The Runaway King (15 page)

“Sage!” Erick’s scolding wasn’t a surprise, except that I had expected it to come much sooner. He shook his head in warning at me.

Devlin only raised a corner of his mouth. “You have the heart of a pirate, that’s clear. When the time comes, I want your promise to reveal the location of that cave. And you must swear loyalty to the pirate code. From now on, you will serve out your life as a pirate, which means you will never leave Tarblade without the permission of the pirate king. Swear that you will always obey the pirate king’s orders. If you fail to do so, you will face the cruelest method of death.”

I closed my eyes to work through everything he was asking of me. Refusing to swear loyalty would undoubtedly mean I’d face death now. But I had come here to destroy the pirates. Could I accept those terms?

“Give me your answer, Sage,” Devlin said.

“Be quiet and let me think.” A moment later, I opened my eyes and nodded. “I swear.”

Devlin gestured at someone behind me, but based on the charred smell that had entered the hut I already knew what was coming next. Agor lowered the knife but his arm remained around my neck. Devlin’s grip on my hand tightened, and two pirates grabbed my arms, pressing them onto the table. Sweat creased my brow. It was a good thing they held me so firmly because it was possible I would’ve tried to escape otherwise.

A fat pirate who reeked of smoke stood between Devlin and me. In his hands was a branding iron, red at the tip.

“Keep still,” he said. I started to object, but Agor shoved a piece of wood between my teeth and held it there as the man pressed the hot end onto my forearm.

I screamed as it seared my flesh and tried to pull away from it, but their hold was uncompromising. A second later he was finished and someone else immediately covered my arm with a cold rag.

They continued to hold me until I’d recovered enough strength not to pass out. I lifted the rag and stared at the imprint burned into my skin, an X constructed of a sea serpent angled to the northeast and a snake angled to the northwest. The symbol of a pirate’s ability to create terror on land or sea.

“Congratulations,” Devlin said, finally releasing my hand. “You belong to the pirates now.”

E
rick was the first to reach me after I’d left the hut. He clapped me on the back and grinned. “You are the most reckless young man I’ve ever met. A couple of times I was certain he was going to let Agor have you.”

“I thought so too.” The rag had become too warm to be useful for the pain in my arm, but I kept it pressed there anyway. “I didn’t know about the branding iron.”

“Better the iron than the cleaver. You swore to me that you’d reveal the location of the cave.”

“But on my timing, not theirs.”

Erick glared at me, but there was nothing more he could say. We both knew that if I’d told them where the cave was, I wouldn’t have left that hut alive.

Agor was next at my side. “No one’s ever spoken to Devlin like that before. But the crazy thing is I think he admired it.”

“What now?” I asked.

Agor began leading me down a path. “We eat first. Then Devlin will want to test some of your skills.”

“Fink’s still locked up. Is he going to that hut now?” I’d put up any fight necessary to keep him from getting branded.

Erick shook his head. “Fink’s too young. Maybe in a few years.”

“We let him out,” Agor added. “He’ll join us at the meal.”

Minutes later we arrived near the kitchen, where several long tables were set up for meals. Fink was already waiting at one and motioned for us to join him. Apparently, he’d already heard what had happened inside the hut because as soon as he saw me he leapt to his feet and grabbed my arm. “Congratulations!”

I yanked it away with a gasp as his fingers inadvertently pressed near the burn. Fink’s eyes widened when he saw the branding, maybe with a new appreciation for what it meant to become a pirate.

“Yes, congratulations.” I turned to see Imogen standing behind us. She held a large pot with a ladle inside and must have been dishing up stew for the other men. “You got what you wanted, then?”

I barely looked at her. “You know what I want.”

“And you know how to get it.” Imogen frowned at me and moved on without putting any stew into my bowl.

Fink had a full bowl and grinned at me as he sat back on the bench. “It would help if you used words like
please
and
thank you
.”

“Then I’ll thank you to please stay out of my business,” I said, squeezing my way onto the bench.

The dark-haired girl I’d seen earlier came by a minute later with another pot of stew. “You’re new here?” she asked, ladling a large scoop into my bowl. “I’m Serena.”

“Stay away from him.” Imogen instantly appeared beside Serena.

“I was just saying hello.”

“He’s the one I told you about, when he came to the kitchen.”

Serena raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I know.” Imogen’s warning only seemed to improve her opinion of me.

