Summary

Lafayette, the beautiful and estranged son of a powerful slave owner, longs for a life beyond the shadows of his father’s legacy. But when he is captured by a dangerously handsome band of pirates, his world is torn wide open. Lafayette is also intrigued by the handsome, muscular & stubborn Bello…known as The Sea Wolf. Their ship carries more than stolen treasure—it harbors a dark, ominous secret. Thrown into a voyage of peril and temptation, Lafayette is swept into a storm of action, betrayal, forbidden romance… and magic far more powerful than he ever imagined.

1

“The Devil whispered to us saying that we cannot survive the upcoming storm,” the Captain tells us, “We whispered back to the devil telling him that we are the storm.”

The men rally. Fear is in their eyes. There is sweat dripping down their backs. The main mast scrapes across the top of the cave. There is a creaking in the hull that sounds like someone running their nails against stone. Billy Big Balls is on the crow’s nest. He has a telescope out and he seems to be the only one who is unmoved by the screeching noise of the hull and the impending doom.

“Hell ahead!” he screams out.

The Sea Wolf looks over at me, “You ready for this baby?”

He sits next to me. He doesn’t have a shirt on. Sweat is dripping down his abs. They glisten against his hairy chest. I notice the tent in his pants. He gets hard when things get tense. It’s a habit of his. Danger excites him. I know that if we survive this that he’ll take me into the lower quarters and fuck me until I can’t walk. I’d have to use Drunk Sam’s cane for a week based on how big his manhood has grown. I watch as he smiles, licking his hair back and grappling the oars.

His muscles move, stretching and showing off just how tight his body is. There is not an ounce of fat in sight. Most of the men on board our ship are muscular, but none are even close to the Sea Wolf. No one could ever be the Sea Wolf. He was my lover. He was my soulmate. He was the most beautiful man in the world.

I’m not ready. I want to piss myself. I want to just piss myself right there at that moment but I know the boys will never let me live it down if I do.

“I…”

I hesitate.

He puts his hands in my hands, “I love you. You know that right? I told you that for the first time last night for a reason. We may not come back.”

“I know.”

“You know where the word Matey comes from?”

I’m scared, “No…”

My words are almost stuck in my throat.

“Matey comes from matelotage. It’s like marriage between two male pirates. In this institution we share everything. I want that for us. I want matelotage.”

I knew the Sea Wolf would never ask me to marry him but this was different. This was something just between pirates. This was something beautiful. This was something pure. This was something great and I was the happiest man in the world.

“Yes. I’ll do it.”

“Then I’ll need you to survive with me,” he tells me, “Promise.”

He looks at me. He grabs me by the hand. He holds it. He gives it a hard squeeze.

“I promise.”

“Then sound the siren.”

“Hell ahead!” I scream out, repeating Billy’s siren.

When we state hell ahead we aren’t talking about some sort of literary figurative description pirates used. No. We were talking about actual hell. We would be the first ship to find the entrance of hell and sail into its waters willingly.

We couldn’t be afraid. We were pirates after all.

I was a pirate now and this was my story.

~

It all started on a cold night in Nassau. It’s the 18th century so we use candles to the light the house but the storm outside causes the candles to flicker violently. The Bahamas were known for the crazy weather but it started on an unreasonably strange night. The shutters move back and forth causing a rattling whistle to scroll through the house.

Old Lady Josephine is having a fit. She rolls around in her rocking chair. Usually she sings on the nights with storms but this is different.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask Uncle Julien.

My Uncle Julien raised me after my mom died in child birth. My mother was born a slave but she was freed when she got pregnant by a slave master named Jacob Baptiste in Florida. My father freed my mother and sent her away from his plantation to Nassau. I guess he didn’t want people to know that he had a half black baby on the way. My father sent us to live with Old Lady Josephine and her youngest son Julien. The old lady was my grandmother. My mother died two years in. Josephine raised me after that. Even though she’s always been there I never really accepted her as my grandmother. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a sweet old lady. She was. She treated me like her grandchild in every way. It was just that we didn’t want people talking about my father. We couldn’t muddy the name of Jacob Baptiste now could we?

“He’s coming,” Old Lady Josephine is saying on this rainy day, “He’s coming.”

“Whose coming?”

“I want you to stay here. You hear me?” Uncle Julien says, “Look after your Grandmother.”

With that Uncle Julien puts on his hat and runs out into the storm. I never see my Uncle Julien again. I sit there though hoping that he’d come back. Every minute that Old Lady Josephine rocks I get more and scared.

“Baby,” she says.

“Yeah…”

“Look out the window baby. Do you see a man?”

“Why do you ask?”

“What’s he doing?”

“He’s just standing there. He’s just looking. Who is he? Where’s Uncle Julien.”

“Baby listen carefully.”

“You’re scaring me…”

“Don’t take your eyes off of him, you hear me? If he moves let me know. Ok? Let me know what when he moves.”

The Old Lady keeps me at the window staring down into the storm at the stranger on the path to the house. She leaves. I don’t see a face. I don’t see anything. It’s too hard to tell. The stranger just stands on the path looking up at the house.

He doesn’t move.

Old Lady Josephine returns. She has something in her hand. It distracts me for a minute. I look back at the path and realize that he’s no longer there.

“He’s gone,” I tell my grandma.

Old Lady Josephine seems to be determined. She’s handing me this paper. It’s a map. She gives me a look. She reaches the paper into my hand. She locks it into my hands. I look at it when she gets close to me. She hands it to me.

“Lafayette,” my grandmother states, “I need you to listen to this carefully. Your father is coming into town tomorrow. He’ll be staying at the Red Harbor Inn. I need you to go to him. I need you to give him this piece of paper. You understand me? Your father. No one else. Don’t ever leave this paper alone with anyone, OK?”

“My father is coming here…to Nassau?” I ask.

She nods, “He’ll know you when he sees you. You are a Baptiste. Don’t let anyone ever tell you different. Do you hear me?”

Suddenly there is a knock on the door. It is loud. It is strong. It shakes the entire house. My heart breaks at that moment.

“Who is that?” I ask, “Is it Uncle Julien?”

I ask the question but I know for sure that Uncle Julien wouldn’t be knocking on the door the way that he is. I know for sure that wouldn’t be the case. My heart is beating. The fear in my grandmother’s eyes says it all. She is afraid.

“Remember what I said. Only leave that paper with your father,” she tells me, “Now go hide. Under the table.”

“I’m not hiding.”

“Lafayette. I need you to do this. This is important. Please.”

My grandmother never acted like this before. I listened to her. I was always obedient since I was younger. I run underneath the table at that moment and I try to hide underneath it. My heart is racing at that moment. I don’t know how to react.

I get underneath the table. I cover it with the table cloth to conceal myself. I stay perfectly still just in time for the door to open. Heavy boots stomp through the room. I look at the boots. They are black and stained with mud from the outdoors. They trail mud across the house. I’m surprised my grandmother doesn’t say anything. She is very particular about things like that. My grandmother doesn’t say anything at all to this person as a matter of fact. She just sits there…completely still.

My heart is beating. I’m tempted to jump out and confront this situation. I don’t though. I have to listen to my grandmother.

“Where is it?” a voice says in the room.

It’s the most haunting voice I’ve ever heard. It is a dark, awkward, draining memory of a voice that probably hasn’t heard itself speak in quite some time. My heart grows heavy when I hear the haunting sound.

“Gone. You’ll never have it, monster…”

I watch the person get close to my grandmother from underneath the table. I can’t see the face at first but when I finally can see the face it’s too late. This cold, strange, pale white man is leaning over and kissing my grandmother. He has a very thick brown beard. The kiss is short. It’s brief but it seems to affect my grandmother. She leans forward into the kiss. When she leans forward she breaths in deeply on release.

Then I notice how she lazily slumps over when he backs up. It’s almost lifeless. It’s weird. The man doesn’t say anything else.

He just walks back out into the rain.

I come out from underneath the table, “That was strange, wasn’t it?”

My grandmother doesn’t say anything. I turn to her confused on why she isn’t speaking or saying how weird it was that a stranger just walked into her house, kissed her and left. As I get closer though I realize something. My grandmother isn’t responding because she can’t.

My grandmother is dead.

~

“Look at this little lass,” someone says when I walk into the Red Harbor Inn. They yell it from the bar that is there.

I’m clearly not a lass. It doesn’t help that I’ve been crying and my eyes are beat red. It’s the next day and I still haven’t gotten over my grandmother just dying. I assumed it was a heart attack. She was always in poor health. It’s just the timing that concerns me. How is it possible just when we get a strange visitor we get an even stranger request? I can’t wait for my Uncle. He isn’t the most reliable person. I’m a grown ass man. I’m 25 years old. I may look a little younger however and that has always been my thing. I notice the stares though. Being attractive has never been a problem for me.

“Isn’t that Old Lady Josephine’s handsome house boy?” an attendant says.

I recognize the attendant. Her name is Renee. I watch as she gets closer and gives me a toothless grin. I never come down to the Red Harbor Inn. I stayed away from the piers mostly in general. The Nassau harbor always has a bunch of miscreants, ruffians and hoodlums that I wanted nothing to do with. I didn’t put myself above them but I learned enough through my Uncle’s many encounters in the areas. I am familiar with Renee however because she comes to the market often.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I tell her.

This is my idea of casual. I’m bad at it. I’m drawing attention from the shady characters in the bar.

“Renee who’s your pretty friend?” someone says.

Just at that moment someone walks over to me and squeezes my butt! He squeezes it. I am a grown man. My Uncle always said that my good looks would get me in trouble. My brown skin was always smooth, my body was toned and built from house labor. My eyes were this beautiful blue eye color that my grandmother had as well. My hair was curly, which strayed completely from my grandmother and my uncle. The curls were long and exaggerated and I let them grow anyway they felt. I could understand why people would find me attractive, but I never would in a million years have thought a man would be so brave as to grab my butt so openly.

The man is a heavy set man. He stinks when he gets close and he gets REALLY close. He is dressed funny. I’ve seen men like him before.

“He’s a local boy,” Renee states.

“Are you sailors?” I ask.

There is laughter at my question.

“Sailors? Ah. Something like that. I’d like to think I’m more than a sailor though. That is like asking a dragon if it’s reptile. I’m more dragon then reptile boy. I feel like you trying to call me a reptile. I don’t like it.”

He takes a step closer towards me. It’s clear I stand out like a sore thumb in this inn but I had no idea that the attention would be this bad.

“I didn’t mean to offend,” I respond.

I’m scared. I wish I could just shake this fear for once and just really put on a brave face. I attempt to but I feel like I look completely silly next to this bigger man.

“What’s your name boy?” the man asks.

“La…La…”

“Lala? That is a girl’s name?”

“Lafayette,” I state.

There is laughter from the guy’s friends. They all look rough like him. They all look like they’ve been through something. Something rough. One of them is scruffy with a large beard. The other man that is with the big guy is dark, darker than me as though he is fully African.

“You got ass like a lady too. Let me see it, bend over. Let me see. I bet you have a pretty little pink hole don’t you? You ever been fucked boy? I bet you haven’t been fucked by a big swollen horse cock.”

The man begins touching me. He’s forcing himself on me. I push his hands away. He grabs me. I fight it and continue to push his hands away from me when I realize he’s groping at my balls, my butt and my abs. I see him continuing to grope faster and harder for anything in reach. I struggle even more and then I realize him attempting to pin me.

“Stop it,” I tell him.

We are in a crowded inn. People see this but the ones who do notice find it amusing. They are laughing like this is the funniest thing they’ve seen. Even Renee has a funny face.

The man pulls my pants down. My face gets red when it happens!

I feel beyond humiliated. I had been raised by Old Lady Josephine to have the highest standards of dignity and self-respect. I had just been violated by this man. My bare ass is exposed. My cock is soft and exposed to the entire cabin. A few men point and laugh. The man doesn’t find this amusing though. I see a tent gather in his own pants. He’s turned on by this. He keeps pulling at me! He keeps trying to touch me, pulling at my ass cheeks.

That’s when I do it. I have no choice. I strike the man across the face.

“You little shit,” the man responds.

He charges at me. I watch as the two men he is with grapple me up and hold me for him. My pants are still down. I can feel myself wanting to break down at this moment. I feel helpless. I’m outnumbered. There’s no way to defend myself.

“Let him go,” a voice states.

The voice saying it is sitting in his chair. He’s a handsome guy. He has blue eyes the color of the ocean itself, with blonde wavy hair. He’s dressed like the others. His face is chiseled. His lips are smooth and pink. He has on breeches, a knitted cap over his blonde locks and stocks. His white shirt is open, showing off a bit of hair on his chest. I can’t keep my eyes off of him as I watch the sparkling earring he has in his ear.

“Mind your business…” one of the locals in the pub tells the stranger.

The gropper moves towards me seeming not too interested in the stranger. He attempts to put his finger into my butthole in front of the laughing chorus of his friends. The blonde stranger is done talking this time though. He charges forward headfirst at the groper. He smashes his forehead into the groper’s forehead!

I hear a crackle and a scream!

I see a squirt of blood as the groping man fumbles to the ground.

“I told you to let him go,” the handsome stranger says.

We’re surrounded.

Men get up. I’m shocked the stranger is willing to interfere knowing that he is surrounded in the way that he is, “I ought to…”

“Squiffy stop. Look. That handkerchief. He’s a crew member on the Screaming Dagger.”

We all look at the handkerchief. It’s a red handkerchief. It has the Jolly Roger skull and bones stitched into it. The handsome blonde stranger hangs it from his belt. The sight of it causes the men who were seconds away from attacking him to stop cold in their tracks. They just stare at that skull and bones and they seem to know what it is.

My Uncle Julien told me what the Jolly Roger was. It was the sign of pirates. People who stole from the English merchant ships that docked out in the Caribbean. He described the Jolly Roger usually being on a black flag. This one was different. The red background made the intensity of it all match the intensity of the stranger’s glare.

“Follow me,” the blonde boy states, brushing his handsome blonde waves of his hair to expose his face a little more, “They won’t touch you. You’re under my protection now.”

Sure enough the men seem to have a whole new respect. There’s something about that boy that makes others show fear. I don’t get it. You would have thought a demon itself had walked into this tavern. Why were they so afraid? I realize the piss running down one of the man’s trousers as the blonde boy escorts me into the streets…

It’s a warm night out. It’s humid. When we get outside the blonde boy stretches. I stand behind him unsure of what to say but finding it hard not to appreciate the way his butt sits up in his tight breeches.

“You a local?” he asks me.

I don’t know how to react to him. He doesn’t smell like the other sailors. He doesn’t even look as dirty as them. He’s clean. He’s handsome and clearly he saved me. Everything is telling me that this is a good person except for that red handkerchief he has dangling with the skull and bones. It scares the fuck out of me.

“Yes sir,” I state.

He’s not much older than me. Maybe that’s why he sneers a little when I call him sir. I notice something as he laughs. The wind raises up his red flag and I see stuffed in there a Flintlock pistol. The brown handle was stuffed so tightly in his breeches that I hadn’t seen it before.

“It’s late…and there are devils around. A local should know not to hang around these piers at night,” he tells me.

“I’m supposed to meet someone.”

“I can be that someone…”

He takes a step towards me. He’s licking his pretty pink lips and they are wet with saliva when he takes that step towards me. I’m shocked by it. I take a step back at that moment. He stops when I do it, seeing that he stunned me a little bit.

“Sorry. I figured you were…”

“For sale?”

There’s something about the way he was just ready to take me.

“Usually the only locals that come in this area are,” he responds shaking his head, “God. Sorry. I’m a fool. I’ve just been at sea so long. We leave tomorrow. I was just wanting some company before we head out. I should probably get back to my room and…”

He does look embarrassed. Maybe it’s a game he plays for the locals to get them to give into him. For some reason though, I don’t think he has to play any games because he is so damn handsome.

I find myself realizing that it is sort of late.

“I should probably wait until morning to look for the person I am supposed to meet,” I state, “It is dangerous around here like you said. I can…keep you company for a while.”

He lifts his eyebrow, “Is that right?”

“No sex.”

He laughs, “Of course not,” with a glitter of teasing in his eye, “What’s your name?”

“Lafayette.”

He smiles, “My name is Ashton.”

~

Ashton’s room is at a local tavern down from the Red Harbor Inn. His name doesn’t fit what he is. His look doesn’t fit what he is. I could imagine him more in a palace than a ship. He doesn’t have anything personal in there save a purse of money and a cutlass that is leaning up against the wall. The blade is old but sharp looking. I notice as I walk in that there are stains of blood on it. This man is a killer. I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know why this hero interests me so much. Regardless of how handsome he is I know that he is dangerous but for some reason I feel connected to him somehow. It’s a connection that I can’t shake.

“Hope you don’t mind…I’m just getting comfortable,” he states.

He takes off his linen shirt and throws it on the bed. I stare at his abdomen. His nipples are pink and perky hidden underneath his scruffy chest hair. His torso goes into the smallest waist I’ve ever seen on a man. A sprout of pubic hair can be seen as his breeches are a bit too low. I watch his hands brush past the pubic hair to take out the pistol and lay it on the table in the room.

I hear a roll of laughter and realize his pearl blue eyes have been watching me the entire time as I gawk at him like a horny child.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. No sex still?” he asks me.

“No sex.”

He laughs, “Shame. There’s not a lot of negro boys on my ship. Every time we dock I look for one. I’ve never had one. I hear you all are a real…tasty…delicacy.”

He licks his lips again and stares at me as though I’m something to eat. Uncle Julien had warned me that a lot of the sailors slept with other men. I guess it was the idea of being at sea for so long with nothing but men. It’s what they were used to. I always thought he was telling stories but seeing how this boy is looking at me as though I’m some sort of object to be used makes it clear my Uncle was telling the truth.

“Those men said you were a member of the screaming dagger?”

“Yes. Have you ever been on a ship?”

“No…”

“Well the Screaming Dagger is the most beautiful there is. Come here. Look down. Do you see that ship right there with the two masts?”

I look out the window at the pier. I see where he’s pointing. He’s standing close. He definitely doesn’t smell like I would imagine. He smells good. I can feel the warmth from his body.

I point at one of the ships, “That one?”

“No… that one…” he states moving my finger.

I love how he takes control, positioning my finger, then rearranging my hips to the window. He points at a huge ship at the very end of the pier. It’s guarded by strange looking men that pace around the dock.

He nods when I lock my finger on it, “See that ship. That one right there. That is the Screaming Dagger. It’s a Brigantine type ship. Very versatile. She weighs about 150 tons. She’s an 80-foot vessel. There are about 100 of us on board. 10 cannons with cargo space about twice as big as the sloop. She has two masts and square sails.”

“She looks regal.”

“She was built by a wealthy man. One night my captain stole it. It’s been with him ever since.”

I pause.

“Um…”

I don’t know how to ask it. Luckily I don’t have to. The look in this stranger’s eyes lets me know that he knows what I want to ask.

“You want to know if I’m a pirate?”

I nod, “Yes.”

“I’m married to the sea. And yes. Those men were afraid. They should be. Captain Holystone and the Screaming Dagger have earned…a reputation on these seas. We take what we want. No questions. When ships see the Red skull and bones they know it’s either surrender or die.”

I’m shocked by this.

“It’s just that you don’t look like…”

“Most of the boys on my ship don’t. Captain Holystone surrounds himself with…beautiful boys. He’d like you…”

“Me?”

“Why not? You ask a lot of questions,” he laughs, “The Captain would shower me with gold if I recruited a handsome boy like you.”

“I couldn’t,” I respond, “I’m just curious. That’s all…”

They lived by their own laws. They were dangerous. I saw the fear that the men had when they noticed just who Ashton was affiliated with. They were terrified. I couldn’t imagine being able to be that respected. Ashton laughs again. He clearly is used to the fear. He’s probably got stories for days. I watch as he takes a few steps to the bed. He lays down.

“That’s a shame. I was like you once. I was so scared. See my father was a wealthy man. Actually he’s the one who built the Screaming Dagger…”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Ashton states, “And the night that Captain Holystone stole the Dagger, he took another prize as well.”

I’m shocked.

“You?”

All of a sudden I’m so sad looking over at Ashton. I couldn’t imagine being stolen from my family like a piece of property. This Captain Holystone had to be a monster to do something like that. I don’t get it. My heart gets heavy looking over at Ashton but he seems surprised that I’m reacting to his story in this way.

Ashton nods, “You seem horrified.”

“You were kidnapped,” I respond shaking my head, “You said he liked beautiful boys. I didn’t know he kidnapped them.”

Ashton laughs, “You think I’m beautiful?”

I don’t know how to respond. I look away, back out of the window and towards the Screaming Dagger. The regal looking ship probably looked more fitting to belong to a governor or a rich merchant but it was a pirate warship.

I’m mesmerized by it.

That’s when I feel Ashton up behind me.

“What are you doing?”

He presses up against me. I can feel something sticking me. At first I think it is his gun but then I remember he put his gun away. I realize instead that Ashton is sticking me with his cock. It feels so good as he presses it up against the seams of my pants.

Ashton puts his hands in my trousers forcibly pushing down at that moment. He plays with my cock. I feel his tongue licking at the sides of my neck at that moment.

“I’m going back to sea in the morning,” Ashton states, “I’ll never see you again…”

“You can return.”

“Or I can die tomorrow. I’m a pirate, Lafayette. I die young. I live HARD.”

With that I feel him lower my trousers. Something about him doesn’t make me stop him from kissing the sides of my neck. He moves my entire face over with his and begins to kiss me. His tongue goes deep into my throat. I suck it in completely giving in once my pants are to my ankles. He presses me up against the window pane at that moment and uses his hands to put a curve in my back. Then he works his way down my back, kissing me. He’s passionate but rough. He may look handsome but his hands are rough and rugged.

He makes his way to my ass and he begins to bite it, gnawing down with his teeth as though he’s trying to take a piece back to sea with him. His tongue enters my asshole.

“Oh my god!”

I’ve never had someone do that before. He curls his tongue over and over into my butt until I am holding onto the ledge of the window, grinding my fingertips into it. His tongue violates me, pushing past my walls and lubricating me until I’m dripping with his saliva.

What he does after that is completely new as well.

He stands up and I feel a pressure. I don’t realize he’s entered me until it actually happens. His cock manages to make its way into my hole. His cock is bigger than even I ever imagined. I squirm in pain realizing this is a new pain that I’ve never felt before in my life. The huge penis is wet with saliva but somehow still manages to struggle.

“You’re so…tight…” he tells me.

“I’m a virgin…”

“Wait?” he stops, “Completely…”

“Yes…but it’s OK. I want it.”

He is still inside of me but for some reason he has stopped stroking his cock inside of me. He pulls out at that moment. It feels so good that I want him to put it right back in but he doesn’t. He just turns at that moment and nods.

“Let’s just lay,” he responds.

“Ashton…I want it.”

“Another time…” he tells me, “I don’t want to rob you of something that special.”

At that moment I realize Ashton is more than just a pirate. The way he seems to respect my body even when I’m so willing to do it myself shows that there is an emotion to him. I watch as he lays on the bed, completely naked. I finally get to see his cock. It’s tan and still hard, wet from entering me. He lays there and slaps it, laughing as it jerks right back up. He looks so sexy laying in his bed. I start climbing on the bed with him.

I try to sit on him…sit on his cock but Ashton stops me.

I’m so confused.

“You are leaving in the morning. There won’t be another time.”

“There’s something special about you,” he says smiling, “I can’t put my finger on it. A connection. Don’t worry. I’ll find a way back to you. Somehow. Someday.”

With that he moves me next to him, drafts me underneath his arm so that I can lay there. And I feel it with Ashton. A connection that I’ve never felt in my life. It was a feeling that made me think I should know this beautiful blonde boy. It’s a feeling that makes me think I should be with him.

~

I wake up dreading the fact that Ashton is leaving. I’ve never slept so peacefully in my life than sleeping next to him. When I wake up I see him at the foot of the bed. He’s reading something. I’m surprised he’s up so early but I make my way to the other side of his bed. I’m kissing him, kissing the back of his neck sliding my hands over towards his cock. He’s soft in the morning but as I squeeze it, he begins to harden.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you?” I ask.

I lean over him and pull his cock out. I start to fasten my lips around his cock but I realize Ashton isn’t reacting the way that I want. He just looks over at me.

Then I realize what he’s reading.

“Where’s you find this?” he asks me.

It’s the paper Old Lady Josephine gave me. It’s the paper she wanted me to give my father. I try to take it back but Ashton jerks away from me, pulling so hard that that I fall on the ground.

“Give it back.”

Ashton has this look on his face. I don’t get it. He shaking his head.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and I saw it sticking out of your trousers. You shouldn’t have this. You have no idea what this is…”

“Ashton. Give me back the map.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For this…”

Just at that moment the room door opens. These men run into the room. PIRATES! That’s the moment I realize I’ve been betrayed! It’s the moment that I realize that Ashton has betrayed me! I try to resist. I try to fight them off.

“ASHTON! HELP ME!” I’m screaming.

He doesn’t help me though. He just shakes his head. My fighting is in vain. They put a satchel over my head and tie me up.

~

It seems like I’m in darkness forever. Finally, I get the satchel removed from my head. I feel movement. I don’t know where I am. It’s so humid. Sweat is rolling down my forehead. I’m fastened to the chair that I’m sitting on. I’m tied down. There are several men in the room with me. Behind them are some sort of storage containers or something of the sort.

I feel the movement again. A slow…rocking rhythm under my feet.

“Where am I?”

“You are a prisoner aboard my ship,” a voice states, “My name is Captain Holystone.”

Holystone. Him! HIM!

The man that killed my grandmother. The pale man with the thick beard. I look at his boots. Yes. It was him! There was no mistaking this man.

Right behind him I see Ashton. Ashton is standing there watching me. At that moment I don’t see the compassionate eyes I knew before. Ashton was back to being a killer.

“Ashton…please…please help me,” I find myself begging.

Ashton turns away as though he doesn’t hear me. I’ve never felt so betrayed in my life. I knew he had no loyalty to me but for some reason I was hoping this connection we had meant something.

“He won’t help you. Nothing can help you now…” the Captain tells me.

“What do you want?”

“Where is the other half of the map?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I respond.

My heart thumps when I see the Captain stand up. There is something so frightening about him. His eyes are dark and cold. It’s as if I’m staring into the eyes of the devil himself. It brings me back to the night that my grandmother died. I watch as he crosses the room, slow and steady. His black boots have dried up mud underneath them. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. He gets closer. I watch as he pulls something out of his pocket! It’s a plant…

“Have you heard of the bleeding heart plant?” he asks me.

I shake my head.

“Speak up PRISONER!” Ashton demands.

He walks over to me and slaps the dog shit out of me. I’m shocked when he does it. I spit up blood. I can taste it in my mouth. Ashton slaps me so hard that tears literally come to my face. I’m breathing heavy realizing that there are definitely no feelings here any longer.

“I haven’t heard of it,” I state.

Holystone pulls something else out of his pocket, “A mad woman in Spain taught me about it. She would use it to kill her lovers. I was her jailer at the time. It was another lifetime. It was the night before I took her out to be hung that she told me her secret. She didn’t want it to die with her. She told me about the Bleeding Heart plant. It’s poisonous. See. So you smash it up, to get the extract out. Then you rub it on your lips. You can’t keep it on for too long. Just long enough for one last kiss with the one you love. It’s called the bleeding kiss. You’re a handsome young man…would you like a kiss, handsome young man?”

Holystone shows the plant. Tears are rolling down my eyes. It’s not tears of fear. It’s tears of anger. This is how he killed my grandmother. He used this technique to kill her.

This man was a monster.

“Answer his question,” Ashton warns me, raising his hand threatening to hit me again if I didn’t.

“I don’t want a kiss,” I answer, unwillingly.

Ashton takes a step back. There is a roll of laughter from the men in the room. They are pirates. It was like Ashton stated. They are handsome…all of them. None of them look even slightly normal. These are some of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen in my life but it doesn’t matter. They all have the look of killers in their eyes. All of them including Ashton.

Holystone stares at me. His cold, sunken face sticks out among more attractive, younger men. His brown beard has gray hairs all through it. He must be in his 50s. His cold, demeanor only adds to how unattractive I think he is.

Holystone points to the map, “Where is the other half?”

“I don’t know. I was supposed to take it to Jacob Baptiste.”

The mention of my father’s name sends whispers into the cabin. They must know the name. I knew my father was well known but I had no idea that my father was well known among pirates. I watch Holystone stare over at Ashton. It’s almost as though he’s looking for answers.

“Ashton, why would this boy be bringing the map to Jacob Baptiste?” Holystone asks.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying…”

“I had no idea he knew him,” Ashton states, “I swear Captain.”

Ashton’s eyes look scared at that moment. They look very scared. He’s horrified of the Captain. For some reason the mention of Jacob Baptiste has sent the Captain into some sort of suspicion. Holystone looks over at me.

“Baptiste must have the other half of the map,” Holystone states, “Where is Baptiste?”

“I don’t know…” I state.

Ashton shakes his head, “He’s lying. He was meeting him last night…”

“And you just so happened to run into a boy carrying half of the map to Jacob Baptiste?”

Ashton nods, “It was all coincidence.”

Holystone gives Ashton a look, “You better get to the bottom of this. Or else…”

Holystone is threatening Ashton and Ashton looks terrified. The terror causes him to run over to me and grab me by collar. He pulls me up. I can see how desperate he is. I don’t get it. Why was Holystone so suspicious that Ashton found me and intercepted the map?

Ashton grabs onto my collar, “What relationship do you have with him? Why were you sent to meet my father?”

“Jacob Baptiste is your father?”

I look in Ashton’s eyes realizing now why I had this connection with him. I’m realizing now that Ashton has to be my brother.

2

“How do you know my father?” Ashton asks me.

I could tell Ashton at this moment that Jacob Baptiste is also my father. I’m stuck though. Ashton literally had his cock up my ass the night before. How do I tell him that he’s my brother at this point?

Then I look over at Holystone. I don’t know what this map is but for some reason Holystone seems desperate to have it. There is nothing that he wouldn’t do for it. If he knew I was the estranged son of Jacob Baptiste this would definitely be something that he could use to his advantage. I don’t know if I was willing to give Holystone the satisfaction of that.

“I have no relationship with him. I’m just a messenger. I was a servant boy to Josephine Baptiste.”

Ashton raises his eyebrows, “My grandmother…”

Holystone nods, “She must have given the map to the servant boy before I got to her.”

“Is she…”

“Dead,” Holystone states.

Ashton’s face gets long. He must know deep inside that Holystone killed her that night. I wonder how he feels about it. He seems to be reacting in a way to the fact that Holystone killed Old Lady Josephine but I’m not sure what this reaction really means.

“If you want to live,” Ashton continues looking at me, “Tell me where my grandmother told you to meet my father.”

I don’t say anything. I expect Ashton to hit me again but he shakes his head at that moment.

“I don’t know…” I repeat.

“Lafayette…” he states, leaning in to whisper at that moment, “I’m trying to help you. Just tell him. You don’t know who you’re messing with here…”

The whispered warning comes in a shaky tone. Ashton is terrified of his own captain. I can feel myself shaking at that moment. My father was supposed to be in the inn. He wasn’t there. My grandmother trusted me with this information and I foiled it. I completely fucked it up. I didn’t know my father. I had never met him but I did know that I didn’t want to help Holystone after he took my grandmother’s life.

“I don’t know…” I respond.

Holystone grunts.

“Call HIM in.”

“No. I can handle this,” Ashton states, “Just give me some time to talk to him. I can get him to talk. He is just scared. He’ll talk to me though. I promise, Captain. We don’t have to get HIM…”

Holystone isn’t having it, “Call HIM!”

