“We need some place to take her.” Yafe gripped Jerry’s hand.

  Jerry cocked her head to the side, not taking her eyes off the young woman as she walked. “Miriam’s isn’t far from here. She’ll want to edge in on this anyway.”

  Jerry stepped quickly and as quietly as possible. She’d stalked people before. She’d stalked entire ships before. Jerry held her ground, staying far enough behind that she wouldn’t seem threatening but close enough that she could take a few long strides and catch up for the snatch.

  She was just about to go in for the grab, when the young woman turned and faced her, eyes wide with recognition. Jerry sputtered and froze on the spot. Every gut instinct in her body told her to run the other way while at the same time telling her this was the only way.

  “Captain?” The woman stuttered.

  Jerry shook her head and took two long steps, reaching up and covering Whitney’s mouth with her hand to prevent her from screaming. She grabbed the back of her head to hold her still, twisting her around so her back was against Jerry’s front as she held on tightly. She wasn’t going to let Whitney go.

  Yafe wrapped her belt around Whitney’s wrists to hold her still as Jerry dragged her backward into an alley. As soon as they were hidden away, Jerry dragged in a deep breath and settled herself. Whitney smelled just as good this time as the last time she saw her—clean, freshly laundered, as if she had some money.

  Jerry kept her hand over Whitney’s mouth, unable to decide if she really wanted to do this or not, but still not seeing any other option. They had to do something to assuage their hunger, their appetite, their desire for brains. Yafe hissed when she turned and saw the woman.

  “Cap?”

  “I know,” Jerry muttered.

  “What do you want—”

  “I don’t know.” Jerry tensed as Whitney whimpered, and Jerry tightened her grip on her mouth. “I’m going to move my hand, but don’t yell.”

  At Whitney’s nod, Jerry counted to three before she did as she’d said. She had hoped their previous connection would at least give Whitney some trust so that she would listen.

  “W-what are you doing?” Whitney breathed the question.

  “I didn’t think I’d find you.” Jerry could have cursed. Of all damn people for her to find to kill, it had to be someone she’d already saved. Her heart hammered, no doubt to the point that Whitney could feel it against her back. “Where were you going?”

  “The library to study.”

  “Fuck,” Jerry muttered. “Are you infected yet?”

  “No.”

  “And the orphanage is letting you out?”

  Whitney nodded slowly. Yafe’s eyes widened, but her gaze didn’t move from Whitney’s face, probably just as stunned as Jerry herself. They had to do something about this. They had to find some sort of resolution that wouldn’t end with Jerry killing the girl she had saved.

  Without warning, Whitney stomped her heel onto Jerry’s boot and threw her elbow back by turning her body into Jerry’s stomach. Grunting and cringing in pain, Jerry didn’t give her a chance to get away. Flipping Whitney around and shoving her face into the brick wall, Jerry pressed into her back, her forearm against the Whiney’s neck to hold her in place.

  “I wouldn’t try that again if I were you.”

  “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Whitney ground out.

  Jerry had been wondering the same thing, although the first time and this time, Jerry hadn’t sought her out. It was only when she’d wanted answers that she’d gone in search of this young woman, a woman who by no means should still be living at the orphanage. She was old enough to be out on her own, and surely there were enough children—stop. Jerry had to stop that line of thought. If she was going to kill Whitney, she was going to have to stop imaging her as a woman, someone Jerry had kissed.

  “Fuck,” Jerry muttered but held her ground.

  “Cap?” Yafe questioned, her voice wavering as if some sense was coming back into her.

  Swallowing hard, Jerry reached forward with her other hand to snap Whitney’s neck.

  “Jeraldine Adelric!” Miriam’s voice boomed through the alley.

  Jerry startled but still held Whitney against the wall. She wasn’t going to give up this opportunity if she could. Turning her head to face the entry to the alley, Jerry eyed Miriam. She rarely came out into the sunlight. She stalked forward, one foot in front of the other, completely alone—equally something Jerry rarely ever saw.

  “What are you doing?” Miriam accused.

