Sea of Darkness {Vampire Pirate Saga 1

by Isadora Brown

  “And if, by the time we return for her, it is too late?” Emma pressed, tilting her head so she could look at him.

  Drew kept his eyes fixed firmly on the horizon, the dark sea rocking his boat like a mother would rock her child to sleep. Everything seemed calm. However, he had been around long enough to recognize the signs of a coming storm. One was most certainly coming. It had been a peaceful couple of weeks, but nothing ever stayed still for long.

  “Too late?” Drew asked without meeting her eyes. Even though he knew what she was referring to, he could not bring himself to answer such a question. Answering it meant thinking about it, and he did not want to think about what it would mean if he was too late to assist Kelia. Because she would need assistance.

  “Do not play the ignorant fool with me, Drew Knight,” Emma said in a low, tight voice. “If she has been found out, if she could not come to tell us herself, we must already assume it is too late for her. We must act accordingly.”

  “And what would you have me do?” he bellowed, turning from the sea to face her.

  He was not angry with Emma, he knew that, but sometimes she knew how to needle him to get a reaction. Under normal circumstances, he was able to control himself and let her continue to make her snippy comments without giving her the satisfaction of a reaction. Now, however, there was something different, something that caused him to be more sensitive. Which was ironic since Drew continuously told Kelia just how weak her emotions made her and how important it was for her to learn how to control them.

  What did that make him? He certainly wasn’t able to control his emotions now.

  “Don’t you think I am well aware of what Kelia could be going through at this very moment?” he asked. “Don’t you think I am familiar with how The Society penalizes their own agents? I know what they do to Shadows, and while that is gruesome, I can only imagine what they do to their own kind who betrays them. And not only has she betrayed them, but if they do know about her affiliation with me—and judging by this letter, I am certain they do—she has betrayed them with the worst Shadow she could have. If they kill her, it would be a mercy.”

  “You do not mean that,” Emma said in a whisper. The waves almost drowned out her words.

  “I do mean it,” he said, “because I know how they work. They probably forced her to tell them of my position. Which means they will not kill her. Instead of doing just that, she has given us a warning to flee before the Slayers come for us.”

  He strode over to the helm of his ship. At that moment, two men began to pull up the anchor and another let the sail down from its confines, the material snapping into the air like a whip. It caught the gentle breeze easily. Drew placed his hands on the rungs of the wheel.

  “You don’t think they will kill her?” Emma asked.

  Drew shook his head. “Not when they’ve invested so much time in training her to be a weapon,” he said. “They will probably send her into their rehabilitation program. Perhaps she can make acquaintances with your friend?”

  Emma’s eyes widened. Surely she was not surprised The Society would do something like that, so her look of shock must have come from the thought of what they would do to her once she was excommunicated, what that would mean for Kelia and what that would mean for Drew and his crew.

  “The rehabilitation program is a fate worse than death,” Emma murmured. “Once she is in there, we will not be able to reach her anymore. It is already a risk speaking to one Sightless, but that is only because I knew her from before. And she would not speak to your Slayer. She hates Kelia for the sins of her father, as many witches do.”

  Drew started when Emma claimed Kelia was his, but tried to hide the reaction. “She still owes me a favor,” Drew pointed out, fiddling with the sleeve of his tunic before placing his hands back on the rungs of the wheel.

  “And how would that help us if she is a Sightless?” Emma whirled around to look at him, as though exasperated with his response. “I know what they do to those Slayers, Drew. Especially the girls.” Her eyes turned as hard and as dark as the sea. “We cannot allow Kelia to fall into that if we can help it.”

  Drew gritted his teeth. “Don’t you think I know that?” he asked, his voice nearly a growl.

  “Then why will you not speak on it?”

  “Because I do not want to think about it,” he roared. “I do not want to think about what they are doing to her right now. I do not want to know what they’ve done to her to get the information they already have. I know that any injury on her person is my fault. We did not plan on what to do if she got caught. Perhaps, at the time, I did not care. It was not my risk. But now…”

  “Now you care,” Emma stated.

