The Hunter's Pursuit

5. Recollection

    "Now will you tell me what the hell that was about?" Bran hissed, closing the door behind Jacob.

    Jacob didn't answer immediately. He pulled a stool out from beneath a rickety old table and perched on the edge of it. Bran claimed the seat beside him and waited, tapping his foot impatiently. Jacob's mouth curled sideways while he thought. A few minutes passed in silence before Bran pointedly cleared his throat.

    "They wanted my help," Jacob sighed. "For the same reason Malcolm Hugo and Mallory Archer reached out to me."

    "To hunt that beast?" Jacob nodded. "The Pirate King himself asked for your help?" Bran scrubbed at his face, then let his arm dangle over his knee. "What did you tell him?"

    "I said no, and then his wife asked if I'd be willing to tell them what to do with their weapons and ship so they can attack it more efficiently. I promised to meet with them tomorrow morning and do that, at least."

    Bran blinked in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. Caspian and Primalia Flynn, Lord and Lady of the Leviathan, King and Queen of Pirates, and Rulers over the five Pirate Lords, asked for your help and you said no?"

    "Basically. And Prim isn't exactly the Pirate Queen. Caspian is the King because he was elected to be. The title doesn't extend to her."

    Bran threw a hand in the air. "She might as well be," he blustered. "Have you heard the stories about that woman? I think those tales have been stretched about as tall as your own!"

    Jacob stood and crossed over to a cabinet. He took down two glasses and a bottle of rum. He filled both glasses and carried them back to the table between two fingers, using his free hand to bring the rum. Bran took a glass and downed it in a single gulp. Jacob followed suit.

    "Regardless, I still told them no," he said. "I'll give them some tips, but that's it." Jacob filled his glass a second time. "Maybe I'll point them in the direction of another retired monster hunter."

    Bran knit his brows. "Who? I didn't think there were many of you left."

    "There aren't, but she's one of the few who remain."

    "She?"

    "Aye, she. You've heard of Viviane Harland, haven't you?"

    Recognition flooded Bran's features. "By the Stars, Jake. Don't tell me you know that she-devil."

    "Believe it or not, I pursued her at one point."

    Bran gawked at him for a moment, then threw his head back in laughter. "And you were scolding me for making risky choices in women? How are you still alive?"

    Jacob shrugged. "A miracle, considering I also made sure the man she was interested in had no desire for her after she snubbed me."

    "Jacob Carne." Bran laughed all the more. "Tell me everything, please."

    A crooked grin spread across Jacob's lips while he poured another drink. He downed it and began. "All right. It was about four years ago, when I was twenty-one. I was just settling into Port and had begun working on the same fishing boat as her. I was interested right away."

    "Of course," Bran snickered. "She's a beautiful woman, but that doesn't make her any less prickly."

    Jacob inclined his head. "While working, we became friendly acquaintances, but I still wanted to tell her how I felt. I finally gathered the courage to and you can imagine how that went over." He bit his lip, the sting of rejection pinching his stomach, still as sharp as when it had first occurred.