his blades at her, albeit not threateningly, “Remember who your enemies are. Don’t let the red mist consume you, flower.”

  She nodded, smiling apologetically. “I’m pretty messed up.”

  “You and me both.” Marco darted back into the heart of the battle.

  Lily gripped her sword, her hand shaking. That had only happened once before, a few years ago now. She’d been so enthralled she hadn’t been paying attention to who approached her. The man in question, one of her own crew, had got away with a graze to the ribs.

  They’d all been so forgiving, so understanding. But Lily had been plagued with guilt. It had taken her a couple of months to let herself pick up a sword again. “It took me a long time to figure out who I am, a long time to accept it. And I don’t want to lose her now.” She’d said that to Tristan, after a long while of pondering what exactly her problem was.

  She didn’t understand it herself. She wanted this life, she chose this life, and she was happy. Hell she was ecstatic to have been able to have Tristan’s children, to be able to raise them doing something that she loved. Travelling the open seas, visiting new countries, new people, never seeing the same horizon twice. Lily loved her husband more with every beat of her heart. When she thought he was gone, a part of her had died. She was not perfect, she didn’t claim to be. But then, her life hadn’t exactly been perfect.

  Since then there had been an unspoken rule that no one was to get too close to Lily during a fight, and if they did they should make sure she didn’t have that look in her eye. Tristan hadn’t told her any of this, but Eli had. Maybe he was afraid it would hurt her feelings, but really, it made her feel safer. One of her greatest fears was that she would hurt someone she cared about.

  She never meant to hurt those she cared about.

  Her heart wasn’t steadying, it was pounding faster and faster, like the drums that had rung out to start this. It accelerated as the chaos around her too rose to a crescendo. She was missing out on the fun. Tigerlily bared her teeth and launched herself back into the fight. This time her blade slit open the right neck.

  ~

  Tristan ducked to avoid the weapon that flew at him, sticking his own sword up and through the man’s chest. Blood showered over him as he hauled his blade back out again, dodging the corpse.

  He was in a bad mood, there were so many of them, he’d lost his favourite tricorn hat, he was acutely aware that his children were locked below deck in the furthest reaches of the ship, and that his wife was in the battle, gods knew where, probably causing as much trouble as humanly possible. He just hoped she stayed safe.

  If the day ever came when he had to find her body on the decks, he didn’t know what he’d do. He doubted he’d be able to remain rational. Perhaps he’d revert back to what he’d been before The Shadow. Nothing more than an angry boy seeking revenge and taking it out on the world.

  Tristan jabbed his elbow into the jaw of a man behind him, swinging to face him and slicing his gut open in one movement.

  After this, if there was an after this, they’d have to face Merek again, and have to sign that bloody contract. Part of Tristan would have preferred to keep fighting rather than go through that. To be owned like that, to have their own children taken from them, it hurt him to think that there was nothing to be done.

  Lily had coped with it better than he’d expected. She’d accepted it. But Tristan was struggling. Maybe she was better with dealing with the inevitability, having been captive before. Having experienced the soul destroying reality of shackles.

  Call it what you want, but this contract was no better than a certificate of ownership. When this battle ended, when they signed their names on that paper, they would be owned. Tristan didn’t much care for that idea, but if it kept his family together, at least until the boys went to the assassin’s institute, then he’d bloody well do it.

  The next enemy that crossed his path almost got cleaved in two. Tristan continued through the chaos like a predator on the rampage, his sword leaving a trail of blood on the decks.

  ~

  Tigerlily twirled, the tails of her coat spinning out behind her as she drove her blade into her enemy’s chest. She kicked out to the side, her heel piercing flesh and taking down the man she’d seen out of her peripheral. She twisted to face his prone form, slipping a dagger from her belt and cutting his throat where he lay. Someone pounced on her but she threw them off, her dagger slipping through his ribs before she finished him off with her sword. She took a second to wipe her dagger blade off on her trousers before tucking it back in her belt.

  She was covered in gore, but then, there was a good reason she’d gone for a red coat. Her knuckles were all bruised and battered, there was a stabbing pain coming from her back, and someone had managed to slice her thigh open. Other than that, she was doing well.

