"I was thinking about this when I talked with Red earlier," Derrin paced against the far wall of the chamber, "I mean, let's be honest with ourselves. Despite everything that is going on, the pirates are still in a losing situation. Even if the gearborn were to arrive here, it doesn't guarantee our defeat. So, then why is the Pirate King so confident?"
"It's a bluff," Silas replied flatly, "He knows that he has no ground to stand on but doesn't want us to think that is the case. It is basic strategy, are we not doing the same thing?"
"Perhaps, but what if he's not. We didn't have any idea what his powers were until today. Now we know that he's been to Montrel and has gained the marking ability. We still don't know what his marks do, but what's to say he hasn't already infiltrated us?"
Silas scoffed, "Infiltrated? Then why hasn't he made a move yet? It is peer foolishness, Zara. We should be focusing on his return."
Zara was still watching him intently. She had considered this herself, of course. If the Pirate King had the ability to mark, then what was stopping him from doing just that? Everyone in the camp except her, Derrin, Red, and Vizim had been prisoners. That would have been the perfect chance for the man to take the next step in his plan.
He was clearly at a disadvantage, and that was why he was trying to buy himself time. However, Zara did not for a moment consider the man to be harmless. He hadn't been sitting ideally by this entire time. They may have been pushing his forces back, but men like the Pirate King never solely relied on others. He no doubt had some plan of his own twisting in the background, coiling like a snake, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Zara had known all of this for weeks now. He would not just sit and wait. In the long run, it would never allow him to win. She had assumed that the man's biggest concern was her. Marking her would give him an advantage. She knew this.
It was a risk. A terrible risk, all things considered. Silas had been right to advise her not to accept. In the past, maybe she would have agreed with him as well.
She didn't care about any of that now, though. Her entire reason for being on this island was to protect the central chamber. In that job, she had already failed miserably. The pirates had been holding the place for weeks, and the gearborn were now on their way. Leaving it in their hands was not acceptable, but there were no other options.
So, she would simply accept the next best thing. It was her job and her duty.
Keeping an eye on the chamber was more important than her own life. That is what she firmly believed, and she knew that was what her superiors would believe as well. She was just as much of a soldier after all, and soldiers could be replaced.
What was housed in the chamber could not. It was one of a kind and if destroyed, would doom everyone in the sea. Perhaps everyone in all the seas. Who knew what machinations the gearborn were planning upon their arrival.
"I had thought about that already," She nodded to Derrin, "I made an error though. I should have had everyone in the fort checked for marks as soon as they were freed. It would have slowed our entire fight down, though. I suspect that he is beginning to make use of his marks now."
"The pirates won't move on the fort until I am eliminated. However, this is the exact moment they've been waiting for. By going through with this deal, we take both Silas and me out of the picture for a while. If that traitor's powers are as sinister as I suspect, then it may even be longer. Everything is getting ready to boil over, and we are not prepared."
Shaking her head, Zara rose, "We need to get everyone checked for marks immediately. Our soldiers first."
Silas stiffened, but for once didn't argue. This could potentially spell doom for everyone if not acted upon at once.
He exited the room immediately. Zara hoped she didn't have to remind the man to check himself. He should be clean. He was strong enough to notice if he had been bugged, but one never knew with Silas.
"I think we should check everyone. We all met the Pirate King face-to-face, and that would have been enough to mark us," she continued, turning to Derrin, "I assume you can't be marked due to your…anyways, can you check Red and Vizim and run through the rest of the sailors. It is better to be safe than sorry."
"Of course," Derrin nodded, "Are you still planning on going with Silas tomorrow?"
Zara nodded, "I am throwing him in the lion's den. The best I can do is await his return. You will have to guard the fort in case anything drastic happens. That being said, the Pirate King will be with me and shouldn't have the chance to directly make trouble, but at this point…who knows."
Derrin left, leaving her alone. She slumped back into her chair, running a hand through her hair. It had grown out longer than she liked, but she hadn't had the time to cut it recently.
When was the last time she'd slept properly? Had it been before the pirate attack? At this point, she couldn't even remember.
After weeks of minor engagements, everything was coming to a head. It was all happening too fast. Without adequate time to prepare, she feared there would be mistakes.
Was accepting the Pirate King's deal too dangerous?
Was sending Silas into the lion's den sealing his fate?
What would happen if Silas failed and the gearborn arrived?
There were simply too many questions. Zara rose and began pacing the chamber. She had been given command of this island precisely because there would be no combat. It was supposed to have been her vacation time.
However, things hadn't exactly gone as planned. They were now in the thick of it. Granted, that was where she enjoyed herself most.
Planning, though, that was never her thing.
Had she been alone, she would have been able to systematically eliminate the pirates, starting with that blasted man. Nothing ever went according to plan. That's why there were backup plans and backup plans to the backup plans. She hated them anyway knowing that the best solution was just to shoot the damn bad guy and be done with it.
Silas returned first. Two of her soldiers had been marked, and she hadn't even thought to check. They were all resting now. Removing a mark was difficult and took a lot of energy. Those soldiers would be out of commission for the next few days. The same went for anyone else.
It took a large concentration of mist to force a mark out of yourself. Of course, had the Pirate King wanted them removed, it would have been easy. That was likely not the case, however. Instead, her soldiers had been forced to drain most of their mist, removing the cursed mark.
Zara wanted to know what the man's intentions were. Marking her would obviously benefit him. While he knew what her marks did, she only had an inkling. In a fight, he would surely have the advantage. However, she didn't think that his mark would actually benefit him in a fight. If it did what she thought, then all it could do was send her away.
Solving a problem like that would take some time. If he planned an attack when he activated his mark, which was no doubt what he had done, then she would effectively be removed from the picture entirely. She had no doubts that this was part of his plan. But that wasn't enough.
The Pirate King had proved himself to be smart and cunning. Simply removing her temporarily wouldn't be enough. He might be able to take the fort, but that wouldn't matter if she were around.
Then there was the matter with the gearborn. What did they want? There was little chance they were coming for her and the soldiers. It had to be for the central chamber. What they hoped to accomplish, she hadn't the slightest clue.
More importantly, there was the question of how they played into the Pirate King's plans. It seemed his entire plan was unraveling as they spoke.
When all was said and done, three of the remaining sailors had been marked as well. Zara had a suspicion that the missing sailor had been as well. So every advantage the Pirate King had once had was now gone. It all seemed to be balanced on her.
That was what made this situation so difficult. The Pirate King wanted her marked badly enough to risk his plans coming undone. He couldn't simply mark her, just like she couldn't simply mark him. They were strong enough to combat each other's attempts, unless they willingly accepted them. That was why he had been forced to make the offer instead of outright marking her as he had with the others.
Would the Pirate King still be willing to accept their deal after this?
His plans would be ruined, and he'd have to start over. That was, of course, assuming that his plans didn't revolve around them finding the marks. Zara cursed under her breath. Bloody hell, it was all just too much, too fast.