Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 07

Will got out of the tub after a quick rinse. He was impressed at how warm the water had stayed.

"Jus' pull the drain stopper," Belita said. She was in the process of being dried off by her dutiful cabin girl. She had her foot up on a stool and Bella was finishing dragging a soft cloth along her thigh and calf.

"Do I get that sort of treatment?" Will asked.

"You're not captain," Cabin Girl Bella said, smugly. He looked around for his own towel. The one Bella had been using hit him in the face. The two nude women walked out of the room laughing. He sighed and started drying himself as he took a closer look at Belita's bath system.

It was just a lever-activated bilge pump. It drew sea water up a pipe and dumped it into the tub. The odd little stone charm carved with an emblem that looked vaguely like fire hung from the spigot and magically heated the water. Very simple. He was impressed. He'd seen a whaling ship use a similar system to draw water up on to the main deck so the swabs could more easily wash it. He'd had a system like it at the lighthouse. He thought his system was pretty clever, but he hadn't known about whatever this warm water charm was. That was the real master stroke to the design.

He pulled the drain plug and the bathwater started draining out into the ocean below. He finished drying, wrapped the cloth around his waist, and walked back into the cabin just in time to see a naked Bella finish drawing a small white sigil on her sternum.

"Can we come up with somethin' other than candles right on the floor," Belita asked from where she was sprawled nude on the bed. "With us all right here, it's probably fine, but open flames on my ship gives me nerves."

"Sure," the N'madi witch answered. "The candles were important to the ritual because they are made with beeswax. It's symbolic. Bees are seekers, so beeswax helps reinforce the intentions of the spell I used to find my mirror back at Mary's. Now that the connection between the mirrors has been forged, any kind of flame next to the mirror will do to activate it. We could install a couple of these wall lanterns and that would work the same way."

"Aye, lets make tha' happen. Talk tae Mister North about it t'morrow," Belita said.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Bella grinned.

"Will, can ye fill the bucket in there from the tub an' set it just inside the doorway next to ye?" the Captain continued, somehow managing to sound like she was all business and authority in spite of the fact that she was casually adjusting the rings in her nipples. "If we get hit by a big wave ,or someone kicks a candle, I want some water close at hand."

Will looked around and spotted the bucket. By the time he finished the strange fog was rolling through the mirror, changing what it showed.

Tonya was looking in the mirror and shaking out a lit taper. She was still dressed in her fancy green corset, her small breasts lifted as high as they would go. Centered high on her breastbone was a white emblem that mostly matched Bella's.

"Nice timing," Bella said as Tonya faded into view. The witch looked over the sigil on her apprentice's chest and nodded. "Looks good. Practice your curves. There's a few that are a little sloppy."

"It's hard to draw them on myself," Tonya said, clearly exasperated. "I had to redo the ones on the right twice."

"On the shelf in the red box there's some tools and stencils to help make more precise patterns. You need to learn to do it all by hand eventually, but if you're struggling use them. That's what they're for," Bella said.

Tonya looked over her shoulder at the box Bella had mentioned, then looked through the mirror again. "So now what?"

"You have your circle up? Your candles are in place?" Bella asked.

"Uh huh," Tonya said. "It's just drawn in chalk though. I didn't think I should use paint or ink on the floor."

"Chance would skin you," Bella giggled. "Chalk should be fine for this."

"I like my skin," Tonya wrinkled her nose.

"You've already lit the candles. Now you just need to start gathering energy." Bella instructed. "This is a transfer sigil, so you're going to be continually moving the energy you pull into the nearest, strongest spell lattice. That's going to be the mirror. Since your circle is up, you shouldn't get any kind of interference unless someone's doing something really powerful in the Lounge or something."

"I don't think that's going to happen, but I'll let you know," Tonya smirked.

"I don't know, after seeing what Caine was doing earlier, I'm being extra cautious," Bella said.

"What?" Tonya looked quite confused.

"Caine. He was in the Ways. Not like I was. He was there, physically," Bella said.

"I don't actually know what that means," Tonya said, trying to remember if there had been a lesson about that.

"Right. You haven't gotten to that book yet. Nevermind. I'll explain later."

"So Caine can work magic?" Tonya asked.

