The deck smelt like cigarettes. Amanda couldn’t remember seeing anyone smoking during her time on The Wolverine so far and now there was a small group nearby, lighting up cigarettes with the firesticks Sirius had found.

  Sirius stood not far behind Morgan, who waited near the middle of the deck for the guests to board. Amanda reached his side, still half eyeing up what the crew were doing. They weren’t all smoking but she could see cigarettes being handed out from man to man. Woman too. Even Pip was taking a drag. Others were just holding them though, as if waiting for something.

  Sirius followed her line of sight and whispered, “I told them to space it out. Make sure there’s always a few people using the firesticks. I didn’t want them to do it all at once though. It needed to look natural. You find anything downstairs?”

  She shook her head but replied. “Riki found something.”

  Sirius gave her a curious look but it was at that moment that The Butcher made his presence known on deck. He was as foreboding as he had been the first time.

  In a roar that carried easily across the deck he cried, “Morgan! You attacked our friends.”

  Morgan replied exactly as she had done in Amanda’s memory. “The Piper was easy pickings. I took them fair and square.”

  “That’s not fair.” He pointed at the two wolves behind her. There had been three last time. This time Ferret was missing. Were they planting explosives already?

  This time Morgan’s reply deviated. “If that’s all it takes to intimidate you then I am afraid you don’t stand much of a chance against the rest of my crew.”

  Her words were confident, and honest Amanda suspected. Morgan truly believed they could beat him and the crew of The Slicer. Amanda wished she felt as confident. In a way the plan was still the same, intimidate the enemy. Only this time, instead of using the physical size of the wolves to do it, they wanted to imply magical strength. Was it working?

  Amanda glanced around the faces of the crew from The Slicer. The plan relied a little on the borrower paying attention to their use of magic. Riki hadn’t thought it would be enough and Amanda doubted it herself now too. But the firesticks had a secondary function. Amanda just needed to find an opening to challenge The Butcher to a fight. He would not refuse, she was sure of it, but could she last long enough to enact her plan? Seeing him standing there, towering over the rest of them made her doubt herself.

  A familiar name drew her from her thoughts.

  “Sirius James,” spoke The Butcher. “But no Shiv?” What are you doing so far from your own ship?”

  “Sirius and I have business,” Morgan replied.

  “What business would that be?”

  “Mine.” She rebuffed him with a shrug and smile.

  The Butcher laughed. To Amanda, it felt like his laugh shook the entire ship. He was a much bigger man than she remembered.

  “So, you wish to negotiate? Or are we to fight?” His gaze swept the ship just like it had done before, and just like before, he paused when he caught sight of Amanda.

  She felt as if he could see straight through her. She remembered the way he had plunged his sword into Sirius and for a moment she felt heat in her fingers. She calmed herself and forced herself to meet the pirate captain’s one eye. It was dark in colour, dark enough that she couldn’t tell if it was brown or black.

  Seeing the eye patch and staring into his other eye, despite the darkness of it, almost made him seem less monstrous. Shiv had done that to him. The man could be injured. He was made of flesh.

  Someone from his crew took his birds from his shoulders as the pirate captain took a step forward.

  Morgan was being slow in answering but finally she replied, “What good would negotiation be when you have no intent of keeping to the terms?”

  He smirked. “So a fight it shall be then?”

  Morgan’s hand reached for the pommel of her sword. It was obvious she intended to battle the man again. Amanda thought she was crazy.

  “To the death,” Morgan replied. “Winner takes all.”

  Yup, definitely crazy. Amanda knew she should do something, maybe jump in instead. Accept the fight in Morgan’s place. She didn’t need to survive long, just long enough for her plan to work, but for some reason, when she fixed her eyes on The Butcher, she couldn’t move.

  But before Morgan could take another step toward her enemy, the tip of a sword touched the captain’s back.

  Sirius’s sword.

  Keeping his sword on Morgan he walked around her until he was closer to The Butcher. Still looking at Morgan, but with half an eye on The Butcher he spoke. “Winner takes all eh? Well then, for today I claim this ship and her crew as mine.”

  Had they planned this? Amanda wasn’t sure. The look of fury on Morgan’s face and the clenching of her jaw suggested it was impromptu. She could feel all their half baked plans going out the window as she watched.