Ashton shakes his head at that moment. He looks sad for me for some reason. He looks as though he feels bad for something, but he doesn’t say anything. He runs off at that moment and I don’t understand why. I watch as Captain Holystone gives me that cold, dark stare that he’s given me before. They put an emphasis on HIM. I watch at that moment as there is a stomping. The men in the room start stomping their heel. It’s a rhythmic stomping of their heels on the planks. The men all look serious.

STOMP.

STOMP.

STOMP.

Something is coming. Something terrifying. I hear the sound of something being dragged. The thing is thumping down the steps. I realize that the steps that Ashton goes up are rattling. Someone is coming down. The person is taking their time. My heart freezes. The footsteps are so heavy. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

He’s dragging something behind with him. It’s a long pole with a pointed end that sort of looks like a thick spear. It’s the thing that was being dragged down the steps.

“I need information,” Holystone’s haunting voice demands of the dark hooded figure.

“I need space,” the dark hooded figure states.

That’s when Holystone removes the hood. I’m shocked by the face of this dark figure. I don’t know why I was expecting a monster or a cold, sunken face like Holystone. I am completely wrong. The person under the hood is one of the most handsome faces I’ve ever seen in my life. He is mixed like me. He has dreadlocks that are a shiny silver color. His new growth is beautiful curling around his face. He has green eyes that look like stolen emeralds. His face is defined, chiseled out to perfection.

Holystone seems to worship the beauty.

“My angel of death,” he states, “Make me proud, my love.”

That’s when Holystone does something I don’t expect, not even from a perverted man like him. He kisses the black figure he calls his angel of death. He puts his tongue deep into his mouth.

After the kiss Holystone leaves and the rest of the men leave behind him. I’m left with no one but the Angel of death. His face is blank as though he has no soul at all. He stares at me, beautiful and mysterious yet empty.

“You must have done something bad if they called me to deal with you,” he explains.

His voice is deep, haunting like Holystone but not exactly in the same way. It’s younger. It has the same dark, deep base to it but it doesn’t rattle like Holystone’s voice. I watch at that moment as he goes to the middle of the room. There is a hole in the floor that I had not noticed was there before. He puts his thick pointed spear into the hole so that it can stand there.

I watch as he secures the spear deep into the hole.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

“Give the information,” he tells me, “And you won’t have to find out.”

I don’t speak. I ignore him.

He shakes his head.

I watch as he comes over to me at that moment. I’m surprised when he begins to undress me! He takes off my pants and then cuts open my shirt so that my arms are still tied. He flings me over his shoulder. My heart is beating fast when I realize he is carrying me towards the spear.

“What are you doing?” I ask, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!”

“It’s called the Judas Cradle. Some people know it as the Judas chair. You are not going to enjoy this. It’s quite cruel…just like me.”

My heart is beating.

“Please. I’m begging you. Please don’t do this!”

“Talk…”

“Please! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!”

The green eyed boy has no sympathy for my begging and pleading. I watch as he straps my arms to ropes and ties my legs. I’m terrified as I realize I am being hoisted and pulled above the spear. My heart is racing when I see that he begins to lower me onto the spear.

Using those ropes I was lowered down until point of the spear entered into my anus. I feel this ripping and hear a tear as the spear enters my ass.

I scream. I scream louder than I’ve ever screamed in my life.

The intense pressure begins to stretch the orifice. I’m bleeding immediately.

“Talk,” he tells me.

I can’t speak. The pain is too much. When I don’t speak the angel of death lowers me even more. I scream. I feel like I’m going to pass out but my body won’t do it.

“Talk…”

Lower.

“Talk…”

Lower!

“Talk…”

“He’s in the Red Harbor Inn. That’s where. That’s where. Please. PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!”

The torture is something I’ve never felt before. I’m bleeding so much when he finally takes the thing out of me. He lays me on the floor. I swear I am sure that I am going to bleed out and succumb to either the bleeding or maybe an infection.

I am so sure that I am going to die. I look up at the angel of death.

He cuts me loose.

“You’re going to be locked in here. I’ll leave you my dagger, in case you want to kill yourself,” he tells me, “I would suggest it.”

I’m bleeding out. He’s not concerned.

He drops his dagger on the floor.

“How could someone do that to another human being?” I ask, “Who could be so heartless?”

He looks over at me. There is no emotion in his eyes. There is just evil. Pure evil. I understand now why Holystone referred to him as his Angel of death. He’s beautiful on the outside but on the inside there was nothing but destruction.

“Me. My name is Bello…they call me the Sea Wolf.”

~

I think I’m going to die but something keeps me alive. I’m not sure what it is. I’m surprised when Ashton returns that night. He cleans up the blood and brings me clothes. I’m too injured and bloody to wear them so he just sits it next to me. He pours alcohol on my wounds and then leaves the rest of it for me.

He returns twice again the next day. One to attempt to clean me up and the second time to treat me. I don’t speak to him the first time. The second time he comes in I’m ready for him.

Ashton is quietly preparing some sort of herbal treatment for my torn anus muscles but I hold the Sea Wolf’s dagger to him when he gets closer.

“I should kill you,” I state.

I’m weak.

“You won’t…”

“Why wouldn’t I? Why SHOULDN’T I? You brought me HERE! You gave me to these fucking monsters!”

Ashton gives me a hard stare, “Because you aren’t a killer.”

Ashton grabs the dagger out of my hand. He takes it by the actual point. I’m shaking when he takes the dagger away from me. I’ve never been so mad in my life, but Ashton is right. I’m not a killer. I never have been and never would be. When he grabs the dagger away from me I just lay there feeling so mad and betrayed by him, but unable to reject his help.

“The pain won’t stop…”

“The Sea Wolf has a reputation even among pirates for…cruelty,” Ashton explains to me, “Maybe that’s why out of all the boys on the Screaming Dagger, Holystone chose the Sea Wolf for mateloge.”

“Mateloge?”

“It’s an understanding. A bond between pirates. They share everything. Including a bed. The Sea Wolf is Holystone’s lover.”

I remember the kiss. I remember how passionate it was. It freaked me out.

“They share evil.”

“I tried to warn you.”

“You BROUGHT me here.”

I don’t care that Ashton is helping me now. I wouldn’t be in this situation if he hadn’t betrayed me and brought me here.

“I had no choice,” he states, “You had the map.”

“What’s so important about this fucking map?” I ask.

Ashton sighs, “No one knows. Holystone has been tracking it for a while. It leads us back here to my grandmother. I only met her once when I was a young boy. What kind of person was she?”

I’m in so much pain but whatever Ashton is giving me is helping to numb the pain. The bleeding won’t stop though. Having Ashton tend to my torn asshole isn’t exactly the most comfortable thing but at this moment I don’t have a choice.

If he didn’t do this I would be dead, either by infection or by killing myself like the Sea Wolf suggested I do.

“She was kind. Gentle.”

“You were her servant for a while?” he asks me.

I nod, “My whole life.”

Ashton nods, “It’s so amazing to know someone who actually knew her. My parents always used to give us letters that Grandma Josephine would write. She would always dab it with her perfume. I imagined that’s how it smelled.”

“Us?”

“What?”

“You said us.”

“My brothers and I,” Ashton states.

There were more. My heart gets heavy at that moment.

“How many brothers did you have?” I ask.

“Two. Both older. My father is an Admiral for the Queen,” Ashton explains to me, “Both my brothers also entered the military, I hear. My father has been chasing Holystone for years. I’m not sure what he wants to get back more though. Me or the Screaming Dagger.”

“How could you compare?”

Ashton shrugs, “I was never really like my brothers. I don’t mind the pirate life. It suits me more.”

“Your father wants you back. I’m sure he loves you…”

I’m speaking these words of comfort but truthfully I don’t know what they mean. My father had sent me away when I was just a child so that he could have his regular family without being stained by the disgrace of his mistress and her child.

“This is my life now,” he explains.

“The captain is cruel. He’s dangerous. How could you be comfortable here?”

He seems to get mad at that moment, “There’s more to this then you know. You wouldn’t understand. You don’t have to understand. This is just how it is. This is just how it has to be.”

I don’t get what Ashton means by it. He seems to be holding some deep dark secret and by the look on his face he seems willing to keep that secret with him. I can see all this pain in his eyes. I can see all this despair. Whatever is on Ashton’s mind is definitely getting the better of him. He definitely is not liking this.

With that Ashton turns, gathers his things and leaves out.

~

Days pass. Weeks pass. I don’t think I will survive. Immediately I feel sea sickness like I’ve never felt before in my life. My body is still feeling strained even after weeks from the torture inflicted on me by the Sea Wolf. Ashton did manage to get me stabilized but that doesn’t help the fact that I am a captive. I’m a captive of fucking pirates and it was only a matter of time before they got tired of me and kill me.

Ashton comes every day to check on my wounds and brings me food and water, as well as empty my chamber pot. He doesn’t speak much anymore though about his personal life. I think I hit a sore spot by bringing up his relationship to his family or something.

Ashton comes to see me after the third week and he has a different look in his eyes.

“He wants to see you…” Ashton states.

“Who?”

“Holystone.”

“Ashton…please don’t. Please don’t take me to him.”

Ashton grabs me by the back of my neck, “I’m sorry. I have no choice.”

You would think he was a slave by the way he was talking. He doesn’t give me eye contact but quickly grabs me by the back and of my neck and starts marching me upstairs.

“What does he want with me?”

“I don’t know…” Ashton states.

“Is he going to kill me?”

Ashton pauses.

“I don’t think so,” Ashton replies, “Listen. We are going to head onto the poop deck. It’s our nickname for the deck right next to the captain’s quarters. There are going to be people there. Don’t look at no one in the eyes. Don’t speak to know one. You hear me?”

“Why not?”

“You ask a lot of questions don’t you?”

“I’m scared.”

“You got a reason to be. Believe it or not, I’m trying to keep you alive. You look at the wrong person you’re a dead man.”

Ashton saying that he was trying to keep me alive right now is weird to say the least. He was the one who brought me here in the first place. I wouldn’t have been in this situation if I hadn’t been so attracted to him. Now I just regret it all. I know Ashton is my brother. I had gone way too far. I feel like maybe this is god’s way of punishing me for the little bit that I did do with Ashton.

He takes me upstairs to one of the upper decks. He binds my hands with ropes so that it is clear that I’m a prisoner aboard the pirate ship. Sure enough I see all these eyes linger on me. All of these…men…just staring at me.

I put my head down. Feeling as though I was being undressed by all these boys. They are all young. They are all around Ashton’s age and all of them look like some sort of the most beautiful boys in the world.

“Ashton, is that the Nassau boy?” I hear someone shout, “Leave me here with him. Let me stick my dick up his pipe one good time.”

One of the boys strangles forward. He’s tall, thin and he has a strong jawline. His teeth are a dazzling white and he has his hair tied up in a ponytail. He seems like one of the older boys on the ship but that doesn’t seem to mean much on this ship. Most everyone was pretty young from what I can see on the upper decks.

“He’s not for you, O’Malley,” Ashton states.

Ashton pushes the taller boy away from him who laughs. I notice behind the tall boy there are these two boys. They are sweeping up the deck. I know I shouldn’t make eye contact with anyone but for some reason my eyes jet to them. They both have the most beautiful eyes that I’ve ever seen.

“Just greedy,” O’Malley states.

O’Malley has a wide grin. He winks at me in a flirtatious way but it’s not threatening. For some reason I am even amused because I’m wanted. I find myself feeling a little bit more comfortable. How dangerous can these beautiful boys be? I get the chance to find out soon enough when I see someone kick O’Malley at that moment between his inner thighs. O’Malley falls to the ground like a piece of rotten lumber, plopping up against the wooden deck.

The floorboard tremble when he falls. Ashton puts his hand on my chest to stop me from walking. Something has definitely gotten his attention.

“He’s right…move…O’Malley,” someone states.

Just at that moment two boys break through. It’s the same two boys that I saw before. They have these menacing looks on their faces. Dangerous looks…

“You’ve been hiding him away in the hull,” another boy states, “We want our turn.”

The two boys pull me away from Ashton. I find myself being balanced up against the wall at that moment. The two boys that have me held up against the wall are twins. They have pale skin the color of milk, hair as yellow as the sun and eyes as blue as sky. They seem to just start growing out their beards. Neither of the twins have shirts on. I can see that they have just started growing hair on their chest as well. Neither can be older than 19 and yet their bodies are muscular, strong and fit as though they were much older.

One of the twins licks me. He drives his tongue from the middle of my neck to the upper side of my face. He manages to even bite my lip before Ashton pulls him off of me.

“The Captain said no one touches him,” Ashton states.

“You’re a goddam liar, Baptiste,” one of the twins state, “You want him for yourself. How about you fight us for him.”

Hearing them call him by my last name makes me remember that Ashton is truly my brother. At that moment I realize that he isn’t demanding the same kind of respect from these boys like he did back on Nassau. One of the twins holds me by the neck. The other one faces off against Ashton.

“I’m not looking for a fight,” Ashton states.

“You’re a coward. A curse on this ship…” one of the boys states.

I’m not sure what he means by that but when the twin says that a few other people on the boat mutter in agreement. It’s clear that they don’t like Ashton. Ashton seemed to be well prepared for the fact that we would have been approached. Maybe he knew they didn’t like him for some reason.

“I’m a member of this crew…”

“No you’re not. You know what you are.,” the boy states.

A chant rises out. It looks like men are gathering on the poop deck to see what the commotion is about. More and more boys file onto the deck. They begin to chant something. I’m not sure what it is but it seems to be giving the twins both some sort of morale boost.

“You hear them, Baptiste. They want you to fight us for him,” the twin holding my neck states, “You want to give them what they want?”

These pirates are treating me like property. A part of me wants to struggle. A part of me knows that if I do they could kill me right here and now. Ashton definitely doesn’t demand respect on this ship. As a matter of fact, it seems as though a lot of the boys dislike him. The fact that the twins approached him so aggressively seems to be getting a lot of the crew excited. I look over at Ashton. I look around wondering if I could break away from the twin and make a run for it.

But where do I go? I was on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

I couldn’t even fucking swim.

“Two against one?” Ashton asks, “Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Choose one to fight for him,” one of the twins states, “Either of us will take the challenge.”

A chant rises. I try to make out the words that people were saying. Something Baptiste. I don’t know what it is.

Ashton laughs, “He’s not mine to fight for. You can have him if you’d like. Makes no difference to me.”

“I thought so,” one of the twins states, “Coward.”

“I’ll be sure to go tell Holystone that you are claiming his prize for yourself,” Ashton replies.

Ashton starts walking away. He starts walking away and he’s leaving me! He’s leaving me with these twins with the crazed look in their eyes. My heart is racing. I don’t know what the hell to do. I want to scream for him. I want to beg Ashton not to leave me alone.

One of the twins stops him before he leaves.

“Wait you sniveling coward,” one of the twins state, “Take him with you. But we don’t like snitches, Baptiste. Make sure you sleep with one eye open tonight.”

They take me and throw me towards Ashton like a piece of property. My heart races.

~

We are alone before long. When the twins realize they aren’t going to get a fight they leave and when the crew realizes they aren’t going to see a fight they seem to lose interest as well.

“You were going to leave me with them…” I state.

“I wasn’t going to leave you with them…” he responds.

“They were…they were going to rape me!”

Ashton grabs me at that moment. He pushes me up against the wall. He gives me a hard look. It’s a really hard look that lets me know what he is about to tell me is something he really means.

“I wasn’t going to let them hurt you,” Ashton states, “Track and Trip are known on this ship as the Terrible Two-Toe Twins. You want to know why they call them the Terrible Two Twins?”

“Why?”

“They kill their victims and take two toes as rewards. They have a collection. Luckily they aren’t the brightest killers in the world. If I can outsmart them I’d rather do that and keep my toes. Thank you very much.”

Ashton starts to lead me away. I feel a little bit relieved honestly. The blue eyed twins definitely had this look in their eyes that made me really feel like they might have been some true killers. It scared the hell out of me. What if Ashton hadn’t been there?

“You weren’t going to let them have me?” I ask…

“Listen. I know you’re never going to forgive me for what I did,” Ashton explains, “I wish you didn’t have that map. I wish I didn’t have to give you over to Holystone. It would have been nice. You know?”

It’s weird how he’s talking to me. He even stops moving. I look at Ashton. He’s handsome. His eyes are gentler than the Terrible twins. He could have been a killer but out of everyone on this ship he definitely seems to have a gentleness to him that the others just lack.

“What would have been nice?” I ask him.

I don’t know why I ask, but when he answers he sends shivers down my spine, “It would have been nice to have something to look forward to in Nassau. I would have come back to visit you. You know that? And if I stayed long enough and if you would have had me, maybe I wouldn’t have left again. Maybe you and me could have been…something…”

“Stop…”

I shut him down before he can finish what he is saying.

“Dammit,” he states, “I know…it’s all fucked up now. I betrayed you and you probably hate me.”

“It’s not that,” I respond.

“Then what is it?”

“You and me…we could never…” I start off.

I get stuck. The words are stuck in my mouth. How the hell do I tell Ashton that I am his long lost brother? We looked nothing alike. How would he really believe me even if I did? Ashton can tell I’m struggling. He gives me a look that lets me know that he really does regret telling Holystone that I had this map. A part of me wants to believe him.

Before I can finish what I’m saying I’m interrupted. We are standing in front of the captain’s quarters. There is a sentry standing outside of Holystone’s room.

“Skip the talk Ashton,” the sentry interrupts us, “Holystone wants to see the boy now.”

“I’ll go in too…” Ashton starts.

The sentry pushes against Ashton’s chest, “Fuck off Baptiste. He just wanted you to bring him here. You are to report to quarterdeck.”

I look back at Ashton. He looks like he doesn’t want to leave me but I don’t think he has a choice right now. I don’t know why I’m looking back at him and actually think about trusting him. Ashton is the asshole who got me in this predicament in the first place. I shake the thought out of my head. I look away from Ashton as the sentry opens the door for me to walk into the Captain’s quarters myself.

The captain’s quarters are dark. As I walk in I see someone. At first I think it’s Holystone but immediately I know better when I see the person’s muscular, almost perfect frame. The person is completely naked. His butt looks like he does a million squats a day and his back is lined up with perfect muscles. His body glows from the back as I approach.

The person hears me walking in. He turns. He stares at me. I notice the curly hair immediately. It’s him.

The Sea Wolf.

“Holystone. You’re prisoner is here…” the Sea Wolf states.

He doesn’t seem to care that he’s naked. When I see his cock I am shocked. I’ve never in my life seen something so big. I had no idea that cocks grew that large. It has to be almost 10 inches completely soft. I imagine it can grow to maybe even twelve when it is completely hard. The captain’s quarters smell like sex and I can tell why when I see the Sea Wolf walk over to a table and pour some wine into a cup. His cock is dripping semen.

I can’t help but to keep looking at him. I can’t help but to see how his silver locks fall down his back. I hate him SO much. This was the boy that had tortured me but for some reason I am completely fascinated. He makes all these handsome boys on the ships looks like rocks next to a mountain.

The look in his eyes. His demeanor. Everything about him is perfection.

“Beautiful, isn’t he?” a voice states.

I turn and see Holystone. He must notice me gawking at the Sea Wolf.

“Wh-What?”

“I saw you staring, Lafayette,” Holystone tells me.

Holystone has a dark presence about him when he says my name. It shocks me when he even says my name. He says it right in front of the Sea Wolf. My face gets red with embarrassment at that moment. The Sea Wolf could care less though. He walks over to the Captain’s bed and lays there, drinking his ale, while his large, impressive, beautiful cock folds over his muscular thigh. The Sea Wolf kicks up a leg and looks away from me as though he couldn’t be less interested in me walking in here.

“I wasn’t staring,” I lie.

I shouldn’t have been. I hate myself for staring. I should hate the Sea Wolf for what he did to me. Even now he has this unbothered, cruelty to him. There is nothing I should like about him, regardless of how mysterious and attractive he is.

Holystone gives me a stern look, “You better not have been. You see, Lafayette, I am the most feared pirate on these waters. I’ve taken many treasure. That boy right there though. He is my greatest treasure.”

The Sea Wolf doesn’t respond. I watch how Holystone looks at him. Holystone might as well have been looking at some great wonder of the world. I’ve never seen someone look at someone else in the way that Holystone looks at the Sea Wolf. The worst part of it all is that I can see why. There is just something about the Sea Wolf. Something I can’t my finger on. He’s dazzling.

“I’m not here to disrespect you,” I state.

“I’m sure you aren’t. Ashton came to me. He asked that I release you, now that we have returned to Nassau.”

We were back in Nassau! We were back home. My heart is racing.

“Please sir. Please…”

Holystone glares at me, “I told Ashton I would consider it. I have half of Baptiste’s map. I am back in Nassau to get the other half. Supposedly his ship is docked on the island. What do you think Bello? Should I release him?”

The Sea Wolf shrugs, “Release him. Kill him. It makes no difference to me.”

He looks away, seemingly unbothered by my entire existence. I hate him even more by how he could care less that I even exist.

Holystone finds it amusing. He laughs at me, mocking me with this cruel gesture.

“Sir I just want to go home,” I tell him.

“You do something for me and I’ll let you go.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to go meet Baptiste on Nassau,” Holystone tells me, “I’ll give you a fake map. You deliver your fake map to Baptiste. I’ll have one of my men follow him to his quarters and steal the other half of the real map.”

It sounded simple enough. He wasn’t asking me to steal the other half of the map from my father. He was just asking me to give my father a fake map.

“What is this map to?”

Holystone laughs, “You don’t know?”

“No…”

“Hell.”

I pause.

“Excuse me?”

“Lafayette. Haven’t you heard the stories about this ship? Anyone who is on this ship during the full moon can never leave. This ship is cursed.”

This was the second time today someone had mentioned a curse. For some reason I think Holystone is making some sort of joke. I think he wants to me to laugh. So I start laughing. I don’t find it funny. It is more like nervous laughter. Holystone smiles as I laugh but I see the Sea Wolf turn towards me. His piercing green eyes stare holes through me.

“He thinks the curse is a joke,” Bello, the Sea Wolf states.

“You’re serious?” I ask.

Bello gets up off the bed, his huge cock dangling from side to side as he approaches me. He walks slowly, leading with his broad shoulders, chiseled chest and eight abs that seem to have been carved out of plywood. When he gets close to me he looks down at me showing me just how much more demanding and powerful he is.

“You’ve never heard of the Baptiste curse?” Bello asks, “Ashton has been around you this whole time and he didn’t tell you he was cursed?”

“Baptiste curse?”

Holystone grabs me and turns me around. He pushes me up against the wall of the Captain’s cabin. He holds me there pressing his hand against my chest.

His voice turns to a deep, dark, haunting whisper.

“Many years ago…I worked for Ashton’s father Jacob Baptiste. He ordered me to steal from a ship. There was a prize on that ship.”

“What prize?”

“A woman. It was a slave ship but with only a single slave on it. She knew things. She knew the ways to places. Places that no man should know. I was confused at the time. I had raided slave ships before but none with a single slave. He was paying me a fortune to bring this woman back to him for some reason.”

I knew my father was a slave owner. That was very clear. What had he wanted with this woman though? Why would he pay a pirate to steal her?

“Who was she?”

“Some say she is a witch. Others say she was the wife of Satan…”

“She blamed me and Baptiste for stealing her from her home. And she cursed me with an insatiable hunger for young boys. And if I hold them on the Screaming Dagger until the full moon they can never stay away from it for too long. They are stuck just like me. The only thing that can break the curse is if I take the youngest son Baptiste into the gates of hell and feed him to the devil.”

I think it’s a joke. I want to believe it is a joke but I see the way Holystone and his Sea Wolf look at me. They believe this foolishness. They believe these fairytales.

“You stole Ashton…for this?”

He kidnapped a young boy from his family for this stupid curse. Some mental excuse he was using to excuse his sick perversion of stealing young boys from their families and making them pirates.

Holystone was sick…

Now I knew why I saw that sadness in Ashton’s eyes. Now I knew why he was so upset. He knew about Holystone’s madness. He knew about this foolish so-called curse.

“He’s the youngest son of Baptiste. And he is willing to sacrifice himself for the Captain,” the Sea Wolf states at that moment, “We all are.”

Ashton was willing to believe in these lies. That’s fine. He was fool enough to believe this crap. The problem was that Ashton wasn’t the youngest son of Baptiste.

I was…

3

I walk out onto the main deck. As soon as I walk out of there I realize all of these boys staring at me. They were the boys of the Screaming Dagger. You would think they had never seen someone like me by the way they look at me.

“You’re not cursed…” someone says to me.

He is the only one who approaches but the rest of them seem surprised to see me walking free on the ship. I turn to the side and see a boy. He has to be about 14 or 15. He was just a fucking kid. He had really tan skin and dark hair. He had big eyes and I see he has a little dagger hanging from his backpocket.

“Skyrat get out of here…” a voice states.

It’s Ashton. I see him approaching me. As he approaches the younger boy takes off quickly, running along the plywood so so quickly that he vanishes like a ghost. I’ve never seen someone so quick and light on his feet. It’s been a while since I can smell the fresh air. In the distance I can see Nassau. We aren’t at port yet but we are close to the city. My home is so close that it feels like I can reach out and grab it. I can jump into the water and swim to it.

If I knew how to swim…

I am so close and yet so far.

“They are all staring at me,” I realize.

“Excuse them,” Ashton states, “We heard word that you were free to walk around the ship now but no one really expected you to come up here after what happened with the twins earlier. They are all going to stare for quite some time. You’ll get used to it. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a new boy.”

The stares send shivers up my spine. All the boys on this place were just looking. They were just staring at me.

“I’m not here to stay,” I warn Ashton.

“Of course not,” Ashton laughs, grabbing me, “C`mon let me show you the ship.”

Ashton walks me up across the main deck. We start at the back of the ship where I notice the bigger boys are. They look quite dangerous and I can see the twins are among them. Ashton doesn’t take me that way but he lets me know that is where the rudder is. The ship was steered by the rudder, a large wooden paddle at the stern. We stay away from the stern though.

He points out parts of the ship and explains what they are used for. This is my first time aboard a ship, but my grandmother would sometimes teach me about them when I was younger. He points out the main sail, the topsail and the foresails. He points at the tall ladder that leads up to a lookout area he calls the crow’s nest, where there is a boy about the age of 17 who is sitting there eating something.

We walk towards the front of the ship where he points out the bowsprit.

“I guess our captive isn’t much a captive anymore,” I hear a voice state.

I see the familiar face of the really tall handsome boy that winked at me earlier in the day. He flashes me a bright smile as he approaches biting his lip still clearly attempting to flirt.

Ashton sighs a little bit, “LaFayette this is…O’Malley.”

O’Malley smiles at me, “I’m in charge of the stores if you need anything like food, water, beer, gunpowder, cannonballs, spare sails, dick, ropes…”

“Wait. Did you just say dick?” I ask.

O’Malley bites his lip, “9 inches…”

Ashon pushes him hard against his chest, “He’s not fucking interested O’Malley.”

“Relax Ashton, no one’s going to steal your boyfriend,” another voice states.

I turn and see a really dark boy standing there. He’s African and not mulatto like me. He has a deep African accent too. His skin is beautiful. It’s this milky shade of chocolate. He’s possibly the darkest person I’ve ever seen in my life but it looks so good on him. When he talks I can only see how his white teeth contrast with the dark skin. He has his head wrapped up in a turban. I also notice how he seems armed to the teeth with guns.

“I’ll steal him if he doesn’t be careful,” O’Malley responds.

I watch as O’Malley walks up behind me, brushing me in a way to let me know he wasn’t joking about the size of his cock. I can literally feel the imprint on my trousers and I jump almost immediately when it brushes up against me.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Ashton states.

I notice Ashton gets red. It’s his nerves, no doubt. I can tell how beat his face looks. His skin is so fair that he couldn’t hide it even if he wanted to.

“That’s not your boyfriend Ashton? Then why were you telling us how much you want to fuck him,” I hear a younger voice state.

It’s the youngest one that is called Skyrat. I see him perched up on keg. He has a parrot with him now. The parrot immediately repeats what Skyrat says.

“You want to fuck him. You want to fuck him,” the parrot repeats.

Ashton is so red at that moment that I swear he turns into a tomato. Within a matter of seconds Ashton reaches for Skyrat but the young kid slides out of his hand before Ashton can hold on at all. The kid continues to somersault away from Ashton as his parrot flaps it’s wings dramatically causing some sort of distraction. The fact that Ashton can’t wrestle the little boy into submission causes O’Malley to start laughing immediately. Ashton gets pissed at O’Malley and hits him so hard that the tall man lumbers over again.

I have to admit the whole scene is kind of hilarious.

“Ignore my crewmates,” the dark skin one states reaching over and kisses my hand, “They just don’t know how to behave. I am Black Jack. Not to be confused with Tall Jack, Nosy Jack and Jack the Cook.”

Black Jack let’s his lips press up against my hand for quite some time. The kiss is deep, sensual. I have to admit I’m surprised by just how smooth he is. He lifts his eyes up and stares at me afterward as well. He does it so smoothly that Ashton returns almost immediately and gives him the stare of death.

It’s at that time that I wonder if Ashton is actually…jealous.

“Unfortunately these are the only friends I have on this shitty ship,” Ashton lets me know, “Everyone else acts kind of…”

“Like you’re a curse?” I finish.

Black Jack, O’Malley and Skyrat all seem to get quiet at that moment. Just the mention of the curse definitely seems to change up the mood from being a silly one to a very serious one. Everyone seems sober as the sun beats down on us. It’s clear that I have hit a note that no one seems to really want to discuss.

“The Captain told you about the curse, huh?” Ashton asks.

I look at the boys. They all seem sad. They all seem fucking ridiculous.

“You guys honestly believe in that shit?” I ask.

“It’s real,” Skyrat states.

His parrot mimics him a few times. Everyone else is quiet as though they don’t hear my question. I can’t take it. I understand everyone was young but I couldn’t believe they were all so ridiculously stupid. Ashton’s friends seem like a bunch of comedians but for some reason I had just assumed Ashton was a big smarter than the rest of them.

“You do realize that your Captain is a fucking pervert feeding you guys lies because he doesn’t want any of his handsome boys to get smart and leave his ass right?”

It was common sense at that point.

“You don’t get it,” Ashton explains to me, “Just drop it.”

I roll my eyes, “No I’m not dropping it. This is stupid.”

“That’s what Todd Spankers said. That’s what Billy the Goat, Tom Thomas and Little Ray said too. You know what they all had in common?” Black Jack asks me, “They all stayed away from the ship for too long and they all died.”

I sigh.

“How do you know they died? You seen their bodies?”

“People in town talk,” O’Malley jumps in to defend the rest of his crew.

“Have you seen their dead bodies?” I ask.

They all look at each other. They all look dumb.

“No…” Skyrat admits.

“Exactly.”

“We don’t need bodies. The people talk,” O’ Malley argues, “They know. Everyone knows we’re cursed.”

“The Captain is a lot of things…” Black Jack states, “But he’s not a liar.”

Skyrat is nodding at that moment as the others speak. He might as well be the parrot who is perched up on his shoulder right now, because he is mimicking everything the others are saying. I just want to grab these boys and shake them.

I can’t talk to these boys. They may be nice, sweet, sexy, charming and funny but they are all gullible as hell. I look over at Ashton. He’s been quiet most of this time.

“That guy says he’s going to take you to hell and sacrifice you,” I tell Ashton, “He told me himself. You are the source of his imagination. You don’t know what he’s capable of. You need to get as far away from this fucking madman as possible.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ashton states.

“Ashton—”

I must have hit a nerve because Ashton starts to walk away from us at that point. I’m not sure why he is so stuck on staying on this ship and listening to crazy ass Captain Holystone. I turn to the other boys who are all listening to me.

