Gift of Darkness: Book 3 in The Vampire Pirate Saga

by Isadora Brown

  At that moment, the boat started to bob left and right. There was a struggle. It was difficult to see. Daniella muttered something. A loud twack pierced the quiet night.

  Kelia stopped, craning her head to look over her shoulder. Daniella was recovering from what Kelia assumed was a powerful slap that, luckily, did not rocket her overboard. Emma, on the other hand, had been lifted by the Shadow, his hand wrapped around her neck.

  "Ah, yes," he said, a darkly amused glint in his eyes. "The Queen wants you alive. She likes to personally deal with anyone who has offended her. But I bet if I snap your neck right now, she would forgive me, knowing you would not be able to break Drew's bond once more."

  A garbled sound came out of Emma's throat, and it took some time for Kelia to realize Emma was actually laughing. From the corner of her eye, Kelia caught sight of Daniella hunched over, pretending to be knocked unconscious, her body just out of the way of the Shadow. However, slight movement indicated she was trying to get her fire going the way she had when freeing Kelia.

  Kelia snapped her head back around, hoping not to give Daniella away. She continued to row. The Wraith was nowhere in sight, but it was too difficult to discern anything in this darkness. She had been handy with directions, but she was rowing blind, and hoped that the placement she had put the boat in was the correct one.

  "May I ask what is so amusing to you, witch?" Casey asked. Kelia could not see him, but she could hear the sneer in his words.

  "Only that you think Drew would ever allow himself to be bonded with the Queen again," Emma managed to croak out. "He would rather die than be paired with her the way he was before."

  A telling silence filled the small boat. The rain caused waves in the ocean, the surface of the abundant sea still so angry. Every now and then, a particularly powerful wave would hit the boat and fill it with water. Soaked from rain and rogue waves, Kelia's tunic clutched her body like a second skin.

  "Why do you think the Queen wants the girl first?" Casey asked. "You think she expects Drew to come back to her willingly? Of course she knows that won’t happen. The Queen is as intelligent as she is beautiful. She knows better.”

  "Yet she would waste her resources on Kelia?" Emma said, her voice pinched from being choked. "She is of no use to anyone—nothing more than a trinket to soothe Drew. She can't do anything except hold a blade."

  Kelia knew Emma was buying time, and she knew Emma was trying to make Kelia sound as inept as possible on purpose, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly pained by what she was hearing. It sounded too true to her own ears.

  Casey still didn’t leap forward and take Kelia. He certainly had the ability, which meant...which meant he was afraid. Of Emma or of something else, Kelia was unsure, but she knew at some point, that fear would be overridden with desperation. He would make his move.

  "You foolish witch,” Casey growled. “After torturing the girl, after bringing her to the precipice of death, the Queen will use her as a bargaining chip." Another step. "Drew would gladly do anything for her safety. You know it as well as I. The crew knows it. Why do you think none of us questioned Drew when he brought her aboard? Why do you think none of us even thought to approach her, afraid to touch her? Not because we feared Drew, but because the girl is to be untouched until she is brought to the Queen."

  "You're saying the crew is conspiring against Drew?" Emma said slowly. She sounded genuinely surprised.

  Kelia gulped. Was Drew safe, being with them now? She was certain Wendy would protect her brother, and she believed Christopher was loyal as well. But she did not know if two Sea Shadows and an air witch could take the twenty or so Shadows that claimed to be Drew's crew.

  Her arms begged her to stop, but it was her thoughts that pushed her forward. She would not allow Drew to suffer by himself. She had to get back, she had to help.

  Help? a snide voice questioned. How could you possibly help? Even Emma sees how useless you truly are.

  Perhaps Emma had only said those things as a ploy to distract Casey, but it didn’t make them any less true.

  Kelia gritted her teeth and continued to row, shaking the damning thoughts from her mind. The rain helped ease the tension in her arms and upper back, but as they continued to row toward the hopeful direction of the Wraith, Kelia's stomach was swept up in nausea. She still had not eaten, and the strong waves pushing the boat back and forth did not help matters.

