“Does anybody else think we should be recording this? There’s no way Gloria and the guys are ever going to believe us.” Tess’s voice snapped me back into the moment. “And just for the record, I am seriously disappointed that thing isn’t even a real pirate ship.”
“I think modern day pirates traded their wooden-hulled galleons for speedier boats and ships like this decades ago, Tess.” Sam gave our friend a flat stare. “Would you really rather have them firing cannon balls at us?”
When the rocking finally subsided, Tess put her hand on her hip, her expression belligerent. “If it was Johnny Depp behind the cannon . . . maybe.”
“Will you two shut it? I’m having a hard enough time keeping this shield up!” Freaking out about Rand going on board the other vessel wasn’t helping my concentration, either.
Rand released his grip on my waist, only to move in front of me, pull me against him, and kiss me soundly enough to leave me breathless. When he finally broke the kiss, he took a step back, waiting for my reaction. Danai and the coven were watching the other ship, but Tess and Sam watched us. Lifting my chin, I figured there was no use blushing or making a fuss about it. I was a middle-aged woman—or I would be if I were human and not descended from a line of powerful witches—not some simpering, confused twenty year old with no life experience. I had loyal, steadfast friends to back me up, a kick-ass familiar, a newly-sentient fae Object I didn’t even know how to describe yet, and most of the paranormals in NOLA watching and waiting to see what I became.
Sam smiled and winked at me. Taking a deep breath, I said, “If you get killed or seriously injured over there, you’d better plan on staying in the gray for a few weeks, because angry will be an understatement for what I’ll be.”
He tipped an imaginary hat. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he turned and strode to the platform at the back of the boat, waiting for Cappy to get close enough for him to jump to the rear platform of the other ship. Could Cappy get us that close? I tightened the shield, bringing it in as much as I could around the Sea Witch, hoping it wouldn’t interfere.
“Maybe that orca could give him a lift,” Tess suggested.
I opened my mouth to retort, then closed it again. Would it allow that? There was still almost a boat length between us and the waves kept pushing us away. We were moving closer, but slowly. There was the chance the larger ship could take off. In fact, I was surprised it hadn’t attempted to.
“Danai? Can you ask Sebastian?”
“He’s a little preoccupied.”
I went to the side of the boat and searched the water. “Arella!”
Her red braids popped out of the water, only a few feet from the back of the other ship. She made eye contact with me and swam closer.
“That orca is one of yours, right?” I called out.
She nodded. “He is one of yours, too. A shifter from our colony.”
That was more than my brain could process at the moment, so I filed it away for later. “Can he help Rand get over to the other ship?”
She slapped the water twice and a huge, black and white head surfaced next to her. The two must have communicated either telepathically or with hand motions, because the orca rolled, studying us with one gleaming eye. Righting itself, it nodded, its whole upper body moving with the motion. I looked back at Rand, who watched the exchange in silence. He was already removing his socks and boots. Tess hurriedly gathered something from three of the other witches and ran back to him, pressing whatever she had into his hands, before returning to her place with the coven. He frowned as he looked down at the vials in his hand, then nodded and tucked them securely into the pockets of his cargo pants.
“Tell your mate to move very close to the edge. You will have to stop the . . . engine to your boat.” She sounded as though she struggled for the right words, so I didn’t bother to correct how she’d referred to Rand.
Cappy must have heard her, because the engine idled down and then cut off without my asking him. In the sudden quiet around us, I heard yells and cries coming from the other ship. Arella spun, worry lining her face in the moonlight. A cloaked figure appeared on the upper deck of the other ship, watching us. The figure raised a hand, fire flaring from their palm. I pushed more magick into the shield, preparing for what I thought must be coming next. The figure didn’t throw the fire at us, though. They threw it at someone on the deck below. We all heard the agonized scream. Arella cried out and then she and the orca disappeared beneath the water.
Rand threw his boots down and ran to the back of the platform, just as the orca’s head resurfaced. “Get me over there, big guy, and I’ll do whatever I can to help get those kids back.” With that he stepped onto its back and grabbed for the dorsal fin to steady himself. The orca swam the twenty-five or so
