I knew I was back before I opened my eyes; I could taste the sea salt in the breeze, feel the soft earth between my toes. I sat up and opened my eyes slowly, glancing around the small rock-strewn clearing to check that I was alone. Last year, this clearing had been at the edge of the great field that bordered every captain’s camp. Now it was set back in the forest, a beaten trail leading up to the Griffon’s city.
I stood and stretched, comforted by the familiar weight of my weapons. The Queenblade at my hip, the enchanted stiletto blade tucked against my ribs, and the heavy Kingblade between my shoulders. I circled around the boulder, leaning against its side as I drank in the sight of the port city. From this distance, it looked sleepy, almost peaceful.
But I knew the truth of it. Every detail of the Griffon’s city was etched upon my heart, the narrow streets designed for ambush, the false panels perfect for secrecy. It was paradise for a pirate, while remaining bright and open in a way that would one day lure honest merchants from the South. The buildings were tall without towering, three stories and joined side by side by side as they lined the winding cobbled streets. The ocean could be seen from every rooftop, as could the great compound that housed the Conclave, and the smaller keep in which my crew and I kept our quarters.
Without visitors however, the pirates had fallen to squabbling over territory. Faded flags and mis-matched strips of cloth were tied to doorknobs and woven through shutters as markers. My crew had laid claim to the beautiful FlashFire, the only sea worthy ship currently moored at the docks. My flag flew from her mainmast, but even so she was attacked. We had defended her three times already, and that was before summer, before the turn of the year.
That would change this year, I knew. I’d take my crew to plunder the riches of the East and terrorize the South into building a new fleet for my pirates. I longed for those days to come, when the streets of the Griffon’s city would bustle with more than pirates, shops would open, and the treasures we had guarded for decades would be traded for new trinkets, if only so we could steal them back later. Then my city would be complete, my jewel in the west, my home.
Clearing my head of dreams for the moment, I started toward the city, but movement in the corner of my eye stopped me. Another pirate was entering the game. A smarter captain would have continued on her way, but I stayed to watch. The pirate, a girl, materialized before me, flickering in and out of existence for a few seconds before solidifying into something real. I stepped toward her cautiously, she seemed frustratingly familiar, but I didn’t recognize her.
The girl had dark brown hair that easily fell midway down her back, and every member of Carnie’s crew had hair above their shoulders. Carnie herself had aged out, so she would not be returning. Despite the logic, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew her. I took another slow step toward the unconscious figure.
She looked to be roughly my height, and was made of muscle in a way that didn’t sacrifice her figure. The shirt she was wearing had a right sleeve but not a left, leaving her tattoo exposed to the world. Her mark was a tarred black cannon fuse, curved into an “S” shape, with the top end of the fuse already lit and sparking in a cartoonish way. Yet what was interesting wasn’t the mark itself, but the skin around it. In a perfect square around the “S”, her skin was the pale pink of a burn scar.
The girl’s eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet, drawing her dagger reflexively.
“Who are you?” she demanded, amber eyes aglow in warning.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said calmly. “Call me Flame.”
“Sparx,” she replied quickly.
“Is this your first year here, Sparx?” I asked lightly, my hand hovering near the Queenblade.
“I was born to be a pirate,” she growled. “But I have someone to find, and you’re blocking the road to the city.”
Sparx pointed out of the way with her dagger, the blade flashing in the sunlight. I took a step to move, I didn’t want to pick a fight within minutes of returning to camp, but then I saw the color of the pommel stone. It was red, a dull ruby set in the hilt of the dagger. I couldn’t see the entire hilt of course, not with Sparx’ hand wrapped around it, but I could see enough to know the leather grip would be the same dull red color. Sparx held the red-hilted dagger.
The red-hilted dagger I had given Briamy before she died.
I snatched the Queenblade from its sheath and faced Sparx, planting my feet to make it clear I wasn’t moving. Chest heaving with the sudden onslaught of emotion, I forced myself to focus, to suppress the memories of my friend.
“Tell me where you got that dagger,” I ordered.
