All of them had become expendable. Some of them had tried to fight – Jake could remember a harbour filled with burning ships that had been crewed by his friends and colleagues as the Eternal Empire’s navy bombarded them with conventional weaponry and magic. Only three ships had made it out, and he hadn’t heard from the other two since then. He and his crew had managed to make it back to their town, only to find it under attack from a dreadnought. It had been too late for Jake’s wife and many of the people he’d grown up with – but not too late for everyone. They’d stormed the dreadnought and managed to take control of it, but they’d lost their own vessel in the process. With no other options, they’d loaded all of the surviving townsfolk onto the dreadnought and fled. They’d stopped at several other towns and villages, places where some of his crew had come from, and the story had been much the same.
In a way, it made an awful kind of sense. The islands had given rise to several major rebellions over the years. What better way to make sure nothing like that happened during a war against Everton than to get rid of all of the experienced sailors from the islands? It was a cunning plan, and the years he and his fellows had worked as privateers had only fooled them into believing that the old grudges had been forgotten or at least forgiven. He should have known better. The emperors of the Eternal Empire never forgot a grudge, and they certainly never forgave one.
Their lives since then had been hard. They’d eked out a living for a time as pirates, striking back at the Eternal Empire when they could. The sheer size and power a dreadnought implied meant that most ships were happy to surrender and send over their valuables without a fight. Heck, the only people Jake had actually killed since becoming a pirate were other pirates who’d tried to rob him and members of the navy responsible for destroying his town and killing his wife. His daughter, Jane, had been with him ever since they’d gotten the dreadnought, as had the other children. It wasn’t how he wanted her to live, but what other choice did he have? The Eternal Empire had spies everywhere. He’d never be able to make a fresh start somewhere else, and no nation would risk taking him in lest it provoke hostilities with the Eternal Empire.
When they’d attacked Timmy’s galleon, he’d honestly thought they were all about to die. The firepower that one of the mages on board possessed – the elf, from what Timmy had said – was unreal. All of his fire mages put together wouldn’t have been able to muster even half as much power for a single attack. If something like that hit the dreadnought, they wouldn’t last more than a minute or two. He’d accepted Timmy’s offer not only because he was desperate for a way out of his situation but also because refusing would have meant death for him and everyone else on board.
Jake took a deep breath to regain his composure. He’d never been afraid to bet his life in battle, but he hated betting the lives of others. If this went wrong – no – he’d make it work somehow. He could humble himself if it meant everyone else got to live, and he’d do whatever he had to in order to ensure the safety of the others.
“Stay here.” Jake wrapped his daughter up in a crushing hug and met the eyes of the rest of his crew. “I have to talk to them.” Jane gave him a pleading look and refused to let go until he gently, but firmly, eased her arms away. “It’ll be okay. If they wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead. You saw what one of their mages did. If it’s any consolation, they’re definitely not with the Eternal Empire.” He ruffled Jane’s hair. “And I’ve heard of this Timmy fellow. I honestly thought he’d be taller, maybe broader around the shoulders too. He’s odd, even for a necromancer, but he’s supposed to be honourable enough. I’ve met a few pirates who’ve had dealings with him, and they were treated well and paid fairly. He’s not supposed to give his word easily, but they say he keeps it when he does give it. You all saw that zombie thing of his… he means business.”
Jake looked at his crew – his family – one last time and then made the short trip over to the other ship. To his surprise, they didn’t immediately surround him with soldiers. Instead, they led him to what must have been the captain’s quarters to discuss things around a table stocked with the finest food he’d seen in months. He had to fight to keep from drooling. It smelled so good, and he and his crew had been getting by on so little for so long.
