panicked. The corundum in her forehead glittered dazzlingly. The black wings seemed woven from spider’s lace. The long earrings in the lady’s ears appeared to be two black spiders.
«You are chained to your ship! You can’t go on other people’s ships!» Edwin lectured.
«Burn the girl! Pirate girls should be burned!»
«She’s the wrong one!»
«Burn her anyway! I want you to burn her!»
«I’m sorry, Medea Shae, but your whole kingdom is your ship now. The fairies and elves don’t listen to you anymore, and neither do the dragons.»
At the mention of dragons, Medea Shai felt as if stung.
«One dragon is still mine!»
«It’s a moot point!»
Medea Shai and Edwin disappeared, sinking into the darkness. Patricia suddenly regained her speech.
«Have mercy on us! The sea is on fire! We’ll burn if we run into a dragon ship!»
Somehow Patricia was sure Edwin could prevent a collision.
«Let the pirate ship burn!» Medea Shai laughed victoriously, but Edwin looked at Patricia and nodded seriously.
«The dragon will sail past,» he promised.
The entire sea outside the porthole was already ablaze. Edwin and Medea Shai were gone, as if they had never been.
Patricia could hardly catch her breath. The stupor had lifted from her body. And the fire outside the porthole suddenly went out. Only ash swirled over the water. A thin streak of flames and sparks shifted, disappearing over the horizon. The dragon ship changed course.
A letter from the fire
They are saved! She still couldn’t even believe it. Patricia was ready to dance on the deck. The fiery death floated by. A wizard named Edwin had given the pirates a chance for salvation and free sailing.
Edwin! The name seemed vaguely familiar. Patricia recalled all the ambassadors and delegates she had met at the Opal court. Not a single person or supernatural being named Edwin had been among them. Various werewolves, wizards, and representatives of magical races often came to the King of Opal on business visits. Was Edwin not one of them? Then how did he know her? Patricia had the feeling that she had known him for a long time.
Edwin resembled a fiery dawn. Except that the memory of Medea Shai stirred a wild jealousy. Patricia wanted to take a saber and behead the queen of the fairies. She believed Edwin had called the lady fairy queen. Judging by the crown of golden wings, she was a fairy queen. Probably she was deposed, because fairies are a free tribe nowadays. That’s why they’ve been frequenting the King Opal’s house. Many fairies were tempted to join Opal’s banner.
Sometimes it seemed that the King of Opal was planning a war against the whole world, and was going to create a magical army out of the evil fairies. With such an army he could take over the whole universe. Patricia felt frightened for a moment by this assumption.
«Would there be warlocks like Edwin to stop him if he decided to conquer the world?» She thought aloud.
The deck had become very quiet somehow. Why wasn’t the crew rejoicing that the danger was over? Patricia stepped out of the cabin and almost stepped on a glowing orange object that lay just beneath her feet. It’s a letter! But why was it on fire? Who set it on fire and why? And why isn’t the deck burning beneath it? Only the letter is on fire.
«Don’t touch it!» Netopyrina warned. «I burned my paws on it!»
Did the fairy really call her delicate webbed claws paws? Patricia laughed. The fairies who lived in Opal’s court didn’t even call their scaly claws paws. Nethopyrina was more straightforward.
Patricia leaned over and gingerly touched the edge of the letter. The fire was hot, and her fingers burned. Real fire indeed! Or was it magical? The flaming lines that could be read were nothing but magic.
«The seas are mine,» Patricia read aloud. «Since I defeated all the water dragons, only I have the right to sail the seas and oceans. Sail away from my territory. Find yourself a quiet bay and a coastal island. Eat bananas and coconuts. Why would you want to be a pirate? Treasure does not bring happiness. Trust a dragon. I have been plundering for centuries. Gold and gems won’t bring you happiness. And the black fairies will begin to sharpen their claws against you. They love gold. They’ll tear you apart for it. And the sea wizards are even more insidious! By the way, don’t turn the mermaids against me, or they’ll all burn. The sea tribes annoy the fire-breathing dragons. I don’t like pirates and other seafarers at all. I’m cramped at sea myself. Get on dry land while you’re still in one piece!»
And it was the signature: «Dragon.»
Patricia was taken aback. Could dragons write letters? She wondered if the dragon wrote the lines with its breath.
It’s all threats! That’s very dragon-like. But what reason would a dragon have to hate her? The letter breathes anger.
The letter must have gotten here by mistake. It’s definitely not for her. The top of the letter doesn’t say it’s addressed to Lady Patricia or the pirate captain. If it weren’t for the dragon’s signature, it would look anonymous.
And who planted it on the deck? How are letters of fire delivered? Patricia didn’t know, because this was the first time she’d ever seen a fire letter. Not even fairies could write such letters, and they were masters of all magic.
The letter spread mercury across the deck as Patricia finished reading. Wow! The ship creaked, and the fairy trapped in the hold let out a prolonged shriek.
«Lady Captain!» She called. «Come here, quick! Help!»
What a surprise! To hear a request for rescue from a stubborn fairy hostage! Patricia never expected this. Fairies are stubborn to the point of absurdity. This time Aleandra was thrashing around the cage and wailing.
«She’s coming here! She’s going to tear me apart! I’m a traitor! She won’t forgive me for this! Let me go, Lady Captain, and I promise to give you and your crew a useful magical gift.»
That’s how flattering even a wicked fairy can sing if she’s frightened! Patricia liked the respectful address «Lady Captain» very much. But only, what frightened the fairy so much?
«Who is she? Aren’t you a subject of the King of Opal?»
The fairy frowned. She was hiding something.
«Don’t let anyone on your ship!» Aleandra asked. «Draw protective symbols on the deck, forbidding entry.»
«Who can enter a ship on the open sea, where there are no oncoming ships?»
«Fairies can,» the captive proudly lifted her chin. «They don’t walk on water, but they can fly right on board.»
«And you think a flock of fairies will come to rescue you?»
Patricia was angry. The fairy was spinning around in the cage so much that the whole ship was rocking. What if the ship capsized?
«Stop it!»
«Let me go or hide me!»
Patricia would have let the fairy go. But she could tell the Opal wizards about her. Better to choose the safer solution.
«How do I hide you?»
«Draw invisibility signs at the entrance to the hold.»
«What are those signs?»
«Don’t you know? What an ignoramus! Illiterate aristocrat! There’s a reason you became a pirate,» the fairy got angry. All her politeness was blown away. «I’m going to die because of your illiteracy. Better let me out, or my death will be on your conscience.»
«What death? Fairies are immortal!»
Patricia caught Aleandra