  She grunted, closing her eyes, trying not to feel anything. She needed to get through this. She needed to get to the Wraith.

  That, and she needed Daniella to hurry up.

  Kelia risked another glance over her shoulder at Daniella. She was barely moving—a good portrayal of unconsciousness—but her shoulders jutted out, catching Kelia's eye.

  Smoke tickled her nose.

  Kelia suppressed a grin. Daniella had it. But she needed more time—as did Emma.

  There was one thing Kelia could do. She set the oars down and took a breath. Slowly, with shaky knees, she stood and turned around. She needed to adequately distract him. She hoped he couldn't smell the smoke, that the scent of the ocean was more overpowering, or, if he could, she hoped he assumed it came from the nearby island rather than this boat. She did not want to think about Robert and where he could be at this point. Hopefully, he would stay on the other boat and wait for Casey to return, which, if all went well, would not happen.

  "If I go with you willingly, will you release Emma?" she asked. "Would you let her go?"

  Kelia dared not to even mention Daniella. Casey might remember she existed and look at her, realize what she was up to, and do something destructive. Destructive and deadly.

  "The Queen wants her, too," Casey pointed out. However, Kelia noticed that he did loosen his grip on Emma so her feet were able to stand fully on the boat. "I could take both of you—”

  At that moment, the smell of smoke was too persistent to ignore. Not even the falling rain could mask it. The cackle and snap of dancing sparks caught Kelia's attention.

  Casey spun around and narrowed his eyes on Daniella's seemingly unconscious form. “Hey!”

  He dropped Emma and stepped toward Daniella. She rolled to her other side and threw a fireball at Casey, propelling him in the air and off the boat. Casey shrieked in pain. The flames licked his skin hungrily, and the scent of burnt flesh invaded Kelia's senses.

  She couldn’t ignore her stomach any longer, even as she heard a graceless plop in the water nearby, and emptied what little contents currently resided in her stomach into the waves. She didn’t care if her stomach was too insistent to waste any time worrying.

  "Is he dead?" Daniella asked.

  "Besides silver, Shadows hate fire because fire eats them alive with joy and quickness," Emma murmured, her voice scratchy. "I do not know for sure, but Casey is at the least terribly injured. We best get back to the Wraith in case his anger is so consuming as to keep him alive."

  Over the edge of the boat, Kelia could make out his form, a shadow even darker than the sea, still moving between the waves.

  Casey wasn’t dead. Not yet. They needed to get out of here before he resurfaced.

  Kelia sat, grabbed the oars, and began to row, but the pensive look on Emma’s face troubled her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Emma pressed her lips together and shook her head. “It’s Drew,” she said, averting her gaze to the sea. “It’s—you know, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  Kelia wondered if the lie sounded as sharp in Emma’s own ears as it sounded in her own.

  Chapter 17

  The darkness masked the sunset, but it was nearly time to collect his order of blood. Drew knew the Plantation would continue without Grayson Briggs. People died on that island and reemerged somewhere else, fires were started and were put out.

  The Plantation was a business—a successful one. Whoever inherited the business was bound to make money simply by continuing it. And Drew’s large order of blood would cost him a decent amount o
f coin that the new owner certainly wouldn’t pass over.

  Part of him was concerned that if two of his crew so easily defected, there was potential for it to happen with everyone else, and he couldn’t risk that. However, he needed his crew. He could not make it to Sangre without them simply because this size ship and the journey was long and arduous. Even three witches, a human, and a recovering Infant would not be able to assist. He needed seamen—men with strength and speed who also had experience on the ocean.

  Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Drew curled his hand into a fist, resolving to stay alert, but to act with strategy.

  Right now, his main concern was Kelia’s safety.

  He headed toward the helm, his fingers itching to grab onto something. Movement on the horizon caught his eye, and he turned.

  When he saw the small boat cut against the turbulent ocean, trying to get to the Wraith, his heart lurched in his throat. He wanted to leap from his ship and land in the small boat despite the grand distance so he could pull Kelia in his arms himself, ensuring the she was real, that she was all right.

