tools and grabs a hollow, cylindrical piece of metal and inserts it into the hole. Then she grabs a pick and starts poking it around the edges. I thank the stars that I have Athella in my crew. My lockpicking skills are nowhere near as advanced as hers.
“Powerful spring,” she mumbles to herself and adjusts her fingers slightly.
I realize I’m holding my breath while she works, so I force myself to let the air out of my lungs. “If you get this open, you can have half of my share of our next plunder.”
She laughs. “If? Captain, I’m heartbroken.”
“Someone’s coming!” Sorinda whispers through the flickering torchlight.
Athella shoves the tools and kit into her corset before standing. “What do we do?”
I haven’t had time to soak up more song. I’m practically empty after unleashing myself on Vordan, so we need to be clever in order to get out of this one. And if it’s my father approaching, singing will do us no good. As Vordan said, my abilities have never worked on him.
I wave Riden over. He joins us, and I start laughing and walking in the direction of the new footsteps.
Athella and Riden catch on quickly, relaxing their stances. Athella lets out a giggle, and Riden smiles openly. Sorinda falls into line with us, wearing an uncomfortable grimace, but she quickly masks her face with her usual apathy. Sorinda hasn’t much practice with playacting. She prefers not being seen altogether, but that is impossible at the moment.
“But the fool was so angry that he challenged me to a duel,” I say as though continuing a story.
A few men round the corner, and we continue walking toward them as though we’re heading farther into the keep.
“What happened next, Captain?” Athella asks.
“I had no choice but to accept. I embarrassed the poor man in front of his friends.”
The footsteps belong to Adderan and a couple of his men. He must have come by to make more apologies to my father, and to give him more assurances of his loyalty.
They give us inappropriate, lingering glances, likely thinking us to be whores requested by the king. That is, until Adderan bothers to look at my face. He grimaces as he recognizes me, then hurries the others along.
I almost wish he’d provoke me. I’d love an excuse to kill him.
We continue walking long after the men pass us. Then, just to be extra cautious, I say loudly, “Hold on, I’ve forgotten something on the ship.”
We turn back down the tunnel until we reach the door once more. Everyone resumes their posts.
“They’ve moved on,” Riden says from his end.
Athella has her tools back out in an instant. This time she’s quicker with her hands.
Several minutes pass as she pokes at the lock. Two more times we have to pause at the sound of echoing footsteps, but they’re only traveling through some other adjoining tunnel. We don’t come into contact with anyone else.
And finally, a low click emits from the lock.
“Got you,” Athella announces quietly. She places her tools back in their assigned spots before standing. “It’s ready for you, Captain.”
A chill sweeps down my spine at the pronouncement. I’m really about to do this. I’m trusting a rival pirate lord over my father.
“Athella, take Riden’s place and keep watch.”
Her lips round in a slight pout.
“You’ll see what’s inside soon enough. Riden, you’re with me.”
With Athella and Sorinda keeping watch on either end of the tunnel, I grab one of the torches from the wall and slip into the room with Riden right behind me.
* * *
The study looks as though it was carved right out of the rock. The edges break sharply as if a pickax worked at them. The decor is opulent, much like my own tastes. A massive desk is neatly set with quills and parchment. All the drawers are locked. The chair in front of it is padded with feathers, probably goose. Another chair rests against one of the walls, equally soft with black fabric on the seat. A cabinet on the far side holds rums and wines and two glasses. A chaise and bookcase have their own wall. A tapestry depicting sirens and pirates engaged in battle hangs opposite the desk, next to the lone chair.
After placing the torch in a sconce on the wall, I kneel in front of the desk and get to work at the locks on the drawers. The locks are child’s play compared to the one on the door. I don’t need Athella for them.
“What can I