The Crew (Captains & Cannons Book 2) Read online

  The Crew

  Captains & Cannons

  Book II

  By

  Galen Surlak-Ramsey

  A Tiny Fox Press Book

  © 2021 Galen Surlak-Ramsey

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by U.S.A. copyright law. For information address: Tiny Fox Press, North Port, FL.

  This is a work of fiction: Names, places, characters, and events are a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is purely coincidental.

  Cover art by Bob Kehl

  Print ISBN: 978-1-946501-39-4

  Tiny Fox Press and the book fox logo are all registered trademarks of Tiny Fox Press LLC

  Tiny Fox Press LLC

  North Port, Fl

  For all the doggos in the world

  Table of Contents

  The Crew Captains & Cannons Book II

  Chapter One The Island

  Chapter Two Lenada

  Chapter Three The Black Sea Devil

  Chapter Four Standoff

  Chapter Five Marcus

  Chapter Six Plans

  Chapter Seven Minions

  Chapter Eight The Fort

  Chapter Nine The Battle

  Chapter Ten Buttons

  Chapter Eleven Breaking Maii

  Chapter Twelve Loot

  Chapter Thirteen Engagement

  Chapter Fourteen The Call

  Chapter Fifteen New Port Royal

  Chapter Sixteen Invitations

  Chapter Seventeen Traditions

  Chapter Eighteen The Deed

  Chapter Nineteen The Duchess

  Chapter Twenty The Race

  Chapter Twenty-One Initial Exchanges

  Chapter Twenty-Two Talks

  Chapter Twenty-Three Little Bargadine

  Chapter Twenty-Four A Wet Landing

  Chapter Twenty-Five Feeding

  Chapter Twenty-Six Truce

  Chapter Twenty-Seven Bottles & Battles

  Chapter Twenty-Eight Turned

  Chapter Twenty-Nine Back to Sea

  Chapter Thirty The Strait

  Chapter Thirty-One A New Wind

  Chapter Thirty-Two The Final Run

  Chapter Thirty-Three Duel With Death

  Chapter Thirty-Four Fin

  Chapter One

  The Island

  Something sinister tore at Ethan’s insides.

  Zoey had called it “hunger” at some point during their three days’ worth of travel on the open sea, but Ethan was certain it had to be some ravenous, acidic creature trying to burst out of his stomach. If women had to go through even a tenth of what he felt during childbirth, they would forever have his undying sympathy from this day forth. He’d have shot himself in the head an hour ago if Zoey hadn’t taken his pistol away.

  Bitch.

  However, now that he had Maii cornered below deck, things were starting to look up for the newest member of the vampire race, assuming the ahuizotl cooperated, which at this moment was in doubt. The mystical creature, standing nearly as tall as a pony at the withers, bristled his dark fur and snarled, fangs as long as daggers bared. And despite the fearsome maw and razor claws, not only on Maii’s four feet but also at the end of his elongated tail, the only thing stopping Ethan from trying to devour the ahuizotl companion was Zoey’s iron grip on Ethan’s shoulder.

  “C’mon,” Ethan said, trying to reign in his drool. “Just a nibble. That’s all I want.”

  “No, Ethan,” she scolded. “If you’re that hungry, drain a fish if you won’t take another rat.”

  “I’m sick of rat and fish taste like piss.”

  Zoey laughed. “Taste much of that, do you?”

  “I should’ve eaten you when I had the chance,” Maii said, growling.

  “Except you couldn’t,” Ethan replied, narrowing his eyes before he waved the ring of command he had on his finger through the air. “You belong to me. So I order you, sacrifice your blood to me. Right now.”

  “Doesn’t work that way,” Maii replied. “And if you attack me, I’m free to defend myself.”

  “Ethan, stop,” Zoey said, pulling on him again. “We’ll be at the island soon. You can dine all you want then.”

  Ethan tore free of her grasp, swearing up a storm and marching off a few steps before he started pacing. “I can’t believe you turned me into this! A vampire! An undead, bloodsucking fiend!”

  “Excuse me for wanting to save your life,” Zoey huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Yeah, well, you neglected to tell me just how batshit crazy it would make me, I mean—”

  Ethan bolted for Maii, mouth open and fangs ready to sink into tender, sweet, sweet flesh, but Zoey made the intercept with ease. Not only did she manage to do that, but she threw him over her shoulder, and as the air blew out of his lungs, she straddled his chest, pinning him to the floor.

  “There was a time when this would turn me on,” Ethan said with a frown.

  Zoey looked down at him and gave a wry grin. “Was?”

  Ethan nodded. Though he had a wonderful view and her silky legs were a hair away from a kiss, the insatiable gnawing at his stomach demanded his immediate attention. He lifted his head and craned it as much as he could so he could look past her hips. “I can literally hear his blood moving inside his body.”

  “I know. You’ll get used to it.”

  “Used to it? It’s driving me insane!” Ethan struggled against her pin, but since she was a vampire, too, a much more experienced and aged one at that, his strength was no match for hers. Ethan huffed and relaxed. “This is so unfair.”