  He couldn’t stop his lips from twitching up into a relieved smile. He shook his head, muttering nonsense to himself. She was all right. She was safe.

  Waiting for the boat to finally hit the side of the Wraith was agony, but when it did, Drew leaned down and grabbed hold of the boat himself.

  Emma held the boat to the Wraith while Kelia climbed the ladder first, followed by Daniella. Emma made her way up last. One of his crew hoisted the boat back on deck and went to place it where it belonged, leaving the deck empty save for Drew and the three women.

  "What took so long?" Drew demanded of Emma.

  "We checked everywhere,” she said. “We didn’t find her until we reached the west docks.”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Kelia’s knees give way. Before she could hit the deck, he darted to her and wrapped his arms around her waist to break her fall. He kept her upright by pulling her close to him so she could lean on his body. His eyes, however, never left Emma's.

  "What. Happened. To her?" he demanded, grinding out each word behind a snarl. His grip on her tightened, as though he worried that losing her once more could happen at any moment.

  "Robert and Casey had her tied to the mast of a boat for who knows how long," Emma said.

  "The whole time," Kelia said. Her voice came out like a croak, and Drew's entire body stiffened. "They didn’t want to risk me escaping while they slept."

  "They didn’t take shifts?" Drew asked, tilting his head to the side. "They were not the smartest of the bunch, aye?"

  "Casey came across smart enough," Daniella muttered, but Drew paid her no mind. When it came to Daniella, it was still difficult to forgive her for what she had done to Kelia even though Emma had told her to do whatever necessary in order to find Wendy.

  "I cannot begin to understand the mechanisms of a Shadow's mind," Kelia murmured. She was leaning the majority of her weight on Drew's body without shame. This was unlike her, and it caused Drew to growl at the thought of her being completely inhibited, unable to eat, sleep, or even move for hours.

  "Did they say why they had her?" Drew asked Emma.

  "You know," Kelia cut in, lifting her head and raising an eyebrow. "I am standing right here. Since this happened to me, you could ask me questions as well."

  "I..." Drew tilted his head back so he could look down at Kelia. The rain misted on her skin, the storm finally calming from earlier. He wanted nothing more than to carry her off to his bed and let her sleep. He wanted to keep her with him always, so he would never have to worry about losing her again. "Quite right, princess. Do you know why they had you?"

  She placed her head back onto Drew's chest. It felt as though it fit right there, just underneath his chin. He caught a whiff of something delectably feminine, the scent a subtle floral entwined with something solely Kelia. His mouth salivated just inhaling her; he wanted to be closer to her, to bury his face in the crook of her neck so her scent would stain his own skin and he would be reminded of her always.

  "Apparently,” she said, “they wanted to use me as some sort of bargaining chip. The Queen wanted me so she could lure you to her and force you to bond with her once again."

  Drew's grip on Kelia tightened. He placed his chin on her head, tucking her underneath him.

  Emma cleared her throat. "You are forgetting something, Kelia."

  Drew snapped his gaze over at her. He could feel Kelia lean even farther into him, and he knew, soon, he would have to get her to bed.

  "What?" Drew asked in a low voice. "What is she forgetting?"

  "It doesn’t matter," Kelia said. "Why even say it when it won't happen?"

  "Because Drew needs to know everything," Emma said, her voice firm. Her dark eyes never left Drew's. He had been with Emma long enough to know those eyes, and he gathered whatever else needed to be said, he would not like it. "The Queen wants to lure you back and reform the Bond, yes, but she also plans to torture Kelia to the brink of death beforehand, as some kind of punishment. I don’t know, then, if the Queen will change her and continue to torture her for the rest of her long life, or if the Queen will simply kill her once your Bond with her is reinstated. But I thought it best you were aware of her plan."

  Drew clenched his teeth so hard, his jaw popped.

