PreCursive

  Cassandra let go of Grey’s shining fist, and shrugged. “Oh well, I guess you’ll just be exiled for five years then.”

  The tension in the room defted like a stuck tire.

  I blinked.

  Bel’s eyebrow twitched, staring at her apparent former mentor with annoyance writ across her face. “That’s all? Ye came just to tell me somethin’ I already knew was goin’ ta happen?”

  Cassandra walked over to Bel and pinched her cheek between her index and thumb, like she recocious child. She ughed when Bel swatted her arm away in irritation. “Well, I had to say goodbye, now didn’t I?”

  Bel huffed. “I’d ask how ye even found out, but that’s a dumb question. Ye’ve got ears in every er of this damn town.”

  “You’re right, it is a dumb question,” Cassandra said in amusement, nodding.

  Deactivating whatever skill or spell he was using on his fist, Grey sighed and reached up to massage his brow. “How very like you, Cassandra. I see time hasn’t dulled your twisted sense of humor.”

  Cassandra looked over her shoulder at Grey. “Time has certainly dulled aspects about you, old friend.” She said pointedly.

  Grey winced, but didn’t say anything in response. I get it. It was ohing for someone else to figure out Grey’s possible weakness, but it was something else eo firm it.

  While the strong people were bantering, the rest of us in the room were rexing now that it was obvious a fight wasn’t going to happen. Venix released his hold on his bdes and stepped baear the door, apparently indifferent to the pirate leader in the room now. I let out a sigh of relief myself, and took my hand away from my dagger. I jumped a little bit when Syliva shimmered into view o me, shedding an illusionary cloak. I hadn’t even noticed her disappearing. She gave me a slight smile at my startlement, before fog ba the versation.

  Cassandra had dismissed Grey to tialking to Bel. “It’s a good call, really. Getting out of town for a few years and building yourself back up should work just fine. You were going to be fag an uphill battle to rebuild yourself if you stayed, with all the sharks cirg.” She paused for a moment, befhing slightly. “Do you know, Longslip actually came to pin to me about how you damaged one of his warehouses? Acc to him, it was pletely unprovoked.”

  Both women ughed at that. Meanwhile, I winced slightly.

  Bel shook her head and wiped a tear of mirth from her eye. “I ain’t surprised. Both that you already heard about that, and that the dog had the gall to try and lodge a pint.”

  “He smelled blood ier, like the bottom feeder he is,” Cassandra shrugged. “But enough about that trash. You know I’m not one for seality, girl, so I’ll say this. Return strong, or don’t return at all. These waters aren’t for the faint of heart or weak of arm. If you decide you ’t hack it anymore out in the Kingdom, just stay there. It’ll be better for the both of us. After all, I ’t have the reputation of Cassandra the Red be sullied by a weakling.”

  Bel smiled mirthlessly and shook her head. “Ye haven’t ged, Cass.”

  “Us old fogies don’t tend to do that, my dear,” Cassandra answered, unphased. “Once you get to a certain age, or even a certain level of power, you bee set in your ways. At that point, it’s better for everyone if you step aside for the new blood. Isn’t that right, Whitegull?”

  Grey snorted from his positiohe map table. “Speak for yourself, harpy.”

  Old fogie? I swear this woman didn’t look more than forty-five.

  “That’s fine by me,” Bel said stubbornly, ign the bypy. Turning her ba her mentor, the Captain of the Thorny Reef strode for the door fidently. “Now if ye’ll excuse me, I’ve got a ship ta run.” She threw the door of her own room open with a crash and stalked out of it.

  Grey walked over to stao Cassandra. She turo face him with a wry smile. “Children, eh?”

  Grey rolled his eyes at his apparent old friend. “It was a long time ing. It will dood to get out of this town. I don’t believe she’s ever truly known freedom from underh your wings. Not in this town.”

  Cassandra hummed nonittedly. Slowly, the smile fell off of her fatil her face was an impassive mask. She met Grey’s eyes, unblinkingly. “If you get her killed, you and I are going to have a problem, Grey,” She said bluntly.

  “I assure you, I have no iion of pg her in the line of fire,” Grey said, unfling under Cassandra’s hard stare. “However, at one point, you’ll have to accept that Isabel has bee her own woman. Her otain.”

  Cassandra ined her head slightly at Grey, but didn’t say anything in response. From one moment to the , the member of the Triumvirate disappeared. It was like she had teleported or something, soundlessly and with no indication whatsoever.

  With her gone, Grey turo face the rest of us. He cpped his hands together, once. “Well! Now that that’s over with, it’s time for us to get settled. Sylvia, I’ve secured a for our use. Azarus, Venix, Aurum and Nathan, I’m afraid you’ll have to bunk with the crew down in the hold. I’m sure you’ll get used to the rog of the hammocks eventually.”

  I blinked. Hammocks?

  ……………………………………..

  Later that day, I was hunched over the railing of the ship and vomiting my guts out. I didn’t know this about myself, but apparently I roo seasiess.

  Fug yay.

  I’d never been on a boat to figure this out before. What a great time to discover it. I groaned out loud, clutg my stomach. Oh shit.

  I vomited over the side of the railing again. Afterwards, I just hung over the railing, wishing that the rog would stop.

