HELLHOUND (Book Two of the Wisteria Chronicles)

CHAPTER 12~Raid~

Titus

    “Are you sure this is the only way?” I asked Leo. He nodded his head and pointed to the map we hovered over. We were in my office discussing the best way to get information on Phoebe’s brother. Leo pointed to the map and hummed.

     “Hmm, from the information we’ve gathered, there should be a new shipment of supernaturals coming in from Port Townsend. I received word that a large portion of the prisoners will be sent to the same place. If we identify the owner, we should be able to search their homes. Hopefully we will locate Faedan and liberate a few others.”

  He traced the path with his finger. “The shipment will be going south to dock in the Edmonds Harbor. The rest of the trip will be by vehicle towards Seattle, where the cargo will be separated and taken to their new owners.” I studied the path that he made. 

   “So, we will need to stop them before they reach Seattle. How many vehicles will there be?” Leo shrugged, “Four or five. People are requesting more because the Infinity Exchange is in three months.” I sighed, there were too many vehicles for our crew to take on. They were going to travel on a heavily populated road too. The last thing we needed was for the humans to get involved.

   “Why don’t we attack the ship?” Phoebe said quietly from where she was sitting on the sofa in the corner. She had been silent this whole time, I had forgotten she was even here. Leo scoffed, “You want to raid a ship? We aren’t pirates.” Phoebe stood up and glided over to us. She pulled the map closer and pointed.

   “If they are coming in from Port Townsend then going to Edmonds, all we need to do is cut them off and force them to dock somewhere remote.” She traced her path, “If we get them to turn before they enter Puget Sound, we can usher them into Port Gamble.” 

    I looked down at the route she had chosen. Port Gamble shunted off from the main ocean and then turned into a large lake. The town was populated, but nothing compared to Seattle. The entry to the port was narrow, and almost impossible to turn around in when you were surrounded. Leo started to hum again as we shared a look. 

   “Bee, that a damn good idea.” He said after a moment. Phoebe beamed up at me, I couldn’t help but smile back. “What do you think we will need for the plan to be successful?” I asked her. She pursed her lips, “Well, we are gonna need two boats for the main part. I think one needs to be a speed boat, just in case they try to run.” Leo grunted, “Yeah, it will need to be armored too.”

   Phoebe shook her head, “No, we can’t risk hurting the people inside.” Leo frowned, “So how do we get them to do what we want without a weapon?” Phoebe looked up at me, “I’ll be your weapon.” My heart fell to my stomach, “No!” 

      Phoebe pouted. “I could use my powers to change the flow of their ship and get them to turn. When they have it docked, I’ll put up a barrier around it so that no one escapes. Your team will be able to surround it, take out the crew and recover the hostages.”  

   Leo opened his mouth, wanting to agree. I shot him a death glare and he quickly closed it. I knew her plan was a good one, but I was afraid. I didn’t want her to be in harm's way. “Titus, please trust me. This isn’t my first raid and we all know that it would be difficult to do this without my help.” Phoebe said with wide eyes. 

    Damn, I know she’s right. It would be too hard to get the ship to turn without using violence. We would also attract the Coast Guard if things got too loud. I let out a deep sigh, “Fine, but you have to stay with me or Leo the whole time.” Phoebe leaped into my arms, “Thank you!” She peppered my cheek with kisses before I put her down.

    Leo clapped his hands, “Alright, let’s call in the team and get this started.” He linked the team, who came in shortly. Mikey, James, Keith, and Cameron introduced themselves to Phoebe. She was shy at first, hiding behind me and only speaking when spoken to. Her voice was soft, avoiding direct eye contact.

   As the meeting continued, Phoebe became more vocal. She made her points clear and considered every option. When everything was said and done, Phoebe had taken control while I sat back and watched her. Leo wrapped everything up and dismissed everyone. Phoebe had a huge smile on her face as she joked around with the guys. 

    “You’re very good at leading.” I complimented her. She blushed a little and avoided eye contact. “Yeah, my father wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be taken advantage of.”  “Your father was a smart man.” I said as I grabbed her hand. She gave me a sweet smile before leaving. Leo and I went over the logistics one more time since we had decided to follow Phoebe’s plan. I couldn’t believe that I was about to take my mate to pirate a slave ship.

Phoebe

   I checked my back pack again before stepping out on the deck. We were anchored in the middle of the sea, cutting off the route to Seattle. Titus walked up to me; his face serious. “Leo says the cargo ship is headed this way. We have about five minutes before we can see it. Are you ready?” 

  “Yeah.” I said, trying to resist the urge to nibble on my bottom lip. “They’re here, starboard side!” yelled Mikey from the helm. Titus and I walked over to the right side of the boat and peered out of the binoculars. A small container vessel came into view. It had five containers stacked on it and its speed was roughly at 20 knots. 

  Titus gave me a grim look. “It’s time baby.” I tiptoed to give him a kiss, my last-minute nerves settling. I spent all of yesterday preparing for today. I had to pull off a series of mid-level magic spells that would leave me weakened. Titus was worried but I had promised to stay close to him, I also reassured him that I knew basic self-defense. If things took a turn, I would be ok until Titus could help me.

