Drake shook his head. “We do it here, Tanner.”
“Do what here?” Stillwater said, sounding a little out of breath from the walk up the beach. The little woman beside him was staring with wide eyes at the assembled captains, and she wasn’t the only one. Folk were stopping nearby and edging closer, attempting to listen in.
“Five Kingdoms are coming,” Tanner said. “Drake wants to make his stand here instead of Fango.”
“When are they coming?” Stillwater said.
“Don’t know,” Tanner replied. “Fucking Riverlanders gave us away though.”
More and more folk were stopping now that some had heard Tanner speak. One man even ducked into the tavern, no doubt to spread the rumour. There was nothing for it now; soon the whole town would know.
“We dealt with the traitor,” Captain Burn insisted.
“Aye, mate,” Tanner said, stepping closer and towering over the Riverlander. “So ya say, and ya got a pretty little flap of skin by way of proof, but how are we to know the rest of ya ain’t just as treacherous?”
“This isn’t helping, Tanner,” Stillwater said.
“Speaking of the treacherous, you should probably just keep that mouth of yours shut, mate,” Tanner said, turning on Stillwater.
“Are they really coming for us again?” asked one of the townsfolk nearby, a woman of middling years with stained clothing and a young boy holding onto her leg.
“I didn’t betray you, Tanner,” Stillwater said, squaring up to the bigger pirate. “I escaped you.”
“Aye,” Drake roared over all of them – the pirates, the captains, and the townsfolk – then waited for them to quiet down before he continued. “They’re coming for us again.”
“Where do we run to now?” said one of the townsfolk.
“Fango,” Tanner shouted quickly before turning his dark eyes on Drake. There was a challenge there that couldn’t be ignored.
“We’re not going to Fango,” Drake yelled before he lost he crowd. “We’re not going anywhere.”
He looked around, meeting as many eyes as possible. “Aye, they’re coming for us again, and they’re coming hard.” Drake had no idea how many ships they’d attack them with this time, but they’d escaped five during the parley at Ash. “And we’ll do to them what we did to that monster.” He pointed at the skeleton of the Man of War still keeled over down the beach. It was little more than the bones of a ship these days – every useful plank of wood had been salvaged to help build the town – but they kept it there as a reminder of where they came from.
“We’re gonna reinforce the town. All work on homes and the like stops; anyone left homeless gets taken in somewhere.” Drake pointed towards the forest. “We need to clear the trees back and build a wall. Watch towers, we’ll need watch towers.”
“That’s a lot of work, Captain Morrass,” said one of the townsfolk, a large man with more lines in his face than there were waves in the sea. “How long do we have?”
“I don’t know,” Drake said truthfully. “Could be weeks, could be hours.”
“Hours?” one of the townsfolk cried. The crowd broke into chaos. Some folk shouted at each other, some at Drake, and others just pleaded or prayed for their lives.
Drake let out a ragged sigh and looked to his fellow captains for help. He received none.
“Fango,” Tanner said, just loudly enough for Drake to hear.
“Yes, it’s a lot of work,” Drake roared. “And no, we don’t have long to do it. But one thing is for fucking certain. They are coming. So the sooner you all stop pissing and moaning to me and get started, the better state we’ll be in when they arrive, because nobody fucking leaves. Here is where we’re making our stand, so anyone with a job, get to it. Anyone without a job, find one.”
There was some mumbling from the crowd and some of the townsfolk wandered away, but more stayed behind, looking expectantly from Drake to Tanner to Stillwater.
“Now! Unless you all want to die when the bastards get here,” Drake shouted.
Stillwater nodded. “Drake’s made the choice, and here is where we fight them. Get to it, people.”
The crowd began to disperse, pirates and townsfolk alike slipping away to find jobs. Drake was raging inside. The fools hadn’t listened to him. They’d heard his orders and they hadn’t moved until Stillwater agreed with them. He blamed Tanner – the man’s claim that Fango was safer had scared the folk of New Sev’relain, and they believed him.
“Reckon they just needed someone to agree with you,” Stillwater said once most of the crowd had gone. “You really think this is the best idea, Drake?”
“You questioning my orders, Stillwater?” Drake turned on the man, wondering when everyone had started doubting him.
“Good orders should always be questioned,” Stillwater said. “Bad orders should always be ignored.”
Tanner laughed. “So ya still remember something from aboard me ship, boy.”
Stillwater shook his head at Tanner. “Oh, aye. I remember you saying it. Also remember you beating me with a bucket for questioning one of your orders.”
“Never said there wasn’t a price for questioning good orders.” Tanner grinned and turned his attention back to Drake. “We’ll stay and help ya fight, Your Majesty. I do hope we all get through it.” The big pirate laughed and turned away, striding towards the beach and his ship.
“Bastard is going to undermine me every chance he gets,” Drake said, staring after Tanner.
“He’s not wrong about Fango being more defensive,” Stillwater said.
“It’s not about which is more defensive. It’s about territory, and Fango is his. New Sev’relain has to be the seat of my power, the capital of the Pirate Isles, otherwise he has too much influence.”
“What about the people?” Stillwater said. “They’ve a better chance of surviving at Fango.”
Drake looked at him and shook his head. “They’ve a better chance of surviving under my boot, not his.”
Chapter 10 - The Phoenix
Keelin dug his feet into the dirt and pulled hard on the rope. The woman in front and two men behind him did the same, and slowly the wooden pillar began to rise. Those attached to the other rope, opposite Keelin’s team, let it out hand after hand as Keelin and his three companions pulled it in. The same thing was happening all across the treeline, the bones of a wall being erected to provide New Sev’relain better protection from the forest and anything that might come out of it.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw another pillar going up; this one only had one person pulling on the rope – Beck. Keelin had long known the woman was an Arbiter, ever since she’d used her magic on him and forced him to tell the truth, and now others were starting to suspect. No one person was strong enough to do the work of four, not without the help of magic. The problem, at least as far as Keelin saw it, was that nobody else cared.
He doubted he was the only one to have cause for grievance with the Inquisition and its murderous ways, but the other pirates and townsfolk didn’t seem to mind. Beck was helping New Sev’relain, getting her hands dirty and pouring as much blood and sweat into the strengthening of its defences as the next person. Much more than some.
With every pillar the Arbiter helped to erect, with every tree felled and pit dug, with every section of wall built and every watch tower raised, the witch hunter was gaining the respect and admiration of folk who should be running her out of town. She was a murderer as sure as any other Arbiter, and Keelin couldn’t forgive any of them. At least, not until he caught the Arbiter who had murdered his little sister. Not until he showed Arbiter Prin as much mercy as the bastard had shown a scared little girl whose only crime had been recurring sickness and her own intuition.