“If you’re set on doing this,” she said, knowing him well enough to tell that he was, “why don’t I get the neighbor to come in a little early tomorrow, and I’ll see if I can get my day bartender to cover for me until I get back.”
The eyebrow went up again, quirking in a way she found ridiculously attractive. Damn it.
“You’re coming with me?”
“If you’re taking my father’s boat out at sunset to try and confront a ghost, I’m not letting you do it by yourself. Somebody needs to steer the boat while you’re being all dangerous and fierce.” She grinned back at him. “Of course, if your friend Beka is back by then, I’m happy to let her do it.”
She didn’t know which one of them was crazier. Oh, wait. Yes she did.
*
Hayreddin was feeling quite proud of himself. He had put on a masterful performance the previous night, if he did say so himself. (And he had, repeatedly, to the increasing annoyance of Len and their remaining two pirates. Dragons were not known for their modesty.) A little simple dragon magic to create the illusion of an eerie mist and mask the sound of their approach, plus his own innate ability to change his form, and suddenly Blackbeard was back from the dead.
He could tell his appearance had had the desired effect. Those poor fools had nearly wet their breeches with fear. Red rather admired the one man who had kept his head enough to fire a spear at him, although of course it simply glanced off his tough dragon skin without doing any harm. He might take on the guise of a man, but he was still a nearly indestructible dragon under it all. Still, it did do rather a fine job of reinforcing his “ghost” impression.
The seas had been pleasantly empty all day. No fishermen or foolish gawkers to intrude upon his treasure hunt. He was getting close; he could feel it in his bones. And a dragon’s bones never lied about treasure. Another day or two without distractions and surely the kraken’s search would finally bear fruit and Hayreddin could leave this dreadful place and return home to his lovely, peaceful, Human-free cave.
His plan had been brilliant. If he did say so himself.
“I told you so,” he said to Len, who was sullenly wrapping his hand, bloodied again after another turn at summoning the kraken. “My plan was brilliant.”
“Oh yeah?”
The man was an imbecile. “Indeed. We have been left alone all day. The Humans are so afraid of this area now, we probably won’t see another ship out here until after we have completed our task.”
“What about that one, then?” Len said, pointing with his bandaged hand. “Maybe it is another ghost ship, come to get in on our act?”
Red spun around. He could not believe his eyes. The imbecile was, incredibly, correct. A small fishing boat was moving slowly in their direction. What in the name of all the gods was wrong with these Humans? Could they not understand the simplest of messages? Fine, then. He would simply send it again. This time, it would be written in blood.
Chapter 15
“Thar she blows!” Alexei shouted in delight.
Bethany couldn’t bring herself to be quite so thrilled. What the hell was she doing out here anyway? Did she really believe she could somehow keep this giant warrior safe if he couldn’t do it himself?
“Isn’t that for whales?” she asked dubiously, slowing the ship down to a crawl as they approached the strange foggy spot in the middle of an otherwise clear sea. The sun was going down, and its orange glare lit the mystery boat with an additional ominous aura. As if it needed one.
Alexei gave one of his huge, booming laughs. The crazy man was actually enjoying himself. “Probably,” he admitted. “But I don’t know the proper term for sighting a supposedly haunted pirate ship.”
“Probably ‘this blows,’ would be sufficient,” Bethany muttered.
“You just don’t know how to have a good time,” Alexei said.
“You have a very short memory,” Bethany countered.
“Ha,” he said. “But that’s different. This is dangerous and uncertain.”
Bethany thought back to their wild coupling. “And I say again, you have a very short memory.”
Alexei scooped her up and kissed her, then put her down with a thump. “Oh, I remember every moment of that night, believe me.” He grinned. “Perhaps we’ll repeat it once I have dealt with our supposed pirate.”
“Don’t bet on it,” she said, glaring at him.
“Which?” he asked. “The pirate or the repeat?”
She smacked him on the arm, which only hurt her hand. “Either. Both. Now, what’s the plan?” It occurred to her that she probably should have asked that question before they left port. Oh well, too late now. A grim, darkly bearded figure was striding toward them out of the mists, their boats so close to each other they were almost touching. Alexei strolled down to meet him.
“Foolish churls, you are trespassing on the waters claimed by the ghost of Blackbeard the pirate. Be gone and never return, lest I send your bones to the bottom of the sea to become food for oysters!” The figure brandished a long, curving broadsword.
Alexei leaned casually against the side of the cabin. “No, I don’t think so.”
“What?!” roared the bearded man. Smoke wreathed his head and mingled with the eerie fog.
“Well, for one thing, oysters don’t eat people. That’s just silly. For another, you’re no more a ghost than I am a ballerina.” He straightened up. “So I’m kind of curious as to what you’re up to here and why you want people to stay away. Care to enlighten me?”
“I am the ghost of Blackbeard the pirate!” the man thundered. “How dare you speak to me that way, you miserable failure? You are the laughingstock of the Otherworld. You are nothing but a shadow of your former self. You should abase yourself before me and run away in terror.”
From her vantage point above him in the raised cabin, Bethany could see the muscles in Alexei’s neck and shoulders tighten as the other man taunted him. For a minute, she was afraid he would lose control, but instead, he simply responded with a soft drawl that belied the tension that coiled in his body.
“Well, which is it?” he asked. “Abase myself or run away? It’s kind of hard to do both at the same time.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Bethany had to try and smother a laugh. Dark piercing eyes followed the sound and glared at her with a hatred that made them seem to glow red around the edges.
“You bring your Human whore with you to confront me?” the purported Blackbeard said. “What kind of fool are you? Her bones will lie beside yours, twenty fathoms deep.”
Alexei’s hand tightened on the side of the boat so hard, Bethany could hear it creak. But when she expected him to respond with anger, he surprised her by smiling.