Scarlet Seas

   "Why, Bonnie?" Celedoine's fist slammed down on the barrel head. A flock of seagulls rose from the noise, screaming at each other over the Carleon docks. The small-boned Highland woman looked back at the Glamour mage and cocked an eyebrow.

   "Because he killed Berek an' I want his blood," Bonnie McGee returned. "More important, he wants ours. Do ye want to sit around like wee rabbits until he finds us?"

   "That's not the point and you know it!" Celedoine's eyes flashed beneath her omnipresent hat. "I'm sad that Berek's gone! I'm angry at the man who took him! But the Crimson Rogers have killed every crew they've come across. We were lucky to escape them once! Why do you want to push it?"

   Bonnie smiled mischeviously. "Because I'm not countin' on luck. Before we see him again, we're takin' a trip ta the Isle o' the Grey Queen."

   Celedoine's mouth hung open in shock.

   "You're not serious."

   "Never more." Bonnie's smile widened.

   "She's a witch!" Celedoine sputtered. "She bathes in sailor's blood and grinds ships to dust!"

   "She's also a Sidhe, which makes her more powerful than any man on Theah."

   "That power is a lie! The Sidhe are tricksters, mankind is their prey! I should know: I've spent more time with them than you can imagine! Anything they give you - any strength that you think can match Reis' - will melt like sunlight in your hands! And the Grey Queen herself… no ship has ever gone to her island and come back safely!"

   The Highlander was unmoved. "We will."

   Celedoine stepped back, the colour draining from her face.

   "You're mad," she whispered.

   "I know what I'm doin'." Bonnie leaned over the barrel, her eyes shining. "The Sidhe give power if it suits 'em. They give power if it amuses 'em. An' it won't vanish or melt as long as we play by the rules. They want good stories; we've got one ta tell. Look at Reis: he's a monster, an unstoppable beast in the flesh. No one had ever faced him an' lived…"

   Understanding slowly spread across Celedoine's face. "…except us."

   "Except us," Bonnie agreed. "He's the dragon, I'm the knight, an' we're livin' a faerie tale. We tell the Grey Queen that, an' she'll be beggin' ta help us finish it right."

   "…By giving us the power we need." Celedoine nodded.

   "Now yer catchin' on. Twice - twice now - I've looked Reis in the face an' lived ta tell of it. Ain't no one else anywhere can say that. I use ta think it was a fluke, but now I know better. I can kill him, Celedoine. I can sink the unsinkable Crimson Rogers. All I need is a little push - an' a crew ta back me play."

   The Glamour mage stroked her chin slowly, her brow furrowed in thought.

   "And if you're wrong?" she asked at last.

   "Reis is gunnin' fer us anyway," Bonnie shrugged. "One way 'r another, our goose is cooked. At least this way, we can tell Berek we tried."

   "All right, Captain," Celedoine returned, the first time she had used that moniker. "What do I tell the crew?"

   "Tell 'em that the Sidhe want a story," Bonnie said simply, "an' that we're gonna give 'em one."