Belita’s vision swam and her consciousness bobbed like a drowning man struggling to stay above water. The last of the notes of music had finally died, and the last of her crew had retired to their hammocks or passed out near the dying bonfire, leaving her...
Lace lounged against a tree, enjoying the music and her drunken buzz. The wake was still going. It wasn’t the happiest reason for revelry, but after a shipwreck and being attacked by monsters it was clear the crew would take any reason they could get. Sai...
“You alright?” Tonya asked, slowly sticking her head through the door to Will’s room. Janie was sitting on the bed using her rosary like a worry stone. She wasn’t even sure why she still wore it, but somehow it was comforting. At the very least it gave he...
“I really appreciate this, Mister Kaduska,” Janie said as she accepted his hand and sat up from the canvas sack she’d spent the last hour hiding in. “Oh, my pleasure, my dear. Anything for you, you know that.” The big merchant grinned. “Besides, any oppor...
“Bella!” A lilting woman’s voice called her name from the darkness. She jolted unexpectedly at the noise, then smoothed her skirts to sweep away the spike of worry. Her heart was suddenly pounding, which annoyed her. She sighed at her own foolishness. She...
“You think he’s still down here?” Jack asked. “I can feel him,” Bella explained. They were in the ship’s hold. It felt like a tomb. Everything was still, and quiet, and lifeless. Bella slowly wandered down the hallway and found herself in front of the Qu...
“Get out!” Belita yelled as the door opened. “Nope,” Danica said, walking in and shutting the door behind her. “I said leave!” Belita snarled, pushing herself halfway up into an unsteady, angry crouch. “And I said no,” Danica shrugged. She walked over an...
The crew began rousing themselves around noon. It was just too hot to sleep comfortably any longer. The shipwrecked survivors moved slow and gingerly, trudging through their tasks with stoic determination. There was a lot to be done. The ramshackle camp w...
Dawn was breaking. The storm had passed and the eastern horizon was slowly swelling from black to purple to herald the coming of the sun. The crew of the Kestrel was finishing roping hammocks between trees. The wounded were mostly already asleep. Others w...
“So there was something under the water?” Captain Vex asked. “Yeah,” Will nodded, as he bolted down the last of the spotlight-lanterns on the railing next to the ship’s wheel. The other three hadn’t survived the fight on the prow. Captain Vex wasn’t thri...
Grindylow were starting to crawl up the Kestrel’s sides, cresting the railings toward the midship, flanking the defenders. At the helm, Captain Vex cursed. They were running out of time. “Danica, Coleman, get us free!” “Aye, captain!” came the answering c...
A loop of rope dropped around a pale neck. The screaming head attached to it didn’t seem to notice. The makeshift noose went taught. A pale, rag-clad body was yanked thrashing into the air. Lace Webber swung down like a boom, counterbalancing the weight...
The prow of the wrecked ship hit the Kestrel with a sickening crunch. Swabs went to their knees. Riggers hung on to their ropes as they were whipped back and forth by the jarring impact. A few unlucky sailors even found themselves bowled completely over,...
Will was surprised. He’d heard Bella talk about how bad hexes were before. “I thought you didn’t hex people.” “I don’t, usually. It’s one of those things the Magistrate really frowns on, but against pirates trying to kill us I’m willing to bend the rules,...
The sky was a flat, grey plane of clouds, slowly roiling. The air was warm and charged. The winds were gentle. An electrical storm was brewing. Will stared at Jack for a long time. “Do you ever think about what you’re about to say before it comes out of y...