  “The only thing I can to survive.”

  “There’s vestigen.”

  “There’s none left,” Jerry hissed, and this is the only way.

  “Look at her, Jeraldine.”

  She didn’t want to. Jerry did not want to look at Whitney, didn’t want to see her, hear her, be reminded of who she was and what they had done. Finally, in the silence, Jerry raised her chin and looked at Whitney’s profile. The girl was so young, barely old enough to be out of the orphanage. She was beautiful, and she reminded Jerry of Arloa in so many ways. Her hair, her attitude, that know-it-all-damn-it-all persona she tried to project.

  Jerry slowly shifted away and loosened her grasp on Whitney. She didn’t go far enough that she would completely lose her if she still needed her. Glancing over her shoulder at Miriam, Jerry raised an eyebrow at her. “Now what?”

  “Come with me.”

  In a flash, Miriam was gone. Jerry blinked three times trying to figure out where the hell she had gone when Yafe touched her arm and pointed up. When Jerry turned around, Whitney had escaped down the alley and out into the road. If she reported the incident, Jerry would be on the fast track back to Joab. She shouldn’t have let her go so easily.

  Grabbing the damn rope that had obviously pulled Miriam up, Jerry put her boot against the wall and prepared herself to climb. She was going to regret this. Each pull of her stiff body up the wall was more than Jerry could handle. She was halfway when Yafe followed. Groaning, Jerry reached the last floor and pulled herself over the edge.

  Miriam stood with her hands on her hips and two guards flanking her. The look on her face was pure disdain. As Yafe dragged herself over the edge, Miriam finally spoke. “They’re here for my protection.”

  “Like I’d be stupid enough to try and kill you.” Jerry sneered at the thought. She needed Miriam far more than she wanted her dead—though the thought had occurred to her on occasion throughout her lifetime.

  “Can’t tell if you can control yourself or not.”

  “Can’t you?” Jerry pushed back.

  Miriam just raised her eyebrow, the disappointed parental glint in her eye, and Jerry knew she was in trouble. “What’s going on, Jeraldine?”

  “There’s no more vestigen, Miriam.” Attitude seeped through every word. “What do you expect me to do?”

  “Find an alternative.”

  Jerry raised an eyebrow, waiting for Miriam to understand. When neither said anything, Jerry raised her hand and crooked her finger toward her. Miriam hesitated but finally stepped in closer. Jerry silently told her to move even closer still. As soon as Miriam was inches away, Jerry leaned in. The two guards stepped forward, but Miriam flung out a hand to stop them.

  Lowering her voice, Jerry whispered, “I did find an alternative. You interrupted it.”

  Miriam remained silent as she leaned back to look Jerry in the eye. They held that moment, Miriam judging her to see if she was telling the truth. At the snap of her fingers the guards were told to leave. In another instant, Jerry and Yafe were following Miriam through a maze of rooms inside the building. They squeezed through corridors barely big enough for each of them, darkened hallways, under broken through walls.

  When they finally stopped, pushing aside a rug on the wall, Jerry realized they were in Miriam’s newest hideaway. Interesting. Jerry put her hands on her hips and stared at Miriam. “What are you going to do now?”

  “What’s the alternative?” Miriam eyed Jerry up and down.

  Jerry shook her head sharply. “That’s not how this works. I have the information you want, and you tell me how much you’re willing to pay. No pussyfooting around either. I want the full amount.”

  “There’s nothing in a credit anymore, Jeraldine.”

  Walking around the small office, Jerry sent Yafe a look, trying to figure out exactly what she would ask for, then it hit her. “I want a ship.”

  “I don’t have one.”

  Jerry snorted. “Get me one.”

  “I can get you information on one, but you know as well as anyone else that the seas are not my territory.”

  Miriam wasn’t lying. She’d stopped farming out women to the ships when Jerry turned sixteen. Frowning, Jerry eyed her. There wasn’t anything else that she wanted, but she could play this to her advantage. “I want eighty percent.”

  “Thirty.”

  “Sixty.”

