Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) (35 page)

“With the way the cards are stacked now, yes, they are. But,” he said, flicking a splinter off the wooden railing, “if we were to change the order and number of those cards . . .”

I stared at him, trying to take his meaning. “What’s going on, William?”

He cleared his throat and gestured toward the horizon. “As you can see we’re near the shore, so it’s time to plan the rescue of your sister.” He paused and eyed me warily. “I know you're not going to like this, Sherry, but we have to let Clay into our plans.”

My fingers reached out and grabbed William’s arm as he turned. “No. I’ve already tried to ask him about it and he didn’t want to help.”

William covered my fingers with his own. “Clayton will help us, if you can give him something that he needs.”

I shuddered. “Things didn’t work out well the last time he needed something from me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here now and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“So what exactly does he need from me?”

“I’ll tell you. In time. There are still truths you need to learn before you’re ready. The final truths that pushed me to turn from the kingdom.”

“What truths?”

“Do you trust me?” he asked, lightly squeezing my hand.

“I think so, but . . .”

“Do you?”

I swallowed and nodded.

“Then trust me when I say that bringing Clay in is the right thing for us. Let me do the talking. He’ll know when you’re lying.”

“And he won’t know when you are?”

“I’m a Hound,” he said simply. “And I’m not blood bound to him like you are.”

I closed my eyes. “I think this is a mistake.”

William sighed as he put his arm around me and led me to the captain's cabin. “It will be all right. You’ll see.”

The captain welcomed us into his room and seated himself behind his desk. “So, does this mean we’re speaking again, William?”

“Yes. I need a favor from you.”

I stifled down a laugh. Only brothers could be so blunt.

“I should have known. What do you want?”

“I need the medallion.”

The captain sat upright in his chair. “For what purpose?”

“Sheridan used to be a nursemaid for Pearl, the Emmía’s sister. Her life is being held hostage until Sheridan and Dorian return with the medallion. She is under a blood oath and will die if we don’t allow her to do this.”

“She already told me that. I’ve considered the matter and it’s too great of a risk. Maybe I’ll reconsider if she explains why they entrusted her with the responsibility in the first place.”

“She was caught trying to smuggle Pearl out after the Emmía’s arrest,” William lied before I could say anything. “They know how much she loves Pearl and they know she’ll do whatever it takes to save her.”

“I still think the risk is too great.”

I couldn’t stand still any longer. With a grunt I heaved myself across the desk and grabbed the captain by his shirt, ignoring William's protests from behind me.

“You—who attacked the prince’s ship—think this is too risky?”

“I’ve learned from that,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Have you no heart?” I growled, shaking him. “You are the reason Pearl and the Emmía are in danger. The least you could do is save her sister, especially since your task is finished. What good will it do to keep the medallion for yourself?”

The captain's face was calm despite my firm grip on his shirt. “If I keep it, they won’t be able to bind the magic of the next Emmía.”

“You said you loved the Emmía. And you said you wanted me as part of your crew. If you don’t do this, the Emmía’s sister and I will both die.”

My fingers moved from his shirt and tightened around his throat. William easily pulled me off of his brother.

“Sherry, I’ll handle this.” He glared at the captain and shook his head. “I thought more of you, Clay.”

“I knew asking for his help was a mistake.” I shook my head in disgust. “He chose to live his life outside the morality of the kingdom and led the Emmía to her death. How can you expect anything honorable of him?”

The captain smoothed down the front of his shirt. “You see me as a scoundrel and a thief. What you don’t realize is I gave the Emmía her only chance to be rescued.”

“
Rescued
? Your actions sentenced her to her death!”

The captain started from his chair. “I provided her with the opportunity to stay aboard the ship with me. She chose not to accept my offer and she went back with that sniveling prince.”

I was shaking with rage now. “How dare you act like you had no responsibility in this.”

“Sherry,” William muttered, putting his hand on my arm to restrain me.

“You enjoyed hurting her and everyone she cared about! Who are you to take it upon yourself to destroy a nation that has been in place for over a thousand years!”

“That nation is nothing but a group of cowards who lie and manipulate to protect their own selfish desires!” His voice rose in volume until it was a roar.

“Without them and their sacrifices, every form of life would have been wiped away by the cursed soil,” I shouted back. “It’s the kingdom’s sacrifice and dedication to preserving the Emmías bloodlines that allows you to have food on your table.”

The captain's face was frozen in shock, and it was a moment before he could speak. “You really believe that? Even after what you saw on the island?” His eyebrows pulled together. “Quit kidding yourself, Sheridan.
Princess Dawn was kidnapped by the Manacle. Do you hear me? Kidnapped, and her people were murdered. You were on that island; you know this!”

“That was centuries ago.”

The captain studied me for a moment, then spoke again in a nonchalant tone. “Did you know that the Mylean princess was married before she wed the Orean prince?”

“No she wasn’t.”

“She was. The Oreans killed her husband before proposing their deal, so she’d be single.”

I stumbled back a few steps at this accusation.

William’s eyes grew wide. “Clayton, you’re going too far.”

“It's the truth,” the captain said, not looking sorry at all. “Stop protecting her, William. She needs to know. My stomach can’t handle any more of her protestations of the
Manacle’s virtue.”

“Yes, but there’s a time and a place—”

“Dawn was eventually married to the Orean prince,” the captain cut in, “and after she produced a female heir she was locked away from the public. Years after her reported death, her husband murdered her. Every Emmía since has suffered the same fate.”