It’s Black Jack who crosses his arms. He’s not nearly as charming as he was the first time we spoke.

“You don’t believe us then you stay on this ship after the full moon. Then you try to leave and let us know how that goes for you.”

“I’m getting off this ship tomorrow. I’m doing an errand for your Captain and he’s going to let me go.”

I was going to get as far away from this stupid curse bullshit as possible.

“I thought so,” Black Jack tells me.

“I thought so,” Skyrat’s parrot repeats.

~

It’s the next morning and usually Ashton brings me up some biscuits and salted meats to the hold but this time he doesn’t. I wonder if he is still upset about me bringing up the curse situation. Another boy comes though who introduces himself as Billy Big Balls who swears up and down that I’m the most beautiful person he’s ever met on any island before. He attempts to flirt with me over and over when I refuse his advances he concedes and decides to finally deliver the message that the captain wants to send me on his errand.

I arrive at Captain’s Holystone’s Great Chamber and when I open the door I immediately hear moaning.

“It tastes so good…”

That’s when I see the Captain on his knees. I notice what he’s doing as soon as I step into the room. He’s pleasing his lover…the Sea Wolf. Bello is hard and has his massive cock shoved deep into the Captain’s mouth. I watch from a distance as the Captain begins to gag on Bello’s dick.

Bello is looking down with this half uninterested look as he gets his cock sucked. The Captain uses both hands to fasten them around Bello’s dick. I watch from the threshold how he worships Bello’s muscles sliding his hands up and down Bello’s rock hard body as though he is some sort of holy idol that will grant the Captain some wish or something.

“Cum in my mouth…“the Captain demands of Bello.

Bello is silent. He isn’t the one moaning. It’s the Captain who is actually moaning. The Captain is choking on Bello’s cock hardly able to keep it down. Every few minutes he stops sucking Bello’s thick, overbearing dick and looks up with this love in his eyes.

I am sick a little bit wondering how it is the older Captain was able to maintain the affection of a specimen such as Bello. It seems like that affection is only coming one way though. Bello might as well be asleep on his feet at as he stares down.

Then his green eyes look up at me.

The Captain is too busy gagging on Bello’s dick to notice Bello’s eyes gazing up on me. The Captain is struggling to please the Sea Wolf, working his hands together in a cupping action as he slides it up and down Bello’s dick.

“Deeper,” Bello finally breaks his silence.

Bello sees me. The Captain doesn’t. My eyes connect with Bello as he’s getting his dick sucked. His eyes squint at me. I stare back. I want to leave. I want to walk away but I’m mesmerized. It’s the only way I can describe it. I can’t fucking move. It’s almost as though Bello is that witch from the Captain’s stories and he is putting some sort of curse on me or something.

“You like it?” the Captain wonders.

“Deeper…yes, just like that. Just like that,” Bello states.

Bello seems to be getting more and more into it. His eyes plant on my eyes though. For a moment I swear there is this connection but I wonder if it is just my fucking imagination. Bello is staring…AT ME while the Captain sucks his dick and for some reason he seems to be enjoying it more.

I watch as he seems to start to reach his climax. His muscles tighten and strain. I can see the harsh veins in his neck and his biceps protrude. I watch as he thrusts his slim, small hips forward deep into the Captain’s throat. The Captain begins to choke but Bello keeps thrusting until the Captain gets used to it. Then Bello unleashes.

I can only imagine how much semen is sprayed into the Captain’s mouth because I believe at first he’s attempting to swallow it but he doesn’t succeed. The semen overcomes him until the Captain releases it from his mouth, letting it slide all over the sides of his face.

All of a sudden I realize how exposed I am and how much I am interrupting. I head out back to the threshold quickly and pretend as though I’m just coming in.

This time I knock.

“One minute!” The Captain demands.

He demands this in his deep, dark tone as though he wasn’t on his knees just a second ago guzzling his lover’s cum.

It takes him a few minutes but manages to finally compose himself enough to come to the door.

“LaFayette,” the Captain states, “You’re early.”

I look over at Bello. He has his trousers on now near the bed. They are barely on though. They hang loosely from his torso. He’s drinking wine, yet again. This time he doesn’t stare at me or even acknowledge the fact that I walked into the Captain’s quarters. He just pays attention his wine with his emerald eyes staring deep into the goblet.

“I don’t mean to disturb,” I state.

I look over at Bello again. He still isn’t acknowledging me. He still isn’t looking my way.

“It’s fine,” Holystone states, “”Our spies say that Jacob Baptiste has rented out the entire Red Harbor Inn. I was just briefing Bello on the mission.”

“Bello?” I ask.

“Yes. He’ll be the one escorting you into Nassau. He’ll be the one stealing the other half of the witche’s map from Jacob Baptiste.”

Shit. I would have preferred anyone else. ANYONE else but him.

Not HIM.

It didn’t matter. This was the last time that I would have to see Bello. This was the last time that I would have to see Holystone. One last errand and I would have finally be done with this pirate life once and for all.

~

“You need to walk faster,” Bello states.

Bello is quick. I keep looking back. I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have unfinished business on that boat and I know exactly what that unfinished business is. I can’t help but to keep getting distracted. My distraction seems to be annoying to the Sea Wolf who has stopped in the midde of the road from the port to growl at me.

“I was wondering if I can go back to the ship for a minute,” I state.

I needed to talk to find Ashton. If only I could convince Ashton that the Captain was full of shit and that there was no curse. Maybe I could convince Ashton to leave me the Screaming Dagger once and for all while it was at port. Maybe I can convince Ashton to go into the village with me. I could tell him that he was my brother.

I could save his life.

“Your lover knew you were about to leave. If he wanted to say goodbye to you he would have done so,” Bello responds acting as though he could read my mind.

“Ashton is NOT my lover.”

Bello rolls his eyes, sighing a little bit, “I could care less who your lover is. They are probably a big a fool as you are.”

“You don’t need to insult me.”

Bello grinds his teeth at me, “It’s not an insult. It’s a fact. You’re weak. Weak as a baby’s ass. The only thing I can stand less then weaklings are damsels in distress.”

“I’m no damsel in distress!”

I don’t know why this is getting under my skin, “Have you ever fought a man?”

“I used to sword fight.”

“I’m talking real sword fight, boy, not pulling your dick outs and matching it.”

“You’d know a lot about that,” I state, “I saw you earlier with the Captain.”

He laughs, “You saw how two REAL men make love…”

“Is that how they make love? Because you seemed bored.”

He laughs at that moment. The laughter is deep and intrusive.

“Why am I having this conversation with you? Your opinion doesn’t matter to me. Let’s stick to the plan. You remember the plan right, weakling? You meet with Baptiste and give him the fake map. I follow him to find out where he stores it with the other half of the map. I steal it. We need to get this over with. We don’t have all the time in the world.”

“Why not? The curse?”

I laugh at that moment. Bello stops walking. As I laugh he grabs me by my throat. We are in the middle of the road. People stop to see how Bello assaults me but no one comes to my defense. Maybe they see the red flag hanging from his waist that signifies that he is crew member of the Screaming Dagger.

“Do I look like a joke to you, boy?” he asks me, “Do I look like one of those fools who are obsessed with you back on the ship that you can just play with?”

“I never said that.”

“The next time you laugh at me I’m going to rip your throat out? I do not like you and would enjoy nothing more than to take your throat. I’m not speaking figuratively here either. I will kill you, Lafayette. Don’t speak to me again. I do NOT like you. Nod if you understand.”

I nod.

He throws me to the ground and I hit my head on a rock below me. I splinter my head hard on the rock. The Sea Wolf is finally amused. The rare time he smiles is when he causes me pain. I pick myself up off the ground at that moment. I look at him. The hatred in his eyes is so clear. I want to say something to him. I want to stick up for myself. I want to fight back. I want to do something. I don’t do any of that though.

I keep thinking it’s not worth it. I’m almost done with the Sea Wolf. I’d never have to see him again. It’s not worthing getting into a fight which he would most definitely win and ending up dead on the side of the road.

I had the feeling he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

“Follow,” he states in his cold, cruel tone.

I continue to follow him up the road. The pier is crowded. It’s probably like this because people are trying to find other places to stay since Jacob Baptiste has rented out the entire Red Harbor Inn. The Inn was a popular destination for most of the sailors who came through Nassau. The fact that my father had enough sway to rent out the entire place definitely made me realize just how powerful of a man he was. I had heard enough about Jacob Baptiste’s power from my grandmother and uncle however.

As we head closer to the Red Harbor Inn, the Sea Wolf takes the side streets. He acts very strangely stopping ever few minutes and letting his eyes wander. It isn’t until we make it to a back alley that is only a block up from the Red Harbor Inn that he stops strangely.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“We’re being followed.”

Just at that moment he kicks up a rock with his foot. With the precision of an assassin the rock is skipped right into his hand. He throws the rock upward along the roofs of the apartments above our heads. I hear a sharp scream at that moment and then a tumbling.

The person falls down and down, managing somehow to break their fall only by weakly scraping at the nearby window ledges.

“Skyrat,” I realize.

Sure enough it’s the youngest pirate on the Screaming Dagger. I shocked that Bello was skilled enough to notice the crafty, quick boy following us along the rooftops of Nassau. Skyrat looks up at us with a really toothy grin. He tries to scurry away but Bello is not Ashton by any means. Bello quickly picks up Skyrat before he get away by the back of his shirt. He lifts the boy almost like he is some sort of toy or something.

“You got a death wish?” Bello asks him.

“Don’t hurt him,” I beg.

“Ashton wanted me to follow you and make sure you were OK, Lafayette,” Skyrat tells me.

Bello gives me a look that tells me he is seconds way from ripping Skyrat clean in half.

“Go back, Skyrat. Tell him I’m fine.”

“He isn’t going anywhere,” Bello states, putting Skyrat down, “You’re quick on your feet, you fucking weasel. You’re a good thief. I may have use for you.”

I’m surprised Bello doesn’t kill Skyrat, let alone admits that he may need him. He instructs Skyrat to hide the red flag of the Screaming Dagger as we continu Skyrat’s smile gets even wider. Truth is I don’t want him involved in this. He’s a kid. He’s barely hit puberty. The last thing I wanted was for him to be stealing for a man as powerful as Jacob Baptiste. I look over at Bello. He’s not going to take no for an answer though. That much is clear.

We keep walking, following him silently.

“He doesn’t trust the Sea Wolf,” Skyrat whispers to me.

“Who?” I ask.

“Ashton,” Skyrat tells me, “If Holystone sends the Sea Wolf then it’s most likely because he wants someone to die. Maybe it’s Jacob Baptiste. Maybe it’s everyone who is with Jacob Baptiste…including you…”

I look over at Bello. My heart beats. Skyrat’s warning is definitely taken. I don’t know much about Skyrat but he is a friend of Ashton and if Ashton doesn’t trust Bello than maybe I had a reason not to completely trust the Sea Wolf either.

~

We approach the Red Harbor Inn and there is a host of military looking people standing outside. I knew my father was an admiral but I had no idea that he had his own personal guard following him around.

“We want an audience with Jacob Baptiste,” I state.

“You think Jacob Baptiste would meet with the likes of you?” one of the military men state.

They laugh at that moment in the rudest way. I’m surprised they are so rude. I look back at Bello. He has his arms crossed and is looking at the ground. I don’t know why I find it so embarrassing that this is happening near him. I shouldn’t care so much about what Bello has to do or say. He was a fucking animal. I shouldn’t care about him.

“I have a gift from his grandmother Josephine Baptiste,” I tell them.

The men look at each other. Throwing out my grandmother’s name definitely seems to get some attention from them at that moment. I wait as one of the guards disappears into the large Harbor inn. A few awkward moments later he comes out with a dumb look on his face. This time he isn’t alone. There is a boy with him. He’s a handsome boy. I almost know exactly who he is when I see him.

He stands as tall as Bello but not as muscular. He’s slim and his hair is a light brown color. He has a full beard and squinty eyes. His face is well defined and I know immediately that he is a Baptiste. He looks like an older version of Ashton.

“My name is Jacques Baptiste, I’m the oldest son of Jacob Baptiste. You came to see my father?” the boy states in a deep voice.

I can’t stop looking at him.

He was another one of my brothers.

For some reason I didn’t think I’d be this emotional.

“Yes…” Bello interrupts while I stand there looking stupid.

“Follow me,” Jacques Baptiste states.

We follow him in the inn. I watch Bello looking at me with sharp eyes. He is clearly annoyed. We lag behind Jacques only so he can threaten me with his sharp, deep and intense tone.

“Get it together…or else,” the Sea Wolf tells me.

I nod. I’m fully scared of him. We are taken into a room. It’s a large study that looks like it’s reserved for the best in the Red Harbor Inn. The place has a fireplace made of granite. Servant girls come out and offer us drinks. I realize that most of these servants are slaves. For some reason this annoys me more than I thought it would. I knew Jacob Baptiste was a slave owner but actually seeing him have slaves was a whole different story.

“May I present my father, Jacob Baptiste…”

Just at that moment this man walks in. He is tall. He’s taller than even Bello. He has to be about 6′3″. He is strapping. There is another boy with him that I’m sure is another Baptiste. The three Baptiste men stand before us and they have this regency about them that I’m sure Ashton would share if he was in this room. They just have this look that says they are worth a fortune each. Skyrat seems have his eyes glued to the pouches of gold hanging from their waists. I just hoped he didn’t get the bright idea to steal something from them.

“My name is Jacob Baptiste. These are my sons Jacques and Marius. I hear you have a message from my mother.”

I’m surprised when Jacob Baptiste completely ignores me and instead addresses Bello. He shakes Bello’s hand. Maybe it is because Bello is the most striking one among the three of us. That’s the only thing I can realize. I notice the one boy though, Marius though. Both boys look like fucking royalty but Marius has his real stuck up look on his face that he’s had since he entered the room. He seems thrown off first by Skyrat’s bird but immediately irritated by all of us. He is the only one who seems to notice me as he walks into the room.

Marius Baptiste turns his nose up at me, “They look like they’ve rolled around in the sewage.”

“Don’t be rude Marius,” Jacob Baptiste states, “These are no doubts some of my mother’s slaves…”

“I’m no slave,” Bello states.

His voice is deep, threatening and angry. It hits a note that I don’t quite understand at that moment. My father doesn’t apologize. He just stares Bello up and down. For a moment I think something bad is going to break out. Unfortunately it doesn’t though.

Marius nods over at Skyrat, “The child is white.”

“Does it fucking matter what race we are?” Bello asks.

“This one is rude,” Marius notices.

“Savages don’t know much about manners,” Jacob Baptiste starts off.

Bello is about to do something. I can see him walking forward all pride and glory at that moment.

“These are my companions,” I state, “I am the one who is bringing the gift from Josephine Baptiste.”

For the first time Jacob Baptiste looks at me.

He doesn’t respond. He just…stares…

“What is it, father?” Jacques asks.

“Stop staring at him like that,” Bello commands.

Jacob Baptiste ignores Bello almost completely. He crosses the room and he looks at me. At that moment I realize that this man knew exactly who I was. This man knew exactly what I was doing and exactly where I was coming from. It’s the sort of recognition only a parent can have. He has never seen me as a grown man before but he knew me.

He gets close…uncomfortably close. I am scared. I don’t know how to he will react. I am so fucking nervous at that moment.

“Lafayette…”

“You know him?” Marius asks.

Bello and Skyrat seem surprised as well. I was just supposed to be an errand boy for a late rich governess to bring a note to her son. It’s clear at this moment that I am more than that. I see the look in Bello’s eyes.

I watch how he starts to put his hand on the gun tucked away in his belt. He seems unsure of what is happening and he has reason to be.

“Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste,” my father states.

Skyrat’s parrot repeats it a few times. Everyone is shocked in the room. Everyone but my father and I. I look over at Bello. He’s going to act if he’s not careful.

I have a choice to make at that point.

My father…or a mad man.

“Holystone sent them!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

Almost immediately my father screams for the guards and a fight breaks out as they rush through the room. Bello raises his weapon shooting the first guard that runs into the room. Three of them rush in after and Bello takes them all down until one of them manages to tackle him to the ground. I watch as my father grabs me pulling me out of the way.

Then I see the men going after Skyrat. Skyrat is quick though. He’s too quick for them. He slips out of their hands and I watch him jump out of the nearest window.

They won’t catch Skyrat.

Bello is another story however. Regardless of the fight Bello puts up, he is clearly both outnumbered and outgunned.

~

I stay that night at the Red Harbor Inn. I expect my father to come see me but I don’t get that opportunity. I’m instead visited by Jacques.

“You’re really my brother…” he states.

He looks over at me.

“I’m your father’s bastard son,” I explain to him, “At least that’s how your brother Marius looked at me when he heard the news.”

I never forget the sort of dramatics Marius put on after my father arrested Bello. I had to be placed in another room because of his wrath while Jacob and Jacques attempted in vain to calm Marius. The idea that he had a Mulatto brother was enough to drive Marius completely mad.

“He is just…surprised is all. My father never mentioned you,” Jacques explains.

I didn’t think he would. I sigh though.

“Ashton…”

“My father is aware that my brother is on Holystone’s ship. He’s gathering his men right now from his Imperial ship the Titaness. We will be able to wage an attack on Holystone’s ship in two nights.”

“Two nights?” I ask, “What if he leaves? Ashton is basically a prisoner on that ship.”

“He won’t leave without Bello…that has always been his weakness,” Jacques explains, “We’ve been hunting the pirate Holystone for years. We finally got him cornered…thanks to you.”

Jacques seems kind. Much kinder than the other one named Marius. Still…these people were strangers to me. Why was he in here speaking to me when my father has not seen me since announcing who I was.

“Where is Bello?”

“He’s been locked up in a room here at the Inn. He’s going to be interrogated to find the best way to attack Holystone’s ship.”

People would die. For a moment I wonder if I made a mistake by selling out Bello. If Skyrat was telling the truth then Bello might have actually killed me. I had no choice but to turn on him before he turned on me. I had seen the type of person Bello was. I shouldn’t be feeling guilty about this. I should be feeling like I did the right thing.

Yet there is this odd squeeze in my chest.

“I don’t know if Bello can be away from the ship for too long…” I explain, “There is a strange…belief…that Ashton and the crew of Holystone’s ship has…”

“The curse?”

“You know about it?”

Jacques laughs. Finally it seems as though someone has a mind. I may have been spending too much time on that ship with those people. From the expression on the oldest Baptiste son’s face I can tell that I am back in civilization.

“Those savages are superstitious,” Jacques explains to me, “They kidnapped Ashton when he was young and fed them those myths. Don’t worry. We’ll free him soon enough and hang the pirate Holystone.”

“What about Bello?”

“He’ll be shot…”

Jacques has a straight face when he says it. He gives me a smile even as though this is the most normal thing in the world. There is no emotion behind his expressions.

“Can I see him?”

“Not tonight…but tomorrow after the interrogation is done you can.”

~

The day passes and my father still hasn’t come to see me. Jacques does come spend the day with me though. He is a talkative soul and he seems polite but at times when he talks I feel so disconnected from him. He tells me stories of mansions and queens as though it’s the most normal thing in the world. I know he doesn’t mean anything by it and he’s just attempting to form some sort of relationship with me but it is hard to relate to him even in the slightest. At times I look at him in the light and wonder if he’s actually a real person or if he has just been designed somewhere.

It isn’t the worse though. My other brother Marius doesn’t come to see me at all but I can hear him ranting several rooms down still saying the most racist and hurling insults my way for no particular reason except that my mother was she was she was.

I think it’s the insults that makes Jacques finally break, “Maybe it’s a good time to go see your the pirate.”

He tells me this one night when Marius is particularly nasty. He picks me up and starts taking me towards the room that Bello is in.

“How long do I have?”

“Just a few minutes. Father doesn’t want to give the pirate many comforts.”

I walk into the room and realize that Bello is tied to the bed. He is just laying there. He looks up at me as I walk in.

His green eyes pierce through my soul.

“I had to…” I explain to him.

He sneers, “I know. You’re not as weak as I thought you were I guess. Good move.”

I walk across the room and take a seat at the foot of the bed.

“You look sick.”

“The curse…”

“I know you’re trying to trick me,” I state.

He laughs at that moment.

“What makes you think I would give two fucks about you enough to try to trick you?” he asks me, “The curse is happening. I’ve been away from the ship too long. I’m disappearing. And if I’m away for long enough I’ll be gone forever.”

“If you want to keep up your superstitious lies I can leave.”

“Lift my shirt.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lift my shirt…”

I walk over to him. I’ve never been this close to the Sea Wolf. As I approach him I lift his shirt. That is when I see something that completely shocks me.

The Sea Wolf…his skin was almost becoming…translucent underneath his shirt. Almost…see through. This wasn’t some disease.

This wasn’t natural.

The Sea Wolf was disappearing.

My mouth drops at that moment, “The curse is real…”

4

“The curse is real. If we stay away from the ship too long we fade until we don’t exist,” he explains to me.

I just stare at him. I feel sick. All those boys on the ship were so…rough and cruel. How could you not be though realizing that this is your fate. I literally am looking at looking at Bello and he’s disappearing right in front of my fucking face. I’m shocked.

“I’m so sorry.”

I don’t know what else to say. I almost want to cry at that moment. I put my hand down to touch the skin that I can see through but Bello quickly jerks away and covers the area.

“Why the hell are you looking at me like that?” he tells me.

Bello’s face doesn’t match his personality. His personality is so evil but his face is so damn handsome. Looking at him right now I’m just amazed how he is so brave in the face of this. I would be losing it if I was being held prisoner with this kind of curse looming over me. Bello is stern, strong. I can’t stop looking at his clear beautiful eyes. They reflect the light in the most dazzling way.

The guy is beautiful and I realize I’m getting caught staring way too hard.

“I’m sorry.”

“Goddam stop fucking apologizing every minute,” Bello responds.

He’s right. I sound pathetic. He probably thinks I’m so annoying. I find myself getting up at that moment and just standing there. I’m trying to look tough and put on this brave face in front of Bello but I feel like I’m completely failing at it. I look fucking ridiculous.

“I’ll talk to my father. I’ll see if I can convince him to let you go.”

Bello stares at me with his beautiful eyes. He stares at me hard almost as though he’s staring right goddam through me.

“Why the fuck would you do that?” he asks me.

He seems honestly confused.

“I don’t want to see you die…”

This seems to confuse him even more. Bello turns his face. I notice that sometimes he tries to look ugly like the guys the sailors on the piers in Nassau. He makes these real disgusted looking faces and tries to put on this mean mug. It doesn’t work. Regardless of what kind of pissy expression Bello wears it doesn’t work. He’s still the most beautiful man in all the seas.

“Why not?” he wrinkles his upper lip.

I’m confused.

“Um shouldn’t you want someone to help you? You’re going to die here Bello.”

“I don’t want SHIT from you!”

He barks at me in the angriest way I’ve seen anyone bark at anyone else at that moment. I’m kind of thrown back by it honestly. The way he looks at me makes me really think that Bello has it completely out for me.

“Relax man.”

“Get the fuck out.”

“Excuse me?” I ask confused, “I’m trying to help.”

“Why?” he asks, “If you did to me what I did to you, do you know what I would do? I would leave you to rot in here. I would laugh. I would enjoy every moment of this. If our situations were reversed this would be the best day of my life. I gave you the Judas chair. Did you forget, you fucking idiot?”

There is so much cruelty in the way he says it. There is so much anger and hate. I don’t get why he gets so angry at me. I don’t get why when he talks to me it’s as though I am his only enemy in the world. I’m literally trying to help him out and he reminds me of the Judas chair. I think about the pain again. I think about the torture.

I get up realizing I can’t take the thoughts. I start walking out.

Then I hear a sound. It’s this…separation of lips. It’s this sound that almost sounds like “Wait.” I stop and turn.

“Did you say something?” I ask him.

His mouth is open as though he is about to speak but nothing comes out. Still those eyes of his seem to be the window to a soul that I didn’t know he had. I swear in that moment I imagine that he is screaming for me to stay with him just for a little while. His eyes are telling me in a million ways that he apologizes for how he’s acting. His eyes are telling me that he wishes more than anything that he can take back what he did to me. His eyes are saying all these things but none of them come out of his lips.

I realize when he turns away from me, avoiding the connection of our eyes that it’s all my imagination.

“No…”

That’s all he says and stares at the ground, waiting patiently for me to just leave.

~

I end up going to see my father right after meeting with him. It’s hard not to, even if Bello doesn’t want me to. For some reason I would just feel like shit if someone was to die because of me…even if it’s my sworn enemy.

“Is our father in there?” I ask.

I was hoping I’d find Jacques up here in the private suite area but instead I find Marius.

“Our?” Marius laughs, “Getting kind of comfortable, aren’t you?”

The guy has a problem with me. It’s clear. He has this real brazen attitude.

“He is my father, too. You do realize that right?”

“You’re his half-negro bastard,” Marius stops and states, “You ain’t never going to be much more than that. Just so we’re clear.”

The way he looks at me is as though he wants some sort of anger or reaction. I don’t get it. First the Sea Wolf hates me for no reason and now my own brother. I figured it would be awkward if I ever met my family but I didn’t expect this kind of reaction. Marius is looking at me as though I’m literally the worst thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“What’s your problem with me?”

“My problem is I’ll be damn if I have to split up my inheritance with a curse.”

The way he almost spits the idea that I’m a curse seems as though he knew very well about the curse. My father had laughed about it though. Jacques had laughed about it. If they both thought it was jokes why was Marius showing that he believed in it.

We are interrupted before I can get answers from Marius. It’s Jacques who walks up from one of the rooms. He looks like he is about to go out somewhere.

“Everything OK here?” Jacques asks.

Marius looks at Jacques then he looks at me. Then he walks past me bumping me as hard as he can in the shoulder as though he is trying to prove some kind of point. He has this grimace on his face the entire fucking time.

“He hates me,” I tell Jacques when Marius disappears down the steps.

Jacques doesn’t deny it. He sighs a little bit.

“Marius has always been difficult. Don’t take it personal,” Jacques responds.

“The curse is real…and you know it is. Don’t you?” I ask.

Jacques hesitates.

“You should talk to Father about that.”

Finally. I had so many questions. I had so many things that I wanted to know from my father. Right now I had to definitely find those things out.

“Gladly.”

Jacques tells me to wait. He disappears into the main suite. A few minutes later he calls me in. A part of me wants Jacques to come in the room to meet my father but another part of me knows that this is something that I have to do alone. When Jacques walks away I find myself going into the room to meet my father and finding him sitting on a grand chair. He is looking down at something. I walk over to the desk and realize that it is some sort of map.

It’s similar to the map that my mother gave to me.

“That’s the other half,” I state.

He looks up at me, wraps up the map silently and shoves it in a jar at the study. He puts the jar underneath the desk. As he stares at me I realize that my father is very much aware of this.

“This map is a map of secret places. Places unknown. Places that the world isn’t quite ready for. When I discovered it on your mother I let the church know immediately. Do you know what they said?”

“What?”

“They told me to burn it,” he explains, “I should have, but for some reason I decided not to. I split the map in half. I gave half to your grandmother and kept the other half with me. I should have known one day Holystone would come seeking it…”

He shakes his head angrily. My father still doesn’t look me in the eyes. It’s almost as though he can’t. When I sit down in the chair I notice him staring at my forehead. He stares at my cheeks and my mouth. It’s almost as though he’s seeing a newborn baby for the very first time.

“You and Holystone had history?” I ask.

“He worked for me at some point. I used him. He was always dark though. He was always evil,” my father explains, “And so is that Sea Wolf of his.”

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“The Sea Wolf?”

“Yes. The curse is real.”

“Lafayette, no true son of mine could possibly believe in those fantasies,” he begins to laugh.

He realizes however that I don’t laugh with him. My face is serious. It’s very fucking serious.

“I’ve seen it.”

His laughter stops. He isn’t surprised when I say it. He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. Why would he go through the hassle of splitting the map in half and hiding a part of it if he thought the curse was fake? That voodoo witch that cursed him definitely got under his skin. I can see it now as he sits there and thinks about it.

“The Baptiste family will not bow to parlor tricks.”

There is so much pride in his eyes right now. I can see where Marius gets it. They both have this look of pride almost as though they were born with their heads up high and a silver spoon in their mouth. My father looks so polished and wealthy as though he’s never needed for anything in his life. The way he says the Baptiste name has all this pride.

“You’re great and mighty,” I explain to him, “A Baptiste.”

His face is proud, just like I want it to be. He smiles at that moment full of himself.

“You better know it boy. You have aristocratic blood in you,” he explains, “You should always be proud of that.”

Proud, he says. I should be proud that I have a father who shipped me away when I was just a child and never came to visit me. I should be happy that he’s never written me or acknowledged my presence. I was the child he was ashamed. I was literally a bastard without pride but all of a sudden he was considering me a Baptiste.

“I am proud to be Baptiste,” I explain to my father, forcing a smile, “As a Baptiste, what’s a sea wolf to you? Why not just…let him go?”

“Let him go?”

“Father…he’ll die.”

There is a long pause.

“So what?” he asks, “Do you know the kind of things the Sea Wolf has done? Do you know the kind of human being he is. He’s going to die. If the curse doesn’t get him, I am going to hang him myself in front of timesquare. He has a bounty on his head that could add three ships to my fleet.”

I don’t think my father was lying. What the hell could the Sea Wolf have been doing that was so bad that he had such a high bounty. Then I remember? He’s an cruel pirate.

“Does he deserve to die though?” I ask.

“He deserves much worse. Do you know what Holystone did to your grandmother? Your uncle?”

“That was Holystone. Bello is different…”

Different? Was he really different from Holystone or did I want Bello to be different from Holystone.

“I’ll kill every last one of them. I’ll hunt them down no matter where they go. I can’t show my face among my colleagues They KIDNAPPED my son Ashton and turned him into…”

He stops. He doesn’t finish his thought. The pain in his voice lets me know that Holystone taking Ashton was a blow to him. The look is clearl;y something that is breaking him. I wonder at that moment though. Is it a blow because he missed Ashton or was it a blow to the pride that was associated with the Baptiste name?

“Father…”

“You seem too emotionally invested in this. With your grandmother gone I’m going to leave you my property in Nassau to do with as you like but you’ll have to manage my name better…”

“Wait you’re leaving me? Here?” I ask.

“Of course. What did you think?”

“I figured…now that we were reunited,” I start off, “I figured you’d take me with you.”

The way he looks at me makes it clear that this thought hasn’t crossed his mind at all. My father now all of a sudden looks at me and I can finally see HOW he stares at me. He looks at me as this pathetic thing.

“I couldn’t possibly do that,” he explains, “I’ve come here to hunt down Holystone, kill all the pirates on that ship and Ashton home. I didn’t come to bring you home…this is your home. That’s just how things are. You do understand don’t you.”

My heart feels like I’m getting stabbed a million ways.

“Yes.”

“I’ll make sure you’ll never need for anything of course. Anything you want I’ll give you.”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll have you escorted home in the morning. If the Sea Wolf is here then Holystone can’t be far. Tonight we are going to send armed men to raid the Screaming Dagger and kill every last one of them. And bring my poor Ashton home.”

I didn’t matter to him. I wasn’t even in the vocabulary.

“Ashton will die if he gets off that ship.”

My father shakes his head, “It’s better he be dead than dragging the Baptiste name through the mud as sea rat pirate.”

It’s at that moment I see just what kind of person my father is. This man was willing to sacrifice Ashton for the name. He was willing to drag Ashton off of the Screaming Dagger even though he knew damn well that it would mean death for him.

~

WHAM.

