Chasing the Dragon (25 page)

His legs felt numb, almost like stumps of wood. He wondered how long he'd been chained to the chair. Even if he could get away
, he knew he couldn't move. Not for several minutes, at least. Escape meant figuring out where he was and then finding a way to go where he needed to. The problem was he knew neither.

Caitlyn had said he knew who had him. Who had them both. He supposed he did. He'd come back with Alto to find out if it was true that Caitlyn's new husband was a member of the Order of the Dragon. If nothing else proved it, the chains and the abuse he'd suffered did. But he hadn't been killed, so he had that going for him. What they planned to use him for remained a mystery. It wasn't important really, so long as he could figure out a way to thwart them.

He tested the shackles and even managed to move his legs a little. Pain burst from his wrists as the iron bit into his raw flesh. He gasped and slumped back in his chair, breathing hard. Even that little movement had taxed him. How long had it been since he'd eaten or drank anything? How long since he'd walked down the stairs into that basement?

He'd spent six years pretending to be someone else so he could survive and become a member of the kelgryn royal family. Could he pull something like that off again? Could he convince the Order of the Dragon that he wanted to be a part of them? Would that mean he'd need to betray his friends, even if it meant his only chance at survival?

Could he do it, and if so, could he live with himself afterwards? Survival was different for him now. Different after he'd grown so close to Patrina and Alto. He'd never had friends like that. People who treated him like family.

Caitlyn was right. Alto would come for him. If they were in some cave
, Alto would raze the mountain until he found them. He wasn't sure how and he knew Alto wouldn't know either, but that never stopped him before. Namitus relaxed in his chair and let his chin fall to his chest. He'd rest and try to recover some strength. His friends would show up sooner or later and he'd need all he could get when they did.

Chapter 23

Taldar hesitated for a long moment. "Local gold," he finally said. "I've ran across different ports where the merchants don't value foreign gold as much. If my crew wants gold they can spend at the port they're in, I like to have it."

"That's a lot of gold," Patrina commented. "A thousand, maybe more?"

Taldar shrugged.

Alto checked the exposed steel of his sword and saw that the green glow had intensified. He tossed the coins back in the chest and rose to his feet. "What deal did you strike?"

"I didn—"

Taldar stumbled back as Alto drew his sword. It flashed green as he held it between them. "You see this sword?" Alto asked him. Taldar swallowed and nodded. "It's magical, forged with the help of Saint Leander and Saint Jarook. You know Saint Jarook, the patron saint of fear?"

Taldar nodded again and glanced at the green
-hued steel.

"It helps me with more than just killing dragons," Alto told him. "Right now, for example, it's glowing green. That means it sense
s fear. A lot of fear. I'm not afraid. Patrina, are you afraid?"

She shook her head and stayed silent.

Alto turned to look at the crew who had stopped tending the ship and stared at the interaction near the bow. "What about you?" he called out to them. "Are any of you afraid? Not concerned or worried—I mean truly, deeply, frightened. The kind of fear you have when your soul is about to be exposed and you're going to suffer a deep loss. The loss of a loved one, the loss of your life, or maybe the loss of everything you've worked so hard for."

They answered with shakes of their heads or mumbled confirmation that they were not scared. Alto turned back to
Taldar.

Taldar stiffened and rose up. "This is mutiny!"

"No," Patrina said. "You serve my father and my uncle. You serve me and you serve Alto, nobles of the kelgryn nation. That is the oath of service you took when you were appointed captain of the
Kraken
."

"What deal did you make?"

"I had to watch out for my ship and my crew!" Taldar shouted. "They said they'd leave us alone if we put out to sea. I wasn't going to just leave you, though! I waited, in case you needed us. And you did! You're here now. Where would you be without me?"

"What about Britanley?" Patrina asked.

Taldar's cheeks paled at the mention of the island where they'd found Bucky and Carson. "I sailed for home to get help as soon as I could!" he mumbled.

"Who paid you to do that?" Patrina demanded.

He shook his head and mumbled something.

"What?" she snapped.

"I don't know!" He said. "Just a man. He met me at night and always wore a hooded cloak. He was tall, though. Talked kind of funny, too, like he'd bitten his tongue."

Patrina turned to look at the rest of the crew. "Who else is in on this?
"

Nobody moved, other than an occasional fidget or to grab and hold a moving rope. She scowled. "I don't know who I can trust," she admitted. "I'll be taking
command of the
Kraken
. Taldar is to be kept tied up and left alone, aside from giving him food and water."

"Samuel," Alto snapped.

The smuggler turned informant made his way through the crowd. He raised his hands in front of his face and bowed his head. "At your service."

"Secure this man," Alto said.

Patrina nodded and added, "Does anybody else have any problems? Any reason to think I won't treat you fair? Any urge to leave at the next port?"

She was answered with shaking heads and shuffling feet. A few of the
m muttered but no one showed any dissent. The rest of their companions were gathered near the stern and watching with interest. Garrick had his sword drawn and resting on his shoulder, ready in case of any dissent.

"All right, I'm no captain and you all know it
. Let's work together and head south for…" She paused and looked around at the others. At no point had any of them learned the name of the city they were headed for, only that there was one.

"Mirabol," Kar supplied when nobody else spoke up.