“You’re welcome to take any leftovers to your crew,” Timmy said. It didn’t escape Jake’s notice that he sat at the head of the table, not the man who had the bearing and demeanour of a ship’s captain. Timmy had been the one to speak to him earlier as well. Did the captain work for Timmy? No. They didn’t seem familiar enough with each other. “It’s not like we’ll run out. Gerald is incredibly useful in situations like this. It’s like having a mobile pantry or ten.” Jake did his best not to stare at Gerald. He had to be a bureaucrat because only a bureaucrat would be writing everything down in a notebook like his life depended on it. He was also very twitchy despite the fact that Jake was clearly outnumbered and outmatched. “We’ve got cake too. I’m sure your daughter and the other children would appreciate some.” Timmy shook his head fondly. “Why do you even have cake stored away with your magic, Gerald?”
“I… uh… honestly don’t know. But since we have a guest…”
“Well, I’m not complaining. Cake is good.” Timmy chuckled. “But don’t let Sam know you’ve got cake stored away. Otherwise, he’ll follow you everywhere.”
Jake cleared his throat. This whole thing was surreal. “Thank you. I – I don’t understand. Why make this offer at all?” He studied the other people at the table. The power rolling off them was incredible – and was that a young dragon in the corner arguing with an eye-patch-wearing rat with a sword? What kind of ship was this?
Timmy had a sip of water and took a bite out of an apple. “I suppose you’re right to be curious. It wouldn’t have taken us a lot of effort to sink your ship and kill the lot of you.” He inclined his head at the elf nearby who was radiating a nauseatingly huge amount of magic. Her amber gaze flicked over to the young dragon, and the winged reptile gave a high-pitched trill and practically flew into her arms. It was too big to easily fit into her lap, but that didn’t stop it from trying.
“Avraniel there could have sunk you on her own without breaking a sweat, and that’s not even counting Amanda.” Jake’s attention shifted to the beguiling, dark-haired woman nursing a glass of red fluid. Was she drinking wine or blood? There was something almost inhuman about her beauty. As Jake met her gaze, her vivid blue eyes were suddenly tinged with crimson and violet. She bared her teeth. She was a vampire – an incredibly powerful one. By all the gods, what kind of place had he stumbled into?
“Even Katie here could have given you a run for your money, especially if Gerald brought her zombies out.” Jake wasn’t sure what to think. Timmy was staring at the girl in black robes who’d joined him on the galleon’s quarterdeck earlier. The rat with a sword was now perched on her shoulder. “She is my apprentice, after all.” Jake stared. His apprentice? The girl wearing pink glasses and with a rat on her shoulder was his apprentice? What kind of apprentice was she? And what sort of power must she have to earn a place at Timmy’s side? “But I’ve never believed in killing people simply because I can. My master believed that. I cannot express in words how little I want to end up like him, so I often find myself disagreeing with him on general principle. I meant what I said earlier, Jake. You could be very useful to me, which means we can help each other out.”
Jake murmured his agreement and fought to regain his composure. This whole thing was a wise move on Timmy’s part. He was showing Jake the overwhelming difference in their strength, so he wouldn’t try anything foolish, all while dangling the carrot of good food and a privateering arrangement with Everton in front of him. This was also familiar ground. He could make a deal here, a good one, but he had to stop thinking about how monstrously powerful some of the people in this room were. “I understand that much, and I’ll admit that your offer is a good one, but I’d like to know more.”
“G
ood. I’d be worried if you agreed without wanting to know more.” Timmy gestured for Jake to eat, and he unrolled a map on an unoccupied part of the table as Jake helped himself to some food. Gods, it was good. He’d have to bring some back for his crew afterward. Timmy continued munching on his apple while the others took some food for themselves. There was something soothing about eating as they talked, and it had been a long time since Jake had enjoyed a meal this good. “Do you know about an island in this area?”
Jake finished chewing, swallowed, and then replied. “I’ve never been there myself, but I do know a bit about it. It’s heavily restricted. The Eternal Empire never let any ship without clearance dock there, not even a privateer and not even for emergency repairs. They didn’t even like anyone sailing too close.”
“So you could guide us to it? Do you know what they have defending it?”