It’s the middle of the night and I hit the guard with the back of the bucket. I grab the keys off of him. Within a matter of seconds I open the door and I take a look at the Sea Wolf. He looks up at me as though surprised that as hell to see me.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” he asks, “I specifically told the guard that I didn’t want anymore visits from you.”

“I don’t think he’s doing very much listening lately…”

I grab the body and drag it into the cell. I look over at the Sea Wolf’s face and notice that he’s surprised. I can’t help but to smile when I see his reaction. He definitely wasn’t expecting me to be the kind of guy to knock out a guard.

When I drag him in there I start unchaining Bello.

When he’s released I give him a nod, “Come on.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask him.

“You want to stand here and talk or you want to get to get out of here.”

He answers that by leaning up against the wall. Bello is acting so cool right now that it pisses me off! He won’t move one step until I answer his question. He’s crazy. This place was crawling with my father’s personal mercenaries.

“Why are you helping me?”

“They are going to attack Holystone. They are going to attack the Screaming Dagger. You need to get back to the ship and warn Holystone.”

I think the mention of running back to help his lover would get Bello up to task but that doesn’t do the trick. He actually squats right back down. Nothing quite seems to matter to him at that moment.

“Why?”

“Does matter?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not doing it for you. My father is going to drag Ashton off that ship if he gets his way. Ashton is going to die. I need you to get back on the Dagger and warn Holystone so he can escape.”

“So this is about saving your Ashton,” he responds, “This isn’t about anything else.”

“What else would it be?”

“Nothing…more between us.”

“WE NEED TO GO!”

“Answer. I need to know you’re doing this for other reasons and NOT for me.”

He was so serious. He was willing to sit here and either disappear because of the curse or die from being hung to make sure that I wasn’t doing this to help him.

“That scares you doesn’t it? For some reason the idea of me not hating you scares the fuck out of you…why?”

“I don’t need you to analyze me. I need to know you’re doing this for Ashton. Not me.”

I hear footsteps. People were coming.

Fuck.

“Yes. It’s for Ashton. I hate you,” I tell him, “Is that what you want to hear? I fucking hate your guts and the first chance I get I’m going to kill you.”

He stares at me for a moment. I’m saying whatever I need to tell him to get him moving at this point an d this is the only thing that would make the Sea Wolf get up and leave with me.

“Good. Let’s go.”

We walk into the hallway.

I’m surprised when I see Marius and a few of the mercenaries working for my father there. They seem to have been patroling for something. Or maybe they were up to something else. I’m not quite sure why Marius is bringing these guards to Bello’s room. Either way I stop them in the middle of the floor and I can see this look that Marius is wearing.

“I knew it. I knew you were a traitor,” Marius states seeing me with the Sea Wolf.

With that I see Marius draw his sword. He isn’t the only one. Almost immediatley the three men with Marius immediately draw his sword.

“Stay back…” Bello tells me almost in a sweet, protective way but immediately catches himself by adding, “You’d be useless in a fight and only slow me down.”

I roll my eyes realizing that this man couldn’t help but to be cruel to me. I take a few steps back however and watch as Bello walks forward. He doesn’t even seem to be scared of the fact that my brother Marius has a full weapon drawn.

“Stop him,” Marius orders his men.

Several men attack Bello. One of the men slashes with his cutlass barely missing Bello. Bello is too quick. He backs quickly away from the man leaning up against the wall, kicking at the man’s wrist when he misses and sending the blade through the air. The man dives to catch the blade but again, he’s too slow, because Bello quickly trips the man grabs the cutlass and slashes the man across the chest with it.

The other two men are shocked by how quickly this happens. One second Bello was unarmed and now he was squaring them up with a weapon of his own.

“I SAID KILL HIM!” Marius barks.

They run forward. Two men slash at Bello at the same time. Bello counters both their attacks, sweeping his cutlass to swipe the attacks away. They back him off as Bello beats away every sword attack. I can’t help but to look at Bello and just be fucking amazed. He was shirtless and his muscled body is glistening with sweat. He is so strong and yet has this elegant glide to the way that he fights. I can’t help but to think just how SEXY he is…especially when he was in his element.

I swear I get a hard dick just watching Bello take block their attacks. When he’s done playing with them he counters making an attack of his own. The first man he attacks can’t counter. He get poked right in the chest and falls over. The other man realizes that he can’t fight Bello fairely so he rips up the carpet and from underneath Bello causing Bello to stumble a little.

He rushes forward ready to stab Bello but before he gets there I find myself tackling the man to the ground when his back is turned. I hit him so hard that I knock him out.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!”

Bello grabs me by my collar and lifts me up. He presses me up against the wall. When he screams at me his breath is in my face. We’ve never been this close. I’ve never noticed how good his breath smells. The whole time he was fighting I hadn’t seen a lick of anger from him but all of a sudden he was beyond pissed. You would think I had betrayed him instead of saving him.

“He was about to kill you…” I state.

“I told you to stay out of this,” Bello repeats.

He throws me to the ground like I’m a piece of shit. He just tosses me to the ground. He is so pissed that I can hear his breathing. For some reason I have gotten underneath his skin in the worst way possible and it’s pissing Bello off.

Bello turns to Marius. He picks his sword. The two men begin to fight squaring off but Marius doesn’t stand a chance. The fight doesn’t even last a minute before Bello slaps his sword away with pure strength. He draws his sword and is about to hack Marius to pieces.

“Do you have any idea who my father is? You lay a finger on me and he’ll have an entire NAVY after you and your tug boat you call a pirate ship,” Marius states, “I am a Baptiste…”

I’ll have to give it to Marius. He might not have been much of a fighter but he was definitely brave. The look in the Sea Wolf’s eyes right now would have most men shitting themselves in fear.

“Does it look like I give a fuck who you are?” Bello asks him.

“Don’t…” I state.

“You don’t tell me what to do…” Bello says to me.

Marius seems to be just annoyed as Bello is by me interfering.

“I’m Marius BAPTISTE. A real Baptiste. You think I need pity from my father’s nigger bastard,” Marius tells me.

As if that isn’t enough Marius spits in my face. You would think me asking Bello to spare his life was the worse thing that I could have ever done to him. As soon as he spits on me Bello punches him. He punches him right in the face.

“Actually I think death will be too good for you,” Bello responds.

I look at Marius confused on why he just spit in my face.

Marius is heated. He has that Baptiste pride and it is something crazy. I’m shocked at how proud he actually is when I see him on the floor. It’s at that moment that I know Bello is right. He would probably rather die than have me help him.

He continues to talk shit to me even as I walk away and he’s bleeding out from a busted nose.

“You’re a fucking curse!” Marius tells me, “The first moment he gets that pirate is going to tell Holystone you are the youngest. And there’s no where you’ll be safe.”

~

I sneak out of the back after a few more minutes.

“What did you have to go back and get?” Bello asks me.

“This…”

We are walking through the streets of the Nassau back to the piers. I pull other half of my father’s map out of my pocket.

“You have it. Do you know what Holystone would give for this?”

“Well you can give it to him. He’ll be happy with you.”

He stops walking. He stops again. I can tell something is heavy on his mind.

“Why are you helping us?” he asks me.

“I told you. For Ashton. I may not like Holystone but I don’t want my father to get his way. If Holystone has that second half of the map then maybe he can find a way to break the curse.”

“There’s only one way to break the curse,” he explains to me, “Sacrifice the youngest Baptiste boy. That would be you…”

“Yeah it would be.”

“Holystone would want this map…but he would want me to drag you back to the ship as well,” Bello states.

“You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

“Why not?”

“I saved you.”

“I’m a fucking pirate. What part of that don’t you get?” Bello asks, “Why the fuck do you think I have some honor. I’m no Baptiste. I don’t have a name that I need to maintain.”

Clearly I wasn’t much of a Baptiste either. Not a real one according to my brother Marius. I sit there and look at Bello. I wonder who he was. I wonder where he comes from. All of a sudden I see a parrot flying overhead. I notice at that moment just what that parrot is.

“Skyrat’s parrot…”

“He probably brought a team to find help find me,” Bello states, “I think I see them down the hill…”

Sure enough there is a group pirate looking people headed our way on the pier. It’s crowded where they are but isn’t so much where we are. Bello looks at me. I look at Bello. Regardless of who is around when he looks at me I swear I think that we are the only people in the fucking world. I swear I think we are the only people in the world.

“Yeah. You’re a pirate…” I state, “I get it…”

I can’t say I wasn’t hoping that Bello wouldn’t have dragged my ass in afterward. He looks at me. I get all these shivers when he stares at me. A part of me doesn’t even know what I would be leaving to go back to if I didn’t come with Bello.

My father would probably be pissed at me. I don’t think he would be mad enough to turn me over for releasing a fugitive. It’s not that he cared about me. He probably didn’t want to further stain the Baptiste name. Marquis would probably still hate me. Jacques would do his best to start a relationship but even he would be gone as soon as my father was ready to sail away.

I see the pirates heading over our way. It looks like Holystone himself has come out. He hasn’t spotted us yet but I see him. Any moment now Holystone or someone with him was going to see us.

“Get the fuck out of here…” Bello states.

I’m surprised when he says it.

“What?”

Bello shakes his head, “Leave.”

It’s the first second of kindness that I’ve seen from him. It’s the first time he’s showed anything like that. It’s a small thing and he’s staring away the entire time he does it but he is telling me to leave. He wans’t going to tell Holystone who I was.

I turn and start to walk the other way but I don’t get far.

I run into someone.

“Lafayette!” Ashton states, “Oh my god it’s really you! HEY I FOUND THEM! CAPTAIN!”

“Shut the fuck up…” Bello states pushing Ashton off me before he can touch me.

I think about running at that moment but then I think against it. It didn’t matter. Holystone promised I could leave anyway and there was no way that he was going to find out that I was the youngest Baptiste. Bello keeps sort of signaling for me to run away but I don’t. I reach back over to Ashton and give him a pat. I honestly missed the guy.

Before I know it I’m joined by O’Malley, Black Jack and Skyrat. There a few other boys that are with Holystone as well but these guys surround me. They seem kind of happy to see me.

“I went and got help as soon as I can,” Skyrat states.

O’Malley winks at me, “Man I missed that ass…literally.”

He takes a look at my ass as he does it. Ashton literally kicks the guy in the stomach. Literally. I guess that’s just how pirates are though because it causes everyone else to laugh at that moment, including O’Malley.

That leaves Black Jack to explain what just happened, “Ashton was in a funk since you left. That boy had it bad…”

I look over at Bello. He knew Ashton was my brother and how awkward this is for all of me. He doesn’t show any signs of giving away my identity though.

“Baptiste is going to attack tonight. We need to leave.”

“I’m not leaving without the map,” Holystone responds.

“This map?” Bello responds.

Holystone holds the map. You would think this was gold by how he was looking at it, “You boys head to the ship…”

“Can I just say goodbye to—” Ashton starts off.

“NOW!”

Holystone barks at Ashton with an anger that causes Ashton and he others to head off immediately. The pirates are unruly unless it came to their captain. They listened to every word their captain said without the slightest bit of unruliness. Almost immediately he looks at the map like this madman.

Holystone smiles at that moment, “I should have known that you didn’t need help. You are the Sea Wolf after all.”

I watch as Holystone walks over to the Sea Wolf. He kisses him on the lips. I swear I notice Holystone look over at me just for a second after kissing the Sea Wolf.

“It was the kid. He broke us out,” Bello states, “He got the map.”

I’m surprised he’s giving me credit. Something seems to be annoying him though. I wonder if he’s annoyed that I didn’t run when I had the chance to get away.

“Is that right?” Holystone asks me, “Well I owe you. You have your freedom kid. And I want to thank you for saving the most valuable thing to me.”

“Sir…scouts…we should leave now, ” Skyrat states returning out of no where with his parrot with him.

“I guess this is goodbye,” I state.

I look at Bello as I say that.

A part of me is hoping he wuld say it back to me. He doesn’t.

Holystone does however, “Goodbye…”

Just at that moment something weird happens. Skyrat’s parrot just starts to talk. He just starts saying something over at over.

“He’s a little happy tonight,” Skyrat states.

“What’s he saying?” Holystone asks.

“The parrot keeps repeating the same thing, ” Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste. Lafayette is the youngest Baptiste.”

I remember the words. When my father recognized me. The parrot was there. THE FUCKING PARROT WAS THERE!

I turn to run at that moment. I don’t get far.

“You’re not going anywhere…” Holystone says grabbing my arm and putting a knife to my throat…

5

“Escort our guest to the cabins,” Holystone orders.

The Sea Wolf nods taking the Captain’s orders and leads me away. We are sailing off to avoid my father. I was well aware that my father would be hot on our tail though. There was no way my father wouldn’t be coming after us. I can’t believe I’m stuck on this boat. I can’t believe that I was sold out by a fucking parrot.

The Sea Wolf is looking at me the entire time. I can feel his eyes on me as he leads me down into the heart of the ship.

“You should have run when you got the chance,” he whispers to me.

“You’re right,” I tell him.

Truth is I don’t know. Run to where? A father who didn’t want to acknowledge me. I’d be the richest bastard alive but I’d still be a bastard. What kind of life was that? There was something else on this ship that I was looking forward to for some reason.

There was excitement. Adventure.

“The next full moon is coming,” he tells me, “You won’t be able to leave. You understand that don’t you? You understand that you’ll be cursed?”

“I understand.”

“Why didn’t you run? I don’t understand you.”

The adventure. The excitement. The voyage. All that was here on the Screaming Dagger. It wasn’t back on dry land.

There was something about danger that excited me.

There was something that excited me on this ship.

There was the Sea Wolf.

“All my life I’ve been protected. My father kept me tucked away and I never understood why until recently. I don’t want to be safe anymore. Even if that means the curse.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he tells me.

I smile, “I’m sure I’ll learn.”

“You’re a fool.”

“Maybe,” I state smiling, “But I made the decision to save you. I’ll live with it.”

We descend into the rooms but he stops me before we get too far, “I don’t owe you anything. You know that don’t you?”

“I never said you did.”

“Just to be clear.”

“Relax. I don’t expect anything from saving your life.”

He pushes me up against the wooden walls of the Screaming Dagger. He presses up against me. He does this often. His breath lingers up against my face. His threatening eyes dig into mine. There is so much intensity in this stare.

“You didn’t save my life,” he responds, “I don’t fear death. I don’t fear anything.”

“Nothing?” I ask.

I bite my lip. I can’t help it. He’s beautiful and I know it makes him so uncomfortable to have someone not be afraid of him like the others. For some reason I don’t fear him. I should. He’s given me every reason to be afraid of him and even hate him. That is the expected thing. That is the safe thing. For some reason I don’t and it seems to be freaking him out.

An example of his reaction is when he jumps back when I bite my lip. He clears halfway down the hallway in a matter of seconds to get away from me. He realizes he overreacts, stops and clears his throat.

“If I were you I wouldn’t tell anyone you are the youngest Baptiste. You don’t want to be known as the curse.”

“You helping me?”

“Don’t get in over your head.”

He opens the door and I see most of the boys are sleeping. The sea is calm but the sails are up making the voyage through the night relatively fast and easy away from Nassau. The boys seem to be playing around about something when the Sea Wolf opens the door.

“Find a bunk,” Bello instructs me, “I’ll have someone bring you personal supplies. You’re a crew member of the Screaming Dagger now.”

With that he slams me in the room.

I am in this room and there is silence. People are looking at me like I’m some sort of ghosts. The handsome boys of the Screaming Dagger are all staring at me hard. I cross the room. My heart is aching. My mind is going nuts.

I walk across the room and just feel the stares. It must have been a long time that they officially had a new member. I feel like the eyes are piercing into me. It’s so quiet the planks sound like cannons as I cross.

I don’t get far before I see the the two shirtless twins at that moment.

“You can share one of our bunks,” one of them says.

There is nothing really separating the bunk spaces. It’s a large room with sleeping bunks for all the regular crew members of the Scream Dagger. Back at my grandmother’s property I had my own room with more space than I could ever want. This was different. The small areas are customized to each person’s personality but you can tell that the small area around their bunk is all that they have.

I can’t tell the difference but I have to admit as shady as they look they are also some sexy looking twins. They are also the only ones who have actually taken it upon myself to say something to me.

“The Sea Wolf asked me to find my own bunk…” I state.

My voice cracks. I’m intimidated by the twins. They have this puff of beautiful blonde hair and these etched out young, hairless bodies. Their hair makes them look so pure almost like angels but their expressions seem to give away a darker emotion. Still they are handsome…just as handsome as the other boys on the Screaming Dagger but standing out only because they seem like young Greek Gods. I swear looking at them I imagine they are both sons of Apollo.

“There’s one over here,” a voice carries from across the room.

I turn and see Ashton. He’s with the group of boys that I had met before. Black Jack, O’Malley and Skyrat are with him. Sure enough there is an empty bunk over there.

“Who asked you?” one of the twins states.

“Trip, I don’t want any problems,” Ashton responds, “But I had my eye on him first. He’s mine.”

Hearing Ashton say that is weird. Clearly Ashton hasn’t been notified that I am the youngest Baptiste. Bello did say to keep it a secret. That fact that he wasn’t aware is making this awkward and all of a sudden I just want to react.

“I don’t belong to you,” I tell Ashton.

I don’t want to be rude. I almost forget where I am when I say it. I’m just freaked out because I’m realizing that as attractive as Ashton is to me, he’s still my older brother. The way he is looking at me is unsettling to say the least.

I don’t realize that I just said something that can be misconstrued by the aggressive twins.

“See…he chooses us,” one of the twins states.

“I didn’t say that,” I respond quickly.

“There’s only one way to settle this,” one boy states walking out from the side, “Fight for ownership of the new boy.”

I try to protest. I try to tell them I don’t belong to anyone. My voice is completely drowned out by this ongoing chant however. A group of boys push past me in order to see the fight. Another group of boys pound on the floorboards. The silence has immediately turned into a raucous movement that I don’t quite fucking understand.

I make my way to the other side of the busy room somehow where I see Ashton is getting ready. I notice O’Malley slathering Ashton with some sort of oil. It makes his body slippery and wet. Ashton looks really serious at that moment.

“Ashton what the hell are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m fighting for you,” he states.

“I don’t want to be fought for,” I explain to him.

This goes in one ear and out the other. The stomping is getting louder and louder. One of the twins has been slathered up with oil and is standing in the middle of a circle calling out for Ashton. Before I can stop Ashton he heads out there.

I try to reach out and grab him but O’Malley holds me back.

“This is just how it is,” O’Malley explains, “When I first came on board two boys fought for me too. One of them died because of it. I remember throwing his body overboard with an aching asshole. I was a virgin too…”

“You know that I’m a virgin?” I ask.

“Ashton told us.”

I’d never really quite understand pirates. Right now Ashton was fighting some boys for my virginity which I wasn’t willing to give to any one of them. The whole time O’Malley is beginning to grab me by my waist and sits his entire dick on my ass pretending as though he’s trying to get a better view. I swear I feel his dick grow in the crack of my ass.

I push away just in time for the fight to start. I watch Ashton swinging his fist at the twin. The twin dodges it. The twin pummels forward, head first in an attempt to tackle Ashton. He fails to knock Ashton down but manages to get Ashton up against the wall. He repeatedly slams Ashton up against the wall over and over.

The crowd chants, “TRACK! TRACK! TRACK!”

That happens until Ashton manages to twist grapple Track’s head and puts him in a headlock. Ashton drives the paler boy’s body to the ground. They are wrestling on the floor and I have to admit there is something about this that is turning me on. Maybe it’s the rawness of their physical forms. Both boys have equally impressive physiques. Ashton’s darker, thinner and more defined body against the paler, broader shoulders of one of the Terrible Two-Toe Twins was enough to be a fantasy. They slide in and out of each others arms. The wet bodies grunt as they struggle to manhandle one another. The crowd chants on in this pure rowdy way. This pure masculinity was filling the ship. These may have been boys but they were pirates and they had a manly pride about them that I couldn’t grasp.

I find myself chanting alongside Black Jack and O’Malley, “Ashton! ASHTON! ASHTON!”

I’m not thinking about what it would mean if Ashton was to win this fight. I soon come to find out that this is becoming a real reality when Ashton pins the twin down.

The entire room is shouting, “ASHTON! ASHTON! ASHTON!”

That’s when Trip, the twin who isn’t fighting seems to panic. The idea of his brother losing to Ashton seems more than he could bare. No one else sees him pacing but I see him. I know from the look in his eyes that he’s going to do something desperate.

Track seems ready to tap out. Ashton is pinning him down pressing his head up against the floorboards. His body is sweating on top of the blonde and he’s showing that he has pure strength. His muscles strain and look bigger as he pins down Track.

“ASHTON! ASHTON!”

He’s winning over the crowd. Trip can’t handle it. I watch him.

“Watch him…” I tell O’Malley, “Watch the twin…”

O’Malley hears me. He runs forward to intervene but it’s much too late. Trip throws something at Track. I don’t see what it is even though I’m running forward as well. Track catches whatever it is.

“ASHTON!” I’m screaming.

Too late.

I hear Ashton squirm in pain and then I realize what has happened. Track has a nail that he has dug into Ashton’s right eye. Ashton is screaming in bloody pain at that moment. Blood is everywhere. Trip had thrown that nail to his brother.

“He cheated!” I state, “He fucking cheated.”

The other boys don’t seem to care about my protesting. It’s Black Jack, the boy who seems to know a lot about things that catches my attention. He shakes his head.

“There is no cheating aboard the Screaming Dagger…”

~

“Is he going to make it?” I ask.

I’m sitting on Ashton’s bunk. I feel like shit. O’Malley had taken him away to the ship’s practitioner. Most of the boys had gone back to laughing about the fight. This wasn’t a big deal for them. It was nothing more than this evening’s entertainment.

“He lost his eye,” O’Malley states, “But he’ll survive. Ashton’s tougher than he looks. He’s come a long way. I’m proud of him.”

Proud? Proud?

“God dam it,” I respond.

I feel like shit. This was all my fault. All of it.

“He’s a romantic. He did it for love,” Black Jack tells me.

“He can’t be in love with me,” I state.

“Why not?”

I don’t get to respond to Black Jack. Before I know it we are being interrupted by the Terrible Two-Toe twins. They’ve come to claim their prize. I swear I feel sick to my stomach when I see them. I feel the way about them that I should feel about Bello. I hate them for what they did to Ashton. I didn’t care what you did to me but I cared about Ashton. He was a good person. He didn’t deserve to be blinded for trying to defend my honor.

“We won. You have to sleep with us,” one of the twins states.

It’s Track. I can tell him apart from his brother because his brother smiles where as Track seems more of the serious one. I still remember how desperate he looked when he helped his brother win the fight. Trip is still slathered in oil. He’s shirtless and he’s smirking as though all of this was some sort of joke or something. For two boys to look so good I can’t believe they are so ruthless.

“He doesn’t have to go anywhere,” O’Malley states.

“You want to fight next?” Track challenges O’Malley.

O’Malley steps forward and I think he might just. O’Malley is definitely the closest to Ashton on this boat. He wants revenge. I can see it in his eyes. I can also see that these two brother would do whatever to get what they want and I don’t think Ashton would want O’Malley losing an eye over this…or worse.

I stop O’Malley.

“It’s fine,” I respond, “I can handle them.”

Trip is the one who claims me. He throws his hand over my shoulder. A few of the boys look on as he leads me away. I watch his brother following close behind. He’s the sneakier brother but I know they both don’t have any real honor.

“You upset?” Track asks me.

The night lingers on and before I know it I’m sandwiched on a bed between the two boys. Usually I would be turned on but I keep hearing Ashton scream when Trip dug that rusty nail into his eye socket.

“I’m fine…” I lie.

Most of the other boys have gone to sleep. In the distance I hear moans however. Moans from sex. Other boys are being active not too far from us. It’s one of the older boys. In the darkness he’s grabbed one of the younger boys. I see movement up against the walls. His ass cheeks flex as he fucks the younger boy. The younger boy squirms.

Most of the other boys don’t seem to react at all to hearing someone get fucked in the open like this. I believe it’s normal on the Screaming Dagger. I notice Track however from the back of me. He looks over at his brother. The two of them look over at me. I’m facing Trip. He won’t stop licking his lips.

Trip tries to rub my face. I push away.

“You’re scared of us,” Track interrupts.

Track has been rubbing my thigh and the smalls of my back slowly. He allows his brother to take charge but I think he is turned on by me just as much if not more than his brother.

“No.”

“That wasn’t a question,” Track tells me from behind, “That’s an observation. I get it. You think we are cruel. That’s just how it is though. You have to be rough. That’s the pirate way. You do whatever it takes to get what you want. We want you. We want you bad.”

Trip uses his hands to gather the fabric around my dick. He squeezes it tightly in until he can feel the imprint of my dick. He holds it in his palms. I can’t help to have my dick begin to harden in his hands. When my dick hardens he realizes I’m turned on and he leans forward to try to kiss me again on the lips. I move my lips just in time and he ends up kissing me hard on the cheek with his pink, pursed lips.

“He’ll never see out that eye again,” I state.

“Survival of the fittest,” Track states.

Trip adds almost immediately, “Don’t be mad OK?”

Trip attempts to kiss me again. Once again I try to move but this time Track catches my jaw from the back. He holds it there.

“Kiss him,” Track states holding my jaw still.

“Get off me…”

“It’ll be a shame if Ashton loses his other eye,” Track suggests.

There is so much intention behind the way he says it. I find myself giving in and letting Trip lean forward and kiss me on the lips. I have to admit as much as I am turned off by their personalities, his kiss is good. His tongue enters my mouth. Track begins to kiss me from the back, massaging his waist into me. He rubs his dick up against my ass.

“He tastes so good,” Trip tells my brother.

“He’s ours…”

Before I notice it they turn me on my back. Both brothers begin to pull down my pants. I don’t stop them. My dick springs loose from the pants. They stare at my dick for a few minutes. I watch as they both undress…getting turned on by me.

“You need someone to take care of you,” Track tells me, “We can be your mentors. We can teach you how to be a pirate.”

“Trust in us.” Trip adds.

They both go down on me. They go down at the same time. Track licks the head of my dick while Trip begins sucking up the side shaft. Both of their hands begin to fondle my dick. I moan. I am giving in to the deepest of carnal pleasures. There is something about the cruelty that I am enjoying even though I can’t stand them. There is something about a bad boy. Something about how dangerous they are that turns me on in ways that I can’t imagine.

I want to fight them off, but I don’t.

“Fuck…” I’m moaning.

I’m louder than I mean to be. I’m sure the other boys on the other bunks hear me moan it loudly. They probably expect it.

Track spits on my dick and then sucks it up. He tongues down the hole of my penis and jerks it off. His brother jealously looks on watching until Track holds my dick up so that his brother can suck it. His brother is more slow and precise at sucking my dick. He looks me up in my eyes as though wanting me to feel something. I’m not sure what.

Is this more than sex for Trip?

Does he want something more than just that?

“Does it feel good?” Trip asks me.

I don’t answer. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he is pleasing me. It feels good though. It feels so good.

My lack of reaction causes Trip to try even harder. He goes deeper on my dick, swallowing the entire shaft all the way into his esophagus. He’s choking on my dick. He’s looking in my eyes wanting a reaction. His hands are crawling up and down my body.

“Is it good for you baby?” Trip is asking me, “Tell me I’m being good to you.”

“Enough of this,” Track states, “Put his legs up, I’m going to fuck him…”

“What?” I ask.

“I want the ass,” Track states, “Put your legs up or I’ll put them up for you.”

“I’ve never done that,” I argue.

Trip looks over at his brother, “Maybe we should wait. You think brother? Maybe we should wait for doing that. Sometime special…”

“I want his ass…”

That’s when I do something that I don’t think I can do. I grab Trip’s hand. I squeeze it a little bit. I may be reaching to think that Trip wants something more than just sex from me but this may be the only card I have left to play. When I squeeze Trip’s hand he looks at me. I look back at him. I try to force any sort of emotion out of my eyes.

Track spits on his dick. He attempts to pin me down and get his brother to help him. I push Track off and look at Trip.

That’s when Track tries again rushing forward on the bed, but this time Trip is the one to push him off. I’m surprised when he does it.

“We wait…” Trip tells his brother.

I can tell Track is unsatisfied about this. I can see it in his eyes that he is unsatisfied.

“Until when?” Track asks him.

“Soon…” Trip states, “It’ll be better when he’s ready.”

Track seems reluctant to agree but he agrees. It isn’t much but he’s satisfied with jerking his dick for the rest of the night and spraying loads of his semen all over my chest. He’s very brunt and brutal about it. When he’s done he takes globs of the stuff and shoves it in my mouth saying crude things like, “Eat my kids.”

When he’s done with his vulgarity, he goes to sleep.

I expect Trip to do the same thing but he doesn’t. He just stares at me in the darkness and then he does it again. He leans forward and he kisses me softly…slowly on the lips…

~

“How’s your ass? I can get you something for the pain,” Black Jack offers.

The next day has arrived very quickly. The sun is high in the sky. It’s hot. The sails are up and most of the boys have come up on the main deck. Everyone is doing chores. I’m not sure what to do so I’m standing around watching them clean the deck with water. When I approach Black Jack and O’Malley are both on their hands and knees scrubbing the deck. Skyrat is no where to be seen.

“They didn’t do it,” I state.

“The twins didn’t fuck you?” O’Malley asks.

“No…”

“How’d you manage that?” he asks.

Both boys look up at me seeming confused. They seemed sure that I was going to lose my virginity and get fucked in the ass last night. Hell, I was sure as well. That just wasn’t the case though.

“I’m not sure,” I state, “I can’t give it up to them…”

“The twins are going to want their prize,” Black Jack tells me, “I know them. Trust me. I’ve seen them do horrible things for the things they want and they want you. That’s for sure.”

I did trust Black Jack. Looking at Black Jack he seemed wiser past his age. He’s one of those boys that just seems as though he has so much knowledge. The fact that he is worried is something that I am definitely concerned about.

I look around for the twins. I had left them asleep in the bunk and snuck away. I was sure they’d come look for me shortly. I was sure they’d attempt to come find me. There was no where to hide on this ship. There was only so long that I would be able to use Trip’s emotions against his brother. Sooner or later they’d want what I wasn’t willing to give them.

“You want me to challenge them?” O’Malley asks.

“You’ll lose,” Black Jack states.

Black Jack says it as a fact. I didn’t doubt O’Malley was strong. Ashton was strong and he was still outplayed by the twins. I was stuck in a corer and I had no way out of it.

“I’ll take that risk. I’ll risk my life,” O’Malley states standing up, “I’ll do it for you.”

He’s tall. He’s attractive. There is something trusting in his eyes though. Something trusting that lets me know that he wouldn’t stand a chance against the twins. They’d take out his eye just like they did to Ashton. They’d probably do worse. No. He wasn’t my champion. Black Jack seems to notice that as well. I can see him standing behind O’Malley. He’s shaking his head.

“You don’t know me.”

O’Malley smiles, “I want you…”

“The Sea Wolf is about to come check our chores,” Black Jack tells O’Malley, “You should go cover Ashton’s chores before he gets here.”

Sure enough Bello has walked up on the main deck. He is shirtless. His silver hair is blowing in the wind. I watch as a couple of people scramble once he climbs up on the main deck. It’s obvious he has some serious seniority on this ship by how the boys react. O’Malley seems to come to his senses and disappear at that moment.

The whole time I’m just staring at Bello. His lips. His hair. His eyes. His broad shoulders. His sculptured back. The way his eyes seem to grimace at the water as though trying to uncover some sort of mystery in the choppy waves.

Black Jack is staring at the back of my head, “If you don’t want to get fucked by the twins, you should learn to fight them off yourself….or get someone else to do it for you.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” I state.

