Yara silently swam toward the starboard side of the ship. She listened for a sign of her approach, but the only sounds were the creak and groan of the rigging and the gentle lap of the sea water against the hull.  The weathered oakum between the wooden beams afforded Yara plenty of hand and footholds as she skillfully scaled the side of the ship. On the main deck, two deck lamps cast long shadows in the moonlight, but to her eyes it was almost daylight. 

     "Hahaha," she heard a sailor laugh.  "And, then I kicked him right in the head."

     Yara ignored the deck watch and focused her attention on the sailor at the wheel. She could have left her package now, but Yara wanted her pendant. Gripping one of the rail balusters, she gathered Essence and focused her will on helmsman. As the enchantment washed over the sailor at the ship's wheel, he yawned and slumped against the wheel.

     "You should have seen the look on his face, when he saw who she was with," the head kicker said. 

     Breathing a sigh of relief, Yara climbed up over the railing. Another spell quickly dried the sea water from her body making her skin tingle. She became one with the shadows and silently moved across the deck and down below to the captain's cabin.

     Easing herself in to the room, Yara was assaulted by the smell of rum and sweat. Light from the open aft window painted the room in a soft blue light and a loud snort from the bed alerted her of Captain Raul's presence. She owed the pirate captain the same fate he gave Edmond, but she was better than that.  Instead, she gathered Essence and wove the same sleeping enchantment used on the helmsman.

     Yara's eyes scanned the room. She narrowed her search to four locations; one of two chests, a desk, and around the neck of the sleeping figure. She elected to start with the desk then move back to the chests near the door, leaving the sleeping figure for last. With cat like tread, she glided across the room to the small writing desk opposite the bed. The pearl and gold pendant she given Edmond years before as a symbol of their secret hung from a wooden hook. Stunned at her luck, she put the pendant around her neck and headed back out to the main deck with slow and careful steps.

     Hiding in the shadow of a water barrel, Yara opened the wax seal on her scroll tube and unfurled the parchment. Written in delicate flowing script and bearing the royal seal, it was a proposed amnesty for Raul by the crown for all his crimes if he surrendered his entire crew. Using a dagger she impaled the letter in ship's rail with a loud thud and yelled out to the watch. 

     "Jackio! What was that!" yelled one of the sailors near the bow.

     Yara dove over the rail into the water below. Holding her breath, Yara swam under the water away from the ship. When she finally surfaced, Yara could hear the watch yelling about intruders, sorcery, and treachery.

* * *

     Standing in the shadow of a large banana tree, Yara notched an arrow from her quiver and let it fly. It hit the sand inches from Raul's leg.

     "Don't move!" she ordered.

     Raul reached for his cutlass.

     Yara let another arrow fly before the sword cleared the scabbard. "Don't even think about it", she said.

     "What do you want? I don't have anything. I'm just a poor sailor marooned by pirates," Raul whined badly.

     "Don't play dumb with me, Raul Diaz," Yara said stepping out so he could see her. "You were planning on selling out your crew, and they marooned you for it.

     "Who are you? Who's there?"

     Yara took another step toward Raul. "Do you know why I gave your crew the plans of your treachery?"    

     Raul slowly turned toward her and Yara quickly let two more arrows land in the sand on either side of his foot. "I could kill you before you would even make it half the distance."

     Lowering his sword, Raul said smugly, "What do you know of such things, you are just a little girl."

          "Do you remember Edmond, you mutinous dog? The man you murdered before stealing his ship and embarking on a life of piracy."

     "Was he your father? Have come seeking vengeance?" Raul said rolling his eyes.

     "No, I was his patron, and you murdered him. For that you must pay."

     Raul laughed. "You do not frighten me child. He was weak and cowardly. If it hadn't been me, it would have been another pirate."

     "You've made my people very angry."

     "Your people?"

     Not taking her eyes of Raul, Yara jerked her head and the cowl of her cloak fell back.

     "Is this is a trick?" His sword dropped to the ground and he took a step back. "What are you? A demon?" he asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

     "No, I am Fea, an elf."

     Raul sucked in air between his teeth "You can't be real! Such things only exist in children's stories."

     Yara scowled. "Oh, we're real and we have been the shadowy hands controlling human affairs since the beginning of time. We had plans for Edmond and killing him destroyed things set in motion a very long time ago."

     "I don't believe it."

     "You should feel honored Raul, very few know about our cabal. I hope you enjoy keeping our little secret while you spend the rest of your life here. We've gone to great lengths to arrange it."

     Raul roared and lunged for Yara. She darted into the jungle and headed toward the beach, her bare feet kicking up sand. Quickly moving through the plants like no human ever could, she reached the launch well ahead of Raul.

     Over the crash of the surf, Yara heard the frustrated scream of Raul and smiled as she pushed the launch off from the beach.