“He’s watching you?” Ethan asked, casually turning back around. “Why would some ugly Spanish guy do that?”
“Since he arrived,” Zoey said, pretending to inspect the pistol she’d taken from Roger. “Well, myself and the barmaids. That’s why I kissed you. I wanted to see what he’d do, and why do you think he’s Spanish?”
Ethan gestured to his clothes. “The colors of his uniform,” he said. “Makes him out to be a guy in the Spanish Navy.”
Zoey blew out a puff of air that quickly told Ethan he was wildly wrong. “First, those aren’t the colors of the Spanish Navy,” she said. “Second, there is no Spanish Navy around here.”
Ethan furrowed his brow. “How do you know? Their armada sailed the Caribbean a lot.”
“Because there is no Caribbean here. Or Spain for that matter,” Zoey said.
“Oh, right,” Ethan said sheepishly. “Is he part of any navy?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “All I do know is that he’s making me uneasy.”
“You’ll be fine. You could probably kill him ten times over before he knew what had happened,” Ethan said, trying to make her feel better.
“Maybe,” Zoey said, much to his surprise.
“Maybe?”
“I might be a little more seasoned than many,” she said, carefully picking her words now that a trio of sailors took the table next to them. “But I’m not immortal, and I don’t have godlike powers. I’ve also learned to trust my gut.”
Ethan drummed his fingers on the table as he thought about this new development. “What do you want to do? Leave? I was under the impression we couldn’t find passage to the island until the morning.”
“I don’t want to do anything,” she said. “Maybe’s he’s just someone with the social skills of a kraken. Maybe he’s trying to find a whore to bed. I have no idea. All I’m saying is, keep an eye on him. Hell, for all we know, he’s an opportunist, and since we both have a hefty sack of coin now, he might be looking to relieve us of that weight.”
“Will do.”
“Good,” she said. “Two more things. First, have you decided where you want to spend your last perk point yet?”
Ethan shook his head as he pulled out his character sheet. “Not yet,” he said, spinning it around to face her. “This is where I’m at now. What do you think?”
“I knew about Natural Gambler,” she said. “That’ll come in handy.”
“Maii said I ought to win an extra four and a half percent of my games with it. I tried to do the math, but it made my head hurt.”
“Sounds about right,” she said before chuckling. “On both counts.”
Ethan shrugged. He still didn’t like it, but he’d come a long way in accepting the fact that his mind was a few sheets short of full sails. Well, maybe a sheet, he told himself. “I also grabbed Navigator, not so much for the not needing a compass or sexting anymore, but because the next rank I’ll increase ship speed by ten percent if I also pick Master Rigging down the line.”
“That’s sextant, not sexting,” Zoey said. “Big difference. You can’t get the next rank of Navigator for a few levels, you know, and two more levels until Master Rigging on top of that.”
“I know,” Ethan said. “I read a little more of the manual, and ultimately, I need to win that race, which is why I picked it.”
“You read more?” Zoey said. “On your own?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re full of surprises tonight, Ethan,” Zoey said. “Keep thinking ahead, though.”
“I’m trying, but honestly, I really do have a headache from it all.”
Zoey smiled and tapped the side of her head. “That’s your gray matter trying to grow from a whopping eight INT to a nine. Push through it, and hopefully, you’ll get a chance to raise it soon. Unfortunately, aside from a few extremely rare items, getting an opportunity to raise primary stats is a little random.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. That said, what are you looking at for your last pick?”
Ethan shrugged and sighed. “No idea.”
“You can always sleep on it,” she said, scooting the character sheet back toward him. “I don’t like telling people how to play, but if I were you, I’d think about picking up a combat perk or two soon. Deadeye. Resilient. Ambidextrous. Or even Finesse might be a good choice for you—your normal hits will do less damage, but your crits can be devastating. That’s a good perk for anyone as lucky as you.”