“Ignis is an excellent fighter and he’s stated you are the most handsome boy he’s ever seen. I’m sure he’d take you up on your offer. Or Petey for that matter. He’s killed more men than anyone on this ship and he’s a sucker for romance. Lafayette. Lafayette, are you listening?”

I wasn’t. My eyes were on the Sea Wolf.

“I hear you. I’ll figure it out. I’ll get out of this predicament with the twins somehow…” I shake off Black Jack.

“You are completely mesmerized, aren’t you?”

I shake my eyes away. I find myself helping Black Jack scrub the deck to take my mind off of it, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do. I know things. I know human nature,” Black Jack tells me, “You look at Bello the same way that Ashton looks at you. The same way the twins looks at you. The same way half the boys on this ship look at you. They are transfixed on you and you could care less…”

I hated how he was doing this at this moment. Black Jack was reading me like I was a book and he was a professor. I stop scrubbing. I stare at the soap suds on the plywood.

“Do the other boys really look at me the way I look at him?” I ask.

“They all want you. You’re a mystery to most of the boys on this ship. The rare idea of a virgin whose never been touched. The ultimate treasure for a pirate.”

“And yet the Sky wolf barely sees me. He barely knows I exist,” I realize.

Why doesn’t he want me like the other boys do? They stare at me while I stare at him. And what does Bello stare at?

The water. The waves.

“You have power. You can have half this ship kill the other half for you,” Black Jack states, “Use that power to protect yourself. Now that you are a crew member survival should be your main concern…not the Sky Wolf.”

“Why not him?” I ask.

“Captain Holystone has a collection of skulls in his room. The skulls are the reason you shouldn’t go looking after Bello.”

“Skulls?”

“Yes. Do you want to know what those skulls are for?” he asks me.

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“Every man who has ever dared even flirt with Bello has been collected by Holystone. Their skulls are a reminder that Bello is off limits.”

Holystone kept his competitors as trophies? Was that to scare off other boys from looking at Bello? It was no wonder that regardless of how attractive Bello was no one on this ship even gave him a second look. He was a ghost on this ship and the only reaction they showed him was fear.

Now that all made sense.

“You said I was a rarity. I was a treasure…you said I could have any man I wanted,” I tell Black Jack, “Any champion I wanted.”

Black Jack shakes his head.

“That is the only man on this ship you can’t have.”

Black Jack’s words of wisdom hit me like a ton of bricks. I turn back to the Sky Wolf. It’s almost as though he knew we were talking about him somehow. For a brief second he stares back at me. It’s not that long lingering stare that the other boys give me. It’s a short glimpse. A passing thought that fades into nothingness.

He turns and walks away. It’s almost as though he doesn’t see me. It’s almost as though I don’t exist.

And for some reason the more he plays hard to get the more I want him.

“You’re wrong,” I tell Black Jack, “The Sky Wolf is the only man on this ship worth having. I may not be a pirate yet…but that will be my treasure to claim…”

6

“WAKE UP!”

I’m shocked when I see Bello pour ice cold water on my bed. My heart drops as I’m awaken out of my sleep. I snuck out of the twins’ bed to sleep in the bunk closer to the guys on the ship I have been closer with.

“What the f—” I start.

I catch myself because I realize most of the other boys have already woken up. I hadn’t been able to sleep. The twins won’t leave me alone. Fear has basically kept me awake at night pressed up against the wall of the nearest bunk. Track had stared at me for the first few hours. He didn’t say anything but I can tell he was unsatisfied I wasn’t sleeping in the bed with him. When he goes to sleep Trip takes over.

I know as soon as I let down my guard they’d come for me.

Maybe they’d come for me whether I had my guard up or not.

Regardless when I finally did get some sleep it seemed like I was being woken right back up. I didn’t know how long I could survive this. I had to do something about the twins.

Bello could care less if I needed rest, “It’s a long day. The captain had charted a new course. It’s going to be dangerous and he wants to make sure the ship is ready.”

“A course where?” O’Malley asks.

I can only imagine. Holystone was following the map. He was trying to find the entrance to hell. He was trying to break the curse. And I was going to be that sacrifice in order for him to do it.

I swallow my spit. The fear is building up in me.

“None of your business…” he tells O’Malley, “New boy. It’s bathing time…you fucking stink…”

The embarrassment of being drenched in front of the boys and humiliated like that gets under my skin. O’Malley and Black Jack shake their head clearly embarrassed for me. This definitely isn’t starting out on the right foot.

The Sea Wolf doesn’t apologize when he does it.

“You’ll get used to it,” O’Malley tells me.

“That’s the boy you are obsessed with,” Black Jack whispers, “You could have someone like me. I’d never treat you like that.”

It’s the first time Black Jack really openly flirts at me but I’ve seen the stares he gives me. He isn’t alone. He looks at me and I look at Bello. Just like the other boys. He knows my secret and that is dangerous to say the least. I don’t care though. It’s true. The more the Sea Wolf mistreats me the more I seem to want him.

I follow the two boys out to the bathing area. Immediately I see nothing but naked boys in this area. They bathe out of buckets and have no shame in being nude. They are all handsome boys, just how Holystone likes them. I’m standing there looking at the group and all I can think about is just how impressive these specimens are.

There is Billy Big Balls, who Black Jack swears has the most sex with other boys on the boat in order to drain his large sack. He seems like the man whore on the ship to say the least. Even now I can see him eyeing a couple of the other boys as he washes in the middle of the room attempting to get some attention that no one’s giving him.

Then I notice Ignis. He stares at me a lot and according to Black Jack wants to challenge one of the twins for my attention. Truthfully he’s an attractive specimen. His face is covered with scars making him one of the more burly and scary guys on the ship. His muscles are probably the biggest on the ship and his mere size makes him kind of intimidating to say the least. He’s really awkward though. He just stares at me and never says a thing.

Then I see the other boys.

A few boys walk over to me clearly trying to get a glimpse of me naked and immediately one of them says, “What you bathe with clothes on?”

Eyes turn on me immediately.

People literally stop what they are doing. The room gets quiet when I undress. No one moves. I’ve never felt so exposed. It’s…weird.

Why did they keep staring at me like this?

One of them clearly sticks out more than the rest. Ashton. I haven’t seen him since the fight. He’s avoided me. I can see why. He has eyepatch on. From the distance I can see him watching me as I undress like the other boys do though.

“That boy’s got it bad,” Skyrat tells me, coming out of nowhere, “He doesn’t know who you are yet huh?”

I give Skyrat a hard look.

“I need to be the one to tell him,” I tell Skyrat.

“When you going to do that?”

I wasn’t sure. Bello had warned me to keep the secret from the other crew members. Skyrat definitely didn’t seem like the type to go running spreading business he wasn’t supposed to, but the kid is judging me. I can see it when he realizes how Ashton looks over at me.

Ashton lost his eye because of me. He lost his eye trying to get something that he was never going to get.

I find myself leaving the group and going over to him.

“You don’t have to isolate yourself,” I tell Ashton.

He’s naked. The water is dripping down his body and I would be impressed but honestly I just keep thinking about the fact that he is my older brother. Because of this I try my hardest not to look at his chiseled chest or his long dick swinging next to the barrel he is bathing over.

“I don’t want you to see me like this,” Ashton states, “I’m hideous now.”

“You could never be hideous,” I tell him.

I laugh at the thought. Eyepatch or not Ashton was one of the finest guys on the ship. I keep thinking how mesmerized I was with him when I first met him. It’s the same way I’m mesmerized by Bello now. If Ashton wasn’t my brother…

“You still find me attractive?” he asks.

There is an awkward pause. Ashton scales my body with his eye. It’s the look of a pirate and I’m certain he wants to rob me of my jewels right here and now. I’ve never seen someone so honestly interested in another human being. The way he stares at me has this longing that I can’t put my finger on even if I wanted to. What was so special about me? He was on a boat full of attractive boys who’d probably be happy to have him.

“Ashton…” I start.

I think about how to turn him down in the best way.

I don’t get the chance, he immediately acts as though he knows why I am hesitating, “I failed you. I lost the fight. But I’ll challenge them again…”

“Don’t.”

“I want you…” he starts.

He leans over and puts his hand on my waist. He pulls me close to him in the most masculine way that I could ever imagine. If it was anyone else I would have been so turned on by how Ashton was claiming me, but before I get to that point I remember his identity.

We are interrupted at that moment and I know it’s trouble immediately. The twins.

“You must have a death wish…” Trip threatens Ashton.

One of the twins pulls a pistol out on Ashton. The room gets a little scarce with the naked boys immediately hauling to one side. It’s clear at this moment that these twins are fucking crazy. There was nothing they wouldn’t do to have what they believed was there’s.

“Don’t…” I state, “Please…”

“Step aside Lafayette. I wouldn’t want to get blood on that beautiful body.”

Ashton holds up a defiant stare. He doesn’t want me to think he’s afraid of dying. I don’t know why he would even try to stand up to these lunatics.

“What’s going on here?” a voice states.

We turn around and see Bello had walked in the bathing area. He looks down at us and immediately the twins put away their weapons, tucking it behind their naked bodies.

“Nothing sir.”

“Hurry up here then.”

Just at that moment Track leans into me and whispers his threat, “I want what’s mine and I’m going to take it one way or another.”

It’s not entertaining at this moment. It’s clear that he’s talking about raping me. My heart starts pounding at that moment. The fear of it all causes the sweat to roll down my face. I’m horrified. I know it’s a stupid thought but I don’t want to just give my virginity to anyone. I don’t want Track to feel like he owns me. My mother was a slave. My body was the only thing I had. The idea of being free to do with it what I wanted meant more than anything.

I knew at that moment that I’d rather die than let the twins take that something from me. I would rather dive into the fucking ocean.

~

Later that day I’m looking down at the ocean. I consider it. I consider jumping. I’d die anyway. At least I could die with some sort of pride in myself. What if I just jumped into the ocean? What if I just sacrificed myself to the waves.

“What are you doing?” a voice states.

I turn.

Bello approaches me. I’m shaking.

For a second he looks at my body but only for a second. You would think time slowed down when he walks towards me. I’ve been on the Screaming Dagger for some time and tonight was the full moon. That would mean I would be cursed to forever roam the Screaming Dagger. I would be a ghost on this ship with the rest of these boys, unable to leave the ship for too long. I should be upset. I should be scared. For some reason though I feel an excitement.

And as Bello approaches me I swear I smile.

“What the hell are you smiling about?” Bello asks me.

“It’s a beautiful day,” I state.

I look up at the sky. I look over at Bello. It was a beautiful day and he was a beautiful man. He was finally talking to me. He had been avoiding me for some time acting as though I didn’t exist.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?”

“Everyone on the ship has a job. For instance, I’m the Quartermaster,” Bello tells me, “I deal with punishments and discipline. I also represent the crew so if you have any issues you let me know and I’ll bring it to the attention of Holystone. You never talk to Holystone directly unless he asks you. You hear me?”

“You really care for him huh?” I ask.

Bello doesn’t answer my question…

“I told the Captain to put you to work immediately but he wanted you to get used to the ship. You’ve been assigned to cabin boy,” Bello tells me.

“Great.”

Anything to take my mind off of the twins.

“Great?” he asks, “Emptying chamber pots, carrying messages and being a walking errand boy sound that fun to you?”

“Actually it does.”

I smile. This seems to unsettle Bello. You would think me smiling was the absolute worst thing that someone could do to him. He responds to my smile with a wincing glare as though I’m sneaky or up to something. His thicker upper lip tightens and he moves his silver hair out of his face to stare at me with those light pretty eyes of his. Regardless of how mean and menacing he wants to look I find myself only want to smile harder.

“You do realize the curse is tonight?” he asks me, “Shouldn’t you be crying somewhere…soaking in your misery?”

I think about it. I’ve thought about it for a while.

“No…”

“I guess it isn’t the worst job,” he tells me, “Your brother Ashton has been reassigned. He’s one of the Swabbies now. They mop the decks on a daily basis. Swabs are the lowest ranking job on the ship. After he lost his eye he isn’t much use to anyone. Now that we have you to sacrifice I’m trying to convince the captain just to throw him overboard.”

I give the Sea Wolf a long stare.

“You would do that?”

The long hard grimace he gives me answers everything I need to know about the Sea Wolf. I just sit there and wonder what happened to this boy to make him so evil. Most of the people on this ship were tough. The twins were a little crazy. That wasn’t the case with Sea Wolf. He was very sane. He had a bitterness to him.

It’s a mystery that I want to solve more than anything.

“What use is a one-eyed boy on the ship?” he asks me, “Yeah I would do that. Rumor has it he lost a fight against one of the twins. I have no competence for useless individuals. This ship is a well-oiled machine. If it’s up to me I’d do worse.”

“It wasn’t his fault.”

“So it’s true. Ashton was fighting to protect your honor. What kind of man are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re a coward. You have another man fighting for you. That’s not the pirate way. No matter they treat you like property.”

I’m embarrassed. I don’t know why the Sea Wolf’s words hit me like a ton of bricks.

“I’m not a pirate.”

“Then you’ll die a coward.”

He starts walking away. In the distance I can see the twins. He sees them as well. They have been following me everywhere. It was stalker behavior. If the Sea Wolf were anyone else I knew that these twins would probably threaten the person or do worse. I can still remember what they did to Ashton. They took out his eye. Track is pacing back and forth like some wild animal. His brother looks on. I know what they are going to do to me.

I know what they have planned for me.

I run after him and grab him by his shoulder, “Don’t turn away from me. If I don’t know how to fight, then why don’t you teach me?”

“Why would I do that?” Bello asks me, “I don’t care about you. I don’t owe you shit. Remember I told you that? I don’t owe you shit.”

I don’t know what gets into me. I fall to my knees. I’m begging him.

“Please. Track is going to rape me. He said so. At the end of the day all that I have is my pride. All that I have is my dignity. You might not understand but it means the world to me. Teach me how to fight. Teach me how to defend myself.”

I’ve never begged anyone in my life. The fact that I’m doing that right now means so much to me. I’ll never forget how the Sea Wolf looked down at me. He kicks me off of him, piling his boot right into my forehead and pushing off. I hit the deck. I look up.

The Sea Wolf has the most annoyed look on his face. It’s a look that tells me that I don’t mean a damn thing to him.

“All you are is a sacrifice,” he tells me, “I can’t bother to give a fuck what happens to you. You’re a curse. You’re going to die either way…”

He walks away at that moment. I don’t mean anything to him. I never will. I turn at that moment and I see the twins. They are heading my way. I feel like they are going to take me right here on the main deck.

The only thing that stops them is when Black Jack, Skyrat, Ashton and O’Malley show up. Tears are running down my eyes when they find me. The rain is starting.

The Screaming Dagger was finally breaking me. Bello wanted me to be miserable and he finally got his wish.

Black Jack looks down at me and just shakes his head.

“I don’t know what you expecting from the Sea Wolf. He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone or anything but Holystone.”

The realization was becoming clear to me now. I didn’t know the others were close enough to hear my conversation. It was embarrassing enough that I had begged the Sea Wolf for help and he basically just spit in my face in reply. Ashton and his friends look at me as though they are sympathetic for me. I’m the saddest thing in the world.

Skyrat’s voice is shaking, “Track told me to spread the word that it’s happening tonight and anyone who tries to interrupt him will be killed. They said that what they did to Ashton was just a warning. They said the next person to interfere with them and their `prize’ will face a fate worse than death.”

It’s sick. The rain is beating down harder. It’s pouring on the deck.

“We can fight them off,” O’Malley states, “If we all take them together. Hard and fast.”

I barely knew O’Malley. Hell…I had barely known Ashton when he lost an eye for me.

“This isn’t our fight,” I state.

Black Jack puts his hand on his chin, “There’s something about you. I can’t put my finger on it. Some sort of pull. The same sort of pull the moon has on the rising and falling of the ocean tides. O’Malley isn’t the only one feeling it Lafayette. I’d die for one night with you and I’ve never wanted any man as much as you. I don’t understand why…”

Skyrat nods in agreement, “I feel the same.”

“No man can deny him. It’s almost like…like some sort of…” O’Malley starts.

“Don’t say curse,” Black Jack stops him, “I’ve had enough of that word. Let’s say it’s a gift. But it’s driving a lot of the boys here crazy just to be around you. The only reason you haven’t seen it more is because everyone is so afraid of the twins.”

A gift.

A gift of attraction.

That is a weird idea. I shake off the thought, “You guys are just trying to make me feel better. I’m not special.”

“They are telling the truth,” Ashton interrupts, “Ever since I first met you I can’t get you out of my head. It’s not…normal…”

I shake my head at that moment.

“Well if that was the case Bello wouldn’t hate me.”

Bello broke the rule. Nothing weird could be going on because Bello wasn’t affected by it.

Black Jack looks at the group, “Yet we are willing to kill for you. Die for you. Just for you to look our way one last time. But if you want us not to get involved we won’t.”

I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. I couldn’t bare another Ashton.

This seems to piss O’Malley off though, “So you just going to let them rape you?”

“Do you want to lose your eye too O’Malley?”

He says it right in front of Ashton. I think Ashton is going to defend himself but I can tell he’s lost a lot of his confidence after losing his eye. He looks so…distraught at that moment. He just turned away and stays quiet not putting himself in the conversation. I think he’s giving up and honestly a part of me knows he is.

“It’s OK,” I state, “I’ll deal with this. I’m a man. I don’t need help. I don’t blame anyone…”

I say this to the group but I’m really saying it to Ashton. The depressed look he carries lets me know he blames himself for not being able to win me away from them. I knew if Ashton didn’t stand a chance that O’Malley would be next if he kept going.

Skyrat looks up at the sky. He shivers. The sky is darkening.

“We should get below deck…there’s a storm coming.”

~

The storm rocks the ship back and forth. It seems as though hell has opened up in this ocean and is tearing the entire ship in two. I’m sitting at the foot of my bunk. Regardless of what I said O’Malley stands over me. He has a dagger in his hand. Black Jack is throwing up in a bucket not too far from us. He’s getting sick and it’s understandable because of how violently the ship rocks due to the storm. The waves bash up against the sides making the crew cabins feel like we are going to be drowned in here.

“It’s the curse. It’s come to claim you…” Skyrat whispers to me.

He feeds his parrot at that moment as though this is the most normal thing in the world. I pay it no attention. I’m afraid. I know sooner or later more and more people would start going to sleep. I turn to the other side of the room. Most of the boys are finally coming back from their chores. The night staff is going out.

I keep staring at the door.

The twins would be coming in any minute.

“You mind keeping it down, you’re disgusting Lafayette,” O’Malley tells Black Jack in regards to his throwing up.

“I’m fine,” I respond.

I didn’t need O’Malley hovering. I wonder if Ashton feels some type of way because he keeps looking over my way. I don’t know for sure but I like to think it is easy to read Ashton. The mystery he had when I first met him is gone. I’ve figured him out. It’s all pride. I think it’s killing him that O’Malley is acting like some sort of sentry while he is a wounded animal who can’t focus out of one eye long enough to protect me if he wanted to.

I stare at the door.

Still nothing.

“They should be here by now…” Black Jack grunts between gagging on his own spit, “The twins should be here to claim him.”

Nothing.

Skyrat sleeps first and then Black Jack. I can tell O’Malley is getting tired after a while, especially when most of the other boys come in and the twins still haven’t entered the large cabin hallway. He stands up against a post and slowly squats down. I take a good look at his handsome face. He’s brave, probably one of the tallest boys on the ship but he seems more like a pretty boy than a fighter. I turn to the door.

My eyes start to drift to sleep. I think maybe I’m I the clear. Maybe they won’t come.

Then all hell breaks loose.

“YOU!” a voice says.

Everyone wakes up. Track runs in the room. No. Not Track. It’s Trip. He comes up to me. He has a gun in his hand. He holds onto the gun and points it directly at me.

O’Malley jerks to attention, “What’s going on—”

“STAY OUT OF THIS!”

Trip scares O’Malley away with the pistol. Most of the other boys wake up shocked at what is going on.

“You had someone beat my brother to a pulp…”

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“We had boatswain duty and we got jumped by some hooded guy. They focused on Track and the last thing the person said was to stay away from you.”

I am confused. The boatswain was in charge of a ship’s anchors, cordage, colors, deck crew and the ship’s boats, and would also be in charge of the rigging while the ship was in dock. They had late duty especially during a storm from my understanding. I hadn’t been paying attention to who came and went but the fact that someone hurt Track blew my mind. Trip was beyond pissed. The gentleness that he had for me before seemed to be gone. He was crazed now.

“I don’t know…”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

“Don’t speak to him like that,” Ashton states.

“Was it you? Who was it? Fuck that…I’m taking him…right now right here. I’ll show you all whose prize he belongs to.”

Just at that moment he grabs me. He throws me to the ground. Ashton and O’Malley both try to run forward but he points his pistol at them to keep them at bay. A few of the boys around the crew room watch on as Trip loses his mind. I can hear him almost talking to himself. He’s literally saying the things Track would if he was in that position.

He’s yours. He’s yours. You deserve this. He’s yours. Take it. Take it.

Trip rips my pants off. He pushes me to the ground and puts a gun up against my temple in case anyone got some wise ideas. A group of boys surround us watching at that moment.

“I’m going to fuck you till you bleed all over the place…”

His crotch presses against my bare ass when he rips my pants off.

I hear the Sea Wolf’s voice in my head, “All you are is a sacrifice.”

I see the Track’s knife dangling from his waist. I grab at it. I try to cut him. I try so hard but he overpowers me. He keeps the knife away from me. Everyone is watching as I scream.

And I only have one choice.

I’d die before I let him close to me.

If I was a sacrifice, then I’d sacrifice myself…

I take the knife and I slit my own throat…

7

I wake up. I have a headache. I turn to the right and see I’m being watched by Billy Big Ball and another crew member of the Screaming Dagger that I don’t realize.

“Holy shit he’s up,” Billy tells the boy, “Go get Holystone!”

I recognize the tone in Billy’s voice. It’s very recognizable. He is afraid. The sound of his voice is the sound of someone who is shocked. I am held up on a bed. I know boats like this don’t have doctors. There is a carpenter on the ship that is doing most of the medical stuff. I’m wondering if the boy who ran off was that carpenter.Billy moves to the other side of the room. He presses up against the wall and his eyes nail on me like I’m about to attack him right here and now.

“What happened?”

Billy doesn’t answer me. He looks at me as though I’m freaking him the fuck out. I don’t get it. I sit up a little bit. My head hurts and I’m so confused.

“Billy…what happened?” I ask again.

Billy continues to ignore me. He presses up against the wall and stares at the door clearly waiting for something to happen. It’s the most awkward few moments of my life waiting for someone to come to the door. It takes a few minutes but Captain Holystone himself walks into the room. He doesn’t seem nearly as afraid as Billy who is more than happy to stop playing sentry and leave us alone together.

Holystone is cold when he walks into the room slowly and stares at me as though he’s found some sort of new found interest that he never had before. He looks at me and I swear that he’s strange.

“You remember what happened boy?” he asks me.

The way he calls me “boy” is so demeaning. If it was anyone else I would have said something but this is Holystone. There is something so goddam scary about this man. The way his eyes pierce at me sends straight up chills down my spine.

“No…”

“Who are you?” he asks me.

“Lafayette Baptiste.”

“Who are you really?”

The question is a strange question. I’m confused. He knew who he was. He knew who my father was.

“I am Lafay—”

I don’t get to finish. Holystone comes towards me. He grabs me up by my collar and presses me against the wall. He begins to choke me and I swear I feel my entire life coming out of me when he does. He presses up against my neck and when he does I remember something. My neck. There are no scars on my neck. There is nothing.Didn’t I slit my throat?

What was going on?

“Stop please…” I beg him, “I’m Lafayette Baptiste. I swear…”

He drops me at that moment flinging me across the room as though I weigh nothing at all. I hit the ground hard. Holystone peers down at me still in the threatening way.

“You ever been in love Lafayette Baptiste with someone who doesn’t love you back?”

When he asks the question I think immediately of the Sea Wolf. Was it love? No. Maybe. I’m not sure. It was definitely fascination and the Sea Wolf didn’t even know I existed. He probably never would.

“No…why?”

How could I tell Holystone what I felt about the Sea Wolf? I would end up overboard the ship if I was lucky. Holystone was fascinated with the Sea Wolf.

“When I was your age I loved a boy,” Holystone tells me, “He was a pirate. He was the most dangerous pirate on the seas. They called him the Pirate Ghost because the things he could do were impossible. The ways he fought was almost as though he was a ghost. He had no fear of death almost like he was already dead. And everyone loved him and for some reason I felt like I loved him more. He never noticed me…not even a stare. Not even when the law caught up to him and hung him. I was at his hanging. He didn’t even give me a single stare. He was a legend the day he died and will be one He was a ghost of the seas and no matter how much I search for boys who are like him I could never find one…”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Holystone turns as though he is realizing.

“I came in late. I saw you at the end…and the way you moved. I’ve never met anyone move like you before…except for the Pirate Ghost.”

~

The day is going by pretty fast. I walk up on the main deck and see most of the boys hanging out. The storm has passed and the sun is up in the sky. I can still feel Holystone’s hands choking me. I had seen the anger in his eyes almost as though he was taking out his resentment from this Pirate Ghost’s rejection on me. I didn’t get it.

I find myself walking on the deck and immediately every eye on the main deck stares over at me. There is only one that I stare back at though. The Sea Wolf.

He is on the Quarterdeck away from the others and smoking a pipe. The smoke from the pipe drafts up all the way to the mainsails. He looks down at me when I walk on the main deck. Two beautiful eyes on around a sea of others and for the first time it seems like the Sea Wolf recognizes who I am.

“You been asleep forever…” a voice says.

I turn and see O’Malley. Ashton, Skyrat and Black Jack are close at hand. They get my attention and by the time I look back to see the Sea Wolf again I see that he’s disappeared below deck all of a sudden leaving his pipe behind in some rush for whatever reason. It’s a little annoying to say the least.

“My head is fucking killing me…” I tell the boys, “Why is everyone staring?”

The staring was usual but this was different. Before they stared at me like they wanted to fuck me. Now they were staring at me like they wanted to fuck me and feared me all at the same time. I didn’t get it.

“You don’t remember?” Black Jack asks.

“God no. Everyone’s acting so weird. What happened?” I ask.

I hate beating around the bush. The boys all look at each other trying to find who the best person is to tell me what went down. It’s Ashton who walks over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Trip is dead…and you killed him,” Ashton tells me.

I laugh. It’s hilarious to think about it. The twins were supposedly some of the best fighters in the world. There was no way in hell that I would have been able to hurt them let alone kill one of them. It was impossible. I am pretty sure that Ashton had gotten some sort of humor from Skyrat or something. Then I realize though that no one is laughing…not even Skyrat. All of them look seriously at me. Dead serious.

“You’re serious?”

They all nod. I’m shocked and confused. I’d never killed someone in my life.“You cut yourself and we all thought you were about to commit suicide…but it wasn’t that…“Ashton tells me, “As soon you drew blood you started chanting something. A name. It freaked Trip out but he kept trying to rape you. There was nothing we could do to stop. I even took a bullet for you.”

“You took a bullet for me?” I ask.

Ashton points at his shoulder. Sure enough his shoulder is wrapped up with a bandage. If he did take a bullet it was clear that Trip wasn’t successful in taking him down. It means the most to know that Ashton would do something like that for me. It also makes me feel less bad about the fact that Trip was dead. These boys had terrorized me.I was glad one of them were gone, but I’m still more confused on how it happened.

How as it possible that Trip was dead?

“As soon as it happened you went crazy. We couldn’t keep up with you. You were so fast. It was almost unnatural. We couldn’t stop looking at you. And you just killed him…so fast.”I sigh.

“That’s so weird…” I state.

I don’t think Ashton is lying. That’s not the point. The point is that I blanked out. I wasn’t myself anymore. This didn’t sound like me. I didn’t know how to fight for a day in my life.

“Can you teach us?” Skyrat asks.

“All of us,” O’Malley adds in.

They all look at me as though I’m something I’m not. It’s almost as though they are expecting me to black out and do something that I don’t remember doing.

“Guys. I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything.”

“C`mon. You’re holding out on us. Who taught you all that? Is it some sort of Baptiste thing?” Skyrat asks.

Ashton looks over at Skyrat, “Baptiste thing? Why would it be a Baptiste thing?”

I want to punch Skyrat at that moment. He gets real quiet. He’s talking way too much and the stare I give him immediately causes him to shut up. He looks over at me then quickly looks over at Ashton.

“Ugh…nevermind! Must have just been some sort of freak accident…or something,” Skyrat declares, before running away.

Luckily Ashton doesn’t seem to take Skyrat serious at that moment because he doesn’t press it. I figure maybe this is a good time to tell Ashton who I really am especially when he grabs me by my arm to pull me away from the others.The way he looks at me is just how I would look at the Sea Wolf. The breeze is blowing and Ashton is holding my hand at that moment. There is a gentleness to his eyes when he gets me away from the others. He licks his lips a few times.

His hand holding mines feels so…weirdly intimate.

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know where you came from,” he starts telling me, “But I want you to know that there is something so special about you.”

People are watching us. Ashton knows it. It’s clear as day he recognizes the stares. Maybe that’s why he pulled me aside in front of the whole crew. Maybe he wants people to see what kind of relationship we have.

“Ashton…”

“No let me finish. I thought I had lost you for a minute. I felt like I couldn’t protect you and I thought that I wanted to give up. But now I want to fight more than ever. I want to fight for you…”

That’s when Ashton does something I don’t expect. Ashton presses me up against his body. His hard muscles press up against mine. He begins to kiss me putting his tongue down my throat. It isn’t just a kiss. Ashton is claiming me. He’s claiming me in front of all of these people in a way that I don’t want. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to embarrass him but at the same time I don’t want to sit there and enjoy kissing my brother. I’ve never known how to reject someone.

This wasn’t a normal kiss.

One thing was becoming more and more clear. Ashton Baptiste was falling in love with me…

~

It’s the middle of the night when I hear voices. All these voices in my head. They are almost talking to me and I can’t get them out. I feel almost suffocated and wake up wanting to scream but then I realize that there is a hand over my mouth!

I struggle ready to fight wondering if Track had come to take revenge for his brother. I hadn’t seen him since the accident and I’m so sure that was the case.

I’m wrong.

I turn and realize that it’s the Sea Wolf.

He signals me to be very quiet and then gives me another signal. Bello signals me to follow him! Immediately my heart is racing. All this time Bello had been ignoring me and here he is in the middle of the night asking me to follow him.

I don’t hesitate. I don’t even have time to wear a shirt and when I see how muscular the Sea Wolf is when we get out on the main deck I feel so self aware of my own boyish body. The Sea Wolf doesn’t even seem to notice however when we get out to the deck and I feel like I might be thinking a little too much into it.

“What’s going on?” I ask him.

He doesn’t answer right away.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Bello tells me, “In private.”

There are a few boys manning the ship in the night but none of them seem to notice or care that we were out on the main deck. It’s rare to feel some privacy here. It’s the middle of the night and the sea is beautiful. It turns slowly in the water. The moon is high in the sky.

“What about?”

I can tell he doesn’t do this often. He doesn’t look at me. The look in his eyes shows the disconnect. I’m not sure the Sea Wolf is used to talking to people normally unless he was shouting or giving orders. The only person he seemed to have that relationship with was the Captain and even then he seemed sort of…out of it. Almost as though he wasn’t fully engaged.

Right now is one of the only times the Sea Wolf has seemed really present and here.

“The Captain thinks you’re something special. He thinks you are the answer to all his problems,” the Sea Wolf states.

“And what do you think?”

