He waddled toward the table, oblivious to the snickers of amusement, and settled into the empty chair beside Jade who immediately passed him a bowl of pasta and the platter of fire-peppered prawns.
Ashure smiled. “Is everything alright, Dapier?”
Dapier chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Oh, aye, Cap’n. Everything’s just dandy… if you don’t count the fleet of undead ships led by none other than Blackheart and his devil sister Saldusa heading this way.”
The room fell silent. Ashure released a silent groan of dismay. Blackheart’s advancing fleet was not something he would classify as being ‘dandy’.
“The guards also caught two spies trying to sneak into the palace. You were smart to add those new recruits from the Isle of the Dragon and the Isle of Magic, Cap’n. They had their hands full trying to keep those two from getting to ya,” Dapier added brightly.
Tonya coughed, setting her teacup down with a clink. “Spies? What spies?”
Amber and Jade leaned forward in unison, their eyes gleaming. “Who are they?”
Dapier wiped his mouth with a napkin. “One is from the Isle of the Dragons. Disagreeable woman, she is. She tried to torch poor Mangus. Good thing he was a dragon shifter too, or things might have gotten toasty.” Dapier chuckled heartily at his pun before continuing, “Then there was the other one. That one’s an Elemental. Fire and Ash maker. Took Graves four different spells before she could contain him. Slippery bastard—oh, sorry ma’am—slippery… he was. Kept changing to smoke, fire, or ash, but Graves popped him with a nice shower. He won’t be changing to anything hot in the near future as long as he has that cloud hanging over his head.”
“Who sent them?” Tonya asked with a worried frown.
Dapier looked up, a tart halfway to his mouth. “Oh, they were wearing Blackheart’s mark. Nasty bit of driftwood, that one. Tried to overthrow the old king, Simon Black, ages ago—nearly took half the Isle with him. The ole Cap’n cursed Blackheart with a banishment spell and set him adrift with his sister. Now, she’s darker than a cave full of kraken breath, an’ not in the usual way. It’s said she studied dark magic. Rumor has it Blackheart built his ships from the bones of sea beasts and crewed them with the worst misfits from across the Seven Isles.”
Jade’s eyes were wide. “So… he’s like a pirate-zombie-sorcerer mega-villain?”
Amber gasped. “With a bone ship?! That’s awesome!”
“It sounds terrifying.” Tonya shuddered.
Dapier nodded solemnly. “Aye. Looks like he’s finally collected enough miscreants to try again. Our scouts spotted him a few hours out. Might’ve come from the Dead Shoals.”
Ashure felt his heart sink as he reached across the table and cupped Tonya’s hand. Her fingers tightened around his, her eyes searching his.
“Do you think… we should call for help?” she asked quietly. “If creatures from each Isle are part of his fleet, maybe the other kingdoms would know how to fight them.”
Ashure hesitated. The thought had already crossed his mind, but…
Dapier cleared his throat again. “Might be too late for reinforcements. He’s closing fast.”
Ashure’s jaw tensed. He stood, the movement fluid despite the weight settling on his shoulders.
“Ring the bell,” he ordered. “Summon the crews. Tell them to prepare to sail. We meet Blackheart at sea—before he reaches the city.”
“Aye, Cap’n,” Dapier said, standing as well and saluting with two fingers before grabbing several tarts and hustling out of the room.
Ashure turned to find both Amber and Jade vibrating in their seats like overcharged lightning bugs.
“We’re going with you,” they said in unison, standing.
Tonya rose with them, her arms crossing her chest. “Oh, no you’re not.”
“Aww, come on!” Amber groaned.
“We’ve got weapons!” Jade added. “And trap bombs! And?—”
“And parents that will toast us if we let anything happen to you,” Tonya said sternly.
“That is a good point. I shudder to think what their parents are like,” Ashure replied.
“We obviously can’t get into any more trouble than we’re already in, and you’re King of the Pirates! You can handle our parents when they are a whole galaxy away! Maybe even a dimension away! Please?” Amber asked sweetly with wide, pleading eyes and pouting lips.
Jade quickly matched her sister’s expression and added, “Please?”
