“No!” Amanda protested. “It wasn’t him. He doesn’t want to join that crew. He saved my life and he helped Ferret blow up the other ship in exchange for joining this crew.”

  “He might not be doing it intentionally,” Stinger replied. “All a tracker needs is something of his hair or blood but a good one can find someone with just a piece of cloth or even nothing more than a name.”

  “From what you’ve said,” Morgan said to Amanda, “Blowing up the other ship doesn’t save us.”

  “But we’re probably still going to want to do it,” Ferret argued. “And it sounds like we know that part works.”

  Amanda jumped in on the back of Ferret’s argument. “If they’re using a tracker, then given the time left before they reach us, they probably already know where we are.”

  “We could change direction,” Morgan rebutted. “Throw his body and everything he’s touched overboard.”

  Amanda shot Sirius a desperate look. While they’d been arguing he’d been considering things. Carefully he replied, “It’s still not a sure thing. One of the other men could have done something or left something, and chances are they’ll find you eventually. We have some exclusive knowledge here. It’s a rare opportunity to go on the offensive but it’s not without risk.”

  Amanda gave him a grateful smile. She turned back to Morgan. “Part of the reason things went south before was because Abe was nowhere to be found when The Butcher asked for him. We could present him briefly and use him as a bluff, maybe even after the charges are laid on the other ship, if we can delay things enough. If we assure him that we won’t actually hand him over then maybe he’ll play along.”

  “Or we bluff him,” Larska suggested. “We know what he wants now and what his power is.”

  “He won’t be all The Butcher wants,” Morgan replied as if she’d just swallowed something rotten.

  “So we trade then,” Larska argued. “A few for the many. That seems our best chance. You only died because you tried to cheat him. He’ll leave if we give him enough.”

  “He’ll want me,” Amanda argued. “And the other women, Pip and Marianne.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted Riki too. A healer is the most valuable person on a ship, after the cook,” Stinger added.

  “Not if they all stay hidden, “ Sirius argued. But he knew it was a long shot and the look Amanda gave him quickly ruled that option out.

  Morgan slapped her knee hard and spat. “I won’t trade with that damn-”

  She was cut off by the opening of the cabin door and the arrival of food. She watched quietly while it was served.

  Amanda took another shot of the dark spirit. It was her third. Sirius was starting to wonder if he should cut her off but the food seemed to distract her so he let her be for now.

  Morgan spoke to the sailor who had brought it. “Go fetch Abe. Whatever we’re going to do with him, we’ll need him here.”

  “We’re not lying to him then?” Stinger asked as the sailor left to go and do as asked.

  Morgan was quiet for several seconds. Finally she shook her head. “It seems if The Butcher will not accept an offer we can make then there isn’t much point in giving him anything at all. Abe will join our crew and lay the charges on the other ship at the earliest that can be done as was done in whatever future you saw.” She gestured at Amanda. “As for how we deal with The Butcher, perhaps he’ll have some insights.”

  “Maybe if we can find a way to deal with that borrower,” Sirius suggested.

  “They had other magic too though,” Amanda replied.

  Stinger shook his head and agreed with her. “We’ll never beat them in a magic battle. We don’t have enough magic users. If we initiate a fight with magic, we’re sure to lose.”

  “I don’t understand all these stupid rules,” Amanda burst out. “They won’t use magic unless you do but if you do then they will but if you can start off a magic battle then why wouldn’t they just do it?”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “They don’t want to wipe us out or give us a reason not to roll over in future. Playing by the rules makes us easier to steal from next time,” Stinger explained. “It’s more efficient in the long run and lets them keep their real power a secret.”

  “But everybody cheated anyway. Morgan and The Butcher negotiated and came to an agreement and then immediately tried to kill one another.”

  Sirius shook his head. “Everybody breaks the rules. The trick is to do it without being caught, or at the right moment and the in right amount.” He could see she was still frustrated by that answer so he added helpfully, “It’s just like in poker. There are rules you can break and rules you can’t. No one tells the truth about what’s in their hand or in their pocket. The point of the game is to bluff.”

  The change in her expression was instantaneous.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I think I know how we can win.”

  She explained her plan to them. It wasn’t a bad plan but nor was it quite a complete one.

  “We still need a way to deal with that borrower,” Stinger said. “And none of us except Amanda knows what he looks like.”

  Morgan handed her some paper and a pencil. “Draw him,” she commanded.

  “Err.” Amanda glanced down at the paper and then back up at Morgan a few times.

