Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 56 - The Phoenix

Keelin barked orders to his crew. A course change and a threat that, if the sails weren’t properly secured, he’d use the unfortunate pirate’s intestines to fasten new ropes. It was a hollow threat, they all knew it, but he felt the need to vent his rage.

They’d done it. Despite Elaina’s betrayal, Keelin and Drake had convinced Tanner to join their cause and to follow Drake’s lead. To accept the charismatic captain as king of the isles and their people, and to help fight the enemies at their door. They’d also paid a heavy price for their victory. Mary’s Virtue and Poole were lost.

Under Drake’s orders they left Captain Poole to his fate, turned their ships, and ran. Keelin watched the battle from afar and witnessed how Poole managed to turn his ship at the last moment, tying up two of the Five Kingdoms pursuers which, in turn, deterred the other three ships from chasing down a superior force.

Keelin had also watched Mary’s Virtue go down.

The Five Kingdoms navy scuttled the pirate ship instead of capturing it, and they used black powder to do it, blowing a sizeable hole in the side of the ship. Keelin was starting to both respect and fear the destructive power of the powder like he never had before.

“Captain?” Aimi’s voice soothed Keelin even in the face of his loss.

“Don’t reckon I’ll be good company right now, Aimi,” Keelin said without turning to look at her. He knew that in his maudlin mood he should retreat to his cabin instead of haunting his ship like a spectre of doom, but he wanted to feel the wind and smell the sea.

“That’s alright,” Aimi said. “I’m excellent company and can easily take up your share of the conversation as well.

“I ran into Lumpy earlier. The mangy little beast looked at me with big eyes and meowed, so I knelt down to stroke her and she attacked me. I have claw marks and everything.”

“She doesn’t like being touched,” Keelin said absently.

“Excellent advice, if only you’d been around two hours ago. Anyway, it got me thinking. I reckon we need a new ship’s boy. With Feather graduating to real duties… Did you know he’s a weird? And me, well I just don’t think it’s right, me taking on the duties of boy, considering my obvious differences to your gender.

“I mean, I know I’m the newest member of the crew. Not the youngest though, but at least I take on real sailor duties as well. What about Kebble? He does nothing but sit up there in the nest all day, watching everything and everyone. Why can’t he scrub the sides of the ship and chase down Lumpy’s kills? Can you imagine giving that order? And even if he did agree, he’d probably be better at hunting down the rats than Lumpy. Perhaps you could get rid of the cat and give her job to Kebble.”

Keelin had no idea what to say in the face of Aimi’s torrent of chatter. He turned to stare at her and found her smiling at him.

“I just lost a friend,” Keelin said, his voice sad even to his ears. “And not the first. Likely not the last.” Keelin stopped there lest he find himself saying more. There was something that was eating away at him even more. He now knew he couldn’t trust Elaina, and that was a friendship he’d never thought he’d truly lose.

Aimi nodded. She lowered her voice so none of the nearby crew members would hear. “Do you want to talk about it?” She nodded towards Keelin’s cabin.

Keelin drew in a breath and sighed it out, turning back towards the sea and leaning on the railing. “I think I just want to be alone.”

“Oh. Well, my shift just finished so I think I’ll join you. We can be alone together.” She leaned on the railing next to Keelin and stared out across the ocean.

Keelin smiled. Despite his gloomy attitude, Aimi had succeeded in cheering him up, if only a little. He looked away from the little woman and his spirits sank again. There, sailing along next to his ship, was The Black Death, and even in the dwindling light Keelin could see Tanner staring back at him.