Tony and the Buccaneers: Tony Johnson Novel 01

by D. R. Rosier

  Sharon and Lia both looked startled, and then thoughtful at the idea of family and actually being able to settle down someday.

  Daphne’s eyes narrowed, “Why don’t you simply take power yourself then?”

  I considered her a moment before I answered, “I’d be lying if I said I won’t be tempted, it’s human nature. But I’m a protector, always have been, not a ruler. Plus, I don’t want to disappoint the goddess, after all the trouble she went through to put me here. I’ll settle for being a personal friend of the new queen.”

  Daphne snorted again, but a smile slipped out, “I still think you’re crazy, but I’ll listen to your plan when you’re ready to tell us about it.”

  Lia looked at me with a penetrating gaze, “How long have you been hiding this?”

  I frowned, “I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t. Actually, I started planning for it yesterday, while I had a concussion. That’s mostly why it isn’t ready yet, and why I didn’t mention it before now. We didn’t have the opportunity to talk in private last night, I haven’t seen you since the meeting with the captain.”

  Before she could say anything, I turned to Sharon and said, “I wanted to tell both of you at the same time.”

  Sharon smirked, “You are nuts, but I love you.”

  I smiled, “Love you too honey.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The scale of the idea was more than a bit daunting, but it was possible. It was also a moot point if we lost the upcoming battle, so while the idea matured in my head a bit more, I was focused on what was coming.

  It had been a bit premature to even talk about, which is why I still held back the fact that the so called stripped sorceresses could be restored. That was the army I was talking about being easy to find.

  I did it for three reasons, only one of which made me feel a bit guilty. I wanted to see the reaction to the idea by the two women I loved, if they’d scoffed at it, then I doubted I’d have a shot at convincing anyone else it could be done. Much less the paranoid council. Two, I wanted to plant the idea in the princess’s mind, and see where she went with it. I’d even taken shameless advantage of the fact that she wore the bracers, to ask her questions, even though I thought she shouldn’t be wearing them at all. She couldn’t have lied to me.

  The third reason, which is what made me feel a bit guilty, was I wanted to see if either of my mates ran to the captain.

  In short, it was my test to see where their loyalty lay, and I felt like a dick to do it. But… I needed to know. My plan was important information, but had nothing to do with the ship, ship’s safety, or the captain’s command, which made it perfect for that purpose.

  The day moved slowly as we pushed our speed as fast as possible. I spent much of it enhancing the magic of those that both increased the wind, and used artificial water currents to move the ship faster. It was also a day where most of the crew found time to glance off the stern often, and count numbers.

  I also got to know the princess a bit better, as her and Lia stopped by the stern often, and as I suspected she was wickedly smart and very well educated. Perhaps more important than that, she had an actual moral center, and didn’t lack compassion.

  As far as our pursuers, the king must have been truly freaked out, because he seemed to be pulling out all the stops. I didn’t think he went along, which meant he’d given orders for it yesterday, but it appeared they were stripping most of their ships from patrol and island protection as we passed by.

  The large flotilla of ships chasing us kept growing. Apparently he was more worried about us, than the possibility of any islands kicking off a rebellion.

  The only good news during the day was that the activity to gather more ships was slowing them down slightly each time we passed close to another island. The ships were barely dots on the horizon now, but there were a lot of them. That might give us a couple of extra hours to get ready for their assault. I also came to the conclusion that there were probably even more we couldn’t see, which trailed behind.

  I was also going to assume, that there was at least one diviner on that fleet sent to counter me. Chances were good one of the four remaining were on one of the islands between Pheles and our destination. There might even be more than one, but I hoped there weren’t any at all. Burying my head in the sand wouldn’t have helped, so I planned.

  We arrived at the island in early afternoon, the return trip made about ten hours faster than the original day and a half trip to Pheles. Then I heard the horns, the alarm had been sent…

  It was almost an hour later, as far as I could tell the island was preparing for siege. I couldn’t be sure of course, because the council was sharply questioning the captain, Lia, Sharon, Jenna, Marie, and the princess who they clearly didn’t trust not to stab them in the back. It was almost as if they were panicked.

  I mean, shouldn’t they be doing this later, if we lived?

  A young man ran into the room breathless, and I considered this is where a communication system for an island would come in handy. Immediate reports from the front.

  Caroline scowled at the interruption, but said, “Report.”

  The young man took a few more deep breaths and then said, “The final count is sixty-two, there have been no more new ships sighted for over thirty minutes. They are approaching slowly, we have maybe three hours, unless they stop and choose to attack tomorrow instead of at dusk.”

  The blood drained from Caroline’s face, and Bernard actually went red faced. Matthew looked alarmed, but calmer than the other two. Amara looked thoughtful, and I couldn’t help but notice, had been mostly quiet the last hour. It still amused me that the elven spy was the most reasonable voice on the council, and arguably the wisest.

  Caroline said, “Preparations?”

  The youth paled, “Almost done, but we…” he trailed off when Bernard glared at him.

  “Dismissed.”

  The youth ran out.

  Caroline shook her head, “Where were we?”

