“This plan is crazy, even by your usual standards,” Bucc pointed out nervously. “Some might go so far as to say down right suicidal.”

“Probably,” Jesse replied. “We’re the only ones who can even attempt it though. If there’s a single chance that we can win, we have to take it. Everyone’s freedom is resting on this working out.”

“No pressure then.”

The Phoenix had fallen back from the battle and was now making its way towards the riftway. A quietness had settled over the crew as exhaustion and the bitter pang of defeat began to set in. Jesse wasn’t letting them wallow though, instead keeping everybody busy and active.

Jesse, Bucc, and Milla had joined Adward at the helm. The ship looked in a rough state but thankfully none of the damage was affecting her ability to sail. Despite this, Adward had a deep frown on his face.

“Do you think you can do it?” his sister asked.

“What you’re asking would require absolute perfection. “I’m good, but this would be a whole other level. Pirates who have studied the riftways for decades wouldn’t even dare risk it. But, if this is an all or nothing chance like you say, then I think I can pull it off.”

“I knew you could. That Ashenna captain isn’t going to know what hit her.”

Bucc still wasn’t convinced. “Let me get this straight. You want to launch The Phoenix out of a riftway and drop it on top of the Ashenna flagship?”

“In essence, yes. We cut off their head and the rest of the body loses its sense of unity. If we can take out this woman then that’ll be a massive blow to Pyrefist.”

“I like it,” Milla said. “It will take something like a ship to the face to beat that demon.”

“How can she be so powerful?” Bucc asked. “I know she is Pyrefist’s daughter, but her control of fire is unbelievable.”

Milla shrugged. “I don’t know much about her. Nobody does. Pyrefist calls her Daughter, and those under her command call her Captain. I’ve never heard her be addressed by any name except Red Demon. I just call her Red. All I know is that she’s dangerous. ”

“And you want to fight her one-on-one?”

“Yes. Though technically I want to fight her four on one. Of course, one is a pacifist and the other is a bookworm, so really it’s more like two and a half on one. But together we represent every single Affinity. That’s our advantage!”

Bucc leaned in closer to Adward. “Why are all women so insane?” he asked. 

“I wish I knew. I could do with some of their confidence though.”

An idea came to Bucc and he tapped Neri gently until the familiar slid up onto his shoulder. With how all of the blanks had been acting near the riftways, he wasn’t sure that this was the right thing to do, but he felt it was worth a try.

“The blanks are in tune with the riftways somehow. If you look through them you can see the passages clearer. Some of them are invisible to the human eye. Neri here was the one who made it so I could fly through one without a ship. Maybe she can help you.”

Neri quivered and made a disgruntled squeak, but still followed Bucc’s motion to go to Adward. She floated across the gap then waited patiently for Adward to take hold of her. He cautiously took her and held her up to examine the sky. A look of wonder settled onto his face.

“This is amazing,” he said. “I could make the most detailed riftway charts in existence. This is groundbreaking. I wonder how things look inside a riftway…”

“Do you think it will help you?”

“Oh yes. I only wish I could take some notes.”

“It’s time,” Jesse interrupted. The dipped section of an air riftway loomed before them. “Is everyone ready for this?”

“Nope.”

“Not really.”

“Good. Take us in!”

Adward steered the ship straight at the riftway as Jesse and the older Tooth Fairies began to work their affinities. He slid his mask onto his face and Neri attached herself over it. As the ship lifted up and lurched into the swirling vortex of lights, Bucc once again found himself feeling useless.

“Are you ready for the coming battle?” Milla asked him quietly. 

“I’m guessing that means you don’t expect this plan to work then?”

“I have full faith in your friend’s plan to disable their flagship. It won’t stop Pyrefist’s daughter. It might give us the element of surprise though.”

“Can we beat her? I mean, she beat Lord Captain Steeledge and Captain Ackeridge so easily.”

“Her power rivals that of her father. She is smart, fast, well trained, and has an overwhelming grasp of fire. In a few years she will probably be even stronger than Pyrefist.”

“So we can’t win.”

“I never said that. It just means that we can’t fight in a way that she would expect. Then, just maybe, if the stars align, we might just survive for more than a second.”

“You’re really good at a lot of things, Milla, but motivational speeches aren’t one of them.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. A faint sadness glimmered in her eyes. “I haven’t had people to talk to for a while.”

Bucc’s gaze passed over the rest of the crew. It was impossible to get a full feel of the mood through their masks but their body language was nervous, fearful. Everybody was scared but they were rushing off to fight all the same. Every one of them believed that they needed to fight to protect those they cared for.

“I might have a plan.”

“Might? You’re too unsure of yourself. Have the confidence in yourself that your friends place in you. They trust you. You believe in them, and they believe in you, so, in a round about way, you should already believe in yourself. Drop the doubt and embrace who you really are.”

The words struck straight at Bucc’s heart like a hammer. “Right! I know what to do. Everybody! Gather around. I have a plan.”

Bucc quickly explained his idea. The swirl of colours sped past them like a dazzling blizzard. Adward made a series of quick adjustments with the helm, then they were spat out back into reality.

Bucc felt his stomach drop. As The Phoenix emerged from the riftway their vision was filled with nothing but white. A powerful wind ripped at them and all of the blood seemed to be racing into his head. Then the white was gone, revealing the expansive world below them. Clustered together amidst the infinite blue of the ocean was the Ashenna fleet. 

Adward shouted directions to the other windcallers as they fought to control The Phoenix’s freefall. The wind howled through the sails and threatened to rip them from the mast. For a dreadful moment it looked as though they wouldn’t be able to gain control, but after a few seconds the ship turned and angled downwards, its bow pointed straight at the Ashenna flagship. 

“Brace for impact!” Jesse roared above the rushing wind. 

Panic passed through Bucc. How exactly did you brace for impact for a ship hurtling through the sky on a collision course with another ship? Standard safety procedures seemed to have been thrown overboard by this point. He grabbed the mast and hugged it tightly. Neri bounced over to him then expanded to cover his body.

Nothing happened in what felt like an eternity. Then far too much happened in too short a time. A wall of sound bludgeoned Bucc even as the ship around him buckled and splintered. Wood fragments flew in every direction and water rose up in a mighty splash that dwarfed the two ships. The mast snapped and Bucc was thrown down the deck.

A wave of water swept him up and pulled him away from the exploding Phoenix. He looked around and saw Jesse standing on a plank of wood atop the wave, her hands splayed above the water. Other waterweavers were at her side, helping her to control the mighty wave. The wave dipped then the crew of The Phoenix were deposited onto the deck of a nearby ship.

Bucc blinked rapidly in disbelief. Part of him hadn’t expected to survive that stunt. Looking at the sea of debris that now surrounded them, it became clear just how much carnage the attack had caused. There was no sign at all of the Ashenna flagship aside from the fractured wood around them. 

He pulled his eyes away from the devastation to look at his immediate surroundings. After a moment he realised that they were standing aboard Captain Steeledge’s vessel, The Cutting Edge. A knot began to form in his stomach as he slowly turned around. 

Piercing red eyes met his own. The Ashenna captain stood facing the newcomers, her face as effective a cover for her emotions as Jesse’s mask. Both Captain Steeledge and Captain Ackeridge lay at her feet, breathing, but barely. 

It was only now that Bucc realised how little attention he had paid her back when they had first met. Pyrefist dominated his environment so much that everything around him faded into the background. Without her father here to overshadow her, it was clear how intimidating she was in her own right. 

Those scarlet eyes cut straight through Bucc, burning into his very soul. She was taller than Bucc and stood with an overpowering confidence, each of her tiniest movements perfectly precise in their execution. Where Pyrefist had a neutral expression on his rough face, she wore a permanent scowl that was made more severe by a large scar that split her face from the cheek across her mouth in a diagonal line.

“You southern pirates are always so full of surprises,” she said in a cold voice that seemed impossible of expressing anything close to surprise. “A decisive attack on the enemy command that can’t be defended against. Clever. I’m afraid it was a wasted effort though. Any ship I stand on is my flagship.”

“Then we’ll just have to knock you overboard then. Maybe the water will help you cool off,” retorted Jesse. 

“I don’t take pleasure in killing. Stop this senseless violence and surrender. My father’s path is the only one that will ensure all pirates get to see another generation. You clearly can’t be trusted with resources. Wood and food can’t meet demand. Something has to give, and nobody but my father has the will to change. Why fight against your best interest?”

“Why?” Milla started angrily. Fire burned in her eyes strong enough to rival the deathly glare of the Ashenna woman. “What was in my best interest about watching my village burn and my family die? What was in anyone’s best interest fighting a war as you turn the very wood you claim to care about into worthless ash? You’re both hypocrites filled with nothing but the hot air your fires create.”

“Your case was different, but that isn’t of concern right now. The first steps are always the hardest. We all need to endure these birthing pains of a new world. So, will you give up this foolishness and lay down your weapons?”

Bucc willed his legs to move and took a step forward. “I think that we’ll have to pass on that,” he said with all the false confidence he could muster. 

“If it isn’t the pacifist flamecaster. Don’t you see the irony in you choosing to prolong a war? I’ll admit, your little stunt the first time we met really stirred things up. Though I expect you were just in the right place at the right time. Your friend there is the special one. You are nothing.”

“Well, when you’re tied up and unable to fight and somebody asks you what happened, you’ll be able to answer “Nothing”. Won’t that be nice for your pride?” He offered her a sly grin.

“So be it. What’s a little more blood on my hands? Come. Let’s get this over with.” 

Previous – Chapter 26. The Last Stand.

Next – Chapter 28. Who We Really Are.

As the Ashenna fleet approached, great torrents of water rose up around the Isles of Frindor. Miles of sea flowed upwards, encasing the isles until the entire area was enclosed in a dome of frothing water. Such a feat required the full strength of hundreds of skilled wayfarers. Bucc had never seen anything like it.

“That’s our signal,” Jesse said. “Sail for the riftway. We’ve got to take on their right flank. Adward, try to bring us out just outside of their sights.”

“Can do.”

Milla looked unimpressed. “Does this Captain Steeledge think that a wall of water will protect them?”

“The Ashenna rely on flamecasters, don’t they?” Bucc asked, feeling slightly confused. “A wall of water seems like a good defence to me.”

“Against a few ships it would be. Against a fleet this size they’ve just made a weapon against themselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“The ocean is fairly large, correct?”

“That certainly could be said, yes.”

“Use your power on the water below us. Don’t question it, just do it.”

Bucc did as Milla asked. He approached the railing and fired a jet of flames into the sea a few feet from the ship. The water frothed then began to boil.

“You can set a small spot boiling of something unimaginably large. If every Ashenna flamecaster focuses on that dome they can bring the whole thing to boiling point. Then it’s a case of who has the most water users. If the Ashenna have more, which they probably do, they can overpower your companions’ wills and collapse the boiling dome down on their heads. That wouldn’t be pretty.”

“We’ve got a job to do,” Jesse told them bluntly. “We just have to hope that Captain Steeledge knows what he’s doing. For now we need to stay focused.”

“Agreed,” Milla said.

A nearby ship opened a small gap in the dome for The Phoenix to slip through. Other ships were doing the same across the back of the isles. The ships that left the barrer quickly disappeared into a nearby riftway. 