  Sirius very quickly got the impression that drawing was not one of her stronger skill sets.

  Morgan seemed to infer the same. She sighed and waved her hand to her right. “Give it to Larska then.”

  Larska gently took the paper and pencil from Amanda. “Describe what he looked like.”

  “Well he was short,” Amanda started.

  “How short? As short as you?” Stinger asked.

  “No, not that short. More like…” she caught Sirius’s eye and that seemed to bolster her resolve. “More like Bruce,” she answered.

  Sirius held his hand out so Larska could get an idea.

  “What about his facial structure? Was it angled? Round?” Larska asked.

  “Err, her was kind of ordinary looking.”

  “Ordinary?” Larska cocked an eyebrow.

  “More rounded but skinny,” she explained.

  “How close were his eyes.”

  “More on the close side… no not that close… yeah about that.”

  Larska drew while Amanda described.

  “Doesn’t solve the problem of what we’re going to do with him,” Sirius said to Stinger.

  “Run a sword through him,” Stinger replied simply and without hesitation.

  Sirius frowned and shook his head. “That’s just likely to set things off.”

  “So.” He shrugged. “We call a parley immediately after and sacrifice a single lamb for him.”

  Morgan, who had been watching the drawing while listening from across the room, suddenly looked up and rebuked Stinger. “We’re not using this as an excuse to get rid of Hiccup.”

  Stinger seemed about to argue when Morgan further added, “He’d probably screw it up anyway.”

  Stinger conceded with a grunt and a nod.

  “Hiccup?” Sirius asked.

  “This cunt we picked up and year or so ago and haven’t been able to get rid of. He’s useless and a cockroach. Keeps causing messes that never end up affecting him somehow. I swear the fucker could survive a gunshot to the head.”

  The door to the cabin opened then and in walked Abe. The conversation with him was quick and promising. He was more than happy to help them out in exchange for refuge.

  “Do you recognize this man?” Morgan eventually asked once the drawing of the borrower was done. Larksa had done a pretty good job of quickly sketching both a detailed head shot and a rough full body physical.

  Abe shook his head.

  “Well, that was useful,” Morgan remarked sarcastically.

  “Do you remember where he was standing?” Sirius asked Amanda.

  She shook her head. “Near the back I think. I couldn’t see him at first though.”

  “We could shoot him from a distance,” suggested Randy.

  Morgan shook her head. “A targeted attack is not likely to be overlooked. They’d run us into the ocean if we do that.”

  “I don’t think we need to,” Amanda said. “He couldn’t read very far and in a way that helps us. If he gets an inkling of power but can’t tell how much we have. The goal is to present ourselves as a threat so they accept a bargain.”

  “You’re planning on lying to The Butcher?” asked Abe.

  Morgan narrowed her eyes and took a threatening step toward him.

  He held up his hands. “Not that you aren’t a challenge I’m sure, but if your intent is to trick him, you should probably know that he’s a lie detector. That’s his power.”

  Silence fell on the cabin.

  “Well, that spoils that plan,” remarked Stinger finally.

  “Not necessarily,” Amanda objected. “We’re not technically lying. We’re presenting information that makes it more likely they’ll infer certain things.”

  Morgan gave a huff. “I don’t see why you can’t just tell me, how he killed me and then all I have to do is avoid it and get him instead. It would be easy if I knew how the fight went.”

  Amanda shook her head. “I can’t do that because a) I didn’t see it, and b) I’ve already changed things enough that you’d likely fight differently anyway just based on your new knowledge and so it’s not likely to happen exactly the same.”

  Morgan scowled. “I don’t see how we can get out of this without some kind of fight. One on one is our best shot. Maybe this time I’ll win.”

  “Maybe I could look like Shiv,” Amanda suggested. At the puzzled looks she explained further. “He seemed afraid of him. He wouldn’t want to fight him. And we have shapeshifting magic. I could shift into Shiv. He’d have to bargain then.”

  “And we’re back to the borrower being a problem,” countered Stinger.

  At the fallen look on Amanda’s face it was clear she had forgotten about that.

  “Maybe not,” Sirius answered. “We should see what’s in the haul from yesterday. I might have an idea for how to make this work.” They were half way there. With a little luck, something in the hold would get them the rest of the way.

  There was a mix of nods and shrugs.

  Sirius opened the cabin door with the intent of going down to the hold to take a look with Amanda. He’d barely set a foot outside the door when a cry went up from somewhere up above. “Sails on the horizon! Unknown vessel in pursuit!”