  I slapped the cloaking sticker on our boat so that the outside world would see us as a coast guard unit. I took off my back pack and pulled out a white talisman. Titus lifted up my right hand, bringing my index and middle finger up to his lips. He gave them a soft kiss before biting down, tiny blood drops seeping out. 

   I used my finger to create a symbol on the talisman, starting the spell to create waves. The water began to rock the ship. Titus stood behind me and held onto the railing, his arms on either side of me. The cargo ship was directly in front of us. Their bow bobbed up and down as the waves turned them towards Port Gamble. 

  The container vessel honked and flashed their lights. I could see some of their crew on the deck waving at us. “They’re picking up speed.” Titus muttered. Their ship started to move further away from us, attempting to turn around. Mikey pulled our boat closer to the cargo ship, increasing our speed. 

   I held on tightly as the boat jumped over high waves, the wind stinging my face. I could see our second crew closing in on the other side of our target. The ride was bumpy and loud, I was starting to feel sick. When the vessel slowed down to pass through the narrows into Port Gamble, I let out a relieved sigh. 

  I secured my backpack and grabbed Titus’s hand. He nodded, signaling for me to warp us onto the enemy boat. We landed on the stern side, luckily it was unguarded. Now it was time for the hard part. I set out my crystals and drew a magic circle. Titus pulled me into his arms when I finished, his eyes full of worry.  

     “Are you sure you’ll be ok?” I smiled up at him, “I’ll be ok as long as you're here.” He gave me an urgent kiss; I could taste his fear. I didn’t know how to reassure him and we didn’t have time. I took my place inside the circle and started to chant, releasing the spell. I could feel it expand towards the bow. 

  I knew there was a magic user aboard, their presence was dark and heavy. They were already reacting to my barrier. I heard footsteps running towards us, causing Titus to tense. A man came around the corner, hair wild from the wind. Titus started to swing, his fist crashing into his face. The man’s body started to fly back but Titus grabbed him by the shirt. He pulled him close, his body stumbling on weak legs. Titus grabbed the enemy’s chin and gave a quick jerk, breaking his neck. 

    Two more assailants came forward, one wielding a long silver blade. Titus rolled his shoulders and attacked the armed male first. The male swung violently, creating small cuts on Titus’s chest and arms. My heart pounded wildly as I watched Titus raise his hand to block while his other hand came forward and punched the man. 

    He let out a loud oof as he dropped his blade and hunched over. The second man came forward, his punches wild and untrained. Titus kicked at his legs, connecting with the man’s knees. I could hear the cracking over the rush of the wind. Titus delivered swift blows to his head, knocking him out. 

    The first male fully recovered, lunged at Titus. He knocked them to the ground where they grappled. I was terrified for Titus, but I couldn’t get up to help. I had to remain within the circle and continue the chant or else our team wouldn’t be able to successfully board. Titus gained the upper hand and straddled his attacker. His heavy fists smashed into his face, teeth and blood spewed everywhere.

     Titus stood up and walked over to me. He gave me a once over before her shifted. His lycan, Onyx stood in front of me in a protective stance as another man rounded the corner. He was the magic user, his aura a deep black. He started to chant; his spell focused on me. My body started to convulse, his attack sending electric currents that ripped through me. 

    I continued to chant through the pain, I refused to let the mission fail because of a little shock. Onyx reacted swiftly, biting the man in between his shoulder and his neck; his cry immediately cut off. His spell dissipated as the life in his body went limp. I was panting and out of breath, the attack took more of my energy than I expected.

      Titus shifted back and rushed over to me. “You’re doing good baby, just stay with me a little longer.” I bobbed my head, the tingling pain still lingering in my muscles. I finally felt the presence of our men enter the barrier and the boat had slowed to a gentle lull. “Leo says his team has control and we will be docking soon.” Titus informed me.

  By the time the boat docked, my lips were trembling with exhaustion. Leo and Mikey came to the back to meet us. “We have the boat secured; you can drop the barrier.” Mikey announced. Titus broke the circle and my chanting stopped. He sat down behind me and pulled the blanket I packed out of my bag. He wrapped it around us and pulled me to his chest. 

  “You did so good, Bee.” Leo said proudly. I offered him a weak smile before turning my head to study Titus. “Are you ok?” I asked with a scratchy voice. Titus examined his arms where his small cuts were already healing. “Yeah, I'm good, baby. Are you ok? That magic user gave you one hell of a jolt.” I licked my dry lips and giggled. “I’m ok, just tired.” 

    He grunted and held me closer. “You both should rest. It will take a few hours to unload the ship. We also kept a slaver alive so we will be interrogating him soon.” Leo said. Titus nodded his thanks as Leo and Mikey left to complete the mission. We were finally a step closer to Faedan. I closed my eyes and let the steady beat of Titus’s heart lull me to sleep.