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The harpoon was gone.
We did it.Not only was it gone, but every pirate nearby now floated face-first in the water, their boats destroyed.
A groan made me lift my head higher. I pushed myself up, trying to stay conscious. Scot was feet away, blood gushing from his head and burn marks over his skin, but he stirred awake, his eyes fluttering open.
My gaze went over the room, everything torn to shreds.
“Kat?” I shot up, my vision blurring, my ears still echoing with the blast, almost tipping me over. Blood trailed down my face, my skin black and tight in places, but I was numb to any pain. “Katrina!” Fear whipped through me before I saw her still balled up in the corner of the brig. At my voice, she lifted her head to peer back at me. Scratches covered her face and arms and her nose was bloody, but nothing serious.
Relief washed over me. The goblin metal actually kept her safe, holding strong against the blast.
“You all right?” I waded through the wreckage, getting to her.
She nodded, flinching as she got to her feet. My gaze drifted over her anyway, making sure she was in one piece. The little clothes she had on had holes from small debris hitting her. I turned to Scot. “You good?”
“Aye.” Scot nodded, wincing, his hand pressing against his head wound. “Shocked that bloody worked.”
“Don’t we say that about everything we do?”
Scot scoffed at my remark, nodding. “Aye.”
“Captain?” Vane screamed from above, his footsteps pounding down the stairs. “You alive?”
“Yeah,” I replied as Zid and Corb made their way down to the hull, looking around at the destruction before them, their eyes wide.
“What happened?” Zid peered at us.
“We got rid of the problem.” I nodded toward the hull.
“You did this on purpose?” Zid shook his head. “Solid plan, Captain… put a hole in the fucking ship.” Zidane motioned to where water spilled inside, the floorboards already covered by half an inch of water.
“Did you have another plan?” Scot snarled, getting into Zid’s face. “I didn’t think so. So shut the fuck up and never second-guess your captain again. He just saved all our lives.”
Scot was protective of me. Loyal. I knew my crew was faithful to me, but the big Scotsman was one who would go above and beyond.
“Hey.” I backed Scot off, the men glaring each other down. “Now is not the time.” I used my sleeve to wipe the blood from dripping into my eye. “We need to get to the closest port and fix the hull before we sink.” We were traveling to Jakarta. It was another big “tradesman” territory, so it was a good place for dirty business and a port we needed. “Zid, you and Vane, patch this hole with a tarp the best you can. Corb, I need you on watch. There might be more following us.” My attention shifted to the girl in the cage and the water lapping around her ankles. The jail was compromised. “And Scot, handcuff Ms. Puss here and bring her to my cabin.” I winked at her scowling face and strolled away. When my orders were being followed, I headed back up to speak with Tsai.
Four hours later, we hobbled into Pangkal Pinang, the capital of the Bangka Belitung Islands. Before the Fae War, it was a contrast between poor and wealthy. The beaches were full of resorts and tourists, while those living here worked hard to keep afloat. Now it was mainly empty and impoverished, most heading to places like Singapore or Jakarta to make money after the tourists stopped coming while the older and stubborn stayed put.
It was all the help we would get around here, my ship taking on more and more water. Sailing into a canal, the docks mostly abandoned and collapsing, we found one still in use. An older human gentleman pushed up from the broken chair he was sitting on in the hot, blaring sun, his expression twisting up like we were bothering him.
“Zid?” I flicked my chin at the man approaching our starboard side. Zid was the best at languages, and though I knew over fifteen, I didn’t want to deal with haggling the price for using this dock.
Zidane leaped off, communicating with the man. Instantly the man’s head swung in a firm no, while Zid’s head was shaking at whatever he said. Eventually, Zid nodded, both in agreement, before Zid climbed back aboard.
“He says he knows people, a place we can find provisions, and supplies to fix the hole.”
Everyone “knew someone.” Bait and switch, cons, and hustles had magnified since the war. Hard to not be taken by them, but what was a pirate but a con man himself? Except here, we had little choice. Our prospects of getting our own materials were slim.
“Vane and I could check it out.” Zid squinted against the brutal sun, not showing any other sign he was experiencing the insufferable heat like the rest of us.
“Last time you checked something out, you ended up at a brothel.”
“The best information source you can find,” he responded.
Snorting, I folded my arms. “Helps if you bring that information back instead of staying there for two days.”
“That was one time, and that was Vane,” Zid grumbled. “Couldn’t leave a man behind. Isn’t that one of your rules?”
