Hidden Island Chapter 33, part 2 of 3

Hidden Island
Chapter 33, part 2 of 3

Cerise quickly checked his scalp and neck, then cleaned the blood off him, looking for gashes. "Hmm," she said, "There's a few smaller cuts, but nothing major. Where did all this blood come from?"

"Head wounds, you know?" Caine shrugged.

Cerise had him track her finger with his eyes and checked his spine, prodded his organs clinically, and helped him stand. "You're fine."

"Not a zombie?" he asked, glancing at Tonya, who was still staring at him while the blonds started trying to pick up the mess.

Cerise gave him an unamused look. "No."

"Thanks. I'll clean up," Caine said with a small smile.

"Caine," Cerise said flatly. "I don't know what is happening, but I'm not an idiot. This the second room this week to look like a cannonball hit it, and that is far more blood than any minor head wound would cause."

"It's a magic thing," Caine nodded.

Cerise eyed the young witch and nodded. "If you feel nauseous or dizzy later, come see me." Without another word, she left, passing Chance as he came in.

Chance stopped a few steps in, his face reddening as he took it all in. He rubbed his face and focused on Tonya. "Pack your things. You're out in the morning."

"Chance!" Caine snapped.

Chance whirled on him. "Shut. The fuck. Up. My brothel has become a war zone lately! One of the most dangerous pirates in the whole fucking ocean was stabbed in the face in my lounge! You damn near killed a customer in the brawl; I have a rumor going around that Bella summoned a fucking demon, I'm harboring a fugitive, and now Tonya's damn near blown the place up twice! I can't run a business under these conditions!"

"Chance," Caine cautioned.

"No!" the short proprietor snapped. "Your bleeding heart isn't going to convince me this time; it keeps getting worse, and you're in the middle of it! She's gone, and as soon as the other one wakes up, she's gone too!"

Caine eyed him coldly for a few moments, the pain in his head making it hard to think quickly. Still, he knew exactly what he needed to do. It had been coming for a while now. "I'll be going with them."

"Fine!" Chance threw his hands up.

"I want my pay," Caine said. "All of it."

Chance's face slid from anger to confusion and finally to fear. His entire demeanor changed. "What? No, you can't..."

"I can," Caine corrected.

"You've never wanted to be paid," Chance shook his head frantically.

"What was our agreement? The contract?" Caine slowly took a few steps, not caring that he was naked and half-covered in blood.

"A room and as much beer as you could drink!" Chance snapped.

"And five crowns a week," Caine added. "Cheapest bouncer anywhere."

"You never took the money! You've just been taking your pay stubs and not collecting!" Chance was starting to look sick.

"I asked you to hang onto it for me,' Caine nodded. "Did you?"

Chance's mouth moved, but no words came out.

"Should be a pretty good chunk of change by now. I'm not sure how much exactly, but I kept all those pay
stubs," Caine shrugged.

"A-all?" Chance blinked.

"Yup," Caine smiled. "How's it work again? I'm supposed to sign the slip to show you've given me the money, and you keep them for your expense records so the counting house knows you aren't skimming. You wouldn't want Miss Mary to think you were stealing from her, right? So you get the money, and I'll start signing the slips."
"Mary? How do you know..." A more profound horror slowly crawled across Chance's face. "You can stay. They can stay!"

"Don't want to," Caine shook his head. "You're right, it's too dangerous."

"Caine, I... don't... Please,' Chance was looking unsteady on his feet.

Caine groaned as he picked up an overturned chair and righted it, sliding it behind Chane's legs. The shorter man sat down and put his head in his hands. Then he slowly started laughing mirthlessly. "You're ruthless. I'd never have guessed you had this in you. Fuck."

Caine shrugged. "I'm nothing. You did this to yourself, Chance. I knew you were cooking the books. Hell, we all know. I didn't care until now. So, get me my money. I'll keep this to myself and be on my way."

"I don't have it. Not all of it," Chance said, defeated.

"Hmm. I bet we could arrange payment through the counting house," Caine suggested.

"No," Chance said quickly. "No, that won't work."

"Why not, Caine asked. He knew exactly why but enjoyed watching Chance squirm.

"They'll... they'll notice the numbers don't make sense," Chance admitted.

"So you'll just have to owe me?" Caine suggested. "Call it a private loan? We need a notary."

Chance looked up at him like he was watching Caine transform before his eyes. "You're a loan shark now?"

"No, a loan shark would charge interest." Caine's eyes were benign, but his smile was full of teeth. "I'm only going to blackmail you."

"I am ashamed tae say that some of them, I dinna even know," Captain Vex said solemnly. "But I want them."

The crew was gathered around the rows of graves the swabs had dug. The fallen had been laid into them, wrapped in old sailcloth and partially covered in earth to hide the horrific injuries that had killed them. Only the faces were visible. The crew all held their cups and their words while the Captain did her best to eulogize more than a dozen deaths.

