A Pirate's Revenge (Legends of the Soaring Phoenix) (36 page)

“Reveal yourself,” Kane demanded.

The lanterns dimmed, and the outline of man formed in the corner of the quarters.

“Damn you, Zuto,” Kane growled. “What have you done with Hannah?”

The man’s features became clearer, and he swaggered out of the corner. Dark brown hair flared over broad shoulders. The lantern light glistened off the gold chains around his neck. A flamboyant red shirt opened to the navel revealed three long scratches on his smooth chest. Trousers hugged his muscular legs. Familiar eyes held her gaze. Not violet. Black. Soulless. Arrogant.

She was too late. Mariah clasped the stone around her neck. “’Tis not a demon.”

“No, ’tisna possible.” Ronan lowered his sword and took a step toward him. “Lark? You’ve escaped?”

“
Imbécile!
I am not on board this ship, 
oui
?”

“He is projecting himself,” Mariah said. “Stay alert. He is dangerous and not who you remember.” 

Lark shrugged. “I do not know
any
of you.”

“Lark, what’s wrong with you?” asked Ronan. “Ye donna remember me? We were prisoners aboard the
Fiery Damsel
.” 

Lark lifted his eyebrows. “Prisoners? Highly doubtful.”

“Lark is not your friend, Ronan. Not anymore,” Mariah said, her voice consumed with grief. “He is under a spell.”

“You must be the witch,
oui
,” Lark said.

“And your sister,” William said. His voice was strong and commanding, willing Lark to remember his past and fight the spell.

“Sister?” Lark studied her, his brows knotted. He waved his hand. “
No
.
Je ne pense pas
.”

Mariah bit her lip hard not to argue. She wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him until he remembered. Shout at him to remember their past, their bond.

“Which one of you is
Capitaine
O’Brien?” Lark asked.

Kane stepped forward, pistol trained on him. “I’m Captain O’Brien. Why are you here?”

“I have someone who wants to see you,
oui
?” He pointed to the opposite wall. The shadows on the wall flickered and swirled—yellow, black and gray.  Amongst the colors, an image formed. Black lines became thin bars. Yellow turned into lanterns, casting an eerie glow. A dank cell emerged. Mariah peered closer. Someone—a man—hung suspended from the ceiling by an unseen force in the corner. His long brown hair masked his face, and his arms were limp. Manacles studded with what appeared to be diamonds bound his wrists together.

The man raised his head. Not a man. A woman.

“Hannah,” Mariah gasped. “Lark, what have you done?”

“’Tis a
yari
,” he said. “It—”

“We know what it does,” Ronan spat. “Are you afraid of her power?”

Lark glowered and refused to answer, but his scowl grew more sinister, if that was possible. “I am afraid of no one’s power.”

He lied. Mariah could feel the magic recoil inside him. He was afraid. Afraid of who? William? Her?

Kane cocked his pistol. “You’re a dead bastard.”

“You can shoot if you want,
Capitaine
.” Lark chuckled. “Your bullet cannot touch me. You will waste gunpowder,
oui
?  Not that I care.”

“What have you done to her?” Kane demanded.

Lark strolled around the crew’s quarters with his hands clasped behind his back. “She annoyed me. Lied to me. Do not worry. I do not plan to kill her.” The curves of his lips curled into a tight sneer. “At least not yet.”

“If you hurt her, I promise I’ll kill you,” Kane swore.

Lark laughed. “I would like to see you try.”  He bowed slightly. “
S’il vous plaît
, I dare you to try,
oui
?”

Mariah could not control her rapidly beating heart. She prayed that neither William nor Kane would attack him. He wanted them to lose control, a chance to discover their weakness.

“Tell me,
Capitaine
, is your woman passionate? I have not been with
une
belle femme
for some time.”

Kane made a low guttural hiss in his throat and lunged for him.

Mariah cried out, “
Capitaine
, no!”

William seized his arm. “Kane. He’s baiting you.” 

Lark circled William and Kane. “Brothers,
oui
?” He stopped and peered at William. “You are the dragon,
no
? Soon, you will be worshiping my mistress.”

“Never.” William’s eyes flashed gold.

“Leave him alone, Lark,” Ronan demanded.

Lark meandered over to Mariah, and William cut him off, smoke exhaling from his nostrils.

“She is your mate,
oui
,” Lark said. “The witch.” He held Mariah’s gaze. “You will face my mistress soon.
Se préparer à mourir
.”

She could not believe he would let her die. Lark had to be fighting to defeat the spell. She gripped William’s arm, relishing his strength. “You do not recognize me,
no
?”

“Are you daft? I said you were the witch.”

Mariah clasped her stone tighter, drawing on its power. “I am more than a witch. I am your sister.”

Lark grimaced and put his hands on his temples as if he were wounded. He staggered and shook his head. “Lies.” He snapped his gaze to Kane. “If you want to challenge me for your bride,
Capitiane,
bring your beleaguered crew to Zuto’s island tomorrow at sundown. We fight to the death.”

His image faded; the last to disappear were his merciless black eyes.

Melancholy overwhelmed Mariah, and she slumped against William. “I was too late. Lark is a warlock.” Her stomach tightened, and she wiped away a lone tear. “I am afraid I will have to destroy him.”

William wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. “I’m sorry.”

Ronan paced the floor. “Is there naught you can do? Your destiny was to save him, na kill him.”

“’Tis our destiny,” William said. “She can’t hope to defeat Lark without my help.”

“Will he…hurt Hannah?” Kane asked. He whispered her name, his husky voice filled with love and fear.

