Chapter 31, Sarah

  The hold is dark and hot. The smell of the calf’s blood is starting to turn, from metallic to a sickening sweet putrid. The decks above are bathed in it, and so are we.

  I breathe in, slow and shallow. To stay still and to keep from tasting the stale air, thick with the musk of five dozen bodies packed under a low ceiling, sweating and using up what little oxygen we have.

  Liss’ head rests on my thigh and Manee’s shoulder is pressed against mine. As long as I hold perfectly still I don’t see the harm in opening my eyes, for now. It’s pitch black anyways. I’m straining to see in the dark, listening for anything that might tell me what’s happening.

  There were signs that Tobias’ ship was finally upon us. The clatter of grappling hooks, the way the hull groaned when the two ships collided. But everything else was too muffled to make out. I might have imagined footsteps, voices. Or maybe it was just the waves lapping at the hull.

  Roberts gave me orders to stay put, even when the fighting starts. She said we can’t risk Tobias recognizing me, that it would make things too complicated. But she doesn’t know that I’ve already seen Tobias holding a pistol to my head, the mangled fingers of his third hand grasping at my waist.

  It wouldn’t change anything if she knew, would it? Part of me wants to believe that I can alter fate, but if it’s bound to happen, one way or another it will.

  My heart sinks in my chest. What if I missed my chance to explain why I pulled away from her? That I desperately wanted her to kiss me, but I just couldn’t allow it. That it’s not her, it’s me. I’m broken, closed off to closeness in a way that’s out of my control.

  It’s always been that way, no matter how hard I tried with Trish. There’s a tugging in my chest. I wish I could say it’s because I miss her. It makes me feel guilty not to. But with so much distance between us I’m realizing that I never truly loved her. That the subtle ache just beneath my ribs isn’t for her. And then my heart beats stutter. Roberts soft restrained exhale in my ear. I can still hear it, still feel her pressed against me.

  But I can’t see what’s happening out there. I can’t see her. Fuck if I could see...

  Heat builds behind my eyes, probably from the strain of trying to see and hear in the dark. Then I do hear something, footsteps, and someone scuffling around in a nearby compartment.

  My eyes blink shut and my breath catches. I feel Manee’s shoulder tense beside me. The footsteps come closer, it sounds like they’re right by the door. Just when I think we’re about to be discovered, the sounds grow distant as whoever it was retreats without entering.

  More time passes and still no one comes. The plan is to stay hidden until someone finds us. Then we’re to kill the intruder silently and make our way topside, taking out as many as we can without sounding the alarm. Well, everyone but me. And Manee is in charge of making the call to come out of hiding.

  Time passes, or maybe it doesn’t. It’s impossible to tell down here. No one comes. My mind starts filling in the gaps with the worst things I can imagine. What if Tobias’s crew gets the upper hand before we can execute the plan? What if Roberts ends up captured, or worse, killed? If only I could see what’s going on above deck.

  The heat behind my eyes spreads to the back of my head, down my neck, into my arms. Then, as I lay there staring at the backs of my eyelids, the inky black dissolves, and a warm glow begins to flicker. It reminds me of looking at the sun through closed eyes.

  It feels like I’m spinning, faster and faster until I can’t feel anything at all. I’m weightless. I’m on the deck, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. They must be Tobias’ crew. No one seems to notice me which means I must be having a premonition.

  “Sarah, your eyes are glowing.” The voice sounds muffled, like I’m listening from the other side of a door. It sounded like Manee.

  Roberts is standing in front of me, facing Tobias and a woman with striking blue eyes and long, black hair is walking towards us. She’s wiping her blade with a red stained cloth, a crease between her brows.

  The woman tosses the cloth aside and sheaths her weapon. “This ship is a floating graveyard, nothing in the storage holds but bodies,” she says.

  “You sure?” Tobias questions her.

  “I made sure,” she answers, coolly.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The muffled voice interrupts, more urgently this time. “Can you make it stop? You’re lighting up the place.”

  It doesn’t make any sense. How is Manee projecting their voice into my premonition? I jerk my hand upwards but it doesn’t move. I could have sworn I felt someone’s hand squeeze mine. The last time I had a premonition I could move.

  “Shit, your skin is burning hot.” The voice hisses.

  I try to turn around, but I somehow stay in place. Something is wrong with this premonition. I should be able to travel like I did before.

  I return my focus to what I can see. The blue-eyed woman is speaking to Roberts. “Disgusting Hells, what do you have against a sailors burial?”