"Sure looks like it," Bella shrugged. "It shouldn't matter for this though."

From the wash room doorway, Will didn't say anything. He was a bit surprised, but it passed quickly. If he wasted time being shocked every time he learned something unexpected about Caine, he wouldn't get much else done.

Janie sat behind Tonya on the small table watching the whole scene play out with fascination. She gave Will a small wave when he entered the frame of the mirror. He waved back and sat on the edge of the bed. Belita ran her hand up his spine. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.

"Alright, I think you're ready," Bella said.

Tonya grinned and looked behind her to Janie. "You staying?"

Janie nodded. "I really like watching," she said quietly. She marveled at how easy it was to say that now. Days ago she never could have admitted it out loud.

"Then you can help, come here," Tonya said, reaching toward her.

Janie blinked. "I'm not sure I..."

"You know as much about how pattern magic works as Tonya does," Bella said. "Maybe as much as I do. I know you've had to transfer gathered energy into a spell lattice before."

"Well yes, but that was under very different circumstances. I've only drawn energy through prayer rituals before. There were twenty or more of us, and we used a ritual Lantern to transfer the energy into the ward we'd made. It wasn't transferring energy straight into a ward. It was more like filling a bucket, and then domping the bucket somewhere else. " Janie explained.

"It's the same thing. Transfer patterns can store energy too. Not as well as some other patterns, but well enough. The mark on your chest is the Lantern or bucket. The mirror is the ward." Bella sounded like she was explaining basic arithmetic.

"And I suppose sex is just another form of prayer?" Janie asked flatly.

"Well, yes. For our purposes, anyway. You'll see," Bella smiled.

"I feel like I should be doing penance just for listening to you say that." Janie looked conflicted.

"If you don't like how it feels you can stop at any time. This is a transference. There won't be any kind of large build up so we don't have to worry about it destabilizing," Bella said. "If you decide to leave at any time, it won't mess anything up."

Janie sighed. "This is witchcraft. I'm really not supposed to do this."

"I have a licence," Bella countered. "Didn't there used to be an entire order of the Magistrate dedicated to overseeing Witches and working with them to make sure they stayed on the right path?"

"Yes, the Order of the Lantern. They're gone now," Janie said. "They became the Order of the Hammer." There was a flicker of something dark in Bella's eyes. Sadness. Anger. Fear. She put it out of her mind quickly, but Janie saw it, and knew why it was there. "Sorry," she said quietly.

Bella shook her head and continued as if it hadn't happened. "Well, I need a Lantern."

"No you don't," Janie said with a small scoff. "You're about as wholesome as witches get."

"Still a witch though," Bella's smile was full of pride and mischief. "I definitely need a magistrate guide to keep me on the straight and narrow. So does Tonya. She's scandalous and immoral."

"I am," Tonya's smile matched Bella's.

Janie sighed. "Fine."

Tonya bounced with excitement and started drawing on Janie's chest above her bustier. "Sister Evangelina, Order of the Lantern," she winked.

"As long as we're already delving into blasphemies, might as well go all in," Janie sighed.

"You're just adhering to an older tradition," Tonya said, holding Jaine's shoulder with one hand to keep her still and carefully tracing a white arc with the other. "I thought the Magistrate was all about that kind of thing."

"I think they would draw a line at invoking the traditions of a disbanded Order to justify participating in an occultist orgy," Janie said flatly.

"Orgy? There's only two of us. Should I go get more?" Tonya looked up at her excitedly.

"No!" Janie looked horrified. She looked at Bella in the mirror. "She really is scandalous."

Bella shrugged. "If only she had a stern governess to look after her while I was away."

"Oooh, that sounds sexy," Tonya giggled.

"I am not stern," Janie said.

"Are too," Will piped up from the bed.

Janie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Will.

"See," he said, "Just like that."

"I saw you with that John earlier." Tonya said with a wink. "Stern is a good description,"

Janie's eyes went wide and she looked up at the group on the other side of the mirror, her embarrassment showing even through her makeup.

"Wait, what?" Will said, leaning forward on the edge of the bed.

"John?" Bella asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"I didn't... nothing happened! It was just part of the disguise!" Janie said, having trouble forming the right words in her flustered state. Tonya held her down in her seat and kept her still.