The Sea Wolf turns to me quickly whipping his silver hair. His brown tanned body looks golden in the moonlight. I can’t help but to look at his lips.

“I think you’re more than a sacrifice. I saw you yesterday. I was wrong and I would like to apologize…”

Strange.

The Sea Wolf was apologizing. He had given me the Judas Chair and not apologized. This is what he chose to apologize for? I’m confused on why he felt like this was important enough to drag me out here for.

“What happened yesterday…wasn’t me…” I explain.

“Then who was it?”

I shrug.

“Someone else. I can’t explain,” I admit.

I had let something else in to protect me when I needed it most. I don’t know how. I don’t know how it was possible but there was a lot of shit going on in my life that I never thought was possible. I’m more confused than ever as I look out on the crackling waves.

“Well whoever he was that came out was brought by you,” the Sea Wolf tells me finally turning back and staring at me, “So I’m not sure who is more impressive…”

“Apologizing me and complimenting me on the same day?” I ask, “I think you’re getting soft on me.”

The Sea Wolf sneers.

He stops looking at me with those eyes of his and stares instead at the waves.

“Not quite. I never saw a fighter like you. I’m impressed with what I saw yesterday. It would be hard to take down the twins. Even when I took down Track it was a bit harder.”

“Wait…you were the one who attacked Track?”

The Sea Wolf all of a sudden realizes he let something slip that I don’t think he meant to. I can see a slight panicked look in his eyes for a second before he turns away from me. He stares out at something. The plywood on the ship. He stares at the stars in the sky. He stares at everything but me as though realizing that there are vulnerabilities in his eyes that he doesn’t want to show me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It was you. You acted like you didn’t want to help me but someone attacked Track.”

“It could have been anyone. Why would I help you?”

“It was you…”

I know it.“This is stupid.”

He starts walking away at that moment. I follow him, chase him down and run in front of him to stop him. He manages to maneuver past.

“Why won’t you let me thank you?”

I’m confused.

“It could have been Ashton. I heard he kissed you today. It could have been anyone. Everyone on this ship is in love with you.”

Did he think I was an idiot? Regardless of how these boys felt for me they were all afraid of the twins. O’Malley hadn’t left my side that day and Ashton wouldn’t have gotten the best of Track. That left one person.

“It was you.”

“You think I care about you?” he asks, “I don’t know what kind of…spell you have these other people under. But NOT me!”

He’s growling. There is an anger in him that I don’t really understand. He went from being soft and calm to being completely angry. I’m so confused. What did I say that was so wrong? I am just literally trying to thank him at this point but it’s clear he’s getting more and more upset.

I think about turning away. I think about just letting him calm down but for some reason I can’t just do that. He’s getting under my skin.

“Are you so afraid to feel anything?”

He laughs.

“What is there to feel?”

“I don’t know. You tell me,” I challenge him, “I seem to have an effect on you.”

“You might want to walk away now…” he tells me.

It’s a threat.

“Or what? The Judas chair?”

The Sea Wolf lips tense up. I can tell I’m really getting to him. He walks straight up to me and presses up against me. The anger is there. I swear I think he’s going to hit me right here and right now.

I brought you out here to challenge you to a duel.”

“What?”

I’m more confused than ever. The Sea Wolf looks over at me. Why would he be so upset if it wasn’t true? He had snuck behind my back and fought Track for me. He had injured Track because he thought Track was going to hurt me. The Sea Wolf had tried to protect me. I knew it and he knew it. Regardless of if he did it in the open or not. He’s such a complicated soul and I’ve never met anyone like him. I’ve never met someone who fought so hard to try not to look relatable and kind.

When truthfully I think he really was.

There was something good in the Sea Wolf.

“You mean nothing to me,” he tells me.

“There is only Holystone to you, huh?”

“Right.”

“I think you’re lying.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“Prove it.”

“How?”

I don’t know what gets over me. The Sea Wolf is so close to me. I lean in at that moment and I do it. I kiss him. I kiss him in the same way Ashton had kissed me. My tongue goes into his mouth. I expect him to strike me. I expect him to even kill me for crossing this boundary. He doesn’t do any of those things.

The Sea wolf kisses me back and immediately there is this connection. I’ve never felt anything like it before. His hand grabs the back of my head. It’s not my imagination! He pulls me in closer. I grab onto his waist squeezing him.

He’s so close that I can feel his dick rising in his trousers.

That isn’t the only thing rising though. All our hopes, all of our fears, all of our sensitivities rose in that moment as well. In those moments we weren’t just pirates. We were lovers. We were enemies. We were competitors.

This was the moment that everyone dreamed about. The kiss of all kisses. I swear at that moment a lightning bolt shatters the sky all of a sudden and hits the sea.

A sudden rain begins and sprinkles over our head and even in the wetness we kiss. Our lips slapping down as the rain brushes against us.

“Holy shit,” I mutter.

I’m the first one to break the kiss. I’m not sure if we kissed for 3 seconds or 30 minutes. I’m so shocked by the emotion in my kiss that I literally stagger back out of his hands. I had NEVER felt anything like that before. I couldn’t have been the only one. The look in Bello’s eyes was almost as though he discovered a part of himself that he never knew was there.

This kiss had changed…everything…

“I have to go…” he states.He starts walking away. It literally feels like he is taking my heart with him as he leaves and I can’t stay alive too long without my heart. I find myself calling out to him in the most desperate way possible.

“Bello! Bello WAIT!” I scream out.

I get no reaction. Bello completely ignores me and doesn’t turn back.

~

The next day I can still feel his lips up against mine. I can still feel how his heart thumped on mine.

“You hear me boy? I need my net.”

I’ve been working for the ship’s striker as his cabin boy all day. The strikers were the ones responsible for fishing. They fished for sharks and other large fish; and also hunted wild game when the crew came ashore I swear he sends me away just so he can look at my ass when I walk away. I see him doing it now. He’s good locking. He’s short and stocky and has brown braids going down his back. The other strikers laugh as I walk away all of them taking turns to check me out.

I get to the main deck and the first person and start looking for his net. I’ve been a mess but I know the Striker doesn’t give a damn. He’s sending me on these stupid errands for no reason. When I get to the main deck it’s clear something is happening. There is a big crowd.

As I approach I see Ashton.

“What’s the crowd for?”

He shakes his head. Ashton has a worried look on his face. I have never seen the entire crew gather around so quickly for whatever reason. Something was going on. Something big. In the middle of the deck I see an argument.

That’s when I see Holystone. The men have formed an empty circle. In the middle of that circle was Holystone and Bello.

What was going on?

“You take his side over mine?” Bello asks the Captain.

“Of course not…” the Captain states.

“Then let me do it. You said you loved me Holystone. You said you would never refuse anything I requested.”

They were arguing. Bello was causing the biggest scene. He has his saber in his hand. He’s angry about something. No. Angry isn’t the word. He paces back and forth. There is murder in Bello’s eyes right now and I don’t think anyone has ever seen him so upset.

“What could he have done that was so bad?” Holystone asks.

“That’s my business.”

“We need him.”

“I need my pride. I want this made right.”

What was going on? I’m so confused. This seems to be some sort of pirate ritual I was not used to. I’m so confused but then I see Holystone take out his saber. For a moment I think they are going to fight but Holystone doesn’t use his own saber. He tosses it on the ground and points.

He points in the crowd. Everyone separates.

Holystone points at me!

I look down at the saber he’s left on the ground. I’m so confused. What is going on?

“I’m confused,” I say to Ashton.

Ashton shakes his head. He’s shaking in fear. He looks completely helpless.

Ashton lets me know what this ritual is, “The Sea Wolf is challenging you to a duel to the death. And Holystone has accepted.”

8

“I don’t want to fight you…”

The chant for us to fight builds up. I look over at Holystone. Were these two supposed to be so in love that Holystone would let this guy kill me just for his pride? I look over back at Bello. I wasn’t imagining it. I knew for sure that Bello had kissed me back the night before. I remember how he tucked his hand behind my head. I remembered how he pulled me in. I felt sparks throughout my entire body. I had done all that and now he was ready to challenge me to the death because of it?

What kind of twisted shit was this?

“I’ll step in for him,” Ashton states.

I know he would. I have all faith that Ashton would step in to fight Bello for me if need be but I don’t want him to. Ashton even saying what he says causes me to pick up the blade. The entire crew is watching me.

“I can’t let you get hurt for me,” I whisper to Ashton.

Ashton grabs me by the arms.

“You have to be careful,” Ashton explains to me, “You have to…I don’t know. Do whatever you did before.”

I’m not exactly sure what I did before. That was the problem. I look across the ship. Sure enough the boys are chanting on. They want to see blood. I think a lot of boys want me to become this super pirate like I had done before. They want me to blank out and wake up and just have completely destroyed the Sea Wolf. The problem with all of this is that the Sea Wolf was one of the best fighters on this ship naturally. He didn’t need much of anything to help him.

I watch as he stares. He is unmoved by the chanting or any of that. Bello’s eyes are watching me. They trace me. A million people could be on this ship right now calling his name or wanting him dead and it wouldn’t matter to me. He’s focused.

For the first moment I see why they call him Sea Wolf.

“Fight or die,” Holystone tells me.

He spits right in front of my feet. It’s inches away from landing on me. He’s ruthless. He could care less. For a moment I wonder if he really wants to break this curse. Maybe he enjoys sailing the seas with his ship full of beautiful boys.

I take a few steps forward. The planks rattle. My hands are shaking. It’s so hot and the sea is a little choppy today.

“FIGHT HIM LAFAYETTE!” I hear O’Malley warn me.

My heart drops. They are expecting me to do the same thing I did to Trip. Even if I could do it to Trip I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hurt Bello, let alone try to kill him.

Before long I realize I don’t have a choice. Bello comes at me. He swings his saber and I barely duck out of the way. I roll out away towards the side of the ship. One of the boys pushes me back in the circle. The chants get louder. They get hungrier! Everyone is paying attention to this fight and I’m embarrassing myself.

He comes at me again. I keep my distance.

The Sea Wolf is faster than this though. I knew it. I had seen him back on Nassau. I saw how fast he moved. I saw him fight my father’s men. He was much more accomplished than this. I knew that for a fact.

Was Bello holding back?

“Fight me,” Bello warns me.

“Why?”

“You disrespected me. Fight me. Show me that side of you that we saw before,” he states.

“No…”

Me refusing to fight just seems to make Bello even more mad.

“FIGHT ME!” He lunges forward and stabs me right in the upper arm. The guy literally stabs me. I weakly swing my sword toward him trying to get some distance between us. He hops back barely getting it.

Blood is pouring. Blood is coming out of me. I look at the bleeding. It makes me feel so delirious. My blood is thick. He didn’t puncture me too deeply but it is enough to cause me to feel a little faint and stumble a little.

“You cut me…”

It’s at that moment I realized how serious it was. The Sea Wolf was a fucking animal. Bello was really so threatened by me that he would rather see me dead than to explore whatever the fuck was going on between us. I had no idea he would go to this length. Right now he is looking at me with no sense of emotion or any sense of regret. I don’t know why I expected different from him. Bello had proved time and time again just what kind of person he was.

“I warned you to fight,” the Sea Wolf told me, “I can’t have you living. I can’t…I can’t…”

There it was. There was this hesitation in the Sea Wolf again that came out of nowhere. It’s this look that he has in his eyes that lets me know that he isn’t completely as evil as he wants to portray. Just at that moment he seems to be wanting to say something and he stops raising his weapon at me. He looks down at my blood. Then he looks in my eyes. Then at that moment it’s almost like he might feel guilty. I’m not completely sure. Either way we are just standing there awkwardly.

“What? You guys going to talk or fight?” Holystone asks his lover, “You told me you wanted to kill him Bello. I granted your wish. Do you what you want.”

Bello looks over at his lover. The emotionless Sea Wolf comes back and his eyes glaze over. He raises his weapon. He’s ready to kill me and there is nothing I can do about it.

“Bello…”

I think about begging him for his life.

“Don’t…”

He’s right. I wasn’t going to beg him. I drop my weapon at that moment. I just drop it. The ship gets quiet. Everyone seems confused. No one seems to understand why I dropped my weapon in the way I did.

“I’m not fighting you,” I tell him, “If you’re going to kill me then do it.”

It must seem strange to the pirates. I hear whispers on the ship. I don’t think any of them have ever seen this happening before in quite this way. I look over at Holystone. He should have the most reason for us not to fight but even he seems somewhat disappointed when I do it.

“Pick up your weapon or I swear to god I’ll kill you right here…” Bello states, “I’ll kill you right where you stand.”

“Then why do you keep warning me?” I ask him.

Bello looks around confused.

“What?”

“Why do you keep warning me? You’re the stone cold killer aren’t you. Do it…”

I take a step forward. I can see Ashton run forward probably trying to stop it but he doesn’t get close enough. O’Malley jumps forward and stops him pulling him back. I walk right up to Bello. I’m inches away from him. I’m so close that I could kiss him. I can hear him growling. It’s how it was the day we kissed.

At this point he couldn’t walk away. Holystone was watching.

He had two options.

He could either kiss me or kill me.

“You think I won’t do it?” he asks me.

The stone cold killer was nervous. How weird was that? I can see him shaking and I can see the hesitation in his eyes and I know at that moment without me even raising a sword that I had somehow managed to defeat the Sea Wolf.

Just at that moment though something else happens. The entire ship starts shaking. At first I think the entire ship is going down but then I realize we’ve been hit by something.

“We’re under attack!”

I’m not sure who screams it in the confusion. A couple of boys panic and run to the side of the boat. No one saw it coming. I can see the splintered sides of the Screaming Dagger.

I notice three ships coming over the horizon! Three battleships!

“Your father…” someone says off to the side.

I turn and notice it’s none other than the Sea Wolf himself. Holystone is beginning to sound the alarm. The Powder Monkeys were taking their position on the guns. Several of the other boys were putting up the sails. I’m not sure if Holystone was ready to fight or if we were going to make a run for it somehow. Both options seem slim to none.

“We’re going to die here…” I hear a boy next to me say, “We’re going to die.”

That’s when I see the cannon release.

A huge cannon.

It’s coming right at us.

“DUCK!” I hear a voice say.

I am pushed out of the way. I’m not sure who does it at firs.t The cannon hits the side of the boat that I’m on. I can’t hear when the cannon hits. Everything goes silent from the impact. My leg seems like I bruised it somehow when I fell to the ground. The boy who said he was going to die sure enough is dead. I turn and realize something though.

I realize who pushed me. It’s Bello.

Bello pushed me out of the way and wood from the side of the ship is now lodged into his abdomen! I watch him begin to lose consciousness and he staggers backwards towards the side of the ship. He staggers all the way to the back of the ship and he just falls.

He falls right into the water.

And that’s when I do something that I don’t think I’d ever do.

I dive out after him.

~

When I wake up I swear I think I’m dead but I’m not. I don’t know how it was possible for me to survive on the ocean but I did survive…somehow. It’s almost like I have some kind of guardian angel or something watching my back.

I turn and see the Sea Wolf.

It’s dark where we are. We aren’t on a ship. We are somewhere else.

“Where are we?”

I don’t see any of the other boys. Bello has his shirt off. I also notice he has wrapped himself with his shirt around his abdomen. I assume it is to stop the bleeding from the wound he got during the attack. I also notice a fire. He’s grilling an animal he caught that seems to be the size of a pig. It would be Bello that had managed to have all of this set up before I could even regain consciousness. He looks down as he cuts out a strip of the meat off the pig and throws it my way.

“Somewhere…alive. For now, at least. Until the curse takes us.”

Great.

“Good evening to you as well.”

I’m being sarcastic. This was news I didn’t want to hear.

He doesn’t seem to be the slightest bit worried, “Eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” I state seeming more confused than ever, “Where are we?”

He shrugs, “Some island. Not sure where. Haven’t seen no one. Walked almost a mile. No one in either direction of us.”

I sit up. I have the biggest fucking headache. Last thing I remember was the Sea Wolf was trying to kill me aboard the Screaming Dagger and now he was saying we were on some island. I get up and walk around and notice we are in some thin cave. I can see out onto the island. The beach doesn’t seem too far away. I don’t see any towns or anything from my viewpoint but this isn’t the perfect view.

“How did this happen?” I ask.

“You tell me…all I remember is a cannon and when I woke up we were washed ashore on this island. You were unconscious.”

“You saved me.”

“No I didn’t.”

I give Bello a hard stare, “You pushed me out of the way Bello. Whether you want to admit it or not. You saved me. Don’t worry. Your lover isn’t here to judge you.”

Bello stops denying it. He just sits there looking stupid. I hate him so much for how he treats me sometimes. The idea that he saved me seems to get underneath his skin and I think he wants to continue to deny it.

He moves on though I think he definitely wants to figure this out, “What happened after that?”

“You got hit with wood. You fell in the water…” I state, “I jumped in after you.”

“Why the hell did you do that?”

He gets up. He’s raising his voice. The guy was way more emotional than he ever expressed when he was around other guys. Bello usually was the hard ass on the ship who didn’t speak to anyone or bother to make friends. The only person he communicated with was Holystone. He wanted that hard, cold reputation and he earned it. Right now he wasn’t that hard, cold person though. Right now I can see Bello’s heart beating faster and faster even through that broad sexy chest of his. He gets so mad that veins are popping out of his neck and his muscles are flexing as though he would want to do nothing more than strangle me. He’s angry. He’s SO angry at that moment.

“I would have done it for anyone,” I state, “Relax…”

I’m lying. Bello would hate the idea of me caring specifically about him enough to jump into the water. I hated how complicated of a person he was. I hated how he pretended as though he hated me but truthfully this was all just an act. I wanted to get to the bottom of this and what better time than stranded on an island.

“Good…” he states, sitting down.

He’s comfortable with the idea that I just would do it for anyone, but I can tell he still would prefer I be unconscious. He sits further away from me than he initially was. He makes sure the fire separates us. This cave is definitely uncomfortable. The hard rocks are all around us. I’d probably been unconscious for an hour or even more.

“It’s deserted?” I ask him.

“No…” he tells me.

“I thought you said you didn’t see anyone,” I explain.

He shakes his head, “I felt them. Eyes on the island. They are watching us. They are waiting.”

“Who?”

Bello rolls his eyes, “How the fuck would I know? I told you I have no idea where we are. God you ask the dumbest questions.”

He can’t help but to be an asshole to me. I lean up against the rock. It’s so uncomfortable. We get quiet for a few minutes because I hate how Bello is talking to me. Then I realize that he is more comfortable when we aren’t speaking. Why should I make him more comfortable?

“Do you think Holystone is OK?”

“He’ll be fine. He’s survived worse than your weak father’s attacks,” Bello responds, “The Screaming Dagger has survived worse. He’ll get away.”

“Yeah I should be more concerned with us then him.”

“He’ll come get me.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. The idea that Bello had no idea where we were but he was so sure that Holystone would come get him blew my mind.

“What’s so funny?” he asks me.

“Who’s to say Holystone doesn’t think you’re at the bottom of the ocean.”

“He won’t stop until he finds my body.”

“Your relationship is odd, Bello,” I admit, “What does Holystone have over you? You don’t fucking love that guy. What the fuck is it between you two?”

He gets quiet at that moment.

“Go to bed. We’ll hike tomorrow to see if we can find the locals and hire a boat to one of Holystone’s resting points.”

He doesn’t want to talk about it. Bello is avoiding me and he’s avoiding the question. That’s what he always does. I guess I’m not too surprised about it. He turns at that moment and leans up against a rock. I swear I’m surprised that the guy sleeps like that. Inches away from him is his dagger. He sleeps sitting up like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

There is no way I’d get sleep on this rock.

A few minutes pass and I find myself realizing how comfortable his chest must be. His chest is so built and defined. I could just imagine laying my head on it. I could imagine hearing his heartbeat through it. I keep staring at his pink beautiful lips. For a pirate they seem always to be perfectly moisturized and always reflect any light source near. I’m staring at them so much. I can see the way his silver dread locks scatter over his shoulders.

I get up.

I can’t help it anymore.

I’ve never been so attracted to someone in my life.

I take off all of my clothes and me doing so seems to wake him up.

“What are you doing?”

I take a few steps closer to him. His eyes seem real alert when I do it. You would think he was surrounded by a million scorpions or something. I manage to get closer and closer. My hands press up against his muscles slowly. He seems confused. I see him even shake when it happens. He shivers as though this is the most uncomfortable thing ever done to him. He stares at my fingers as though I’m about to claw out his skin.

I get lower to his trousers. I can feel him breathing deep as I creep down his tight abdomen. I make my way to his trousers. He holds his breath.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asks me.

I grab his cock. I grab the imprint. I feel it. I pull it out. The heavy meat is in my hands. It hardens in my hands slowly. Every second adds another inch. The thick long dick is fully hard after a little bit and it stares at me, winking with its thick head.

I lower my head to kiss it.

That’s when I feel his dagger up against my throat, “You suck my dick and I’ll slit your throat…”

“Do it.”

“Are you desperate to die?” he asks me.

“Are you so desperate to prove to yourself that you don’t want me to do this?” I ask, “If you were going to kill me, you would have done it a million times over by now. You don’t want to kill me. You’re just afraid. A scared animal lashes out…”

I take my tongue out of my mouth and I lash up against the tip of his cock. As I assumed he doesn’t slit my throat. He just sits there. He doesn’t react when I put my tongue up against the shaft nor when I start to suck it. I suck up on the head. He doesn’t moan or anything like that. He watches. He silently watches as though I’m the one with the knife taking advantage of him and there is nothing that he can do.

I feel so powerful when I take him deeper down my throat. I deep throat Bello engulfing his cock down my throat and not gagging even a little bit.

I break him a little bit as I hear him mutter a long, deep, hard, sexy, “Damn it…”

I know I’m doing it right when he drops his blade and starts panting. He’s breathing so fast. The faster I suck his cock the faster his heart beats. Soon I begin to lick all over him. I lick his inner thighs. I lick his muscular legs. I lick all the way down to his feet.

“I bet Holystone doesn’t do this,” I tell him.

I don’t know why I bring up Holystone. I think that this is going to bring him out of the fantasy. Luckily though before he gets out of the fantasy I take his toes out of his shoes and suck on the toes. I suck on each toe individually slowly. Whatever idea that he may leave the moment is gone. He closes his eyes. I don’t think he’s ever experienced anything like this before and I never thought that I would want to do anything like this to anyone else.

By the time I’m done he’s precumming.

He doesn’t say a word but his eyes are screaming: I want you.

He even bites his lower lip and stares at my body silently. He’s giving in with his eyes now and even his facial expressions. They give away what his voice still can’t. His mouth opens wide as I climb on top of him, straddling him as he sits. I press one of my hands up against the wall of the cave. The other hand I use to guide his wet, lubricated dick down towards my tight hole.

“Fuck you’re so big,” I state as I mount him.

I work my hole around his shaft, rubbing circles with the tip of his dick as though using his precum to really wet up my tight hole. I’ve never done this before but I don’t want to say anything like this to him. I knew how Ashton reacted to it and the last thing I wanted to do was freak the Sea Wolf out. I wanted him to enjoy this.

I wanted to enjoy it also.

I go down on it.

“Stop…please…” he states once the tip starts going in.

“Give it to me…”

I am begging him. I am pleading. He is telling me to stop but his body is doing something else. He grabs around my waist and I think he is going to throw me off his cock but he doesn’t. He just grabs onto my waist as though he is contemplating throwing me off or pushing himself into me.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want you.”

I kiss him. My lips press up against his lips to shut him up. It works. He kisses me back lashing his tongue deep into my mouth. Our saliva clashes. The deep wet kiss is pure sex and emotion that neither of us really understand. It’s as though our tongues can’t go deep enough into each other’s mouths. It’s as though his dick is struggling to get harder. Even more precum comes out. It allows me to get a little deeper.

“Fuck me Bello. Make love to me…” I tell him.

He feels my ass slowly.

“I don’t want you. Goddam it. Why don’t you give up? Why don’t you get it? I only want Holystone,” he states.

I don’t know why he is trying so hard to stop me. Or at least he’s trying hard verbally. Physically he is the one who initiates the second kiss. This one is just as deep as the first kiss. Our tongues interlock and we almost forget that we are having sex. The kiss is so intense that he ends it by sucking and biting on my lower lip and mashing his tongue back into my mouth over and over every few seconds.

“Fuck it,” he finally gives in.

All hell breaks loose then. All the passion between us came out just at that moment. All the silent stares between us on the ship came out. All the misplaced resentment that was bottled up suddenly disappears when he lays me on my back.

He puts my legs up over his muscular defined shoulders. They hold me like torture tools. I can’t move an inch. My asshole winces only for a second before he piles into me. He begins to clobber my asshole mercilessly.

I know I’m bleeding. The pain hurts so much that it’s numbing.

“PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!” I’m screaming at him.

I don’t mean it. Honestly it hurts but that isn’t the reason I’m asking him to stop. I’m asking him to stop because it feels so good. Tears are rolling down my face. Tears of pain or pleasure or both. I’ve wanted this so long that I feel every thump he puts into me. I feel ever charge he lays into my asshole. I feel every pump.

He ravages my asshole in unspeakable ways and delivers more semen into me than I thought was possible.

When he’s done he pulls out and just stops. He just stares.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” he tells me.

“Me either.”

I had just let the Sea Wolf fuck me. It was shocking really. All of a sudden I just feel awkward about it. I get up and start to go to the other side of the cave but the Sea Wolf sits up and he watches me. It’s not in a sexual way. He stares at me in an emotional way. It’s a way that I haven’t seen him stare at anyone…including Holystone.

“Holystone and me are…complicated…” he tells me.

No shit. I don’t know what the history is between them. I don’t know why he is so reluctant to tell me what that connection is but I know that he’s struggling with it.

He leans up. His dick is still hard. He’s sweating a little bit but the cold island night wind dries that up.

“I can handle your past…if you tell me. I can understand you more.”

“I don’t want you to fucking understand me,” Bello growls a little bit, “I don’t want you to know shit about me and Holystone.”

It’s almost like he’s back to his old self. He just fucked me. I start walking away. I get back to the other side where I was. I notice him still staring at me.

“You’re not going to sleep are you?”

“I can’t with you nearby.”

“Is that why you wanted to kill me?” I ask him.

He stops. He turns to me.

“I can’t get you out of my head,” he tells me, “Every moment of every day since I’ve met you I’ve been completely fascinated by you. You ever feel this hard clench in your chest every time you see someone?”

“Yes…I feel it with you too.”

“Not like this,” Bello explains to me, “I literally think of you every moment. I feel that feeling in my chest all the time just from the thought. I’ve done many things in my life. I’ve done horrible things without a care in the world. It’s as though all those emotions from all those years have all come back to me in the form of one man. That man is you. Do you get it? Does that make sense?”

“You think I’m some sort of revenge?”

“Yes? Revenge from the ghosts of my victims,” he explains, “Or it’s as though God saved all of those feelings and piled them away and they are all coming out all at once. Do you understand that? Could you imagine being on the other side of the walls when a flood gate opens. Everything just comes out all at once and you don’t know how to control it because you’ve never felt it. I want to kill you to make it stop. I don’t know how to handle this emotion. I don’t know how to make it stop.”

I stare at him.

It was scarier than I thought. I thought Bello had a crush on me. I thought he was playing hard to get. No. This wasn’t that. This was something deeper.

This was something…terrifying almost.

And yet there was something so beautiful about it all.

“I’m sorry, Bello,” I state, not sure of what else to say, “I’m sorry something that should feel good hurts so bad.”

~

I wake up the next morning and realize sure enough that Bello had not gone to sleep. He is on guard. He has his knife in his hand and he’s pacing around thinking about something. When he sees that I’m up he doesn’t seem to take his mind of whatever he is thinking about.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“They are here…the strangers on the island.”

Strangers?

Something about these people are freaking him out.

“We should go meet them,” I state.

“No… there’s something…off about this place,” He tells me, “Something very off. I don’t know what it is.”

I didn’t feel that. I didn’t feel anything off about the island.

“If they wanted to kill us they would have done it already,” I tell him.

I wasn’t going to wait for him. I leave the cave regardless of the Sea Wolf screaming for me to stop and chasing after me. As I walk out of the cave I see a group of individuals. They are dressed in hoods almost. I’ve never seen anything like it except for the church really. This wasn’t that though. These weren’t church acolytes.

They were dressed in red.

Bello stands in front of me, “Who are you people?”

“We brought you here,” someone says.

It’s a woman. She’s is the only one who takes off her red hood. She stares at me and takes a step forward. For some reason I’m not afraid of her. There is something threatening about them though. I can tell by how many of them have come. These people are not angels but for some reason looking at this woman I don’t feel threatened by her at all.

There is something so familiar about her.

“You saved us by boat.”

What are the chances? What are the chances we would have survived in that water long enough to be found by another boat?

“No…by other means…” she states.

“Stand back,” Bello warns me.

“I’m fine,” I try to tell him.

I don’t feel threatened. Something about this woman feels right. I love how Bello is openly trying to protect me though. He isn’t doing any weird passive aggressive diversions to do it. He literally grabs me and pulls me behind me. Then Bello does the sweetest thing. He grabs my hand. He holds my hand at that moment as though trying to keep me with him.

The same man who tried to kill me was now trying to save me?

“Please,” Bello states, “There are stories about them. Stories from other sailors. I know where we are. I know what island this is. I didn’t think it was real. I thought it was just a myth. This place is Moreen Island.”

“Moreen Island?” I ask Bello, “Something seems so…familiar…about this place…”

“It’s where you come from Lafayette,” the woman states.

Where I come from?

I’ve never been here.

How is this where I come from?

“How do you know my name?” I ask the woman.

It’s strange but that’s when Bello drops my hand. He starts backing away from me.

“You…” Bello states, “You’re one of them…”

I look at Bello. I look at the people dressed in red. I have no idea what Bello is talking about but he seems freaked out. He starts backing away and I know he’s about to run any moment. I don’t get it. The Sea Wolf didn’t run from anything or anyone. What was frightening him all of a sudden.

“What are you talking about? I don’t know these people.”

Bello points at me, “I should have known.”

“Known what?”

“There’s no way I could really be in love with you. You put a spell on me.”

I’m so confused but the look on Bello’s eyes is truly fear.

That’s when the one of the strangers drops their hood. And I recognize the woman. It’s a woman who should have been dead. It’s a woman who I know shouldn’t be alive. She looks me dead in my face and stares me down.

“Welcome home son to Moreen Island,” she tells me, “Home of the Moreen coven of witches.”

9

“Bello I didn’t put a spell on you…” I state.

My heart sinks when I see how he looks at me. I swear he seems so suspicious like this is some sort of trap or something like that.

That’s when he reaches out to me. He tries to grab me but I see someone jump in front of me. At first it’s a boy…just a regular boy but right in front of my eyes this boy changes into a full grow lion. The lion growls at Bello threatening to tear him to pieces. I don’t even have the chance to scream. Bello takes off immediately running up the side of the mountain and disappearing.

He left me…

I look at the lion and I’m so fucking scared that I almost fall over but someone catches me.

“What the fuck?” I’m saying looking at this full grown lion in front of my face.

“It’s OK…” one of the strangers say to me, “You’re not in danger here. Look…”

In a flash where a ferocious lion once stood is a boy. He has handsome face, clean and completely chiseled. He has a mysterious glow to him and just seems almost fake. When he smiles at me his teeth flash something beautiful. When he stares at me, he is completely naked. His dick glistens with a puff of pubic hair above his dick. He smiles at me a little bit walking close enough to me for me to notice that I’m not a threat before some of his friends come up to him and covers his arms with the red jacket.

The mysterious figures cover themselves up at that moment and begin walking down the trail. I look back to where Bello disappeared. My heart skips a beat wondering why he ran away like that. Did he really think I cast a spell on him?

