Evocation

Chapter 3- Washing Apologies

Daegan leads me to the back of the ship in silence. He's probably confused why I have my whip when we just had a very "productive" conversation about how I need to be nicer. But I don't think "nice" is what my crew actually needs. I think they need fear and respect. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to get shit done.

I lay my eyes on the little traitor. Fenix is shorter than the other men, but what he lacks in height, he makes up for in muscle. He has short dark blonde hair that is piled on his head haphazardly. He sports a five o'clock shadow since his dad passed, not willing to keep up appearances.

Despite his brawn, Fenix tends to stick to cleaning up around the place rather than doing any of the more physically exerting jobs. Fenix is on his knees, scrubbing at some kind of slop dried on the floor.

I march up to him and grab him by the back collar of his shirt, heaving him upwards. He stands up willingly. I'm definitely not strong enough to lift him by his neck like a baby kitten. Fenix turns and I grab the front of his shirt, balling it in my fist and pulling him close to me.

"What the fuck did you do?" I ask angrily. Our noses are so close they almost touch. I hear Daegan shuffle anxiously behind me.

"I- I'm sorry Captain," Fenix slurs, heavily drunk.

"I take you in, care for you and your dad, and you have the audacity to disrespect me and my ship?" I nearly shout in his face.

Fenix's dark blue eyes look back at me, half-lidded from drunken stupor. His long eyelashes frame his strong face and I'm pissed that someone so beautiful could do something so dastardly. "Explain what you've done before I bash your head into the wall," I say. I shake him by his shirt for effect. It doesn't matter than I couldn't actually do him serious harm.

I hear footsteps gather behind me. I've drawn in an audience. Perfect.

"I'm sorry, Captain. Gambling is a vice for me. After-" Fenix hiccups and the smell of rum wafts over me. "-After my dad passed, I've been trying to find solace and I don't..." Fenix stumbles over his words. "I didn't mean to."

"I don't give a fuck what your intentions were. What did you gamble away?" I shout, giving the audience behind me the show they are wanting. They want a fearless leader? I'll give them one.

"At first it was just gold. I promised they could have our loot from our next trip." Fenix replies.

"Our loot? Fuck you," I seethe. "Our loot is not yours to give away." I want to make a point to the crew behind me that I'm doing this for them, too. I'm ruthless for them. Fenix gambled away their money, too.

"It got worse," Fenix babbles. "I gambled on the ship. I lost The Evocation. They said they'll be coming to collect her-"

"The Evocation is not yours to gamble!" I shove Fenix back.

"Echo," he says in a pleading tone. "I let it slip that we had the Skull Gem on board."

My vision nearly goes red. "How dare you!" I seethe. "You know how important it is that we return it to Alastair. I trusted you to keep our affairs quiet!" The Skull Gem is a supposedly cursed artifact I was paid to retrieve for a dangerous man. The only reason Fenix knows I possess it is because he helped me steal it from an old castle.

I turn back to Daegan. I hold up the leather whip I was carrying, then shove it towards him. "Come here," I command.

Deagan steps forward cautiously. I set the whip in his hands and glance at the five men who had gathered behind him. Hadrien, Mac, Lorcan, Avi, and Dean. They all look scared. I'd only used the whip a few times when it was truly warranted, to punish acts of assault and rape. But this is different. This is personal.