Sparx smirked, tossing her hair to the side as she watched my reaction.
“The dagger,” I repeated.
“I woke up with it,” she purred.
“Liar,” I snarled.
“A gift then,” she amended, widening her amber eyes to feign innocence. “To protect myself while I’m among the big bad pirates.”
“I’m a terrible pirate to pick a fight with if you’re trying to stay safe.”
Sparx laughed. “You don’t seem all that scary to me.”
I closed my eyes, giving in to my emotions, letting them sweep through my veins and awaken my magic. The familiar power calmed me, trading the anger for awareness in the single second it took for my fire to channel through my hand and set the Queenblade ablaze.
“My name is Gittoran Flame, Queen of Thieves and King of Pirates.”
A flicker of recognition showed in Sparx’ eyes, and her attitude flipped completely. She relaxed out of her guarded stance and stood straight, her head tilted in blatant curiosity as she sheathed the dagger.
“You killed Mají-jalio,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’re the Griffon’s child. I’m a big fan of your work.”
I let my fire burn out, but didn’t lower my weapon.
“Could we start again?” she asked, her voice now chipper and friendly. “I wouldn’t want to make an enemy of the King of Pirates; can we call it a misunderstanding?”
Sparx held her hand out and took a step forward, staring at me expectantly. Unsatisfied and mistrusting of her mood swing, I ignored the gesture, but sheathed my blade, turned, and stalked away. For some reason, I didn’t believe she would follow me. I was wrong. I hadn’t made it ten steps before she caught up and proceeded to continue trying to talk to me.
“You have too many enemies already,” she said. “I know how the titles work, and you’re holding two of them. It can’t be easy. It won’t be easy. You’ll be under constant watch, other pirates looking for a weakness, an opening to kill you and take control of the West. Not to mention the whole prophesy thing, with you being expected to break down the walls between the worlds. It can’t be done on your own, and you’re not fool enough to trust everyone the last king did. They aren’t your men, they’re his, you know that. Keeping in mind that this is your…. Second year? You don’t have enough trustworthy allies. Let me help you, join your crew. I’d be one hell of an asset.”
“I don’t trust you,” I muttered.
“You don’t have to,” she said quickly. “Not yet. I’ll earn your trust of course, but until then, let me work for you.”
“What’s in it for you?”
“I’m a pirate,” she laughed. “Maybe the others haven’t figured it out yet, but the Griffon is on your side. You will break the barriers down, which means that those nearest to you will have the first chance to raid the other worlds. We’ll hit them before they know what’s happened. I can’t even imagine what we could find. I’d love an enchanted cutlass from the South, or maybe one of those singing wooden birds from the East. Do you think they still make those? But really, I don’t want you dead Flame; there’s no profit for me in that.”
I nodded grudgingly, that sort of logic I could believe. It made sense for a pirate; if her self-interest lined up with my own… we could be allies.
“Welcome to the crew.” I said.
“Thank-you Captain.”
Sparx was quiet after that, keeping an almost companionable silence between us as we entered the city. I began to relax slightly, but watched her as we walked. Her face lit up as we entered the city, eyes wide and mouth in an open smile, childlike in her wonder. She stopped walking, and I stopped beside her, taking in the view.
Nothing matched, as if they city had been built over hundreds of years under the eye of every pirate to ever live in the West. I could see old western style buildings neighboring 18th century shops with open air balconies supported by wrought iron pillars. Other buildings were stone or brick, all shades of grey, red, brown, and white. This went on as far as I could see, every building a unique creation, crowding the narrow cobbled street. Yet despite the differences, the mismatched city was breathtakingly beautiful, a blend of anything any person could ever ask for. Any pirate could come here, wander the streets, and find a place that felt like home. It was that possibility, the idea of there being something here for everyone ever to arrive, that made it perfect.
“Amazing,” Sparx breathed. “And the Griffon created it when?”
“Late spring,” I answered, “The day he made me King of Pirates, it was a sort of… coronation gift.”
“Hell of a gift,” she said.
“He knew it was what we would need,” a new voice said.