Adward steered them towards the riftway while Jesse gathered the few Tooth Fairies that had been Awakened. The wayfarers numbered a lot less than Bucc was used to seeing for a ship of The Phoenix’s size but Jesse assured him that Adward had figured out how to maximise their limited powers. 

Buc felt the familiar thrum of energy build up around him as The Phoenix dropped down into the riftway. They were only in the swirling vortex for a matter of seconds but in that brief time all of the blanks went wild. They tugged at Milla but couldn’t lift her from her spot. Then the ship was back above water and the blanks had become completely docile once more.

“What was that about?” Adward called down. “Were they trying to take you back to the Nexus?”

“Probably,” Bucc told him wearily. “Don’t get any ideas though. I don’t think they’ll take you on command. I get the feeling that Milla is the one they want, and that I just got caught up in their attempt. Is that right, Neri?”

His familiar chirped dismissively from his back. 

“Fine, keep your secrets. I have a horrible feeling I’ll find out soon enough.”

“You seem to know a lot about Ashenna attacks,” Jesse said to Milla. “How long do you think it’ll take for their fleet to surround the dome and bring it down?”

“Not long. Only a few minutes.”

“In that case we need to move fast. The Ashenna hold every advantage so they’ll expect us to fight defensively. If we can pull off a swift counter attack then we might be able to surprise them. If the other captains have any sense, they’ll come to the same conclusion too.”

The sound of cannonfire was carried on the wind before any ships came into view. First the dome of water rose up from the horizon, then the black specks of ships started to appear. Adward adjusted The Phoenix’s path so she sailed straight for the centre of the fleet’s left flank. Some of the other southern ships could be seen making for the enemy too. The Ashenna had already surrounded the dome. Streaks of vivid flames shot out from each ship at the wall of water just as Milla had predicted. 

The dome was already frothing angrily under the heat. It seemed to waver for a moment, then a hole opened up and the floating village emerged like a titan. Every flamecaster who was in range directed their fire at the ship while the Ashenna wayfarers did all they could to slow the collosal vessel. 

There was a great roar of rushing water. The dome bloomed open like a flower, stretching out over the Ashenna ships before it collapsed down upon them in a massive tidal wave. The ships were thrown around and scattered even as Captain Steeledge’s forces rushed forward and opened fire.

“Fire the cannons!” Jesse ordered. The Phoenix shuddered and iron shots tore into the hull of the closest Ashenna ship. 

Cannonfire sounded all around them now. Wisps of smoke rose up into the air, casting the battle in a grey haze as hundreds of cannons spewed destruction. The sounds drowned out everything until Bucc’s ears felt numb from the explosions. Flames sprayed over crushing waves and a fierce wind tore at sails and threatened to pull men overboard.

Bucc watched in horror at the devastation. Milla stood beside him. She observed the battle with a hunger in her eyes.

  The floating village couldn’t take any more damage and the gunpowder finally exploded. The force knocked Bucc onto his back even as far away as The Phoenix was. Water and fire expanded in a sphere of carnage that sent shockwaves through the ocean and threw ships away as though they were toys. Flames mushroomed high above where the floating village had sat moments before.

“The daughter moves,” Milla told him in a cold voice. “If only we were closer.”

Bucc pulled himself up using the railing and saw that the Ashenna flagship, identifiable by its bright crimson sails, wove forward through the wreckage of the ships that had been too close to the explosion. 

“Adward, throw me your seeing-glass!”

“It’s called a telescope and it’s my most valuable possession, so don’t lose it!”

Adward threw down the metal tube, which Bucc immediately almost dropped. He opened it up and aimed it at the flagship. Now he could clearly see a black haired woman standing at the front of the ship. Bucc recognised her as the girl that had accompanied Captain Pyrefist back on The Singing Seal.

She held her arms out before her towards the still blazing spire of flame that the explosion had created. The flames danced as though they were being pulled, then stretched out and began to move like a giant snake. The woman controlled it with sweeping movements of her arms, directing it to slam into southern ships in arcing movements that twisted and turned across the battle. 

Bucc trembled at the display of power. With a lurching dread he realised that Pyrefist was likely even stronger than her. Any hope that he’d had burned away like the sails of the ships caught by the snaking inferno.

The flagship was still moving forward. Bucc saw that it was heading straight for Captain Steeledge’s personal ship. Several of the other allied ships must have noticed this too and moved to intercept the Ashenna craft, but they were swept aside like leaves on the wind.

“She’s going for the Lord Captain!” Bucc shouted. “Can we do anything to help?”

“We could if there wasn’t a dozen enemy ships between us and them,” Jesse answered through gritted teeth. “Adward, forget sensible sailing. Steer us straight towards them. Keep those cannons firing!”

The Tooth Fairies were already exhausted. The Phoenix’s cannons were a mismatched collection that had been scavenged due to their smaller sizes, but even with smaller cannonballs, the constant reloading was wearing them down. They still redoubled their efforts at Jesse’s word. 

Jesse marched to the prow and drew two pistols which she fired at the deck of the Ashenna ship they were forcing their way past. Fire shot across from the ship towards Jesse and Bucc quickly grappled it to part before her. He felt the sharp jolt of surprise again and knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it a second time.

“I knew you’d have my back,” Jesse told him without looking around.

“It’s your front I’m worried about right now. I can’t outpower these guys so keep your head down!”

Jesse grabbed a different pistol and fired again. The flamecaster dropped with a shout. A volley of returning shots forced her to jump back and find cover. She ducked behind the mast and continued to pepper the enemy crew with shots.

The Phoenix scraped along the Ashenna ship as it forced its way past the outer defences of the fleet. Cannonballs crashed into them, rocking the ship violently. The Phoenix returned fire but they were severely outgunned. 

“I can’t get us through!” Adward shouted. “They’re packed too tightly together. Those cannons are going to rip us apart if we try and push any further. We have to pull back.”

Jesse looked around quickly. The Ashenna ships were closing in on them, making it difficult for The Phoenix to turn around and escape. 

“Abandon the portside cannons and focus all fire starboard!” she ordered. “Milla, can you get us on that ship?” she asked, indicating the ship that was blocking The Phoenix’s portside. Milla nodded, a small smile growing on her face. “Good. Do it then. Just me and you. Their flamecaster for that ship is down so we shouldn’t have to worry about that. Bucc, don’t let my ship get turned to ash while I’m gone.”

“This is too dangerous-” Bucc began to shout, but the two girls didn’t wait for him to finish. 

Vines shot out from around Milla’s arms and stretched out to wrap around the mast of the Ashenna ship. Jesse grabbed her shoulders then the vines constricted, pulling them up towards the enemy vessel. Jesse let go and rolled onto the deck, a pistol in each hand. Milla landed a moment later, her vines already lashing out at the pirates around them. 

Bucc didn’t want to just stand there while his friends put their lives on the line. He had to do something. It was time to put some of his theories to the test. He tried to focus through the cannonfire and shouts, clearing his mind until only self awareness remained. If he was right, his ability to channel fire came from being able to generate heat. Lots of heat in a small space created flame, but what if he spread out that heat?

He concentrated on the fire deep within him, feeling the energy seep through his limbs and tingle across his skin. It took a lot of effort but he resisted the call of the fire and released the heat into the air as a shimmering wave like he had seen on especially hot days. The heat spread out around him. He tried to control it, pushing it all in front of himself and away from the Tooth Fairies. Some of it was directed down towards the ocean until the heated air was thick with humidity.

The Ashenna ship’s cannons fell silent. Bucc opened his eyes. His skin was slick with sweat but he managed a smile through laboured breaths. He watched as the Northern pirates struggled to pick up the smooth and heavy cannonballs in sweaty hands, then find themselves unable to light the soggy fuses on the cannons.

Adward swung The Phoenix around in a tight arc even as several Ashenna wayfarers fought to keep the ship in place. Bucc took a deep breath then wrestled with the fire once again to spread the sickly heat as far as he could manage. Another allied ship moved to support them, drawing away some of the Ashenna firepower and allowing Adward to peel away from the engagement. 

As The Phoenix began to pull away from the Ashenna fleet, Milla and Jesse made a running jump over the railing and swung across to the ship using Milla’s vines. The ship they had just left veered sharply towards another Ashenna craft, its helm empty.

Bucc scrambled up into the crowsnest to get a better look over the battle. He looked through Adward’s telescope to see what was happening with Captain Steeledge’s ship. The Ashenna flagship had stopped beside the captain’s vessel. Bucc focussed in further and saw the black haired woman standing alone on Captain Steeledge’s deck, surrounded by allied pirates. The Lady Hope was anchored at the other side, her crew moving onto the other ship to support Captain Steeledge’s crew.

Captain Ackeridge stood beside Captain Steeledge, dwarfed by his towering presence. They were both facing down the younger woman, though she didn’t seem phased in the slightest at the presence of two captains, especially one of Steeledge’s reputation. Bucc shouted this information down to the others.

The captains stood there unmoving for a while, likely speaking with one another. It looked like the conversation broke down though when Captain Steeledge drew his two swords and charged at the Ashenna woman. 

What happened next was too quick for Bucc to see, even using the telescope. Captain Steeledge slashed then fell to the deck in a spreading pool of his own blood, clutching the stump of his arm where a hand had been a moment before. Bucc hadn’t seen the woman move but now she too held a sword in her hand. She didn’t even glance at the lord captain, instead keeping her eyes fixed on Captain Ackeridge. 

Ackeridge’s familiar snarled then jumped down from her shoulder. It arched its back and hissed at the woman, all traces of its usually lazy demeanor were gone. Captain Ackeridge herself shuffled a few steps closer, leaning heavily on her walking stick. The younger woman approached her calmly, her sword lowered yet clearly ready to strike. 

The captain’s familiar sprang into the air, suddenly growing in size until it hit the deck again as a colossal grey tiger. At the same moment, Captain Ackeridge rushed towards the woman without any sign of age. She pulled on her walking stick, revealing a slim blade, and lunged straight for the woman’s heart as her familiar pounced at her from the side.

The woman stepped away from the blade with a precise movement and grabbed Captain Ackeridge’s wrist. In one swift motion she pivoted and threw the older woman into the path of her own familiar. They crashed into each other and sprawled across the floor. Both were back on their feet with unbelievable speed but the Ashenna woman gave a dismissive flick of her arm and a wave of flame tore along the deck. 

“Our ships are being scattered!” Adward shouted. “We can’t win this battle. If we stay here we’ll be sunk.”

Thick clouds of smoke rolled across the ocean, blocking the view of a large section of the battle. Adward was right though, it seemed that all of the southern ships were trying to break away and retreat. 

“Jesse, what are your orders?” her brother pressed. “You have to make a decision fast.”

Jesse was silent for a moment. “Pull back.”

“So that’s it then? Pyrefist has won. The world is his,” Milla said quietly. 

“Not yet,” Jesse announced. “Their fleet isn’t the threat. That woman is the one that single handedly stopped us. If we can take her out then the Alliance might be able to regroup and counterattack.”

“I’m guessing you have a plan then?”

“You bet I do. Hold on to something. Things are about to get really bumpy.”

Previous – Chapter 25. All Pieces in Place.

Next – Chapter 27. Strike Back.

Bucc, Jesse, and Adward returned to The Phoenix to prepare for the coming battle. Messages between captains were exchanged by dozens of flying familiars that criss-crossed through the air between the ships. 