  Looking directly at The Butcher, Sirius said calmly and clearly and just quietly enough that everyone had to hush to hear, “I owe Shiv an eye for everything he’s taught me.”

  “This ship is mine,” Morgan growled at Sirius.

  The Butcher laughed. “I can fight both of you, but him first.” He pointed his sword at Sirius. “I too owe Shiv something.” His lips curled up cruelly. To Morgan he added. “Perhaps once I have satiated my blood thirst we can negotiate after all.”

  Morgan eye Sirius once more. He’d withdrawn his sword from her now but he still held it at the ready. After staring hard at him she glanced toward The Butcher and gave a single nod.

  Amanda wasn’t even thinking. The next words that came out of her mouth seemed to appear before she’d even planned what to say. And her feet moved on their own. All that occupied her thoughts was the image of Sirius lying dead on the deck and she was determined that she never had to see that image again.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Then I claim this ship,” she said as she stepped forward.

  She had expected Sirius to look angry like Morgan did but he didn’t. He simply gave her a look like she’d done exactly what he had expected her to do.

  The Butcher turned his full attention to her. His look was one of incredulity. He looked her up and down and then repeated the action as if he expected there to be more of her. He snorted. “You don’t even have a sword.”

  Much like when she’d challenged Morgan, laughter rose up from among the crew, both crews.

  “I can defeat you.” She said. Her focus on keeping Sirius from fighting burying any fear she had felt.

  His expression changed to one of intrigue. Once more he studied her, once again as if searching for something missing. There was less mockery there this time. He seemed to understand that she believed what she said and it confused him.

  “I can borrow Morgan’s,” Amanda told him.

  “Like hell,” said Morgan.

  The Butcher looked from Sirius to Amanda and back again.

  “If you fight her, you’ll never have me,” Sirius told him in the same calm and level tone.

  Amanda glared at him. Didn’t he understand that she needed to be close for this to work. Didn’t he trust her?

  While The Butcher was thinking Sirius ignored him and crossed the deck to Amanda. In front of everyone he reached out and gently took her by the shoulders. “You need to trust me,” he told her.

  Dammit.

  She looked up into Sirius’s emerald eyes, at the pleading look there and slowly she nodded.

  “Stay here,” he told her. “Right here.” He emphasized the words as if they were the most important thing in the world.

  The Butcher was giving them both an amused look. “Morgan,” he said. “When I’ve killed Sirius, the redhead will be mine yes? After all, we must duel for something,” he added with a look at Sirius, “and this ship does not belong to you.”

  “Yes,” Morgan agreed. “If you beat Sirius you can take her.”

  Amanda met Morgan’s eyes. There was no warmth there. She meant what she said. Every word the truth.

  “And if you lose,” Sirius said to The Butcher as he took a few steps to the right, “Your crew will leave with nothing.”

  “Deal.”

  They squared off. Swords at the ready.

  Around her, people moved back slightly but once again Amanda found her feet stuck to the deck. She searched frantically for any sign of the borrower but wherever he was he was keeping out of sight.

  There was no countdown. Suddenly The Butcher just lunged. Sirius met him with quick defense and a clang of swords.

  Right in front of Amanda the deadly dance begun. They moved so fast, with a fury and practice unseen. Amanda knew she never would have stood a chance. Sirius was right. She would have been ripped to shreds.

  They got so close to her she could almost smell their sweat but she needed to be close. She needed The Butcher on this side.

  Almost as if that was exactly what he’d planned when he’d told her to stay where she was, Sirius ducked under The Butcher’s outstretched sword, a risky move but one which swapped their positions on the battlefield. Now The Butcher fought closest to Amanda. Maybe just close enough that she could-

  But his movements were too quick and just like last time, The Butcher had lied. With no more than a shout to some of his men, two of The Butcher’s crew suddenly leapt from the crowd and attacked Sirius.

  Amanda didn’t have time to see what happened for at that very moment The Butcher turned his blade on her.

  She dodged out of the way with little distance to spare and then fell backward onto the deck.

  He laughed. “Think you can beat me girl?”

  A sword hit the deck next to Amanda, but it wasn’t The Butcher’s sword. From the sidelines, someone had thrown her one to use.