Sparx and I both looked to see Narasia stepping onto the street from the shop closest to us. She looked as I’d left her, a petite underweight girl with short black hair and olive skin; but she carried herself differently. She walked with her head held high, and a smile hovered behind her lips. As prophetess she knew things, and she now wore the information with pride.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, her voice melodic and soothing. “There was a chance that you two were going to try to kill each other before you even reached the city.”
“It was a close call prophetess” Sparx laughed.
“Behave yourself,” Narasia chastised. “If Gittoran decides to kill you I won’t interfere.”
“You know her?” I asked Narasia. “I thought I did… but I don’t remember her. Was she a part of Carnie’s crew before?”
“I know everyone,” Narasia said. “It’s my job, not yours; don’t worry if you can’t place her among your memories. You were a bit occupied last year.”
I nodded slowly, but wasn’t comforted by her words. Sparx seemed like an alright sort of person, for a pirate, but I would have remembered her. I saw Carnie’s crew, and Carnie was the only girl with long hair, and she and Sparx were drastically different people. Yet no other crews had girl members, even the rogues looked down on girls, and this certainly wasn’t her first year. Add that to her possession of the red-hilted dagger I had given Briamy, and she wasn’t to be trusted. Regardless, it seemed smart to keep her around, if only until I figured out where she came from.
“Are you taking her to camp?” Narasia asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “It would be nice to have someone to walk with, if only so I don’t get turned around in this winding jungle of a city.”
“Did you expect it to be ordered?” Sparx snorted as we began to walk “convenient sign posts organizing everything into square blocks and neat rows? I’d rather live in a place like this any day. Give me chaos.”
“You’ll see plenty of that soon enough,” Narasia said. “Pirates don’t do close quarters.”
I nodded in agreement, only half listening to their conversation as I guided us through the city. It was impossible for me to get lost, but I still found it easier to navigate if I focused more on my goal than the route I would take to get there. In this case we were headed to the new camp, the fort-like structure that had sprung out of the ground when the Griffon moved our ship back into the ocean. The camp was just as confusing as the rest of the city, and was a maze of hallways that my own crew struggled to navigate properly, though Obsidarian assured them it was only because they weren’t used to it. The upside was that the fort was better defended than our old camp had ever been, with stone walls sporting cannons along the parapets. We had a guard up on the wall at all times, manning the medieval mechanism used to raise and lower the gate. Today it was Flint, my over eager student.
He opened the gate without question, and I led the way through, dismissing Sparx and Narasia as I sought the solace of my room. I knew Obsidarian would be there shortly, if he was not already waiting for me. Knowing my first mate, he would already have a list of potential crew members and complaints, the sort of thing I would be unable to avoid. So we would have to take a walk, wander around the city, size up the other crews, maybe find their new camps if we were lucky. Yet when I opened the door, Obsidarian was not alone. Beside him was an eighteen year old with a shock of blonde hair and a blue bandana, one with sworn allegiance to Captain Tempest Storm. I froze, staring at the all-too-familiar figure before I remembered that Obsidarian didn’t know the importance of the man beside him.
“He wants to speak to you on behalf of his captain,” Obsidarian explained. “I didn’t know where else to keep him.”
“Outside the gate would have sufficed,” I said coldly before meeting the eyes of Storm’s first mate. “Hello Red.”
“I would speak to you alone my queen,” he responded through gritted teeth.
Obsidarian opened his mouth to protest, but I waved him away, motioning for him to leave the room.
“If he does anything I’ll have a wonderful excuse to kill him,” I said.
Red watched Obsidarian close the door, and then turned to face me once more.
“So… sister,” he said coolly.
“Brother,” I acknowledged.
We stood that way for some time, a wordless face off where we tested our ability not to blink.
“Storm sent you?” I said after the tension in the silence began to grate on my nerves.
“If it makes you feel better I did try to get him to send someone else, but I couldn’t exactly push too hard.”
“And what does your captain desire?” I said, cutting him off before he continued to talk about the relation we both worked to keep quiet.
