Cutlass (34 page)

“Careful young pirate,” warned Illiana, her eyes watchful and narrow. “Power like that, even in your hands, would be more dangerous than your enemies. You are bitter and hurt. You have not let yourself heal.”

Barren felt his face burn with a mixture of rage and embarrassment at her insight. Part of him wondered if she was reading his mind.

“How can I destroy something that cannot be destroyed? I want to end this.”

“It can be destroyed, but only if it comes into contact with those who possess the blood of Sysara and Kenna. You see, one good thing came out of their deaths—the stone drained their essence, but can be conquered if you and Larkin are strong enough.”

 “Will we not die?” he asked her. “I cannot put her in danger, I will not.”

“You are dealing with dark magic, Barren Reed. There is always the chance you will die. If you live, you would be betraying your king, and he will see to it that you are made miserable, hunted, and killed. As for the Lady Larkin, let it be her decision to die for this cause.”

Barren cringed at those words. If destroying the bloodstone meant losing his life, that was one thing, but he couldn’t let Larkin die. He’d worked too hard to keep her alive.

He heard Illiana laugh. His head shot up and he met her gaze. She seemed weaker now, but also darker.

“Your fondness for Larkin will be your undoing. It is not for you to love, Barren Reed. You are far too selfish.”

Barren swallowed hard.

“Why should I trust you? You, with all your magic and power, still could not see past Tetherion’s evil!”

That made her change, and Barren saw how terrible she could be. Her eyes grew black so that the whites of her eyes were not visible, and the small balls of light that had been floating around their heads suddenly came to her, piling into her hands.

“You would question my aid? After I have given you everything you need to stop this evil?”

The light grew bigger and it barreled toward Barren. All he could do was fall to his knees and cover his head as the light washed over him. It burned his skin, singed his hair…and he knew he was going to die.

***

Barren tore his eyes open and sat up. His body was covered in a cold sweat, and the air blowing in from the windows sent shivers through him. He reached for his weapons, which had lain on his floor beside his bed, but now were gone.

“Where is my sword, my knife?” he demanded of the figure in his room.

“I took them.” Lord Alder appeared in the moonlight. Barren looked around for Illiana, but there was no sign of her—had he been dreaming?

“She came to you in your dreams,” the Elf-Lord said, as if he were reading Barren’s thoughts.

“Where is she now?”

“She is dead,” Lord Alder said simply. “She used what remained of her power to appear to you in your sleep.”

He spoke of her death so nonchalantly. As if it were payment in exchange for her betrayal to him.

“You bastard! You threatened my mother! You took me away from her!”

Lord Alder’s features were like stone—perfectly sculpted and cold. “I see Illiana has done well giving her side of this story, but let me allow you mine.” When Lord Alder spoke, it was as if his voice surrounded Barren, commanding his obedience and punishing him for his disrespect.

“There were rules. Rules that dictated exactly how Lyrics were supposed to act. Your mother broke those rules, and because of that she was not allowed family. More importantly, she accepted it because she knew she would put you in danger if you were left with her. You see, of all those who betrayed their blood, perhaps Illiana was the worst. She wanted Tetherion. She believed she was in love with him and did not listen when we warned her of his deceit. I could not refuse their marriage without the threat of war on my doorstep. She wed him, swearing an oath that she would not speak of magic, but she broke that promise and Tetherion came to me soon after with the demand to give him more power. Illiana was ashamed of what she did, and she blamed herself for the deaths of many.”

The Elf paused and took a breath. “Your mother’s death was a tragedy, but I had nothing to do with her choice to destroy the bloodstone.”

“You
threatened
her,” Barren hissed.

“I did,” he agreed. “But here you are again, faced with your own devastation and not considering the other side. My people were in danger, Barren. A whole race, and my son—what was I supposed to do?”

“You had magic! You could have stopped—”

“It is exactly that thinking that got your uncle where he is today. I will not stop mortals with magic. I will not stoop to such petty thinking. I did what I felt I had to do.” Then Lord Alder smirked, and a horrible feeling crept over Barren. “You should feel empowered, Barren Reed—for you have the power. You can have your revenge all in one day if you choose. Destroy the bloodstone, and avenge your family. Would you not like that?”

Barren did not feel empowered. He only felt confused.

“I would feel empowered if I knew where the bloodstone was. If I knew where you had exiled the Lyrics.”

“Pity
she
did not tell you.”

“Why not just tell me? Why do your best to keep everything from me?”

“If you had lived as long as I, you would learn to mistrust any but your own kind.”

“I think you miss being powerful, that’s why you keep secrets.”

“I keep secrets to keep my people safe!” he hissed. “Do not pretend you understand me, young Barren Reed. How could you know anything of life when you have lived only for revenge?”

Barren set his teeth and the lord turned to leave, but he paused at the door.

“Dark magic is a tricky thing. It is almost alive, for it holds grudges…. and depending on what it wants, it could choose to keep you alive, but if it does, you need to consider what it wants from you. Because it will
want
…and it will
take
—from only you.”

With that, the lord left, closing the door behind him. Barren crashed against his pillow, staring at the shadowy ceiling. He hardly felt satisfied. He had so many unanswered questions. Why had Christopher kept Kenna a secret so long? Why had he not pinned Jess as the killer, if he truly believed him to be responsible? Barren knew he would have to tell Larkin, whether it meant having her hatred or not. He knew how horrible it was to be lied to.

 “We will not be returning the bloodstone to Tetherion,” Barren said. He had made his decision. He expected resistance. He expected to be told he was stupid—and he hadn’t even explained the rest of his plan yet.

They stood beneath the skylight in the great hall. Water trickled in the background, making Barren all the more eager to set sail.