  Shortly after Cassandra had left, the ship had gotten underway. Grey had shown the four of us where we would be bunking down in the hold, while at the same time Bel was taking the Thorny Reef out of port. It turned out we were going to be sleeping in some tiny alcoves along the outer walls of the ship, where literal hammocks were sluween two wooden beams. I’d been dubious of them, but surely they couldn’t be worse than sleeping out in the wilds. Fade had taken one look at them, and promptly went and found Grey. He'd apparently whined enough at my mentor that he was willing to let the pup stay in their room orip.

  Little traitor. You should suffer with your master.

  That had been before the stant rog had started. Now, I was dreading trying to sleep in a few hod, why couldn’t my stats help with this?

  The ime I came up for air, I found a small portion of a light brown root being held in front of my face by a feminine hand. Following it, I found that the hand beloo Bel, standing off to my side with a amused expression on her face.

  I tried to ask her what she was doing, but all that emerged from my mouth was a miserable groan.

  Bel snorted, and waved the root underh my nose. Whatever it was, it smelled great holy. Kind of citrusy. “Take this and chew on it, ndlubber. It’ll help calm your stomach.”

  I don’t care that it meant accepting a mysterious herb from a pirate. I’d take literally anything to stop the roiling of my stomach. I took it from her and started to desperately chew on it. At the very least, it leasant tasting.

  Bel leaned on the railio me while I was chewing the root. It only took few minutes for whatever was in the root to start w. Thank God, my stomach started to settle down. I slumped over the railing, this time in relief. I gnced up at Bel to my left. “Thanks for that. I didn’t expect the rog to get to me this much.” I paused for a moment. “Aren’t…you supposed to be at the helm?”

  “It ain’t no problem,” Bel told me, gazing out at sea. “on enough that we keep a bit ing root on board. Pretty tasty when tossed i, too. And I got a helmsman wat’ the wheel right now, so it ain’t a problem.”

  Looking past her, I saw that she was right. A bandanna-cd crewman that I hadn’t met yet eacefully minding the helm of the Reef. He must have noticed me looking his way because he me. I nodded weakly back.

  Bel hummed, casting an eye down my way. “So, what’s yer story? No offense, but ye don’t strike me as strong enough to be sailing with Whitegull of all people.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not. Not yet, anyway. I’m his apprentice. I…helped him out of a bind not long ago, aook me on when I had nowhere else to go. In thanks, I suppose.”

  “Apprentice, eh,” Bel said musingly. “That have anythin’ to do with those Bonb Breaker’s o’ yers that I’ve never heard about?”

  I straightened up and gave a nonittal shrug. “Those are really more my thing than Grey’s.” I may have been thankful for the root, but I wasn’t going to be spiling all of my secrets to this woman.

  Still, Bel didn’t seem like she believed me. “Yeah, sure,” She said disbelievingly, before tilting her head thoughtfully. “So, that’s where he was. Must have been branded by the stunties or somethin’.”

  I gave her a bit of a side-eye. Pretty insightful for a pirate. I turned around and leaned backward on the railing of the ship. “What’s your story then? If I’m Grey’s apprentice, were you Cassandra’s?”

  Turning to face me in surprise, Bel stifled a ugh. “Apprentice,” She snickered. “It wasn’t like that. But I don’t mind talkin’ about it. I was a foundling more than an apprentice. Cass found me hidin’ in a cupboard on a ship that she plundered.”

  My eyebrows rose at that. “What were you doing on the ship? Were you with your parents? Did she…” I trailed off. I left it unsaid.

  “I don’t rightly know,” Bel answered, unbothered. “And I ’t say I care much. I don’t have any memories from back then, what does it matter ta me if Cass killed me parents? I owe Cass more fer the woman I’ve bee. After she took me in, I lived as a ship rat under her wings fer years. Once I was fully grown, I struck out on me own. Took a bit, but I had me small ow after a few years. And then I lost it all to a pack of damn monsters.” She finished bitterly.

  Yeah that…sounded like it sucked. I didn’t get the impression she waitudes from me though, so I didn’t say anything in response. I just made an aowledging noise, and thehe sound of the rolling sea surrounding us fill the air.

  We stood in silence for a moment, while Bel calmed down.

  We were interrupted by the sound of the door leading to the lower decks opening. Azarus stepped out it, holding his hammer. He sed the ded saw Bel and I o the railing. Slinging his hammer of his shoulder, he approached us. “Oi, Nate,” He called out with a grin. “Did ya think that just because we’re on a boat ya were getting’ out of practice?”

  “It’s called a ship, stuntie!” Bel called out before I could answer. “It ain’t some kinda pansy ass ittle bittie boat!”

  Azarus snorted when he reached us, apparently uned with being called what I thought was a dwarven slur. “Whatever ya say.”

  “And I don’t care if’n ye want to practice, but don’t go bustin’ up me deck or we’ll have problems,” Bel said, her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Azarus said dismissively. “We’re just goin’ to be doin’ on practice. We won’t put a scrat your ship.”

  Bel snorted in response, but me in goodbye before stalking away back to the helm. I watched her go, but was knocked out of it when Azarus slugged me in the arm. I yelped like a struck dog and turo stare at my dwarven friend. “The hell was that for?”

  Azarus ughed at me. “, lover boy. Ya moon after more women when we’re done.” He wandered away at that, in the dire of the upper deck.

  I bli his retreating back. Lover boy? Where did that e from?

  I shook my head, and followed Azarus to get my daily ass-kig from the on master.