"What I want," Captain Vex continued, "Is to hear their stories before we lay them at rest. I want us all to know who died so that we could survive." She stepped up to the first grave in the row. "This is Camilla Craff. We all called her Cammy. She was with the Kestrel for two years. I recruited her out of the Camberly Isles. Her mother was a seamstress, and her father was a crab fisherman. She was a deft hand with a needle or a rope and never without a smile." The Captain swallowed back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"She always wanted children, but she was barren. She made up for it by trying to mother everyone around her."

Captain Vex smiled wistfully. "She'd only been aboard for three weeks when she brought me a blanket while I was at the helm when the winds picked up. I could tell she was nervous to approach her Captain for the first time, but it didn't stop her. She'd made up her mind to be sure I stayed warm. After that, she decided it was her job. I knew she'd come around any time the winds picked up." Captain Vex wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's always going to be colder at the helm now." She raised her cup, and the crew raised theirs. Then she stepped to the next grave as Cammy's friends began their work with shovels and sad eyes.

"I Dinna know him," she admitted, looking down into the next hole. A children's storybook lay on the chest of the cloth-wrapped body at the bottom. "I think his name was... Jacob?" Captain Vex said. "Who knew him?" Only one hand in the crowd raised. "Tell me about him," Belita said, gesturing the dark-skinned sailor forward.

"Uh, Jodi, be my name," the fallen man's friend said, looking around at the crew, feeling out of place. "Jake and I joined up with the Kestrel in Bar Cola. We grew up there, we. We were born in the mountains during the war.

We spent our early years running messages and scouting. Scouts always ran in pairs and made a good team, we. Jake made up hand signs so we could talk without giving away our positions. He loved stories.

He never learned to read, but he loved being read to. He wanted to see the world. He was the one who convinced me to become a sailor. Took to it like a duck to water, he. I still can't even tie a mooring hitch. I don't know what I would do without him fixing my knots. He never stopped using those hand signs we'd made up to talk to each other. It was our private language. Guess I'm the only one who knows it now." Jodi ran out of words.

His hands shook on his cup.

The Captain raised hers. The crew echoed the motion, and the Captain squeezed Jodi's shoulder. "My father spoke with his hands, too. I want to learn Jacob's language. Tell me more later." Jodi nodded and took a shovel from a nearby swab. As the Captain moved on to the next grave, Jodi filled the grave of his oldest friend.

Captain Vex went Down the rows, listening to her crew's stories and telling as many as she could about those she knew well. Tears fell without shame. The rum flowed. Everyone was beyond tired from the terrible night before and the day's work, but no one would leave until the last grave was filled and the previous story told.

Something about the ritual of burial and grieving seemed to break the damn numbness and horror that had held the crew in its grim since the battle against the Grindylow. The Captain could feel it. The sadness was there, but the hollow despair was lifting. The crew felt their comrades' loss, bonding through the heartache and communal pain. As the drinks and tears flowed, some hope began to take root in her exhausted crew. She was glad for it and gave them precisely the Captain they needed to help them through this, but she did not feel what they felt.

Her heart was still a hollow pit, and she felt like it would never be filled again.

Jack walked Bella to the two tents next to each other at the edge of the makeshift camp. Bella seemed a little confused and surprised. "You and Will set up your tents next to each other?"

"No," Jack said. "Morant's porters did that. We were busy, and I asked them to set up for us. They don't know about Will and I's... history."

"That or they do know and want to mess with you," Bella smirked.

"Or that," Jack admitted.

"Should we move the tent?" Bella asked.

"No, it's fine," Jack shook her head.

"I guess you two are getting along better now," Bella smiled.

"In a manner of speaking," Jack agreed, then sighed. "No. Not really. Our problems are still there; I think they're worse than I ever realized. We've just agreed to ignore them for now. We thought it would be best to focus on the job. It's even more important now that it is about survival. Our issues can wait."

"Where is Will, anyway?" Bella asked. "He was at the funeral, but I figured he'd beat me back to the tent."

"I didn't see him," Jack said. Are you staying with him?" There was an unspoken question in her voice.

Bella rarely saw Jack so uncertain. She smiled gently. "Yes. Are you alright with that?"

Jack was poised, but there was a tension behind her eyes. "Yes, of course. It's the way things have already been this whole trip. Besides, I have Quinn."

"He wasn't at the funeral," Bella said. "Where did he go?"

"I had a job for him," Jack said.

Bella noticed the evasive answer and gave Jack an arch look but let it go. There were more important things to talk about. "You and Will are going into the jungle tomorrow?"

"Yes," Jack said.

"I'm worried about both of you," Bella admitted.

Jack seemed a little surprised. "This isn't the first time you've waved us off when we went into a jungle."

"Yes, but you always had a plan. Equipment. Maps,
Bella said. "And you had each other."

"We still do," Jack shook her head.

"It isn't the same," Bella struggled to find the right words. I remember what you said about not going on expeditions with people you don't trust."

"I trust Will," Jack reassured her.

"That isn't the problem," Bella said pointedly.

Jack winced, then sighed. "I know."

