Amanda awoke the next morning with splitting headache. She pulled herself upright, feeling like something was off. The world took a moment to catch up and then it hit her like a wave. With a groan she leaned over Sirius and vomited over the side of the bed.

  She felt him shift beneath her and then his fingers entangled themselves within her hair and pulled it back from her face.

  “I have regrets,” she mumbled once she was done.

  “Really?”

  Even in this state she could hear the laughter in his tone. Must he be so mocking when she felt so terrible? His hands were gentle though.

  “Was that the 5th beer or the 7th?” Sirius asked.

  She groaned.

  He stroked her back.

  Her memory was fuzzy but she didn’t feel like she deserved that kind of comfort either. There was another reason she was feeling bad but she couldn’t quite place it right now. Slowly, she sat upright.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, his tone more serious now.

  She nodded. “Yup.” As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, yesterday’s events slowly filtered back into her mind, along with Sirius’s words. “Seven beers?” she asked. “I didn’t have that many did I?”

  “That was just when I stopped counting.”

  She could hear laughter in his voice still but when she glanced at him she saw only gentle concern.

  “They were small cups,” she countered.

  There was a twitch of a smile at the edge of his mouth. She thought about lying down again and going back to sleep but she’d just got the world to steady and she didn’t want to upset the delicate balance of her stomach.

  “Food might help,” Sirius suggested. He pulled himself upright, and slipped out of bed to retrieve his coat from the floor.

  She wasn’t sure it would.

  When he saw the look on her face he laughed. “Trust me,” he said with genuine care.

  “I lost our bet,” she said somberly.

  Sometime in the night, his coat had returned to its original length and Sirius slipped it on like a second skin. He studied her for a moment with an expression she couldn’t read. Then he shook his head and with a shrug he said, “It was a rough day, you can start again tomorrow.”

  She leaned back against the wooden wall of the ship. “Why are you so nice?”

  Another look she couldn’t read. Another hint of a smile but there was a sadness in his eyes too, one she didn’t think had anything to do with her.

  “Come get some breakfast,” was all he said.

  Her gaze drifted toward the floor where she’d just been sick. “What about..?”

  “After breakfast.”

  She didn’t argue.

  By the time they reached the deck later that morning after breakfast and a clean of the cabin, the area was well and truly bustling with people. Someone handed her and Sirius a cup of something that smelled suspiciously like more alcohol, the kind that burned your throat on the way down. She fought the urge to retch and held the cup at arm’s length.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “We’re doing a drink for Pinto and Miles,” came the reply.

  “Oh.” She looked down warily at her cup. She couldn’t not partake in that but the idea of another drink this early after last night did not sit well.

  “You don’t have to drink it,” Sirius told her in a quiet voice. “Just throw it away when they do the call.”

  “I don’t want to waste it,” she replied. “That wouldn’t be right.”

  “Hey! My cup needs a refill,” called one man across the deck.

  The distributor returned to him and poured him some more.

  “You’re not supposed to drink it yet,” called another followed by some laughter.

  Slowly the crowd got bigger.

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  “Is everyone here?” she heard Stinger ask Ferret and Larska from not far away.

  “Everyone not on duty,” Larska replied.

  Amanda looked around but couldn’t see Morgan.

  Beside her, Sirius sniffed his drink and frowned. Amanda deliberately avoided doing the same.

  “What is this?” he asked quietly to a few nearby crew.

  Pip answered with brightly lit eyes. “It’s from the haul yesterday, some human spirit.”

  Sirius’s frown deepened, “And Morgan okay’d that? If it’s human spirit it might be worth a bit.”

  “It’s for Pinto and Miles,” Rick explained.

  Sirius gave a single nod of understanding.

  “Plus, there was no way she was stopping anyone,” Rick added. Then he gave a shrug, “Besides, I doubt it’s worth anything, nothing else in that haul was.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Sirius mumbled with a frown.

  “Listen up,” Stinger called loudly across the deck causing a hush to fall over the crowd. He raised his cup in the air. “Pinto and Miles were good sailors and good men and we are all a little less without them. May they find what they are looking for, if not in this life then in the next.” With that short address done he sculled back his cup.

  No one else seemed to expect anymore words and they all did likewise.

  Amanda raised her cup and then hesitated.

  Sirius reached over, took her cup from her, and downed it along with his. He gave her a wink. She replied with a smile.

  As noise returned to the deck, Amanda watched as the crowd all started to depart to do other things. While witch funerals never did last very long, and werewolf ones even less, that was still the briefest one she’d ever seen.

  One person however was not content with things ending there.

  “Hold on,” Morgan called out from the back of the crowd. “We have one more event this morning.”

  Amanda turned to see her walking across the deck, Abe in front of her, her sword at his back.

