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“He wants this.” He fingered the necklace delicately. “And I want to know everything I can about the Isle of Changers,” he told her.
“The Isle of Changers?” Asked Julianne. “Like shifters? Like the dragons?”
He just took his head.
“The Isle of Changers is not an island of shifters,” he told her. “It’s something more. Something darker. There is magic there.”
Julianne wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.
Magic?
Real magic?
"At least," Wade added with a wink. "There are myths of magic."
Julianne had heard stories, of course. They all had, but this was something different. Seeing the dragon shifters had made her realize that the world was much bigger than she had always believed. It was much deeper than she could have imagined.
And now there was magic.
“What happens on the Isle of Changers?” Julianne asked. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer, but curiosity got the best of her. Wade didn’t have to tell her, of course, but she was going to find out sooner or later. When you lived on a ship, no matter how big or small, word spread quickly and secrets were difficult, if not impossible, to keep.
Wade sighed for a moment and looked at her. Was he trying to decide if she was trustworthy? Surely he knew by now that she was not going to betray him. Then again, that was the funny thing about betrayal. It never came from your enemies.
"We have to pass by the isle to get to Mad Drake's ship. Only one person has ever made it onto the island and lived to tell the tale. We can't go in blind. Unfortunately, Dead Man Pepper is the only one who can give us the information we need. He's not particularly nice or friendly. He doesn't much care for visitors."
"And that's who you stole the necklace for."
Wade nodded, obviously glad Julianne was catching up. She felt so stupid trying to follow along, but she wasn't a pirate: she was a lady. Sort of. She didn't know how these things worked. She felt like she should know, but she didn't. Wade was always pouring over maps and muttering to himself, but Julianne rarely listened to the things he mumbled about.
She was trying to give him his privacy by drowning herself in novels, but now she chided herself for not paying enough attention. She was going along with Wade now. She only hoped that she wouldn't do anything to mess it up.
She might know how to entertain high society.
She might even know how to throw a dinner party.
Julianne did not know how to talk to a retired pirate, though.
She didn’t know how to get information.
She didn’t know how to pry.
She took a deep breath and followed Wade down the path to the man’s home. It was now or never. Luckily, she’d always been a fast learner.
**
Dead Man Pepper was old and a little bit crazy. Anyone could see that he was old and most people could see that he was crazy, but that didn't seem to keep anyone from stopping by his house to bother him or pester him with questions.
He wasn't particularly keen on taking in visitors or on meeting new people, so he made every attempt possible to push people away. His newest tactic? Requiring a token of worthiness before he would meet with someone.
He had been circulating a list for many years now of certain treasures or items he should like to have. If someone managed to get their hands on one of the items that Dead Man Pepper wanted, he would gladly sit and speak with them for a few minutes, happy to share his life's knowledge before he died.
Well, happy enough, for the price he was asking.
Until now, only two people had shown up with requested items and asked him questions about his experience at the Isle. Both of those men were now, last he heard, quite dead. Serves them right. He warned them against going near that forsaken island. He told them not to do it, but did they listen to ol’ Pepper?
Nay.
When the pirate and his wench showed up on Pepper's doorstep, he was busy sitting in his favorite chair, staring out his favorite window. He saw them come up his steps and he didn't bother moving. What were the odds they had anything he wanted? He wasn't much for people and he wasn't much for being social, especially not today.
