Chapter 26 - Starry Dawn
Elaina hadn’t been expecting the news that Pollick came running with. She’d hoped that someone they knew might turn up, but never had she imagined it would be Keelin. The prospect of sailing after Starry Dawn and that gut-rotted weird Rovel with Keelin at her side set a fire in her blood. It would seem fitting, somehow, chasing down the bastard who had stolen her ship with the help of another bastard who had once stolen another of her ships.
She found Keelin’s quartermaster, Smithe, in charge of the boat and taking every opportunity to remind the crew of his position of authority. Smithe was a dangerous man; Elaina had known that from the very start. He’d once served aboard Icy Dream, one of her father’s ships, and Elaina had requested him when Tanner gave her The Phoenix. Smithe was a brutal demon in a fight and had not a drop of pity in him, and that made him an excellent tool. Elaina had planned to use Smithe to strike fear into the hearts of her prey and her brethren alike, but the bastard had fallen under Keelin’s charm – or possibly his promise of better wages. Of course, Elaina knew that Smithe’s relationship with his captain had long since soured.
Elaina swaggered up the gangplank with her three remaining crew members in tow, and stepped onto the deck of The Phoenix without any resistance. Smithe was grinning at her from the railing, and there were a number of the morning shift she didn’t recognise taking the opportunity to lounge around with little to do. The morning light revealed that the ship had a few new knocks and scrapes, but she was, for the most part, in excellent condition.
“Morning, Cap’n Black,” Smithe said with a nod. “Can’t say I expected ta see you here.”
“Just thought I’d stop by and see how my ship is doing, Smithe,” Elaina replied easily.
“I meant in Larkos,” Smithe said. “Don’t see the Dawn anywhere round here.”
“She’s away on…” Elaina paused with a grin. “Business. Where’s your crotch mould of a captain hiding?”
Smithe narrowed his eyes. “Went to see the slavers. Odd crew ya got with ya there.”
Elaina glanced behind her at Pavel, Alfer, and Pollick, and shrugged as if it meant nothing.
“I think I’ll wait for him here,” she said. “What shit is your galley serving for breakfast?”
It was mid-morning by the time Keelin arrived, and the first Elaina knew of it was her old friend and lover barging through the door to the galley with a face like thunder and lightning mixing with fire. Elaina and her three crewmen had been happily exchanging stories with a few hands from The Phoenix, but the galley fell silent the moment the ship’s captain arrived.
“Get the fuck off my ship, Elaina,” Keelin said in a quiet voice that held back a sea of rage.
All eyes in the room turned to look at her, and Elaina responded by shooting Keelin the sweetest smile she could.
“Is that any way to treat an old lover?”
“You betrayed me. You tried to have me killed.”
“No, I tried to save you and have Drake killed,” Elaina countered. “Turns out it didn’t work. What the fuck happened on Ash? How did Drake convince my da to sail for him?”
“Drake didn’t,” Keelin said, his face still an angry mask. “I did.”
“Well, shit. Looks like all us Blacks still got a bit of a soft spot for ya,” she said with a wink.
“You’re still on my ship, Elaina.”
“Aye, I am. Not planning to leave just yet. Figured we should have ourselves a little chat, captain to captain. Just like the old days, but with less of the fucking. Unless you’ve got rid of that squinty little waif yet…” Elaina let the suggestion hang; Keelin did not look amused.
“My cabin,” he growled, and pointed towards the galley door before turning his glare on Elaina’s crew. “You three can stay here.”
Keelin waited for Elaina to pass him and then followed along behind her. She could almost feel the anger flowing off him, and it sent chills down her spine to leave a person that angry with her at her back, but she knew Keelin would do her no harm. No matter how furious he might be, the worst he would ever do would be to leave her in Larkos.
She quickly scaled the ladder up to the main deck, squinting at the sudden sunlight, and waited for Keelin to follow her. There were a great many folk on the deck, including a good few Clerics, but Elaina resisted the urge to take command of the situation. She doubted Keelin would take it too well.
“Captan,” said Morley as soon as Keelin’s head poked out of the hatch. “We have an issue.”
Keelin leapt up the last few rungs of the ladder and stood quickly, giving Elaina a fleeting glare. She returned his aggression with a playful smile.
“What’s going on here?” Keelin said.
A number of his crew were kneeling on the deck of The Phoenix with their hands tied behind their backs. Among the bound pirates was Keelin’s waif. The sight of the woman humbled and restrained put a grin on Elaina’s face.
“Are these people members of your crew?” said one of the Clerics, a tall, broad man with a shaved head and a braided beard. Keelin rested his hands on the hilts of his twin cutlasses. Elaina had seen him do it a hundred times before, and it always made her smile. Tanner had taught him to do it as a way of intimidating folk.
“Aye,” Keelin growled. “What have they done?”
“They started a tavern brawl.”
“We didn’t start…”
With a rough smack to the back of the head, one of the Clerics silenced the lad who had protested his innocence. Keelin looked ready to intervene on behalf of his crew, but Elaina wagered he knew better than to anger the Clerics while his ship was docked in their district.
“What’s their punishment?” Keelin said.
“One moon’s community service,” said the bald Cleric. “We brought them to you first in case you would like to… lighten their sentence.”
“Captan,” Morley said, stepping close to Keelin and whispering in his ear. Elaina couldn’t hear what the first mate said, but she caught a definite shake of his head.
“We cannot afford to wait here for a month,” Keelin growled at the Cleric. “Nor will we pay your bribe.”
The Cleric straightened his back, his expression hardening. There were ten brothers aboard the ship, and they were all armed with heavy maces and bucklers. Elaina didn’t doubt Keelin’s crew could take them, but they would sustain injuries, and if any of the Clerics got away they would come back with numbers the pirates of The Phoenix couldn’t withstand. Worse still were the repercussions a brawl here might have in her meeting with the Council of Thirteen. It dawned on Elaina that she might be able to stop a pointless altercation and get back into Keelin’s good books all at once, and she needed to be in his good graces for what she was going to ask of him.
“Brother,” she said, stepping forward.
“Captain Black,” said the bald Cleric.
“What are you doing, Elaina?” Keelin hissed.
“You recognise me then,” she said to the Cleric. “This will make things easier. I would like you to release them without punishment this once. They will, of course, be confined to the ship for the remainder of The Phoenix’s stay in Larkos, and you can tell Brother Hernhold that I will count it as a personal favour to me.”
The bald Cleric seemed to consider the proposition for a few moments before a wide smile spread over his face.
“As you wish, Captain Black. They will remain on the ship.”
“Of course,” said Elaina. “We’ll give them some shitty jobs too, eh?”