  "It’s not something to concern yourself with," Kelia murmured. Her face was still pressed into his chest, and he thought perhaps it was because she could not look into his eyes as she so easily dismissed herself.

  "I forbid you to speak like that," Drew said. His voice came out strained, tight. He didn’t wish to snap at her after what she had endured, but he did not like that she could regard herself so carelessly, as though she did not matter in the grand scheme of things. "Do you not understand your value?"

  "Oh, I know my worth," Kelia said, finally pulling away from him so she could stand on her own.

  His arms fell limply to his sides, and he pressed his lips together, ignoring the sense of loss that struck him the moment he no longer had her close to him.

  "But let's not stand here and pretend that I have the same abilities as you all,” she continued. “Drew, you are a Shadow that can leap and run and kill like some kind of animal, but cleverer, stronger, and faster than anything God-made on this planet. Emma, Wendy, and Daniella are witches, with magic over the elements and abilities to heal and who knows what else."

  She took a moment to catch her breath. "I know what I am good at. I know I can use my blade in a way no one else can—when I have my blade. But this is the second time I've had to be saved in the last day. And I must admit, I do not like having to rely so thoroughly on others because I am inadequate when compared to everyone else on this ship. I am the weak link, and I don’t like being the weak link."

  "The weak link?" Drew's voice was low but still. His focus was solely on Kelia, but he did catch sight of Emma gently taking Daniella's wrist in her hand and tugging her toward the staircase in order to leave he and Kelia alone. "Why would you say such a thing?”

  Kelia pursed her lips. "Do you remember when you gave me a lesson on my greatest asset—what I was born with? When you tried to tell me deception could be constructed simply by using my face a certain way or by using my body as a weapon?"

  Drew nodded. He could still feel Kelia—so stubborn, so keen on besting him—struggle against him as she tried and failed to get the upper hand during their tete-a-tete. "Of course I remember."

  "How can that work if I am facing supernatural entities that could break my skull with their bare hands?" she asked. Her shoulders slumped forward, and she turned to look at the horizon.

  Drew stared at her, trying to find the right words to say. But she was right. He couldn’t answer that. Her insecurities were his own, in a way.

  "Perhaps,” he suggested tentatively, “we should go inside my quarters and discuss this out of the rain.”

  Kelia opened her mouth, and Drew kn
ew, in that instant, she was going to tell him no. For some strange reason, he did not want her away from him. At least, not yet. Not so soon after he got her back.

  "I just…" he felt himself say, his words moving without his permission. He couldn’t find it in himself to stop them from coming out. It was as though he were trying to plug a hole in a ship on the water. Water was going to get in no matter what. These words were tumbling out of him, whether he wanted them to or not. "I just want to make sure you're alright. You can change your clothes, get into something dry and comfortable." He matched eyes with her, and he added, so softly he was not sure if she could hear him, even though the rain fell lighter than whispers, "Please."

  She crumbled around the word, as though that was her greatest weakness, rather than her lack of supernatural abilities.

  Without thinking, without doing anything to stop himself, he gathered her in his arms and placed his lips on hers. The kiss was tentative at first. But then, her hands came up to clutch his face, and his tongue slid out of his mouth and across her bottom lip. The rain coated them in a refreshing stillness.

  She opened her mouth for him, and he took full advantage of it. He explored every crevice, every part of her. It was as though this was their first kiss, as though they had not kissed months ago, with arrows raining down on them through a turbulent storm. As though nothing else in this world meant anything to either of them save for each other.

  He wondered if everytime would be like the first time. And he also wondered, each time, if it would be the last.

  His hand found the back of her head, tilting it back so he could explore her even deeper than he had before. His body molded to her hers. He felt her heart pound against her chest and echo through his own as though it beat in his body just as it beat in hers. As though it kept him alive, just as it kept her alive.

  She let out a small whimper through the kiss, and his pelvis tightened, his cock stirred. He was suddenly struck with the urge to elicit more sounds similar in nature from her. He needed to hear her moan his name. He needed to bury himself so deeply inside of her that he forgot what it was like to be without her.