The Ashenna fleet was visible as a dark smear that seemed to fill the horizon. The mirth and celebrations of the last hour were faded memories already. The southern pirates knew that they were beat but nobody seemed quite willing to admit it.

“What grand plan does Captain Steeledge have then?” Adward asked his sister after Jesse had finished reading another of the Lord Captain’s messages.

“Twenty ships are to stay here in the Isles while the other seventeen peel away and try to flank the Ashenna fleet.”

“That doesn’t sound like a winning plan to me,” Adward said sourly. “They have the numbers to surround the Isles and have ships guarding their parameters. He must have something else up his sleeve.”

“I don’t think so,” Jesse admitted. “His whole plan is based on mobility. Around the Isles they can’t use the strength of their full fleet, and the ships they do use can’t turn as fast as the ships Captain Steeledge has assigned to stay there. Our flanking ships will be acting independently. He hopes that we’ll be hard targets to hit while the Ashenna are so closely packed together that we’d struggle to miss even with wild, unaimed cannonfire.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“What are they doing with that floating village?” Bucc observed.

“It’s rigged with all of our gunpowder reserves,” Jesse told him gleefully. “The plan is to sail it right into the middle of their fleet. Unless the Ashenna ships focus their cannons on it, they’ll struggle to bring it down in time. At that point we get to witness the biggest bang in pirate history. Seeing that will make this war worth the effort.”

A bell rang, telling them that a rowboat was approaching them. The boat carried only Bucc’s parents. They were quickly pulled aboard. Bucc realised that he probably should have found the time to let them know he was safe after jumping overboard back on The Lady Hope. They hung back nervously for a moment so Bucc rushed over to give them a hug.

“We have so much that we want to talk with you about,” his mum began, “But I’m afraid we’re here on business. Your friend Milla is showing signs of waking up and we thought you’d like to know.”

Bucc couldn’t help but smile. “That sounds right. She wouldn’t miss the chance to fight against the Ashenna. Can I see her?”

“We were hoping you would. Seeing a friendly face when she wakes will do her good. A girl like her could be quite dangerous if she wakes up in an unfamiliar place, scared and confused.”

Bucc agreed. He joined his parents and made the short trip over to The Lady Hope. As they rowed, a million feelings drifted through his head. This could be the last time he ever had a chance to speak to his parents if the battle went poorly. Being shoulder to shoulder with them made that reality somehow more solid than when he had been lost. 

“You worried?” his mum asked, sensing his mood. 

“Worried is putting it lightly. I’m terrified. Sure, I’m scared of fighting, but the thought of everyone else risking their lives makes it hard to breathe.”

“I think you’re right,” his father nodded. “I’ve been in more battles than I can count, but it was always just fun and games. Now, everything I hold dear is on the line. That’s a lot of pressure to carry. Whatever happens, Bucc, I want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

“The same goes for me,” his mum agreed. “I’d love to fight at your side, but I understand that you belong somewhere else. All these years I’ve wanted you to become a true pirate, and now that you are standing proud against the biggest threat we’ve ever known I just want you to run and be safe. The human heart is a strange thing, isn’t it?”

“Can we win?”

“We can try. Captain Steeledge is the greatest pirate alive, and under his command are the bravest crews in the southern seas. He’s a hero, and frankly anybody who has chosen to fight here is a hero too. What do the Ashenna have to face that?”

“Superior numbers, standardised training and a wealth of flamecasters,” his father answered dryly. Bucc’s mum glared at him. He coughed awkwardly. “Right, sorry. What I mean is, all that scary sounding stuff doesn’t stand up to good old fashioned passion and bravery. Gods love plucky underdogs. Whenever you have a million-in-one chance of winning, it stands to reason that you have a ninety percent success rate.”

“I don’t think that maths adds up…” 

They arrived at The Lady Hope and were quickly lifted aboard. As they crossed the deck, Captain Ackeridge inched her head towards Bucc but didn’t speak. He had technically deserted her crew and joined another without asking her. 

It wasn’t long before they entered Milla’s cabin. The room was dark but the girl’s deathly pale skin and blonde hair seemed to glow in the gloom. She looked so frail laying there alone. 

Bucc’s mum lit a candle and placed it on a table beside the bunk. Bcc sat besideMilla and could hear her unsteady breathing, but when he listened closer he could just make out fevered mumbling beneath her breath. Her eyelids fluttered but never opened.

“Nightmares,” his mum explained sadly. “Bad ones by the sound of them. But the fact that she can string together thoughts and react to them physically is a good sign. The surgeon expects her to wake up soon. Though perhaps she’d be better to sleep through this battle. Pushing herself so soon after waking up won’t do her any good.”

His parents left to help prepare for the coming battle. Bucc sat alone for a while without knowing what he was supposed to be doing. He had only known her for a week longer than everyone else, and most of that time they had been forced together by circumstances beyond their control. Who was to say that Bucc would be someone she wanted to see?

“Milla?” he asked tentatively. The word sounded too loud in the quiet of the room. She still mumbled quietly to herself. Bucc thought about what might get her to wake up. “The Ashenna are about to attack us. If you want your chance to fight them then you’d better get up.” She stirred slightly at the name but didn’t wake. 

“I found my Pa, and Jesse and Adward. Jesse’s a captain now. I hurt her badly back on The Seal but somehow she’s grown stronger from it. I’m part of her crew now. Neri still wants us to go back to The Shores of the Nexus, but we have a battle to win first. I’m not sure why, but she insists that you’re there when we go. That means you’ve got to pull through and keep yourself alive, okay?”

Milla didn’t move, but Neri did. His familiar wriggled out from his shirt and rolled over to the door where she nudged it repeatedly. Bucc opened it and Neri slipped out of the room. He frowned then sat back down. He could tell from their link that she didn’t want him to follow her. 

A few minutes passed until Bucc sensed that Neri was returning. She rolled back into the room followed by a stream of floating blanks that filled the corridor beyond. They filed into the small room until Bucc was crushed into a corner. The blanks flocked around Milla, pressing against her and making a deep rumbling noise that seemed to charge the air. A gentle glow began to come from each blank until the entire cabin was bathed in a soft green light. 

They lifted Milla from the bed and into the air. She was wearing a simple nightgown that another crew member had provided for her. It hung below her like ghostly wisps. Her body shivered, then slowly her eyes opened. 

For a moment she hung there without moving, taking the scene in with vacant, sleepy eyes. Then they focussed in and the look of peace on her face twisted into a scowl. She jerked herself to the side and landed on the ground where she staggered and fell. Bucc pushed his way towards her but she stood up again before he could reach her. She swayed perilously and blinked dizzily. 

“Where am I? What’s happening?”

“You’re safe. We escaped Cantruug but you were hurt. We’re aboard a friendly ship. I’d say everything’s okay, but we’re literally about to be attacked by an Ashenna fleet.”

“Good. Point me towards them.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

“I’ll find them myself then,” she snapped. She tried to scatter the blanks from her path and walked towards the door. She missed it and walked into the wall. 

“The blanks woke you up but I get the feeling you aren’t fully recovered yet. How many times do I have to tell you that you need to eat to get your strength back up?”

Milla made a low growling noise. Even she must have known that she was in no condition to fight. 

“Fine. Bring me food.” She paused then tugged at the nightgown. “Where’s my dress?” A trace of distress lined her voice.

“It was ripped and burned during the escape. More than it already was. It barely stayed on you.”

“Where is it?” she asked again. Thinly veiled anger reflected in her face and words. 

Bucc hoped that his parents had had the foresight to leave the dress in the room. He checked the chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Inside was a bundle of white material. He picked it up and offered it to her.

“Like I said, it was badly damaged. The others wanted to throw it away and get you some new clothes but I had a feeling this dress was really important to you. My pa has a bit of skill as a tailor so I got him to repair it for you. The only material similar enough that we had was my Awakening shroud. I hope you don’t mind having my shirt sewn into it.”

Milla took it gingerly and carefully unfolded it. Bucc’s father had done a good job with it. It was almost impossible to see where the rips had been patched with the Awakening shroud. There were no signs of the burn damage and all of the dirt and blood had been meticulously washed out. Bucc had never seen the dress in its original state, but it looked like he had always imagined it should have.

“You gave up your shroud for this?” Milla asked in a shaking voice. “Those clothes are sacred. They are there to be used for the next generation.”

Bucc shrugged awkwardly. “That’s in the future. It might not even happen. Until then, none of it’s real I guess. What is real is what’s in front of me. I could save those clothes for a future that might not happen, or I could use them for a present that I know will impact someone’s life. And, well, you probably won’t have a shroud of your own since your village was destroyed, right? So I wanted to show you people still care.”

Silent tears rolled down Milla’s face. She hugged the dress tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered. She smiled gleefully even as the tears continued to fall. Without warning she started to slip off the gown to change into the repaired dress. Bucc span around to face the wall, blushing furiously.

“It looks just like it did on the day my dad gave it to me,” Milla said.

Bucc risked looking around and saw that she was now in the dress. He sighed and turned back to her.

“I’m glad you like it. We’re about to go into another battle though. Don’t you want some other clothes to wear to keep the dress safe?”

“No.” The word was spoken with a firm determination. “I wore this dress on the day the Ashenna attacked my village. The ash of my home and the blood of my family became part of this fabric. I’ll keep wearing it until Pyrefist is dead. Now let’s go. I don’t want to miss out when the fighting starts.”

Milla made it through the door this time, though her steps were still unsteady. A crowd had gathered in the corridor outside that had followed the sudden appearance of the blanks. They parted without a word as Milla passed them. The blanks swirled around her. Bucc followed quickly in her wake.

Without slowing she made her way up to the deck and scanned the crowd, directing her steps straight towards Bucc’s mum. When she got there she stopped and pointed to Bucc’s father as the blanks spread out and floated above her.

“Are you Bucc’s dad?”

“Yes, last time I checked. That’s me.”

She considered him for a moment then offered him a curtsey. “Thank you for caring for my dress. I am in your debt.”

His dad looked taken aback by the statement. No doubt that all of the gossip involving Milla had mentioned her cold attitude and hostile actions. He held his hands up and quickly shook his head with a nervous laugh.

“There’s no need for that. It was Bucc that insisted I fix it up for you. I’m just glad it all seems to fit nicely. Call it a reward for getting my wife and son back to me safe. No debt necessary.”

 “Understood,” she said with a nod. “Now, please point me in the direction of the enemy.”

Bucc grabbed her arm. “We aren’t marching straight towards a fleet of eighty five ships. That’s crazy even for you. Listen, just come with me and then if we see an opening you can go wild, okay?”

Milla considered this. Her fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Finally she gave a frustrated sigh and stopped pulling against Bucc’s grip. 

“Fine. I’ll do it your way until I see a better path. It isn’t Pyrefist out there so I can afford to wait.”

Captain Ackeridge hobbled over to them, her familiar’s usually sleepy eyes locked on Milla with a quiet intensity. “I suppose you’ll be wanting to join my deserting deckhand? If the stories about you are true then I’m reluctant to release you from my service. But then, you were unconscious when they brought you aboard so you can hardly be considered as a binding crew member. So you both better go quickly. It looks like the Ashenna are moving into position.”

“Bucc tells me they have eighty five ships.”

“Yes. They don’t want us to hold this position.”

