Bonnie swallowed and reached for a jug squatting in the middle of the table. She uncorked it, took a swig of the contents, and gasped. “This isn’t rum!”
Cali eyed the familiar jug and grinned. “That’s Rosie’s apple brandy. Too much of that and you’ll be swinging from the crow’s nest.”
The captain blew out a breath that was heavily tinged with the aroma of fermented apples. “Secrets aren’t such a steep payment unless you don’t have any left to share. We’ve been to Claw Island so many times the sirens know all our secrets.”
Cali cocked her head. “All of them?”
“Once you’ve crewed together for as long as we all have, you stop having secrets from each other.” Bonnie kept her gaze firmly on the cooling pie. “But you and your friend…”
Cali gulped. Was this why Bonnie had wanted her to join the search? Was this why she hadn’t protested when Thrain had invited himself? Did the pirates need their secrets as siren tribute?
Twenty-Three
The tipof Cali’s tail bristled. “Is this why you brought us on board? Are Thrain and I siren fodder?”
Bonnie’s head snapped up. “Siren fodder? Of course not.” Her forehead bunched. “I would never put you—or your friend—in harm’s way.”
Cali dipped her fork into the meat pie. “That’s not exactly true, is it? If we’re heading for an outlaw island guarded by murderous sirens, I’d call that harm’s way.”
Bonnie frowned. “We’re on a ship crossing the sea. There’s always danger lurking, but no more than there would be on any of your land quests.”
The pantheri wanted to scoff at this but then remembered being chased by wraiths who’d been fully intent on killing them. Okay, maybe the pirate had a point. She picked up her fork and stabbed a steaming chunk of pastry.
“Like I said, it isn’t blood the sirens desire,” Bonnie continued. “Not anymore. I think bashing sailors on the rocks or dragging them to the depths got boring after so long.”
Cali took a bite of pie, and the mouthful got lodged in her throat. Bashing people to death was boring?
“It’s secrets they love now.” Bonnie dabbed at the corners of her mouth. “The more salacious, the better.”
Cali crossed one leg over the other and jiggled her foot. “You make them sound like a bunch of bored gossips.”
Bonnie took another bite of the meat pie and swiveled her fork in the air. “In a way, they are. They do nothing but guard the island’s cove and wait for ships to enter. Wouldn’t you be hungry for news if you’d done that for hundreds of years?”
“As long as that’s all they’re hungry for.”
Before the archer could spear some pie onto her fork, the ship pitched to one side and the pie plate slid the length of the table. Bonnie deftly lunged forward and caught the pie before it hit the floor. The ship hissed as it tipped in the other direction, and Cali swayed with the movement. Her gaze went to the window where dark water churned and lashed the glass.
“What’s happening?” she asked, as the surrounding wood creaked and the books shuffled in place on the shelves.
It was only as the ship rocked that Cali noticed how everything in the captain’s quarters was fastened to something or hooked to the walls. Even the shelves had wooden dowel railings to keep the tomes from cascading onto the floor.
Bonnie didn’t bother to look out the window before answering. “Storm.”
Cali shook her head. “But we were just on deck. There was no storm on the horizon.” She thought back to the clear sky and the placid sea. “There weren’t even clouds.”
Bonnie tossed the dishtowels onto her bed, then placed the pie on top of them, where it sagged into the soft surface. “Doesn’t matter. Storms can pop up without warning around here.”
“Around here?” Cali asked as she followed the pirate slowly across the room toward the door. “Where is here?”
Bonnie grasped the wrought-iron door handle and yanked it open, catching Cali’s eyes over her shoulder. “Didn’t I mention that to reach Claw Island, we have to pass through an area called Sailor’s Graveyard?”
The ship dipped, and Cali slid the rest of the distance to the door, catching herself on the doorframe before sliding fully into the corridor. She vaguely remembered the term being mentioned in passing. “Any chance the name is a joke?”
Bonnie was already taking long strides toward the stairs leading to the main deck. “No joke. It’s an area known for changing winds and unpredictable currents, but I didn’t think we’d reach it until morning.”
Cali hunched over on all fours and used her claws to keep from skittering from side to side as she followed the captain down the narrow hallway. As expected, the pirate stayed upright with more ease, and she bounded up the stairs. The pantheri used the stair railing to heave herself up the steps, her stomach churning in time with the ship.
When she emerged onto the deck, Pinkie was already hoisting herself up the mast while Gert was barking orders to the crew. Water crested the sides of the ship and rained onto the deck, as the raging sea swallowed the vessel’s moans.
