Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 13

"That is the most you answer to that question ever," Jack sighed. "You might need to be more specific."

Sheet lighting lit the sky, and was reflected by the sea, briefly lighting everything from horizon to horizon.

"No, I don't think I do," Will said, staring out at the horizon. "Go tell Mister Reeve to wake the crew. Now."

Jack whirled, looking where Will was, but she saw nothing in the storm-dimmed gloom.

"Ship ho!" Will bellowed across the deck. "South-easterly!" He was moving quickly across the deck.

"Don't see it!" a voice called down from the crow's nest.

"Keep looking! Wait for the lightning!" Will called up. Jack ran past him and down into the hold. He burst through the door to the Captain's cabin.

Bella was face down between Belita's thighs. The brunette's knees were bent, her feet aimed upward with her ankles crossed happily. The blond captain had her head thrown back against the headboard and had her hands clenched in the witch's hair as she writhed in the aftermath of an orgasm. In the mirror, Janie was sitting in a chair with her legs spread wide and her skirts gathered around her waist. Her hand was working furiously between her legs as she watched the two women coupling.

The entire erotic scene abruptly stopped as Will rushed in. Bella rolled to her side and looked down her body towards him. Janie threw her skirts down, looking embarrassed, like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't. Captain Vex hadn't moved hardly at all, but she had a pistol aimed at Will. He had no idea where she'd pulled it from, but he stopped abruptly. She raised it upward with an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry to interrupt," Will said hurriedly. "That ship we've been seeing is behind us again, and closer."

The Captain's brow knitted. "The weird one? The derelict?"

"Yes," Will said. "It's sails are down now. It's coming at us."

Belita gave Bella a nudge. The Witch rolled up to her knees and let the Captain swing her legs off the bed. "I'll be right there. Rouse the crew."

"Already done," Will ran back out the door and pulled it shut behind him.

Belita stood up and started getting dressed. "If you know any ways to bring us luck, now's the time," she said to the concerned witch.

"It... doesn't really work that way, but I might be able to come up with some ways to help," Bella replied, reaching for her blouse.

"Whatever you can do," the Captain said simply.

"Is it that bad?" Bella asked, still not really sure what was going on.

"Best case scenario, we're going to be running in the dark, away from pirates," Captain Vex said. Her words were simple, but her tone was deadly serious.

For Janie, not knowing was always worse than knowing. She had to ask. "What's the worst case?"

"Running in the dark away from a ghost ship, headlong into a storm, and getting caught by both," Belita said as she tucked in her shirt and reached for her weapon belt.

"There's a ghost ship?" Janie gasped.

"There's a storm?" Bella's eyes were wide.

"You didn't hear the thunder earlier?" Janie asked. "Even I heard it."

"I had thighs on my ears for quite a while," Bella said, as if that should have been self explanatory.

Belita couldn't help but laugh at that. It was what she needed to focus. Suddenly grinning, she swept her coat around her shoulders. There was an excited light in her eyes. "It's going to be a long night, and we might die. Make some magic happen." Then she was out the door into the night.

Janie and Bella just stared at each other for a few long moments. Another roll of thunder echoed overhead. "What can I do to help?" Janie asked.

Bella's mind was racing. "Is Tonya there?" she asked.

"I'll find her," Janie nodded her head a little frantically and rushed off.

"Caine too!" Bella called as Janie left the frame of the mirror.

"Alright," a fading voice echoed from the other side.

Then Bella was alone.

________________________

"Weigh anchor!" Will called across the deck. "Double time!" A few sailors looked at him with expressions of confusion, but enough of them recognized the military term and started hustling. Will rushed up to the helm. "Light all lanterns! Ready for night sailing!"

Danica North came up from below in time to catch Will's shouting. "Report!" she called.

"Ship sighted, south easterly!" the sailor in the crow's nest called down. "No confirmation yet!"

She headed up the stairs to meet Will, who was lighting a taper off the watch lamp and moving the fire to the larger rear-facing running lanterns. "What's going on, Sterling?"

"That ship we've been seeing. It's coming for us," Will said. "I have Jack rousing the crew."

Danica knew better than to question. If he was wrong, they'd sort it out later. "I'll take over here until the Captain's on deck. You figure out the best direction to run."

"Don't wait. As soon as the anchor's up, head north at full sail," Will said.

