Chronicles of the Dragon Pirate (61 page)

“As you will,” I said to her, a sinking feeling in my guts as I walked a few paces away with Captain Cholula, who moved close to whisper in my ear as we stood at the edge of the darkness stretching along the beach.

I wasn’t disappointed. “This isn’t over between us, only that I’ll get more good fighters in my crew when you belong to me.” I pulled away and she grinned. “Captain Black’s given me too sweet of an offer to pass up, else I’d already be working to put you there, so enjoy your time pretending to be ‘Tomas the Bold’.” She turned to leave then looked back. “Oh, and enjoy having Pepper to yourself while you can.”

She strode away before I could think of a good reply, and from the darkness beyond the light of the bright-fire torch set on a bamboo pole nearby I heard a thin, reedy voice call my name. I walked into the darkness and knelt down. “Hob, what are you doing off the Davy?”

“Watching the mortals make fools of themselves,” he said as he motioned behind me. “I heard what Cholula said to you.” I got a glum look on my face and Hob chuckled. “You’ll have to deal with her at some point, but right now the turtle’s content to sit on the beach and leave you alone. Now,” his face breaking out into a disturbing smile of sharp teeth, “I’ve got a place set up for the both of you if you’d like to finally do what you came here for.”

I glanced back at the knots of people in bright clothes drinking rum and laughing. “Do you think they’ll let us?”

“If you want my advice, I’d recommend an old pirate trick: grab Pepper and slip away before anyone knows you’re gone.”

I got to my feet as Pepper walked towards me. “I was wondering where you’d gone.”

I took her by the hand. “We’re slipping away.”

“About time, Swamp-rat,” she replied with a grin. We casually strolled to the edge of the torchlight, the waves gently rolling onto the sand a few paces away, and then followed Hob as someone yelled in an urgent voice for Captain Black, everyone’s attention drawn away from us. Hob took off at a trot and we ran after him as Captain Black’s voice barking orders faded behind us.

Ahead of us I saw the wreck of an old sloop resting on her side, her main mast snapped off and her timbers rotted as the waves rolled over what little remained of her stern. Hob never veered but scrambled up the side, disturbing a nest of sea-birds judging from the multitude of squawks we began hearing from within. Pepper and I looked at each other and we both laughed. “I hope he doesn’t think we’re following him there,” I remarked.

“The beach keeps going,” Pepper replied.

“Then let’s go around,” and I led her around the bow of the ship, the birds settling down as loose sand became hard packed again as we reached the other side. Ahead of us I saw a circle of small lights in the sand and led us towards it, the lights becoming small candles in glass cups. In the center of the circle a blanket had been laid out, with an open bottle of claret wine and a wooden cup sitting beside it. I couldn’t help but smile. “Hob,” I called out, “I forgive you for all the tricks you played on me.”

Only silence answered. I looked at Pepper, who only shrugged. “The goblin does things in his own way for his own reasons,” a smile tugging at her face as she added, “Still, we would be churls of the worst kind not to take advantage of his generosity.” I nodded, stepping over the candles onto the hard packed sand beside the blanket as Pepper followed suit. I sat down but she knelt beside the bottle, pouring out a cup of wine which she then handed to me. I took a swallow as a serious look came on her face. “I meant what I said during the ceremony: I will know no other man carnally except for you, even if someone tries taking me by force.” She smiled at my confused look. “Tomas, I’m a shape-changer now, which means if someone tries, I can block their best efforts.” My eyes widened as I thought about it, Pepper then putting her hands on either side of my face. “But for you the way will always be open. No matter how angry I am with you, no matter how much you come to frighten me, I will always yield to your caress.”

“Frighten you? I don’t see how...”

She put a finger to my lips. “You won’t stay the sweet boy you are now; you can’t, not if you’re going to lead men into battle. If I’m lucky, a little of your sweetness will endure, but either way it doesn’t matter. But I need something in return. Sally’s a Bo, and if I’m only faithful to you she won’t understand.”

“The Bo don’t understand being faithful?”

“To them, the joining ceremony marks the one who is first in the female’s affections and nothing more. If I push her away, Sally’s going to be badly hurt.”