My legs wobbled. “That isn’t true.”

William met my gaze, his eyes sad. “It’s true, Sherry. I’m sorry. We have proof.”

I turned my head and buried it into William’s chest. “No . . . James loved . . .” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “He would never allow August to . . .”

“Aye, I do believe he did love her,” the captain said. “He tried to run off with her, and when that didn’t work, he ordered a quick execution. But he still wasn't man enough to save her entirely. He wasn’t strong enough. He would have caved to his father’s demands. If I hadn’t intervened, his brother August would have done the same as all of the kings before him and killed her himself. And the death the Manacle had planned for her would have been slow and torturous and would have lasted until she died at an old age. The last Emmía lived to a hundred, her last eighty-three years in a cell.”

I shook my head, still feeling weak. “No. They die young because childbirth is so hard for them. They are treasured and protected. There's a month-long mourning period each time an Emmía dies.”

“Yes, but no one ever sees her body, do they?” the captain asked.

I frowned and bit my lip. “They keep her covered
, so she's remembered in death as she looked in life,” I recited. I had heard the saying repeatedly in my youth. “It would make no sense to kill the Emmía. They need her blood for the ground blessing. The land would die without it.”

“It makes sense when your true goal is to control the power.
” The captain pinched the bridge of his nose. “They're afraid of what would happen if the Emmía and her daughter fought together against them.”

I shook my head. “The daughter wouldn't have her mother’s power. An Emmía is only born every two hundred years.”

“Yes,” the captain continued. “Because of the magical bind on her powers, as I told you before. But despite that, the daughters could still be powerful Guardians. The combined power of mother and daughter might tip the scales in a direction that's not in their favor. We know for a fact that Prince August was told his responsibilities when it came to murdering his fiancée.”

The captain stood up tall. “After producing an heir, they would tell people she died and then drain her until the end. And when they were done with her, it was her husband who would snuff out her life. This is why the king would never let James wed her. He wasn’t strong enough to do it. He cared about her.”

I shook my head in denial. Is this what James had been trying to tell me before the pirates attacked? It would explain why he’d been so spooked and tried to sail off with me.

I remember James telling me he couldn’t change things, that this was too big. My heart, already bruised and swollen, began to bleed again. I didn’t know it was possible for one person to feel so much pain.

“Not everyone in the kingdom is evil,” I said. “Maybe the king, but the Guardians—”

The captain shook his head.
“I can see you won’t be an easy sell.”

“Even if what you claim is true, a few bad people don’t prove that the whole kingdom is corrupt. Pearl has done nothing wrong. Neither did the Emmía. I still can’t believe all of the things you accuse the kingdom of doing.”

The captain's lips pressed into a hard line. “You want undeniable proof? Fine. There's a way to give it to you.” He straightened his jacket and advanced toward me. “I will give you the medallion, Sheridan, and I will personally go with you to the Manacle to return it and retrieve Pearl. On one condition.”

I jutted out my chin “What condition?”

“There's a room beneath the palace dungeons. I suppose you could say it’s the most important room in the entire kingdom. You need to visit that room with me. After that, you can decide whether or not we leave the medallion with the Manacle.”

William gasped. “No Clay, that’s taking things too far.”

“Don’t blame me,” the captain said, holding his hands up. “I’ve tried reasoning with her and she won’t listen. If she needs to see it for herself, then so be it.”

“Just one problem,” I interrupted. “There isn’t a room beneath the palace dungeons.”

“Yes there is,” William said quietly. “But it’s beyond reprehensible to take her there, Clay.”

“It’s that room or no deal.”

I looked back and forth between the two brothers. William was furious, although I couldn’t understand why.

“So we just need to visit that room? That doesn’t sound so bad.”

The captain smiled and William winced. “Good,” the captain said. “We return the medallion and get Pearl, and then we leave the
Manacle. All of us. Including you, Sheridan. You're coming back with us.”

“Why do you care what happens to me?”

The captain shrugged. “You’ve saved my life and William’s, too. And powerful witches are rare. I could use one on the Promise. Also, having you aboard has made William happy, although I don’t begin to understand why. I want you to stay with us after our docking in Castleport and help us fight our cause against the Manacle.”

“What cause?”

“Helping us discover the way to unbind the Emmía and save the people.”

The words of Benjamin, the guard who had let me out of the barrier, came back to me. “May the unbinding save us all,” I whispered.

The captain’s eyes widened and he smiled. “You’ve heard the motto.”

“I heard it once,” I admitted. “Are you suggesting there’s a formal organization dedicated to help with the unbinding of the Emmía?”

“Yes, but that’s only the first step in a larger plan. Our ultimate goal is to rid the land of the kingdom’s tyranny.”

I jerked my head towards William, waiting for him to disagree. He didn’t. “William?”

“It’s true, although I had hoped to break it to you more delicately,” he said, glaring at his brother.

“
Her Mylean powers are locked from her right now, but once the Emmía is at her full strength and out from the oppressive control of the Manacle, she can divide her blood equitably or maybe even break the curse altogether.”

“You want to free the
Mylean line?” I laced my fingers together. “Even if you succeed, and the next Emmía is born outside of the kingdom’s control, it won’t happen for two hundred years. What benefit will that be to you when you’re dead?”

“It won’t benefit me,” the captain said. He reached for his fiddle and plucked at it. “It isn’t about me. It’s bigger than that. But it will benefit those who live when the day comes.”

“That sounds far too noble to have come from you.”