"Full sail at night, into a storm?" Danica looked at Will like he was crazy.

"Yes. We should have open waters for a while, and the storm hasn't broken yet," Will said. He closed the first lantern and opened the shutter, bathing the ocean behind them in light. As soon as it was done he headed to the other side of the aftcastle and started working on the second lantern.

"It won't matter if that ship catches us if we capsize or hit a rock, Will," Danica said, not convinced. "That other ship can't run at full sail right now either."

Another flash of sheet lighting lit the night. "Ship, ho!" the lookout called down. "South-easterly, headed straight towards us at full sail!"

Danica's eyes went wide. "Stupid, crazy pirates."

"I don't think they're pirates," Will said as he shook out his taper and opened the second lantern.

"Bosun on deck!" someone yelled.

"Report!" Mister Reeve's booming voice echoed across the deck.

"First Mate has the helm!" Danica called. "Get us ready for night sailing and storm running, Mister Reeve!"

"Aye!" Reeve boomed. "Everyone tie off! Get that anchor up!"

"So if they aren't pirates, who are they?" Danica asked.

"Grindylow," Will said gravely.

A chill ran up Danica's spine. "No fucking way." She looked at Will again, just to be sure he was serious, then jumped into action. "Rigging! I want full sail as soon as we are anchor up!"

"Aye!" Lace's called down. "Sails are ready!"

Sailors at the prow finished lighting the headlamp. Suddenly they could see for a ways in front of them. The first heavy raindrops began to fall.

"Wonderful," Will muttered. He'd hoped they would still have a while yet before the storm broke.

"I need a heading, Will," Danica said firmly.

"I have nothing to triangulate from," Will said, clearly frustrated. "No stars, no sun, no moon, no beacons or lighthouses!" He was scanning the dark, but now that the running lights were lit everything outside the light was just a wall of blackness. "Best I can do is use a compass and try to spot some landmarks on the horizon during lightning flashes."

"Fine," Danica said. "As soon as you can."

Will nodded and headed to the rigging to head up and get a better look around.

"Reeve! What's taking so long with that anchor?" Danica shouted.

"The storm has us at full tension! We're caught!" Reeve's voice boomed.

Sailors were trickling up on deck, most still pulling on their shirts and boots as they went. In the light from the ship's lanterns hanging from the masts Danica could see her husband leading a group of brawny sailors to help Mister Reeve weigh anchor. "Lookout, where's that ship!?" she called up.

"No sight!" the lookout called down. "Still a ways off at last sighting."

"Heave!" came the rhythmic, unison voices of the men hauling on the anchor winch. "Heave!"

"Captain on deck!" a voice called. Belita Vex came out of her cabin, her blue coat and blond hair flapping in the wind. She scanned the deck without a word, then headed up the stairs to join Danica at the helm.

"Tell me," she said. Her voice was almost conversational in spite of the dire situation.

"Ship sighted and confirmed. No accurate distance yet. Anchor stuck. Sails standing by," Danica said. "Sterling thinks it's Grindylow."

Vex's blond brows rose. "Hadn't even considered that."

"Yeah, because they aren't real!," Danica said, sounding more like she hoped they weren't real than like she actually beleived her words.

"Hope Ye're right. I'll take the helm. You coordinate," Captain Vex said.

Danica passed over the ship's wheel to the Captain. With a quick nod she headed down the stairs to the deck to start organizing the sailors who had come up on deck and not been given orders yet. "Don't just stand around, start tying off! We're about to head into a storm at full speed, if anyone goes overboard, they're gone!" she barked. Sailors started moving.

Will hauled himself into the crow's nest. The lookout was Harker, the first crewman who'd talked to him when he'd come aboard. "Sterling," he said with a wry grin. "Come up to enjoy the weather with me?"

"Trying to get our position in the water," he said. "Seen any islands or other markers?"

"A few, when the lightning hits. Not sure which direction we're pointed though," Harker shrugged. He was keeping his eyes locked in the direction they'd last seen the other ship.

Will pulled out his old compass. "I do. Where are those markers?"

Harker started pointing, still looking in the direction of the other ship. "Last sighting, there, there, and there. As long as our nose hasn't turned much, that should still be accurate."

Will cross referenced with his compass. jotted some notes on the back of his hand with a grease pencil. "Good enough to start with. Give me new markers as you get them."

"I'm on ship-spotting duty. Only got two eyes," Harker said.