  Drew did not deny it. The silence hung between them like starlight. He tried to calm his nerves by breathing in the scent of the sea.

  “I want to go for her, Emma.” The soft sea breeze picked up tendrils of her hair so they danced in the wind. “Mark my words, I thought my determination in protecting her from Rycroft was more important than anything. But we cannot go back for her. I will not let her risk and subsequent sacrifice be for nothing. There is no room for argument.”

  “But Kelia—”

  “Made her own choices,” he replied, trying to keep a stony edge to his voice that he did not feel in his heart. His grip tightened on the wheel, his body frozen. “We cannot concern ourselves with her any longer. She is a memory.”

  At that moment, a group of men dressed in all black emerged from the forestry that protected the small beach from onlookers. Slayers. Drew’s eyes widened. He felt Emma stiffen beside him. The men started shouting. Two of them pulled bows from across their back and nocked arrows quickly.

  “Turn her portside!” Drew shouted at his men. He gripped the rungs of the wheel and thrust it sharply. Emma made her way over in a hasty manner. It was disconcerting to see worry etched on her face. She typically masked her emotions well. “Shift the cargo below. We need her to turn sharply. Now!”

  The men disappeared belowdecks to carry out his orders. Two arrows flew over to his ship. One landed near Drew’s booted foot, caught in the wood. Drew positioned his hands on the rungs of the wheel easily; he did not even have to look to ensure he was placing them correctly.

  Instead, his eyes were on the Slayers. All nocked more arrows and let them fly. One hit a Shadow and immediately turned him into ash.

  Silver.

  They were firing with silver arrows.

  They needed to leave. If they did not, Kelia’s sacrifice wouldn’t matter and he would finally be dead, nothing more than ash scattered across the sea.

  Drew cursed himself under his breath for not setting sail sooner. He’d let his concern for Kelia distract his thoughts, put his men at risk.

  Yet, still he looked, waiting to see if Kelia would be among the men. More were coming. He could see the rustling leaves, could hear the snapping branches beneath their feet. But she did not come.

  And as the wind pushed the sails to Drew’s chosen direction, he was forced to turn away, to focus on a narrow escape, even though he wanted nothing more than to wait for Kelia, to ensure that she was all right, that she was safe.

  It was settled, then. Kelia’s fate was out of his hands.

  Chapter 22

  Kelia swallowed as subtly as could, trying to quickly figure out a way that would buy her—and subsequently Jennifer—more time. However, she recognized the determined glint in Rycroft’s eyes and knew she would have to give him an answer. Luckily, he did not seem to notice—that, or he did not care—about Jennifer’s noticeable absence.

  Rycroft paced in front of her, eyeing her with narrowed eyes, but saying nothing. Perhaps he wasn’t sure yet how he wanted to play his cards. Perhaps he feared she would lie again.

  Kelia knew that she would have to tell him, and that once he asked, she could not lie. Even though Charles was shit at directions, he would be able to tell Rycroft she was lying if she led them in the complete opposite direction.
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br />   She let out a slow breath, trying not to tense as she waited for Rycroft to dig in. She had faith in Jennifer’s ability to track down Emma—Jennifer was good at tracking—and get the message to Drew. As long as Drew received the message, as long as he was able to get somewhere safe, that was all that mattered.

  Which was strange. She would never have thought that she would be more worried about the safety of a Sea Shadow over her own life. There would be consequences to her actions, she knew even when she told Rycroft what he wanted to know she would still be punished in some way, but she was surprisingly okay with that.

  Finally, Rycroft stopped short in front of her. He clasped his hands behind his back, glaring at her. “Let me be clear, Kelia. I’m only going to ask you once. And when I do, you will tell me the truth. You will not like what happens if you do not.”