"She made him cum in his pants," Tonya said matter of factly.

Bella and Will both laughed in surprise. Janie looked like she wanted to crawl under the table and hide. Even Captain Vex rolled over and propped herself up on her arm to get a better look at Janie's reaction.

"I barely even touched him!" Janie blurted out.

"That's even more impressive." Bella teased.

"I didn't even get undressed!" Janie tried again.

"Were you wearing that?" Will asked. "Because that's pretty undressed."

"She made me sit on the table and tease him and play with myself while he watched, and she berated him about how awful he was for wanting me. There was flogging. She was very stern," Tonya said as she finished Janie's sigil. Janie groaned in defeat and hung her head. The trio on the other side of the mirror laughed. Bella clapped.

"That's incredible, well done!" the dark-haired witch said with earnest approval.

"I'm sorry, Will," Janie said, looking up, worry in her eyes. She seemed confused that he was laughing.

"What for?" Will asked.

"I shouldn't have been... It doesn't seem right that I..." she didn't know what to say.

"You think you shouldn't have been in a sexual situation with another man because you're involved with Will now?" Bella asked. Janie nodded.

"This isn't exactly a normal situation," Will said. "We aren't exclusive with each other, obviously. We've both already been with other people, separately and together."

"Yes, but they were all women," Janie tried to explain.

"I guess that's a little different. It doesn't bother me though. Jack and I were never exclusive, so I'm used to it," Will shrugged.

"Well, it bothers me. Women and men are different. I can accept both of us having other female partners, but I don't think I want any other men in my life," Janie said.

"Isn't that a bit of a double standard?" Will asked. Her choice certainly made things less prone to complications, but there was something about it that nagged at him.

Bella knew that look in his eyes and and rolled hers. "Will, do you actually care, or are you just pulling at a thread because it's there?"

"If I didn't care I wouldn't have said anything," Will said, not sure what he'd done wrong and trying to look innocent.

"You know what I mean." Bella pursed her lips. "Does it really matter if Janie doesn't want to be involved with other men or not?"

"I just wanted to be sure she knew that..." he trailed off for a moment, thinking. "I didn't want her making a choice based off of some expectation that isn't actually there."

"It's her choice, Will. I'm rather inclined to agree with her. Men are different than women. Everyone has different ways of dealing with those differences, and it's ok to make choices about sex based on that." Janie looked surprised at Bella's words.

"I suppose," Will said, not sounding convinced.

"She isn't asking you to behave differently based on her own beliefs. She isn't respecting anyone less because of the differences she sees. She's just telling you her preferences for her own life," Bella said, not letting it go. "Your eternal quest for fairness is nice, but Janie's preferences about sex don't need to be gnawed on because you like to argue."

Will saw Janie fail to hide a small smile and shrugged, not completely convinced but knowing it wasn't worth continuing the discussion. "Alright."

"Well I'm not going to be doing that for anyone," Tonya said. "Just one cock sounds boring."

Janie looked scandalized again, but managed to laugh about it. "Fine. You can have my share."

"Goodie!" Tonya bounced. "You're better at luring them in than I am anyway." Her eyes flicked back and forth between their chests, pointedly noting the size differences.

"I've created a monster," Bella said happily.

"And you've made it my job to tame her," Janie replied with playful archness.

"Good luck!" Tonya grinned. "So are we going to do this, or what?"

"It's about time," Captain Vex said, stretching like a cat. "The lot o ye are puttin' me t' sleep with all this jabberin.""

____________________

Moonlight reflected on the water turned the sea into an endless ripple of shadows and silver. The tropical summer night was comfortably cool and the salt spray was refreshing. Jack sat at the prow watching the stars and the faint horizon, lost in thought.

She didn't often feel lonely, but she felt it now. Usually she could distract herself with some task that needed to be done, or by relying on Quinn for companionship. Now, neither was an option. With nothing to occupy her, she was finding it difficult not to think about Will and Bella.

She had been feeling like she'd lost everything that mattered most, and now it seemed like it might be within reach again. She just couldn't quite figure out how to grab it. She didn't even know if she should. Having them so close, yet so far away still was maddening.