The hesitancy and worry in his tone broke Mariah’s heart. She lowered her gaze. “I do not know. My brother has crossed over.”

“This is what your
Grand-mère
predicted,” Kane said. “’Tis not the time to cower. All of our lives are at stake. I suggest you find some courage, witch.”

“Tell me,
Capitaine
,” Mariah said. “If you had to kill your brother, how would you feel about the challenge?”

Kane chewed on his cheek. “Point taken. This does not change the battle thrust upon us. We will set a course for Zuto’s island.” He turned and marched out of the crew’s quarters with everyone following except for Ronan, William, and Mariah.

Ronan shook his head. “I canna believe that Lark has turned completely evil.”

“He walks down an evil path,” Mariah said. Fear and trepidation emitted from her wary voice. “I need to go to sleep.”

“Sleep?” Ronan asked. “Why the hell would you want to take a nap now?”

“I need to see if there is any good in him. Awake, he is dangerous. Asleep, there might still be some good in him.”

William folded his arms across his chest. “He is a warlock. Is he dangerous in your dreams?”

“No, he cannot harm me in dreams,” she lied. Warlocks were unpredictable, and she had no idea the depth of his power. 

William gave her a suspicious look. No doubt, he did not believe her. She might not ever wake up. Still, she had to chance it. Her brother’s very soul depended upon it. She pulled her hair into a bun and avoided William’s penetrating stare. “It will be dark soon. I need to prepare.” She headed for the corridor. “Where is Cook?”

“Why do you need to see Cook?” William asked.

“I need some wine, and if we do not have any wine, boiled water.”

“I donna understand,” Ronan said.

“Besides wearing my stone, I will prepare either a tonic or a decoction with herbs that are designed to protect me.”

William towered over her and glared. “I thought you said visiting him in dreams wasn’t dangerous.”

“I will be safe.”

He pulled her against his broad chest. “You need to take me with you.”

“What?”

His grip tightened on her arm. “I go with you or I tie you up and you will not visit him.”

“William, ’tis too much of a risk. He will sense that you are there.”

“I’ll be invisible.”

“But—”

“’Tisn’t open for discussion. You’ll obey in this.”

“You must do as he says,” Ronan said.

Mariah looked between the two pirates. She had thought Ronan would come to her aid, but she’d thought wrong. She would find no allies in doing this alone. “Ronan,” Mariah said, “See if Cook has any wine. If not, I will need boiling water.”

“Aye,” Ronan nodded and darted out the door.

“Please,” a muffled voice said.

Mariah glanced down.
Capitaine
Knight’s eyes were open. His face was drawn and white. “Please save my little girl. ’Tis my fault. Tell Lark I will go in her stead.” He struggled to get out of the hammock.

William gently pushed his shoulder down. “We will bring her back alive. Hannah needs you. It would break her heart if you sacrificed your life.”

Knight’s eyes glistened.

Mariah picked up his hand and squeezed it. “
Oui
, I promise you. We will bring her back alive. Sleep.” She leaned over and kissed his damp forehead. He gave her a weak smile and closed his eyes.

Solstice whined.

Mariah knelt. “He will heal, Solstice.” She scratched her ears. A sudden thought entered her mind, and she glanced up at William. “Wait a minute.”

“What?” William asked.

“Solstice did not growl when Lark appeared.”

“Aye, so?”

Hope swelled inside her. “She would have growled or even attacked if he were completely evil.
Excusez-moi
.”

“Where are you going? Ronan went to get what you need.”

“To prepare the herbs,” she said. “Come if you must.”

William followed her into her quarters. “What are you doing? I’m not allowing you out of my sight.”

“I will not go anywhere without you.”

“Promise me you’ll take me into the dream.” 

“
Mon Dieu
! I said I would.”

He slowly released her and blocked her doorway like a huge wooden drawbridge. She hurried to her chest and searched for cinquefoil, fennel, and rue. “To complete the spell, I need your blood.”

“Why?”

“Dragon’s blood is powerful and will enhance the potency of these herbs.” She opened the vials. “William, there is only enough protection for one of us.”

“You’re not going alone.”

“If I bring us both into the dream, only one will be protected.”

“I’ll be invisible. You won’t. You drink the potion.”

She didn’t have time to argue with his authoritative tone.

“’Tis a tonic, not a potion. Even if you are invisible, Lark will sense your power.”

He shrugged. “This discussion is over. Prepare yourself a
tonic
.” 

Hurried footsteps came down the corridor and into the crew’s quarters. Ronan burst into her cabin with a chalice. “Here is some wine.”

She sighed. “Hopefully it will be powerful enough.” She closed the chest. “Put the chalice here.”

Ronan set it down. Both men cast long shadows over the chest, her sentinels. She emptied the last of the herbs into the chalice. Fragrant smells filled the cabin, and Mariah inhaled, filling her lungs with calmness.

William slowly pulled out a dagger and slashed his palm.

Ronan grabbed William’s wrist. “What the devil are you doin’?”

“She needs dragon’s blood for her damn concoction to work.” He broke free of Ronan’s grasp and squeezed drops of blood into the wine. “If it will work—”

“You still do not have any faith in magic do you?” She couldn’t keep the misery out of her voice.

“I have faith,” Ronan said.

Why couldn’t William be more more like Ronan—accepting magic? 

“Will my blood help, or not?”

“
Oui
.” She stirred the blood, and it muddied the wine. 

Ronan squeezed her shoulder. “You’re not going to drink that, are you?”

She glanced up into his trouble eyes. “You drink blood,
no
?”