Chapter Twelve

"'Go an' find 'er,' he says... Like I'd know where the hell she'd be when I ainae e'en seen 'er..." Not that I was all that surprised when the admiral had given the order for me to go after the young woman. After all, the vice admiral had been caught in the side with a dagger, and though the wound was shallow, it was still a wound. "There be no tellin' where she'd be now."

It wasn't like anyone had seen her, and even if they had, none of them were of the mind to tell me. As soon as the vice admiral fell, the whole place had fallen apart. Women were screaming and men were running to their sides in the hopes of comforting them only to have them faint in their arms from shock. The admiral had tried to bring order, but until he got a hold of me, there was no one to listen to what he had to say.

"Where is Popuri?" he had demanded. "Have you seen her?" When I hadn't given him an answer quick enough, he took an even firmer hold of my arm. "You are to find her and bring her to safety," he ordered, his voice firm. "If you are to find her for me, Mr. Cameron, I will return to you your freedom... but only if I can be assured that no harm has come to her. Do you understand?"

To be honest, I didn't believe a damn word of it. At least not when it took a situation like this for him to offer me my freedom... Not to mention that it was probably too late for me to find her all in one piece, and knowing him, that would end the deal without another word being said about it.

"Where the hell is she?" I muttered bitterly to myself as I went in and out of the various rooms. I never really could understand why there needed to be so damn many rooms to begin with. It wasn't like anyone ever used half of them. Something which I only came to know after I was assigned to the house as Popuri's keeper. After all, it was an event to even see the family eat together in their dining room let alone spend any time with other one another any where else.

"Are you looking for Miss Hurst by chance?" I only glared at the woman, but even though she only stood at my chest, I knew better than to back down. Especially when it came to a woman like her. Quiet but sly, she always had an ear out for the business around the house, but I had no time for her gossip. "There is no reason for you to look so ugly, Mr. Cameron. I was merely asking if you were in need of finding Miss Hurst."

"Aye," I agreed, "but yeh ainae gonna ell meh a damn thin' about it, are yeh?" The woman only frowned, but I knew better than to back down just because of those big brown eyes of hers. Not when I knew she would stop me just as soon as speak to me. "Now if yeh donae mind, I got to find the miss."

"Then you may wish to take the other direction," she replied just as I went to stalk past her. "I do believe I saw her in pursuit of a man." I stopped, but when I turned back to ask her just what she meant, she was standing at my heel. "Though I cannot say for certain, of course..." she began, "I fear it may have been a negro man. Heaven only knows why she would follow such a man, however."

She had no time to tell me more before I brushed her aside and made my way to the courtyard. If my gut was right, that was no negro man she was after, and I knew I had very little chance of finding her now that she had gone after him. After all, if it was Viento again, willing or not...

She would be gone.

Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I made my way out in the yard, yet there was no sign of the woman at first. As I looked about, though, I caught sight of something. Something that shouldn't have been any where near a place such as this. Flames... flames that stretched over the harbor and had begun to spread to the warehouse built up alongside it. To be honest, I had never seen much like it. I vaguely wondered how it was that some ships had been spared, but soon enough I had another thought. One that brought my feet back under me and pushed me on ahead.

Popuri was a smart girl, but I found myself cursing her all the while as I came down to the harbor. Seamen and citizens alike busied themselves with putting out the fires that were crawling up the walls of the buildings, yet the ships had been left to their fate. Save for the those at the far end of the docks which continued to loom in the shadows of the night.

They were an ominous sight as they bobbed in the shallow waters. Their sails had been put away for the night, but when I made my way to where they were docked, I saw there was one that should not have been there. One which had its sails at full mast.

She was a proud ship, making little sound as she rolled with the gentle waves beneath her, and even in the darkness of the night, I could see she was still in beautiful shape. If I could have had one like her in my younger days, there was no doubt in my mind that I would have been a free man right then. Not that I had time to really stand around and daydream, for it was then I thought I heard a noise.

It was also at that moment I found myself holding a dagger at bay with the butt of my gun.

"No' bad." It was a husky voice, but I knew almost immediately that it was a woman. Not that the open shirt she was wearing did little to hide her figure. "Shoulda drawn yer sword," she chuckled, leaning further into her blade. "Migh' done yeh better."

"Nae as well as this." Before the woman could so much as think to defend herself or even strike, I spun the pistol around my finger on the trigger ring. Had it been aimed at her, I would have shot myself in doing so, but as it was, it had faced no one when it came to block the blade. It fired, but the bullet only buried itself into the dock itself.

"Yeh dirty bas'ard," she cursed, clutching at the hand that once held her blade. "Yeh damn near coulda killed us both, yeh git."

"Cannae shoot that thin' more than once," I assured her. She seemed irritated by what I'd said, but I didn't really give a damn when she'd been trying to kill me. Whether she had been a man or a woman, she was still an enemy. "What are you yeh doin' 'ere? This ainae no place for a lass."

"I ain' no 'lass,'" she spat back. "An' I'll 'ave yeh knew this be my damn ship, so don' be tellin' me where I can an' ca' be afore I knock yeh one."

"'Ave yeh forgotten meh sword, womon?" I had drawn it without much though as soon as the gun had been set off. She seemed to be caught off guard by this at first, but she knew better than to show it. "Yeh been better off if ye stayed at home," I chided her. "There be no tellin' what would happen to a woman like-"

"An' maybe yeh should watch yer back!"

Before I could turn to look behind me, my legs were snatched out from under me. I only stumbled, catching myself on a large crate that lay there, but when I did, my right arm jacked itself into my shoulder. My sword fell, and just as I went to reach for it again, there was someone standing on my hand.

"Not so fast there." I glared up at the young woman, but she only grinned back down at me. She couldn't have weighed more than a child, and perhaps she was if the look of her was any indication. All the same, she was still enough to keep me from reaching either of my weapons. "A man like yeh ain' nothin' now, are yeh?"

"Annie Bell, tha' be enough, I think." My gaze shifted towards the other as she came to stand over me. She was serious then though I could see very little of her with the still burning a ways behind her. All the same her blonde hair still shown as a halo around her head. However, it didn't take long for me to realize she was holding my own blade to my throat. Like some damn angel sent from hell. "Take 'im aboard," she ordered. "I been wantin' to see just ho' sturdy these navy men can be."

"Aye!" The cry was unusually loud, and though I couldn't see them, I knew there was more than the two that were standing over me. A fact I came to know for certain when I was dragged up from behind. They forced my hands behind me as soon as I was on my feet, but I kept my eyes on the sword beneath my chin. Something that the woman noticed as well.

"Don' worry now," she assured me as she drew closer. "I'll be takin' good care of yeh. No man e'er said an unkind word of meh, an' no man e'er will."

"No doubt yeh slit their throats afore they could," I muttered under my breath. She wasn't meant to hear it, but when she did, she only laughed. A sound which made me glare at her all the more. "Shoulda known yeh be a damn she-devil..."

"Aye," she agreed, "but I can tell yeh now... no god'll 'ear any of yer prayers afore I'm done wit' yeh. That I can promise yeh."