There was a loud bang from the deck, but that didn't bother Mariana. She continued to examine the book.
There were pages and pages again with what appeared to be a mixture of jumbled nonsense and spell instructions. She flipped through the text - she could not understand the language at all - and focused most of her attention to what appeared to be step-by-step guides to spells she did not recognize.
Firstly, to do this spell that she named Spell X, one had to…light three candles and hold a dagger towards…north, and there was a bear involved? Mariana barely understood anything about it. She was annoyed to hear a commotion from the deck; without it, her logical mind would have been able to break the visual presentation into different parts that perhaps would make some sense, after all.
There was another spell that seemed to have something to do with demonic activity. She didn't know if it was about summoning or banishing.
Daniel barged in.
She almost dropped the book.
"Oh, don't look worried, it is a joke book," he said.
Almost like he was…warming up to her?
"Really?" Mariana asked, a bit disappointed.
"Aye, we did it with a hobbyist occultist as a fun project. We tried to simulate the development of a complete and intricate magic system."
Mariana slammed the book shut.
It was a hilarious idea, although something about it did sound and look a bit suspicious…
She cackled. "Don't tell me you actually tried the rituals."
"We did one of them." Daniel smiled, as if recalling a particularly good memory. "There was a bear involved. It was terrifying."
"Did the bear survive?"
"No, and it was a close call with my friend as well. I believe the man is suffering from a fatal illness these days."
"Oh." She paused for a moment, hoping to maintain a poignant facade of empathy. "I am so sorry."
"Don't be sorry, he was actually sort of awful." Daniel took the book from her. "But he was a master linguist, as you can plainly see when you compare the correspondences in the structure of this imaginary language."
Mariana pretended to understand.
She pretended to focus.
The truth was that she was simply too enchanted by his presence to do anything except hold her breath.
He was even more stunning up close.
Like the sly bastard he was, he slid his arm along Mariana's shoulders, completely covering her with his energy and strength.
She snuggled up to him before she even knew what she was doing.
"With you, though, we could fashion a new kind of magic that actually works," Daniel said, matter-of-factly, like charming her to the point of her consciousness being in danger was no big feat for him at all.
"And it should not include bears," she whispered into his hair.
His dark hair got darker with every passing year, and it felt so smooth and silky that it would have been nearly impossible to believe his occupation…except that he was a pirate king, not an ordinary rogue. He could probably afford all the warm baths, massages, and treatments he wanted.
She pressed her body closer to him.
He felt so…so very warm right now. It was like his skin was on fire.
"Why are you so hot?" Mariana asked him before she realized what she had said.
He chuckled. "Gods made me this way."
She punched him lightly on the arm. "Silly Captain Brandon. I mean your skin. Why does it glow with warmth like the side of an oven?"
"I wish I knew," he muttered. "Can't have anything to do with the beautiful pirate queen I have in my arms as we speak."
Still, the actual content of this response was lukewarm at best, and a bit suspiciously avoidant, if she did not think about the flattery. He had said it like he meant every word, though. He wanted her. There was no doubt about that any longer.
She smiled, trying to appear shy and cute.
"Do you want to read another book?" Daniel asked.
Before she could reply, the ship rocked violently. The pirate king jumped up.
"Wait here," he said and ran outside.
She did not wait down there.
Climbing into the middle of a horrible state of bloodshed and confusion, Captain Mariana Adams saw something much like a hydra arising from the waves. It was worse than a hydra, though. It didn't exactly have tentacles - the many-eyed beast had appendages that even ended in pointy, disgusting fingers, and each fingernail was the size of a normal shovel or a spade, yellowish, or maybe even brown. The entire fumbling mass had managed to punch one of its fists through the ship and was now trying to get a grip of a sailor.
The poor man shot at it, but that didn't do him any good.
The scent of sulfur, that disgusting stench lingering in the air told Mariana that Madeliene had not waited to hear feedback on her latest plan. This thing was most certainly one from the underworld, and not even an ordinary sea monster.
"GET THE WITCH! There is a WITCH aboard this vessel! I know it, Roinar's here!" the pirate king screamed.
Mariana frowned. Nobody seemed to be going for the boats, even though that was one possible way out of this mess.
She found Madeliene clutching the box behind the mast.
"Quickly," Mariana hissed. "You have made a mistake, but it is not going to be us cleaning up this bloody mess. Quickly, before they stop us, we need to hop into one of those boats and sail towards that island. Can you see the little speck of green over there?"
Madeliene nodded.
They prepared the boat in a matter of seconds. It had to be a new world record. Every last man was way too busy battling a demonic abomination to pay any attention to two women in ragged dresses hacking away at ropes.
As they managed to drop their boat into the sea with a huge splash, Mariana winced. She was sure that Daniel or someone had noticed them.