Standing at the helm, I watched Kal as he stood on the forecastle deck. He hadn't said a word since we boarded, even when Charlie tried to pick a fight and Rev was clearly intrigued by Kal's presence. He simply went to the bow of the ship and kept his eyes on the horizon.

Rev rumbled under my feet. Sighing, I patted the banister in front of me. "Don't worry about him, Rev. Let him be moody if he wants to. Pay attention to the straights coming up — we don't need to get stranded on the witch's island." He answered with another rumble before falling silent. He knew exactly how dangerous this route was.

The closer we got to the witch's little island, the thicker the fog got. It never seemed to matter what time of day or what the weather was like, this island was always shrouded in fog. The fog made it near impossible to see the jagged rocks that jut out of the ocean all around the island. More than a few ships had met their ends in these waters. I wasn't about to let my ship be one of them.

Rev took an abrupt starboard turn, sending me stumbling a few paces before I managed to grab onto the wheel. Up in the crow's nest, I could hear Charlie squawking angrily. Over the port side railing, I could just see the spiked top of a rock fly past the ship. Letting out deep breath, I righted myself and patted Rev's deck with my boot. "Maybe slow it up a little bit, Rev. That was close." I got an answering groan, sounding much more like a growl that Charlie would make than the normal sounds of my ship. Glancing up, I can barely see Kal through the fog as it overtakes even my own ship. I can just make him out enough to see the death grip he has on the railing.

For a few white-knuckled minutes I stood with my hands gripping the wheel as tightly as I could. The fog had taken Kal — and the foremast of my ship — from my view. I could barely hear the waves as the water crashed against Rev or the rocks around us, the sound muffled by the thick fog. As much as Kal hated visiting the witch, I would never let anyone know how badly I hated it, too. I had sailed every inch of the Triangle but even I stayed as clear of this island as I could. Gritting my teeth, I prayed to the gods of this blasted sea to let us pass safely.

As if a switch had been flicked the fog vanished to reveal the mountainous island before us. Rev reversed his thrusters, stopping us just shy of running into the cliffside. Releasing my hold on the wheel, I looked for Kal in the last place I had seen him. He was there, his hands still gripping the rail, but his eyes had landed on me. I could see the immense frown from here. Nodding once, I asked Rev to extend the gangplank so we could begin our climb. Blasted witch and her damn island. The remnants of a wooden bridge and dock sat to the right but the witch had long since blasted that to smithereens to keep people off her island. Looking up at the sheer cliff in front of us, I groaned.

I'm not sure how long we climbed but my arms felt like jelly, the grip from my fingers weakening by the second. A few feet below me, Kal let out yet another curse. I laid my forehead against the cool stone, breathing deep, before glancing down at him. The fingers on his human hand were bleeding, he must have grabbed onto one of the sharper stones. Looking up, I could finally see the top of the cliff-face. "We're almost there!"

"We fucking better be." He grumbled up at me. I could hear the mechanics of his metal arm whirling as it pulled up his body weight.

After a few more agonizing moments, I pulled myself over the edge of the cliff and collapsed onto the flat ground. My chest was heaving with giant breaths and my arms felt like lead. It was a good thing the witch didn't fight with a cutlass because I didn't think I could lift my arms high enough to even fight. A long groan beside me told me Kal had made it to the top, too. We laid there, close enough that I could feel his metal hand brush against my own where they lay on the dirt, for a few minutes to catch our breath.

When I no longer felt like I may collapse once standing, I rolled to my knees. Kal's eyes were closed as he took deep measured breaths, the cut to his human hand was no longer bleeding but it would need to be cleaned sooner rather than later. Looking around, the cliff's edge gave way to a dense forest in the center of the island. Perched on one of the closest branches was Charlie, cleaning one of his wings. With a simple whistle, he soared over to land on the dirt beside me. Reaching for the small pack attached to his back, I found the bottle of wound cleanser. I didn't use it often, it was a strange invention that arrived over the years, but I still didn't trust it. But it was the only option before we headed further into the island to see the witch.

Scooting closer on my knees, I was inches away when his eyes snapped open and met mine. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, I reached over his body for his injured hand. His brows were drawn tight but he didn't pull away when I took his hand in mine and turned it over to inspect the damage. I didn't answer him because I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. I could've just handed him the damn spray but my body acted without my permission. I felt some weird sort of need to do it myself. Spraying the liquid on the wound, I watched as the dirt and grime rushed out of the cut. While I worked, Kal made no move to pull his hand out of mine or move away. He didn't even flinch when took a piece of scrap fabric from Charlie's pouch and wrapped it tightly around his hand. I didn't dare to look at his face but I could feel the frown the entire time I worked. When I was done, I let his hand go and replaced the items in Charlie's pack.

"What was that for?"

I got to my feet, brushing my trousers off before meeting his eyes. Raising a single brow, I shrugged a shoulder. "I was trying to be nice. You could've stopped me if you wanted to do it yourself."

He mimicked my shrug before climbing to his feet as well. A small smirk sat in one corner of his lips. "Didn't know you had it in you. You were very gentle you know, I barely felt a thing."

And I regret it already. Great job, Elsie. Never be nice to Kal again. Rolling my eyes, I patted Charlie as he settled on my shoulder before heading for the tree-line. "Shut the fuck up, Kal. Next time I'll just throw the bottle at your head and you can clean your own wound."