"Webber, can you spare a rigger for a second lookout?" Will called down.

"Until they get the anchor free, I can spare as many as you want!" Lace called up.

"I need someone to spot landmarks for me," he said.

"You heard him!" Lace called out. "If you're not holding a line, get up top."

Will started climbing down out of the crow's nest again. He passed a wiry woman who gave him a nod. He nodded back and continued his way down.

Down below he could see Reeve, Mister North, Colin Strong, and five other large sailors throwing everything they could at the four push-arms of the anchor winch. It looked like they weren't having an easy time of it. Lightning lit the sky again. From his vantage point in the rigging, he had a clear view of the other ship coming towards them. It was still far enough off that the details of it were hard to make out with the naked eye, but with them at a standstill, it would be on them soon.

"Captain, recommend casting off the anchor!" He called down.

There was a pause from below, then the Captain's Voice calling "Cast off anchor!"

"Casting off!" Reeve boomed.

As Will climbed down, he saw Reeve and Colin hauling on the anchor line directly, giving it just enough slack that the cotter and anchor pins could be released. After about a minute, North called "Ready to loose! Loose!" Collin and Reeve let go of the anchor line. It unspooled the rest of the way from the winch and came free. The thick, rope-wrapped chain slithered out the reinforced bolthole to vanish into the water forever.

The Kestrel was free.

Reeve blew a sharp retort on his pipe that got the attention of the entire crew. "Brace for sails!" Reeve bellowed.

"Sails, go!" Lace called out.

The sails dropped, unfurling in a cascade of white. The ship lurched and creaked, the wood and ropes straining loudly at the sudden pressure of the wind. Sailors held onto ropes and masts, or took a knee and grabbed large eyelets bolted to the deck. Will leaned back and held the ladder tight just in case the ship's sudden movement threatened to dash him against the mast.

With the winds snapping her coat around her, Captain Vex steered the ship into the dark as fast as the winds would take them.

Will dropped the last few feet to the deck and was running. It wasn't safe. He should be tied off and moving slowly and carefully, but there was no time.

"Get those side lamps lit!" he heard Reeve bellow just before he ducked into the captain's cabin. Bella was doing... something in a witch's circle, but he ignored it. He was too focused on the task at hand. He lowered the folding desk into place, looked at the map, and the notes on his hand, drew a few quick lines on the glass, did some math in his head and ran out the door again.

"Heading, North by north east!" he called out.

"North by north east, aye!" Captain Vex echoed from above him.

He climbed the steps two at a time and grabbed the base of the helm to steady himself. "Within an hour, there's going to be an island coming up ahead to port. Stay near it. On the starboard side, just past it there's a reef. If we're too far east east we'll catch the reef on our approach, so hug the shoreline. We're going to run right between the island and the reef so we don't have to swing wide around it. If the other ship doesn't follow us in, we might be able to get clear."

"I like it! Thank you Mister Sterling," the Captain said. "After that?"

"Should be open waters for a few hours after that. I'll double check," Will said.

"Mister Reeve, get me lookouts at the prow manning the lanterns! We're looking for an island to port and a reef to starboard, in about an hour's time!" Captain Vex called.

"Aye, Captain!" Reeve boomed.

The Kestrel's side lanterns lit up one by one, and Mister North had the clamp-lights brought up from below. They weren't used often, but for situations like this they were invaluable. North and his men clamped the lights down to the railing a the prow and got them lit. Two sailors manned each. They were designs stolen from theatres, able to be moved and set as needed, and able to pivot and change how much or how little light they let out. The mirrored interior and variable aperture of the lamps allowed for the light they emitted to be tightly focused and cast quite far. In the spray that was kicked up by the Kestrel's speed and the winds of the storm, the twin lights looked almost solid, like the feelers of some great glowing sea creature.

"Danica says you mentioned Grindylow?" Captain Vex said to Will before he headed downstairs.

"The situation fits the stories," Will said, sounding worried.

"So do ghost ships, Blood Tide raiders, or just pirates with a gimmick," Captain Vex countered. "Give me your reasoning."

"The first time I spotted them was during the day, so probably not a ghost ship," Will explained. "No Blood Tide nearby, so probably not Skinsails. Too many Magistrate and other armed ships nearby for Pirates. Grindylow is all that fits."