  “He’s on the far east side of the island,” she said before he could even ask. Kelia was proud of herself for keeping her voice steady, for ensuring she met his eyes with a calm demeanor. She felt fire in her veins, but she tried to cool herself down, to remain unreadable. Just as Drew had taught her to. “I can lead you there, if you’d like.”

  “I would…” Rycroft said slowly. “I would like that very much.” His gaze dropped to her attire. “Get dressed. I’ll have a guard posted at your door so you do not try anything stupid, such as escaping from your window or taking your own life.”

  “Why would I take my own life?” Kelia asked. It was the first time she had been snippy in a while, and the action felt foreign, but the suggestion sounded almost like a threat. Almost like he might kill her and lie about her death as well.

  Rycroft’s lips curved up into a small, dark grin. “I have been in The Society for a long time, Ms. Starling,” he told her, his voice crisp, like a sea breeze that locked under the skin and froze the bones. “I have seen things you can only imagine. It wouldn’t surprise me if your fear, if your regret, forces you to do something…drastic. Why do you think your father took his own life?”

  Kelia bit her tongue, placing her hands behind her back so she could ball her fingers into tight fists and Rycroft would not see. How dare this man bring up her father? How dare he bring up the wretched lie that blackened her father’s pure reputation?

  Perhaps it was a test. Perhaps he wanted to see how much she knew, goad her into calling him out on his lies. If she fell for that trap, she would never survive. Instead, she needed to remain silent. Wait for the right moment. Because it was then she realized she would kill Rycroft.

  She didn’t think she’d ever have, or want, the ability to kill a living, breathing human being, but if Ashton Rycroft was directly responsible for the death of her father, she would kill him with her bare hands and smile as he took his last breath.

  “It would not surprise me if you followed in your father’s footsteps,” he continued. His eyes were narrowed on her, sharp and unforgiving. A darkly delighted sparkle lit from within. “You have no one you truly call your friend. I’ve been watching you, observing your movements and interactions. There was part of me that worried perhaps you would fall into the seductive trap of being enticed by a Sea Shadow due to your isolation. And when your father acted selfishly, I kept my eyes on you. Apparently, not close enough. Your liaison with Drew Knight is rather troubling, Ms. Starling. I just hope you have the foresight to right your wrongs.”

  Kelia wanted to correct him. She wanted to yell and scream about what an imbecile he was, and how all of his assumptions were nothing more than lies to further his own agenda. She had no idea how Drew Knight was able to remain so calm. She was certain he faced such trivialities that caused him to become enraged. How did he so easily hide that?

  “Well?” Rycroft asked. It was almost as though this was all a game.

  “I said I would show you,” Kelia said, enunciating each word. Perhaps if she led them to Drew’s spot, she might be able to buy more time for him. “Are you going to let me get dressed, or not?”

  Rycroft straightened, removed one hand from behind his back, and rubbed it against his chin. “An interesting notion, Ms. Starling,” he murmured. “Tell me, my dear, what would you say is the nature of your relationship with Drew Knight?”

  Kelia could not help but furrow her brow. “My relationship?” she asked, hoping her voice was neutral. Did the man want her to take him to Drew’s ship, or just to harass her with meaningless questions?

  Rycroft rolled his eyes from behind his spectacles. “Come now,” he said. “You are not stupid, Ms. Starling. Does Drew Knight care for you?”

  This was a loaded question; she would need to answer carefully. Drew Knight was not the sort of being to outwardly care for anyone. She knew that. However, she did know he respected her enough to teach her a few things, to trust her with important information, to trust her with his location. Trust was there. And that was more than she had ever expected.

  “If he thought you were in danger,” Rycroft continued, “would he come for you?” He spread out his arms as if to emphasize his point—that Kelia was in danger.

  “Does Drew Knight care about anyone?” Kelia asked, trying to make the question rhetorical. Her voice sounded raw as she said the words, and she did not know why.

  “Despite the fact that Drew Knight is a Sea Shadow, he is still capable of actual feeling,” Rycroft said.

