“The captain is our pirate queen 

The angel of the seven seas

Master of the nightingale 

Named-for the guardian of hell

She guides our ship, wings spread far

Guided by the azure star

The truest captain of the sea,

The one that we call Angeline. 

Angeline groaned as her entire crew sang in a chorus of clashing voices. They called it their war song and it was the reason that she regularly contemplated putting a ball of lead into the back of her helmsman, Evans, who drunkenly came up with the song one night. And of course, the moment it hit the ears of everyone else, it was too late to stop it. Luckily for her, being in the crows allowed the music to float away into the air and not bombard her from all sides. 

After the song had mercifully ended there was a few moments of silence before said helmsman called up to her. “Anything Captain?”

“Tell me what you see Evans,” Angeline yelled back. 

“Just open sea ma’am.”

“Exactly.” She pointed. “Just keep your eyes forward and make sure we stay on the path. The Lark already has a head start.”

Evans said something under his breath, but did as he was told. Angeline walked around the nest to check on the rest of her crew. Two gunners stood ready at each cannon, with more underneath. Crow would be the one keeping them in line down there. Angeline smiled as she imagined the short woman and her stone frown looking for her next target. It wouldn’t be a successful day unless she reprimanded someone for not standing perfectly straight or if a cannon ball wasn’t aligned correctly on the stack.

 While Angeline continued to observe, the two cabin boys carried a small barrel onto the deck. They took the lid off and began to fill up a couple jugs with water. With the sun always beating down on their heads it was important for the crew to stay hydrated. And while having the  barrel on the deck would have made it easier to access, it was better to keep it below where it could stay cool. 

Angeline was going to call a couple orders to the cabin boys when the ship began to vibrate. She held onto the mast and the vibration passed through the wood and into her body shaking her bones and chattering her teeth. It felt like steering a carriage over a rocky road. As they continued forward the vibrations got worse, making the ship groan in protest. 

Finally, after an agonizing minute, the vibrations stopped. Breathing a sigh of relief, Angeline opened her eyes and smiled.   The clear blue sky that had just been there was now replaced with a dark orange glow as if the sun had just disappeared behind the horizon. The clouds swirled together in a circular pattern surrounding the island that had not been there moments before. In the center of the island was a volcanic mountain that glowed like a lit furnace. Trees covered the rest of the island. 

Angeline pulled a scroll from her back pocket and unrolled it. On it was a drawing of the mountain surrounded by clouds in the sky. There was no question, this was the mirage island. 

“Evans,” Angeline called.

“Y-yes captain?” the helmsman said. 

“I think I see something now.”

—

Finding a place to dock the ship proved difficult. The edge of the island was nothing but rocky shelves that jutted out unevenly.  They had to sail for several hours before there was any sign of the Lark. 

“There she is captain,” Evans called. 

Angeline held back a snark. She could obviously see the ship. It was twice the size of the Nightingale, and waved the standard of the Cannoneers, a silver coin with a golden sun around it. They were a conglomerate of privateers and merchants. 

The Lark was anchored up near a small beach that was barely big enough to house the ship. 

“Steer us behind that rock shelf on the left.” Angeline pointed at a spot near the island that would keep them out of sight. She then called down to one of the cabin boys. “Get Crow and tell her to bring two others with her.” The cabin boy saluted Angeline and disappeared below without a word. 

Crow was on the deck before Angeline had finished climbing down from the crows nest. She was a foot shorter than the two that had accompanied her. Like her name implied her hair was jet black, and it covered her face in loose mangy strands. It contrasted against her lighter shirt and trousers. 

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“Captain, this is Gin and Arrow.” Crow gestured to each one as she spoke. Angeline recognized them as newer recruits to the ship. Crow was entrusted with hiring new people, and if they lasted long enough then they would be introduced to Angeline. As captain, memorizing names of those who couldn’t handle being on her crew was a distraction and a waste of time. The fact that Crow chose these two meant they had passed her scrutiny. 

Arrow was a tall man with long brown hair that was tied back and had a crossbow on his back. The one named Gin was only slightly taller than Crow and had a shaved head. He wore a leather harness with knives forced into sheaths all throughout. Unlike Arrow he did not wear a shirt, but he did wear a cloth bandana over his mouth. Angeline wasn’t one to dictate what her crew wore, but Gin made her consider it. The whole outfit made him look like a gremlin.