  She caught sight of Morgan then, sitting on a crate, sword-less, and looking amused as if this were some sort of show.

  Much like Morgan had, The Butcher seemed more inclined to toy with her than kill her straight away.

  Amanda didn’t wait to see how long that would last though. She picked up the sword and she pulled herself to her feet.

  She manged to get half way up, before The Butcher came at her. Somehow she actually parried his blow. The force of it almost knocked her down again.

  For a moment he gave her an amused look. It lasted just long enough for her to get up and out of the way.

  She dodged his next strike barely, feeling the air of the blade as if moved past her face.

  Between each blow he took a moment to chuckle as if this were nothing but a game to him.

  She needed to put her plan into practice as soon as possible or she’d never survive the day.

  Sirius had told her to keep her eye on her opponents body movements, not on the sword, so instead of working her way back down from the tip, which moved far too fast for her to see, she started at The Butcher’s shoulder, following his bulging arms down until she found his hand. The one holding the sword. And in it she found the hilt. That was what she wanted. She kept half an eye on what was behind her. That was the other thing Sirius had emphasized. Keep your distance and always have an exit. It wouldn’t work forever. Eventually she’d reach the edge of the ship, just like she had done with Morgan, but there was time, just enough time.

  The Butcher didn’t feel as fast as Morgan had. Sirius had said there was more to fighting than just speed, that the movement mattered more. He’d repeated one phrase to her a few times. ‘Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.’ It didn’t make sense to her. It still didn’t but The Butcher had beaten Morgan and yet he seemed slower. Just slow enough that she found she could catch her breath. Maybe he was holding back? Toying with her? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she survived the next few moments. That was all she needed.

  They’d moved across the deck. The borrower must be away over the other side. It was far enough. She just had to be subtle.

  She continued to back up, watching his movement as she did, especially his hands. She tried to mirror him, another thing Sirius had said to do, but mostly she watched and she dodged and she focused on the hilt of his sword. On the heat of the hilt of his sword. Just like with Michael back on the boat when she’d burned his hands. She didn’t want to create too much fire. No fire at all in fact. But she needed heat and a lot of it. Sudden and subtle and intense for just a short time.

  She managed to parry another blow, not all of them. He got her a few times, cuts on the arms, one on her ear. Nothing deep, not yet. His strikes were getting quicker though and he’d lost half his smile.

  Then he made a mistake.

  She almost went for it. Took a shot at attacking but Sirius’s lessons about feints were still fresh in her mind. Watch the body. Watch the eyes.

  She looked up. Found the man’s face and she knew. Liar. She used the time to find her feet proper and she readied her stance to defend and to defend only.

  Something in his expression changed, hardened even further. He was done toying with her. But that was okay. She didn’t need to look at his hands anymore. She’d found what she wished to burn and once she’d found it she only needed to feel it. A subtle touch of metal. The gentlest warmth. Too soft a heat for the borrower to detect.

  She waited until he made his attack. It had to look real. He couldn’t just drop his sword for no reason.

  He struck.

  She parried. And in one intense but very brief moment she pushed all the heat she could into that hilt, like a flash of lighting, hot like making glass from sand. And then gone before any borrower could notice.

  Their swords met.

  For a moment she thought he would just bear the pain of it. That her trick hadn’t worked. After all, she’d seen him thrust a sword into someone while on fire. But this fire wasn’t like that fire. It was far far hotter. This was a steel-melting fire.

  She met his one eye as her knees buckled under the weight of his blow. It widened in shock and then in pain.

  His sword fell to the deck.

  He hissed as he stepped back, his gaze on his hands.

  Amanda didn’t hesitate. She plunged her sword into him. Deep into his lower abdomen.

  He met her gaze again. Disbelief. Shock. Anger.

  He stumbled back and upright. Still alive somehow he drew her sword out of his own body. He raised it up above her, about to strike.

  She was too close. She wouldn’t be able to move in time and now he had her sword.

  Then his head fell off.

  A strike from behind severed every muscle and bone in his neck before he could bring his sword down with a blow Amanda knew she’d never survive.

  Breathless she watched as his body crumpled to the deck.

  She looked up to find Sirius, alive and uninjured. The Butcher lay dead between them.