“Don’t be fooled by their numbers and logical way of thinking. The Ashenna will use any advantage they can get. Don’t underestimate them.”

“Captain Pyrefist isn’t leading them. Without its head, the Ashenna empire lacks a certain bite.”

“I could kill everybody aboard this ship here and now. If the daughter of Pyrefist was here she would make me look like a newborn. Pyrefist has trained her from birth to be his successor. She will wipe out this fleet without mercy.”

A near feral grin spread across the captain’s face. “Then I welcome the challenge.”

Bucc said a heartfelt goodbye to his parents as a boat was prepared to take them back to The Phoenix. 

“I’ll see you both later. That’s a promise.”

A few minutes later they arrived on The Phoenix and Milla was introduced to the Tooth Fairies. They were more interested in the tide of blanks that accompanied her and now floated idly around the deck. Jesse, her mask in place, shook Milla’s hand firmly and officially invited her to the crew. Milla shrugged then agreed.

“You seem like a different person. This year I’ve lost has gifted you with confidence. Do you have enough to command a ship against near unwinnable odds?”

“I feel like I was born to do this. You did all the fighting last time. Now it’s my turn to show you what I can do.” Jesse answered. 

Bucc couldn’t be sure, but he had a pretty good guess that she was smiling beneath the mask. She was looking forward to the battle even in the face of death. It seemed to him that everyone had lost their minds. He turned to Adward.

“Please tell me that you aren’t looking forward to this battle too?”

“Me? By His Noodles, no! There’s a lot of the world to explore yet before I take on the afterlife. But I can’t let everyone else go and get themselves killed, can I? You’re going to need my brains to get through this.”

“Then you’d better put those brains to use now. It’s time,” Milla announced gravely. 

Bucc looked out towards where the Ashenna fleet had set up. They were on the move. It looked like it really was time. He took a deep breath and looked to Jesse.

“What are your orders, Captain?”

Jesse drew one of her many pistols and pointed it at the oncoming fleet. “All hands to battle stations. Prepare yourself for the fight of your lives!”

Previous – Chapter 24. The Calm Before the Storm.

Next – Chapter 26. The Last Stand.

The Phoenix left the Riftway a short distance from the Isles of Frindor. Bucc was impressed by how smoothly the ship navigated the riftway with so few wayfarers. They had always fascinated Adward, and his research had obviously paid off. His control of air seemed to be best suited for aiding in riftway travel. The same couldn’t be said for Jesse, who was able to control large amounts of water but lacked any real delicacy. 

The Tooth Fairies scurried around the ship with an energy not seen in older crews. What they lacked in strength and experience they more than made up for with an eagerness to prove themselves. Jesse had given them a purpose and proven to them that they could achieve great things. 

Several ships started towards them. Bucc recognised Captain Steeledge’s personal ship in the centre position. As they neared The Phoenix, Jesse emerged from the captain’s cabin with her mask on and confidence in her stride. 

“Let’s show them that we aren’t a joke,” she told the youngsters around her. “Mask up and keep your weapons at the ready.”

“Yes Captain!” they chorused. They each donned a mask and gripped crude spears as they lined up to either side of Jesse. Adward stood at her side and also pulled a mask over his face.

As had happened before, a platform was lowered down from the larger ship and Captain Steeledge and a group of his pirates stepped off to greet them. His eyebrow raised slightly at the sight of Bucc but the surprise was quickly smothered. His guards seemed on edge as they walked between the rows of masked spearmen towards Jesse. 

Captain Steeledge stopped a few steps away from her and offered a slight bow of his head. “I am Lord Captain Steeledge, nominated leader of the Southern Alliance fleet. Words of your exploits are well known here. Please tell me who I have the honour of addressing.”

“I am Captain Reeds of The Phoenix. We’ve come here to offer our help against the Ashenna.” Jesse spoke clearly and confidently but couldn’t change the fact that she still sounded like a teenage girl. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the Lord Captain nearly doubled her height.

“I must admit,” began Captain Steeledge, “I expected someone very different to be standing here before me. Are you truly the sea devil that appears from nowhere to strike down Ashenna ships?”

“Don’t be deceived by my age, Lord Captain. I’m everything you’ve heard me to be, and I’m here to win you a war. You’ll find my crew are more than up for the task.”

The Captain’s serious frown broke into a low chuckle. “We’ll see about that. All the same, I accept you into the fleet. Tonight we will celebrate in your honour. Tales of your daring have been the talk of the taverns for weeks.” He turned to Bucc. “And with you you’ve brought us back Buccaneer Jones. I’ve just heard a report stating you threw yourself overboard and condemned yourself to Davy Jones’ Locker. You’re looking awfully healthy for someone who is dead. Dead twice over no less.”

Bucc shrugged. “My Ma always said it’s in our name. Davy Jones must be family, right? So he lets us come and go freely. We’ve always been lucky.”

“Let’s hope your luck holds out for a while longer then. We’re going to need all the luck we can get in the coming days. But for now we drink!”

They docked and made their way to the same tavern Bucc had visited before. Messengers were sent out and gradually the already packed building began to be flooded with more pirates as every captain gathered. When it looked like the tavern couldn’t hold another pirate, Captain Steeledge motioned for Jesse to follow him as he stepped out onto a protruding stage on the second floor that looked out at the main area. 

“Pirates of the southern seas!” he announced loudly. “Today we are graced by the presence of a growing legend. Talk of a mysterious ship taking on Ashenna supply routes has been on everyone’s tongues, and now I can confirm that this ship is known as The Phoenix. Raise your flagons to celebrate Captain Reeds! She has agreed to lend us The Phoenix’s strength. So let’s drink to her and her crew’s health!”

The assembled pirates cheered and drank merrily in answer. Jesse stepped forward but didn’t speak or react. She didn’t need to. The mask did the speaking for her.

“That should keep them occupied for the evening. Let your crew mingle with the others. We don’t have that luxury I’m afraid. The Council is convening and you, Captain Reeds, have a seat upon it.”

The two captains entered the meeting room, leaving Bucc, Adward, and the Tooth Fairies alone. They looked at each other, not sure what they were supposed to do now. 

Adward bit his lip, then shrugged and cleared his throat. “Well? You heard the Lord Captain. Go and enjoy the celebrations. Just remember that you represent the Captain. Got it?”

“Got it!”

The Tooth Fairies filtered out into the crowd, instantly drawing the attention of many of the other pirates. Within seconds they were swarmed with people offering them drinks and asking questions.

Now it was only Adward and Bucc. “Let’s go for a walk,” Adward muttered as he removed his mask. “I never was one for celebrations.”

They left the tavern and wandered aimlessly along the beach. Twilight was descending upon the world, casting the seas and sky in a blood red that was punctuated by the lights of hundreds of ships. Neither boy spoke, but that was okay. They were used to the quiet of each other’s company.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Adward said softly.

“Yeah. It feels it, even though it’s only been such a short time for me. I never imagined that a few days could feel so long.”

“Time is relative. Some believe we should measure it by how much happens in our individual lives. In that case, it seems like you crammed a lot into two weeks. And anyway, it really is a long time even by normal standards. Think about it. From the moment we were all gathered together by Kaz, me, you, and Jesse have never spent more than a day apart.” Adward laughed dryly. “I never imagined how much fear I could feel thinking we might never see each other again. I don’t want to lose another friend. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. I just wish we could relax instead of worrying about this stupid war. A war that I’ve only known existed for a few days and am already sick of. I never thought I’d want to go back to the old days of sailing without a purpose other than petty raids and friendly skirmishes, but right now they look idyllic.”

“Just be glad you missed the start of this war. I didn’t know how brutal this world could be until the Ashenna began their invasion. It all happened so fast. Captain Pyrefist must have been planning it for years. His forces swept down from the unclaimed seas. In the time it took the bulk of the south sea captains to band together, so much had already been taken. Every single ship in the Ashenna fleet had a flamecaster aboard and every effort we made to stop them was burned away in a wave of flame. We never stood a chance.”

“Yet here we are,” Bucc observed calmly. “Still determined to beat them back. Pirates aren’t very good at logic and reason, are we? Our freedom means so much to us that we’ll throw our lives away to keep it.”

“You know, I’m supposed to be the philosophical one, not you.”

“It’s all just got me thinking. What are the outcomes? We lose and the seas are united under the Ashenna flag and the pirate way of life fades away. But what happens if we do somehow win this war. Do we just carry on as before, even though we already have more pirates than our resources can provide for? Food will still be scarce yet we’ll keep throwing big celebrations, drinking excessively and blowing each others’ ships up?”

“You trying to say that Pyrefist is right?”

“Maybe. In his ideals at least. Not in his methods though. There has to be a better way.” Bucc was quiet for a moment then chuckled.

“What’s funny?”

“Back on the Seal, Pyrefist said basically the same thing to me. That my pacifism was a nice idea but would never work. That it was an impossible way to achieve peace. I think that violence is an impossible way to achieve peace. Pyrefist thinks this is a war of steel and fire, but really it’s a war of ideologies.”

“But how do you plan to win that war if you can’t fight back without destroying the ideology you’re fighting for?”

“I’ve been thinking about that too.”

“Careful. It’s dangerous to think too much without practice. You might break something.”

Bucc gave him a sly grin. “Just hear me out. I’m redefining the term. Pacifism is the opposition of violence, right? But violence is a little vague. We’re pirates, our very culture is violence. We enjoy bar brawls and skirmishes, settle our disputes with fistfights and pass the time by knocking each other around. But everyone likes it. It’s violence, but it never really hurts anyone. It’s just like getting hurt playing mastball, it’s all just part of the game.”

“Yeah, and you’ve always stood against all of that.”

“I have, and I still do. The difference is that I understand it. It’s consensual roughness. But it shows that we can use some kind of violence without hurting others. And that’s the line I draw. I will never willingly hurt another person, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t use any other methods to stop them from inflicting pain onto others.”

“So you want to fight without hurting your enemies. It’s crazy, but not impossible. Still, you’re just one guy. How much difference can one man really make?”

“Imagine that somebody found how to sail through the Shores of the Nexus. That would change the world. Ships could sail anywhere in no time at all. That was your dream, right? To be the man to make that discovery? You would be one man making a world of difference. Even here and now, Captain Pyrefist is only one man and he has built an empire and conquered most of the seas. Just think of the difference Kaz made, the difference he could have made if he lived. One man will always make the difference.”

“I guess you’re right. You still never answered how you intend to win though.”

“I have everything planned perfectly out.”

“You have no idea what you’re going to do, do you?”

“Absolutely none. Look, Jesse is the one with the ideas and you work out the details. Then I just come along for the ride. That’s how it’s always been.”

Their conversation was cut off abruptly by a peal of thunder that was so loud that the ground trembled and the air slammed into them like a physical force. He staggered back, his heart pounding at the suddenness of the noise. 

Within seconds the beach was crowded with pirates who had piled out of the tavern to investigate. Bucc saw the crowd part as the captains emerged and made their way to the dock. A rowboat was tearing through the water towards them. Before it had even tied up, a scrawny man scrambled from the boat and rushed over to the captains.

“It’s the Ashenna! They’re coming!”

Captain Steeledge met the man and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Calm yourself, man. Tell us the details. Quick.”