Lord Morant had hidden himself away in his cabin after they'd been stopped by the Magistrate. He needed nothing from her. It was a blessing and a curse. She was probably too distracted to be able to focus on anything Morant needed. On the other hand, she really could have used some kind of distraction from the thoughts that were distracting her.

She hated feeling like this.

Her reverie was broken by Quinn's arrival. He was surprisingly quiet for a large man. He gave her wide berth, coming calmly into her peripheral vision. She became aware of his presence, and used to it, in the same moment. She smiled a bit. He was good at knowing when he was needed.

"Have fun?" she asked.

"The task is done," Quinn answered. "Miss Webber sleeps."

"Lets let her have that for a while before we send her off to her own bunk," Jack said. "Thank you."

Quinn gave her a small nod. He never really replied to shows of appreciation.

"I told Jack and Will. Not about you, but about why I left Will in the temple. I asked them not to ask questions about the parts I didn't fill in. They didn't dig at it, but they might later," Jack said quietly.

"I understand," Quinn said.

"Are you alright with that?" Jack asked.

"My feelings are irrelevant. The choice of whether to reveal my secrets has always been yours. I believe I have made the dangers clear to you," Quinn answered.

Jack shrugged. "Abundantly. I think you're probably understating how bad things could get."

"I have been told I tend to do that." Quinn didn't quite smile. Jack did though. She had come to love the small moments when Quinn let his guard down, even just a little.

"Will said something earlier that made me think. I was hoping you might have some advice," Jack turned to face him, leaning back on the prow rail. Quinn waited attentively.

"He was talking about secrets. Navigators have a tradition of not letting anyone see their maps or charts, or let anyone else know the route. That way, the knowledge in their head stays valuable. Will takes it pretty seriously. He used to piss people off all the time with how hard he adhered to that tradition. I was always in on it because I was his partner. Now I'm not, and he's keeping how we are supposed to get through the Drifts from me."

Quinn waited. He knew that part of Jack's process was putting into words all the things churning in her head. She did her best thinking out loud.

"He said that if I knew what he had planned I'd have to tell Morant because he's the one footing the bill for this expedition, and I work for him," Jack continued. "So Will doesn't trust me. Not that he did anymore anyway, but it's a professional distrust now too, and that's somehow even harder to swallow."

Quinn nodded, following along, starting to see where this was going.

"I'd hoped that we'd still have at least some of the professional relationship we used to have, in spite of everything else," Jack shook her head, trying to keep herself on track. "Anyway, I'm not sure if he's right. I'm Morant's expedition leader. I'm not his servant. I don't feel that I owe him any information Will shares with me about his plans."

"You wish to know my opinion on your obligations as a servant to Lord Morant," Quinn said. It wasn't really a question.

Jack nodded. "I figured you'd know more than anyone how far the responsibility to serve a master you don't like really goes."

"Yours is a contract. It is intended to be mutually beneficial. You provide a service, he provides coin. That is a very different arrangement than I am used to," Quinn said.

"I know," Jack said with a tilt of her head. "I just thought you might have some advice on how to walk the line between obligations to a master, and your actual loyalties."

Quinn's brows rose. It wasn't often a question took him off guard. Jack liked when she could do that, but she was suddenly very aware that their relationship was suddenly at an unexpected crossroads.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Jack said quickly. "I won't make you. I don't ever want to put you in the position to have to be asking yourself the same questions about me that I'm asking about Morant. You know I respect you too much to do that."

Quinn nodded. His heavy brows furrowed in thought. "I have had very few masters who treated me as you do. I think Lord Morant would not be nearly so kind in your place."

"That's a scary thought," Jack grimaced.

"Indeed," Quinn agreed. "What you are asking is how I am able to serve someone when I know that they are... a bad person."

"Yes," Jack said firmly.

"I perform all tasks with careful execution to minimize the negative effects on others. I still do them, but I do them in ways that attempt to subtly correct the arc of their effects," Quinn said carefully.

"So you undermine your master's wishes?" Jack asked a little more pointedly.

Quinn was quiet for a few moments, looking at Jack with that boring, judgemental stare that seemed to be weighing the worth of her soul. Then he nodded. "Yes."

"I guess I shouldn't ask if you've done that with me. I'm sure you probably have, and were right to. Sometimes the arc of my effects do need correcting," Jack smiled wryly.