  Miriam’s lips quirked. “Fifty. Fair’s fair, and you know I deal kindly.”

  “Deal.” Jerry stepped forward and stuck her hand out so they could shake on it. Yafe was their witness.

  “What’s the alternative?” Miriam asked again.

  “Brains.”

  To her credit, Miriam barely moved a muscle, but Jerry saw the twitch in her nose of disgust. Silence permeated the room, and Jerry wondered just exactly what Miriam was going to do with the information.

  Finally Yafe stepped forward. “We need one.”

  “I understand,” Miriam answered. She grabbed a small device on her desk an input a few commands into it. “It’s done.”

  “What’s done?” Yafe asked—Jerry thankful she didn’t have to, though her stomach already sunk with the understanding.

  Miriam didn’t answer. “Why do you want a ship?”

  “To get my ship back.”

  Miriam shook her head. “You should give up on that old thing.”

  “You wouldn’t understand.” Jerry put her hands on her hips, turning sharply when the door opened. The guards who had been with Miriam earlier brought in a young man, crazed from the look of him. They dropped him onto the floor and stepped out of the room.

  “Your alternative has arrived.”

  Jerry kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t realized she was going to have to be the one to kill him. She’d hoped one of Miriam’s minions would do it. She ran her hand through her hair and rolled her shoulders as the man stood up. Drool slipped out of his mouth and down his chin. His hands were still tied together.

  “Who is he?” Jerry asked.

  “Dead.”

  Jerry closed her eyes. Miriam wasn’t wrong. He was dead. They all were if they didn’t get some kind of drug into their system, and this was going to be the only way to do it. Not to mention, Miriam would want proof that Jerry’s alternative worked.

  Without thinking, Jerry stomped right up to him and wrapped her forearm around his neck and tightened her grip. She gritted her teeth, pulling tighter and cutting off his airflow. She held him until he stopped fighting her. Cold washed through her, but also the rush that she was about to get exactly what they all needed.

  When he fell to the ground, she bent down and put both hands on his face and snapped his neck, ending his life. She didn’t wait as she took the knife from her calf and hacked into his head, breaking open his skull in the same way she’d done it to Damon to find their source of life. Getting small chunks out, she held them in her bare hand.

  Eating one, she handed another to Yafe and the third to Miriam. Miriam stared at her awkwardly before slowly reaching forward and taking it from her. “Are you sure?”

  “Confident.”

  Miriam put it between her lips and swallowed. “Take the rest. I have more.”

  “Fifty percent, Miriam. Don’t fuck around with me.”

  “You know I won’t.”

  Jerry finished decapitating her victim and shoved his head into a bag the guards had brought. As soon as she had everything tied so it wouldn’t leak all over her, she put it under her jacket and straightened her spine.

  “Until next time, Miriam.”

  “Likewise.”

  They left. Each step into Raegina and toward the harbor, Jerry felt lighter and better. They’d done what they had to do, as much as Jerry hated it.

  CHAPTER 9

  The brain was gone by morning, but Jerry knew there’d be more. The crew had devoured it, needing the sustenance to make it through to the next day. Jerry hadn’t told anyone where she’d gotten it, but Azar had shared a knowing look with her.

  She shuddered as she lay flat on her back in her cot and stared at the ceiling. She needed a ship, and she likely needed one that was bigger than Yarrow. Her options seemed to be slim in terms of what she could get without causing too much fuss. Ursula was annoying her, not wanting to leave port to do anything, which meant they weren’t making money and Jerry was just losing it by sitting.

  A quiet had fallen over the vessel and crew, and Jerry wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She’d seen it before, when the virus had first struck, and so many had died in the meantime. She didn’t want to end up like them again. With no credits to buy another ship, she was stuck with stealing one. Pressing her lips hard together, Jerry went through the mental list of vessels she knew would be easy to snag, but none of them were quite what she wanted.

  Blaise would expect an attack. Probably not from her specifically but from someone. No pirate went out into the seas without thinking someone was looming around a corner ready to take the bounty. That had been Jerry’s first and only miscalculation when it came to Yarrow. She had relaxed too much in order to celebrate the haul they’d stolen.