  “Fuck,” Sirius cursed under his breath.

  As Morgan made her way to the end of the deck, Amanda felt her own stomach sinking. It seemed Sirius hadn’t quite managed to talk Morgan out of killing Abe.

  Stinger met Morgan as she reached the front of the crowd and spoke with her in quick hushed tones.

  Morgan said something back and shook her head. Stinger stepped aside, giving cursory glance in Sirius’s direction as he did.

  “We are still owed some blood,” Morgan called to the crowd who watched without objection and with only a moderate level of enthusiasm.

  Glancing around, the response seemed mixed. Some men bore smiles, while others looked serious. Perhaps the crew was not all in agreement with their captain on this? But even if that were so, none seemed inclined to argue or object.

  Amanda could feel Sirius’s glance fixing on her, perhaps worried what she might do, but even she felt undecided for once. She knew they’d pushed Morgan’s limits already. She knew, even if the crowd didn’t completely agree with Morgan, they were still her crew, and the one thing she didn’t know was if this man’s life was worth saving when his friend had tried to take hers. Perhaps for once, speaking up was not worth the risk? Still, it didn’t feel quite right. The indecisiveness froze her to the spot.

  Sirius’s gaze darted rapidly between her and Abe.

  Morgan drew her sword.

  Abe stared straight ahead with a glassy-eyed look.

  A hush fell once more across the deck until only the sound of the sea remained.

  And then one lone cry changed everything. “Sails on the horizon! Unknown vessel in pursuit.”

  Then everything happened all at once.

  Morgan lowered her sword and leapt onto the rigging. Up she climbed to get a better look.

  Sirius pushed forward to do likewise. Amanda followed.

  Stinger took the chance to grab Abe and hand him off to some other crewman with the command, “Take him back below.”

  As he was roughly handed from one man to the other, Abe started laughing. “Its the Slicer. He’s come for you. You’re all gonna die.”

  He was still chuckling as he was pulled away. He didn’t sound relieved though. He sounded like he’d gone mad.

  “Shit,” said Stinger.

  From the rigging, Morgan shouted commands.

  Men scurried like rats.

  “They’re gaining fast! Prepare for boarding.”

  “The Slicer?” Amanda asked Stinger sensing he knew the name.

  Stinger glanced toward Ferret and Larska as if seeking confirmation.

  This time Ferret explained. “Companion ship of The Piper. That’s probably why our other friend thought he could make it in a long boat. He must’ve known they were close.”

  “So why wait for now to chase us?” Stinger queried.

  “You know why,” Larska answered. “They want the haul.”

  Morgan joined them then, leaping down from above, she landed squarely with two feet on the deck. She scoffed. “They can have it. There’s nothing in it. We’ll dump and run, like we did with the dragon.”

  “Not even the alcohol?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

  Morgan shrugged. “Keeping the crew happy that way’s as much a loss as it is a win. You know that.”

  Sirius shook his head. “You don’t know what that liquor is really worth. Get it back to the Black Dog and Mathias can value it for you.”

  Morgan scoffed again. “And you get a flat fee for nothing. No thanks.”

  “We’ll take a percent of the cut,” Sirius answered. “And I think the rest of the stuff is magic, infusements of some kind.”

  “Let me guess, you want a percent of that cut too?” She did look more interested in what he was saying though.

  Sirius raised and lowered his eyebrows in acknowledgment. “As would be expected.”

  Amanda couldn’t help watching their calm exchange with some amazement. They were, once again, about to encounter pirates, and yet both of them were acting like this was just another day. She found herself suddenly missing the island. More than that, she missed home, her guitar, the horses. Even mustering hadn’t involved this much excitement. Standing there, watching Sirius bargaining on that deck she suddenly realised exactly how far apart their worlds were. She wondered if it would be possible to lure him onto land, back home with her, and even if she could, would it be fair to do so?

  The way he looked at the sea. The way he stood as if he belonged right where he was and nowhere else. The way he actually seemed to be enjoying negotiating with Morgan.

  “Even if we toss it, they may still be after their man, or revenge,” Stinger said. “There’s no guarantee they’ll stop to pick it up.”

  “It would be a waste,” Sirius agreed. “After everything we went through to get it. What Pinto and Miles went though.”

  “Fine,” Morgan agreed with a nod. She turned to Ferret. “The Slicer? What are our chances?”

  “Not good. We’re likely going to want to make some sort of bargain. A one on one fight is not a sure win knowing who their captain is, so unless you fancy an all out battle...”

  Morgan nodded. “And if it comes to that?”

  “Messy. Not an outright loss. Bad for both sides I’d say.”

  “Can we outrun them?”

  This time it was Stinger who answered after a brief look through a telescope. “Not likely.”

  Morgan’s face took on a hard expression. “Well we’re gonna try.”