Shadows Book 1 in the World of Shadows (13 page)

A growl inches from my ear made my heart
jump into my throat and swept the last vestiges of sleep from my
mind. I turned and saw bared teeth and a huge, wet, black nose
poking between the slates of the crate.

“
Hey’um now missy dog you.
You leav’um that crate alone. Ain’t not in there but rice ‘n mice.”
The chain around the dog’s throat tightened and he lowered his lips
to cover teeth as long as my first finger, but that was as far as
he would budge.

“
What seems to be the
problem?” a voice as deep as Dathien’s but with a lilt I didn’t
recognize asked.

“
My’um dog don’t want to
leav’um crate. I’m fearin’ somethin’ might be wrong wi’it,” the
sailor said in a more respectful tone than he had used with the
dog.

“
Wrong with it, huh?” The
crate creaked as a boot was placed on the side.

I pulled the hood over my head and shrank
down as far as possible, hoping I couldn’t be seen in the
shadows.

“
Hey!” the deep voice said
in surprise. “Hey, you there. Get yourself out here.”

I was tempted to ignore the command, but
knew if they had to pull me out, the results would probably be more
painful. The man stepped back down the side of the crate and waited
while I straightened my sore legs. My heart thundered in my chest.
I pulled myself up with my hands until I sat on the side of the
crate. The sun behind cast me in a silhouette, hiding my face from
the half-dozen sailors that had gathered below, including a tall
man with a crested blue hat that I took to be the captain.

“
Come down here,” he
ordered, his voice calm.

I slid down the crate and glanced cautiously
at the huge black dog that ambled over despite the other sailor’s
attempts to control it. The dog’s head reached my shoulder and
massive shoelaces of drool dangled from its lower lip. The dog
sniffed me all over, leaving gifts of saliva which I greatly
appreciated in various places on my new cloak.

“
Off with your hood,” the
Captain said.

My heart skipped a beat until I realized
that with his accent 'hood' sounded a lot like 'head', and he was
just trying to see who I was, not end my life. I took a steeling
breath and lowered my dark green hood with both hands.

The Captain’s lips twisted in disgust and
the rest of his men took a step back. Only the dog failed to look
like he had either seen a ghost or something repulsive and vile as
he sniffed at my pockets for the crumbs of my dinner.

“
Get it in chains,” the
Captain snarled.

My blood froze and everything slowed down. I
thought I glimpsed Marken between two crates, but he was gone when
I took a closer look. My limbs refused to work as chains were
brought and wrapped around my hands and feet tight enough to bite
into my skin. Sailors hoisted me onto their shoulders and followed
the Captain to the side of the boat. It wasn’t until I was about to
be thrown overboard that I could think enough to fight back, but
the sailors held fast to the chains and didn’t budge under my
thrashing.

“
Heave it over,” the
Captain ordered.

The sailors tipped me to the side and I was
about to roll off into the roiling white-tipped waves below when a
familiar voice spoke behind the men.

“
What’s going on
here?”
The sailors paused at the voice and the Captain turned. “Just
tossing over a stowaway, my Prince.”

Axon’s eyes met mine and I saw something
that looked like pain run through them before he turned back to the
Captain. “Is it your habit to bind stowaways so that they sink to
certain death, Captain?”

The Captain grimaced. “Only stowaways that
are half-breeds, my Lord. If they dare sneak aboard and endanger my
ship, they deserve to feed the bottom-dwellers.”

Axon’s gaze met mine again and for the
briefest second I thought he would turn away and let them throw me
over. Then a smile touched the corners of his lips just briefly
enough for me to see it. Axon met the Captain’s eyes. “Nexa happens
to be one of my party, Captain.” Marken stood beside him and
grinned at me.

The Captain stared at him for a second, his
eyes bulging in surprise. He fought for control over his voice.
“But, I, uh. Not a Duskie, my Prince. I cannot allow it on board.
It is a hazard to our voyage.”

Axon’s jaw flexed and when he spoke it was
obvious he was trying to hold his anger in check. “If you insult
anyone in my party like that again, you will be the one to feed the
bottom-dwellers.”