  She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Jerry rolled onto her side and stared at the far wall. Most of the ships in the harbor would be pegged in an instant as one trying to take Blaise on. She scratched her head, an idea forming, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to run with it. Either way, perhaps a bigger problem than finding a ship was finding a crew. She’d need enough to fly two vessels home, Yarrow and whichever one she wanted to steal. Perhaps even three if she took Wench’s Dream and refused to give her back or didn’t sink her in the process. Maybe she would even kill Captain Blaise and eat him for dessert to celebrate ruining his plans.

  Laughing at her ridiculous thought, Jerry turned onto her back again. She knew she had Azar, Yafe, and Sacha who would go with her. They’d all asked the night before when they were leaving again. They could no doubt feel her restlessness along with the quiet and depressed mood of Calluna and her captain.

  Jerry was going to have to steal members of Ursula’s crew, poach them right off the vessel. Still, they did all technically work for her, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Especially since Calluna wasn’t doing anything. Standing sharply, Jerry pulled down on her tunic and stepped out of her cabin and into the thin corridor.

  She took a few steps to Sacha’s door and opened it without warning. “Get up. We’re having a meeting.”

  Sacha groaned, but Jerry didn’t give her more than two seconds to start moving before she walked to Yafe’s and Azar’s cabin. Once again, within a couple minutes, they were all seated, staring at each other. Jerry had to lead the conversation on this one.

  “I want Yarrow back, and I’m going to get her. This is one more chance for you to back out if you want and not come with me on what may be a fruitless mission.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to look at them, to see their reactions, but she had to.

  “Of course, Cap,” Azar’s deep voice nearly boomed through the room.

  “We’ll be there,” Yafe added.

  Jerry glanced at Sacha, who raised an eyebrow at her. Sacha was confident when she said, “I don’t understand why you keep asking us if we’re with you or not.”

  “Because I’m not sure we’ll make it back to port.”

  “Ah.” Sacha pressed her lips together firmly. “Well, Yarrow is the only home I’ve had since my parents kicked me out, and you are the only family I’ve had, so I’ll go with you. I want her back, too.”

  “Right.” Jerry nodded. That had been far easier than she’d expected—though she probably should have, given the way the conversations had been going since they returned. She knocked her head into the wall and closed her eyes, thinking deeply again about how they were going to get a ship. “We’re going to need more crew.”

  “I’m sure we can hire someone,” Sacha added in.

  She was so naive about the way the pirating world worked, but Jerry had to hand it to her, she tried. They would hire some new folk, but they would likely take most of their crew from Ursula. Pay dependent on their success. Looking Sacha over, Jerry flicked a glance to Yafe and Azar to see what their opinions were.

  “Where will we get a ship?” Azar asked. “And in what condition?”

  Jerry shook her head. “I’m working on that one still, but we’ll need enough crew to fly two vessels. When we get Yarrow back, Azar, I want you to captain the second one.”

  “Understood.” She trusted him, implicitly. She probably should have given him Calluna when she bought it, but she enjoyed his company so much that she wanted him nearby.

  “Who else?” She knew the implied question was there.

  The silence that rang through the cabin was more than she could handle. She stared each one of them down, trying to figure out why they weren’t answering. Surely they had to have some idea who they might want to bring with them on this heist on a heist on a heist. Jerry sat up a little straighter, trying to keep her body tension low.

  “What are you all not saying?”

  Yafe shook her head slowly. “What about Vivian?”

  “Vivian?” Jerry looked directly at her. “I’m not sure Ursula will let her go.”

  “So…” Azar started slowly. “We’re not bringing Ursula?”

  “No.” Jerry furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what he wasn’t asking in that question.

  Azar kept his eyes on her, those dark eyes drawing Jerry in as if he held all the answers to the world. She wished he did, because she was more confused now than ever about her life. All she knew was she wanted Yarrow back and she would go to the ends of Penum to get her. Azar rolled his shoulders and turned to his sister.

 

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