“I really do.”
“To make Tanner proud?”
“Aye, that’s a small part of it, I suppose. Ain’t no way he could disapprove if I worked my own way onto the throne.”
“Even if you stole the support that was meant for him?”
Elaina was silent for a few moments, and the sun seemed to darken a little with her mood. Keelin shivered.
“I didn’t steal his support,” she said eventually. “He sent me to Chade and Larkos to get help. Didn’t say it was help for him or the isles, just help. I went and got it for me. Besides, he went and bent a knee to Morrass, same as you. Way I see it, I’m the only one that hasn’t got down on my knees to suckle on his cock, so I’m gonna sail on in at the head of a fleet as strong as all the other captains’ combined and take the throne.”
“And then suckle on Drake’s cock as his wife and queen?” Keelin braced himself for the fury of the storm.
“Better that than as his boy.” Keelin glanced up to find Elaina pulling a face at him. They both laughed. “Pirates might have themselves a king, and Drake might have himself a crown, but both are gonna need a queen too. And there’s no other bitch of a captain in the isles worthy of that title.”
Keelin thought about it. He imagined himself on the throne, and he imagined Aimi sitting beside him. She was smart as a scholar, quick as an eel, and stronger than most folk Keelin knew, but he wasn’t sure the other pirates would accept her. Elaina, they would accept. She was born and raised a pirate, and she’d fought, killed, and grieved alongside many of the other captains. Keelin wondered how Drake would feel about marrying into the Black family, and the image didn’t end happily.
“That our beach?” Elaina said, pointing towards the shore.
They anchored a good row away from the sandy shore, and there they floated for a while. Many of the crew had come up on deck to look out at the landing point that led to their promised fortune. What most of them would do with their share of the treasure was a question that would probably end in a few months of booze and pussy, and then it would be back to business as usual.
“We’re a good ways out, Captan,” Morley said, joining Keelin at the railing.
“I don’t want the ship getting too close. She should be safe here, sheltered from most anything nature can throw at her.”
Morley grunted and said no more. The man had been so outspoken against many of Keelin’s decisions of late that it was going to be hard to leave the ship in his care. The only consolation Keelin could think of was that the rest of the crew would never let Morley leave the captain and the landing party behind when the promise of riches was so enticing.
Keelin grinned, imagining the look on Arbiter Prin’s face when he realised who held the knife to his throat. He pushed away from the railing and walked to the centre of the main deck, whistling loudly to get the attention of his crew.
“Listen up,” he shouted. “We wait here for now. It’ll be dark in a few hours, and I want our first day on the island to be a good long one. Those coming ashore, I want you all up and ready to leave at first light. No stragglers. Good?”
There was a murmur of assent from the crew.
“I want ten volunteers to come with me,” he continued. “It’s gonna be…”
“Something moved!” shouted Olly. “On the shore.”
Keelin sighed as everyone who had gathered around ran back to the railing to stare at the beach. Sailors were ever an easy group to distract, and pirates were no different. Keelin walked over to the railing.
“There was something on the beach, near the trees,” Olly insisted.
“Ya bloody fool,” said Fremen. “Ya didn’t see nothing but the trees and a bit o’ wind.”
“No,” Olly said. “It weren’t no tree taking up a rustle. I was just looking about the sand and then I saw it. It was big, and standing there, from this distance it blended right in with the trees, but when it moved… It were big.”
Some of the crew muttered something about giants, while others laughed off Olly’s ramblings. Keelin shook his head and returned to the centre of the deck.
“As I was saying,” he shouted, loudly enough to reclaim the crew’s attention, “I need ten volunteers to come with me. It’s gonna be tough and dangerous, but…”
“I’m going,” Smithe said, standing tall among the crew with his arms crossed.
Keelin nodded to him. Smithe had been courteous and helpful of late, but Keelin knew full well the man still hated him, and he reckoned he’d rather have Smithe with him on the island than back on the ship spreading sedition.
Morley stepped forward, but Keelin shook his head. “Need you here, mate. Look after the ship.”
“Aye, Captan.”
“I’ll come along,” Feather said in a voice that made it sound like he was hoping someone would stop him. The lad may have moved on from the position of ship’s boy and graduated to a proper wage, but he was still young, and the young always felt like they had something to prove.
Bronson stepped forward and nodded to Keelin. “I volunteer, Cap’n.”
“Me too,” called Elaina from up in the rigging. She was sitting above the gathering and grinning down at them. As soon as she spoke, discord travelled through the crew. Keelin had to put a stop to it before the mood turned.
“Elaina. What we’re… This is between the crew. There ain’t…”
“Save it, Stillwater.” Elaina laughed. “I don’t want a share of the loot. I ain’t taking anything from any of you. I just wanna come along, is all. See what all the fuss is about. I promise neither me, nor any member of my crew, will claim even one bit of what’s found there.”
That seemed to cheer the crew up a little, and he couldn’t very well argue with her. If someone else was willing to risk their life to further the wealth of the crew, Keelin wouldn’t stand in their way.
“I volunteer,” shouted Aimi from her place on the deck.
Keelin suppressed a sigh. “Aimi, I don’t think… It’s gonna be dangerous.”
Aimi stood with her arms crossed and her chin raised in defiance. Keelin nodded his acceptance and wished he’d just handpicked a group instead.
“I’ll come along,” said Elaina’s veteran quartermaster. “No share. Just as the cap said.”
“You might need a healer,” said the priest who was always following Elaina around.
“I volunteer,” said Jotin, and he was quickly echoed by his brother, Jolan.
“One more,” Keelin said with a nod. “Kebble?”
The marksman had kept quiet, and that was something Keelin hadn’t expected. He’d thought Kebble would be one of the first to step forward. A few of the crew moved aside to reveal Kebble leaning against the ship’s main mast, a wistful look on his face. He nodded once, and it seemed to be all the assent he was going to give.
“Then we have our landing crew,” Keelin said. “Those of you who are coming, get ready then get some sleep. Tomorrow we go find ourselves a fortune.”
Chapter 32 - Starry Dawn
Rowing the dinghy over to the beach proved to be a lot more taxing than anyone had anticipated. But Keelin’s decision to anchor so far from shore had been the right one, even if it did mean the trip was long, with the currents whipping first one way then the other at nightmarish speeds. Elaina put her back into the oar and her trust into those rowing alongside her. Judging by the sheen of sweat on Keelin’s face, he was having just as hard a time at the tiller, and by the time the eleven-strong landing crew pulled the boat ashore, they were all aching and breathless from the exertion. It wasn’t the most auspicious of starts.
Elaina knelt in the sand, her feet and legs soaked with saltwater and sweat dripping down her nose. Someone offered her a water skin and she took it gratefully, taking two short sips followed by two longer ones. She stood and looked around at the rest of the landing crew. Pavel was busy trying to wring the water out of his robes. Elaina thought him a fool for insisting on wearing the garb in such a situation, but the man was a priest above all else. Alfer was close by, staring into the ominous-looking forest, his hand resting on the hilt of the notched sword buckled at his belt.