Blood rushed from the Captain’s face and he
took off his hat and bowed his head. “My apologies, Prince Axon.
It’s just. . . I can’t allow a Duskie on board. It’s too dangerous.
What about a mutiny?” He peeked up at Axon’s face out of the corner
of his eye.

“
By one girl?” Axon replied
incredulously.

The Captain turned his crested hat in his
hands. “It’s happened before, my Lord. Duskies can be very crafty,
especially at night when everyone’s helpless. She could bring down
the ship.”

Axon looked at me with his eyebrows raised
and I stifled a smile despite the seriousness of the situation.

“
Well, Captain,” he said
with a tone that didn’t allow for argument. “It looks like we’ve
reached an impasse.”

The Captain shifted his feet from side to
side and glanced at me, then turned away without meeting my eyes.
“There is one solution, my Prince.”

Axon waited for him to continue, but the
Captain studied his hat and shifted from foot to foot until Axon
sighed, “Well, out with it.”

The Captain glanced at me again, then at
Axon. He closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath. “A cage, my
Prince.”

My heart clenched at the iron that glinted
in Axon’s icy eyes. “What do you mean, Captain?” he said slowly,
though there was no doubt what the Captain was implying.

“
Well, uh.” The Captain
glanced at his men, but they looked away as though they were
oblivious of the conversation despite the fact that they stood
merely two feet away with the object of discussion still held on
their shoulders. The Captain rushed on, “A cage, my Lord. If it
would agree to stay in a cage at night, then we wouldn’t have to
worry about it.”

“
If
she
,” Axon started, but I interrupted
him.

“
It’s alright, Axon,” I
said. I ignored the gasps at my familiar use of his name and
continued, “I’ll stay in the cage if it’ll end the
trouble.”

Axon shook his head. “You’ll be the last one
in a cage the way things are going.”

The Captain swallowed loudly and I caught
his eye. He held mine with a look of desperation. “I’ll stay in the
cage at night, Captain. I promise.”

Axon shook his head and stalked away, but
Marken stayed to make sure the sailors lowered me down and unlocked
the chains. The Captain barely looked at me. “There’re cages on the
storage deck under the galley. Be there before dusk.”

“
Yes, Captain,” I said with
a lilt that copied his. He paused, then walked away without looking
back, his sailors close behind.

Marken laughed and patted my shoulder. “You
are a feisty little minx, aren’t you?”

I fought back a smile. “Only when my life is
in danger, which happens to be a lot these days.”

He took my elbow and gently led me between
the crates toward the hatch to the cabins. I followed in silence
for a few seconds, then blurted out, “Thanks, Marken. I owe you my
life.”

He threw me another smile and his blue eyes
twinkled. “You saved mine, I saved yours. We’re even.”

I nodded, but it felt like I owed him so
much more than that. We came to the hatch and he motioned for me to
go down first. I paused. “You think Axon’s mad at me?”

Marken frowned thoughtfully for a moment and
brushed the pale hair back from his eyes. “I think he’s happy to
see you, but worried about you at the same time. You complicate
things.”

The comment hurt even though I knew he
didn’t mean for it to. I sighed and stepped into the darkness of
the hatch. When I reached the bottom, I stood aside and let him
lead the way to Axon’s cabin even though I already knew where it
was. I fought back a wry smile at what the Captain would think if
he knew I had already wandered around his ship at night
unchecked.

Marken pushed the cabin door open and
stepped back to let me in, then closed it and left us alone. Axon
was staring out of a tiny round window that showed the sun
reflecting across a million golden-tipped waves. When he turned, he
met my eyes with a troubled gaze. “You really want to sleep in a
cage tonight?”

I shrugged. “Not much different from the
Caves, right?” But we both knew it was different. I sat on a chair
and toyed with the tassels of a pillow too small to serve any
purpose. The fact that it was worn and tattered made me curious.
“Who do you think uses this?” I asked in an effort to distract us
both.

Axon glanced at it. “The Captain has an
itty-bitty wife?”

“
Or a pampered
pooch?”

Axon chuckled. “Or a gnome under his
bed?”

