Chapter 14 - "I have a condition to your request."

Isla's decision was brushed aside at the sight of the man. Irritation coiled in the base of her stomach. She spun around but went no further. Her hands were balled into fists at her side.

The landscape before her was one of vivid colors and alluring aromas of a city wooing travelers. It held no attraction for her. For the last eight days, it had been a stone in her pocket, weighing her down, trying to drown her. But the man behind her - sent from Lord Sutherland - was a boulder meant to crush her.

"There is no avoiding this, is there?" she said to Hawk.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, both facing away from each other.

"No, there is not," he said.

Isla nodded once. She gathered up the strings of her emotions, compounding them into a tight ball she could conceal. "Very well."

She strode towards the Steward. The same Steward that greeted them each time they arrived in Lord Sutherland's halls. Though his mere presence was a form of torture - that had no outward physical effects - Isla let none of his effect on her show.

"What does he want?" she asked, her tone smooth as glass, even if it had a jagged edge or two.

The Steward regarded the pair like they were a nuisance that should have been someone else's problem.

"I am here to collect the payment you retrieved from Baron Vin," he said, his clipped tones out of place among the surrounding revelry.

"Is that all?" Isla said, hating the piece of her that was hoping it was.

As if sensing this spark, the man's expression managed to appear even more haughty without changing at all.

"No," he said. He put a hand into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The wax seal, imprinted with Lord Sutherland's crest, stirred Isla's frustration. "His Lordship has a new collection for you that bears immediate consideration."

For a breath, Isla felt like kicking the man into the ocean. But both feet remained firmly planted on the stone, knowing what consequences such an action would bring. Instead, she took the parchment and cracked the seal. In the glow of the neighboring windows, she read the instructions. Anger simmered inside her.

"What he asks for is impossible and reckless," she said, the sharp edge of her glass tone stabbing at the man.

He stared at her with cool passivity. "It is not your place to question his Lordship's wishes. Unless you desire for his Lordship to rethink the boundaries of your debt to him."

Isla curled her fingers around the paper, feeling every fiber of the noose that was tightening around her neck. If she failed to do as ordered then Lord Sutherland could raise her impossible debt to a level where she would never be free.

"He will have what he has requested," she said.

Sidestepping the man, she walked towards the ship letting the Steward follow behind. As she climbed the walkway, Trager straightened, his narrowed eyes skipping from Isla to the Steward trailing behind, stopping on Hawk. She waved away his caution and made for her cabin.

In a far corner, she unlocked a metal box and hoisted out the payment from Baron Vin. When she turned around, both men were standing just in the doorway. Though Hawk was watching Isla, the Steward was judging her quarters with blatant distaste as if the simplicity and bareness of them offended him. More than anything thing he had done or said so far it was this that made Isla want him gone.

"Take your leave," she said, handing over the heavy pouch.

Without a single word of farewell, the Steward departed. Isla and Hawk followed him and watched as he climbed into a carriage and was born off. Though it was what she wished for, his absence did not bring the relief she needed. For what he left behind was a stone to match that of his presence.

"What did he want?" Trager asked.

"To bind our hands once again," Isla said, her voice all jagged edges now. "Trager, you're relieved for the night. Spread the word, we leave with the morning tide for Isha."

Trager's dark eyes were curious, but Isla said nothing more. He slipped off the ship as she faced Hawk. His serious countenance portrayed nothing, but she knew him well enough to read his concern. In answer to his unspoken questions, she handed over the crumbled paper. He titled the letter towards the light. As he read, his brow wrinkled.

"I see."

Unlike previous collections they had been sent on, this one had a deadline. One that if added with the time it took them to get to their destination, as well as sail back to Talvin, would leave no time to assess their target. They would be going in blind.

"Send Dox up to watch the dock. Will you see to it that we have what we need and that every man knows?" she asked, not wanting to discuss what danger they could face.

"I will." Isla headed away, her vexation fueling her onward. "Where are you going?"

"To deal with another problem that is at least chained."

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

Isla was at the stairs when she replied. "If I can not handle one underfed nobleman, I deserve to be thrown into the sea."

If Hawk made a comment on this, Isla did not hear it. As she headed down the corridor she lifted one of the lit lanterns off the wall. She unlocked the door, the heavy bolt sliding back with a dull thunk. The orange flame illuminated the brig as she hung it on a hook by the opening.

Raif was bent over his legs, his chained hands hanging between his knees. Slowly, he raised his head. He had the look of a broken man: shoulders rounded, body slumped forward. He glanced behind Isla as if expecting someone else to join her, before meeting her gaze.

"Have you just remembered that I am still here?" he asked.

Isla twisted away from him, taking a step towards the wall as if inspecting his less than desirable lodgings.

"No, I have-"

Raif lunged at her, unbound hands at her throat as he slammed her into the wall.

Pain flared across Isla's back from the bruises she had already accumulated that night. She gritted her teeth, fighting the sparks that flashed in her eyes. The air was being squeezed from her windpipe, complicating the situation.

