Tessellations [BOOK TWO]

Chapter Eight

Red flag! Hoist the sails
Man the cannons, show no fear
Black flag! To the rails
Take your aim, do not veer

Another explosion rocked the ship. Jasper materialized beside me, his dark eyes full of an emotion I couldn't place.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Jasper...the ship - "

"It's the Black Lark," he replied, "I know." He placed his hands on my shoulders. "I'm getting you out of here."

"What? No!" I yanked away from him. "I'm not leaving."

"You can't fight, Bird. You're going."

He only ever seemed to care about me when there was a chance of me dying. What about when nothing was wrong? Would he still care then? When we reached the North and ended our adventures for good - would I matter to him at all?

Tight-lipped, I shook my head. "I'm staying." I turned and ran off before he could stop me.

The Gossamer was in turmoil, swaying in the water as the men rushed to fight back. I found Lily in the darkness; she was clutching Mittens tightly to her chest, burying her face in his soft fur.

"Lily," I said. "Where's Channing?"

"I don't know. I don't know."

The Gossamer rocked again as a round of cannons fired, this time coming from beneath our feet. We were returning fire.

"Get somewhere safe," I told Lily firmly.

She nodded, cuddling the kitten closer.

I spun around and scanned the turmoil. I couldn't see Rune anywhere. Had she gone below? That does sound like her. There was nothing I could do to protect her, so I let the matter be, instead focusing on finding Caleb. He'd know what to do.

Before I could search for him, however, I heard a shout from the darkness beyond the rails.

"Prepare to be boarded!"

I ducked as several shadows swung from their ship to ours on ropes, landing on the deck with expert balance. They were rugged and unsavory, with drawn faces and clothes that were more patch than cloth. Five were male; the sixth was a woman with her sleeves cut off at the shoulders, baring her strong arms. A line of thin, neatly tattooed stripes circled down each from sleeve to elbow, like a multitude of black rings.

They were all terrifying, and each one was armed.

I stumbled back as one of the men turned towards me, pulling out my knife. He just chuckled. Fear overtook me, and I ran.

"Bird!"

It was the captain. I drew back as he came towards me, his sword in hand. "Are you alright?"

"Would everyone please stop asking me that?" I exclaimed.

I turned around just in time to duck a wide slash from the pirate's blade. He was alarmingly quick. There was no way I'd be able to defend myself with my little dagger.
Alastair stepped in front of me, blocking the next stroke with his blade. "Go! I'll handle this one."

I fled.

We needed Jasper. He'd handled the sirens; surely a bunch of no-good pirates would be a simple task. But my stubborn pride wouldn't allow me to reach out to him through our mental connection.

Caleb appeared then, pulling me away from the rest of the crew. They faced starboard, fending off the dozens of pirates swinging aboard the Gossamer. "Blue jay," he said fiercely. "What are you doing here? Jasper said he'd get you away from the fighting!"