  I frowned, tired of them dicking around, and asked, “Shouldn’t we be planning? You can pick our mission apart and question the princess later.”

  I got glowered at, from three council members, and of course the captain.

  Matthew sighed, “We have plans in place already, but what can we do against sixty ships?”

  I shook my head, “Were your plans updated to include a diviner? Or likely a diviner in the enemy ships as well? Do they include the new spells I’ve taught to Melinda’s crew, which could quite possibly destroy many of the ships before they reach magical range?”

  I looked at Amara, A.K.A. Mary, and asked, “Has anyone thought to ask the elves for assistance? This is their island after all.”

  Bernard snorted, “We don’t have the ships to face them on the water. It’s why the town is over two hundred yards from the shore, so we can hit them with strength as soon as they land.”

  I frowned and turned to the captain, “The pressure waves, before they reach the shore. How many fire, air, and earth wielders are there in town that can stand on the shore. I imagine they could do a lot of damage to the fleet for their last mile or so, and then they could retreat back to the lines.”

  The captain scowled, “It’s too late to teach them, and dangerous on land. If any of them mess it up…”

  I shuddered, “That is a good point, but what about just your crew? I could join them as well. I assume we still have those ten survivors’ hostage since we couldn’t stop on the trip home, so the enemy doesn’t even know about that spell yet. We could destroy half their ships, or maybe more, with the surprise of it.”

  The captain sighed, and turned to the council, “He still doesn’t know when to shut up, but he’s right. Even just a few teams from my ship could do massive damage before they come in range.”

  Mary asked me, “Why would the elves help?”

  “They allowed the haven to be built, and they don’t care for the kingdom. If we fail, their enemy will have a foothold on this island. I’
m also worried about the other diviners. There could be one or more out there on the ships, and while I got lucky in the city, I could have easily been killed if they hadn’t wanted to extract information from me. I would have been killed.

  “An elf has very little to fear from a diviner, to an elf they’re just a normal sorcerer. Since their magic will be safe from suppression or even being stolen and used against them.”

  Yeah, it was a long shot, but it was my plan. I was very powerful, but I was also relatively inexperienced. The best outcome would be if they agreed to blasting the ships with air pressure waves, and I got lucky enough to take out a ship that had a diviner on it before they were in range. But I didn’t want to leave it to luck.

  I still wasn’t sure if I could have fought the diviner successfully if I hadn’t hesitated in confusion when I felt their magic the first time. By the time I’d realized what was going on, I’d already been suppressed and mostly helpless. That could be it, whoever suppresses first wins, but it also could have been a difference in power and experience. If that was the case, I’d have been screwed even if I didn’t hesitate.

  Mary shrugged and looked to the others, “It wouldn’t hurt to try. Even if neither idea bears fruit we won’t be in any worse of a situation. I will approach the elves if no one objects.”

  I did my best to suppress a snort, and wound up coughing. Her words had been so disingenuous, I couldn’t help it.

  Mary looked at me reproachfully, and then shook her head in amusement.

  Bernard frowned thoughtfully, “The elves won’t allow us to enter their forest, there’s no point. We’ve tried to open up communications before, many times over the years.”

  Mary ignored Bernard and asked me for clarification, “You don’t think your trick will work against them all?”

  I shook my head, “My guess is we’ll destroy a good number of them by surprise, but because it’s natural and outside of our magical control when it strikes, they’ll adapt quickly and form a defense. It’s one of those things that will only work once, and never again as soon as word gets out. We’ll also need to teach our people to defend against it, because they’ll probably be able to reproduce it, if not today, then at some point in the future.”

  Mary sighed and got up.

  She muttered, “I’m getting really old anyway.”

  I understood what she meant, her cover Mary the human was getting a little long in the tooth, she wouldn’t be able to keep up her cover much longer without causing suspicion when she didn’t die of old age.

  She turned to the rest of the council, “I can get through, but I can’t promise anything. I’d suggest you listen to Tony’s suggestions, he’s got a head for tactics. Either way, I’ll come back.”

  I knew where she was going with this, and noticed the look of confusion on everyone else’s faces. Still, it was somewhat of a shock, when the illusion died and all that stood there was Amara.

  She smiled, “As you can see, they won’t bar my way.”

  She winked at me and then walked out. Everyone was too shocked to stop her.

  Then they all turned to me, and I tried to look innocent.

  “What?”

  Caroline clenched her teethe, “Why did she wink at you, did you know what she was?”

  I nodded slowly, and felt surprisingly calm, “Since the first time I stood before you and you questioned me. Diviners can see through illusion.”

  I winced, when I saw the hurt looks from Lia and Sharon, I should have seen that coming, and should have found a way to tell them. By the time that first month had passed, and before I’d gotten back with the ladies, I’d been completely comfortable with my decision to hide her secret. I just hadn’t given it any thought.

  Daphne looked amused at my discomfort.

  “I figured they were just keeping tabs on you, since you lived on their island. Amara seemed to really have the haven’s interests at heart as far as I could tell. Umm, yell at me later? We should get those teams from the crew to the beach.”

  “Amara?” Lia asked rather dangerously.