That’s when I see my mother’s hand.

“Come with me…”

I look at my mother and I can see why Bello ran. There was something weird about these people. It’s weird and comforting all at the same time. It’s almost like they don’t even walk. They hardly take steps. They almost glide. This whole island just has a magical feeling about it.

I take her hand and we start walking down the mountain.

It’s quiet…freakishly quiet. I don’t see anything but the lion boy turning back towards me. He’s walking with a bunch of very handsome looking boys just like him.

“The Ferris boys are known for their transmutations. They prefer the lion figure. It represents their handsome and regal demeanor,” she tells me, “Gavin Bah if half Ferris and half Bah. He seems to have a real liking towards you…”

The handsome regal looking boys must know we are talking about them. They all turn back. The one who turned to a lion I have to agree is striking to say the least. He is completely different from the boys on the ship. They are silent, quiet and so disciplined. The boys on the ship were beautiful and oozed sex appeal but these boys had a quiet allure about them.

“I don’t care about Gavin,” I explain to her, “How are you still alive?”

I stop walking. I don’t want to take another step.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Her associates continue walking but I stop. My mother has the nerve to try to hug me at that moment. Not everything is what it seems in this world.”

“I just left a boat full of cursed boys, committed suicide without dying and saw a boy turn into a lion in front of my face,” I explain, “I need explanations.”

For some reason I just knew that all of this had something to do with her. My mother. This woman who I can barely remember and who dropped out of my life like some sort of lost dream. I used to have memories of my mother. I wondered what she was like. Looking at her now I still can’t really tell. She has blank eyes as though nothing really came from them.“You have a lifetime to catch up.”

“No I don’t…the curse. I have to get a boat. I have to get Bello and get off this island.”

She looks at me and shakes her head, “Darling you are safe on this island from the curse. You don’t have to leave. Not now…not ever.”

I want more. I want more of an explanation but my mother isn’t going to give me one. She continues to walk down the hill and smiles back at me. Something is so strange and off about her. Something that lets me know this woman is a lot more powerful than I could ever imagine.

~

The village we arrive at is strange. The huts are gathered around overlooking a stream that leads out into the sea. The huts are something that I’ve never seen different from the clay buildings in Nassau. These huts were made of straw and brick. As I walk down the bank I notice no one seems to stare or really care much about my arrival here. It’s almost as though they expect it. The people who do notice me walking smile and say, “Hello Lafayette” as though they’ve known me all my life.

“This is yours…” my mother tells me.

“I can’t stay here,” I tell her.

She ignores me as though I’ve said nothing at all. An idea crosses my mind. Am I being held against my will here? I’m not even completely sure. She leaves me there and for a minute I think about getting out but as I peak outside the hut I realize that my mother is whispering to these strange looking tall women. She signals towards my hut and those women stand outside my hut.

It’s almost as though they are trying to stop me from leaving…

~

My mother doesn’t come see me again that night but I can hear strange sounds coming outside of the hut in the middle of the night. Animals are squealing and there is this heavy smell of blood in the air. There is this ceremonious drums playing all throughout the night and there is this feeling that keeps me up. It’s this feeling that the world is being manipulated all around me. It’s almost as though I’ve taken a poison and am lingering due to its effects. I can’t really understand it.

The next morning I’m sweating bullets. My heart is beating fast and there is a smell of smoke. The drums have stopped and I’m confused.

A familiar face finally peaks into the tent after a while. It’s Gavin Ferris. He brings me a bucket of water to bathe and some food. He smiles at me when he sees me with this beautiful smile. I notice he has on those red ceremonial robes. These people are haunting to say the least. He walks into the room silently as though he’s done it a million times before. He sits next to me with this comfort and smiles. There is such a confidence in the way he moves. Just looking at him in his human form you can tell this is a man who has the power to transform into a lion.

“I asked the Old lady to bring you food,” he states, “She agreed.”

“The old lady?”

He laughs.

“Your mother, Fatima. We call her that,” he smiles at me, “She’s much older…than she looks.”

“What is she in her 50s?”

Gavin laughs at me as though I’ve said something funny, “Much…much older. My name is Gavin…Ferris…”

“I know.”

“I did the spell that brought you here. It’s been the plan for a while. Those foreign devils stole you from us and we were just waiting for your magic to awaken to bring you back.”

“Magic? I have no magic.”

“You sure about that?” he asks me, “Blood magic is all about sacrifice. The moment that you made that sacrifice your mother Fatima felt it.”

Blood magic?

“When I slit my throat…” I remember.

He nods, “Your mother was able to feel it. She’s much more powerful of a witch. More in tune with nature. She knew where you were. It was just a matter of time before you found yourself. It was just a matter of time before we found you. Now we have you. Now you’re home.”

This was a lot. All this talk about witches and magic. It was just a bit…much.

I just felt uncomfortable.

“It feels more like a prison,” I state realizing the guards outside my door.

“Nonsense. We just want to keep you safe.”

“From who?”

“There is a foreigner on the island. The one with the anger in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to harm you.”

“Bello wouldn’t do…”

I stop midsentence. It would be a lie to tell them that Bello would never harm me. He would. He had harmed me multiple times before. Gavin seems aware of my hesitance.

“You fear him?” Gavin asks.

“Bello is complicated.”

“No worries. Until we can find him we’d like to make sure you are kept safe,” Gavin tells me.

“So I’m not being held against my will?”

He offers me his hand, “Just protected and valued.”

Gavin leads me out of the tent. The way he holds my hand when we walk out of the tent is definitely different. I’d never expect it. He’s kind I watch how he helps me through the village and walks with me. It’s so different from something I could expect with Bello. With Gavin I feel completely comfortable. I feel completely at ease.

“She was the first. Your mother. She was the most powerful witch of all. You may not believe it but she’s much older than she looks. Some would say she’s ancient. Some believe she sprang from nature, a gift from our ancestors. Others believed she was the wife of Satan himself. No one truly knows but we do know she made Moreen Island her home. She’s been here and from her all of the five families came about. The Boss family, the Atwoods, the Wrights and my family the Ferris.”

The families seem to mix and mingle around each other. I can’t tell which is which except the handsome Ferris boys that Gavin points out clearly. They have formed some sort of ancient community where they interact with nature. From the view I can see an area he points to that looks like some sort of sacrificial pit. There are all these slaughtered animals in the pit and the smoke rises.“You said five families.”

He smiles at me, “There is…a complication with the last of the families. The Bah family. I am half Bah. The sacrifices you heard last night were used to wake up our ancestors to help solve this problem.”

I remember the sweating I felt last night. I remember how I felt like something was going on but I had no idea what it could possibly be. They were doing magic.

“What kind of complication?” I ask.

“Nothing to worry about now,” he tells me, “I’m just so glad I am able to meet you finally. I’ve been waiting so long.”

“Waiting…for me?”

I’m confused. I don’t get an answer to it but in the next few minutes I see my mother. She is surrounded by beautiful woman with those beautiful decadent robes. They walk over to us in a sea of red looking like a garden of roses.

“I see you’re becoming acquainted with your future husband,” my mother states.

I look around. I think I misunderstood what she stated.

She’s talking to me though. I’m the only one around.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

Gavin is still holding my hands. He smiles at my mother, “I haven’t gotten the chance to really tell him as of yet.”

“Tell me what?”

Gavin smiles at me. I have to admit his smile is dazzling. He turns to me and holds me with not one hand but two. He cuffs my hands and looks deep into my eyes. His perfect face is glowing. If there ever was such a thing as a prince charming, then Gavin would be him. He reminds me in a way of Ashton. He was the perfect well-mannered gentleman who just seemed so willing. It was completely opposite of Bello. Looking at Gavin I could tell he was the kind of guy who wouldn’t be so “complicated”. Things were easy with Gavin. Things would be simple. Just like Ashton. And the best part of it all was that Gavin wasn’t my brother.

“Arranged marriages are sometimes necessary to keep the traits of some of our family members,” my mother explains, “The Bah family is dying off. They used some forbidden magic and like everything with blood magic, there was a cost. There was a sacrifice.”

” The last Bah woman died and Gavin is the only member left who has Bah blood. We need to carry on the Bah line. When we were young we were promised to each other.”

“I am a Baptiste…” I explain.

“You are an original child of mine,” my mother states, “You have some of the strongest ties to magic. If you and Gavin get together you would be able to fix the issue we are having with the Bah line of witches.”

I look at Gavin. Marriage between two men was unknown in Nassau. Now everyone was acting like it was the most natural thing in the world on this strange island.These people were very strange.

I have to state the most obvious.

“How am I going to be able to carry on a bloodline? I’m a man…”

There is nothing but smiles at that moment.“You should get some rest,” my mother ignores my question, “It’s a long day and time is winding down.”

~

“I hope we didn’t scare you,” Gavin tells me when he takes me back to my hut for the night.

“No…just surprised. Still confused on how two guys would continue a family line.”

Gavin smiles at me, “Listen…a lot of things are possible with magic. Family is the most important thing. Continuing the Bah line is the most important thing but that doesn’t mean an arranged marriage can’t lead to something real.”

I look at Gavin and I can’t help but smile.“Something real? Huh?”

He licks his lips, “Yeah. There’s so much on this island that you can learn.”

For the first time I feel like I belonged somewhere. I don’t have that emptiness that I was trying to fill by going on adventures with dangerous pirates. Right now I felt almost as though this was home.

“Will you teach me?”

“Anything you want to know…”

He leans over at that moment and kisses me tenderly. His strong body presses up against mine. His lips lock on my lips. I feel warmth coming from those lips and I almost think it’s magic. His tongue enters my mouth slowly. He massages my tongue with his. I can feel his dick hardening between his legs. It presses up against my inner thighs. He puts his hand on my neck pulling me close to him. A few minutes later he stops.

“I should probably save it until the marriage. But damn it…I want you so bad. Old Lady Fatima would kill me if I took you too quickly.”

I can’t sleep that night again. Sweat beads are rolling down my face. The chanting is getting louder and stronger. They are going all night. I can’t stop thinking about Gavin and the way they all looked at me. It was almost as though I was expected. Somehow they had manipulated the world in order to bring me here. Is that why my mother faked her death? Had she left me to be raised by my grandmother to come here in hopes of bringing me to her only when I proved that I was somehow worthy?

I finally get some sleep but it’s so shaky.

I swear for a moment I dream that I am floating above the bed in the hut but when I open my eyes I do realize that I am indeed FLOATING!

I start to scream!

I fall back preparing myself to hit the ground but I don’t hit. I’m caught. I look down and I’m in the hands of Bello.

“Come on…” he states.

Bello leads me out of the tent. He grabs me and I can see that he has knocked out the two guards outside of my hut. He is leading me down the mountainside away from the chanting and the center of the village.

“Wait…” I state.

“Wait why?” he asks me, “I came to save you.”

I’m surprised.“You were mad. You thought I put a spell on you.”

Bello looks down, “I know you didn’t. I just kind of freaked out. Besides call this even from you coming back to save me when I was in prison. Come on. Let’s get out of here. I found a sailboat on the beach.”

Bello signals me to follow him.I stop.

“I’m not in prison,” I tell Bello.

Bello seems confused. It’s the middle of the night but his expression is clear. He doesn’t understand why I’m not going with him.

“These people are witches.”

“So am I. You saw what I did on the ship. That wasn’t natural. That wasn’t me. These people talk to spirits of their ancestors to aid them. I think that’s what I did. I think the Ghost pirate literally was a ghost Bello.”

“We don’t have time for you trying to find your fuckin’ identity,” he explains, “We are cursed remember? We have to get back to the Screaming Dagger.”

“No…I’m safe on this island.”

“Don’t be a fucking idiot. Look…”

Bello grabs me. I think I’m tripping but he grabs at my crotch. He pulls down my trousers and points at my inner crotch. Sure enough my upper thigh is disappearing.

“That’s how it starts…always in that area. Soon more and more of you will begin to disappear until you are completely gone,” Bello tells me, “Do you want to wait for that to happen so you can learn about your family tree.”

My mother had said I was protected on this island.Why would she lie to me?

I grab Bello’s hand and we start walking but before we get too far Bello stops. I’m unsure why at first but then I see the shadow appearing. Black shadows just rising out of nowhere like there are birds overhead. There are no birds though.The shadows become figures and the figures become human. What the fuck was going on with this island?

Soon I realize the figures solidify and they are the witches. They surround us! The dark shadows getting closer and closer. I try to grab Bello’s hand but he shakes me off and reaches for his weapon. The figures don’t blink an eye of doubt at Bello.

“I’m sorry I can’t let you leave,” my mother states.

“The curse is still happening,” I warn her.

My mother doesn’t seem surprised. She paces in and out of the strange Moreen Island witches who seem to be doing her bidding. I can look in her eyes and see she is well aware. She was only saying that the curse wouldn’t affect me here to calm me down.

“I could reverse it if I could,” she explains, “It was my fault. Holystone was paid to raid me and steal me away. Baptiste wanted his own personal witch doctor after hearing rumors of our power. He didn’t expect to steal me though…the strongest of the clan. I cursed Holystone. An irreversible spell. He and his crew of beautiful boys would never be able to leave his boat for too long. The spirits granted my wish. All blood magic requires sacrifice. Unfortunately, the spirits took some of my strongest children as repayment. The Bah family line was that repayment. No Bah children survived save Gavin.”

I remember Gavin telling me how the continuation of the Bah family is everything.

Was it worth me dying?

“I’m effected by your curse. I’m your son…”

“I tried to save you so many times. Do you know Baptiste impregnated me just so that the curse would punish me? The only one that can break the curse is the youngest Baptiste son being sacrificed to the Golden Gate.”

“If you care about your son you’ll let him get back to that ship,” Bello warns her.

“What do you know? Do you really care about my son?” she asks, “Or are you just under a spell…”

“I would never put him under a spell to love me.”

“Not you…me,” she explains, “Before I left you I put a spell on you to attract men to you hoping it would keep you safe. These men don’t really care about you. They are just under my spell.”

Is it true?

I look over at Bello.

Was he really under some sort of curse? Was that the reason he didn’t leave the island as of yet? I shake my head feeling stupid.

This woman didn’t bring me here to help me. She brought me here because she needed me.

“What do you want?”

“You get your magic directly from the Golden Gate. It is a power source that we need to tap into. We need you to complete a spell. And then you are free to go…”

“Both of us,” I state.

My mother nods, “We’ll provide you a boat and a map with the location of the Screaming Dagger…”

I’m so hesitant but I don’t have a choice. If I wanted to get back to the ship before the curse took effect I needed to act now.

I nod in agreement reluctantly.

“Fine.”

~

There is a feeling of betrayal knowing that once again in my life someone was just playing with my life for their own gain. Whether it was Holystone or my father or now even my mother it was clear that I was nothing more than a tool. I look over at Bello. He’s tied down to a pole almost as a reminder to me that I promised them I wouldn’t act up. Regardless of how strong Bello was, this was a fight he couldn’t win. These people had power over the elements and this was their island. They were gods here.

“Take your clothes off…sit in the middle.”

The group of witchdoctors have formed a circle in the middle of the village. In the center there is nothing more than bones. They are large and small. I wonder if these are the animal bones from the sacrifices they slaughtered. The bones of pigs, turkeys and beef pile up and when I undress I lay on the bones. I look to the right to see Bello. He seems confused to what is going on.

Chanting starts. The witches are dancing in circles to the beat of voodoo drums. My mother is at the head of the circle.

I watch as she slits the throat of a pig and tastes the blood. She spits some of the blood out onto the animal bones and all of a sudden a big pile of smoke surrounds me. I’m so fucking terrified as I’m sitting there.

“It’ll be OK…someone says.”

It’s Gavin. He is in the circle with me now too. He’s completely naked.

“What are they doing to me?”

I’m panicking.

“We just need a part of you…”

“What part?”

He points to my crotch, “Your seed…”

With that Gavin lays me down my back. He’s gentle and kind. I almost forget where I am. The chanting gets louder and louder. Gavin comes to me and begins to kiss me slowly. His lips press up against me. I inhale the smoke and feel almost like I’m having some type of outer body experience. I look up at that moment and feel Gavin kiss me on my lips.

“Don’t be afraid,” He tells me, “The golden gate is a blessing. There are many spells that are different from others. The gates are the ones that are most powerful. This golden gate is a gate of rebirth. It is a gate of rejuvenation. You will be the father of a new generation of Bah men. I will be the first man ever to give birth.”

My dick hardens. I’m not sure if it’s the smoke. I’m not sure if it’s just my attraction to Gavin. He takes full advantage of my dick hardening. He mounts me, pressing his inner thighs against my waist. He holds onto my dick and lowers his ass onto it. He presses up against my chest as he begins to lower. Down, down, down. His tight ass circulates my dick.

It feels so good. I look to my right and I see Bello. He is forced to watch this. I wonder if he cares seeing me fuck another man. The entire village is watching though, not just Bello. It’s almost as though we are being put on display as they continue to chant.Every few minutes an animal squeals. So many sacrifices.“This isn’t natural…”

It feels so good. I’m floating in his ass cheeks…literally.

We are above the pile of bones. Gavin continues to wrap his legs around me. I can’t help but to thrust in him. If he wanted this nut so bad, then I was going to give it to him. I find myself getting more into it. The chanting gets louder. I’m grabbing onto his waist and thrusting my dick deeper into him. I can feel him squeezing as he feels me. His own dick is slapping against my stomach during each thrust.

He’s moaning, “I love it…give it to me. Give me that semen…”

He’s biting on his lips, screaming loud to even top the chanting of the other witches. I can feel the feeling in my stomach that runs up my legs and into my crotch area.

“I’m cumming…”

He squeezes me into him, pulls me up and kisses me deeply.

I nut into Gavin and there is a puff of smoke.

Before I know it we are back on the pile of bones. I watch as several of the witchdoctors come to get Gavin. They pull him off of me.

“Don’t drop any of the semen,” my mother tells Gavin.

Gavin crosses his legs obediently making sure not to let any of my semen leak out of him. Then he looks over at me and smiles.

“I told you that this could lead to something real…” he tells me.

When he goes I realize how naked I am. I see Bello still staring at me. I was supposed to do it but I wasn’t supposed to enjoy it as much as I did.

I feel so used.

“Let us go,” I tell my mother, “We don’t have much time.”

She looks over at me and shakes her head.

“You’re going to have to keep having sex with Gavin until we are sure he is carrying the next generation of Bah children. Even if that means you disappear.”I’m pissed.My mouth drops and I see the anger in Bello’s eyes.

“YOU LIED!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I had to bring you here. I’m sorry you are going to have to die for this, but unfortunately…like I said before: Blood magic is all about sacrifice.”

10

“This is all my fault.”

It’s dark. Most of the witchdoctors have gone to sleep. I’m tied to a post waiting for the next day when Gavin would come back and attempt to use me again. On a post next to me is Bello.

“Shut up.”

“They are going to sacrifice you,” I tell him.

It’s clear. Bello has marks all around his body. They are marks that let me know that they are preparing to sacrifice him to God knows what. This wasn’t home like I thought it was. These witchdoctors were monsters who were willing to trade in anything for power. They were dangerous and I felt like I was dumb enough to trust them.

It’s no wonder Bello can barely even look at me now.

“Be quiet…”

There is a strain in his voice. I fucked up. I remember the little moment we did share where he dropped his guard. I remembered how perfect that felt. Now the Sea Wolf’s guard was back up. Now he was back to himself.

“Are you that angry with me that you don’t even want to talk?” I ask.

“I’m concentrating.”

I’m not sure on what but after a few seconds of struggle I realize that somehow the Sea wolf has released himself from his ropes! He squirms through the ropes. Not too far from us is a witch doctor who is half asleep after drinking rum. The Sea Wolf goes behind the savage, wrestles him into submission and then knocks him out on a rock nearby.

“Thank God,” I state.

That’s when I see his back.

Bello is walking away from me.

Bello was leaving me.

“Good luck with your home,” Bello tells me.

“You wouldn’t…”

My heart sinks in my chest. I can’t believe this is happening right now. I look at Bello’s back and realize he is thinking about moving. He’s thinking about leaving me here with these people.

But there is a hesitation.

Bello turns, “Why shouldn’t I leave you?”

He almost growls the words when he says them. There is so much anger in the way he says it.

“I’ll die…”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes you do,” I respond.

It’s the only way that I know how to explain it. Bello may want to pretend like he didn’t have a heart and nothing could effect him but I knew better. Under that shell there was most definitely something else to him. There was something deeper.

And I was willing to find it.

“You have a spell on me.”

“If I have a spell on you then you have a spell on me too,” I tell him, “I don’t know why you feel the way you do about me. I don’t know what kind of magic is involved, but I know how I feel about you Bello. No matter who looks at me there is only one person I care about.”

“You mean nothing to me…”

He turns and starts walking away. I’ve said something to piss him off. Before I know it Bello is completely out of sight.

He’s left me.

~

It’s morning when the witchdoctors come out to see that Bello has escaped. What’s even more embarrassing is the idea that he has left me behind. I look over at Fatima. My mother has a coldness to her when she sees me. She doesn’t have those eyes that I had seen before. Her eyes look like the eyes of someone who just wants to get something done and that’s all.

“He escaped…”

“Should we go after him mistress?” one of the witchdoctors asks.

The respect that they showed my mother was definitely clear. My mother looks at me and looks into the distance. There is a strong disinterest there.

“No. He was just a blood sacrifice. We have Lafayette,” my mother states, “Start undressing him.”

The boys begin to undress me. I’m not as comfortable as Gavin with all those stares. I’m not comfortable fucking a boy in front of my own mother. I can’t help but to look at her with the most angry stare in the world. I feel so betrayed.

Within a few minutes I’m completely naked. My dick is swinging. I have no where to hide. The chanting has already begun.

“Are you ready for your second round?” she asks me.

I look over at Gavin. He’s already started to undress. In other circumstances I would have thoroughly enjoyed this. Gavin was attractive. He has no flaws to his body or his perfectly muscular ass. He is completely naked in front of me and lays in the sacrificial circle ready to take me in again.

“Fuck off,” I tell my mother, “Who does this to their own son? You’re a monster.”

My mother nods.

“Am I the monster? Not the boy who left you?”

“You don’t know shit about Bello.”

I don’t know why this is pissing me off. She was mocking me. She was mocking the fact that Bello just up and left me in the way he did. I feel embarrassed. A few of the witchdoctors laugh mocking the idea that I trusted a pirate in the first place.

“He’s handsome. I can see why he blinded you. Beauty is a curse on this world. It prevents us from seeing who the real monsters are.”

“And you aren’t the real monster?” I ask my mother.

She shrugs.

“Yes. Isn’t that what the humans call us? Your pirate lover. He thinks I’m a monster. But if I am a monster then so are you, Lafayette. I’ve done what I had to do. Blood magic is sacrifice. I sacrificed my relationship with you because we have to be prepared.”

“Prepared?”

“There’s something coming…not today. Not tomorrow. Not in many of our lifetimes but there will be a threat to all monsters and only a Bah witch will be able to fend it off. Only a Bah can open the Colorless Gate. We must create the new wave of our family line.”

There she was being prophetic. What did I care about family lines or the future of their fucking coven? I wanted off this island.

She wouldn’t understand and I was done trying to explain it to her.

“Let’s get this over with,” I change the subject.

I walk past my mother and lay in a circle. I hate to admit it but with Gavin close by it’s not hard to get hard. I lay down on my ass, with my dick to the sky. The wood is underneath my back and it’s not the least bit comfortable but I doubt they have me here to be comfortable.

Gavin begins to climb up on me. His ass cheeks lower on mine but all of a sudden I hear some sort of ruckus and I hear someone scream.

“What the hell?” Gavin asks.

Someone rushes past a few of the witchdoctors, fast as lightning and grabs Gavin from behind. The person pulls Gavin hard off of me.

At first I am unsure of what is happening but then I see Bello.

The Sea Wolf came back.

“You came back for me!”

Bello ignores me and presses a knife to Gavin’s throat.

“Don’t,” Fatima states.

Strange. The look in my mother’s eyes shows that she really is concerned about the welfare of Gavin. She cares more about the future of the coven then she did about her own son. I realize that this is the same way that my father cared more about his family name than he did a relationship with me.

Neither of my parents were better than the other.

“We want a boat.”

“I’ll give you it. I’ll give you whatever you need…just don’t harm Gavin.”

There is silence. I manage to get dressed but Bello doesn’t let up on Gavin. He keeps the knife pressed onto his throat. They walk us to the ends of the Moreen Island pier. The natives built a small pier out of wood.

Bello starts to prepare the boat and I look back over at my mother. Our eyes connect.

“You can convince him to stop,” she asks me.

“Why would I do that?”

“You can stay here. We can find a way to break the curse. I can make you more powerful than you could ever imagine…”

Power wasn’t what I was looking for. I was looking for something else. I was looking for a future with someone who actually cared about me. I look back on the boat. The Sea Wolf was a pirate. He was just as savage as these people sacrificing pigs and sheep. In his own way, he was even cruel and more unusual.

And for some reason.

I would follow him back into his danger. I’d follow him back into the rough seas.

“I don’t need your love,” I tell my mother, “I’ll be fine.”

“He’s the real monster,” my mother warns me, “He’ll devour you.”

I look back over at Bello.

He kicks Gavin off the boat and pulls me on before we take off.

I look at my mother from the beach. I am unsure if I succeeded opening the sacrificial gate that would make Gavin pregnant. I’m unsure if I will even see my mother again but I knew one thing was for sure.

My mother was right.

I Bello was a monster. He’d devour me but maybe I was a sucker for punishment.

~

“Thank God you’re OK.”

We find the Screaming Dagger at a close port. From the moment we walk up to the ship I can see Holystone grab Bello. Bello knew just where to go to get in contact with Holystone. He also knew that Holystone wouldn’t have moved that ship without him. Holystone barely even sees me. He just seems so happy at the fact that his lover is back on the ship.

All of a sudden I feel all this jealousy growing in my soul. The connection that Holystone and Bello has is ridiculous. I watch how Holystone holds him, completely forgetting he’s a pirate captain. He owns Bello as he seems to be so ready to take him back to his cabin room.

I have no doubt he’s going to have Bello fuck him senseless.

As they walk away Bello’s eyes turns back to me. Our eyes connect. We haven’t spoken since Moreen Island but there was this tension between us. That shit was real.

“Where have you guys been?” a voice says.

I turn and see Ashton and my friends. They have gathered around me. I was so interested in Bello’s stare that I didn’t even realize it.

“How the hell did you survive?” Skyrat asks.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you…” I explain to them.

How would I explain to them that my mother was a voodoo witch and she had kept us prisoner on an island? How would I explain the sacrifices and all that? They wouldn’t understand it. Maybe it was better they didn’t know about that side of the story. I doubt anyone was going to get it out of Bello, so I do think my secret was somewhat safe.

“You were lost at sea with the Sea Wolf?” Black Jack asks seeming confused, “You made it back in one peace?”

“Sort of,” I state.

I’m being nonchalant.

“Did he hurt you?” Ashton asks.

“Of course not.”

“You’re saying like it’s so obvious,” Ashton explains.

I shrug, “I have a feeling things are different between us.”

The fact that Bello came back to save me means a lot. Me saying that seems to confuse the group even more. I guess it does sound crazy that me and Bello are cool now. They just didn’t get it. Hell, I didn’t really get it with Bello. I knew he was having some sort of internal conflict and I was just hoping he is able to resolve that now that he showed me that my life actually mattered to him. He had let down his guard completely. He had opened up in a way that I didn’t expect.

“The guy hates you. You do remember you were in the middle of fighting him when we were attacked right?”

“Oh god…we were attacked,” I state coming to my realization, “Is everyone OK?”

A few of the guys look at one another. It’s a real suspicious look.

“A few people didn’t make it. We got away from the Baptiste attack,” O’Malley states.

“Great…”

There is a silence.

“What’s the issue?” I ask.

Everyone has a long face. It’s almost as though things didn’t go as smoothly as it looked.

“The issue is Holystone,” O’Malley states.

“Something happened…”

“When Bello went overboard he completely lost it,” O’Malley states, “He was willing to sacrifice all of us. He wanted us to just sit and be target practice until he was able to retrieve Bello.”

I’m shocked. I knew that the Captain really liked Bello but the fact that he was ready to lose his ship and his entire crew because of his emotions for Bello made it clear just where Holystone’s priorities were.

“Love will do that to you.”

“You making excuses for him?” Black Jack asks me almost getting angry, “Holystone wasn’t a captain anymore. He was a boy in love.”

“No…no excuses. What he did was wrong, but I get it. I get that love can make you do stupid things.”

“A coward is a coward,” Black Jack argues.

It’s clear that there is some real tension since I’ve left. The guys are going through it with Holystone. I’m shocked that he acted like that but who was I to judge? I had done dumb things for Bello as well. And now Bello was with him…making love to him probably.

I shake my head. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, “Guys…let’s get back on the ship. We will probably be headed out soon.”

~

We return to the boat and it is clear we are taking off before I know it. The crew definitely had tension. It’s also the fact that no one knows where we are going. I have an idea. Holystone was sure he would take me to hell itself in order to break this curse.

Everyone is quiet on the ship. Usually, there is a lot of sex going on and fooling around. Usually, Billy Blue Balls is chasing Skyrat or O’Malley is flirting with me openly to Ashton’s dismay. Usually, Ashton is shyly flirting with me. None of that happens though.

Everything just feels so heavy.

“We’re all going to die with this captain,” I hear Black Jack whisper.

I wonder how long the morale has been like this and how it’s possible that Holystone didn’t see the crew was getting heavy. I wonder just how many people are feeling this way and how many people are still loyal to Holystone.

“Be quiet,” Ashton warns him, “He’s coming…”

Ashton isn’t talking about Holystone but he is talking about the closest thing on the ship to Holystone. We both turn and see the Sea Wolf coming.

He never comes into the crew cabins and everyone is very on edge when he does. I literally see Ashton stand up when he walks into the crew cabins. It’s clear everyone is very uncomfortable.

I know why they are uncomfortable.

He has the Judas chair dragging behind him.

“You…with me,” he says.

I stare at the Judas chair. The thick spear still brings me nightmares.

What was this? Was this some sort of punishment for something? Had Bello said something to Holystone that would make him want to hurt me? My mind is going with a thousand thoughts and sweat is dripping down my forehead.

I’m beyond scared.

“No fuck NO!” Ashton tries to defend me.

Bello answers Ashton with a solid punch to his chest. I can almost hear Ashton’s chest collapse. He attempts to keep his stance for a few seconds but then I watch him topple forward and fall to a knee. He gasps for breath at the heaviness of Bello’s punch.

“Don’t,” I tell Bello, “I’ll go with you.”

I look at my other friends. They are all feeling some type of way. I had seen them do this before but at this point it was different. Ashton actually getting up and taking a stance like that was different.

Bello drags me out of the room by the back of my collar.

He doesn’t say anything as we walk and he takes me to the lower ends of the ship. It’s night time and the water is smooth. He grabs me and pulls me into a room. He throws me hard to the wooden floors. My heart is beating. I’m so scared. I watch as he posts the Judas chair up. My heart skips a beat. I almost want to cry.

“Please don’t…” I start off.

He reaches forward and grabs me by my collar lifting me up. That’s when he does something strange.

HE KISSES ME!

His lips press up against mine as soon as we are alone. I’m beyond shocked that Bello is doing this to me.

“What the hell?” I ask, pushing off.

I thought he had brought me here to torture me and possibly even kill me. I had no idea he brought me here to kiss me.

“I had to see you. I can’t get you out of my head…”

“The Judas chair?”