“Their entire fleet has anchored just beyond cannon range. That bang just now was them amplifying the sound of their cannons to get our attention. It took me so long to reach you because I wanted to get an accurate tally of their numbers. I counted eighty five ships, Captain.”

“Eighty five? By His noodly appendages! They must have brought in reinforcements. That puts them at over double our ships.”

“Pirates of the South Seas,” boomed a woman’s voice. “This is your final chance to surrender. Lay down your weapons and give up your ships or there will be bloodshed unlike anything you have ever witnessed. That is the will of Lord Captain Pyrefist, and I am his instrument.”

“Do we have any visually impressive ways we can show them where to shove their surrender?” Captain Steeledge growled. “Everyone to your ships. Prepare for battle!”

Previous – Chapter 23. Tales of a Lost Year.

Next – Chapter 25. All Pieces in Place.

Big Tim lumbered over to a nearby cannon. The barrel chested pirate beckoned Bucc over to him. “Fancy helping me out with the cannon? Could do with someone passing me up the cannonballs. My back isn’t doing so great.”

“I’m still a pacifist, you know.”

“Yeah. That’s fine. I’m not asking you to hurt anybody. I’m the one doing the shooting. In fact, you’re just going to be helping an aging pirate with his bad back. You’ll be moving a lead ball from one spot to another. Nothin’ violent in that, is there?”

“I don’t think that’s how pacifism works…”

“Sure it is. Here, you just hand me up the cannonballs and I’ll take the shots. I get to destroy stuff and you get good karma for helping the disadvantaged. Everyone’s a winner.”

Bucc gave up trying to argue. He stepped up to the pile of iron balls beside the cannon. It took all of his strength to lift the heavy weight. He held it out to Big Tim who took it from him with a single meaty hand. The giant pirate loaded it into the cannon without seeming to notice the weight at all.

A dozen wayfarers spurred the ships out of hiding around the rock. They charged straight for the five Ashenna ships that sailed close together in a protective huddle. The supply ships spotted them and began to move into a defensive position. The second that the cannons were within range, Captain Ackeridge ordered them to open fire.

The Lady Hope shook as every cannon fired. There was no sense of unified aiming, every pirate firing according to their own wishes. Getting multiple ships to work together was even harder. As such, cannonballs shot off in a wide spread across all five ships instead of focusing one down at a time.

“Prepare to dive!” Captain Ackeridge shouted. “Fire a second volley then brace yourselves!”

Bucc passed over a second cannonball and another wave of iron slammed into the supply convoy. The moment that the rattling of cannonfire ended the ship lurched downwards into the water with sickening suddenness. The telltale swirl of colours and thrum of energy embraced them as they passed into the riftway below them.

No sooner had the ship fully entered the riftway then it sharply pulled back out again. In that brief second, Bucc felt Neri go wild. The familiar pulled frantically at him, urging him to leave the ship behind and let the riftway carry him in its currents. Before Bucc could even react, the ship was already cresting the water again. 

 As soon as The Lady Hope was back on the surface it began a sharp turn to bring the cannons around to the Ashenna convoy. Bucc looked and saw that the other two ships had emerged further out than The Lady Hope. One was still in cannon range but the other would need to close the gap considerably. 

He handed over the next cannonball and a thunderous volley slammed into the other side of the Ashenna ships before they could react. The convoy swung around and targeted their own cannons at The Lady Hope, it being the closest ship now. 

There was a monsterous crashing sound that shook reality. Bucc found himself on the floor in a daze. Wood splinters littered the deck. He stood up and saw the damage that the returning fire had caused them. The Lady Hope wouldn’t be able to take another attack like that. A spike of fear drove itself deep into Bucc’s chest.

“Dive down! We need to split their fire!” Captain Ackeridge shouted. 

“Captain, the Hope can’t take the riftways in this condition!”

“She can’t take another round of cannon fire either. Now do it!”

The Lady Hope dropped back down into the water as a series of cannonballs splashed into the ocean where they had been a moment before. As they sank, another shape loomed beneath them. Captain Ackeridge shouted orders and the Lady Hope veered to the side just in time to avoid crashing into the other vessel. Wood grated together before both ships settled into a line then immediately arced upwards back to the surface.

“We took on a lot of water, Captain,” one of the crew shouted. “The Hope’s in a bad way!”

Bucc wasn’t paying attention to any of that. His eyes locked on the second ship that had emerged right beside them. It was slightly smaller than The Lady Hope and had black sails. Nothing else set it apart as anything unusual. The masked figure on the bridge was what really drew him in.

From the stories that Captain Steeledge and Bucc’s father had told him, Bucc had built up a mental image of what he expected this mysterious masked pirate to look like. It turned out to be nothing like that. The figure was short, and the bulky coat that covered everything but the masked head was brown, simple, and tatty. Even the mask was only poorly carved wood. The person looked more like a crazed urchin than a pirate captain.

In perfect unity, both ships opened fire on the Ashenna. A rumble of cannonfire sounded from the opposite side as the other two southern ships pressed the attack. The Ashenna had taken heavy damage by this point. Slowly they circled around, laying down a spray of cannonfire in every direction, until they were retreating back towards Ashenna waters.

Bucc looked back at the mysterious ship and froze as he realised the masked figure was staring straight at him. His eyes opened wide. Beside the mask wearing captain was Adward. Bucc ran to the railing and waved his arms, shouting his friend’s name. The captain snapped orders and the ship turned back towards the riftway but Bucc wasn’t about to lose his friend again. His instincts took over.

“Neri! Let’s do this!”

The familiar spread out until it coated Bucc’s entire body like a thin film of translucent grey. This took Bucc by surprise but he didn’t think about it. Neri could feel his thoughts, and Bucc trusted her to do what was best to help him, He dived straight into the water, even as he heard the shouts of his parents from above, then swam towards the ship as it turned. It descended beneath the waves and Bucc took a lungful of air and followed. 

He felt water and energy move around. He loosened his muscles and let Neri pull at his limbs. The familiar trembled and pulsed, seeming to become one with the raging torrents of power that formed the riftway. Bucc shot through it like a bullet, his sight set firmly on the deck of the ship ahead. Then, completely without grace, he entered the field of air around the ship and crashed down onto the deck heavily.

Neri released him and took her place between his shoulder blades. Bucc was face down on the deck, his breath coming in heavy rasps. He looked up to see the masked captain and Adward standing over him. His muscles ached but the pain was forgotten in an instant. He scrambled to his feet and hugged his friend tightly. 

“Bucc? How did you…”

“It’s a long story. Forget about it for now. I’ve missed you so much!”

“We thought you were dead. The fire destroyed everything. You weren’t on any of the lifeboats. I was only just coming to terms with that and now you appear out of nowhere and board our ship in the middle of a riftway.” Tears streamed down his usually impassive face.

“I’m so sorry I put you through that. But I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere. Is Jesse here too?”

Without warning, the masked captain punched Bucc in the face. He staggered back and fell over. 

“Hey, calm down. I’m not here to fight!” Bucc tried to explain. A fist to the gut was the only response he received. 

The captain launched a flurry of blows at Bucc. Adward stood to the side, a worried look on his face. Bucc tried to defend himself but his movements were slow and clumsy. Now that he was this close he could see that the captain had several pistols strapped all across the coat. There must have been enough firepower to take out a small crew single handedly. 

“I’m not going to fight you,” Bucc said between heavy breaths. He was beginning to notice a pattern in the captain’s movements. They favoured their left hand, barely ever throwing a punch with the right. Bucc tried to keep himself distanced from the captain’s left side.

The captain surprised him by catching him with a right hook. What surprised him more though was the hiss of pain that came from beneath the mask. The voice was that of a woman. Bucc’s mind quickly put everything together. 

“Jesse?”

Previous – Chapter 21. The Lady Hope.

Next – Chapter 23. Tales of a Lost Year.

Bucc’s new cabin turned out to only be half the size of the one back on the Seal. It was a cramped space that made it clear that personal time wasn’t much of a concern on The Lady Hope. Unlike the floating Villages, The Hope existed to do a job and everything was geared towards that single purpose.

For the first time since before his Awakening, Bucc ate his meagre dinner together with his parents. For over a year they had missed him, had fought, made memories, and grown without him. It really showed. In many ways they seemed like completely different people.

Hours passed as they caught up with each other, until Bucc finally managed to persuade them to let him leave. He stopped in at the cabin that had been assigned to Milla. She was laid in her bunk and still showed no signs of waking. 

As he wandered the corridors, Bucc stumbled upon another familiar face, although it took him a moment to recognise the man. Jon-Boy Reeds had always been a slight man with a constant layer of gunpowder and oil covering his body. These days he looked gaunt and haunted, and moved with a slow vagueness as though he were sleepwalking. His eyes widened after a few seconds of staring through Bucc.

“Buccaneer Jones? Is that really you. You’re… alive.”

The man suddenly became animated, running up to Bucc and grabbing his shoulders. “Please tell me that you’ve seen my Jesse and Adward. You were inseparable. Please! I need to know that they’re safe.”

Bucc could only shake his head. “I’m sorry.”

The man’s face dropped and tears threatened to fall. Bucc placed his hands over the older man’s shaking fingers.

“I have more faith in Jesse and Adward than in anything else. I know they’ll be alright, and I think deep down, you know they are too. We’ll find them. That’s a promise.”

Mister Reeds blinked away the tears and nodded. “You’re right. Those kids are destined for great things. Thank you, Buccaneer. You’ve really grown up this past year. Death has been kind to you. Been getting personal lessons from Davy himself?”

Bucc tapped his nose with a smile. “Family secrets.”

He returned to his cabin and found that sleep came easily. It seemed as though barely any time had passed before he was ripped from his dreams by the sharp tolling of a bell. He rolled out of his bunk and hastily got dressed, rushing into the corridor expecting some kind of attack or emergency. 

Other pirates slowly started to emerge from their rooms. None of them looked panicked. They yawned tiredly and shuffled along without any sense of urgency. 

“Where’s the fire?” one of the crew asked him with a joyless chuckle. “Don’t scratch with your hook, lad, it’s just the mornin’ bell. Captain Ackeridge likes her crew to be early risers.”

Bucc breathed a sigh of relief. He joined up with his parents again for a small breakfast then was directed to the deck to begin mopping. For a moment, Bucc considered the fact that his affinity made him one of the most valuable members of the crew yet he was being made to scrub floors, but then he accepted it since cleaning sounded much more reasonable to him. 

He spent the whole day doing small jobs until his joints ached and his hands felt raw. It was the first full day’s work he’d ever done and it brought with it the realisation why the other adults drank so much. Still, the simplicity of the tasks were strangely relaxing and helped him keep his thoughts occupied.

No orders were sent across to The Lady Hope that day, so when the bulk of the work was done, most of the pirates pulled up barrels and began the time honoured pirate tradition of drinking as they sang and played cards. At first Bucc was dismayed as his perfectly cleaned floor quickly became drenched in spilled ale, but for the first time ever, he too was offered a place and handed a flagon. 

Bucc drank and laughed with the older pirates until the effects of the alcohol hit him hard after only a few drinks. The others laughed boisterously at him as he staggered over to the railing holding his stomach. 

Time moved in a tangle around him. Bucc wasn’t sure if a minute or an hour had passed, but eventually his stomach settled and he returned to his seat. Another drink was immediately shoved into his hand but he didn’t drink it. Instead he stared into the brown liquid, his vision swimming unsettlingly as he tried to focus.