I smiled as Ezekiel’s words came back to me. “And if momma ain’t happy then nobody’s happy.” Pepper lost her serious expression trying to suppress a giggle as I went on. “My real mother was a very practical woman evidently, because I’m beginning to see the advantage of keeping Sally happy, and...I don’t know, I guess I’m not jealous, knowing it’s Sally.” I never mentioned other women, and it wasn’t until much later that I realized Pepper never had either.

“Thank you,” Pepper said softly, before taking a deep breath. “As for you, if you decide to take other lovers, I will make myself understand...”

It was my turn to put my finger to her lips a moment. “There will be no one else. Not...willingly,” I said as I remembered what Captain Cholula had said, “but even if nature or circumstance lead me to stray, I will return to you.” She pulled back as if to argue but I put my face near hers. “Ask Jeremiah: when I make up my mind you won’t change it, Dragon or not.”

“I don’t want to change it,’ she whispered as her lips brushed mine. I kissed her back...and suddenly we couldn’t get our clothes off fast enough, our hands all over each other as I pushed her down on the blanket and she guided me in, gasping as I entered her. The feeling was too incredible to contain and despite my efforts I lost control after a few thrusts. Pepper gasped again. “Kyrie eleyson, what’s happening?”

I pushed myself up far enough to see her face. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, you didn’t hurt me at all. I’ve... made myself more sensitive down below, just to see what would happen, and when you let go I felt it like a warm wave pass through me. I think it’s got something to do with Smoke being part of me now; I feel a lot of things differently.” Suddenly Pepper gave me a wicked grin. “Any chance you can keep going? I’d like to see if it happens again.”

“I can definitely keep going.” Pepper laughed as we began again, asking me to roll onto my back and I did so, finding I could keep control of myself better as she rode on top of me, both of us gasping in pleasure for a brief span before I lost control once more. She sucked in her breath and I asked, “Did it happen again?” Pepper nodded, her eyes closed as her face became peaceful, and as the ocean waves rolled in, speaking in soft voices, I etched the memory of Pepper’s face shadowed in the firelight onto my mind for all time.

Suddenly from beyond the wrecked sloop I heard the sound of voices calling our names. We both groaned in frustration, but then Pepper frowned. “I hear Dava’s voice, and he sounds more worried than angry,” Pepper disengaging herself from me as she stood up. “Maybe we should get dressed and see what they...”

A stick snapped. We both turned towards the forest as, from half a dozen yards away, a red-eyed man aimed a gun at Pepper and smiled as he pulled the trigger. Fear seized me by the throat as I willed time to slow, the gunpowder exploding with a bang and a pistol ball streaking out from the barrel towards Pepper. She could only gape as I pushed against time and past it, scrambling to push Pepper out of the way as the metal ball hurtled towards her chest. I threw myself forward with my hands up...and the pistol ball passed between them. Pepper’s face spasmed in pain as the pistol ball tore through the side of her belly and out again, blood spurting out both sides in a slow, crimson stream.

Time returned to normal as she fell into my arms. I grabbed the dress she’d been wearing and pressed it down on both sides, the white cloth rapidly turning red as Seth stepped into the circle of candlelight and laughed. “You shoulda killed me when you could. Now you gonna suffer like I did when I was alive. Every day you gonna hate me like I hated you, and every day I gonna laugh knowing she as dead as my pet, whatever her name was, and there nothing you can do...”

The back of Seth’s head exploded in a shower of black blood and gore on the white sands as a gun roared. Arabella came out of the darkness with an Artifact pistol in her hand as Seth dropped to his knees and fell face forward, finally dead, but I only noticed it in passing as Pepper’s eyes began to close. “Oh, no,” I yelled at her, “You’re not going to die tonight...Jade!”

Jade spoke next to my ear in a quiet voice. “Tomas, all is well.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “It’s not well! You’ve got to take strength from me so you can heal her.”

“There is no need...”

“What’s gotten into you? We aren’t letting her die; you’re going to heal her right now!”

“Tomas, there is no need; Pepper’s flesh is healing itself.”

I stared at the spot her voice was coming from in confusion then pulled back the blood soaked dress I’d been pressing against the wound. The blood coming out had slowed to a trickle, and while the inside of the wound glistened wetly, I could see where strings of flesh seemed to be coming together. “I don’t...I don’t understand.”

“I still understand love hurts,” Pepper said in a weak voice as her eyes fluttered open. I gripped her hand, the drying blood making our fingers stick together as she smiled up at me. “You aren’t rid of me yet, Swamp-rat.”

