The ship made port the next morning at Frux. Most of the men left the ship to find temporary companionship, including Nelson. Julianne raised her eyebrows when she saw her brother leave with the other men, but said nothing. Nelson was a grown man. If he wanted to pay for it, that was his right. It’s not like Julianne had any room to talk. She was exchanging sex for room and board on The Dark Lovely, after all. Oh, she wanted to think it was more than that.
There was something she’d learned since joining the band of pirates, though. Julianne had discovered that there was a fierce loyalty to the ship, to the crew, to one another. Nelson and Wade would do anything for The Dark Lovely, and Julianne wondered what would happen to her if she got in the way of that somehow.
There would come a day when she wanted more than the ship could offer.
There would be a time when she wanted a family, a life, a home.
She knew Wade would not give up his dreams of piracy for her simply because she felt like having babies and planting a garden.
That was not a pirate’s way.
“Let’s go,” Wade guided her off the ship. She followed him quietly into the town and down the main road. She knew that Buck would be in these stores, buying food and supplies for the next part of the journey, and there were a few things that Wade needed to buy, too.
But Julianne couldn’t help eyeing the beautiful dresses and shoes in the windows. She couldn’t help watching the other women here, both the ones who were whores and the ones who were not. They were all so beautiful.
She thought, for just a moment, about what her life would be like if she had chosen to follow the path her parents laid out for her. She would be married, certainly, but would she feel the way she did now?
Would she feel as free as she did riding The Dark Lovely with Wade?
Somehow, Julianne knew without a doubt she would not. Even if she hadn’t married Vince, even if her husband had been some other man, he wouldn’t make her feel the way the Saucy Devil did.
He wouldn’t show her the freedom the seas offered.
He wouldn’t offer her adventure and intrigue.
He certainly wouldn’t pin her down and make her beg for his cock.
Despite the hint of danger, there was something about Wade that made her feel safe and certain. He was a pirate, but somehow, Julianne thought of him as her pirate, and that wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
“I need to go speak with someone,” Wade told Julianne quietly. Her eyes darted to his. Was he leaving her alone in Frux? She would be okay, she knew. Frux was not one of the wildest places to stop, especially for a day or two, but still, she would like to stay with Wade.
As if reading her mind, he chuckled quietly.
“Very well,” he said. “You may come along, but you need to know something.” Julianne nodded, waiting for him to continue. “This is not a peaceful visit. I'm not stopping by to visit an old friend. I'm seeking information that will ensure the safety of my crew on this journey.”
“What makes you think he'll give you what you want to know?” She asked. “If he's so bad, I mean. Why would this guy just tell you?”
He held out a small necklace that had been hidden in his pocket. She recognized it as one of the treasures he had plundered just the other day. He had taken it from the ship where he’d nearly been killed. It was the day he’d come back covered in blood that was not his own.
“He wants this.” He fingered the necklace delicately. “And I want to know everything I can about the Isle of Changers,” he told her.
“The Isle of Changers?” Asked Julianne. “Like shifters? Like the dragons?”
He just took his head.
“The Isle of Changers is not an island of shifters,” he told her. “It’s something more. Something darker. There is magic there.”
Julianne wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.
Magic?
Real magic?
"At least," Wade added with a wink. "There are myths of magic."
Julianne had heard stories, of course. They all had, but this was something different. Seeing the dragon shifters had made her realize that the world was much bigger than she had always believed. It was much deeper than she could have imagined.
And now there was magic.
“What happens on the Isle of Changers?” Julianne asked. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer, but curiosity got the best of her. Wade didn’t have to tell her, of course, but she was going to find out sooner or later. When you lived on a ship, no matter how big or small, word spread quickly and secrets were difficult, if not impossible, to keep.
Wade sighed for a moment and looked at her. Was he trying to decide if she was trustworthy? Surely he knew by now that she was not going to betray him. Then again, that was the funny thing about betrayal. It never came from your enemies.
