The Sea Wolves (23 page)

“Lies!” Finn screamed, and lunged.

Jack put his weight on the rope and pushed off, swinging away from the yardarm and out over the deck. His arc took him around Finn, just out of arm's length. Finn reached farther and lost his balance, windmilling his arms and slipping from the yard even as Jack swung back toward the mast and caught the rigging.

Finn twisted in the air and stretched out—his hands becoming claws—and dug them into the wood of the yard. He flailed, trying to climb back up, claws scoring the wood. Shouts rose from below, some mocking Finn and others urging Jack to knock him off. But Finn moved swiftly.

Arm hooked into the rigging, Jack brought up some slack and looped the rope in his hands.

“Captain's pet or not”—Finn huffed—“I'll feed your innards to the sharks … and save the tastiest bits for—”

Jack darted forward, nearly lost his balance, and slipped the loop over Finn's head. Steadying himself on the tautness higher up the rope, he gave a small tug to cinch the makeshift noose tighter, then kicked Finn in the face. The sea wolf clutched at the yard but missed, and he fell backward toward the deck … until the slack Jack had gathered played out, and the rope snapped taut around his neck.

Finn bucked and kicked his legs, reaching up to free himself from the rope. Fur sprouted once more from his flesh, and he became that half-wolf monstrosity again, snarling and spitting, swinging back and forth. Jack watched from the rigging, amazed at what he had done. His heart still slammed against the inside of his chest as though it longed to escape, but it had calmed somewhat. The immediate danger was over, but that did not mean he would survive the next few minutes.

He scanned the deck below for Sabine, but she had not come up from her cabin to watch. Perhaps that was for the best. Her presence would distract Ghost, and his jealousy made him unpredictable. Better for his beautiful slave—for what else could she be to him but that?—to hide herself below until the night's fates were decided.

Huginn emerged from the forecastle and ran to Ghost, whispering in close to the captain's ear. Jack saw the Nordic pirate show Ghost the small handful of diamonds in his open palm before they disappeared quickly into the captain's own pocket.

Now we'll see
, Jack thought.

He pulled out the stiletto. Designed as a stabbing weapon, it would make for a poor saw, but with Finn's weight drawing the line taut, he thought he could cut the rope. He caught it in his hands, and then Finn reached up over his head and grabbed hold of the rope and started to climb. Jack stared, frozen for a moment with the stiletto in his hand.

“Mr. London!” Ghost called from below. “Don't cut the rope, if you please. It will only mean repairs later.”

Jack hesitated but then sheathed Johansen's stiletto again. He had to move quickly. Finn had hauled himself up enough to give the rope slack, and holding himself aloft with one hand, he used the other to tug at the makeshift noose around his neck. Jack had no time to hesitate. He swung into the rigging and descended as fast as he could, hand over hand, until he dropped to the deck.

Finn freed himself and fell thirty feet, landing on all fours ten feet away. Jack could have run toward Ghost, but he had no faith the captain would protect him. Everything now was uncertain. His life would be decided in moments.

Jack spun and drew the stiletto again, and this time when Finn saw it, he paused. It made no sense. Werewolves were incredibly difficult to kill. A single stiletto should not have made Finn hesitate to attack, unless…

The blade glinted in the poor lamplight.

“Hold him,” Ghost said.

Jack stiffened, afraid that the captain referred to him. Huginn and Muninn grabbed Finn. The murderous sailor thrashed against them, but then Ogre and Tree moved in as well and he stopped fighting. Even if he freed himself from the twins, the rest of the crew would not let him escape the captain's judgment. They might hate Ghost and disapprove of the decisions he'd been making of late, but Finn had murdered one of their own, and they had been awaiting his punishment. Their eyes shone with anger, hunger, and hope that the time had come to fulfill the laws of the pack.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Ghost?” Finn snarled. “You heard me. I know you did. Your ridiculous pet, your ‘first mate,' was in the hold, breaking into the stores, trying to get to the loot.”

Ghost began to pace, walking in a circle around Jack and the crewmen who held Finn.

“Why would he do that, Finn? Where would he go?”

“He said himself he planned to escape.”

“Not tonight, surely. Mr. London may suffer from the weakness inherent in humanity. He may believe in honor and love and dignity and other foolishness. But he is not a fool.”

Ghost paused and glanced around at the rest of the crew.

“Kelly!” the captain barked. “You'd like to see our Mr. London dead, I'd wager.”

“Wouldn't hurt my feelings, Captain,” Kelly said, nodding.

Ghost reached into his pocket and brought out the fistful of diamonds, letting them glitter in his open palm.

“Someone broke into the stores, went into our treasury below, and took these diamonds. They were scattered on the floor as if the thief had been surprised in the act. You heard Mr. London and Finn, here, arguing about it just now. Of the two, which is fool enough to try such a thing?”

Tree swore. Vukovich began muttering furiously. Maurilio had come out onto the deck at last—perhaps he'd been sleeping below—and sidled up beside the captain to look greedily upon the precious diamonds.

“Finn killed Johansen,” Kelly said. “He hates you, Captain. He's at the bottom of the pack and knows he hasn't got long to live. But I wouldn't have thought even Finn fool enough to try to steal from you.”

“Not from me,” Ghost said, showing the diamonds around. “From all of us. And perhaps you're right. Maybe Finn walked in on Mr. London in the midst of the crime, caught him red-handed.”

“Maybe,” Maurilio said.

“Not a chance,” Kelly sneered.