  Zoey patted him on the top of his head before dropping a kiss on his forehead. “You’re doing really well,” she said with not nearly as much sincerity as Ethan would’ve liked. “Way better than I did my first week.”

  Ethan arched his eyebrow.

  “Okay, maybe not way better,” she said. “But honest, this will all be over soon, and we can look back and laugh.”

  “I seriously doubt that.”

  Something caught Zoey’s attention, and her head snapped up, and her eyes lit with excitement. “Maii! Get that rat!”

  “Ugh! I’m sick of rat!” Ethan said, facing souring.

  The ahuizotl appeared at their sides a few seconds later with one live, squirming rodent firmly grasped in his jaws. The thing was the size of a small house cat, with red eyes and teeth that looked like they could chew through an anchor in under a minute. But despite that, it hung limp in Maii’s jaws.

  “Here,” Zoey said, taking the rodent and shoving it in Ethan’s face. “Maii charmed it. Poor thing won’t even fight back.”

  “These are disgusting,” Ethan said. “At least fish are normal, and I really don’t want fish.”

  “No, fish aren’t normal for us,” Zoey replied. “The closer something is to a human, the better it’ll taste. And since rats are mammals and fish aren’t, they’ll be better for you in the long run.”

  Ethan turned his head to the side and continued to argue. “I’ll probably get the plague if I haven’t already.”

  “You’re a vampire, sweetheart,” she said. “You can’t get the plague.”

  “I still think Maii would taste better.”

  “Maybe, but he gets to defend himself if you try. And I hate to be the one to break it to you, but he’ll win
that fight.”

  “You’re only saying that because he nearly killed you.”

  Zoey nodded. “And I can kill you,” she purred. “Where do you think that puts you on the food chain?”

  Ethan, refusing to admit defeat, tried a different tactic. He’d managed to semi-free one of his hands, and with it, he reached up and pinched her ass.

  Zoey’s only reaction was to shoot him a deadpan look. “Eat the stupid rat, Ethan,” she said, pushing it in front of his face again. “You’re sailing back into annoying waters again.”

  “Maybe I’ll have to work my unholy, yet devilishly charming good looks on you.”

  “Can’t, sorry,” she said. “They won’t work on other vampires. Quit fussing and get this over with.”

  Ethan pressed his lips together and seethed just because he could. But Zoey didn’t budge, and her face stayed hard and unyielding. Moreover, the rat stayed where it was, and as its musky odor filled Ethan’s nostrils, his mouth salivated, and he could feel his fangs sharpen.

  The rodent’s heart beat once again, and Ethan lurched forward, unable to control himself any longer, and sank his teeth into it. The critter’s blood immediately poured into his mouth as it let loose a tiny squeak. To Ethan’s surprise, what he took in tasted like flat soda. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, and while it certainly could’ve been much better, it quenched his thirst.

  Ethan swallowed several more times, draining every bit of life he could from his meal. Tiny bits of blood ran out of the corners of his mouth, and Zoey smiled, wiping it off his cheeks with a finger and sucking it clean.

  When he was finished, she tossed the desiccated body to the side. “There,” she said. “Was that so bad?”

  “No,” he reluctantly admitted.

  “Now, then, we need to see where we are,” she said, taking to her feet and offering him a hand up. Once he was upright, she pointed to his pockets. “Check your character sheet again. Maybe it’s updated.”

  “You said that last time,” he replied with a shrug.

  “I know,” she said. “But I get the feeling we’re about to start a new chapter, game-engine wise.”

  “That matters?”

  “Definitely. Now look.”

  Ethan complied with her request and pulled the sheet out of his pants. To his surprise, the moment he unrolled the parchment, he saw that it indeed had a few new items on it that hadn’t been there a few days ago. “I’ve got three new traits,” he said, looking at the new list. “One is Fast Metabolism.”

  Zoey snarled. “Bleh.”

  “It’s bad?”

  “I think so,” she said. “You get hungrier and crankier much faster than normal—which I was starting to suspect.”

  “But?”

  “But you also don’t suffer ill effects from alcohol or drugs, and you do regenerate health quicker, too.”

  “That seems good.”

  “Yeah, but again, the need to feed can be problematic,” she said, sighing. “What about the other two?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Don’t know. There are just a couple of other lines with question marks written across. Is that good or bad?”

  “The traits could be either,” she said. “All that means is we have to discover them as we go on.”

  “That figures,” he said.

  With that, they headed for the deck of the Victory. When they got there, a salty wind kissed Ethan’s face, and blinding rays from a noonday sun beat down upon him.

  “Are you sure I’m not going to burst into flames?” he asked, shielding his eyes. “I can barely see a thing.”

  “I’m sure, and next time eat when I tell you to,” she said with a playful scold of the finger.

  “What’s that have to do with anything?”

  “Your senses dulled, and now they’re back,” she explained. “Of course, everything’s going to seem more intense.”

  Despite her reassurances, Ethan checked his sheet once more. To his relief, the question marks remained. “Well, there’s nothing on here like a deadly allergy to sunlight,” he said, stuffing it back in his pocket. “I guess you’re right.”