“
Or a cave rat in the
closet?”

“
I’ll bet he has a purple
parrot that shrieks love songs,” Axon guessed.

I laughed. “No captain is complete without
one. Especially if he already has a pampered pooch.”

“
What else do you buy a
captain?”

I grinned. “A tiny pillow?”

Axon laughed and leaned back against the
bed. “I’m glad you came. I would have missed you,” he said
frankly.

I settled more comfortably in the chair,
then tossed the pillow in the air and caught it. Water lapped
against the hull and I wondered what it would be like to live at
sea for a lifetime. Axon chuckled quietly. I glanced at him.
“What?”

“
A cave rat,” he said with
another smile.

“
What about it?” I tied the
tassels of the pillow together.

“
That’s the first thing I
called you. A cave rat.”

A smile touched my lips. “I remember. You
probably saved my life by not turning me in.”

He pursed his lips, his eyes thoughtful. “If
only I’d known what I was getting into.”

I threw the pillow at him and he caught it
deftly out of the air. “You’re the cave rat,” I said.

His eyes widened in mock horror. “You could
be hanged for calling a member of the royal family such a
thing.”

I batted my eyelashes at him. “Why, did I
hurt you deeply?”

“
Oh, so deep,” he said. He
fell back on the bed for effect.

I laughed and threw another pillow. It
landed on his stomach. “And what is the charge for assaulting a
prince?”

He sat up with the pillow in his hands.
“With a pillow? You’d probably lose your head.”

My eyebrows rose. “Boy, you are harsh. Maybe
I should rethink going with you.”

“
Only if you plan on
bringing pillows,” he replied with a twinkle in his
eyes.

I settled back in the chair and tucked my
legs underneath me. I hadn’t slept well the night before crammed
between the barrels, and the roll of the waves lulled me. I closed
my eyes and leaned my head against the cabin wall.

A soft blanket was settled around my
shoulders and I looked up to see Axon watching me. He smiled when I
met his eyes. “Sleep, Nexa. It’ll be a long night in the cage and
you’re safe here.”

I tucked the blanket around my chin. Under
Axon's watchful eyes, I felt safer than I ever remembered feeling
my entire life. I sighed and gave in to the allure of sleep.

Chapter 15

“
Time for it, uh, her, to
go to the'um cage.”

The gruff voice woke me and I blinked
fuzzily. The rocking of the ship reminded me where I was and I sat
up and gathered the blanket in my arms. Axon took it from me
without a word. I tripped over a bundle at me feet and he caught my
arm before I could fall.

“
They brought your things
while you were sleeping,” he said quietly.

I glanced at the pack and blushed when I
thought of the clothes inside. “Dathien packed it for me.”

Axon nodded. “I know; he told me after
Marken found you.” His voice was neutral and I glanced at him, but
he didn’t meet my eyes.

I frowned and followed the sailor back up
the hall, down a second hatch, and down another hall that was so
close my elbows scraped each side if I didn’t turn and walk
sideways like he did. He led the way to a long, dark, low-ceilinged
storage room lit by a single torch. We passed several crates of
salted fish, hard rolls, dried fruit, and sacks of flour, then he
pointed to a large metal cage in the corner.

I walked over and put a hand on the cold
metal. “What did you keep in here before me?” I asked. At least the
cage was clean. It stood a few feet over my head and was as long as
it was tall, which would give me room to lay down except for the
fact that the long metal bars ran the length of the bottom of the
cage as well and would make for a very uncomfortable night.

“
You’um don’t be wanting to
know,” the sailor replied. He opened the cage door and stood to the
side without meeting my eyes.

I gritted my teeth and stepped into the
metal prison. The door clanged shut behind me, a key slid into the
lock, and when it turned, the click of the locking mechanism
sounded loud in the storage room. The man paused, then twisted on
his bare heels and walked away. I turned around only when I heard
the door shut behind him. He had taken the single torch; it would
normally be an insult to leave a captive in the darkness of a
ship’s hull, but with my Duskie eyes I could see perfectly in the
dark and it was a relief because the shadows cast by the flames
made my head ache.