I clung to her as the voices calling our names grew louder, and I saw men with torches coming around the wrecked sloop. Arabella knelt down beside us. “Tomas, cover your nakedness while I wrap the blanket around Pepper.” I shook the sand from my white trousers and put them on while Arabella wrapped the edges of the blanket around Pepper, who nestled into my arms as I sat back down. We looked up as Redbeard came storming up followed by Sally, Jeremiah moving past him to kneel next to me as a multitude of people arrived, all shouting questions. Arabella got to her feet. “Quiet, good sirs,” she called out. “Pepper was shot but is out of danger, thanks to Tomas and myself. Quiet yourselves and I shall explain all.” It took a few moments and a good deal of cursing by Redbeard, who looked as if he was regretting not cutting my throat after all, before everyone became relatively still. “I gave Seth to Captain Black’s gaoler,” Arabella continued, “but I asked the little dragon-spirit Grey-mouse to keep watch over Seth. When he overpowered the guards and escaped, she came back to me and I went in search of Tomas.” Arabella gave Pepper a sympathetic look. “I regret I was not able to prevent your near tragedy, for if Tomas had not pushed you at all, the pistol ball might have hit you square on and damaged you so severely even the Dragon seed inside you would not have been enough to save you.”

“You nae be making sense,” Redbeard growled, thankfully turning his dark look on Arabella. “Speak plain, evil witch.”

“As you will. The pieces of the puzzle were there in front of me, but until now they did not make sense. Shape changing without being merged with a dragon-ghost, being recognized by the Bo, who still remember Atlantis through their rituals and traditions, poisoning a Dark Sister with your strength, manipulating time with a bone ring clearly not an Artifact...”

“All that can be explained using logic,” I said as everyone began looking at me intently.

“Perhaps,” Arabella replied, “but one thing cannot: the only thing that will cause torn human flesh to heal itself is the seed of an Ancient Dragon... or a mated pair’s pure born child.” Speculative muttering began among the crew, but stopped when Arabella added, “I also know who Tomas’s Atlantian father was.” In the silence that followed she looked at Captain Hawkins. “Tomas’s father is the Dragon, Sir Francis Drake.”

Everyone looked as stunned as I was before they started arguing, the voices growing louder until Sally put her fingers to her lips and gave a piercing whistle. Once we’d all taken our hands from our ears, Captain Hawkins said, “That’s impossible. Sir Francis was human; a strong Dragon, yes, but he was born in England.”

“He let you believe he was born in England,” Arabella countered. “When he met Long-Mu during your voyage around the world they only pretended to be meeting for the first time, for in truth they were renewing a friendship thousands of years old. But that is not all. Evidently, a young Atlantian of pure blood cannot control when he goes into heat, but an older one can suppress it for a time, and both of them were doing exactly that when they rekindled their friendship. When their passion flared they both went into heat...and Tomas was the result.”

Captain Hawkins snapped, “How can you possibly know this?”

“Because when Bill left me for dead on Three-Day Island, my dragon-spirit sought out the strongest Dragon there to rescue me. Francis Drake came by himself, and even though he explained why he was going to use me carnally I still thought it to be a final shame before I died. But then I felt a wave of heat pass through me,” Arabella glancing at Pepper as she and I exchanged a wide-eyed look, “and my body began to heal itself. I was clever, and guessed his secret, realizing he might well murder me to keep the knowledge hidden. But that is not his way. Instead, he gave me the chance to strike back at those who had taken my life away from me, and gave me to the care of another Shadowhunter who was keeping watch on Three-Day, who taught me everything I needed to know. When Francis returned to England after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, I became his mistress, and was there when Long-Mu sent word she was pregnant and coming to meet him. He was sick to his heart when she died, and always thought the child had perished as well.” Arabella looked at me with a sly smile. “He will be pleased beyond measure to know his son is alive.”

Mr. Smith rumbled, “Sir Francis Drake is dead. I helped wrap his body in sailcloth, and it was cold and lifeless when we delivered it to his dragon-ghosts.”

“He faked his death,” Arabella replied, “as he has so many times before. He lives a new life now under a different name, but his war against Olde Roger goes on.” She gave Captain Hawkins a hard stare. “You said if he were the son of Sir Francis you would teach him what he needs to know. If you are...or ever were, a man of honor, you will do exactly that.”