Angeline nodded to both of them. “We don’t know how far into the island those of the Lark have gotten, but Scarab likes to have at least a dozen people with him at all times, so they’ll definitely leave a trail. Our goal is to catch up to them as fast as possible and beat them to the relic.”

“What exactly is the relic?” Arrow asked. 

Crow elbowed him in the stomach and he doubled over with a grunt. “Do not speak when she is speaking.”

Arrow straightened up. “Sorry Captain.”

Angeline stifled a laugh. “Our employer was vague about it. They called it a compass, but said it didn’t look like a compass. Whatever it is, we were paid to retrieve it and that’s what's going to happen. Any other questions?” Crow eyed Arrow. “Let’s go.” 

The side boat was big enough for about ten people, so they had plenty of room to sit down. Angeline sat at the front and Crow directed Gin and Arrow to sit in the center on the left and right to man the oars. She sat right behind them with her cutlass in her lap. As soon as they hit the water, both men began paddling and they drifted away from the Nightingale. Angeline turned her head and watched as they got farther away. The boat was thinner than most of its kind which allowed it to travel faster on the wind. She sighed and turned away back towards their destination. Leaving even for a short time the Nightingale always felt like leaving behind an arm. 

They rounded the rock shelf and the Lark came into full view. With any other ship, Angeline would be worried about being spotted and attacked, but the crew on this particular ship became lazy when the captain wasn’t onboard and they spent their time gambling, drinking and sleeping. Even though they had a lookout to warn them when the captain returned, they weren’t that attentive about their job. Angeline learned this on the one occasion she had to plunder their ship and return with their goods without being seen. 

They steered the boat to the far corner of the beach behind an outcropping of rocks and stored the boat there. Even if the Lark’s crew were apathetic at times, they were still pirates, and could still be dangerous, so leaving the boat in the open would do more harm than good. As soon as the boat was tied down Angeline unhooked her sword and gun and threw them on the top of the rocks. She then threw one of her long legs onto the ledge and hoisted herself up. 

As soon as she righted herself Angeline went to give a hand up for the next person, but all three of them had already jumped out of the boat and into the shallow water. Some of the water splashed onto Angeline’s face making her blink. Crow always preferred the more direct route. The barely hidden grimace on Arrow’s face showed that he would’ve preferred the climb over getting his feet wet. 

Angeline rehooked her weapons and looked towards the island and frowned. “That's odd.” 

Crow walked up next to Angeline and scanned the treeline. “No trail.” 

Angeline went for her gun, but a chorus of clicks stopped her. 

“Best you put your hand down,” a sharp voice said. It sounded like it came from in front of them but there was no body to go with it. 

“Where are you Scarab?” Angeline called. 

The voice cackled and then a man appeared holding two silver flintlock pistols. There was a ripple in the air as he walked forward. He was a burly man with more hair on his face than a bear had fur. His black mane of hair was covered by a bright red tricorne which matched his coat. “Well, the Angel of the Ocean herself.”

“Don’t you dare disrespect the captain,” Crow snapped, taking a step forward. . 

Scarab aimed one of his pistols at Crow. “Keep yer mouth shut. The captain can speak for herself.” 

“Think you're good enough to shoot me before I get to you?” Angeline moved her hand to her holster. “Because I think I’ll be able to strike you between your pretty little eyes first.”

“And then you’ll have more holes in you than a moth-eaten sock.” Scarab glanced over at Angeline but kept his gun pointed at Crow. “You may not be able to see my men, but believe me, they see you.”

“Fun. So why the welcoming party? I figured you’d be gone if you already found the compass. You’re not one to turn down a bounty.” Angeline smiled, “That is, unless you don’t have it yet?”

“Well, I was hoping to, you know,” Scarab gestured with his other gun, “enlist your help. This particular treasure is protected, and I just thought, with you so willingly coming after it as well, there was no point in endangering my own men. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Angeline crossed her arms. “By not shooting me in the back?”

“Among other things.”

“You’re a lousy negotiator.”

“Tell you what Angel.”

“It’s Angeline,” Crow hissed.

Scarab ignored her. “I’ll let the other three go. It’ll be just you and me, and my men. And if all goes according to plan, well we’ll see what happens. What do you say, Angel?” He glanced at Crow as he said the name again.  

“Fine,” Angeline said. 

“Just like that?” Scarab holstered one of his pistols. “For sure, I thought you would fight a little more.”

“I never said I’d make it easy for you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Scarab gestured with the pistol he still had trained on Crow. “Alright little birdy, time for you to fly back to your nest.”