Art of Piracy Excerpt
September 18, 2019
A pattering of light footsteps made Luc shrink further into the shadows. Veronica came around the corner, accompanied by the girl with the sketch pad and the maid. Luc noticed the strain at the corner of Veronica’s eyes and mouth. It pained her to talk to the girl, who seemed not to notice and showed off her drawings as they walked. Interesting. Were the girl’s attempts that bad? Luc hadn’t noticed anything overtly awful. The girl had talent but was untrained, or had been trained badly, but with practice would get better. And Veronica had defended her. So what bothered her so much about the conversation?
Not that it was any of his business, but, curiosity piqued, he slipped from his hiding spot and followed them, careful to place his feet so as to minimize any sounds. The young artist and the maid went back into the lounge, and Veronica continued to the door that led to the lower level of first-class cabins. The lights in that part of the corridor had either burned out or been turned off, cloaking the space in thick dimness. She looked up, sighed, and pressed on. Luc followed her but stopped. A shadow detached itself from the wall after she’d passed by the housekeeping closet. Had it been hiding inside the closet?
Luc made his progress even quieter. What did this person want? Was it the “haint” the maid had seen below? Or a different threat?
He wanted to warn Veronica, but he didn’t want to startle her pursuer into doing something desperate because he’d be cornered. Instead, Luc followed them until Veronica went into her cabin and shut the door, perhaps more firmly than was necessary. Good, she’d sensed something amiss. Hopefully she wouldn’t come out too soon.
The shadow paused outside her door, and in a stray beam of diluted sunlight from one of the windows at the end of the corridor, the shape of a tall man came into view. He wore goggles with a red light emanating from them. The “haint,” indeed, and it was after her. How long before it would pretend to be the steward and she’d open her door to it? That would never do. Luc pulled a knife from one boot.
“What do you want, Monsieur?” Luc asked, stepping closer. He twisted his wrist, allowing light to glint off the blade.
The man turned and asked in a strange voice, “Who are you?”
“The more pertinent question is who you are and what you want with the young lady?” Luc attempted to maintain a relaxed posture while preparing for a fight.
He didn’t have much room to maneuver and didn’t know if the man was armed. A sliver of light behind the intruder indicated that Veronica had opened her door.
The man took advantage of Luc’s distraction to lunge, but he grunted and stumbled forward, and something metal clanged to the ground.
“‘Ey, what’re you doing there?” A gruff voice yelled from behind Luc. The intruder stumbled to his feet, then lurched away down the hall. Luc started after him but stepped in the—thankfully unused—chamber pot that Veronica had hit the man with. Two burly stewards grabbed him by the arms.
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