“I could get you within sight of it, but that’s it. Like I said, I’ve never docked there before although I’m fairly sure the main port is on the southern side.” Jake took a sip of juice. It was cool and refreshing. “I can’t tell you what they’ve got around it either. They had concealment spells to stop people seeing more than a rough outline of the island, but I can tell you this. I spent a couple of months in the area hunting smugglers for the Eternal Empire, and I counted at least ten ships of good size that went in but never came out.”
“Ten ships?” Timmy tapped the map. “We can handle that. Now, what can you tell us about the state of the Eternal Empire’s fleet? Anything would help.”
Jake wiped his mouth with a napkin. He’d given out some information for free, but it was time to get down to business. “I’ll be happy to tell you everything I know once I have a deal confirmed with the terms spelled out clearly in writing.”
Timmy grinned. “Smart man. Gerald, show him the contract.”
Jake read through the contract. This Gerald fellow must be incredible with paperwork because nobody carried privateering contracts around, and it was incredibly thorough. The contract was similar in many ways to the privateering contract most countries used. It said that Jake would act as a privateer for Everton through Timmy, and in exchange for sharing all of his knowledge about the Eternal Empire and anything else that might prove useful or beneficial to Everton, he and his crew would receive the standard benefits afforded to privateers, such as safe harbour, informal support, and so on. The document itself went on for quite a while, but Jake was a quick reader. What stood out the most was that Jake would be taking orders from Timmy.
“I’ll agree to this,” Jake said softly. “It’s a good offer. I’d be a fool to refuse.”
“Excellent.” Timmy smiled warmly. “Now, before you agree, we have to make sure you’re not lying.”
Jake had to force himself to stay calm. Timmy was probably referring to mind magic. He’d experienced it a handful of times in the past, but none of those encounters had been pleasant.
“Easy there.” Timmy put up both hands, palms open, in a peaceful gesture. “Amanda here is an expert in illusions and mind magic. All she needs is to have a tiny drink, and we’ll be able to confirm you’re telling the truth.”
“Drink?” Jake asked before he remembered that Amanda was a vampire. “I don’t –”
Amanda was suddenly at his side. He hadn’t even seen her move. “I assure you, sir, a small sip is all I shall require. Your life shall not be in even the slightest danger.” Her smile was so warm and understanding that he couldn’t quite remember why he’d been protesting in the first place.
“I… uh… okay.” It was hard to feel threatened when Amanda was so close. She was utterly enchanting, and her hands were very gentle as they tilted his head to one side.
“Close your eyes and count to ten,” Amanda whispered as she lowered her lips to his throat. “You won’t feel a thing.”
He didn’t.
In fact, he only realised that Amanda was finished when the room came back into focus. He swallowed thickly as the vampire pulled away. She gave him an amused smirk as her tongue darted out to lick a drop of his blood off her full, red lips.
“You are genuinely delicious,” Amanda drawled. “If you ever wish to rid yourself of a little blood, do let me know. I shall be more than happy to assist you.”
Jake shook himself. He was still dazed, but there was a lingering feeling of pleasure, like a pleasant dream he couldn’t quite grab onto. A few seconds later, he was himself again. “So… do you believe me?”
“Most assuredly,” Amanda replied. “You were telling the truth. It is possible – albeit exceedingly difficult – to hide things from my mind magic when I use it normally. However, I have yet to meet someone who can hide anything from me when I enter their mind while indulging in a little drink.” She paused. “I saw what happened to your town. It was… most cruelly done by them.”
“Imperial bastards,” the captain beside Timmy muttered.
“What do you expect?” The elf snorted. “The Eternal Empire is run by the world’s most limp-dicked, cowardly, son of a bitch loser.”
Jake’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“Don’t mind her. It’s how she always is.” Timmy pushed the contract toward Jake. “Now that we’ve got all of the unpleasantness out of the way, all you have to do is sign.”
Jake signed.