Patrina pointed at Kar. "That place. The next port city. If anybody has any knowledge about what was going on before, let me know so we can try to keep the damage as small as possible. I'm willing to operate under the belief that you're all good men taking orders and doing your jobs the way you're supposed to. Even if sometimes those orders might not make sense."

Alto watched the crew glance at
one another and then slowly go back to work. The
Kraken
had drifted off course during the change of command but after a few minutes they were under sail and moving in the right direction again. He nodded and looked down at the box at his feet. Alto shook his head and kicked it shut, and then locked it and handed the key to the new captain.

Patrina slipped it over her head and pulled her long blond braid through before the key rested in the valley between her breasts. Alto found his eyes drawn to it and grinned when Patrina blushed while scowling at him. He turned away, his smile fading when his eyes landed on Taldar next to the rail of the ship on the deck, bound and looking miserable.

The ship sailed the rest of the day and threw anchor at night. They were in unfamiliar waters and, while they weren't dangerous, they didn't want to risk missing their port in the darkness. They found it the next morning, a few hours after dawn.

"Mirabol," Alto repeated as he stood next to Patrina at the bow.

"Those are odd," she muttered while peering through a spyglass. She handed it to Alto and said, "Look at the docks."

Alto fumbled with the spyglass until she sighed and showed him how to focus it, mumbling something about him forever being a farm boy. He grinned and magnified the docks,
and then studied them.

"The barrels in the water
." She helped him when a few minutes passed.

Alto shifted the spyglass and saw what she was talking about. There were barrels placed horizontally in the water. The evenly spaced barrels weren't like anything he'd ever seen before. Instead of wooden slats banded together
, they looked to be made out of whole pieces of wood.

"Floating docks," Samuel offered when he walked near them. "The barrels are pontoons, carved from the trunks of trees and treated with resin and pitch. They're sealed and very hard to sink
."

"Why?" Alto asked.

"Keeps the docks level," Patrina said. "They'll rise with the changing tides. That's pretty smart. Not practical for a large ship, though."

"Other than Mira, there aren't many ports capable of handling a ship with a deep draft," he said. "These work fine for barges and longboats."

Patrina nodded after watching them a moment longer. "Can we dock at one?"

"If the
Kraken
could dock at Mira, she can dock here."

She turned to her crew. "Signal a pilot to bring us in!"

"No need," Samuel said. "We can bring ourselves in."

"You know an awful lot about this place," Alto observed.

Samuel shrugged. "I've been swabbing decks since before I could walk. Shipping's in my blood."

"Shipping, or smuggling?" Alto asked.

He cracked a smile. "Only difference is who's trying to squeeze some extra gold out of it."

Alto frowned but found he couldn't disagree. It seemed everyone was trying to make money off someone else's hard work.
Kings called it taxing; bandits called it a bribe or protection fee. He shook his head and turned to watch as the skilled crew of the
Kraken
brought it in to one of the docks and tied it off.

"We may be gone for days or longer," Alto warned the crew. "I expect to see you here when we return
."

"These are kelgryn sailors," Patrina announced. She glanced at Taldar intentionally and said, "Even the worst among them wouldn't risk their homeland."

Her proclamation earned some muttering between the members of the crew. Patrina nodded and continued her story. "Nearly all of you met Lady Caitlyn when we brought her down to be married. You know by now she's disappeared and we're searching for her. She is a daughter of the kelgryn and my sister, whether by birth or not. If harm comes to her at the hands of the Shazamir, there will be war."

There was less muttering this time but Alto picked out a couple of people complaining about nobles. He stepped forward and raised his voice. "I grew up on a farm in the kingdom. I was the eldest of seven, but nothing special. When I met the kelgryn
, I saw an amazing people. They were loyal, strong, and honorable. They helped others in need and they welcomed me and my sister into their ranks. All of my friends have been welcomed and embraced by the kelgryn. I admire your people and your ways. I search for my friend and my sister, but I would just as readily help any of you if you needed it."

"We're not going anywhere," a sailor in the back of the crowd called out. "Just make sure you pay us this time."

Patrina pulled the key off her neck and chuckled, and then opened the chest. She pulled out the large pouch filled with Taldar's bribe money and tossed it on the deck. "Consider this a bonus," she said amid the cheering men.

Alto's eyes widened. He caught Patrina's gaze and saw her shrug her shoulders. He chuckled and motioned for his friends. They had a new city to explore, but this time he wanted to wear his armor even if it was hot and muggy.

Chapter 24

"I thought I'd seen the last of the jungle for a while," Carson mumbled.

Alto followed the woodsman's eyes up into the tropical trees that lined the road. "Would you rather stay with the ship?"

Carson chuckled. "Far from it! It almost feels like home, except home was a tiny little hut on the outskirts of a city."

"Before you ran away to see the world?" Alto asked.

Carson sighed. "Are we all stupid when we're young?"

"Some of us still are," Mordrim said from his seat in the wagon.

"Young, or stupid?" Garrick growled.

The dwarf's mustache and beard rose in a smirk. "You answered your own question."

Before Garrick could react to the dwarf, Alto asked, "How long to your people?"

"Four days by wagon," he said. "We've got to come up through this jungle and then wind through the hills. It's uphill the entire way. The way back
, it can be done in three days but the horses end up useless for a few days."

"Harder going downhill," Carson agreed.

"Why?" Patrina asked.

The woodsman shrugged. "Works different muscles
, I suppose."

"Four days," Alto mused. "And that's only to the mines in the hills?"