Without really thinking he began to pour a trickle of power into the flagon. The ale started to bubble and steam. He gazed into the bubbles for several seconds and frowned. There was no fire. How did his powers work exactly? A thought struck him like a hammer. Maybe it was heat that flamecasters really controlled. Fire was just the easiest use, a visual ability with broad purposes that was instantly recognisable. Pirates weren’t good with subtlety, so why wouldn’t their use of affinities mirror this. Milla had already demonstrated that there was so much more to the powers of earth than simply helping plants grow. And if Bucc could control heat…

His chain of thought was shattered as his mum sat down beside him and slapped him on the back with a grin. She raised her flagon and chugged it.

“Crooks tells me you’ve had your first ale upchuck! The Awakening is ceremony, but you ain’t a real pirate until you’ve spewed your guts after one too many. A bit of practice and we’ll have you knocking ‘em back like a champ.”

His father sat down at his other side and nodded encouragingly. Bucc’s thoughts on affinities reminded him of something.

“Hey, Pa? I have a favour to ask you. Do you still have your sewing kit here?”

“Sure do. What are you needing?”

Bucc explained his idea then was about to return to his cabin when his dad stopped him.

“I have something I’ve been meaning to give you, Bucc. I’ve kept it with me since the Seal. It nearly killed me saving it from the fire.” He left and returned a few minutes later carrying a clay pot which he handed to Bucc. The pot was filled with soil. Nothing else was visible within. 

“I looked after your plant for you, and took the seeds it left before it withered in the winter. I replanted them in that pot, and with your care they should start to sprout soon. I know your life took a different direction, but that plant still represents an important part of yourself. You care about things. We’re proud of you, and I know that Kaz would be too.”

Bucc’s hands shook as he held the pot. Tears pricked at his eyes. “Thank you,” was all he could think to say as he hugged his dad. 

He finally said goodnight and headed back to his cabin. He placed the pot on the small bunkside table then climbed into the sheets. The room span sickeningly around him, and when he woke up his head was pounding. He laid there feeling sorry for himself until the tolling of the morning bell sounded and he forced himself up. After drinking several glasses of water over breakfast he felt basically human again.

Before they had finished in the mess hall, a messenger stood in the doorway. “Orders were passed along to the captain at dawn. The Lady Hope has been chosen to lead a raid on the Ashenna supply line tonight. Captain Ackeridge wants everyone at their stations and prepared for a skirmish. We set sail in an hour.”

Excitement rippled through the crew. Pirates were not at home sitting around and waiting. The prospect of battle lifted everyone’s spirits, except for Bucc, and the shipmates moved with renewed purpose.

Bucc found it hard to clean with so many people rushing around, so instead he wandered the ship, better familiarising himself with its layout. Neri, who had been very quiet since arriving at the Isles, left his back and floated around his head. She made a strange chirping sound that Bucc had started to associate with the creature’s attempts at speech. Sometimes they were happy little sounds, but increasingly they were ones of agitation.

“Look, I know you want us to go back to that place, but we can’t,” Bucc told her. Neri made a wheezing sound like a deflating balloon. “Milla isn’t awake, and even if both of us could somehow get back there, we still don’t have a key.”

Neri floated higher and rolled along the roof as she made a low whining sound. Bucc sighed but was quickly distracted when the ship began to move. 

He found a porthole that offered a good view and watched as two other ships pulled away from the fleet to follow them. The small group made good speed away from the Isles for a few hours until they anchored beside a large shard of rock that jutted up out of the ocean. At this point another bell rang, summoning the crew up to the deck.

Captain Ackeridge addressed them all from the bridge. “Captain Steeledge’s scouts have placed today’s supply route a short distance to the east of here. A submersive riftway crosses the path of their course. With a bit of skill we can charge them, slip into the riftway and instantly exit again, popping straight out at their other side to finish the job. Everyone needs to pull their weight for this to work. Don’t let me down.”

Nothing much happened for a while after that. The cannons were made ready and every pistol was loaded. Everyone waited impatiently as the sun dipped in the sky. Bucc stood by the railing nervously, his thoughts drawn to the coming violence no matter what he did to try and district himself. It was only when he felt a hand on his shoulder that he turned around.

“Big Tim!”

The mountainous man beamed down at Bucc with the same childlike grin, but little else about the man retained that look of innocence. A large scar ran down his cheek and neck, and a burnt patch of skin was visible on his chest beneath his open coat. It didn’t seem like he had any hair left at all on his body. He still wore an eyepatch.

“I hear that you’ve been off on an adventure without me. Jesse and Adward too. When did you all get so cool and independent?”

“Replace ‘cool’ with ‘terrified’, and ‘independent’ with ‘someone else did all the hard work’, then maybe it’ll sound close to being accurate. Anyway, it looks like you’ve seen enough adventure for the three of us. What happened?”

“What, this?” Big Tim said, vaguely indicating his everything. “A few little run-ins with the Ashenna. Nothing major.” Despite his words, he seemed very proud of the injuries. 

“Nothing major? Ha! Don’t listen to him, Bucc,” came the voice of his dad. The older Jones appeared at Bucc’s side. Namiir slithered up Bucc’s arm and nestled its scaly head into the crook of his neck. “Big Tim here fought off an entire Ashenna crew after the incident on the Seal. It’s only because of him that we were all able to escape. Even Lord Captain Steeledge honoured him as a hero.”

Big Tim was blushing furiously. Bucc couldn’t help but to smile at the sight. 

“Thank you for keeping everyone safe. All the old crew seems to be here except for Jesse and Adward. Or Captain Gus. What happened to him?”

Bucc’s dad shrugged. “Nobody’ss seen him since the Seal. The fool wouldn’t flee with the rest of us. Just kept shouting about his gold. If he somehow survived, he never made it here. But then, there’s no money to be made on the losing side of a desperate war.”

A warning signal was raised by the shipmate up in the crowsnest.

“Ashenna ships inbound!” the man called down. “We might have some trouble. I’m counting five ships!”

“Everyone to your places!” Captain Ackeridge ordered. “You all wanted a fight and it looks like you’re going to get one.”

Previous – Chapter 20. The Isles of Frindor.

Next – Chapter 22. Mysterious Allies.

It was plain sailing for several days aboard the small Ashenna ship. There was a tense moment where another Ashenna vessel appeared on the horizon, but it luckily didn’t get close enough to notice that the ship was stolen. 

In that time, Milla showed no signs of waking up, but she wasn’t getting any worse either. During the first night, a single blank had floated down and settled on her chest. By the morning of the third day she had a dozen of the creatures nestled around her. The scene drew strange looks and questions from the rest of the crew but Bucc didn’t really have any answers to give.

It was on the fourth day they saw their first evidence of a battle. A skeletal mast jutted up from the sea like an accusing finger. Wooden planks floated in a wide area around them. They could see a wreck visible below.

“There was a big battle here,” Red Karla said as she examined the area. “All this debris is from multiple ships. I’d guess most went down straight to the seabed but this one settled on a rock.”

“How can you tell?” Bucc asked.

“Different sorts of wood. One ship might have a few types as it gets repaired by different islands, but by and large, each ship is mostly a single kind of timber with a single style of planks. Here we’ve got a dozen sorts of wood with all kinds of width and thickness. Ashenna ships are more boring and samey so it’s harder to tell.”

“We should ready up,” Bucc’s mum told them. “We’re close to the Isles of Frindor now. That’s where Lord Captain Steeledge is making his stand. Expect the Ashenna fleet to be nearby.”

Despite the warning, the hours passed without any sight of enemy ships, or friendly ones for that matter. What they did see was more and more debris, though increasingly it was the uniform birch wood of the northern ships that filled the water. 

On the fifth day they were finally confronted by a small fleet of three ships. Their different shapes and sizes made it a safe assumption that they belonged to south sea pirates, but considering that Bucc and the others were sailing under the guise of the Ashenna, their safety wasn’t guaranteed. Bucc was made to wave a white sheet while the other pirates stood at the railings without their weapons.

The fleet didn’t slow. The ships at either side moved to flank while the larger ship continued towards them. Bucc was beginning to fear that it would plough straight into them. The sturdy, dark wood hull of the ship looked more than capable of shattering the small Ashenna craft. 

It was almost on top of them before the ship finally came to a stop. A platform was lowered down from above, and on it were a dozen pirates. Their leader was a tall man in a vivid red coat and a wide brimmed hat with two slender swords at his waist. A metallic looking bird rested on his shoulder. He smiled at them and his teeth shone silver. 

“Captain Steeledge!” Bucc’s mum greeted the man. “I am Saltia Jones, formally of the Singing Seal. We’ve come to offer you our swords.”

“Then you’ve come just in time,” the captain answered. His words were clear and sharp yet had a faint musical quality to them. “I think our Ashenna friends are growing tired of our resistance. We’ve been a bigger thorn in their side than they expected. That thought brings warmth to my heart like quality rum on a cold night. Come, we will guide you to port. I have no doubt that your blades will be of great help.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Bucc’s mum answered. “Do you have a surgeon aboard? We have an injured girl in need of attention.”

Captain Steeledge nodded. “I’ll send my man down to see to her.”

The captain and his men returned to their ship, and true to his word, a surgeon laden with a bulky work bag was lowered onto the Ashenna vessel. He was led to Milla while the rest of the crew directed the ship to follow in the larger craft’s wake. 

By the time the Isles of Frindor came into view, the surgeon had worked his trade on Milla, patching up her shoulder, spreading ointment across her burns, then wrapping her up in bandages as best as he could around the girl’s symbiotic vines.

“To say it simply, the girl should be in a much worse state than she is. Her body is stronger than someone her age should be. I’m not sure how, but those blanks seem to be speeding up her natural recovery too. The flora that covers her appears to be drawing in energy from the sun as a backup fuel source too. She’s truly a remarkable specimen. I’d keep an eye on her. There’s many an inquisitive mind that would love nothing more than to experiment on her. All she needs is rest and she’ll be back on her feet in no time.”

With that weight off his mind, Bucc headed to the front of the ship as the cluster of tiny islands ahead became clearer. This was a place he had never been to before. The isles were further south than the Seal’s usual waters. They were a collection of emerald green jewels rising up from clear blue seas, each island a tropical paradise filled with palm trees and golden sanded beaches. 

Dozens of ships were anchored around the isles, ranging from small boats to mighty floating villages further out to sea. Bucc had never seen so many ships in the same place before. If each one had a full crew then there were thousands of pirates gathered around the isles. He couldn’t imagine a fleet large enough to face off against such a force.

They wove their way through the scattered ships and anchored close to the centre isles. Bucc and the others boarded a boat and crossed over to the closest island just behind the captain’s own boat. The settlement they moored at was very small. There was no housing, only a large tavern and a series of market stalls that were looking barren. It was clear that the isles couldn’t support the amount of pirates that had gathered there.

Captain Steeledge spoke with a young boy who had appeared as soon as they had disembarked. The boy nodded and ran off. The captain led them up the beach and into the tavern. The building was packed to the rafters with roudy pirates. Familiars scampered around their feet and jumped from person to person playfully, The noise and smell was like a physical force that hit Bucc as they stepped inside. 

