Wounded, exhausted, and suffering a victory that feels more like a defeat, John just wants to escape the accursed island. His victory isn't complete though... it still might destroy him.
"Watch out!" Red snapped as she leapt over John and landed on the bench with the second set of oars. "Steff, on me, left... left... left... left."
Steff matched her oar with Red and turned the long boat around. Once they had the bow running parallel to shore Red started calling for the right side every third stroke. They pulled along the shore and then away in an arc that brought them close to the sunken ship. Both women were breathing hard and sweating as they came up on the far side of the
Red Witch
.
The ladder was dropped and Red climbed up first. She barked out orders to drop a fresh bowline for the boat and bring it around to the other side and get it stowed. John climbed up the ladder, his staff tucked between his left arm and his side while he used his right to hold onto the swaying ladder. Steff came last, moving faster even with her wooden leg than John.
Sasha strode across the deck, her hair unruly from sleep. She wore a thin cloak that only fell to her knees. Red turned to her and then turned away. She grabbed John as he came over the edge and pulled him forward, then turned and pushed him toward Sasha. "Tend to his wounds, Sash. We're sailing now."
"What happened?" Sasha asked. Her eyes darted to Steff as she crested the gunwale and threw her peg over and then stood up.
Steff stared down over the railing for a moment before turning back and barking at the nearest sailors to get down into the long boat and bring it around to the other side. She saw the man running forward with a coil of rope sized for the boat and motioned for him to hurry up and drop it in while others where shimmying down the ladder.
"Later," Red snapped. "I've got the helm. I need John ready to get us back down the stream."
John stopped. "Wait, we're leaving?" he asked. "What about—"
"We've got enough," Red snapped. "It's not worth losing anyone else."
Sasha searched the deck before turning and grabbing John's arm. He hissed as she pulled his arm and aggravated the gouges in his back. He went with her, afraid she'd yank his arm off if he didn't. She led him across the deck and into a small cabin across from the ship's galley.
"Lose your robe and lay down," she said.
John struggled to get it up and over his head. He hissed as his robe scraped across his wound and then again when he had to move his arm to pull his robe all the way off. He let I fall to the floor and crawled up onto the table and lay down on his belly.
"Five gouges," Sasha said while she pulled out a flask and shook it a little before pulling the stopped out. "Claws? Must have been something big. Troll?"
"I don't—" John's words turned into a hiss as she poured rum over the wound. He panted and swore before catching his breath and finishing, "—know. I don't know. We couldn't see them, it was too dark. Big...furry though. Heads like... I don't know, a wolf or dog? But they walked like a man."
"These need stitches," Sasha said. "Red said she needs you, we'll do it later. Hold still, I'll rub a cream on them to stop the bleeding."
"All right," John said.
Sasha moved to a chest and pulled out some jars. She poured some powders into a bowl and then added some water. She mixed it with a horsehair brush, thickening it into a mush. "She wouldn't leave her crew behind," she said as she worked.
"They were gone when we got back," John said. "Four at the boat, all missing. Two at the dock. Only sign was Barb's pants."
Sasha stopped mixing. "Her pants?"
"Yes."
Sasha went back to mixing. "Did you find it? The treasure?"
"Yes."
"And Billie?"
"Yes."
Sasha mixed some more. "I love her," she said. "I worry about her. All of us, but mostly her. Magic is something we don't know. It changes everything."
"Tell me about it," John muttered.
"I'm trying to say that you've fought for us and bled for us... Red trusts you. That makes you okay with me."
John sighed. "Thank you."
"This will sting."
He nodded and braced himself.
She took the brush and smeared the paste across the first gouge in his back. The salve felt cool at first, but that didn't last. His flesh itched at first and then it began to burn. John fought to stay still but his muscles twitched and jerked as Sasha moved on to coat his second and third gouge.
John clenched his teeth as she smeared the paste across his wounds. He wanted to ask if she was using a red hot poker to do it but he couldn't get his jaw to unclench long enough to ask.
"Stay still," she said. "I have to wash it off now."
He grunted and waited for her to grab the bottle of rum and dribbled it over each gouge. He saw spots in his closed eyes and sucked wind through his nose to keep himself from passing out. He was so focused he barely noticed when Sasha began wiping his back, cleaning the salve off and then pouring fresh water to rinse the wounds. She patted them dry and then slapped him on the arse, hard.
"You won't bleed out, but you've got meat showing. I'll need to stitch that soon to keep it from festering."
John groaned.
She slapped his other cheek. "Red needs you, on your feet."
John took a few deep breaths to center himself. He checked his magic and found it was weak but waiting for its chance. The two slaps had roused it some, which disgusted him. Even worse he felt the magic's hunger returning.
John rolled off the table and stood up. Sasha raised an eyebrow and then tossed his robe to him. "I won't tell anyone you liked me spanking you."
John scowled and pulled his robe on. Sasha chuckled and left the room ahead of him. He followed and made his way across the deck and up onto the quarterdeck where Red was at the wheel and the sails were unfurling under Steff's commands.
