Once a Pirate (Mystical Realm Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

movement caused to make her escape, running from the Guards and deeper into the town away from the market. The sound of angry Guards calling out for her followed her steps, but she was much smaller and faster than they were and pulled away from them easily. Anna swiped the wetness on her cheeks, condemning the tears which blurred her vision as she twisted and turned her way through unfamiliar streets. She wasn’t concerned about getting lost, as she could see the high towers of the castle over the much smaller dwellings around her. Anna’s only concern was to be away from the domineering Guards.
    ***
    Smoke, rotted fish and body odor permeated the thick haze of the bar. Disheveled patrons, still drunk or recovering from the evening before, lay across tables and benches in varying states of misery and confusion. A particularly miserly looking man huddled in a back booth, his hands wrapped around a steaming carafe of what was presumably some version of the establishment’s coffee.
    “Good Lord, Mate,” Jake spoke loudly enough to draw a wince from the man as he sat across from him. “Did you have a bad night?”
    “Great night, bad morning,” The man’s voice was gravelly from a night spent smoking and drinking. “What do you want, Reynolds?”
    “I want what you owe me,” Jake leaned across the table, ignoring the festering smell of liquor and vomit on the man’s breath. “What have you found?”
    “Again with your bloody box, Man, can’t it wait?” The man groaned. “It’s too early for this.”
    “Nay, Andre,” Jake grabbed the man’s vest and jerked him from his seat, pressing a small blade to his throat. “I’ve waited long enough! Now, find me what I seek or I’ll take out my frustrations in your blood!”
    Andre Marrow had a reputation for knowing everything about everyone across the realm. The man was a reliable ally and informant in the weeks since Jake began his quest, but on occasion Andre required a bit of prompting to complete his task.
    “Aye,” Andre held up a hand, using the other to press over his lips lest he throw up at the sudden movement. “Aye, Mate, long enough. I feel you. Let me a day and I will have you a location.”
    “A day, Andre,” Jake released the man, standing beside the booth as Andre fell back to his hole. “No more.”
    Jake stormed from the bar, desperate to flee the horrid stench of the dive. He inhaled the fresh air greedily outside, purging his lungs of the filth they had endured. Several locals looked at him as he stood on the wooden deck of the bar, his crisp, black leather clothing at odds with the common clothing most of them wore. Sully’s warning of keeping a low profile replayed in Jake’s mind, drawing a sigh. Deciding it best to remain out of sight, Jake circled around the building, keeping to the shadows of the alleys.
    He went only a few blocks when a blue and gray form hurled itself against his chest. The wall of the building at his back broke his fall and Jake wrapped his arms tightly around the small form to keep from crumpling to the ground.
    “Whoa, there,” Jake coughed, pulling back to look down at the familiar woman in his arms. “We must stop meeting like this, Love.”
    “Sorry,” Anna’s gaze stayed down and her chest heaved from exertion.
    Jake used a gloved finger to lift her chin, staring down at her tearful eyes. A single drop escaped, creating a track of salty sadness down her cheek. “Hey,” Jake wiped the tear away. “What is it, Love?”
    “Please,” Anna whispered, looking around them with an anxious expression. “Let me go.”
    Jake ignored her hands, pressing against his chest in an effort to escape the belt of his arms. His attention focused over her shoulder on the two royal Guards who were clearly looking for something; or someone. Without breaking his hold on the woman, Jake turned them around, pressing her farther into the shadows of the alley and covering her smaller form with his larger one.
    The Guards