"We have to pass by the isle to get to Mad Drake's ship. Only one person has ever made it onto the island and lived to tell the tale. We can't go in blind. Unfortunately, Dead Man Pepper is the only one who can give us the information we need. He's not particularly nice or friendly. He doesn't much care for visitors."
"And that's who you stole the necklace for."
Wade nodded, obviously glad Julianne was catching up. She felt so stupid trying to follow along, but she wasn't a pirate: she was a lady. Sort of. She didn't know how these things worked. She felt like she should know, but she didn't. Wade was always pouring over maps and muttering to himself, but Julianne rarely listened to the things he mumbled about.
She was trying to give him his privacy by drowning herself in novels, but now she chided herself for not paying enough attention. She was going along with Wade now. She only hoped that she wouldn't do anything to mess it up.
She might know how to entertain high society.
She might even know how to throw a dinner party.
Julianne did not know how to talk to a retired pirate, though.
She didn’t know how to get information.
She didn’t know how to pry.
She took a deep breath and followed Wade down the path to the man’s home. It was now or never. Luckily, she’d always been a fast learner.
**
Dead Man Pepper was old and a little bit crazy. Anyone could see that he was old and most people could see that he was crazy, but that didn't seem to keep anyone from stopping by his house to bother him or pester him with questions.
He wasn't particularly keen on taking in visitors or on meeting new people, so he made every attempt possible to push people away. His newest tactic? Requiring a token of worthiness before he would meet with someone.
He had been circulating a list for many years now of certain treasures or items he should like to have. If someone managed to get their hands on one of the items that Dead Man Pepper wanted, he would gladly sit and speak with them for a few minutes, happy to share his life's knowledge before he died.
Well, happy enough, for the price he was asking.
Until now, only two people had shown up with requested items and asked him questions about his experience at the Isle. Both of those men were now, last he heard, quite dead. Serves them right. He warned them against going near that forsaken island. He told them not to do it, but did they listen to ol’ Pepper?
Nay.
When the pirate and his wench showed up on Pepper's doorstep, he was busy sitting in his favorite chair, staring out his favorite window. He saw them come up his steps and he didn't bother moving. What were the odds they had anything he wanted? He wasn't much for people and he wasn't much for being social, especially not today.
What he was for was the occasional oddity: a stolen bracelet or a forgotten heirloom, things other people forgot about and ignored but that he never did.
The man, the pirate, knocked, but Pepper remained in his chair for a moment. Surely this man would take a hint and leave, but the fellow did not. He knocked again and again until Pepper finally got up out of his seat.
"Yeah, yeah. Hold on," he muttered. "I'm comin', I'm comin'."
He swung the door open and raised an eyebrow. He pasted his best pirate sneer on his face. Though he had been retired for many years, he still remembered his looting days quite well and wasn't one to forgo scaring youngsters when he could.
The pirate was unfazed.
Instead of shirking away or apologizing, instead of running away, he held up the necklace.
Dead Man Pepper just gasped.
He hadn't seen the Ocean's Whore in nearly twenty years. He couldn't quite believe that the damn thing still existed, nor that this man had managed to get his hands on it.
"Come in," he said simply, and stepped aside.
The unlikely duo came in, smelling of saltwater and freedom. They chose to stand as Dead Man Pepper closed the door and returned to his seat. He was quite old and moved quite slowly, but both the pirate and the woman were quiet and patient as the old man got comfortable.
"What can I do for you?" Pepper asked. He wasn't sure what to think of this pair. The man was tall, but stood even taller. He held himself with an air of dignity. A captain? He must be a captain. No way would any ol' first mate carry himself the way this man did. Not possible.
The woman, Pepper observed, looked timid, almost shy. She felt out of her element. He wondered why. Upon closer inspection, she didn't look like a whore, which meant she had to know the captain quite well. His lover, perhaps? No, any lover of a pirate so brave as to capture the necklace Mad Drake's first love wore would be standing stronger than this lass.
She looked terrified.
She looked like she might break at any moment.
Dead Man Pepper sunk further into his seat. He wondered what the hell they wanted in exchange for the necklace.