  “I thought our professor explicitly stated the opposite,” Kelia went on before she could stop herself. “He is a beast, is he not? And beasts do not have feelings. It was why killing them was akin to killing something that was already dead. Because killing something dead does not make a difference.”

  “Do you think killing a dog is akin to killing a human?” Rycroft asked.

  “I think killing a dog is worse than killing a human,” Kelia retorted.

  His expression turned from smug amusement to sharp anger. “Get dressed,” he commanded. “Since you are to lead us to Drew Knight, a gown worn specifically for the Autumn Festival is not something you should be gallivanting around in at night.”

  With that, he stormed away, and a guard came to a stop in his place.

  “Be quick,” the guard said. “I don’t want to have to come in there.”

  His grin was lecherous, revealing half-rotted teeth, and Kelia closed the door in his face.

  It did not appear as though the guard was planning on going anywhere, so Kelia swallowed and walked over to her wardrobe. This was another perfect opportunity to buy time, even if the brute did barge in while she was changing.

  After she opened the door to her wardrobe, she slowly began to appraise each outfit. She already knew what she would wear, but Rycroft and his guard did not need to know that. He might think she was some silly girl, too daft and concerned about her outward appearance over anything else, not realizing what she was really up to.

  Kelia did not have very many things. She had the uniform they mandated her to wear—a navy-blue dress that hugged her curves, reaching to her ankles and black boots. The sleeves were long, reaching her wrists. It was perfect to train in, even though it was not what Slayers wore on missions. The cut was modest, and there was no corset required. It was comfortable and plain so Kelia did not need to worry about how it made her appear comparative to everyone else since every female Slayer was forced to wear it. She had two of those and two pairs of plain black boots.

  Besides that, she had three day dresses she could wear during her time off. One lavender, the dress she currently wore for the festival, and a forest-green dress. She had one dress for mourning, in case it was required of her to wear. Then, she had two outfits she wore when she was dispatched to missions. One was a tight, one-piece suit, black, with buttons that ran from her navel to her collarbone. She preferred wearing this; the pantaloons were easy to fight with and quiet when she was moving. She wore her worn boots to match the outfit and a detachable black skirt she could clip on if she needed to, if she was going out during the day and did not want to earn unwanted attention.

&n
bsp; She pulled out one of those outfits, along with a skirt, and headed toward the divider. A sharp knock sounded on the door. “What’s taking so long?”

  “I’m getting dressed!” she hollered back.

  “If you’re not out of there in one minute, I’m coming in.”

  Kelia rolled her eyes. Let him come.

  She took her time stepping into the suit, sliding it up over her body and buttoning up the material. Before she had finished, the door opened. A glance around her divider showed her it was Rycroft.

  “The guard said you seemed to be having trouble.”

  Her eyes found Rycroft, who watched her carefully. “Not at all. Just finishing up.”

  She did not feel comfortable with him in the same room, watching her change. He had never seemed lascivious but there was a dark power that seemed to compel him, and his simple presence during such a vulnerable action made her uneasy.

  She stepped back behind the divider, hurriedly buttoning and hooking the skirt to her waist. The she headed to Jennifer’s commode where Kelia kept her gloves. After placing them on her hands, she slid on her boots and braided her hair, making sure each strand was in place.

  Finally, she turned and nodded once, indicating she was ready.

  “You know,” he said, taking a step toward her. “It should not surprise me that Drew Knight was taken with you, especially if you wore something so…pleasing to the eyes.”

  Kelia felt her throat constrict with something akin to bile. She wanted to throw up, but found she could not. More than anything, she didn’t want him to realize that he had affected her in such a way. Instead, she managed to hold off even making a face of disgust regarding his words and huffed a deep breath.

  If she was permitted a bath after this, she would take one. She needed to wash the grime and dirt off her body, both physically and mentally. However, if everything went according to plan, she would probably not be allowed to bathe. If anything, she would be held in the dungeons until her punishment, and then she would either be killed or locked away for the rest of her life.