Wendy felt her heart warming toward the youngster. She didn’t know how he had come to join a pirate crew, but Hook’s evil hadn’t seemed to rub off on him yet. “I was born in Jocestria, but my dad was from Brulark and my mom is Erimevkan.”
“Ohhhhhh,” Davi sing-songed as he nodded several times, apparently without comprehension. Then he blinked and tossed out a “Bye!” over his shoulder as he disappeared.
The sound of a fiddle pulled Wendy’s attention to the front of the ship. A middle-aged man with dark hair and a sparse beard stood precisely adjusting the strings one at a time, testing after each adjustment. Two more crewmen had joined him and seemed to be arranging their portion of the deck to better suit a musical interlude, if the pipes and accordion they carried were any indication.
As the trio continued to prepare their instruments, more and more of the crew found their way to that circle of light. Wendy suspected tonight’s entertainment would take some time to conclude. Unfortunately, the fiddler was too close to her escape route for her to consider sneaking out under the cover of music. With a sigh, she heaved herself off the crate and made her way to the brig.
The darkness made it even harder to find her way, and she found herself turned around rather quickly. Since the cat had disappeared again and her shins hurt from slamming into things, she gave in and retrieved the lantern Tam had left by her dinner.
The concert had begun in earnest by this point. Several crew members stomped their feet or danced a jig to the tune. Wendy snagged the lantern and retraced her steps without stickingaround. The cheery music felt like an insult while her brothers were still in peril.
Safely in the brig at last, she took care to lock the outer door, then examined her cell and discovered that Tam had spoken the truth: She was able to secure the cell from inside. The lantern was hung on an oddly perfect hook, and the keys were tucked into her pocket.
Wendy dropped herself onto the unusually comfortable bed with a sigh. “Now what?” Sleeping was a good idea, but how would she ensure she woke up at the proper time?
She sat up and smacked her hand against her forehead before dragging it down her face. “How could I forget?” She shook her head, then called lightly, “Leq? Disa?”
For a lengthy moment that decreased Wendy’s hope with every passing second, nothing happened. Then a blue bundle of flame flashed into being too close to her face. She managed not to flinch this time but still scowled at the sheerie instinctively, who responded by switching to his humanoid shape.
“Disa, where’s Leq?” she asked, imagining all the horrible mischief a bored sheerie could incite.
Disa indulged in a few aerial acrobatics before settling on her knee. “Leq left to tell Iniq and Shaye to stay with brothers.”
“Oh!” Wendy was surprised and pleased that her flightiest companion had remembered her instructions. “Well, good.”
Disa hopped up and down on her knee.
“Will you help me with something?”
Flying up to face level again, Disa announced, “Always help Wenny!”
“Thank you, Disa. We’re getting off this ship tonight, but I have to wait until most of the crew have gone to bed. Do you hear the music?”
The pint-sized faery nodded vigorously.
“Good. I need you to watch the show and come get me when everyone goes to bed after. Can you do that?”
“I can!” the sheerie cheered before popping out of sight.
Wendy pulled in a deep breath and patted her palms on her lap. “Well, that’s that. What next?”
Sleep really was her best option, but her late nap made it less appealing and potentially impossible. Determined to try anyway, she turned the lantern down as low as it would go, then arranged herself in a comfortable resting position.
With the faint strains of a pirate shanty forming the background of her thoughts, she settled into the cushion and set her mind to composing convincing arguments for the naval police. Persuading them to act against a beloved folk hero would be tricky.
*****
Wendy woke with a start when a small sheerie foot slipped into her ear.
“Ah!” She sat up and rubbed her ear while scowling at Disa, who seemed oblivious that some might dislike waking to a small creature crawling up the side of their head.
“Music’s done,” he announced proudly.
Wendy dialed back her dirty look. “Thank you, Disa.” She rubbed her eyes next. “Has everyone gone to bed?”
“No.”
She squinted at him with sleep-blurred eyes. “What do you mean? Who’s awake?”