“Yeah, I was eying that one,” Ethan said. “I also saw one that looked promising: Nine Lives.”
Zoey’s brow dropped, and her lips pursed as if his words left a sour taste in her mouth. “Don’t take that,” she said. “It’s garbage.”
“But it lets you survive something fatal no matter what.”
“Yeah, once,” she said. “And only once—like you never get to use it ever again. And it leaves you unconscious and near death, which doesn’t do you any good if you’re being chewed on, drowning, caught in a fire, or about to be hit again. Which means you may technically live another second or two.”
“I’ll still end up dying,” Ethan said. “Got it. Maybe I’ll take Finesse, then.”
“Or Resilient if you’re worried about biting the big one,” she said. “Being healthier is always a good thing, especially where we’re going.”
“True.”
“I might like that, too.”
“How’s that?”
Zoey flashed a wry grin. “I could suck a little more out of you.”
“You know, that should turn me on more than it does,” Ethan said, keeping it light.
“Are you saying you don’t like it?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“I think the only reason I do is because you’re the queen of charm,” Ethan replied.
“Every relationship is give-and-take,” she said. “Could be worse. I could go straight to the biting.”
“I think I’d like that even less.”
“Probably. But back to the subject. As I suggested before, sleep on it all,” she said. “No need to pick that last perk right this instant. Once you mark it on your sheet, that’s that. No rerolling here.”
The conversation paused when Katherine came over and slid a plate bearing a juicy turkey leg and boiled carrots in front of each of them. “Didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said. “Thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m famished,” Ethan said, snatching up a drumstick. He quickly took a chunk off with his mouth and savored the taste as he slowly chewed. “This is fantastic,” he said.
As he ate, Katherine gently placed a full bottle of wine in front of Zoey. “Compliments of the house,” she said.
Zoey eyed the bottle suspiciously. “Because?”
“Because Master Ethan here has spent a lot of money,” the barmaid answered. “And we’d like him to come back.”
Zoey snatched the bottle and laughed. “Sounds about right.” Before she put it to her lips, she looked over at Ethan. “You don’t want any of this, do you?”
Ethan shook his head and replied with a half a mouthful of turkey. “No, but you should try this turkey. It’s fantastic.”
“Thank you, but I’ll pass,” Zoey said, taking a drink from the bottle.
“Are you sure?”
“Very.”
“Not hungry?”
Zoey politely shooed Katherine away before answering. As she did, she kept her eyes fixated on the young woman’s back. “Oh, I’m hungry,” she said, wiping the bottom of her lip with a finger. “But not for turkey.”
Ethan sighed. “Please tell me you’re not about to do what I think you’re about to do. They seem nice.”
“They do, don’t they?” Zoey said, her attention still focused on the girl and doubly so when Alice joined her near the kitchen door, and the pair started chatting. “Which brings me to the last thing I’d like to talk about.”
“What would that be?” Ethan asked.
; “Alice or Katherine?”
“Come again?”
“Who do you like better? Alice or Katherine?” Zoey answered, finally turning around. She held Ethan’s gaze for a moment before flicking the tip of her tongue over her lips and showing off a bit of fang that hadn’t been there before. “If you’re trying to score an evening with one, which it seems like you are, I don’t want to ruin your chances when I need a little snack.”
“We haven’t even been here a whole day, or evening for that matter, and you’re already plotting the demise of our gracious hosts,” Ethan said after finishing another bite of turkey. “Doesn’t that seem a little evil to you?”
“I’m not killing anyone, Ethan,” she said. “A girl’s got to eat, too, you know. You don’t want to see me cranky. I promise. Besides, you’re the one all squeamish about me dining on you.”
“Yeah, but still. A little self-control would be nice.”
“My little self-control, as you described it, is what keeps my dinner guests alive.”
Ethan tutted. “Dinner guests? That’s what you’re calling us now.”
“There’s dinner, and I consider you my guest. So, yes,” she replied, shrugging.