Jack kept his breathing steady, but his throat had tightened and his mouth gone dry. He looked back and forth from Ghost to Finn to Kelly, knowing he could not speak out of turn. It had to be played just right, and he had to choose his words carefully.

“Why not?” Ghost asked.

“You heard him,” Kelly said, nodding toward Jack. “Might be soft, but he's smart. What good would it do him? He wanted to fix the lock down there so he could escape. If he took the diamonds then, I'd say sure, maybe it's him. But where would he hide 'em now?”

“Damn you, Kelly!” Finn roared, trying to break free of his captors and failing. Huginn and Muninn held him tight. “I'll kill you. I'll kill you all!”

“Sounds like a guilty man to me,” Vukovich muttered.

Maurilio, Ogre, and Tree were nodding in agreement.

“You can't let him live, Captain,” Kelly said, staring expectantly at Ghost. “First he killed Johansen, and now this. Whatever game you're playing, we can't afford to let it go on.”

Ghost ignored him, instead walking over to Jack and staring at him, eye to eye, searching for the truth. Jack felt only hate and loathing inside him and he let it radiate outward, hoping it would mask his fear of discovery. He had lowered the stiletto, letting the blade dangle at his side. Now Ghost took it from him, carefully, and held it up to the light.

“Where the hell did he get that?” Vukovich growled.

“In his cabin,” Ghost replied, glancing from the blade to Jack. “He found it among Johansen's things and took it for himself, which is his right as the new first mate. Or it would be, except for one thing. This blade belongs to me.”

Jack stared at him, and for a moment the rest of the crew—the rest of the world—did not exist. “It's yours?”

“You couldn't have known,” Ghost said. He smiled grimly. “I never even noticed it missing. Johansen, the sneaky bastard.”

“Why would 'e do that?” Tree asked, obviously doubtful. “He'd know you'd kill 'im for it.”

Ghost's smile was as haunting and unsettling as ever. “I think maybe he wanted to be captain.”

“So I did you a damn favor, killing him!” Finn snarled.

Ghost lashed out, clawing deep, bloody gashes across Finn's cheek and jaw. Then he crouched in front of Finn as the sailor struggled against the hold the twins had on him.

“You tried to do
yourself
a favor, Finn. But it backfired, didn't it? As all of your plans have, because you are a fool.”

Ghost held the silver stiletto out to Jack, careful not to touch the blade. The sea wolves stiffened, alert and anxious. They hadn't realized the blade was silver when Jack had first brandished it, but now they stared at it and then at Ghost as though the captain had lost his mind.

“Take it, Jack,” Ghost said. “Finn has tried to kill you more than once. If you let him live, he will succeed. You have no choice but to kill him first.”

The pack went utterly silent. Jack glanced at Kelly and Vukovich, their faces blank with sheer disbelief, and he watched as their expressions turned to quiet, simmering fury. Ghost might be planning to turn Jack, as Louis had said, but he was not a werewolf yet. He might have been made first mate, but he was not a member of the pack, and the wolves bristled at the sight of their leader surrendering the life of one of their own into the hands of a human. They were already riled up by the fact that Ghost hadn't killed Finn for the murder of Johansen, and Jack suspected they had been bitterly disappointed not to have the chance to eat Finn's remains. They wanted him dead, but not at the hands of an ordinary man.

Jack stared at the stiletto.
I didn't bargain for this
. All his plans began to unravel as the urge to take the blade grew within him. There could be no doubt that Ghost was correct—in fact, the captain did not know
how
correct. Jack had successfully framed Finn as a thief, and the lowest member of the pack would not rest until he had Jack's throat in his jaws. Even now the hatred blazed in Finn's eyes. But if Jack took the stiletto, he would have to choose to use it on Finn or try to kill Ghost.

The temptation hit him so powerfully that he began to reach for the blade.

Ghost's eyes narrowed, a trace of smug satisfaction touched his lips, and Jack froze. If it would please Ghost, then it had to be a terrible idea. And there was more. Yes, it would make the pack hate Ghost, fomenting mutinous thoughts. But their hatred would be toward Jack as well.

And it would be cold-blooded slaughter. Finn might be a monster, and killing him might be saving Jack's own life, but if he couldn't fight back, it would still feel like murder. And Jack London was no murderer.

Ghost saw the change in his eyes.

“I will not offer you this blade again,” the captain said.

Jack took a long breath, then shook his head. “I'd kill to save myself, or someone I love. But I won't murder a defenseless man. And I'm sure not going to kill for your amusement.”

With a scowl, Ghost backhanded Jack, knocking him sprawling at Ogre's feet. He rose to his knees, mouth bleeding, heart pounding. Ghost snatched him up like a rag doll, fumbled with his belt, and tore it off him, removing the small leather scabbard in which he'd discovered the stiletto. Then the captain hurled Jack to the deck again, discarding him. He sheathed the stiletto in its scabbard and turned to go, but paused to look back at Jack and then at Huginn and Muninn, still holding Finn.

In one fluid motion, impossibly swift, Ghost drew the stiletto and drove it into Finn's heart. Huginn and Muninn let go of him, and the pirate dropped to the deck. His skull thunked on the wood, and his dead eyes stared up at the full sails, unseeing.

“You son of a bitch!” Kelly snarled, rushing toward Ghost.

It took both Vukovich and Maurilio to stop him, but they saved his life. Jack knew the look in Ghost's eyes. He would have killed the entire crew in that moment if they'd dared to challenge him further.