I tilted my head, not sure exactly what Imogen had accused me of, but it had obviously worked to divert any suspicion away from us.

“He did that before he had to obey the code, so it’s forgivable,” Serena said, letting Imogen lead her away. I thought I caught her whisper afterward, “He’s handsome. I wouldn’t have complained if he’d tried that with me.” That made me smile a little.

Beside me, Fink snickered. “What’d you do?”

“I wish I knew.” Then to avoid any more questions, I began eating.

The pirates around us talked, ate, and laughed voraciously. Erick and I were included in the conversation like we were old friends, although Erick was far more engaged in talking with them than I cared to be. For once, it was nice to have Fink nearby so that his incessant chatter could fill the void.

I kept an eye on Imogen as she served the pirates their various requests, although I also made an effort not to appear too obvious about it. Both of us were newcomers and I’d already been too indiscreet when she came to the jail. As it was, she was probably all right as long as everyone believed her displeasure with me was due to some misbehavior on my part.

As soon as lunch was over, Agor escorted me to an area that had been cleared of grass and where the ground had become nearly as hard as stone. Long nails had been pounded into the trees, and hanging from them were a variety of wooden swords.

I backed away from the swords. “I came here as a thief, Agor, not a fighter.”

Agor picked out a sword for himself. “A pirate is both. Devlin wants to test your skills.”

“Did he test Erick?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Erick said, walking up to join us. Several other pirates had come with him. I couldn’t see the area where we’d eaten, but I assumed Imogen had remained there to clean up. That was probably a good thing. She wouldn’t want to watch this.

“Choose a sword,” Agor said.

I walked to the trees and looked the swords over as if it were the first time I’d seen any. It was probably too generous to refer to them as swords. Really they were little more than thick sticks with handles on them.

After a moment, Agor became impatient and grabbed one off the tree nearest to me. He thrust it into my hands. “Here.”

Agor raised his sword and I raised mine. My feet were braced beneath me but it had to be Agor who made the first strike. When he did, he struck hard against my shoulder and threw me off balance.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked. “Fight!”

“My mistake.” I rubbed my shoulder, certain a bruise was already forming there. “I didn’t know we’d started.”

I swung back at him but missed entirely. He feinted left, which was ridiculous since I wasn’t being aggressive enough to need to be tricked, then came at me from the right. I blocked most of it, but took a blow to my arm.

Around us, what began as a largely indifferent audience quickly turned into laughter and hollers for me to be taught a lesson. They further encouraged Agor, who seemed to like the idea of using my poor performance to showcase his abilities. He got in three or four hits at me for every one I attempted at him. Occasionally I’d find a mark, but frankly, he hit hard and I was quickly losing enthusiasm for this charade.

Finally, he struck me in the back hard enough to force the air from my lungs. I dropped my sword. “Enough.”

“You’re not very good,” Agor said.

“I never told you I was.”

Agor surveyed me a moment. “I guess we expected more. The last boy to join the pirates was about your age and he’s amazing.”

That would be Roden, who was probably nearing the end of his time at sea. I replaced my sword on the tree, then said, “What now?”

“If you’re smart, you’ll stick around here and get in some sword practice.”

“And what if I’m not?”

Agor shrugged, clearly disappointed. “I admit that I’m relieved you’re this bad at swords. The way you threatened Devlin earlier, I thought maybe you meant what you said.”

I had meant it. Every word.

Agor stepped closer to me and continued, “You should know that I watch Devlin’s back. And someone’s watching mine. And so on down the line. But nobody’s watching your back here, so if you try to carry out that threat, it’ll be the last thing you do aboveground. You understand me?”

I understood perfectly. If I went after Devlin, I would follow him to my grave.

Agor left me there, taking most of the pirates with him. As they strode away, I saw Imogen carrying some flowers toward a tree. She shook her head at me and I turned my back on her. I refused to allow her to think I needed her help. When I looked a moment later she was gone.

Erick and Fink had also stayed behind with me.

“You were terrible out there,” Fink said.

“Thanks.” It was too bad I’d been rewarded with so many bruises, because otherwise my performance would have made a funny story one day.

“What about my thieves in Carthya that night?” Erick asked. “You fought them.”

I grinned. “Clearly, they’re worse than I am.”

“You must’ve caught them off guard. Because a person would almost have to try in order to be as bad as you were just now.”

