#8

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“They’re…. flying a white flag?”

Aniha nodded, and Axis came up behind her. His eyes were still a little blurry from the short rest he’d gotten, but he could clearly see that she was right; the clipper had a white flag flying from the jackstaff.

“I don’t understand, they’re from the Cult, are they not?” Aniha wondered aloud, running her hands through her wild, wind-swept black hair. “They… wanted you, so I’m wondering if…” she trailed off, but Axis knew what she was going to say.

“So you’re wondering if they want to bargain for me?” He chuckled. “Do it. I’ll escape and we’ll make a good coin.”

Aniha raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t worth a bad coin, much less a good one.” She muttered. She sighed. “I suppose we should tell my father and ask him what we should do… this is an odd situation, but I don’t think he would attack them if they’re flying a white flag.” She said, turning away.

Axis stayed behind a moment to watch the clipper. It hadn’t been that long since Axis had last been on out on the deck, but it was right on their tail now, and the winds had died down so much that the brigantine was almost still in the water. The clipper, however, still found enough wind to fill it’s smaller sails, and in a short while, it would, in all likelihood, pull up alongside them.

He glanced at the other vessel as well, wondering how it had escaped the other crew member’s worry. It was close enough to the ship that Axis could see what appeared to be the Captain… or, whoever was steering the smaller ship. He still didn’t feel the need to be worried, but still…

He realized with a start that Aniha was half-way across the deck, and he hurried after her, planning on informing Captain of the cutter as well.

“Father, the clipper is flying a white flag. I think they mean to talk.” Aniha said as she opened the door to the Captain’s quarters.

Captain was standing by the window, his brow furrowed. For a moment, he didn’t move. Then, he took a deep breath and turned towards them. “Then we will let them talk. We will be ready,” he added, seeing the appalled expression that was creeping over Axis’ face. “but if we let them on board, and if we try to talk with them, we might be able to discover some clues as to what’s become of Taylor.” He finished.

Axis chewed on the inside of his lip. “We will be putting the others in danger, I’m not sure if-”

“We will let them on board. I understand that there will most likely be a fight, but if there’s even the slightest chance that we can bargain for some sort of information on the whereabouts of your father, we will have to take it.” Captain said, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he did so. He obviously wasn’t going to be swayed.

Aniha tilted her head. “…Bargain? What would we….” her eyes widened and her jaw dropped a little. “Father…. you can’t-”

Captain shrugged. “I don’t see what the problem is.” He grumbled. Axis frowned, seeing that it was apparent that Captain was trying to keep a grin off his face. After a moment, Axis got what he was implying.

“Ah. That it?” He asked.

Captain nodded and Axis turned his gaze to Aniha. “So it’s settled then.” He said simply.

Aniha glared at both of them. “You two are going to be your own doom someday, and I won’t be the one to get you out of it!” She snapped, before she spun around on her heel and marched towards the door. “I’ll tell the crew your moronic plan, then!” She huffed, before she closed the door abruptly behind her. Axis cringed at the slamming sound, then snickered and looked at Captain.

“Lovely lady, isn’t she?” He teased, knowing that it would get him a good reaction.

Captain snapped his head towards Axis, his eyes narrowed. “I hope for your sake that you were not being caustic…” He growled.

Axis grinned. “Never.” He replied, before backing towards the door. “Oh, Captain. The other ship… it’s pulling in toward us, it will most likely reach us after the clipper does.” He watched Captain’s face, his hand on the door, waiting.

Captain frowned and let his arms drop to his sides. He sighed. “We shall cross that bridge when we come to it. Go now, see how close they are to arriving, and make preparations. We don’t want to be caught in a fight without the proper supplies. Inform Hokulani, Kahula, Brannon, Fletcher, and Aniha that we need them to be ready. Tell Leah and Hanley to go below and stay until we come and tell them… I don’t want Leah to make any rash decisions.” He added, lowering his voice slightly.