A tight pathway opened up before the captain as every pirate sober enough to recognise him shuffled to the side and nodded their head respectfully. He made his way to the back of the tavern then climbed the stairs and entered a private room. Inside was a single large table with a map laid out on it. Wooden counters marked important spots on the map.

“Welcome to the war room,” Captain Steeledge said as he ushered them inside and closed the door behind them. “Let me catch you up on where things stand. I need everyone to be on the same page if I’m to make this resistance work.”

He pointed to a section of the map littered with markers. “This is the Isles of Frindor. As you can see, we have thirty six ships anchored here. That’s the most ships unified under a single banner since the Leviathan Conflict, or it would be if Captain Pyrefist hadn’t established himself an empire while we sat by in willful ignorance. Thankfully his forces are split between two battlefronts. He may have acted too soon and overextended himself. I want to punish him for that.”

“Over here about five leagues north is where the Ashenna southern fleet have made their base. Up until very recently they had been pushing us back at a steady pace. Our last count puts them at seventy ships. This is why we have set up in these islands. The narrow gaps between them limits the effectiveness of their numbers and they know it. If they made a single push they would likely win, but there’d be a large toll to do so.

“They are also missing their lord captain. Pyrefist is the main driving force of the Ashenna. While he’s busy in the north, this fleet is under the command of his daughter, a woman known to us only as ‘The Red Demon’. She’s a fearsome warrior but has never commanded a fleet of this size.”

“I imagine supplies here are running out quickly,” Bucc’s mum pointed out. “And the Ashenna aren’t likely to get bored and leave. So what do you want us to do?”

“Securing supplies is difficult for both forces. While the bulk of the Ashenna ships are positioned nearby to stop us from establishing supply routes, we had no way to stop them from doing the same. Not until a mysterious ship began to ambush their supply ships out in the open. The Ashenna began to send more ships to guard their supply routes, so we sent a handful of our own ships to aid this mysterious ally. As things stand, both us and the Ashenna are running dangerously low on food. That means they’ll launch an attack soon to break the deadlock.”

As he spoke he motioned to various pieces on the map to highlight his points. The Seal’s pirates leaned in closer to examine the fleets’ positions. 

“But that just leaves us in the same place as before. We fight here and they win at a large cost. That isn’t exactly comforting,” Red Karla pointed out.

“True. That’s why I plan to split the fleet. Twenty ships can hold these isles for a few hours. That leaves sixteen ships to cause some chaos with. My orders will be sent out closer to the time to avoid information from leaking, but rest assured that the pirate way of life isn’t going to be destroyed without a fight.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Ah, that must be a crewman from your new ship. I knew just the vessel to assign you all to. Enter.”

The door opened and joy flooded Bucc’s heart. He smiled and stepped forward to hug the man that stood on the other side.

“Pa!”

“Bucc! My boy! I was so worried about you when your Ma wrote that you still hadn’t been found. I’m so glad you’re here!”

Before he had finished speaking, Bucc’s mum joined in the embrace. Namiir, his father’s snake-like familiar, draped across the family’s shoulders, enclosing them together. They stayed like this for a few tender moments until a cough from the captain brought them back to the matter at hand.

“You are all now crewmates of The Lady Hope under Captain Ackeridge. Mister Jones the Elder will show you to your new ship. I’ll have your injured girl transported across so she can remain in your care.”

Bucc’s father took them out of the tavern and walked the group along the beach. He named the various ships visible around the isles until he finally pointed out a sleek vessel with blue sails that blended with the clear skies around it which he identified as their new station, The Lady Hope.

“It’s a newer ship,” he told them excitedly as they boarded one of the many rowboats that littered the isles. “They built it for speed but it still packs a fair amount of firepower. Not much like the Singing Seal. Everything is built to be lightweight and minimal. The Lady Hope was made to hunt down ships and sink them, nothing else. Under Captain Ackeridge’s command, it does that purpose very well.”

“I’ve not seen you this enthusiastic for a long time,” Bucc’s mum told him. “I take it you’re confident we can win?”

“Confident that we’ll win? No. Confident that we’ll have an epic battle that will go down in legend among fellow pirates? Most certainly!” he laughed. His wife mirrored his toothy grin. Bucc could only sigh at the display.

The situation still sounded pretty bleak to Bucc. By his understanding, this pirate stronghold was only alive because the Ashenna captain was holding back. If not for this mysterious ship disrupting their supply lines then the Isles of Frindor would already be flying the Ashenna colours.

“Does anybody know about this mystery ship?” he asked his father.

“Nobody knows much. It’s only a small vessel. The ship itself isn’t special in any way really. All the reports say is that whenever a lone Ashenna ship passes a riftway, this ship emerges, opens fire, then slips back through it before anyone can retaliate. The only detail of note is that the ship is commanded by a masked captain. Nobody has got close enough to see anything else.”

“Sounds like a good omen to me,” Red Karla stated. “Mysterious allies are always a good thing. We have a mix of crews and ships here from all across the south seas. The Ashenna are too rigid to outmatch our versatility.”

Red Karla’s words got Bucc thinking. Pirates from all over the oceans were collected here. Maybe his friends had made their way here too. He asked if Jesse and Adward had been seen. His father shook his head sadly.

“I’m afraid not. The seas have been a dangerous place lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ashenna got to them. If so, they’d have been pressed into service on one Ashenna ship, or maybe sent to be labourers on an island somewhere.”

That hadn’t been the answer that Bucc had wanted to hear. What if they were hurt, or captured? The thought stung Bucc’s heart. Adward and Jesse had been the ones to support him after Kaz’s death, the three of them had always been side by side. Without them, it was like Bucc was missing an important part of himself. Thinking about it now, Milla had filled that vacuum since the destruction of the Seal, but now that she was unconscious, there absence was hitting him hard.

He fell into a somber mood as the boat made its way over to The Lady Hope. They were lifted aboard, and as his father had said, the deck was simple and clean. An elderly lady who was even shorter than Bucc and walked with the help of a stick greeted them. Her white hair was worn in a perm and her body was cloaked in an intricate green coat. A tired looking grey cat slept peacefully on her shoulder. Unlike his mum’s feline familiar, the woman’s didn’t seem to have any distinctive features.

“Welcome aboard The Lady Hope. I am Lady Roseline Ackeridge, but you may all just call me Captain.”

Bucc didn’t recognise the name. For a captain of her age, he would have expected to have heard stories about her. If tales weren’t told of her exploits then she probably wasn’t a great captain. 

“You don’t look too impressed, boy,” she snapped, startling Bucc. He put on a hasty smile.

“Sorry, Captain. I had something else on my mind.”

“Sure you did. You think I was born yesterday? You’re thinking ‘What has this old coot done to be a captain here in the war for the very survival of the pirate’s way of life? What does this little old lady without any reputation have to offer?’ Am I right?”

“Err, a less mean hearted thought might have crossed my mind. That’s to say I simply wondered why I hadn’t heard of somebody as, er, distinguished as yourself. Pirates don’t become captains unless they’re skilled after all.”

She smiled at him then smacked him in the knee with her walking stick. “Too right we don’t. And that gets harder the older you get because your strength and stamina start giving out on you. But it’s all good until your brain starts going. At that point you want to be fed to the fish, if we still had any. Bah, anyway, I’m unknown by choice. If your enemies underestimate you then you have the advantage, and at my age you take every advantage you can manage. So I play up these frailties. I can still more than hold my own against whippersnappers like you.”

“Understood, Captain!” Bucc answered hastily.

“Good. Mister Jones, show them to their quarters. Get yourselves familiar with the ship. We could be called upon at any minute so I want everybody to be ready. I expect a lot from my crew. I hope for your sake that you each live up to my high standards.”

Previous – Chapter 19. Dockside Battle.

Next – Chapter 21. The Lady Hope.

Milla reacted instantly, stepping back and sweeping up a wave of pollen to meet the fire. The flame caught in the pollen and consumed it in a flash, redirecting itself to follow the fuel source upwards. The flames billowed high above the rooftops in a great spire of blazing light. The display likely drew every set of eyes on the island.

This was the moment that Milla had meant. It was the perfect distraction for Bucc to make his move, but he found that he was locked in place as he watched Milla and the Ashenna flamecaster. More and more of the northern pirates were encircling them. Almost the entire island’s garrison must have been there to take down the girl. There was no way she could win.

But she had told them all to trust her. Bucc had a job to do and everyone was relying on him to complete it. He hesitated another moment before darting from his cover towards the docks. One of the seafront buildings had a clear view of the ships so Bucc clambered up onto its roof to gain a little height. 

The usually bustling dock only had half a dozen ships moored there. Of those only two didn’t bear the insignia of the Ashenna. From his vantagepoint, Bucc could see the Seal crewmen grouped loosely around the smallest Ashenna vessel. That meant that everything else was fair game. 

Bucc summoned his inner fire and let a small tendril of flame snake its way around his fingers. This wasn’t a living target, but it was still the first time he had willingly used his powers to destroy. He wrestled with the flame then sent a jet of blazing light out towards the first ship. The sail was at the far end of the flame’s range but it was only a few seconds before the white sheet began to burn. The flame arced from ship to ship methodically until every sail except for their escape vessel was burning.

Dizziness washed over Bucc but he forced it to the side as he staggered back down the building. He ran to his mum and the other Seal pirates as they began to board the remaining ship.

“Have you seen Milla yet?” he asked. His mum shook her head.

Bucc clenched his fist and ran back towards the tavern, ignoring his mum’s shouts. He hadn’t made it far up the street though when Milla appeared from around a corner at a breakneck sprint. Chasing close at her heels were two dozen angry pirates. Her vines pulled at barrels and anything else they could grab to obstruct the path behind her. 

“Get on the ship!”

Bucc skidded to a halt and immediately changed direction. Even with his head start, Milla quickly caught up to him then pulled him along so he wouldn’t fall behind. 

“Keep the fire off us!” she shouted. Flames shot over their heads to emphasize her words.

That was something Bucc had no idea how to do. He’d never tried to control an existing flame, let alone one belonging to another flamecaster. He didn’t have time to worry about if he could do it or not. He just had to act. 

More fire sprayed above their heads and curved down to slam into the ground in front of them. Without slowing, Bucc reached out with his mind and tried to take hold of the flames. There was the usual wild energy that set fire apart as the hardest element to control, but beyond that there was something else, another will that fought with the flame for dominance. He remembered wayfarers speaking about being able to connect with each other when they worked the same patch of sky or sea. The wills needed to work in unity for greater strength, or one needed to overpower the rest to gain control.

Bucc grabbed at the energy and sharply pulled it to the side. The flames obeyed and splashed into the ground to his right. He felt a jolt that he could only describe as surprise ripple through the fire. The Ashenna flamecaster hadn’t expected to encounter another person with the same affinity. That had been the only reason that Bucc had been able to control it so easily. 

“Keep running! I’ll see you on the ship. Just keep the firecaster away from the sails.”

A series of vines shot to either side of Milla and wrapped around posts. She used them to fire herself backwards towards their pursuers, swivelling in the air so that she flew at them head first like an arrow. The vines spiralled around her, whipping at anything that came close. The Ashenna dived away from her as the flamecaster sent a stream of fire directly at her. At the last moment another vine lunged up towards the rooftops and latched onto a chimney. Milla swung up and slammed into the roof.

