They say it’s quicker for a woman to strip rather than dress, but that night I saw the statement was very wrong. Within just a snap of fingers the seven naked women were dressed in thick black bodysuits, with a variety of blades on their belts. A knife jutted out from their wrists, its blades gleaming in the light. Crookbag didn’t dress much. He simply slid his hand under the bed, and pulled out a large axe. If the man was five times to size of me, the axe was at least ten.

And in the next moment we were outside. It wasn’t rather pleasant.

There were at least fifteen pirates waiting for us, and in front of them was a short man with an eyepatch and hunched legs. He must be Hassan, one of Isla’s favorite crew members. Swift with the blade. One never saw him coming.

“Hassan the limp,” Crookbag spat.

“Aye! And Crookbag the piece of backstabbing shit whose cock is about to fall of today,” Hassan’s eyes blazed. “You kraken fucker, do you even know the slightest idea of what you have done?”

Kaya gripped my arm, and I gripped hers. I hated when people spoke about the gravity of the situation. Especially when I was the one responsible for it.

“Listen limp-”

“ISLA IS DEAD!” Hassan spread his hands. “My queen is dead! And every one of you piece of shits is going to have their guts pull off. We will hang you in the stakes of this city and let the crows feed on you. Then we’ll hunt those crows and we’ll pin them too-”

“Listen limp,” Crookbag slammed his axe to the ground. “We weren’t responsible for the killing. This little shit was,” he slammed a hand and me, and I went forwards. “Your queen used to fuck him every time we were here so when her fuckboy kills her, how could it be our fault?”

Hassan’s mad eyes fell to me. “Hah! You are joking.”

“Aye, I thought he was too. But he has her sigil. He stole her ring and killed her with it. Pretty funny ain’t it? Isla dead on the floor-”

“You sliced her you sick fuck!” Hassan screamed so hard I could see his throat. “You butchered her like a pig! The queen of the seas! I have been a sick fuck all my life but even I ain’t that sick.”

For once, I didn’t want to see what was inside that bag.

“Ah that is news,” Crookbag glared at me. But was it just me or did I notice a smile? I shivered. If it was a smile, then that was a sick smile. I wanted to throw up. “Now the killer is here, and he admits it.”

He smiled again at me. I knew what that smile was - admit it or let half of your body ripped by my axe admit it.

“I did do it,” I summoned some confidence to your voice. “But it was an accident.”

“Accident? You sliced her at least five times! What are you a fucking ninja?”

“She was defenseless limp!” Crookbag stepped beside me. “Isla was a beast but she sure didn’t think the boy she made love to would steal her world class artifact.”

I saw Hassan’s ugly misshapen teeth from the moonlight. He was gritting them so hard I thought one would pop right off.

“Fine,” he stared at me, his eyes blazing. “Give the boy then. I’m sure we can think of a few good ways to take revenge. I will conduct the world’s longest torture session on this fucker. I’m going to chop his fingers off, let him bleed, then chop his dick off, then pull his balls out, then gouge his eyes in-”

Crookbag kept a hand on my shoulder and for a moment I thought he was going to push me again, but he didn’t. He just gripped my shoulder tight.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“-then I’m going to rip his nails out, jut his teeth in- wait,” Hassan’s eyes nearly popped out. “Did you just say it’s not possible? Speak clearly Crook, you know my ears haven’t been great lately.”

“I can fix them for you if you step a little closer,” Crookbag grunted. “But you heard my words. Boy stays with me.”

The pirates behind Hassan unsheathed their weapons. It was like a culinary tournament - knives, maces, jagged blades, round blades, what a nice collection it was. If only that collection’s target wasn’t my skin…

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Hassan was heaving. “WHY?”

“You think I’m a moron Hassan? We’ve been trying to fight Isla for eleven years and got success of a toddler’s first poop. But now that she’s dead your crew is disorganized. I’m sure while you’re here your folk is betting over who the next captain is. Besides, your queen decided to spill this boy some secrets,” Crookbag’s hand rubbed my shoulder. “Secrets that will be very valuable to us. I say we take advantage of this situation and rip your crew out once and for all.”

Hassan stopped breathing like a bull. His expression became more of a cornered tiger. Eyes mad, body ready to spring at anything.

“You’re walking on fire Crook.”

“Nay, I would be walking on fire if Isla was alive. Now I’m walking on very hot ashes. But luckily I have plenty of water buckets,” he raised his hand. “CHAGUM!”

Clothes swept from the rooftop of the inn, and before I could blink, two women landed right on top of the two men behind Hassan. Silver blades flashed in the air and blood spewed out into the silent night.

The inn door burst open and the rest of the assassins lunged out, charging past us straight to the pirates.