“I still find all of this morally ambiguous at best.”
“Life here is morally ambiguous at best,” she said, helping herself to more wine. “Besides, don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same if you were in my boots.”
Ethan shook his head. “I wouldn’t.”
“No, you would,” she countered. “I promise. There are no vegetarians when it comes to my kind.”
“Then you can strike me right off the list of ever becoming one of you,” he said, pointing his fork at her. “I don’t want anything to do with it, ever.”
Zoey frowned as if she took the remark personally. “It’s not that bad, Ethan. You might like it.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Maybe you should at least try,” she said. Zoey leaned across the table and took his hands in hers, all the while, captivating him once more with her smile. “I could change you tonight.”
Ethan pulled away, furrowing his brow as he did. “I said no, and I meant it. I don’t want to be that. Ever. It’s not right.”
“Fine,” Zoey said with a groan. “You really are a stick in the mud sometimes.”
The topic died right then and there, and they made small talk for the next quarter-hour or so. In that time, Zoey polished off the entire bottle of wine and now sat—no, slowly swayed—in her chair, with her eyes half open and a happy grin on her face.
“That,” she said, pointing an accusing finger at the bottle while narrowing her eyes, “is one devilishly strong little guy.”
“Are you drunk?” Ethan asked with a snort of disbelief.
Zoey’s eyes looked up and over as she bit her lower lip and stuck a finger in the air as if she was testing the wind. After holding that for a few seconds, she plopped both of her palms onto the wooden table and leaned forward so far, she nearly fell. “I believe, Master Ethan,” she said with a slow tempo, “that I am.”
“I can’t believe you’re drunk off one bottle,” he said. “I figured you’d be the type to need an entire barrel of rum to even get tipsy.”
Zoey made a pillow out of her arms and rested her head on them on the table. She then adjusted her wide-brimmed hat to cover her eyes. “I’m not tipsy,” she said. “I’m sleepy.”
“Maybe we should find our room.”
Zoey didn’t answer.
“Zoey?” Ethan asked. “You okay?”
When she still didn’t reply, he reached over and gently shook her by the shoulder. With all the grace of a rag doll, Zoey slid to the side and flopped to the floor, not stirring in the least, even when she struck her head against a table leg.
Chapter Eighteen
White Knight
“Zoey!”
Ethan flew to her side. Panicked, he knelt and pressed two fingers into the side of her neck. He didn’t feel a thing. But would she even have a pulse on account of her bloodsucking ways? She should, right? Or not?
“Come on, Zoey, wake up,” he said, shifting his fingers on her neck. He pressed harder this time, and after another moment of total dread, he found a pulse: strong and steady.
Zoey’s eyes fluttered open. “Did you say something?” she asked, slurring her words in an alcoholic stupor.
“Oh, thank god, you’re alive,” Ethan sighed.
“My dear, sweet Master Ethan,” she said. “I am most certainly not alive. You know this already.”
“Whatever.”
Zoey lolled her head to each side and shooed at him with her hand. “Whatever, whatever.”
Ethan slid one arm behind her back and the other under her knees and picked her up. Once standing tall, he glanced over to the barkeep who was watching with keen interest and worry. “I think we’ll take that room now,” he said.
The grizzled old man motioned to the stairs with the cleaning rag he had. “Up there, first door on the left is yours,” he said. “Is your lady friend okay?”
“I think that wine snuck up on her,” Ethan explained. “Nothing a good night’s rest won’t solve.”
“Glad to hear it,” he replied. “I’ve some wallar root in the cellar. Bitterest thing you’ll ever take a bite out of, but it’ll ward off any headache that might take to her. Give a shout if she wants some once you set her down.”
“Thanks, and I will.”
Ethan then made his way to the second floor, and carefully at that, since he was starting to feel the effects of his ale as well. Along the way, Zoey giggled at something she found funny, but she didn’t share whatever it was that tickled her so.