Not
almost
. “How’d you do against Agor?” I asked.

Erick shrugged. “He’s good with a sword, but he’s not great. I held my own.”

“You should teach me some of your tricks.”

Erick laughed at that. “There’s no trick, Sage. You just need more discipline. And a great deal of practice.”

“The practice I can do, but nobody’s ever been much good at disciplining me.”

Erick began to explain himself, then gave up. He pulled out Harlowe’s pocket watch to check the time and thrust it back into his pocket.

“You should be more careful with that,” I said.

“It’s not as valuable as I thought before,” Erick said. “Too many scratches and dings on it. Next time I’m in town I’ll have them melt it down and sell it for the gold.”

Not if I could help it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the camp. Near the cooking areas, a hearty freshwater stream fell over the cliff down to the beach. Erick pointed out that I was beginning to smell and suggested I consider washing up there. I told him it had taken a lot of work to smell as badly as I did and I wasn’t about to ruin it with a bath. I didn’t get around to mentioning that the scars on my back would be visible if I bathed, which at the least would invite questions about my past, and at the worst would reveal who I was.

Once down on the beach, I found a comfortable spot facing the sea and stopped exploring. After a while, Erick and even Fink gave up on me and left to find something better to do, but I was content to sit there and stare. It was calming in a way I very much needed, because it was becoming increasingly difficult to fight the feeling that something was going to happen soon. Something I wouldn’t be able to control.

S
ometime late that afternoon, I wandered to the upper part of Tarblade Bay, hoping to find Imogen and try again to make her leave. But my attention was diverted by a ship entering the harbor below. It was unlike the pirate-marked schooners already in the harbor, and yet by the comments of others near me, they recognized several of the men on board. Obviously, this ship had been captured.

I made my way to the top of the hillside where I had a better view. Yet from my distance and without a scope, it was difficult to discern crew from pirates. It was true that pirates had an annoying habit of wearing black and that their general grooming was ragged at best, but these were hardly unique traits amongst many Avenians.

Agor walked up beside me and sighed with pleasure. “That ship looks profitable, don’t you think?”

“Where’s the crew?” I asked.

“Probably dead,” Agor said casually. “If not now, they soon will be, right?”

He laughed, then looked frustrated that I didn’t share in his joke. His tone turned nasty as he said, “Devlin only made you a pirate because of his greed. If it was up to me, you’d never have left that jail alive. Despite the stories Erick told us, I doubt you have the courage for this life.”

“It doesn’t take much courage to attack what’s clearly a peaceful ship,” I said, nodding at the ship in the harbor.

A cheer rose up amongst the pirates on land as the men on the boat dumped a body onto the beach. He was moving, but he appeared to be the only crewman they’d left alive.

“What’ll happen to him?” I asked Agor.

Agor looked at me as if I had moss for brains. “No one leaves Tarblade.”

Devlin had seen the ship too and stationed himself near Agor and me while the crewman was dragged up the steep hillside trail. Once he was dropped at Devlin’s feet, I finally got a good look at him.

He was probably in his fifties with a shock of gray hair sticking out from a wide-brimmed hat that identified him as one of the ship’s officers. He had the remnants of a bloody nose and a swollen black eye. And despite his attempts to look defiant, he was clearly terrified.

“Who’s this?” Devlin asked.

“My name is Swifty Tilagon,” the man said. “Ship’s navigator.”

Devlin swatted him across the cheek. “When I want to hear from you, I’ll speak to you!”

Agor stepped forward with papers given to him by one of the men who’d helped capture the ship. “It’s only rocks for cargo.”

“Not rocks,” Tilagon corrected. “I transport metals for a mine in the south. Copper and lead and whatever else we find.”

“Transport it where?”

“To Isel, to sell it. Please release me. That cargo represents several months of labor. Hundreds of men are waiting for their pay.”

Inwardly, I groaned. Did he have to tell them its value?

Devlin gestured to the pirates. “My men have been waiting for their pay too. I believe we need these metals more than anyone in Isel.” Then he nodded at Agor. “Kill this man, then unload his ship.”

The man yelped but by then I had pushed my way to the front of the crowd. “You should think bolder, Devlin.”

His glare turned on me, daring me to have a suggestion worth challenging him.