Instinct kicked in and she jammed her elbow down on Raif's arm, breaking his hold. Her breathing came rushing back and with it her fury. She rammed her shoulder into Raif's chest, sending him crashing against the opposite wall. As she kicked at his side, he caught her foot. Using his hold as leverage, she jumped and spun, her other foot making contact with his head. He released her and they both crashed onto the floor.

A stab of pain sliced up Isla's side from her already damaged ribs. Battling against the discomfort, she rolled and pinned Raif to the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline, and frustration coursing through her veins.

"It's good to see you still value your freedom," she said, her body aching.

Raif's gray eyes were a tumult of anger, like colliding thunder clouds. Despite his weakened appearance, he was able to dislodge her and reversed their positions, his legs locking hers down, his hands pressed against her biceps.

"I have a condition to your request," he said.

Isla jerked her head up towards his forehead, but Raif backed away. The motion loosened his hold on one of her arms and she yanked it free, punching him across the face. He grunted in pain. Grabbing the front of his shirt, Isla held him in place and smashed her forehead into his. Dazed, Raif faltered to the side. In that instant, Isla was on top of him, her knife at his throat.

"Enough," she said.

Raif held his palms out, breathing hard, the excursion more than his body had faced in over a month.

"Who said I had a request for you?" she said.

Her own breathing was labored, her body hurting from the over taxation. Raif let his head fall back to the floor, giving up the fight.

"I offered to help you find the Emerald," he said. "You didn't accept. Instead, you traveled to a location that we have been docked at for the past eight days. I only imagine it is to confirm what I have said. If you didn't need me still you would not be in here. Seeing as you are, you are going to accept my help."

Irritation flared inside Isla because she could deny none of what he said. Instead, she rose and fisted the front of his shirt, forcing him up. He staggered to his feet, dizzy. She pushed him back onto the bench. Seeing that he didn't have any strength to fight a second time, she tucked away the knife. With her boot against his chest to make certain he would try nothing, she clapped his wrists in the manacles attached to the wall.

With him secure once more, she bent down and picked up the cuffs that he had previously been wearing. It was then she noticed a layer of gray dust on the floor. She inspected the shackle and found a piece of sanded down rock jammed into the lock.

"Where did you get the rock?" she asked.

"You dropped me in the ocean, I took what I could easily reach."

Isla didn't comment on this, simply tossing the chain aside.

"What condition do you have and what makes you think I will grant it?" she asked.

"For the same reason that I knew you were in here, you need what I know. You could starve it out of me, but that would waste time that I don't think you have."

Again Isla was annoyed with a lack of denial.

"What is your condition?"

Raif rested on the wall, the keen intelligence in his eyes saying he was weighing his worth with what he wished for.

"I want to be let out of this brig and given freedom to move about the ship. In return, I will help you locate the Emerald."

Isla worked her jaw as if testing how offering his freedom would taste in her mouth.

"I do not tolerate layabouts on my ship."

Raif leaned forward. "Then put me to work. Only get me out of this damn brig."

The last statement came out as a growl, a sound that barely masked the desperation beneath.

"Fair?" he asked.

Isla gave no answer, merely turned, lifted the lantern off the hook and walked out.

"Fair?!" Raif yelled after her.

Still, she didn't respond as she closed and locked the door. With the barrier between them, she sank back on the wall, faced with a decision that seemed to have no good answer.

How did she let a man wander the ship when he would as easily make a run for freedom as kill her?

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You stole my ship!

Oh holy pirate pants! What was that?!?!?! Did that seriously just happen!?! *runs around the ship in a frenzy, hits the railing and tumbles over into the water*

Well...that wasn't embarrassing at all. 🙄 Let's move past it shall we? What's your - hopefully less dramatic and embarrassing - reaction to all this? 💬💭🗯

Everyone's thinking I'm just saying it...they totally have the hots for each other! (Does any one even say 'hots' anymore? Is that a thing? Or am I showing 95 years of age again?) I mean first it's throwing the other off a ship to near death fights to finally deep manfully relationship built on...okay I'm not sure what we just saw was respect...

Gosh even I'm not doubting they will actually get to together! 🙊

Let's hope the author doesn't screw this up or we are going to being having words with each other! And I mean cutting words such as 'turd', 'butthead', 'peabrain'. That's right I don't hold back when it comes to really deeply wounding insults! (Now I just feel like I'm showing my 6 years of age.)

AnyhoOoO! അധ്യായത്തിന്റെ ചോദ്യം (Malayalam): Though this years upon years old, were you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Answer: JACOB! I'm sorry! But how could it not be him! He's extremely hot (literally) and turns into an epic wolf! Of course it was going to be Jacob!

Anyone that is vastly opposed to a double update next week better speak now or walk the plank.

OH MY GOSH!! Check out how amazing these drawings by ReynaInfernos are!!!  I'm in love with them!!

This one is of part of the crew! (Hawk, Isla, Raif, Brockton and Sparrow)

Haha I love how Raif is tied up.

And here's Isla and Raif trying to stare each other down! So great! ❤️