Cutlass (9 page)

Barren turned to face her. She flinched, nearly running into him. His face was only inches from hers and she was forced to focus on his eyes. While his anger melted into concern, his eyes remained lit with passion. He spoke through clenched teeth. “What I care about is the safety of my crew, Lady. If you would open your eyes, you’d see that.”

“But those people have not hurt you!”

A loud boom shook the ship. Larkin stumbled back, grabbing Barren’s shirt as she fell, but Barren’s feet weren’t stable either, and he collapsed on top of her.

“You spoke too soon.”

Barren could feel Larkin tense beneath him. He pushed himself up so he wasn’t pressed against her, but he didn’t move to stand. He watched her carefully as she examined his features. She seemed to be assessing him, or perhaps comparing him to William. The last thought made him angry, and then he watched her blush and look away.

“It may be hard for you to trust me, but do me one favor and don’t make assumptions about my character,” he said quietly. “I did not bring you here to make you suffer, and I have no wish to make you miserable.” Barren pushed himself to his feet and held out his hand for Larkin. She refused, and made it to her feet on her own. Barren chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt to accept help now and then.”

She opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted. “You two can stare at each other all day tomorrow, but at this moment, we have a crisis on deck,” said Leaf.

Barren left Larkin and hurried upstairs. On deck, he was not surprised to see that the mast of his ship was broken. Chunks of debris were scattered all over the place. The ship that had done the damage was already lined up with them. Everyone stood, tense and ready for their attackers to board.

“Damn it Leaf,” complained Barren. “You didn’t mention it was an
Elvish
ship!”

One of the ways Elves gained a little favor in the Orient was by selling their ships. Pirates and governments alike had an advantage if they had Elvish ships. They were light, fast, and, of course, beautiful.

“I told you it was fast, didn’t I?”

“What happens now?” asked Larkin.

Barren looked at her, his eyes held a warning. “If you get involved, I swear by Saoirse, you’re going in the ocean and you will either learn to swim or drown.”

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. A glance from Barren to Leaf told the Elf to move next to her, just in case she tried anything.

Five men from the Elvish ship boarded Barren’s
Kendrick
. They were quick, swords drawn, ready to fight. The tallest one was a man with dark brown hair that came to his shoulders. Whiskers covered his chin. He was dressed in brown pants and a white airy shirt. He smiled and said, “Barren Reed, I never expected to find you so far from Maris.”

“I guess it is unfortunate for you.” The pirate sounded bored—as if he already had this situation under control, though he had never expected to be found so far away from Maris while William was still alive.

“I don’t know about that. It seems as if I have the advantage.”

“So you think.”

Barren raised his sword, and as he did, he heard his crew unsheathe their weapons. Leaf withdrew an arrow from his quiver, and fitted it to the string of his bow. The twins had double swords, and they moved them against each other, hungry to fight. Slay had a cutlass, Sam a long knife, and Seamus opted for a long black chain. In response to Barren and his crew, the five men behind their attacker moved into battle stances.

“What is your purpose?” Barren asked.

“I came to find you,” the man replied simply.

“I have no dealings with privateers,” Barren said, accusing him outright.

“I am not a privateer, but I will fight you if I have too. Will you speak to me otherwise?”

“If you were a friend, you would not have destroyed my ship so decidedly.”

And without another word, Barren attacked—their swords clashed and moved against each other in a harsh clank of steel.

Barren recognized formal training when he saw it—and this man was skilled. He had fluid, but mechanical movements. It didn’t make him an easy target by any means, but it was even more evidence against him. Barren fought hard, the impact of his blows caused his attacker to slow.

The crews remained behind their respective captain; they would only become involved if one drew blood, and in that instance, a battle would ensue. Despite the common idea that pirates did not play by rules, they respected their own code of conduct.

The attacker’s sword reverberated against Barren’s, catching between the blade and the hilt. Barren pushed him, and he stumbled and fell, landing on his back. Barren didn’t move to assault, he stayed where he was, waiting for his opponent to get up and begin fighting again. The attacker smiled at Barren, breathing hard.

“Give up?” Barren questioned with a raised brow. He didn’t expect him to surrender. Privateers never surrendered.

The attacker shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. Barren swung his sword, and the attacker barely had time to block. He deflected the blow, but Barren was already preparing for another one. The clash of metal was fierce...clank, clank,
clank
...and the sword the attacker desperately tried to hold on to flew from his hands, landing across the deck. Barren’s sword was at the man’s neck.

“Down,” he ordered.

The man went to his knees. As was his custom, Barren pulled a piece of rope from his pocket and tied the man’s hands. Then he pointed to the rest of the attacker’s crew.

“Drop your weapons and move over there,” he gestured toward the helm where Sam was standing. The attacker’s crew obeyed and metal clanged to the ground.

Barren turned his attention back to his prisoner, but as he moved to make a circle around him, he heard the attacker call out to one of his crew—the only one who didn’t actually belong.

“Lady Larkin?”

Barren looked up at her questioningly, he could tell by the look on her face that she knew him.

“Jonathan? What are you doing here?”

She stepped forward, but Barren held his sword out. “What did I tell you?” His voice was dark. Leaf stepped in and moved Larkin back. Barren blocked Jonathan from her view.

Any other time, Barren wouldn’t have had a second thought about taking a privateer’s life, especially if they attacked his ship—it was part of the code. These men had endangered him and the lives of his crew; what other price was there to pay? But he felt anxiety creeping over him as he stood, poised for the kill. Larkin already thought he was a terrible person, and if he went through with this, it would only confirm it.

“It is required by the code that I kill any privateers I come into contact with—a waste, really. You were brave.”

Barren moved his arm back and thrust the blade toward the young lord. Larkin moved quickly, snatching Leaf’s cutlass from his hand, she deflected Barren’s sword and stood between the two.

