Chapter 28

Ari climbed out of the ocean soaking wet and with his curls plastered like seaweed onto his forehead. He needed a drink. And to change out of his wet clothes; the fabric of his shirt was sticking to his torso.

Eventually he decided that his drink was more important, and everyone else insisted on coming with him, so they decided forego the freshening up and walk together to the local village tavern, still damp from their encounter in the sea.

Aveline skipped blithely into the tavern beside him, and Ari was glad she was back to her cheerful self.

Ari's crew really was, for the most part, low-maintenance. Inez did well on her own managing Henry and the children, and the rest of the bunch usually just needed someone to order them around. Aveline was an effective partner ninety percent of the time, but couldn't sit still for too long; she had to do something physical or she became restless and unhappy. It was a symbiotic relationship; Ari gave his crew what they needed, they reciprocated. It made it easy for him to maintain control in an environment that was generally filled with chaos.

Having their new additions around hadn't changed things much- with the exception of Jamie.

She made him uneasy. She fogged things up, somewhat, and Ari couldn't afford to lose his concentration. His work was important; one of the most important things in his life.

Ari didn't like to be distracted; and Jamie knew it. She was perceptive. Smart.

Yet here she was; rattling the unyielding bars of his guarded soul.

She was here; quite literally, Ari realized, blinking out of his haze as Jamie took the empty seat beside him at the bar.

Speak of the devil. Ari inwardly groaned and snagged his bottle from across the table.

Jamie crossed her legs, primly, and adjusted her skirt. Ari idly wondered if Lyla was teaching Aveline and Jamie to be proper. It wouldn't have surprised him; they often sat together and tittered about random subjects like those frivolous court women at the palaces.

"You've been avoiding me," Jamie accused, bringing Ari's reluctant thoughts back to her.

"You're right." Shameless. Ari uncorked his bottle with his teeth and spat it out onto the floor.

"Are we going to discuss what happened earlier?"
Earlier. On the beach. Jamie's strange little lecture. And then she had touched his hand, and he'd leaned in for some reason...

Gah. He'd almost kissed her.

"No," Ari broke off, feeling his cheeks heat up. "We're not."

This clearly had not been the response Jamie had been looking for; she glared at him fiercely. "Coward."

Ari's breath tapered off into a hiss. "What did you just call me?"

But Jamie only fixed him with a self-satisfied stare, the tiniest of scoffs curling her lips before she deliberately swiveled away from him on her stool to begin engaging Aveline in enthusiastic conversation.

Ari bit back a harsh retort, unexpected irritation swimming through him at her apparent dismissal.

After a moment, Ari unclenched his fists, which had tightened of their own accord.

This is what he'd meant. Why did he let Jamie rile him up so? Ari had no clue, and vexing people was supposed to be his specialty.

"I heard there was a break-in at Mellie's farm last night," the bartender commented to one of his customers, catching Ari's attention as he ran his rag down the counter. Aveline coughed. Ari felt a smirk growing and hid it behind the rim of his bottle.

Aveline took the empty chair on Ari's other side, shoving his arm out of the way so she could lean across the table towards the bartender. "Excuse me."

"What can I get for you, miss?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask about the caves at the end of the beach. Do people live there?"

Ari frowned as the bartender focused his attention on Aveline. He casually scooted closer to his first mate, angling himself into the conversation.

The bartender harrumphed at them. "Haven't seen you around here before."

"We're just passing through." Aveline blinked her bright, guiltless eyes at him, and he seemed to relax.

"Which caves?"
"The white ones. On the right side of the island."

"No one lives there, missy."

"It looked like someone had," Eli chimed in, popping up next to Aveline. "We found blankets and things."

"Vagrants, likely." The bartender squinted at them. "Or gypsies. We've been receiving a lot of visitors as of late."

Aveline perked up. "Oh?" The door swung open near the front and more voices spilled in.

"People don't usually come here. It's a small village." He shrugged. "It stands out." Ari glanced towards the door, watching a few familiar-looking men stalk through the entrance. Uh oh.

"What kind of-"

Ari jutted his elbow into Aveline's side, halting her questioning. "Ave."

She tailed his gaze to the front entrance, where Simon from the Tarrah and his muscular entourage had marched in. They were each breathing hard, dirt coating their breeches.

"Oh, goody. There's more now." The bartender shook his head and returned to his glasses, muttering something about nettlesome tourists.

Lyla gaped. "Is that..."

"Turn around!" Aveline hissed, flipping her hood up over her head. "Did they see us?"
"Not yet." Ari set his bottle down. "But they will."

"How did they get here?" Fear crowded Lyla's expression. "Did they follow us?"
"Who cares? They're irrelevant."