  Eli’s silver dreadlocks caught her attention as he leapt over the balustrade, taking out the two men that immediately surged forward to flank him, one with his sword, the other with his hatchet. He was fascinating to watch when he fought, she’d thought so the moment she’d seen him with a blade in his hand. Whatever he’d been pretending to be, his skill and experience with weaponry was clear. She’d known something about him was interesting. A Prince of the Wastes. He was a legend come to life.

  She punched a man who landed before her in the face with the butt of her sword, before letting one of her daggers burrow into his heart, never taking her eyes off of Eli. A niggling thought caught her attention, and she surveyed the ship before swearing under her breath and dodging a path through the battle. She got a little closer before her route was cut off, but Eli had seen her.

  Lily yelled across the racket, “Where’s Roselyn?”

  “I don’t know – I haven’t seen her since the fight started.” Eli called back, parrying a blow from an opponent.

  Lily leapt up on a nearby crate and launched herself over the huddle of men before her, landing next to him. She’d told her to stay on Hunter. “Go and find her.”

  “There’s no time. You need me here.”

  “Eli, mark me – go and find her now. We’ll be fine.”

  He seemed torn, hesitating before he abandoned battle and sprinted across the deck. Lily turned away from his fleeing form. She could only hope that he found her in time. Roselyn was not trained for battle – she was an assassin, made for secretive creeping. She didn’t know why on earth Merek hadn’t just called her back to the Island. If she stayed in the battle she was going to get herself killed.

  ~

  Roselyn was making slow progress, the battle had been rougher to traverse than she’d been expecting. She had hoped to slip away before it all started, but the opportunity had not arisen. And she hadn’t had the heart to explain to Lily, nor the courage to disobey Merek. She had to do this. She did it for herself. Afterwards, if she got through this, she would try to get Lily to understand. She would try not to lose her as a friend. Eli would likely be harder to convince.

  It seemed like everywhere she’d turned on that ship he’d appeared. And though he said it was because he was told to keep an eye on her, she couldn’t help but wonder if he felt that same draw that she did to him.

  Roselyn knew she’d already missed her chance. She should have kissed him that day beside the figurehead. She’d wanted to. He’d just been standing there, watching her with those gentle eyes. “You surprise me. I didn’t think there was anyone like that.” His words had been so simple, nothing suggestive in them, but she’d heard what he’d been trying to say, and forced herself to block it out.

  She doubted the opportunity would arise after what she was about to do. Eli held trust and loyalty in high regard, it would be that which would push him over the edge. And if he hated her, then she wasn’t sure there was much point in any of this.

  She thought back to Marco’s off
er. Maybe she’d been a fool to turn him down, it would have been a lot easier his way. But there was a certain satisfaction in doing it this way, she had been trained as an assassin after all. She pressed her ear against the door, turned the handle silently and grinned as she found who she’d been searching for.

  Chapter 17

  The liar

  Lily blinked back the last of the haze that had claimed her, fighting for control of herself once more. It got like this after a fight like that, the intensity that would come over her. She was barely aware of anything once she was in that state. It had been lucky that she’d paid enough attention to realise Roselyn was missing. Lily had no doubt that Eli would find the assassin, but she was more worried about what Roselyn’s true purpose was, why Merek had sent her to be on this ship in the first place. She was an assassin. Lily expected that Merek had his reasons, and that Roselyn had been told to keep a certain amount of information back. In the end, no matter what labels they put on it, Roselyn belonged to Merek. She would do as she was told.

  The last few ships of the King’s armada broke away from the Pack, and they let them retreat. Lily wasn’t sure what had pulled them back, there were still so many of them, though she was pleased to see they looked a lot more ragged than the state they’d arrived in. The Pack had put up a good fight, as she knew they would. The crew around her cheered, shaking their fists and blades at the retreating ships. There would be a huge party tonight, and a great cause for celebration, but Lily didn’t much feel like it.

  They’d just about survived. They still had to count up and deal with the dead, treat the injured, thank the captains that had fought for them so steadfastly. Then they had to go to Merek.

  The thought of that piece of paper filled her with dread more than anything else, more than the bodies that surrounded her, the blood that had been spilled. She hadn’t seen Tristan yet, but he’d find her.