"He might be able to ignore everything so you two can work together, but I think part of that is because he doesn't know what to do, so he doesn't want to talk about it. You know how he gets when he's at an impasse," Bella pushed.

Jack nodded slowly. "You're right."

"So, this is dangerous!" Bella spread her hands wide. "You don't have a map, you don't have the right equipment prepared, and you're both ignoring years of bad blood so you don't have to fight."

"Well, as far as jungles go, this one isn't bad," Jack said. Even as she said it, she knew her reassurance was weak.

"Oh really?" Bella said flatly.

"It's an island," Jack explained. "There aren't going to be any large land predators here. Maybe alligators, if they could island hop this far, but that's doubtful."

"I want to do a reading before you leave," Bella said. "In the morning. I'll feel better if I know how things will be. Maybe I can help."

Jack shrugged. "Fine with me."

Bella bit her lip. "I'll... need energy. After the shaping spell with the key earlier, I'm completely drained. I haven't had the time or the right state of mind to gather any more energy."

Jack's brows rose. "Bella, are you asking me to sleep with you?"

Bella looked torn. Her brows furrowed, and after a moment, she shook her head. "No. It's... too soon for that."

Jack looked sad but nodded. "I understand. What do you need from me."

"I want to draw a siphon sigil on you so that when you're with Quinn, I can drain the energy," Bella explained.

Jack looked amused. "I'm rather tired, but I suppose I could. For you."

Bella rifled through her bag and retrieved a red grease pencil. "We should go into your tent," she said.

"Oh?" Jack smirked. "Where are you going to draw on me?"

Bella looked nervous for a split second, then narrowed her eyes. If Jack wanted to play, Bella was okay with that. A small smile played across her lush lips. She stepped closer and traced the back end of her pencil down Jack's shirt. "This first one goes here," she said, lightly dragging a circle between Jack's breasts.

Jack held back a smile and didn't step away. The two women enjoyed the tension of each other's closeness.

They'd set their boundaries but were both willing to push them. "And the second on?"

"Lower," Bella smirked.

Jack pulled the flap of her tent open and politely waited for Bella.

Janie's eyes slowly opened. The painkillers Cerise had given her worked well, but they also made her very sleepy. She'd barely been awake all day. Tonya was in the room, packing her meager possessions into a few handbags with fervor and pent-up anger.

"Going somewhere?" Janie asked sleepily.

"Yeah. You are too," Tonya spat.

"What?" Janie blinked, propping herself up on her elbow and trying to focus. "Where are we going?"

"Not sure," Janie said bitterly. "Chance is kicking us out."

Fear slid up Janie's spine. "Why?!" she asked, trying not to panic. "Is it about Bella's room?"

Tonya sighed. "Yeah. And the baths."

"What happened in the baths?" Janie asked.

"Same thing," Tonya shrugged. "I did it again."

"It wasn't your fault!" Janie said, sitting up slowly. "Well, the first time wasn't. Wait, why did it happen again?"

"I don't know," Tonya shrugged. "I... I was trying to see if it would be different this time."

"This time? Wait, that means you and Caine... again?" Janie's cheeks reddened.

Tonya nodded. "Ever since blowing up Bella's room, I haven't been able to fucking cum! I tried everything!

Maybe it was about Caine somehow, so I convinced him to give it another go. I was right! I had... well, it was terrific. And then I blew up... and he... well, I sorta... killed him."

Jaine's eyes went wide. "What?!"

Tonya's shoulders started shaking, and she shook her head back and forth in sorrow and confusion. "He's... fine. Now. I don't understand it. Janie, I watched him die. It was my fault. I killed him, and then he just got back up."

Janie's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Start from the beginning."

"I don't even know how," Tonya swallowed. "We were fucking, and I finally came, and it felt amazing, and something... the energy just... burst. It threw Caine across the room. He hit his head against the wall and...

Janie, there was blood everywhere! I saw his brains! He was dead!"

"And now he isn't?" Janie was at a loss for words.

Tonya nodded. "I feel like I'm dreaming. Or crazy. I screamed and said stupid stuff because I couldn't even think, and everyone rushed in. Cerise said he was fine, and then Chance showed up and kicked us out. Well, not Caine. Just you and me."

"What did I do?" Janie blinked.

"Nothing, you're just... attracting trouble, I guess," Tonya shrugged.

"Alright. I suppose I can go back to Fort Deliverance," Janie rubbed her eyes, trying to think of her next steps.

"I don't have anywhere to go," Tonya's shoulders started shaking again.

"I'll take care of you, don't worry," Janie reassured her. "I'm sure Caine will help too."

"I don't know. I killed him and cost him his home and his job. I don't think he will want to help me." she wiped her eyes and tried to get a handle on herself.

"Come here," Janie said, patting the bed beside her. Tonya dropped the bag of clothes she'd been clutching and went to sit on the bed. Janie put her arms around the young witch. "You... blew me up too, remember?"

Tonya winced and nodded. "Yeah."



To be continued