Aveline had already pulled out a white strip of cloth from her pocket and began to expertly wind it around her palms. "D'you suppose we'll have to take this outside?"

"Perhaps we should try to avoid fighting, if necessary," Jamie whispered.

"We could sneak out the back-"

Eli peeked over his shoulder. "They see us." Urgency crept into his voice. "They're coming over."

Ari heard footsteps clomp towards them and stop right behind the counter. He forced his annoyance down and swiveled around in his chair, his face lighting up.

"Gentlemen!" He welcomed them, opening his arms. "So you've finally decided to join us."

Simon didn't seem amused. Neither did the bald-headed giant next to him. The giant cracked his knuckles.

"We've been looking for you for quite a while," Simon said through his teeth.

"Predictably." Ari downed the last of his drink before nonchalantly slipping off of his stool, deciding to beat them to the punch. "Shall we discuss matters outside?"

"Excellent idea." Simon bared his teeth in a way that was much more predatorial than friendly. "We'll be right behind you."

The group was ushered outside, not-so-gently, followed by the eyes of everyone in the bar. So much for being inconspicuous, thought Ari, mildly irritated. It was a good thing they weren't in a hurry to get to Diviel and had time to waste, or else Simon would be sorry.

"We're all going to die," Eli moaned as they hustled through the exit, closely followed by Simon's bodyguards.

"It's a minor setback," Aveline acknowledged. "But we have time, don't we?"

"We had about a day left before we needed to go to Diviel," Jamie replied calmly.

"See?"

"Be quiet!" Simon flared. They stepped outside and gingerly stood in front of the bar. Simon's men slightly dispersed, each removing thin daggers from the insides of their coats. Their blades shone in the glinting of the sun.

Ari wasn't surprised. His companions shifted closer together, but they were unmistakably surrounded. Lyla let out a barely audible squeak from beside Ari as one of them handed one of the weapons to Simon.

Simon flippantly cleaned his knife with the bottom of his tunic. "So, you've been after those sovereigns."

Ari's patience had dwindled. "You know that already," he snapped. "You were hired too, idiot."

"And what have you discovered?"

"Nothing."

"I find that hard to believe, from such an infamous pirate crew." Simon sauntered towards them with both arms behind his back. Ari watched him carefully; there were about five in Simon's group circling them. If he took out Simon first, it would likely weaken the rest.

"Obviously you haven't found the royals, or you wouldn't be here." Simon continued, tapping his chin and continuing his stroll like a predator in front of its prey. He stopped in front of poor, quaking Lyla. "But you must have found something... do you know who has taken them?"

He must have seen something flicker in Lyla's eyes, because he raised a finger triumphantly. "Ah, you have!"

"Leave us alone," Jamie bit out. "We don't know anything."

Simon ignored her, lowering his voice to a cajoling murmur. "What do you say we make a deal? You tell us what you know, and perhaps we'll consider leaving you with your skeletons intact."

Ari felt Aveline shift restlessly his other side, and knew it wouldn't be long before she lunged at their assailants. Good. They needed to stay on offense. Ari caught her eye, jerking his chin imperceptibly towards the largest man on her left. The smallest of grins lifted up one side of Aveline's lips, and Ari couldn't help but match her expression.

"A tempting offer," Ari drolled finally. "How unfortunate that we'll have to refuse."

"I was hoping you would say that," Simon snarled. He raised his dagger just as Aveline lunged forward and tackled the largest man head-on. Simon's head jerked upwards in surprise, and Ari took advantage of his distraction to clip him hard in the jaw.

Chaos broke out in the span of seconds. Ari barely jumped out of the way of a swipe of Simon's dagger. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jamie delivering an impressive right hook into the face of one of the men, and Ari nearly smiled while Simon jabbed his knife towards him once more.

Aveline just managed to break away for a moment to jostle Lyla away from the circle. "Take this." She handed Lyla her pistol before rolling up her lacy sleeves and plunging back into the fight.

Simon finally took his attention off Ari to fend off Jamie, leaving one of his minions to deal with Ari.

"Get behind me, Lyla." Ari hurriedly pushed the blonde behind him, whirling back around just in time. His opponent shoved a meaty punch at his face, and Ari caught it.

"You're huge," he muttered, struggling to grapple with the huge fist before it could be driven into his throat.

"Enough!" Simon's ragged shriek tore abruptly into the air, and Ari's attention flickered to the other man, tensing when he caught a glimpse of Jamie locked in his arms, his knife pointed to her throat. "Anyone moves, it'll be her neck!"

**lolol sooo... Simon's back. And being a brat, as per frickin usual. I wonder how they're going to get rid of him this time...

as always thanks for reading, and vote/comment if you liked!**