Honor Among Thieves || Book Two

~6~

Back on the Destiny...

"We was beginnin' to wonder if ye were ever comin' back." Wolfie quipped as he helped Sera over the railing, handing her a fleece blanket to ward off the cool evening air settling in. She took it and wrapped it around her bare shoulders as Rusty Pete and Spoons, a runty little man, rushed over to her with her clothing clutched in their hands.

"Things did not go as planned." She muttered, slinging her shirt and trousers over her shoulder. "Turns out, my contact was--"

"'Ey!" One-Eyed Sam called from his perch on a cannon. "Whar's Mange?"

She knitted her brows. "What do you mean? He should be around here somewhere."

"You took 'im with ye, Cap'n." Wolfie added, sidestepping away from the railing as Les and Monty, two deckhands, started hoisting the longboat up. Sera cursed. "I did, didn't I? Where did he...Oh gods."

"What?" Pete's eyebrows shot up. "What happened?"

Allowing the blanket to fall from around her shoulders, she squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't remember."

"Huh?" A crease formed on Wolfie's brow. Sera shook her head, trying her best to remember what happened with him but she couldn't; the last thing she remembered in great detail was her conversation with Shansa after the little ritual....

"I can't--I don't remember. Everything happened so fast...." She lowered her eyes. "I-I was put under some sort of spell. I can't remember."

"A spell?" Nearly everyone on the ship asked simultaneously, looking at their captain with bewilderment and fear on their faces. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but it's not what you think. I'm not under a spell now." There were a few relieved sighs. She continued. "My contact was Cutler Beckett."

A collective gasp came from her crew.

One-Eyed Sam spat on the deck. "Curse that slimy piece o' shit. 'E killed my nephew. Killed 'im after he an' his men surrendered. Didn't leave narry one alive."

"He cut my throat!" Monty wheezed, pointing at the hideous scar on his neck. In doing so, he released the rope being used to raise the longboat and sent Les sliding toward the railing as the boat started to sink back down. Sera chose to look away. "He goes by 'lord' now."

As her men shouted curses and called Beckett every ungodly name under the sun, Wolfie stole a frantic glance at the bay. "We've gotta go back an' see about Mange. Ain't no tellin' what--"

"No!"

The crew fell silent, their eyes landing on their captain.

"We cannot go back there." She added in a softer voice. "There is no time. We must set sail at once; I have to warn Jack about--"

"I ain't goin' t' leave knowin' that my good friend's in the hands of those tradin' com'pny bastards!" Wolfie exclaimed, aiming a finger at the bay. "If ye'd rather not go, let me. I'll--"

Within the blink of an eye, Sera had her sword pressed against his neck. "Nobody is leaving this ship. An order is an order! We will set sail at once. For now, we will get as far away from here as possible." She paused a moment, biting the inside of her jaw. "Do you understand, Wolfie?"

He glared at her. "Aye."

"Good." She lowered her sword. "Make us ready to sail. I will have our heading shortly."

Wolfie rubbed his neck as he watched climb the steps to her quarters. He could not believe this; him and Mange were like brothers. To leave him behind to be killed, if he hadn't been already, was not only devastating but cowardly as well.