  She’s lying, no one came into the hold. Even if she did get close enough to see us down there, she definitely didn’t get that blood from any of us.

  Hells sounds like a nickname. Do they know each other? Roberts says something in reply but I don’t catch it. My focus has shifted to Tobias. I don’t like the way he’s looking at Roberts.

  I catch Roberts breaking eye contact with the woman, her gaze drifting to the staircase. If I clocked it, there’s a good chance someone else did too. Tobias moves, his hand changing position ever so slightly. Shit.

  My own hand twitches at my side, and brushes against something warm. Manee. My mind races, scrambling to put the pieces together, to make sense of what’s happening. I don’t think this is a premonition, but, what is it?

  Could I be conscious in two places at once? Is what I’m seeing happening in real time on deck?

  I don’t want to take my eyes off Roberts, but I need to warn Manee and the others.

  “Now, go now.” I feel myself mouthing the words. I can barely hear them, but I hope that Manee does. I can’t linger, my full attention is back with Roberts.

  I must have missed something in the few seconds I spared to warn Manee, because things have shifted rapidly.

  The blue-eyed woman has a pistol aimed at Tobias’ temple. He raises a brow but the expression seems to dawn on him in slow motion.

  A greasy haired pirate shrieks. A stuttering sound that warps the air in slow ripples while they draw a short blade, each movement delayed as if time has been restrained. The tip of the knife presses into the woman’s back but my attention is dragged away.

  Several shots ring out at once, as a blade slices in my direction. I feel my stomach tighten as I flinch, trying to shuffle backwards but my legs don’t move. The sword pierces me without resistance. A guttural cry erupts behind me and a body falls at my feet. But I can only see half of them. It’s like my body is a fog surrounding it. The instinct to turn around, to see what’s behind me feels like a thousand needle pricks but still my ability to travel is impossible.

  Another violent shriek pierces the air beside me but I can’t tell who’s making the sound until they run into my peripheral vision, gripping an ax above their head. They seem to stare right through me. My heart pounds and I brace for impact but it doesn’t come. Instead they keep running, straight at me, straight…through me.

  Then Tobias comes into view. He’s traded his pistol for a blade, swinging at Roberts but she draws in time to block his advance. A red bloom spreads from the front of her shoulder, down the sleeve of her shirt.

  Heat sears in my limbs, every instinct telling me to rush to her defense. But I’m locked in place, like an invisible, immovable ghost.

  That version of me that needs to get up and run to her is still in the hold. Her words echo in my mind. Stay hidden, no matter what. Roberts can take him, I tell myself. She looks steady. Still, I don’t want to take my eyes off her.

  Manee’s voice cuts through the dark, “For Hellcat!” they shout, leaping from the top of the staircase and onto the deck. Good, this will be over soon. I stay below where I am, but my vision remains above deck.

  A blood chilling snarl catches my attention and I turn to see a massive dog lunging at one of the twins. It latches onto Sam's throat and drags him down, thrashing. I hear the snap as the beast's jaw breaks his neck. Jake tries to pull it off him but it's too late. Sam isn’t moving. The thing turns on Jake next.

  Gery rushes in to help Jake, but blood’s running down her face from a gash in her forehead. The dog gets her arm, but she drives the hilt of her sword into its skull, stunning it.

  Behind them I see Harken fall. He goes down hard, like he’s been knocked unconscious. Joanne blocks the strike meant to finish him, but even she looks off balance.

  All around me Hellcats are taking a beating and it’s getting harder to obey Robert's orders to stay put.

  But then, Roberts takes a hit to the thigh. It looks deep, maybe a vein. Blood pours down her leg, and she’s staggering now, pale and shaking.

  The urge to move hits me hard. My whole body burns with it. Rage, panic, I can’t tell which. Then I see the blood spreading across the deck and feel it dripping through the planks, warm on my face.

  That’s when I decide to move. To hell with her orders. She’s dying and we’re losing this fight. But when I focus on leaving the hold, it’s not there anymore. The walls, the dark, they’re gone. I’m on the deck. I look down and see myself, solid, here.

  For a second I just stand there, stunned. Then something moves in the corner of my eye, steel flashing, and I pull my saber up just in time to meet it. This time the blade doesn’t pass through me. It meets my sword with a jarring clang that lights up every nerve.

  Adrenaline rips through my veins, my pulse beating in my ears. The crisp clear sounds of war fade to a soft buzz as my instincts take over. The kind of clarity that obliterates fear, and melts away resistance until only one objective remains. Kill.