“No!” she cried fiercely. “You will spare him!”

“You do not command me!” Barren’s voice was deadly.

“What would you gain from his death?”

“He cannot be trusted!”

“You’ve spent all your life killing the wrong people! How many more lives will you take to pay for one?”

Barren let his blade fall to his side. His gaze seared her, and he could tell she was afraid. Her eyes were wide, and she breathed heavily, but her hands tightened on the hilt of Leaf’s blade. For a moment, he wanted to end her life. Then he would have no more interferences, but he knew he couldn’t. He took a step toward her, eyes narrowing.

“Move,” he commanded. Larkin glared up at him and shook her head. Barren tightened his jaw.

“It’s okay, Larkin,” she heard Jonathan’s voice. “Move.”

Barren watched as she turned to face Jonathan. Because she was distracted, Leaf was able to reach forward and pull her away from the scene, ripping the blade from her hands. Barren stepped forward, repositioned himself before the man and pointed the sword at Jonathan’s neck. All Barren had to do was push ever so slightly and blood would pool on the ground, a terrible gurgling sound that would fill the air. Larkin would scream—scream that he was a monster. Only now, she would see it, she would really know it.

Barren moved his sword back a little and thrust the blade toward Jonathan.

“A-Albatross sent me!” Jonathan cried.

Barren’s blade froze in his hands. “Albatross?” He narrowed his eyes and then used his sword to pull back the fabric of the man’s shirt. A black ‘X’ covered his heart: it was a sign of his loyalty to the code of Silver Crest. The mark was newly made as it was still raised and the skin around it red. Barren moved his sword away.

“He must speak with you. It is urgent,” Jonathan continued, speaking quickly.

Barren sheathed his sword and pulled a dagger from his boot to cut the ropes he had knotted around Jonathan’s wrists.

“Where is he?” Barren asked.

“Silver Crest.”

“And you had to destroy my ship to tell me that?”

“He said it was for the best you left your ship behind,” said Jonathan, as he stole a gaze at Larkin. “And now I understand what he meant. If anyone following you finds this ship, well, they won’t very well know where you went, will they?”

“And why not tell me earlier that Albatross had sent you?”

Jonathan looked embarrassed as he turned his gaze from the pirate and spoke quietly. “Well…it was a bet. I thought I could capture you first. You know, make it fun.”

Barren surveyed the man for a moment, and then laughed. “You are very new to this whole pirate gig?”

“A little, yes.”

Barren stuck out his hand and helped Jonathan to his feet.

“What do you mean, you’re new to this? You cannot be a pirate too,” said Larkin. “That’s treason.”

Jonathan turned his gaze to her. “By what law? Pirates have a different code, and by their code, I am not committing treason.”

“You cannot just make your own code to justify the wrongs you commit!”

“Please...someone...make her stop!” Barren pleaded. “If you weren’t so determined to hate us, you might find you fit in better here than you did in Maris!”

Jonathan laughed. “I agree—it’s about time you joined this crowd. I never cared much for the other company you kept.”

Larkin was speechless. “But you’ve been to every state dinner since I have attended. You are the son of a Senator in Arcarum. You’ve mingled with the company of Christopher Lee and William Reed, even King Tetherion, and here you are on the open sea, talking to Barren Reed as if he were your equal? That doesn’t make sense!” Larkin threw her arms up in the air.

Jonathan chuckled, amused, but when he spoke next, there was a certain warning in his voice. “You may not want things to start making sense, Larkin.”

“Albatross said nothing of what he wishes to speak to me about?” asked Barren.

Jonathan shook his head. “It may have something to do with Lady Larkin. She complicates things a bit.”

“She was a mistake.” His words were harsh. He glanced at her, seeing the shock and anger on her face. He was still fuming from her interference.

“It was not my decision to come here! You were the one who kidnapped me.”

“And if I had known you’d be so difficult, I wouldn’t have bothered!”

With that, Barren turned from everyone and stalked toward his cabin. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned to give orders. “Gather only the belongings you need. Everything else must stay.”

Barren sat on the steps leading to the helm of Jonathan’s ship the
Slayer
. His sword lay over his knees. Upon the blade, a leather journal rested and on the leaves of those pages, Barren began to sketch the image of a face. Every now and then he would pause to watch the outline of Larkin and Jonathan before him. Perhaps he had been wrong...maybe she didn’t want to marry William because she loved another. As Larkin’s laughter rose, Barren felt the acid in his stomach react. It was sickening really, her girlish reaction to someone who had just proven to be a liar and a pirate—that which she hated most of all.

He turned his thoughts to even less pleasant things. Most of the time he tried forgetting the day his father died, but recently, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. It had only been five years ago. Barren had been thirteen years old, William sixteen. William had agreed to play a game of hide-and-seek. Barren was to seek. He hid behind a huge coil of rope as he counted loudly, waiting for William to retreat into some shadowy corner and hide. When he counted to ten, he turned and beheld the murder of his father.

At first he thought he had stumbled into a nightmare, but reality shook him as William moved toward the turned back of their father. He was packing supplies, unaware that his son would skewer him at any second. Barren wanted to scream, but words went dry in his mouth. His body told him to run for his father, but fright paralyzed him. He was unable to do anything. Jess turned at the very moment William was upon him and...he didn’t move. He had plenty of time to defend himself, but didn’t. William stuck the sword through him.

Barren stepped out of the shelter of the rope, and Will turned to face him, his eyes full of bewilderment. It was not the gaze of triumph, but a lost expression, one that had no comprehension of what had just happened. For a moment, Barren thought William would come after him, but he didn’t. He dropped the sword and ran. Barren had approached the body of his father cautiously, but there was no movement. The crew found them soon after, Barren crying over his father’s dead body.