Bucc reached the dock and waited beside the ship, his powers hovering at the edge of use in preparation of any sudden attacks. He watched Milla stagger back to her feet and noticed that several of her vines held swords and pistols stolen from the pirates below. She winced then started a shambling run across the rooftops. Gunshots ricocheted all around her.

“Any aircasters, get ready to slow her fall!” Bucc shouted back to the rest of the crew. 

Milla was close to the docks. A bullet hit her in the shoulder, rocking her entire body, but she had too much momentum to stop. Flames roared up behind her as she stumbled towards the final ledge.

Bucc gritted his teeth and forced his will into the fire again. This time it felt like the flames were a solid wall of resistance, the opposing will that controlled them held on with an iron grasp. He couldn’t overpower it. No matter how hard he tried, the fire wouldn’t budge from its intended path. 

Milla reached the edge and tumbled off without slowing just as the flames washed over her. Wind roared, billowing through the scraps of her dress. Even with the handful of pirates channeling air to slow her fall, she still hit the ground hard.

Bucc ran to her, throwing up a wall of fire between her and the remaining Ashenna. He clumsily picked her up, the weapon-laden vines dragging across the dirt behind them. He could already feel a strain on his concentration as the Ashenna flamecaster grappled to open a path through Bucc’s barrier. The sensation hit him like icy water, as did the realisation that once again he couldn’t resist another’s pressure on his mind. The fire spluttered then parted.

His feet pounded along the wood of the dock. The ship began to pull away. Bucc threw all of his strength into a mighty jump and leapt aboard. He and Milla sprawled across the deck in a tangle of vines. The ship lurched as more wind rippled across the sail and pushed them forward.

“By His Noodles, she really did it,” Bucc’s mum exclaimed as she rushed over to them. Bucc crawled to the side to allow her a closer look at Milla. “She fought off an entire garrison by herself, stole enough weapons for all of us, and made it back alive. This girl really is something special.”

Blood soaked one side of Milla’s dress while her back had visible burns through charred hair and fabric. Her skin was very pale.

“You can help her, right?”

“None of us here are surgeons. Your Pa knows the basics, but even with good winds we won’t reach him for a few days. We don’t even have any salves or the like. Crooks has the steadiest hands. I’ll get him to fish the bullet from her shoulder. After that, all we can do is make her comfortable. Are you okay?”

“Me? Yeah. I’m fine. Just please help Milla.”

His mum nodded and offered him a small smile. “We will. Go on, get some rest. The rest of the crew will man the ship and watch over her.”

Bucc shuffled over to a quiet section of the ship and sat in silence. At first he tried to watch as Crooks, a pirate with a large moustache, worked a makeshift set of tweezers into Milla’s shoulder to remove the lead round, but the sight of blood caused him to feel faint. He quickly turned away. 

The back of the ship was blocked off with a large sheet as Bucc’s mum and Red Karla, the only other female pirate in the small group, tended to Milla’s injuries. The men were all wayfarers and so occupied their time urging the ship along, leaving Bucc without anything productive to do. 

The uselessness of his presence gave him time to think. This had been his first time facing off against another flamecaster, and it had shown him just how weak and inexperienced he really was. If he wanted to avoid hurting anyone while still protecting people, then he would need to get stronger.

He was contemplating this when Shayla bounded up onto his shoulder and pawed at his back. Neri wriggled slightly out from his shirt and prodded the paw with its head. If the blank had possessed eyes then it would have been staring at the feline familiar cautiously. 

“It seems you’ve made a few friends while you were away.”

His mum sat down beside him with a weary sigh. Despite the tiredness in her eyes, she looked to be in good spirits.

“Yeah. I guess I did. This is Neri. She’s my familiar.”

“Familiar?” she asked as she reached out and brushed her hand against Neri’s body. “Interesting. Both you and that girl are full of surprises.”

“Is she going to be alright?”

“Only time will tell. Even without the injuries she got today, her body is a mess. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s skin and bones, only her skin is as torn up by scars as her dress is. And that’s without mentioning the places where it has fused with those plants. But, she’s shown herself to be a fighter. I imagine it will take more than this to keep her down.”

“I think you’re right about that. I hope you are anyway.”

Bucc settled back and watched as Neri and Shayla played together around the mast. Several of the other familiars had joined in, tentatively inspecting Neri before joining in with the games. A ripple of joy sparked in the part of his mind that was connected to his familiar. He smiled as the second hand enjoyment flooded through him.

“Aren’t they all so perfect?” Bucc’s mum said aloud as she watched the familiars play. “Even in the darkest of times they remind us that there is good in the world. They represent our very hearts and souls. I can’t imagine the pain of losing Shayla. Make sure you take good care of your little Neri.”

“I will,” Bucc said, and he meant it with all of his heart.

Previous – Chapter 18. Dawning Rebellion.

Next – Chapter 20. The Isles of Frindor.

That evening and the next day passed by like a dream. They were in occupied territory, on the verge of a battle they couldn’t win, yet it all felt strangely idyllic. Bucc was on dry land and his mum was showering him with attention without any pretense of making him embrace the pirate lifestyle. He was scared and he missed his friends, but all the doubts and fears about his own future seemed to have faded away. He knew what he had to do, and while he didn’t like it, there were no murky grey areas to get lost in. Somehow, that was oddly comforting.

He and Milla had kept their heads low on the chance that their descriptions had been spread among the Ashenna. Despite her agreement, it was clear that the wait was grating at the girl. Bucc didn’t see her relax even for a moment. For her, the day passed by in a series of mundane tasks to stave off her agitation. She did at least eat some food though, and while Bucc couldn’t be sure that she had actually slept, she’d a few hours of uninterrupted rest.

This brief time of peace passed by quickly. Before Bucc knew it, the handful of pirates had assembled and the time had come to make their escape. Bucc, Milla, his mum, and four other former Seal pirates gathered together in the small house with what meagre supplies they could find. 

“They took our weapons. Anything more dangerous than a knife was confiscated as part of the Ashenna laws. We’re going to be outgunned until we can grab some firepower of our own,” Bucc’s mum explained to them. 

Shayla, climbed down from her shoulder and stuck its nose into one of the pouches around her waist. The cat lifted its head back with an item in its mouth that was wrapped in cloth. It gracefully pulled itself up onto her arm and offered the object to Bucc.

“I wanted to give this to you after your Awakening but events got away from us. I’ve carried it with me ever since.”

Bucc carefully unwrapped the item. As the cloth came away it revealed a slender knife with a silver hilt. Every part of it shone with polish. His initials were engraved into the blade just above the handle. As far as knives went it was beautiful in its simplicity.

His mum looked nervous. She wrung her hands anxiously. “I wasn’t sure whether I should give it you. It is a weapon after all. Me and your Pa wanted you to have a custom blade, as is tradition in my family, but we worried it would upset you. I don’t want you to feel that we’re forcing you down a path you don’t want to take. If you don’t want it, I understand.”

Bucc hugged her. “It’s perfect. A knife is just like me. Sure, it can be used to hurt others, but it can also be used as a survival tool, or even something to carve sculptures or art. I shouldn’t be ashamed of my powers, just like a knife shouldn’t be ashamed of its edge. We both just have to use them for good.”

Milla opened the door, interrupting the tender moment. “It’s time. Let’s go.”

“Do you still insist on holding back the Ashenna?”

“Yes. It looks like they have a garrison of six dozen pirates. I’ll draw them in while you steal a boat. Bucc will stop any pursuit, then we meet back up to make good our escape.”

“I’m not happy about you doing this,” Bucc’s mum told her. “I’d forbid you if I thought you’d listen. A girl your age shouldn’t be putting themselves in such danger. It’s suicide.”

Milla made a sound that could have been interpreted as laughter or a dismissive grunt. She flexed her fingers and watched as the vines extended and wrapped around them. 

“Just worry about your own safety. What happens to me isn’t your concern.”

“Is she always like this?”

“Pretty much,” Bucc answered truthfully. “She has the skills to back up her words though.”

“If you say so.”

They left the house, and when they were part way down the street, Bucc and Milla split off from the others. The reality of what he was about to do was finally sinking in. They had one shot at this and he had to do everything perfectly. 

“Are you sure this is going to work? I can set fire to their sails easy enough, but won’t they just put them out straight away. They have their own flamecasters, and wayfarers can create rain to douse the flames.”

“They’ll be too busy to notice until it’s too late,” Milla said simply. “Just wait until I’ve drawn their attention. Find somewhere safe to watch until then. Don’t help me. Your role is more important. Understand?”

“Got it,” Bucc said with more confidence than he felt. He wasn’t sure that he could sit back and watch her get hurt, but telling her that would achieve nothing. 

Milla led them across to the former tavern where the Ashenna pirates had set up their headquarters. She motioned for Bucc to hide behind a low wall nearby while she stepped up to the garrison’s door. She knocked, then waited.

The door opened and a large man stood on the threshold. He towered over the small girl. Before he even had time to look down, Milla punched him in the throat. He clutched at his neck, red faced, and collapsed back. Several Ashenna heard the commotion and came rushing out of the building. Three of them moved to surround her but none had their weapons raised. It was clear that they didn’t see the tiny girl as a threat. Their familiars looked much more on edge and growled threateningly at her.

She thrust out her fist at the first man and a cloud of pollen sprayed out from her sleeve into his eyes. He staggered back, allowing Milla to swivel back towards the other two. Vines erupted from her arms and wrapped themselves around the men’s necks. She used them as anchors to pull herself closer to them until her own delicate hands rested atop their vine-choked throats. The men fell to their knees, coming eye to eye with their assailant. There was no mercy in her cold eyes. Their familiars rushed to help them but were kept back by cracking whips from Milla’s vines.

More Ashenna came running to the scene, this time with weapons at the ready. One fired a pistol at Milla that shattered a wooden post behind her. She ran towards them, her shredded dress giving her the ghostly appearance of a wraith as she moved. Another round of shots were fired and thankfully missed. 

Just as she was about to engage with the pirates, Milla sprang back and released a wide cloud of pollen around them. She left the cloud and approached the fallen Ashenna. Two vines wound their way around the handles of the men’s daggers while Milla herself grabbed one of their swords. It looked too heavy for her thin arms but she hefted it in a way that suggested she knew how to use it. The cloud was clearing but she showed no sign of rushing. She began to calmly walk towards them, all three blades held out threateningly before her.

The men ran at her. Two vines shot out at the right-most pirate and wrapped around his wrists, yanking his arms apart. One of the daggered vines lunged into the opening, driving straight into the man’s throat while the second dagger swung around in a high arc to ward off the other Ashenna.

One pirate peeled off from the group at a sprint towards a nearby station equipped with a signal bell. Milla watched him go but didn’t react. Instead her vines lashed out at a nearby stall, causing it to collapse with a series of loud bangs. They fished into the wreckage and began to hurl wood at the guards. 

The bell started to ring but the sound was almost immediately overridden by the whoosh of flames as fire erupted across the street. Bucc jumped at the sudden light and heat even in his hidden position. Milla didn’t flinch. A new Ashenna strode into view. He wore more armour than the other guards and his expression was one of grim anger. Milla stared him down without any fear. The man shifted his arms and blasted a fresh stream of flame straight at her.

Previous – Chapter 17. Warmth and Revelations.

Next – Chapter 19. Dockside Battle.