“This isn’t my idea,” he warned. “And to be entirely honest I almost didn’t come because I knew your answer. But you know how it is, captain’s orders.”
“No” I said, making a point to walk around him, to force him to look about the splendor that was my quarters. “Captains’ orders don’t apply to me anymore.”
“Forgotten already have you?” he sneered. “And some of the pirates said you loved him. You almost had me fooled, staying up sobbing half the night and crying out to him when you did manage to drift off. It’s amazing Mom never noticed, not that she would, as long as you had enough make-up caked on to half cover the bags under your eyes.”
“The message Red,” I growled, facing away from my brother as I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my nails into my palms, fighting to suppress the memories and keep my emotions steady.
“That,” he said slowly, his tone making it clear he was disappointed to have been taken from his fun so soon. “Captain Storm would like for me to be taken along with your crew when you break down the barriers between the worlds. He reminds you that he and the other captains will not stand for you cutting them out of the best pickings, king or not. For this reason he sends me, as I can be useful to your crew and expedition while still reporting to my captain.”
I didn't respond at first, but whirled around and stared at my brother, reminding myself that I couldn't kill him and send his dust back to Tempest Storm. I wanted to, if only to say clearly how little I cared about Storm’s opinion, but Red would call our mom and make up some story about how homesick we were, and I’d be out of Effugere within the week. Seeing as that wasn't an option, I grinned at Red instead, taking an additional moment to mentally compose a message of my own.
“Tell your captain,” I said. “That he should know better than to play with fire. If he has forgotten he can find a puddle to stare into, his reflection might remind him of what happened last time. As to his offer, remind him that boot kissing does not work in the West as in the North, and that I’d bring the rogue Shorg along with me before I considered Storm himself. Seeing as you, Red, are second best, you obviously won’t do.”
Obsidarian was still standing outside my chambers as my brother left. My first mate slipped back into the room, eyes quizzical as he waited for me to tell him Red’s message. I answered his unspoken question with silence, forcing him to curb his curiosity for the moment.
“I have a group of hopeful newcomers gathered in the yard,” he reported. “That apprentice of yours, he’s been running his mouth all over the city. He’ll make a joke of you Piratess.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Jumé-falio entered a moment after.
“Captain,” he acknowledged, ignoring Obsidarian’s presence as he began to speak. “I caught a girl down the hall, not the healer, but another girl. Bold as brass that one, her hair is still uncut.”
“Her name is Sparx” I said. “She’s your new crewmate.”
“She is a girl! We will be the laughingstock of the city. Even the rogues do not let girls sully their ranks. I would understand the prophet, if you need a friend why not her?”
“It’s my call,” I said coolly, waiting for the man to remember his place.
“Mají’s risk with you has been overshadowed only by his death. You spit on his memory by defiling his crew further. We were the elite, but with these… people; they will weaken us. Those who still make this crew great will leave. King or not, you command no respect from the crew. You will crumble Mají-jalio’s empire in a single ignorant move.”
I pressed my hands against my sides, trying to stop the rush of anger from appearing on my face. Jumé saw the action, and smirked slightly. The action set me off, sending white hot anger bubbling up and swirling within me, pairing with my magic and begging for a fight. I resisted the impulse to curl my hands into fists, to let the magic fill them.
“As she should,” Obsidarian interjected. “Mají-jalio’s era worked, but it was only a stepping stone. He organized the crews, but with Flame as captain, we will sail the seas and plunder worlds once more. It’s been too long without magic and purpose. Why do you think we all live in one city now? We have to be one people, and that wasn’t possible until now. You forget, we cast the girls from our crews out of fear, no man wanted to sacrifice himself to the prophesy. Captains feared love, and thus, women within the crew. Both Mají and Flame agreed that they deserve a place in this crew. So tell me Jumé, why do you still fear them?”
Jumé fumbled for an answer, his silver tongue suddenly turned to lead. Obsidarian grinned, and Jumé chose to retreat, heading out the door before I got a chance to dismiss him. The moment the door clicked behind him, Obsidarian and I burst into laughter.