Chapter 193: Good People

Book 4, Chapter 34 - Good People

Aki ground a whetstone along the edge of a worn sword. The hilt was stained with old blood. A number of Eksa's loyal brood had been slaughtered shortly after her departure. The girl had no home to return to now. The island of Kovar belonged entirely to Hawthorne.

A streak of lightning crossed the sky.

Aki saw the brief reflection of her dark eyes in the wet surface of the blade. Rain doused her entirety, as it did for all other deckhands aboard The Virulence . Men barked and bustled, pulling ropes or tying knots. Great waves crashed into the ship's side, sending a torrent of salt water aboard. Some fish came up too, flopping helplessly on deck.

Aki watched this all with muted lips, grating the stone ever endlessly against the blade's already honed edge. She'd done all she could, leaking tidbits of information of Crow's plans, and Eksa had not acted upon any of it. Now here she was, fleeing across the open sea, with not a port that would harbor her, Crow and his ill flock pecking at her heels. Aki stared daggers into her captain's back. He stood so assured, cane hooked on his belt, with his weight on one foot and his hands gripping the helm tight for support. His dark coat flapped with the storm winds passing through, rainwater dripping along their edges. To think he kept balance through the dips and rises of the unsettled waters with that crippled leg of his.

Aki spat to her side, swaying back and forth to keep her own balance as the ship rose and fell with a mighty crash that sent seawater flying a dozen feet into the air. The crate she sat upon was loaded with something heavy, barely moving an inch despite the turbulence. Aki tapped her feet incessantly. She felt useless. Aboard a ship she did not want to be on, among people she did not care for, but too weak to enact any kind of meaningful change. Burn you Shuari , Aki thought. This was why people seldom made efforts toward being good. Good people had miserable things happen to them while the wicked earned fortunes. Hard to come upon misery when you were already vile and doled out misery as a passing hobby. Whatever God watched Illusterra truly, be it Shuari or Flaming Trillia, their will was a twisted and cold one for certain.

Aki cast aside the whetstone. It clattered along the slippery boards before sliding to a burly, tattooed sailor's feet. Jakart, current captain of Tidestrider picked the thing up, examined it, and pocketed it with a shrug. “Shouldn't be throwin' useful things around like that.”

Aki turned her gaze away from the burn marks curling up the man's neck and up the right half of his face. “Shouldn't you be on your own ship? Hell are you doing here?”

“Figured if the Red Serpent were to be caught, there'd be a ceremony aboard Crow's ship than my own.”

Aki snorted. “She's not being caught. She's a far better captain than any sod among us. Hawthorne included.” Aki peered at the dark horizon. Black dots polluted the sea —Crow's fleet come to chase Eksa down. Without bolts for her ballistae, she could not even fight and show that same prowess that ruined House Coraine's fleet. “You trust your boys to keep Tidestrider afloat amid this storm without you? That's a narrow ship if I've seen one.”

The mercenary turned sailor shrugged again. “Not my main crew on it. 'Sides. We've got use of those remainin' warships from Qalydon's ports. Better if Tidestrider sinks. Crow will make me the captain of a warship.”

Aki turned back to the scarred man. There was a glint of ambition in his eye. I suppose he thinks a larger ship will garner him greater respect and power than Crow currently possesses. Or maybe he just wanted a bigger ship to sate his ego. Aki sheathed the sword she held. She brought her braids around one shoulder and gave them a twist, rinsing the water gathered within. “You wasted your time anyway. Hawthorne wants the girl to come back of her own volition. He knows no port will take her. He wants her at her lowest.” That's the kind of bastard he is .

“About as much as she deserves,” Jakart said. “I heard tell she kicked you off after all the ships you captured for her some years ago.”

I hardly did any of that. That was those mutts, Aarondel and Jackrin. “Empathizing with me isn't going to get me on my knees Jakart,” Aki said. Another streak of lightning crossed the sky. “What's your spat with the Red Serpent anyway?”

“Bitch raided merchant ships I wanted. Took all the loot with.”

Aki rolled her eyes. Thunder rumbled overhead. “And ? ”

“And she laughed when I asked for joint hits on trading boats. Flaming laughed at me before my boys.”

Aki sighed. The fragile ego of a man spurned by a woman before his friends. And Crow made him his second in command all because of the amount of mercenaries he had in his fist. But of course he did. Crow liked easily controlled underlings. Jakart's paltry ambitions paled against Crow's desire to own a kingdom. “Sounds just like her. Arrogant and haughty,” Aki said, egging the man on.

“Needs humbling, that one,” the mercenary spat.

“That she does…” A taste of horror, and perhaps Eksa might have had the iron nerves needed to march on Crow when she had the advantage. She might have been a slave once, but she acted like a sheltered brat.

Aki cursed. Brats like that are what allow innocence to persist in this foul world of ours.

No, Eksa did not need humbling. The world had enough damaged people like Aki. But Kovar was now a pit of vipers the Red Serpent could not return to. Aki left Jakart and marched up the steps to the helm. “What's the plan?” she asked Crow. “Stalk her all the way to the edge of the world?”

“We hound her for several days, then return to Kovar. Her supplies dwindle. She'll be forced back in no time.”

“Could've taken all her food supplies along with her iron bolts,” Aki said.

“My dear Aki, there's no fun in that,” Crow grinned. “Despair is greatest when it's given time to settle and stew. She made a mistake even thinking of going against me. I'll skin her crew and hang them to dry. As for her and her vain sanctimonious ideals, it'll be fun to see that all shattered when she's made a whore.” Crow sniffed the air. He swept away rain drops hanging from his brow. “No one will challenge my authority on Kovar again.”

Aki folded her arms. One of these days, she'd find the courage to stake Hawthorne through the heart. One of these days… After all, sacrificing herself for it would take two wicked people from the world, and perhaps let an innocent one persist in their innocence. Or perhaps Shuari would show mercy and drown Crow's entire fleet.

“As if,” Aki said just as a wave crashed along the side of the ship.