"Never thought I'd be wishing to face a ghost ship," Captain Vex said, grinning in spite of her obvious concern. Will wasn't sure how much of it was real and how much of it was part of the persona she projected when she was wearing her Captain hat, but he liked it. It reminded him of Jack, or at least the way Jack used to be.

"According to the stories, they only attack in open waters, so that's why I'm taking us toward the island instead of trying to go around," Will said.

Vex nodded. "Trying to scrape them off. Smart."

"Just follow the curve of the island. If you go straight you'll hit the reef. There's a gap in reef on the far side of the island. Should be marked with Akula fishing buoys," Will said.

"You've been through here before?" Vex asked.

"Nope," Will shook his head.

"You have damn good maps." The Captain was impressed.

"Not that either. It's the magic," he said tapping his head. "I can picture the route. Just need to know where I am and where I'm trying to go."

"That's damn useful," Captain Vex smiled, thinking of the possibilities.

"No argument here. I'd love it if not for the downsides," Will shrugged.

"Right. The bad luck thing," Vex nodded.

"Speaking of, I'm going to go see if Bella can do anything to keep the bad luck thing from happening tonight. We really don't need that,' Will said.

"Any idea how much time we have before they're on us?" Vex asked.

"Not until we can see them more clearly," Will shook his head.

"Damn," Vex muttered. "Go."

Will nodded and headed downstairs to the cabin.

_______________________

Caine looked at Janie oddly. "What's she need me for?"

"Ask her. I have to go find Tonya," Janie said, then rushed off.

Caine sighed, closed his tankard, and got up off his stool. A few eyes in the room flicked towards him, suddenly paranoid. It was nearly closing time, and sometimes that's when customers got stupid. He ignored them and pushed through the crowd to the witch's alcove. At least the music had stopped. He crossed the small room and stood in front of the mirror. On the other side, Bella was painting on her naked body, sitting at the edge of a large bed. "What?" he asked without preamble.

"We're being chased by pirates," Bella explained. "The captain wants some kind of fortune hex."

"What's that got to do with me?" Caine asked.

"Luck magic requires a lot of energy, so I'm going to try to draw off the mirror," Bella continued.

"Sounds like a good idea. Still not hearing what you need me for," Caine shrugged.

"Don't play dumb, Caine! You warded the whole damn bar! I know you know more about spellcraft than you've ever let on. Inside the Ways you glow like nothing I've ever seen. I'm not even sure you're actually human, but I don't give a damn about that. You're still you, and I need your help!" Bella snapped, she was staring fiercely at him through the mirror, no longer painting on herself while she waited for him to answer.

"You're stabbing in the dark," Caine said, understanding.

"Well, yeah," Bella said, throwing her hands wide like it was obvious..

Caine shook his head. "I don't know anything about witchcraft, or any other kind of spellcrafting."

"But you can create a damn near perfect spirit ward?" Bella said dubiously.

"It isn't what you think," Caine said in a tone that said he wouldn't be explaining further.

"I don't care what it is, I just need an energy source. I'm going to be drawing power like crazy, and I don't have the time to slowly build up a reservoir. The mirror is all I have. I think if it's being replenished from that side I can use it as a conduit."

"Shoulda lead with that," Caine said. "You need a battery. Yeah, I can do that. Might need some help figuring out how to... I don't even know what it's called. How to connect myself with the mirror?"

"Tonya knows how. We did a whole lesson about that not long ago." Bella went back to painting herself.

"Fine. I'm going to go close down the lounge. It's about that time anyway. I'll be back," Caine left, passing Janie as he pushed through the curtain. Janie was a bit out of breath. She'd clearly been running.

"What's a battery?" Bella asked Janie.

"Like a fortress? With big guns?" Janie said, confused as she took a few deep breaths..

"No,that doesn't sound right," Bella shook her head.

"Then I don't know," Janie shook her head. "Why?"

"Something Caine said. Nevermind," Bella shrugged.

"Tonya will be here soon," Janie said. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing that I can think of. Not unless you know how to draw a containment circle," Bella said.

"Is that different than a basic ward circle?" Janie asked.

"A circle is a circle. They can be used for different things, or focused with different patterns inside them," Bella explained.

Janie nodded. "Well, I can draw a circle. I just need things to do it with."

"There's a box on the shelf with chalk and string in it," Bella said. Janie disappeared from the mirror frame as Will came in through the door of the cabin.