Axis nodded slowly and opened the door. “Yes, Captain.” He replied, before backing out and closing the door behind him. He looked out across the main deck, his gaze falling on Aniha. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and their eyes locked. Axis grinned reassuringly and gave her a thumbs up. Aniha pursed her lips and shook her head in exasperation, before she turned away from him and walked away.

Axis ran his fingers through his hair as he began to walk towards the other end of the ship, where Kahula and Fletcher stood, wrapping a coil of heavy rope to be stored away.

“You heard the news?” Axis greeted them. Fletcher and Kahula looked up and nodded.

“Aye. We heard the plan.” Kahula grinned and dropped the end of the coiled rope. “She’s pretty worried.” He said.

Axis shrugged. “It’s not like they’re going to get away with me. She has got nothing to worry about.” He stretched his arms over his head. “Anyways… we have to be prepared to fight, Captain said. So gather some small weapons that can be hidden easily.” The two men nodded, and after picking up the large coil, they headed towards the entrance that would take them below.

As he went about telling the others to get ready, he kept an eye on both pursuing ships. The clipper was now close enough that Axis could make out the face of the captain. A harsh jawline and eyes narrowed against the blazing sun did nothing to soften his appearance, and Axis felt a pit of anger in his stomach.

“These people….” He thought to himself, clenching his fist, his eyes fastened to the ship. He took a deep breath. It was no use getting angry, that wouldn’t help anything.

“They’re getting close, aye?”

Axis started a bit, not having noticed anyone coming up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Leah, who walked up to stand beside him. Axis leaned against the edge of the ship, watching the fast approaching ship. “It’s not that I’m worried about what is going to happen, it’s-”

“You are worried about what you might learn.” Leah finished.

Axis swallowed, and shrugged. “I… I have reason to be… but, if we’re going to get anywhere with rescuing him, or finding him, we may have to hear things we’d rather not.” He said quietly.

Leah nodded. “I suppose so.” She said, leaning against the edge of the ship. Axis eyed her cautiously for a moment, taking in her haggard appearance. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and she had dark circles from a lack of sleep. Her hair was tied back, with knots beginning to form in the dirty blonde locks.

Axis was quiet for a moment, watching her. Then, he sighed. “Leah, Captain wants you and Hanley to go below deck, to keep out of sight.” He informed her. He waited, expecting to hear some sort of protest, but all she did was nod once and turn away from the edge of the ship. “All right.” She paused, then looked over her shoulder at Axis. “Axis… good luck. I hope you learn something worthwhile.”

Axis opened his mouth to thank her, but before he could say anything, she was gone. He closed his mouth and looked back out to sea. The clipper was about fifteen minutes away from pulling up against the brig, and Axis saw the captain’s eyes train on him. Axis clenched his jaw.

Axis didn’t need intuition to know that this wasn’t going to end without a fight.

.

.

.

The crew stood in tense silence as the last man boarded the ship. The clunk of his boots hitting the wooden deck seemed to echo in the salty air, and the two groups glared so intensely at each other that Axis could almost see sparks flying.

After a long moment, Captain stepped forward, the scowl on his face enough to make almost any land-dwelling man turn and run. “I expect this is a parley?” He asked, his voice deep and cutting through the still air.

The other captain drew back his white hood and raised his chin slightly, as if to look taller… he had no need to. While the man was around 12 cm shorter than Captain, he still managed to make Axis a little nervous, which was hard to do.

“Parley, truce, call it what you will, Pirate.” He spat, disdain poisoning his words. He had a heavy inlander’s accent, from what Axis could hear… ‘course, Axis hadn’t spent any time “inland”, so he couldn’t say much about where exactly this man came from.

Captain’s brow furrowed slightly, but he held out his hand. After a moment’s hesitation, the man clasped Captain’s hand and they shook once, before quickly letting go.

“Why did you follow us?” Captain rumbled, keeping his muscular arms crossed in front of his chest. Axis kept an eye on the small crew of white-cloaked men. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t just their hands they were hiding under their cloaks.