“Great. Now, let’s finish dinner. We can keep talking while we eat, and we’ll be sure to have some more food prepared for the rest of your crew. They look like they could use it.” Timmy pointed at the map. “You’ll have to come with us to the island although we will be making a stop along the way. You’ll be paid, of course. You work for me now. You’ll also have a chance to help yourself to anything worth stealing when we hit the island, with a few exceptions.”
“Are you sure?” Jake didn’t know what was on the island, but it had to be valuable if it was so heavily defended.
“Yes, I am although you will have to compete with Avraniel. She likes to line her pockets on these missions.” The elf smiled toothily. “As for the stop we’ll be making, you should inform your crew.”
“Are we meeting with someone else?”
“I’ll be picking up some captured pirate ships. I plan on adding them to our fleet, along with some zombie whales. My apprentice also has something of her own to collect.”
“I… I see.”
When Jake finally made his way back to his ship, he was accompanied by several soldiers carrying food and supplies. His crew swarmed around him anxiously, but he allayed their concerns as quickly as he could.
“I took their offer.” He paused as the men from the galleon departed. “I’ll let you read through a copy of the contract, but it’s a good one. I doubt that we’ll ever get a better chance than this. They’re giving us some supplies to help tide us over until we make landfall. There is an island about a week from here. We’ll be stopping there with them and then helping them out with a little errand.”
They were anxious about the contract, but they were not anxious about the food. As he watched his crew – his family – enjoy good, wholesome food for the first time in months, Jake prayed to the gods that he’d made the right decision. Somehow, he was certain that he had. The group he’d met was simply too quirky and weird to be held together by anything except for genuine friendship and loyalty.
Chapter Sixteen
Timmy tried not to sigh in exasperation as Katie skipped down the gangplank onto the dock. The girl had been happy enough on the galleon, but the prospect of helping him set up a fleet of zombie pirates, not to mention her giant shark, had her in quite a happy mood. The other ships were moored nearby, and space at the docks had been cleared to make room for Jake’s dreadnought. He waited for Jake to disembark and fall into step beside him and Travers.
“So, what’s the plan?” Jake asked.
“Timmy and Katie here have some necromancer business to attend to,” Travers replied. The gruff man had taken a liking to Jake after seeing how the younger man took care of his c
rew. More than once on the journey to the island, Travers had invited Jake and some of his crew onto the galleon to discuss naval tactics and events in the Eternal Empire. Timmy hadn’t had a chance to review all of the information yet, but Travers was immensely pleased by what he had learned so far. “The rest of us are here to resupply and see to any repairs. We plan to cast off in a day or two at the most. You can use that time to get some repairs in on your dreadnought – I’ll lend you some of my mages and carpenters to help you get back up to speed.”
Jake inclined his head. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”
Timmy left the two sailors behind to talk as he and Katie made their way over to another part of the docks with Avraniel, Spot, and Gerald. Amanda and Old Man had gone into town to pick up some supplies, and he had a feeling that Amanda might enjoy a criminal or two for a snack. The pirate ships Timmy had asked for were moored at the far end of the island’s harbour, away from prying eyes. There was a group of men there, all dressed in normal clothing although he would have gladly bet his shovel on them being members of Everton’s military who worked directly for the Council. Vicky wouldn’t have trusted anyone else except her own personal attendants from the Order of the Blessed Dawn for something like this.
“Here to pick up the ships?” the leader of the men asked. His gaze swept over Timmy, most likely comparing him to the pictures and description that he would have been given earlier.
Timmy nodded. “Gerald, give him the paperwork.”
Once all of the paperwork had been sorted out, Timmy asked Gerald to summon his zombies. He had hundreds of them ready and waiting to crew the ships, and they piled on. He let Katie take control of some of them – it would help if she ever needed to crew a ship with her own zombies – as he directed the zombies through a thorough sweep of each ship. He checked every inch of each ship, every nook and cranny. He even had a few zombies crawl under the ships and cling to the hull to make sure everything there was in good order.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire (The Unconventional Heroes Series Book 3) Page 35