“I had to make it look realistic,” he explains, “If I asked to see you in private, people might get suspicious. I had to make it seem as though I wanted to see you for punishment for something. But honestly, I just wanted to do this.”

He starts kissing me hard. His tongue enters my mouth. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe Bello has opened up this much to me. There is a tenderness to the way he touches me. He is showing every bit of his vulnerabilities and I am seeing him in a different light.

I stop him again, “This wasn’t a good time for you to pull that stunt.”

People were on edge.

“I need to stay on the Captain’s good side.”

“Because you love him.”

“Because I love you…” he argues.

My mouth drops.

“What?”

Bello nods, “I don’t think it’s a spell. It’s not just physical attraction. There is something about you that makes me want to be a better person. There is something about you that doesn’t make me angry all the time. It makes me want to be normal. It makes me want to be calm. You do that.”

“You were just with Holystone…did you fuck him?”

Bello grunts.

“Lafayette…”

“Did you fuck him?” I ask.

“Yes,” he responds, “But only to save you. He is going to sacrifice you. That’s where we are headed now. That is the next stop. I am the only one who can convince him not to. But if he thinks that it’s because I love you he’d never do it…”

Bello was trying to save me now?

It’s crazy how the tables have turned.

“You are serious?” I ask, “You really love me.”

“I follow Holystone because I always felt like only the strong survive. Maybe it’s how my parents died. Maybe it’s how hard I lived. When I found him he told me that he was strong and he told me if I stuck with him nothing would be able to hurt me. I never loved Holystone. I loved the idea of not being weak. But then I find you and you’re so weak. And it just threw out everything I ever thought. There is beauty in vulnerabilities. I don’t always have to be strong. You make me want to show you the weakest side of me. The frailness of a heart. And I want to give it to you even though it is tattered, bruised and easily broken. I want to give you this fragile thing…”

He kisses me and all of a sudden I could imagine him pulling this heart out of his chest and handing me this treasure of his.

I imagine him giving me this booty and telling me that it is the most fragile thing in the world to him.

And even if I was on my way to my death bed I knew that I would cherish it until the day I died.

11

“You …” The Sea Wolf tells me, “Come with me for punishment…”

It’s a hot day on the sea. Morale is still low on the ship and the heat isn’t really helping. I’m being a steward helping Ashton and O’Malley with their morning chores when the Sea Wolf comes up to me. A few people notice that I’ve been getting these “punishments” more often.

“He didn’t do anything,” Ashton states.

“Mind your damn business mate,” the Sea Wolf threatens him.

“NO! We’re tired of this shit,” Ashton gets upset even more, “He didn’t fucking do anything!”

I’m not surprised Ashton is on edge. Most of the crew members have been on edge since Holystone damn near got them all killed by my father in an attempt to save Bello who had gone overboard. The tension on the ship was plausible to say the least. Most of the boys were finding any reason to get pissed off and Ashton had made it his specific mission to be pissed off because of all of the “punishments” I have been receiving from the Sea Wolf.

“Say something else,” Bello warns Ashton, “I dare you. I’m the Quartermaster on this ship. Don’t you fucking forget it? Or did you want me to tell Holystone?”

Bello gets in Ashton’s face. He’s threatening. I would be intimidated if I were him. It’s causing a bit of a scene. The carpenter and a few of his cabin boys are walking past but stop in their tracks to watch how Ashton is standing up to the Sea Wolf. Not many boys have been able to do that but I have to admit Ashton seems to have completely grown a MASSIVE pair of balls comparable only to Billy Big Balls at this point.

“You think we’re scared…we’re not scared…”

I’m shocked. The tension is so thick on the boat that I see O’Malley sweating a little bit and breathing heavy as though something is really about to go down.

“I can make you afraid.”

“You can try.”

“You have a big bark, let’s see you prove it.”

“STOP!” I interrupt.

I can’t let this go on any longer. I’m scared and I’m not sure for who. Bello is stronger than Ashton but I don’t think Bello was aware that Ashton was not alone. I see the way O’Malley paces. I notice how the Carpenter grasps on his ax.

This could go bad…

“I’ll go,” I state.

“No,” Ashton responds.

“It’s OK.”

I move before Ashton has the ability to stop Bello from taking me away. I know that Ashton has his heart in the right place but I can see this anger that keeps building in him. Maybe Bello doesn’t see it. Maybe Bello doesn’t care. Either way I knew something was about to blow up pretty soon.

~

We get down to lower levels. I’m thrown fully dressed into a huge bucket of cold water. It feels so brisk that at first, I’m pissed Bello would do that but soon he jumps into the huge bucket with me and presses his body against me. I feel the immediate relief from the hot ass day.

“You ready for your punishment?” Bello asks me.

He kisses me…hard.

His tongue rubs against my tongue. His heart beats up against my chest. He licks my lips, bites my tongue and I pull his hair in return. As he kisses me he strips me naked in the brisk water. He takes all my wet clothes over the side of the bucket.

“Bello…”

“Relax the clothes will dry by the time I’m done with you. This is going to be a long punishment.”

He places his hands in my asshole and pushes, easily into my asshole. He has stretched me out by how much we have sex. These so-called punishments have gone on three or four times a day.

“No…I’m not talking about the clothes,” I tell Bello, “People are getting mad. They are starting…to…BELLO!”

Bello has turned me over and thrust his dick into my asscheeks. I feel the heaviness of his huge cock pushing into me. I feel him kissing the side of my neck. It is so painful at first and yet feels so good. No wonder why people have been feeling so sorry for me. It’s nearly impossible for me to sit. They probably thought Bello was doing some real torture to me.

This has to be the best torture I ever had.

“I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he tells me.

He used to avoid me. It wasn’t too long ago that I couldn’t imagine Bello looking at me for too long without a sickened look glazing over his handsome face but now it’s the opposite. He’s never touched me so soft. He’s never been so gentle. He’s never been so completely addicted to anyone in this world like me.

It’s clear that Bello can’t take his hands off of me.

I pull out from underneath him and attempt to talk. Every time I open my mouth though a tongue enters in it. His appetite is something I’ve not seen before. He wants me in the worst way.

“Bello seriously. I think you need to make another excuse to see me. The punishments aren’t working. People are getting upset.”

He seems irritated that I’m talking instead of making love.

“The punishments are the only thing that won’t get Holystone suspicious.”

“Holystone isn’t my concern right now.”

“Then who? Ashton?”

The Sea Wolf laughs at the thought. I’m so serious though and I show him when I try to move away from him for laughing at me.

“It’s not a fucking joke.”

“Wait wait…” he says gently pulling me back in a way that I’ve never seen the Sea Wolf talk to anyone before. He’s being very gentle, very soft and very sweet.

“Listen, Bello. Ashton is not alone. People think Holystone is sending you to punish me. They think he’s a coward who can’t do his own dirty work.”

“Holystone doesn’t care what people think.”

“Obviously. That’s why he has a mutiny on his hands.”

He looks at me seriously now. His eyes melt into mine. I can see that he is really distracted by his hormones by what I just say. A slight bit of the Sea Wolf comes out but he is still holding back much more than he normally would.

“You think I’d let them take over this ship?” he asks me.

“Why are you protecting him?” I ask.

“You don’t get it.”

“Then explain it…”

“No. I’m not. I have to suffer Holystone all day to get just a few moments with you. I won’t waste them talking about him too. We’ve been through enough adventures. Escaping your father, escaping your father again, surviving at sea and getting away from your mother. Let’s just enjoy this time now that we’re happy and we’re together.”

Bello is right. For a man of so few words when he did speak it was so powerful. He hits me with those words and follows up by sucking my lower lip, slowly caressing me as though we have all the time in the world.

I am the one with the curse but I can’t resist him.

Before I know it I’m pulling on his silver dreadlocks pushing him onto the side of the barrel. I lick on his broad chest. I lip on his nipples and the small hairs on his stomach. I feel his dick growing, bobbing in the water. He claws along my back and makes his way to my ass. His ass slaps on my cheeks a few times hard. He turns me around and begins to continue where we left off.

“UGH, fuck me!” I growl at him.

He obliges thrusting inside of me slowly. His balls slap against my cheeks. I feel a wave of water splashing up against me. It reminds me of the sea water splashing up against the shore. The sea gets rougher as he gets harder and harder. He chokes me and bites the back of my neck. He presses his hands up against my inner thighs, gyrating them slowly. I squeal in delight feeling him plow harder and harder into me. He gets deeper and deeper.

He lowers his mouth next to my ears and begins to grunt.

“It’s so good. This ass is mine…”

“Is it?”

His strokes are long. His torso moves in circular motions. Slow and deliberate yet powerful like a hurricane moving across a field.

“That heart is mine too…”

“I love you Bello.”

This seems to send him over the edge, “I’m about to cum…”

Before he cums I hear the sound of feet tumbling into the room. I turn and see none other than Trip! My heart drops when I see his face. He looks at me and then looks at Bello!

There was no talking ourselves out of this situation!

“Fuck…” I state.

Trip must realize the look that replaces the Sea Wolf’s face because he turns to run. He doesn’t get far. He’s not nearly as quick enough.

The Sea Wolf hops out of the bucket and tackles him to the ground before Trip can hit the door. The Sea Wolf tackles him and restrains him.

“It was you…you attacked me that night,” Trip realizes.

Maybe he remembers how the person pounced on him. I remember why Bello attacked Trip. He attacked him because of me. Of course, I didn’t know that back then. I had no idea who attacked Trip. Trip looks over at us. I had killed his brother and Bello had beat him to a pulp. We were not this guy’s friends. It was clear.

“Baby…grab me my knife. I’m about to do what I should have done a while ago…” Bello states.

I hesitate. I’m excited that Bello just called me baby but I hate the idea of killing Trip. Maybe it’s because I was so confused the day that I killed Track. I hadn’t meant to even though it was self-defense. For some reason, I feel reluctant to hurt Trip at all.

“You going to say anything?” I ask Trip.

“Of course not,” Trip states, “I don’t care what you two do…”

Bello isn’t having it. I watch has he positions his hands over Trip’s neck. Without a knife I knew Bello was willing to strangle Trip with his bare hands. I can see the look in Bello’s eyes. He’s afraid Holystone will find out our secret. He’s willing to kill to keep it a secret.

“He’s lying,” Bello states, “He’ll do it.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t fully believe Trip either but at the same time, I hated the idea of Holystone being with Bello.

Would it be the worst thing in the world if Bello’s feelings for me were revealed?

It could possibly explain those punishments and stop the mutiny that was about to happen.

“Please…let him go,” I state.

“Lafayette…”

“For me.”

I had pulled something I knew he wouldn’t turn from. Besides, I hated the idea of naked Bello grappling down Trip for longer than he needed to. The only person he needed to be naked wrestling with was me.

Bello gets off of him. Trip doesn’t hesitate to leave the room in a hurry.

Bello looks over at me with questioning eyes, “You made a mistake…”

Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I wasn’t a pirate. Maybe sparing Trip was the weak thing to do, but sometimes being weak wasn’t such a bad thing.

~

I get back to the cabins late that night.

“Where have you been?” Black Jack asks.

I shake my head. The threat with Trip revealing us didn’t stop Bello from making love to me several more times that night. You would think it was the last time. Maybe he was scared it was. I didn’t mind though. I could hardly walk as I make my way to my bed and collapse. I try to put on a scowl to hide my pleasure at that point.

“I’m fine,” I tell him.

“No…no you’re not,” Ashton approaches me.

He’s with Skyrat and O’Malley. The two of them look down at me with some serious concern in their eyes.

“This has to stop now,” O’Malley states.

“I told you guys…I’m fine. Seriously.”

“No fuck that,” Ashton states, “If he hurts you he hurts me.”

Ashton had to get it through his brain that if anything was to go on between us it would have happened already. He refuses to give up. Maybe he thinks playing tough like this is going to fix things.

“What do you want to do? Take over the ship?” Black Jack asks.

“Why not?” Ashton asks.

“I’m with you,” O’Malley states.

Black Jack shakes his head, “This is dangerous talk…”

“I’m not going to let Holystone’s Sea Wolf keep torturing him…”

I’m annoyed. Black Jack may have had a little crush on me but I knew he was the smartest among my friends and wouldn’t act on his dick. The rest of them were literally going around having a dick measuring contest.

“I don’t need your protection,” I let them know.

“I care about you. I want to show you I can protect you,” Ashton states.

He seems resilient in his resolve.

“He isn’t hurting me,” I whisper to the group.

“What?” Skyrat asks, “We see how you walk…”

I get quiet.

Black Jack is the first to realize what all of this means, “You and…the Sea Wolf?”

I nod. It feels heavy that he’s saying this to me. The other two keep looking at me as though I’m speaking some whole other language. I’m not really concerned with them though. My eyes go straight over to Ashton. Ashton looks at me with this real confused look. I might as well have been speaking another language besides the usual pirate lingo that spread across the ship.

Ashton seems so hurt at that moment. The look on his face just doesn’t seem to quite get it.

“What did he do to you? Did he rape you?”

He wasn’t getting it. The others get quiet. They seem to get it immediately but Ashton is just so confused.

“No. It was willing.”

“The man is a monster. How many times has he done you harm? I hated myself for bringing you to this ship BECAUSE of what he did to you with the Judas Chair. And now…now you’re with him…”

He gets loud. He gets real loud. A few boys around us turn. It’s Black Jack who tries to quiet him and bring it in so the other boys don’t hear what the conversation is.

“I can’t help how I feel,” I state.

“You chose HIM over me?” Ashton states.

“He chose him over the rest of us,” O’Malley responds, “Don’t take it so personally.”

Ashton doesn’t seem to be calming down, “No. It’s not the fucking same. Our connection when we first met was real. That shit was authentic. I didn’t pull that out of nowhere. I didn’t pull our chemistry out of nowhere.”

He was right.

When I first met Ashton I could have sworn that he was the person that I could possibly end up with at some point. Ashton was just that gentleman. He was a pirate with a mysterious and yet elegant side to him. He wasn’t the man known as the Sea Wolf. He wasn’t the nightmare. Yet sometimes you fall in love with the dream and no the nightmares.

“I have something to tell you,” I admit.

“What?”

I hesitate.

“Ashton…”

“Just spit it out.”

“Ashton I’m your brother.”

There is an audible gasp from the other boys but not from Ashton. We didn’t really look alike in any sort of way. Our personalities weren’t even all that similar.

“You’re lying…”

“He’s not,” Skyrat adds in.

There is an awkwardness at that moment.

“Your father had another son,” I tell him, “The Captain knows about it. Right now we are on our way to sacrifice me to the witchdoctor’s gate so that the curse on me can be broken.”

What was a pirate adventure without a curse and a broken heart? Seeing Ashton like this though makes me sick to my stomach. He looks so upset. I look over and see how upset he is.

“Damn…”

“Ashton…”

“Don’t touch me!”

He must believe me. Maybe he always knew that there was a point where I just stopped being interested in him. Now he knew what that point was and why. I can see his mind pondering as he walks away from me. I watch as Ashton goes to sit on his own cot. He doesn’t look at me. He just stares at the ground thinking. His brain seems to be working over time. I’ve never seen him so upset but I can fully understand why this is happening right now.

I can fully understand why he is so pissed at this point.

“Just give him time,” Black Jack whispers to me.

He tries to comfort me by putting a hand on my shoulder but it doesn’t work. I feel like shit. I should have told Ashton so much sooner so that he didn’t get his feelings worked up into me. I should have let him know what it was.

~

The next few days, Ashton acts like I don’t exist. He doesn’t look at me in my eyes. He walks past me even when I’m talking to our friends. He avoids me on purpose and I don’t think Black Jack was completely right. Time wasn’t helping this situation. I can tell we are getting closer to our destination. I don’t know how I know but I can feel it.

I can feel it because there is a heat in the air. It’s this unique heat that I’ve never felt before. I can feel it because Holystone has locked himself to the steers himself. He won’t pry himself away from the map even for a minute. He wants to make sure we are right on course. He wants to break this curse so badly.

And I was the sacrifice.

And I had no way to break it. I had no way to get out of this.

“Line up…” one of the Boatswain announces.

I look over at O’Malley confused when I see a bunch of the lower level crew members coming to the top deck at this time of day. Usually, the heat kept anyone who didn’t have to work the deck below.

“What’s going on?” I ask O’Malley.

O’Malley shrugs, “Holystone seems bothered about something…”

“Is it…”

I stop short of saying it. I wonder if Holystone found out that people were speaking out against him on the ship. Did Bello tell?

When the boys line up I see Bello behind Holystone. Holystone has a gun in his hands. Something is happening. Something bad. I can tell by the look in the Captain’s eyes and even the rare embarrassed look that Bello is wearing at this time.

The Captain paces slowly around to the center of his crew. All eyes are on his vexing, cold stare.

“One of you has something to admit to…”

He pauses.

A few people look around. I see Ashton in the distance. He’s standing next to Trip and Black Jack on the other side of the deck. Our eyes connect at the same time. I smile at him trying to give him strength but he looks away…uninterested.

“…I discovered something. Something Bello has been hiding,” Holystone announces, “I’ve discovered the fact that one of you are sleeping with the man I love.”

There are gasps on the ship.

My heart sinks.

I wonder how he found out about it. I turn to Trip. Trip doesn’t return my stare. Did he tell? Could he have told?

Did it matter?

Would Holystone kill me? I was going to be sacrificed anyway. It didn’t matter.

Holystone points his gun around the crowd causing a bit of panic, “He doesn’t have sex with me anymore and last night he told me that he was in love with someone else and he doesn’t want to touch me. I want to know who that person is.”

Bello almost growls at that moment, “Holystone don’t do this. I told you I wasn’t going to say who it was.”

Bello finally stopped with Holystone. He finally stopped being his little sex slave. I should be happy but immediately I’m frightened.

I look over at Trip.

Trip knew it was me.

Holystone points his gun, “NO one touches Bello, except for me! Those are the rules. Everyone knows the rules and everyone knows the consequences. Admit who it is.”

Everyone gets quiet.

No one talks.

I look over at Trip nervously. He isn’t talking.

“WHO IS IT!” Holystone growls.

“It’s Lafayette.”

I turn towards Trip realizing it came from his way but it’s not Trip who ratted me out…

It’s Ashton.

12

“Walk the plank…”

I feel my heart racing. Holystone is ready to kill me right here and now. They put a plank out over the end of the ship and I am being forced at knife point to walk further and further off the plank. Holystone himself takes the tasks of forcing me down the plank.

“What are you doing? We need him!” Bello is shouting.

I look back. Bello eyes me. He’s scared to death. He’s more scared than I am it seems like. Sweat is rolling down his forehead. I’ve never seen him so publicly afraid as he is now. I’m shocked at the fact that Ashton was the one who sold me out. Bello has been strapped to the main mast using heavy rope. This is Holystone’s punishment for Bello deciding to no longer be with him. He’s punishing Bello to watch me die.

I look over at the water. It’s so deep. I won’t be washed away to some magical island again. If I did this…I would die.

The entire ship is quiet. I’m surprised. Usually people would be excited about something like this going on but the boys on the ship are looking at Holystone like he is a mad man.

“Captain…we do need him,” Billy Big Balls states, “To sacrifice.”

Blood magic. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place. Sacrificing me would finally break the curse for the boys on the Screaming Dagger. Looking at the boys I think it is becoming very clear to them that Holystone could give two fucks about breaking the curse of the Screaming Dagger. He wants to kill me now because of his passion and his own selflessness.

“Fuck the sacrifice…” Holystone responds spitting on the ground, “He fucked the Sea Wolf. He stole him from me. He has to die now.”

“No…” someone says.

I turn and see that it’s Skyrat. Of all people the youngest on the ship is standing up for me. Then I realize that he isn’t the only one. The other boys on the ship seem to be just as mad. They seem to be just as pissed as Skyrat is.

“He doesn’t care about us,” another boy shouts.

“He never did.”

“Stop him!”

“SAVE LAFAYETTE!”

The screams get louder and louder. A chorus of chants rise up on the ship. I look at Holystone’s face. It’s the moment when he realizes that his entire crew has just turned on him within the drop of a dime. He attempts to say something and calm them down but the chants are so loud. They drown out everything that Holystone is trying to say.

Holystone turns to me. I can see the desperation in his voice. He’s losing control of the Screaming Dagger. People are turning on him.

“You DID this. I should have never brought you on this ship. You’re a curse. You’ve been a curse since the beginning,” he tells me.

He expects me to be scared Lafayette.

He expects me to beg for my life.

I look at him. I look at his sword. Something has changed though. I’ve been on more adventures on this boat than I could ever imagine and I had found the love of my life. If I died here and now I would have no regrets at all.

“Do it…” I tell him.

“Not afraid to die boy?”

“You’ll be next.”

This seems to piss him off even more. He swings his sword. My heart drops and I prepare myself to die but then I hear a clash of steel instead. Someone has jumped up on the plank. Before I know it I open my eyes to a sword fight.

The plank rattles. I feel myself slipping and I’m holding on for dear life. The plank flips and I swear I’m going to fall.

Someone does fall.

I look down and I see Holystone. He falls down into the water. All I hear is this terrible scream that I’ve never heard before as he hits the bottom. I am going to be next to fall but a hand catches me just in time.

I look up and see Ashton…

He’s saved me.

~

“This was your plan all along?” I ask Ashton.

We are in the captain’s quarters. Ashton is looking through Holystone’s things. After Holystone died everyone seems to be on edge. We need answers. We need to know what Holystone had planned. With Holystone gone we are literally on our own now. I can see the fear in everyone’s eyes and Ashton was the only one who had it in him to act immediately.

“I had to piss off the crew enough so that they would turn on Holystone. I figured that him threatening to kill you after all you’ve been through would piss them off enough.”

“I didn’t realize I’m so special.”

Ashton smiles at me, “You’re special to a lot of people.”

I was cursed. I was cursed but I was blessed as well. My mother may have been a bitch but a least she cared enough at some point to put a spell on me that would make me undeniable to men my age. That spell had come in handy. It had saved my life in the end.

“So you weren’t really mad at me?” I ask, “It was just an act?”

He crosses his arms, “Oh no. I was heated. But at the end of the day I’m happy to be in your life even if it’s not as a lover. Even if it’s as your brother I want to make sure that I’m there for you. I want to make sure that I protect you. I think we all do on this ship now…”

For the first time ever I felt wanted.

My father only wanted to use me. My mother only wanted to use me. The boys on this ship cared about me though. They actually wanted to make sure that I was taken care of.

He reaches over and hugs me. The hugs feel real. Sometimes you meet someone and you know they are meant to be in your life. Somehow you don’t know how they are meant to be in it but you know they belong with you. Ashton and I had that connection. I knew that connection would never change.

As we’re hugging there is a knock on the door. The door opens and Bello is standing behind the door.

Bello sees me and Ashton hugging and his face seems…serious…to say the least.

“I don’t regret doing what I did to Holystone,” Ashton explains to Bello.

“He was the closest thing I had to love,” Bello explains, “Holystone found me when I had hit rock bottom and when I thought nothing mattered in life. I had no purpose. I had no meaning. He gave me all of those things and you killed him. What should I do about our little situation.”

Ashton pauses.

Him and Bello face off.

“Would you suggest a duel?” Ashton asks, “To the death?”

Bello thinks about it.

“No. I would say thank you.”

“Thank me?”

“Holystone was the closest thing that I knew to love but it wasn’t love. It was some sort of sick attachment. Some sort of meaning that I clenched onto to keep me alive. Through him I put all my anger and disappointment on the world. It wasn’t real though. It wasn’t love. I found love. I found the real thing. I found that with your brother, here. And because you saved this true love of mine I wanted to thank you…sincerely.”

Bello reaches out and shakes Ashton’s hand. He looks at me. There is respect here. It’s strong and clear. It’s full of compromise.

“I appreciate it from you, Sea Wolf.”

“You should get out there. The men mean to name you the new Captain after you stood up to Holystone,” Bello explains.

“Captain?”

Ashton wasn’t expecting that. Hell, neither was I. He was a Baptiste and for the majority of the time, the boys on this ship treated him like he was some kind of curse. They didn’t respect him. Now things had changed. The respect was clear now.

“I don’t think anyone would make a better captain,” I tell my brother.

He smiles. His smile is legit. It’s warm. It’s strong. It’s everything that Holystone wasn’t. I knew that Ashton would make a good Captain of the Screaming Dagger.

Ashton is so confused, “What’s next?”

“You have to decide. Are we going to keep on track to sacrifice Lafayette and break this curse or are we going to forever be stuck on this ship together?”

Ashton looks over at me. His eyes are gleaming. He seems confused and lost.

“How am I supposed to make that decision?” he asks.

I was his brother but at the same time unless I was sacrificed these boys would have to dwell on this ship forever not knowing how it ever felt like to truly be on dry land for too long. The curse wouldn’t go away. I was the only thing keeping them here.

I knew Ashton wasn’t going to make this decision but I knew that in order for him to stay Captain of this ship he would have to make the right decision.

“You have to put the crew first,” I tell Ashton, “Take me. Take me to hell.”

~

Days go by. The course on the map leads us through rugged seas. It’s the 7th day when we are scheduled to arrive and I’m in Bello’s private chambers. He’s kept me to himself for the most part and even though Ashton has made Bello his Quartermaster, Bello ignores his duties to spend time with me. Ashton doesn’t mind. No one else does either. I think everyone knows that I may not have that much time left in this world.

“I don’t know if I can let them do this,” Bello explains to me.

I’m laying on his chest. I’ve never seen the Sea Wolf cry before but now he is crying. Tears are rolling down his eyes. I curl my fingers between his silver locks feeling his hair up against my body. I have never felt so comfortable in my life. I look over at him.

“You’ll have a mutiny on your hands if you don’t…”

I mean it as a joke but the Sea Wolf doesn’t laugh.

“I’ll kill every last one of them for you…” he tells me.

I shake my head.

“No. I want you to get off this ship. I want you to go out and live a normal life on dry land. I want to break this curse for Ashton, for Black Jack, for O’Malley and even Skyrat. I want you to live a normal life, Bello.”

“You don’t get it. There is no normal life without you.”

He grabs me and pulls me close.

I look into his eyes of those. They are like sea gems. He wants me to know how serious he is with this and I understand. I honestly find myself falling for this man all over again.

“You’ll be happy. You’ll raise children. You’ll grow old. You’ll die.”

“I won’t. Not without you…”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“I’ll move heaven and hell to find a choice,” he explains to me, “I’ll find a way to be with you. Nothing will separate us. Nothing. Never. I don’t care if it takes a million years. We will survive. We’ll survive and I’ll find you.”

“Where?”

“You’ll find me when the storm has passed. When the sky is no longer blue, when the sand is no longer tan and when the fire is no longer red…I’ll be waiting for you when all the colors have escaped the world and nothing is left.”

“Colorless…”

“Yes. When the world is colorless…I’ll be waiting for you always. You’ll find me.”

The emotion in his voice takes over. He kisses me. His soft lips smack up against mine. We kiss for a moment in the silence.

“Do you feel that?” I ask him.

“What?”

The gate. The gate was near.

“We’re close…” I tell him.

“I need more time,” Bello argues.

I shake my head and give him another kiss. I let it linger. I don’t know how many more kisses we will be able to get. I want to make every one of them count.

“It’s time,” I tell him.

~

I climb out on the deck to cheers. Everyone knows what I’m doing. They realize I am giving the ultimate sacrifice willingly for the other boys on this ship. I am doing it with a smile on my face.

Storms surround the cave but for some oddity, the ocean is completely still. It’s so still that we need to get every man on deck to use the gigantic oars and row like in the old dates.

I look over at my lover. The Sea Wolf. I can see the fear in his eyes.

“Remember what I said?”

“When there are no colors…you’ll be my colorless king,” I remember.

I look to my right and see my friends. They are standing with Ashton. Ashton grabs me by my hand. He holds it up in the air. In the distance we can see a cave. It’s a cave sitting just in the middle of the ocean. It just sits there.

“The Devil whispered to us saying that we cannot survive the upcoming storm,” the Captain tells us, “We whispered back to the devil telling him that we are the storm.”

The men rally. Fear is in their eyes. There is sweat dripping down their backs. The main mast scrapes across the top of the cave. There is a creaking in the hull that sounds like someone running their nails against a stone. Billy Big Balls is on the crow’s nest. He has a telescope out and he seems to be the only one who is unmoved by the screeching noise of the hull and the impending doom.

“Hell ahead!” he screams out.

The Sea Wolf looks over at me, “You ready for this baby?”

He sits next to me. He doesn’t have a shirt on. Sweat is dripping down his abs. They glisten against his hairy chest. I notice the tent in his pants. He gets hard when things get tense. It’s a habit of his. Danger excites him. I know that if we survive this that he’ll take me into the lower quarters and fuck me until I can’t walk. I’d have to use Drunk Sam’s cane for a week based on how big his manhood has grown. I watch as he smiles, licking his hair back and grappling the oars.

His muscles move, stretching and showing off just how tight his body is. There is not an ounce of fat in sight. Most of the men on board our ship are muscular, but none are even close to the Sea Wolf. No one could ever be the Sea Wolf. He was my lover. He was my soulmate. He was the most beautiful man in the world.

I’m not ready. I want to piss myself. I want to just piss myself right there at that moment but I know the boys will never let me live it down if I do.

“I…”

I hesitate.

He puts his hands in my hands, “I love you. You know that right? I told you that for the first time last night for a reason. We may not come back.”

“I know.”

“You know where the word Matey comes from?”

I’m scared, “No…”

My words are almost stuck in my throat.

“Matey comes from matelotage. It’s like marriage between two male pirates. In this institution we share everything. I want that for us. I want matelotage.”

I knew the Sea Wolf would never ask me to marry him but this was different. This was something just between pirates. This was something beautiful. This was something pure. This was something great and I was the happiest man in the world.

“Yes. I’ll do it.”

“Then I’ll need you to survive with me,” he tells me, “Promise.”

He looks at me. He grabs me by the hand. He holds it. He gives it a hard squeeze.

“I promise.”

“Then sound the siren.”

“Hell ahead!” I scream out, repeating Billy’s siren.

We go. We enter the gate. I want to explain it but I can’t. I feel the Sea Wolf at my side. He is holding my hand. He grasps onto my fingers. He doesn’t want to let go. I look in his eyes one last time and I feel this presence around me. It’s this evil presence. It’s stronger than anything I’ve ever felt in my life.

“Forever…” the Sea Wolf whispers to me.

I smile.

Tears are rolling down my eyes. I look at my friends. Black Jack has cuddled up close to Skyrat who is shaking from fear of this presence surrounding us. None of us know what this presence is but we know it is the most powerful thing we’ve ever experienced in our lifetimes. O’Malley is tearing up. I’m not sure if he is upset that he would be losing me or if he is just scared.

I look over at Ashton.

My captain. My brother. My friend.

He stays strong for me. He stands knowing that he would have to deal with this crew after this sacrifice. He would have to pick up the pieces. He would have to be there for them. So he had to stay strong. He couldn’t cry like the others.

Lastly, I take a look at my love.

My forever.

HIM…a voice says.

The deep presence grabs me. It pulls me. I’m being taken off of the ship.

Darkness surrounds me. Pure darkness. And then there is light. Blues. Reds. Whites. Greens. Yellows. Soon there is nothing. No noise. No crying. No shouts. No color. The sacrifice has been made and there is no color left…

The last thing I see is my friends. I realize how happy I am in this moment. I was so afraid this whole time of dying that I realize that sacrificing isn’t about what you lost. My mother had explained that to me. I should have listened to her then. Sacrifice was about what you gained. Sacrifice was about being able to truly appreciate something that was gained, even if you lost blood to attain it. I finally gained love, I finally gained belonging and I finally gained a sense of purpose.

I was willing to sacrifice everything for that.

THE END’