"Aw and miss out on you taking such good care me? Nah, I'll pass." He caught up to me in a few giant strides and rested his hand on the small of my back. At the contact, I stopped in my tracks and glared into his stupidly pretty eyes. The smirk had only grown.

We did not have time for this. Taking a deep breath to try and squelch the need to run him through with my cutlass, I turned on my heel and stalked through the trees. Even Charlie's gurgle into my ear didn't cover up Kal's chuckle behind me.

By the time we cleared the forest that separated the cliffside to the inner portion of the island, the smirk was at least no longer on Kal's face. The trees dropped away to reveal a small rocky outcrop with a pond. It would've been beautiful if it had existed on any other island. Here, though, it was eerie and silent. No birds seemed to live on this island and not even the wind blew through the trees. On the other side of the pond was the entrance to the cave but it looked different than the last time I had ventured here. A large mechanical door barred the way, giant gears, and levers stuck into the rock. Clearly, the witch had upgraded.

Glancing at Kal, whose face looked paler than I remember it being a few hundred feet ago, I rolled my shoulders back. "Well, here we go."

~~~

The winch of the door creaked loudly as we entered, the sound echoing off the rock of the cave. The scent of different herbs and smoke filled my nose so suddenly I had to bite back a cough. Strange red candles lit our path through the tunnel, their flames burning as red as their wax. Kal was walking so closely to my back, that he stepped on the back of my boots more than once. On the third time, I spun around to snap at him when the witch's voice filled the tunnel.

"If you're going to fight in my home, at least let me be privy to the show."

The fight vanished from my veins as quickly as the fog around the island. Her voice felt like nails running down slate, harsh and too loud. Kal's frown deepened but he made no move to put distance between us. But then he also didn't turn tail and run out of the cave, either. Turning away from him, I made my way around the final turn and into the witch's lair.

She had definitely changed a few things since my last visit, but given that was a couple hundred years ago I guess it should come of no surprise. Herbs and bones hung from varying places on the walls and ceiling, a large fire pit sat in the center surrounded by woven cloth in reds and oranges. The mechanics that protected the entrance ran into this room as well. A whole other room sat off to one side, carved into the stone, that held a strange set up of glass vials full of liquids, a small flame burning underneath some of them. Metal arms held different containers and I could just make out a long sleek table with something laying on it. The cloth covering it obscured what it was but I didn't really want to see it anyway, so I was thankful.

"Elsie Bonnet, to what do I owe the immense pleasure of your company?"

Spinning on my heels, I almost hit Kal he was standing so close to me. The witch emerged from the darkness of another tunnel, her red eyes almost seeming to glow in the strange light of the room. Her white hair was just as I remembered it, covered with little beads, gold clasps, and feathers. The smile on her lips was far from welcoming; it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Her eyes moved from my face to the space over my left shoulder where I knew Kal was standing.

"And Kallum Rackham. You never returned, so I could make sure that arm was working properly."

I could almost feel the shudder that went through Kal's body. His voice was strained when he said, "It's been working just fine." His hand was suddenly on the small of my back again, but instead of a soft touch this time, I could feel his fingers as they clenched at my blouse. I had poked so much fun at bringing him back here, reveling in the fear it caused him, but suddenly I wasn't so sure this had been a good idea.

Clearing my throat, I tried to gain some sort of control over the situation before the witch gathered anymore. "We've come for answers. You know everything that goes on in the Triangle."

The witch moved further into the room, towards the fire pit. The flames danced on her face and reflected in her eyes when she looked at us. "Flattery will get you nowhere, girl. You wish to know how that man bested you."

Bested me was going a little far. Clamping down the need to defend myself, I nodded once. "He has something, something new, that made him disappear. We need to know how he did it."

Raising a single brow, the witch smiled wider. "I know the answers to what you seek. But answers don't come without a price."

I glanced at Kal, of course, they didn't. I reached for the gold pouch on my belt but before I could even offer her anything, the witch laughed. The sound made the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach worsen. "I have no need for gold, Miss Bonnet." Her eyes moved slowly from mine to Kal's. "I am in need of a new assistant, though."

I did not like the way she said assistant. Without a second thought, I placed myself wholly in front of Kal, blocking him from her view. My voice left no room for argument when I spoke. "Absolutely not." The grip Kal had on the back of my shirt was so strong I feared it would tear the fabric.

A shadow passed over the witch's face. The air in the room became thicker; the temperature dropped even with the giant fire. Her voice was void of the forced cheer from before. "Fine. Then you will collect a list of ingredients I need from the Barrier Islands."

A new kind of dread filled me. The Barrier Islands were the only other place in the Triangle no one ventured unless they wanted to die. I debated, briefly, how badly we actually needed the information the witch held in her grasp. But then, the likelihood of her letting us leave after disturbing her without giving her anything was very slim. I suppressed the groan I so badly wanted to let out. Nodding my head once, I laid my palm out before me. "Very well. Give me the list and we'll leave you to your peace."

A smile grew on her lips, again. Her teeth, sharpened into points flashed in the firelight. I had a very bad feeling about this whole blasted situation. Way to go, Elsie. Yes, let's visit the witch. Brilliant idea. I could feel the stuttered breaths from Kal on the back of my neck. The grip on my shirt had not lessened. This whole mess had gone from bad to worse and I couldn't help but feel like it was entirely my fault.