  “You’ll find that I am from time to time,” she said, grinning. Something caught Zoey’s eye, and she trotted to the railing on the port side. There, she leaned over and looked far ahead of the bow. Her eyes lit up almost immediately, and she reached back and waved Ethan over.

  “We’re here,” she beamed, pointing to the horizon.

  Ethan cupped a hand over his brow and squinted. It took a second for distant objects to come into focus, but when they did, he saw a large island in the distance. From what he could tell, it was in the shape of a crescent with brilliant, sandy white beaches on the shore and a single mountain forming the bulk of the land. Low-lying clouds obscured the peak, but Ethan could see that a thick rainforest covered the sides and base.

  “That’s Lenada?”

  “It is,” Zoey said, hopping back before making her way to the wheel. “You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

  “Are you serious, or are you just wanting to throw in a reference joke?”

  Zoey flashed him a smile. “Little bit of both. Always wanted to say that coming into a port, but it’s not like I’ll be in Mos Eisley anytime soon, you know?”

  “Right.”

  “We should drop in on the tavern, though,” she said. “They’ve got some of the best rum for a thousand leagues, too. You’ll love it. I promise.”

  “As long as getting drunk doesn’t end with you passing out and us running afoul of another bounty hunter,” Ethan said.

  “No promises,” she said with a wink. “Now run up to the bow, will you? Make sure the way is safe.”

  Ethan nodded and trotted across the deck, thinking the task simple enough. However, after a few moments of being there, he felt at a loss. “I’m not sure what I’m looking for,” Ethan admitted. “It looks clear.”

  Zoey rose on her toes so she could see a little better. “This isn’t a deep water harbor,” she said. “That means we’ll have to lay anchor about a hundred yards out and row in.”

  “Okay, but that still doesn’t answer what I’m looking for.”

  “Make sure they aren’t readying the shore cannons,” she said. “That’s our only real worry at this point.”

  Ethan felt his brow furrow, and he wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. “Why would they be shooting at us?”

  “Why not?” Zoey replied matter-of-factly. “This port may be small, relatively speaking, but the people here are as unsavory as any others and ready for a fight. So if someone in the watchtowers realizes we’re coming in without even a skeleton crew, they might decide this ship of ours should be a ship of theirs.”

  “Doesn’t that figure,” Ethan muttered, turning back around. His hopes of finding a willing crew were quickly drowned by worries of having cannon-firing, pistol-toting Lenada berserkers trying to steal his ship every chance they got.

  “Cheer up, Ethan,” Zoey called out with a bright smile. “I never said this was going to be easy, but we’re vampires who just took down a lich. We tell them that, and I bet we get half our crew on that reputation alone—well, if we tell them the lich part, that is. We still need to keep the vampire bit quiet.”

  “Okay,” Ethan said. “I can do that.”

  Ethan then redirected his attention back to the shore, and over the next several minutes, he scoured the place for any sign of anyone about to fire the coastal batteries. At first, he only saw the limestone embankments that flanked each side of the port where the cannons would be. But it only took him a few more seconds to realize all he could see were the embankments, and not a single cannon or carriage was anywhere to be found.

  Creases formed on his forehead, and he tapped the railing with his fingers anxiously as he directed his attention to the port. As they drew closer, more and more detail could be seen, and none of it put Ethan at ease. Not a s
oul walked the streets, nor crossed the docks. Dozens of buildings barely stood, burnt-out hulks of their former selves, while twice as many had collapsed into piles of rubble.

  “Zoey?” he called back, only half turning as he kept his eyes ahead. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “What?”

  “I think the town is destroyed.”

  “Destroyed? What do you mean, ‘destroyed’?”

  “Well, not completely razed to the ground, but there’s not a tavern, blacksmith, shipwright, or whatever still standing that’s going to win any OSHA awards, that’s for sure. Hell, I don’t think there’s a building over there that has three standing walls, let alone an intact roof.”

  In a flash, Zoey looped the rope she had nearby onto the Victory’s wheel, holding it fast, and ran up next to him. Her nails dug into the railing the moment she took it all in, and her mouth hung open.

  Eventually, she simply shook her head, like the simple act would wake her from a bad dream. When it did, she ran both hands through her hair and muttered. “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know,” Ethan said. “Do you think we should sail on?”

  Zoey’s brow dropped, and the grief that had been slowly surfacing to her face hardened into determined resolve. “No,” she said. “I need to know what happened. There might be survivors, too, that need our help.”

  Ethan nodded, though an unsettling feeling grew in his stomach that said there probably wouldn’t be, and whatever they’d find would prove deadly. Thank a recent encounter with a lich for that one.

  Zoey went back to the wheel, and as she kept them on course, Ethan leaned over the side of the ship a little more, hoping the extra few inches would be what he needed to see someone, anyone, mulling about that could give them hope. He didn’t see anyone for several minutes, despite the little bit of distance he gained. When they were within about a quarter mile, however, he spied someone laying sprawled out in the entryway to one of the buildings.

  “There’s one!” he shouted, pointing. “I think—”