I could only hope that I did. “You have the opportunity to steal from this man twice. Send some pirates to Isel with him tomorrow disguised as his crew. They can sell the rocks, take his payment, and then kill him. If you send enough pirates, you’ll have fighting power to keep the cargo too.”

With his greedy appetite whetted, Devlin grinned. He pointed to a blond, curly-haired pirate who couldn’t have been much older than me. “Tie this man up. We’ll fetch him again in the morning.”

“Why not put him in the jail?”

“I’ve already got a couple of men in there cooling off for the night. Just tie him to a tree. There’s enough of us around he won’t be able to do anything.”

There was nothing more I could do now. Tilagon spat on my boots when I walked past him to leave. I stopped and he said, “It wasn’t enough to kill my men. Now you’ll steal from our investors too. Of all these miserable vultures, you are the worst.”

“I saved your life,” I said.

“Only for another day.”

“Then use it well. Even a day is valuable around here.”

“I’ll use it to beg the devils to curse you.”

“Get in line,” I said coolly. “Do you think you’re the first?”

Then I wandered to the dinner tables with the other pirates. Erick caught up to me on the way. “It was a good idea back there. At least, Devlin was pleased with you.”

“I don’t care a devil’s inch about what Devlin thinks of me.”

Erick glanced around to see if anyone had overheard. “You should. Because whether you like him or not, he’s king here.” I snorted my contempt, but Erick grabbed my arm to turn me back to him. “Who are you to look down on him? You’re no one, Sage. And you won’t get anywhere with that attitude.”

“Good advice,” I said, fully agreeing that my attitude wasn’t going to endear me to Devlin.

Dinner wasn’t much different than lunch had been. It was loud, boisterous, and obnoxious. I watched for Imogen but only caught a glimpse of her carrying dishes back to the kitchen from where the other serving girls left them as they busied themselves with different tasks.

Several hours passed before everyone settled in for the night. The sleeping quarters for pirates began at sea level as a large hut butted up against the cliff. The steep wall provided some protection but the other three sides were left open to the air. There was a second hut stacked above the one where I slept. It was slightly less exposed to the breeze rolling off the sea, and so was used by the pirates of higher authority. A single room was stacked above that, but I didn’t know what it was for. Devlin and Agor and other senior pirates had their own private quarters at the top of the cliff.

Sneaking out of the hut was fairly simple. Apparently, pirates slept in much the same manner as they lived during the day, loud and hard. The bigger trick after I left was to get off the beach and back up to the top of the hill. Directly behind us, the earthen cliff was too steep for a safe nighttime climb. Stairs were carved into the more gradual hill a little farther down, but they seemed well guarded, so instead I moved up the shore and did some scrambling across an old rockslide to get up top.

I was surprised that Tarblade wasn’t better guarded than what I saw up there. A few vigils were making rounds, but it was as if they knew nobody would be foolish enough to attack them so they expected little danger. Still, I moved cautiously as I made my way toward the captured navigator.

Tilagon was asleep beside the tree, his head tilted so far forward it was nearly touching his chest. I wondered how he could sleep like that, when even in the most comfortable of beds I often had trouble sleeping at all. At least they’d given him a blanket. Devlin would’ve wanted him to be healthy enough to travel in the morning, before they killed him.

The knot binding Tilagon’s hands was nearly halfway undone before he awoke. I whispered that if he made a sound we were both dead and he quickly closed his mouth. When the ropes were untied, I helped him move his arms back from around the tree. He gasped with the stiffness in them but relaxed again once they rested on his legs.

“You?” he hissed when he recognized me. “You’ve come to kill me?”

“Don’t be absurd. Now hush.”

“In that case, I’m sorry for what I said before.”

“Listen to me very carefully,” I said. “Your ship and its contents are lost to the pirates. You must leave on foot.”

Tilagon nodded. He was already massaging his legs with his hands, preparing to run.

I glanced around to be sure we were still alone, then said, “After you leave here you must not be found. Stay off the trails and go anywhere they won’t think to look for you. If they catch you, there won’t be anything I can do to help.”

He put a hand on my arm. “Tell me your name so I can thank you properly.”

“Thank me by staying alive. Give me your hat.” Tilagon obeyed, then I said, “It’s time to leave. Now.”

He nodded again, took my hand and gave it a firm squeeze, then leapt to his feet and ran, never looking back.