  That’s when I remembered just how fucking unbelievably beautiful and sexy the elf was. I’d kind of gotten used to it. Mostly.

  “Her real name. We talked a few times, on my morning runs. I’ll tell you all about it. You know, after we live through this?”

  Did no one on this island have their priorities straight?

  I’d hardly expected Bernard to be the voice of reason, but he cleared his throat, “You will tell us everything you know about the elf, but later. Unless Caroline or Matthew objects, this is the time to act. Captain, gather those on your crew familiar with the spell, and get them down to the beach. Tony, you will also join them?”

  I nodded, “Of course.”

  He grunted, and when no one else spoke, he dismissed us to do that.

  Princess Daphne stayed with the council, and the captain ran off to find her crew.

  Lia and Sharon walked on either side of me as we made our way to the beach. Jenna and Marie as well, they were one of the teams, and I’d be channeling magic from them.

  Sharon asked, “So… you and Amara?”

  I frowned, apparently it wouldn’t be waiting.

  “She knew, or suspected, that I could see through her illusion. She intercepted my run along the beach to talk to me. This was at the very beginning, right before we got back together. She is elven, but after speaking to her I realized she was also changed by her association with humans for all the years that Haven has been here.

  “I realized that not only did the elves have the right to keep an eye on their guests, because haven is a guest on their island, but she also seemed to have the best interests in mind for the people here. I decided then that I’d keep my mouth shut.”

  I frowned thoughtfully, “I admit it was rather a snap judgement, from one short conversation, but I was also angry at the council at the time, and disinclined to reveal her presence. As it turned out though, my initial impression of her and her intentions bore out, as I spoke to her many more times on my morning runs. I’m… sorry I didn’t tell you, I quite honestly didn’t even think about it.”

  Lia prompted, “She’s stunning.”

  Danger, danger!

  “She is, but she’s an elf. I’m also quite taken. We formed a friendship, but that’s it.”

  Sharon tilted her head, “Does she know that? I don’t she does, considering the way she looked at you.”

  I pondered that a moment, “We never discussed any possibilities that way. I got the impression that she was just glad she had one person who knew the truth. I imagine hiding like that for three generations would take a toll. She could be herself for a short time when we met.”

  Jenna snorted, “Men!”

  I turned and raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t explain.

  Lia said, “When she comes back, we will speak with her. Tell me the truth, are you attracted to her?”

  “She is attractive, yes.”

  Sharon sighed, “We’ll talk to her.”

  I had no idea what was going on, but I also felt like I was on thin ice, so I didn’t dare ask.

  Marie had no such qualms.

  “Did you feel a connection?”

  Lia and Sharon leaned forward and looked at each other for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded.

  I was confused, and still reluctant to ask for clarification.

  Sharon must have noticed though, because she relented and took my arm.

  “Haven’t you noticed you aren’t attracted to any of the other women anymore after our bonding was complete?”

  I shrugged, “Yes. Even the ones I was slightly attracted to, the ladies in the crew without a bond, never attracted me like you two did. Now they don’t at all.”

  Still nice to look at, but I kept that tidbit to myself.

  Sharon explained, “That’s because they aren’t fated mates, or whatever it is that causes some to stick out for us. If Amara is that attractive to you, it’s becau
se there is the potential for her to be a mate. Lia and I felt it too, a connection to her for the short time she’d dropped her illusion. If the way she looked at you is any indication, she felt it too. That doesn’t mean it’s ordained, but we should at least look into it, and talk to her when she gets back. If we live of course.”

  I frowned, “Oh, I thought it was because she was an elf, and beautiful. I thought that might make a difference? Since elven magic is different?”

  Jenna snickered, “No. The bond isn’t just human magic. It’s different, it isn’t elemental, or nature. Surely you can tell that?”

  I nodded, now that she mentioned it, it was obvious.

  “Yes, it felt ephemeral in nature.”

  Lia nodded in agreement, and said, “That’s why some believe the goddess sets it, when she wants to put two or more people together. Others think it’s just another magic that isn’t well understood. Regardless, that doesn’t mean she or we need to go through with it. Though I happen to think it is the goddess, and bond matches like this almost never turn bad.”

  “Almost never?” I asked.

  Sharon shrugged, “Free will. Think about it. Lia and I are perfect for you, and we love you very much and your perfectly matched to us. Yet, by listening to the council and by deceiving you we almost permanently poisoned our relationship and messed up the goddess’s gift. I’m sure what you told us was true, but I suspect your attraction to her, and your subconscious recognition of her significance to you played a role in your decision to keep her secret.”

  I frowned, and slowly realized that they hadn’t been jealous at all as I’d first thought, just fishing to find out if I wanted to go ahead with exploring the possibility. This world was weird.

  “Okay, we’ll talk to her then?”

  They both nodded.

  “And then what?”

  Lia said, “Well, if we all agree, she becomes our sister, and your third wife. If one of us disagrees… well then she doesn’t. The bond won’t form with her, unless we all agree.”

  Sharon said, “We’ll figure it out. Hopefully the rest of the council won’t lose it too badly. That would make things… complicated.”