“Attack!” Hassan yelled.

The men charged behind, and it was an all out war. I couldn’t figure out the details. I heard a cry here, another piercing scream there. In my eyes I saw blades flashing. One of Hassan’s men had his throat’s slit even before he could swing his mace. But before Crook’s girl could charge at another, two men lunged at her. One had his arm sliced off, but the other fell onto her back then kept stabbing her. Once. Twice. Thrice…

I looked away, ignoring the screams. When I thought I could see something else, I saw two men with short swords running at me.

Crookbag stepped in front of me, his axe cutting through a clean arc. The two men raised their swords to block the attack but the weapon straight up slashed through them, sending blood and guts flying everywhere.

“You ever fought with a sword?” he growled.

I spared a glance at the weapon. My father used to teach me sword fighting in the palace courtyard. But that was more than five years ago.

“I hope I could,” I grabbed one of the fallen short swords. “At least I’ll find out.”

“I like your spirit,” he looked at Kaya. “What can you do? Stand there and look pretty?”

“No,” she said stepping towards me. For some reason her eyes were glowing blue. “I can help him.”

Crookbag was no longer listening to her. He was already occupied by three large men circling us.

Kaya knocked onto me. “See him?”

She pointed at one of the three men. One with the large belly. “Charge at him and lunge to the right, then slash his belly. He has a rotting wound there. It will hurt him more.”

“I don’t even-”

“DO IT!”

Fuck my life, when did I start taking orders from Kaya?

But I charged, partly because there was no choice. The other two lunged at Crookbag and he blocked once with an axe before dodging the second attack. Before the third one could charge I was near him. That was one advantage of having long legs. You can run fast.

The man gave a thick grin, and raised bring it straight at me. I followed Kaya’s words and almost stumbled to the right, missing the blade by an inch.

Dear father, I lowered my blade and brought it with all my might, my fingers digging to the weapon’s grip. Please give me strength to kill your traitor of a daughter.

I screamed as the weapon piereced into the skin of the grown man. It sped through his shirt, tearing off the cloth and gradually digging into his skin. I saw a purple, festering wound with dried blood and scabs, and the sight of the blade cutting clean through them wasn’t pretty. But it only lasted a moment. In the next moment I was tumbling to the ground, my eyes stinging from the blood, and ears thudding from the man’s roars.

I looked back to see the man gripping his wound. His eyes teared and he was kneeling on the ground.

“Finish him!” Kaya yelled.

There might have been a slight pity in my heart. Isla’s death was an accident, but this…I was doing it intentionally.

But then I remembered my sister slitting my father’s throat, the screams of my mother, and the fire burning in the castle. If I had to claw my way up to her, mercy wasn’t a thing I could give so easily.

“Sorry you ugly smelling freak,” I raised the sword. “You picked the wrong side.”

I brought the sword down. It was a clean cut. I even saw how the blade chopped through the thick flesh, how blood spurted out like a fountain, and how the head just lopped down like a ball. In a moment all that stood was the man’s headless body, and then it lumped to the ground.

I stood there, heaving.

“Hahaha!” Crookbag’s axe was on the head of one man, while the other lay bleeding, guts frothing out. “That’s the spirit boy. I’m starting to feel happy about not killing you.”

Kaya stepped towards me and gripped my arm. “Focus. It’s not over.”

I frowned at her. “How did you know the guy had a wound?”

“That’s my other skill,” she said smugly. “It’s called Sight. Combines [Lust] and [Greed]. It allows me to look a few moments into the future. A deterministic future.”

“Can’t you see the future now?”

“I cannot use it every moment,” she snapped. “And I used the last material points I have. Now I’m just here to stand and look pretty.”

“YOU FUCKKKKKKEEEEEERRRRRRSSSSSS!” Hassen howled from the corner of the street. “You are fucking dead.”

“Don’t let him escape!” Crookbag yelled, charging after him.

“Oh no,” Hassan grabbed a blade from his back. “I ain’t running.”

He cut his finger, and instead of blood, a thick black smoke crept out. One of the assassins charged past me straight at him, but Hassan disappeared in an instant.

“He’s using one of his skills.” Kaya muttered.

The assassin stopped, and in that instant Hassan appeared behind her. “DiE!”

The blade sank cleanly to her back. Crookbag roared and lunged at Hassan, axe raised, but the man disappeared again and the pirate landed on the ground with a thud.

In the next moment he was at the corner of the street again. And now I saw new pirates appearing through the shadows. Some from the alleyways, others from the Main Street.

“You needed war,” Hassan grinned like a madman. “Well you fucking backstabbers, here it is! FIGHT US NOW!”