“But that will make you an enemy to the king,” Datherious said. Barren had wondered how the twins would react. They did not have the same information Barren had, and he would not divulge what he knew about their father. He didn’t want to be responsible for delivering the news. Looking at them now, they seemed surprised and defensive, but perhaps they were merely warning him.

“I have always been his enemy. I am a pirate.” As much as Barren hated to admit it, he saw that now. “I threatened his throne. No matter our relations, I cannot exist as a pirate and he a king and not be his enemy. It is the law of this world.”

“So what will you do instead?” asked Natherious.

“I know enough now to understand that keeping something so powerful, something so potentially evil alive, would be a mistake. No matter who possesses it. I will destroy it.”

His crew exchanged glances, and their stances tightened in defense, but Devon and Em bristled with pride and relief.

“Barren, you know the results of that decision,” said Leaf. “You will die.”

Barren shook his head. “There’s a chance I will live, but only if Larkin chooses to help me. We have no choice but to head toward Cape Oceaniana. I need Larkin.”

Leaf laughed. “I never thought I’d hear you say that aloud!”

Barren laughed, too, rubbing the back of his neck.

“And how do you propose finding Larkin in Cape Oceaniana?” asked Cove.

Barren smiled. “Is your famous Network not stationed everywhere? I’m sure they would know if Christopher Lee and William Reed graced their shores.”

The Ambassador smiled. “I am sure they would.”

“All right then,” said Sam, rubbing his hands together. “To Cape Oceaniana.”

***

Barren traced Jess’s map from Devon’s arm, and Leaf studied its outline. They still had no idea where the bloodstone was, and the only clue was the map. Leaf’s brows took turns furrowing and smoothing as he tried to figure out what everything meant, but he was at a loss. He had never seen anything like this before, and he turned it in every direction, trying to figure out what it said.

“If you ask me, it’s not a map,” said Leaf.

“Then what is it?”

“A poorly drawn picture,” Leaf handed the map to Barren.

They sat on the deck of the ship, legs crossed, and a basket of bread and water beside them. As soon as the Elf’s hands were free, they dove into the basket, pulling out stale bread and dried fruits for him and Barren to eat.

“This is serious, Leaf. I believe Em when she said my father did nothing in vain.”

“The map isn’t the vain part,” said Leaf. “It’s feeding everyone poison so they don’t remember anything about it.”

Barren couldn’t argue with that, though he now understood his father’s decisions better.

“I want to know if Tetherion’s intentions are truly evil,” Barren said quietly. He had told Leaf everything that happened the night before. Part of him still wanted to believe Tetherion only wished to keep the bloodstone in the King’s vault, and to not use it for power. He wanted to believe that all the trust between them wasn’t false. “Perhaps he has changed.”

Leaf considered that for a moment. “Perhaps. It is not wrong to hope.”

He could tell by the way Leaf had spoken that he shouldn’t be too hopeful. Barren stared unseeing, at the space before him, thinking.

“Only weeks ago I thought my brother would be dead at my feet. My behavior seems silly now. I think I pursued revenge so diligently because I believed I was partly responsible for my father’s death. That second before William attacked—those moments when I could have cried out, gotten his attention, made him turn. Now I realize it would have been in vain. He was going to die anyway. He’d prepared himself for it. He’d prepared us all for it. I just wish he hadn’t taken my memories with him.”

“That is when you must remember that Jess never did anything in vain.”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I suppose I must.”

Barren could feel the Elf’s eyes on him as he sat, staring at nothing in particular.

“You seem most unlike yourself, Captain.”

Barren laughed a little. “I suppose I am just regretting my mistakes.”

“Is this about Larkin?”

Barren shrugged a shoulder. “Among other things,” he replied. “I wish I had not been so selfish.”

“You are young, Barren, and the young are selfish, but there is a lot about you that is selfless. You would do anything to protect those closest to you—the result of watching the one you love most, perish, perhaps.”

Barren looked down at his hands. The way Leaf spoke of him sometimes made him sound overly heroic, and Barren didn’t feel he could claim such an attribute.

“Besides, Larkin has been good for you,” the Elf mused. “She argues with you, and that’s entertaining. And who would have thought Barren Reed would become fond of someone so willing to defy him?”

“I could never be fond of the daughter of a lord and the fiancée of my brother,” Barren replied quietly.

“Well, I don’t know about that. You’ve probably spent more time with her than either Christopher or William.”

Barren picked up the map and stood, wanting to put an end to this conversation quickly.

“I am the epitome of everything she hates, as she has made quite clear to me time and time again.”

“If you truly believed that, why are you so desperate to help her? Never mind that you need her for the bloodstone—you wanted her before you knew that.”

Barren’s features grew hard. “You’re a pirate—what would you know of any of this?”

Leaf smiled, but it was a melancholy smile. “More than you would ever know,” he replied distantly, and Barren knew he’d said the wrong thing. The Elf’s features were pained—this was the look of real loss. Of never being able to see, much less touch a loved one again. Barren knew that look well.

Leaf moved from his place on the deck and walked like a ghost toward the front of the ship where the Orient crashed into the hull. Barren followed, unsure of what terrible memory he had unearthed.

“I joke about many things, Barren, and I know you do not always take what I say seriously, but believe me when I say, I have known love and I have known the loss of that love.”

“I-I didn’t know.”

“Not many do,” said Leaf, his eyes were set on the sea, and she, as if in reaction to his feelings, grew more restless. “Remember when I told you I spent time in Estrellas?”

“Yes, for the murder of several men.”

“I killed them for her.”

Barren wasn’t sure what to say next. Part of him felt like he should leave the conversation as it was. These feelings Leaf was digging up had been buried in his subconscious for years, and having them rush to the forefront of his mind was not good. On the other hand, Barren felt that he needed to know more.