He found their room with ease and even managed to turn the handle and bump open the door without dropping her. Zoey, meanwhile, reached up and tried to grab the side of his face, but with her coordination impaired, it came across as an awkward slap.
“Sorry,” she giggled. “That was…that was…supposed…to be gentler…”
“That’s okay,” Ethan said, still feeling the sting in his cheek. “I doubt you’ll remember any of this anyway.”
“Remember what?” She narrowed her eyes, which was quite an accomplishment given they were barely open to slits already and pointed a finger at him. “Are you trying to charm me? I’ll have you know, you rapscallion, I am immune to such things.”
“No, you’re the only one working charms around here.”
“That’s right. And don’t…you…forget it…mister noob.”
“Well, this noob still has to get you in bed,” he said, turning his attention to the room.
Unfortunately, darkness shrouded everything, save for where the pale moonlight poured in from a pair of large windows opposite the door. From what Ethan could tell, it would probably only take a few paces at most to walk from one end of the room to the other, and he had no idea what sort of furniture happened to share the space with him, except for the oak bed which thankfully he could see half of.
“Alright, here you go,” Ethan said, crossing the room without incident and easing her on to the mattress.
Zoey rolled on her side and tucked her legs against her chest. With her eyes closed, she smiled and whispered something Ethan didn’t pick up.
“What was that?” he asked, leaning over.
“Nothing, my little white knight,” she said, cracking a grin.
Ethan felt his heart warm. He dropped in a nearby chair, and for the next couple of moments, he sat there, watching her, not sure what to do, but having a thousand things he wished he could say.
Zoey peeped an eye half open. “What?”
“Nothing, I—” Ethan caught himself. He didn’t want to slip back into old ways. “I was thinking that maybe when this was all over, we could go see a movie or something.”
By the time he’d finished, Zoey had already closed her eye and had gone to sleep. Ethan sighed heavily and then smirked at himself for asking such a thing. The girl lived across the
country, which made a casual meetup a little tricky, to say the least.
Unsure what else to do, Ethan thought about jumping into bed on the other side and simply getting some much-needed rest. However, his brain wasn’t ready to switch off yet, especially when he realized he didn’t know where Maii had gone.
Playing mind games with some hapless townsman, no doubt. Or maybe he’d found a warm place by the fire downstairs to curl up by. The innkeeper had offered the spot to them for Maii after Ethan and Zoey had flashed their crowns.
Ethan was about to run down and check when a light rapping sounded at his door. He glanced at Zoey to see if she’d stirred, which she hadn’t, and when the knock came again, he hurried over.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” he said as loudly as he dared since he didn’t want to wake Zoey.
When he got to the door and opened it a tad, he saw Alice and Katherine huddled close to one another, grinning like mischievous schoolgirls. Katherine held a small, lit lantern, while Alice kept a massive bottle of port close to her chest, as if she’d borrowed it from its owner without him knowing.
“Can Master Ethan come out and play?” Alicia asked.
Ethan’s heart jumped. He wasn’t sure what to make of two ladies suddenly appearing at his door, interested in him, no less. His mind screamed over and over that they simply made him out as a mark, wanting another crown or two from his purse, but his groin quickly told his mind to shut up.
Besides, Zoey was the only one he’d met so far who could literally charm anyone, and even then, she seemed to have difficulty with him. Ethan decided he must be special, and it wouldn’t hurt to at least see what the two wanted.
Was that going to be a bad decision if he went with them? Maybe. But he figured with his ginormous Luck stat, he was much more likely to regret things if he didn’t.
Alice cleared her throat. “So, can he?”
Ethan straightened, shook his head, and laughed at himself. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s late, and I wasn’t expecting anyone.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Zoey remained in bed, unmoving, save for the rise and fall of her chest. In that moment, doubt washed over him. Could he leave her?
The Pirate (Captains & Cannons Book 1) Page 16