I used the stiff wool blanket to prop up a piece of wood to look like a body against the tree and put the man’s hat on top. Up close it was obviously a trick, but from a distance I hoped a vigil would think the man was still tied up here. Less than ten minutes later I passed Erick’s bed as I entered the sleeping quarters. Harlowe’s watch was stored under the bed, and I was tempted to take it and hide it.

But I couldn’t. Not yet. However, I silently vowed to get it back before this was all over.

The following morning, I was one of the first at breakfast, though it was interrupted by another group of pirates who had gathered nearby and were jeering at whatever was happening in the center of them all. I hurried forward, concerned that Tilagon had been captured again. Fink stood near the outside of the group, though he was too short to have a chance at seeing anything.

“What’s going on?” I asked him.

“They just grabbed the boy who tied up that sailor last night. Devlin said he must not have tied him good enough because the man got away while we slept.”

I pushed my way forward. Devlin had fashioned a switch out of a tree branch and was beating the curly-haired boy with it. The boy had crouched into a ball to protect himself but still yelped whenever Devlin hit him.

“Stop it!” I darted forward and grabbed Devlin’s arm. “You don’t know he did anything wrong. Maybe Tilagon was just good at knots.”

“If he’d done it right, nobody could escape.”

“Lots of people can escape knots.”

Devlin shook my hand off him. “Like who?”

It was smarter to back off, but by the glare in Devlin’s eyes I figured it was already too late. “I can.”

Devlin forgot about the boy still on the ground. A wicked grin crossed his face when he looked at me. “I want to see that. Tie him up.”

“What?” I scowled. A couple of pirates grabbed me but I squirmed free. “I haven’t done anything wrong.” At least, not for a few hours.

“No one’s accusing you,” Devlin said as the pirates got hold of me again. “You made a claim and I’m testing it.”

Despite my struggles, they bound my hands behind me and made several knots before I was pronounced finished. It wasn’t a big problem. I’d held my hands wide while they tied me and had already found one end of the rope.

I’d learned how to untie knots soon after entering Mrs. Turbeldy’s orphanage, thanks to the pranks of several older boys who liked to tie us younger ones up in an attic and claim we weren’t hungry for supper. One evening, I figured out I could undo the knots with some nimble fingers and a lot of patience. Then it was time for some revenge. They awoke the next morning tied to their beds while the rest of us went to breakfast. The pranks stopped, and my skills with knots had only improved since then.

Except that with a tilt of his head, Devlin now had me dragged toward the stables. I dug my boots into the dirt path to slow the men on either side of me, but two others joined them and picked up my legs. They carried me into the corral and dropped me directly in front of the water trough. I shook my head at Devlin. “Don’t you dare. I never said —”

“Raise a hand when you want air. If you can.”

And he dunked me face-first into the trough. His foot landed on my back, pressing me down. I didn’t bother with fighting. It wouldn’t do any good and would cost me air. So I arched my back to keep the rope as dry as possible. Every bit of water it absorbed would make the rope thicker and knots tighter.

My fingers worked as fast as they could, deciphering each knot’s shape and worming their way between the loops. I was making progress, but far too slowly and it was hard to concentrate. I hadn’t gotten a complete breath before Devlin pushed me in, and my lungs already ached.

I found the next knot, but it was higher on my wrists, and I couldn’t maneuver my arms at this angle. I couldn’t untie this one while I was submerged.

It was beyond my wanting to breathe now. I
needed
to breathe. The end of my life could be measured in seconds if I didn’t get free.

Against my will, my lungs finally exploded and I sucked in a mouthful of water. My body jerked up, instinctively moving toward air. Then the foot was removed and Devlin yanked me out of the water and dropped me against a tree. I continued coughing on water as it choked its way out.

Devlin crouched down to face me. “You’d better learn fast that if you interfere with someone else’s punishment, it’s going to become yours. Especially when you make such wild claims.”

Wordlessly, I reached for his meaty hand. Into his open palm I dropped the rope that had tied me. “Thanks for the warning,” I said, still breathless. “But I never make wild claims.”

He cursed at me and threw the rope back into my lap, then left me in the corral as the other men followed him out. I pocketed the rope, just in case I needed it in the future. When I felt better, I stood and started toward the beach.

On the way I passed Fink. He started to say something, but with a growl at him I said, “No, I won’t show you how I did that. You’ve got to get away from here.”