The other man’s piercing green eyes landed on Axis. Axis squared his shoulders, glaring evenly back at him. The man sniffed snidely and jerked his head towards the blonde teen.

“We want him.” He replied curtly.

“In exchange for?” Captain shot back.

The other man blinked, most likely not expecting that quick a reply, then a small smirk crossed his face. “Well now… pirates really are this disloyal…” He turned his gaze to Axis again. “Nothing to say about this, boy?” He snapped.

Axis’ frown deepened. “If it means getting what we want, then yes.” He responded, not bothering to keep the anger out of his voice.

The man watched him for a moment, then turned back to Captain. “We can supply you with coin and weaponry.” He offered.

Captain stood stock still. “We want information.” He growled.

The man raised an eyebrow. “And what would that information be on, might I ask?” He pried.

Axis stepped forward, just a little bit in front of Captain. “Where is my father?” He hissed. His ice blue eyes narrowed. “Where is Taylor?”

The man stared down at Axis, his face blank. “Not until you are on that boat with us, boy, will you get that information.” He spat.

Axis clenched his teeth, but he kept himself from retorting. He bit the inside of his lip and took in a deep breath. He looked sideways at Captain, who only blinked. Axis turned his attention back to the man in front of him. “Then let us go.” He answered.

“Axis-” Aniha’s voice was cut off by a quiet “Shush” from somewhere behind Fletcher. Axis forced himself to keep his face even. He knew he had no chance of getting his way out of the Cult’s boat, not by himself.

He would just have to trust Captain and the crew.

He took a few steps forward, holding his hands above his head to show he had no weapons in reach. Someone roughly grabbed his hands and twisted them behind Axis’ back. Axis glared at the man over his shoulder. He was a tall, muscular man with white blonde hair and odd, sea-green eyes. He stared back at Axis, then turned his gaze forward. Axis felt the brush of ropes against his wrists, and the man began to tie his hands together. Axis clenched his teeth, but he moved his attention to Captain.

“You have him now. Are you going to give us we want?” Captain said. There was silence, and Captain uncrossed his arms. “Or are you going to prove yourself more disloyal than pirates?” He went on, his voice dangerously calm.

The man was quiet, then Axis saw the back of his head dip down in the smallest nod Axis had ever seen. “Taylor Carver escaped us… it seems that his skill as a soldier had not left him completely…” the man took in a breath. “…and it seemed that we had a few traitors among us who helped him… but that was taken care of easily enough.”

Axis couldn’t keep himself from sighing. A small grin broke out on his face. He was alive, Taylor was alive, and they could-

“And, unfortunately, we can’t have you finding him, wherever he is… he is too valuable to us.”

Axis’ body tensed as he heard the slither of steel, and all around him, swords had been drawn. The Cult members held up their swords, and the man in front pulled his hood back up over his head. “Take care of them.” He said briskly, before he whipped around, his green eyes gleaming in triumph as he stared at Axis.

Axis heard the clash of weapons, but his attention was focused elsewhere.

The ropes… were loose.

Only a second after Axis registered this, something smooth and leathery was placed in the palm of his right hand. His eyes widened, but he didn’t dare move yet.

The man in front of him stopped, watching Axis in curiosity. Then, he looked at the man behind Axis.

“Get him into the boat.” He ordered, stepping closer. He was two feet away, when he stopped. “You’re-” His eyes went wide.

“Not one of you?” Came a mirthful voice from behind him.

Axis’ head whipped around.

The man who was standing behind Axis was grinning widely. As Axis watched, a hand appeared on the edge of the ship, and a body followed it. Axis gaped.

Tall, dark tan, amber eyed. A sly grin stretched across the face of the man from the alley.

“No, I’m afraid not.” The man grinned. His startling eyes flashed down to Axis. “What are you waitin’ for, kid?” He raised a dark eyebrow in question.

Axis didn’t need to be told twice.

He darted forwards into the fray, his hands sliding free of the ropes, a long, deadly sharp dagger in his right hand.

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