The Lost Prince (12 page)

“I’ll ask you again, for the last time. My patience is wearing thin. Where is my prince?”

Ronan struggled against his ropes to no avail. “I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where’s Captain Harper?” he demanded.

“Neptune’s beard, you’re thick!” Verrick threw his hands up and turned away. “We’ve been through this time and again. I’ve not seen your captain. I wish I had! All hands were brought on board when we saved your crew. If your captain was lost at sea, he’s got my sympathy, but my concern is for the living. Now the lost prince is suddenly lost once more, and he left you in his place. Where did he go and why?”

Dean paid close attention. It was telling that Verrick was so anxious to find him and continued to refer to him as a prince.

“I don’t know any prince!” Ronan shouted. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“You know who I mean. The boy. He was part of your crew!”

“We’re all boys in my crew. Who are you talking about?”

Dean stepped out into the open. “Me, Ronan. He means me.”

Ronan leaned forward, squinting. “Seaborne?”

Verrick closed his eyes and gently exhaled. “The prince!”
exclaimed several members of his crew. They rushed to Dean’s side, greatly relieved. The parrot flapped its wings and squawked in Dean’s ear as the sailors crowded around him. Dean turned his head and tried to act like it didn’t bother him. The truth was, he hated the way One-Eyed Jack’s filthy bird felt on his shoulder. Its talons felt like the pirate king’s own fingers digging into his skin.

Dean motioned to Ronan. “Let him go, please. If he gave you any trouble, it was only out of concern for our captain.” He locked eyes with Ronan and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ronan. You won’t be finding Gentleman Jim on board.”

Ronan blinked. “But he has to be on board.”

Rook’s lips twisted up in a wicked grin. “Take my word fer it. The briny deep be home to Gentleman Jim now.”

Ronan’s eyes welled up with tears. Dean balled up his fist. He wanted to knock that smile off Rook’s ugly face, but it wasn’t the time or place. Over at the mast, Verrick’s men cut Ronan loose. He stumbled forth in a daze, crushed by the apparent loss of his captain.

“Sire, you gave us a terrible fright,” Verrick told Dean. “You can’t imagine … for us to have been searching for you so long, only to lose you again the moment we found you.” Verrick shivered from head to toe. “Where did you go? Why did you leave?”

Dean smiled. “Come now, Captain. You didn’t expect me to swallow a story like yours in one bite, did you?” Dean pointed to the island in the distance. “Bartleby Bay has a reputation. I
followed your crew ashore to make certain you weren’t pirates yourselves.”

Verrick nodded. “Fair enough. I trust you saw nothing to confirm your suspicions?”

Dean shook his head. “I wouldn’t have come back otherwise. But this journey still goes against every sane instinct I have. A body would have to be mad to set sail with you.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“Charting a course for Zenhala? I do indeed. But!” Dean raised a finger. He was trying hard to make it seem like he’d come to this decision on his own. “The way I see it, you only live once. So I’m going to do it anyway.”

Verrick laughed and clasped his hands together. “You can’t imagine how relieved I am to hear you say that. Your kingdom will rejoice in your return.” The captain of the
Tideturner
looked to his men. “It’s time, lads! Time at last! Your faith has been rewarded. Our years of sacrifice are nearly at an end. Ready a launch for the prince’s mates. They’ll be going back to the island forthwith.”

“Belay that order!” Dean called out. “They’re coming with us, Captain.”

Ronan joined Rook and Dean, rubbing his wrists. His skin was red where the ropes had bound him. “What’s all this about? Where are we going?”

“Your Grace!” Verrick said before Dean could reply. “We can’t take outsiders back to the island. It’s against the law.”

“The law? I thought you said I was the prince.”

“Yes. Of course, but—”

“Well? Don’t I make the laws?”

Verrick hesitated. He was clearly uncomfortable with the position Dean was putting him in. “It’s not that simple.”

“It never is. I haven’t survived this long by being simple. You said as much yourself. I’m not going anywhere without protection.”

Verrick put on a wounded look. “You’ve no need of protection here. Any man on this ship would gladly give his life for you, myself included.”

“So you say. I might be willing to take a chance and trust you, but I don’t know you. Not like I do Ronan and Rook. We go together or not at all. That’s my final word on the matter.”

Verrick rubbed his beard, grumbling. “And the bird? He comes too, I take it?”

“Sisto? He’s my closest friend,” Dean lied. “I can’t leave him behind.” Dean fed the bird a cracker and placed him in a cage that he and Rook had brought on board. Sisto snapped at Dean’s fingers as he shut the door.

“Very well,” Verrick said at last. “Set a course for the Bermuda Triangle, men. We’re going home. All of us.” The crew hoisted the anchor and loosed the sails. Verrick took the helm, and the three young pirates had a moment alone to talk.

“What the devil is going on here?” Ronan whispered. “You’re a prince now?”

Dean nodded toward Verrick. “As far as he knows, yes.”

Ronan leaned in closer to Dean. “What do you think you’re doing? We can’t sail off with these men. We have to square things with One-Eyed Jack.”

“I already did that. He gave us a chance to make things right.”

“He did?”

Dean shrugged. “In his own way, yes. All we have to do is cover the loss of the
Reckless
and pay the monthly tribute.”

Ronan bit his lip. “Did he give us any more time?”

“No,” Rook replied. “Payment’s due by week’s end.”

Ronan’s eyes went wide. “Is he mad?” He looked at Dean, who confirmed the deadline, and One-Eyed Jack’s madness, with a casual nod. “How are we going to get that much loot in a single week? And why do you look so calm? What are we doing with these men? Where are we going?”

Dean took a breath. He could hardly believe what he was about to say:

“Zenhala.”

Ronan did a double take at Dean.
“Zenhala?”
He looked at Verrick and his men as they prepared to set sail. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead serious, Ronan. One-Eyed Jack said if we can deliver the gold of Zenhala, we’re out of his pocket for good. You, me, and the rest of the Pirate Youth. The whole lot of us—free. How’s that strike you?”

Ronan looked at Dean like a fool who didn’t know the port side from the starboard. “You told One-Eyed Jack that we were going to bring him back the golden harvest of Zenhala? You call that a chance to make things right?”

“Unless you’ve got a better idea.”

Ronan bit his lip and turned his back on Dean. He looked up at the heavens and shook his head in disbelief. “I do have one idea.” Ronan spun around and punched Dean square in the nose. “How’s
that
strike you?”

It took three of Verrick’s men to separate Ronan and Dean. Rook cackled with glee as the two of them went at each other. He did nothing to interfere. When the fight was over, Verrick didn’t know if he should tie Ronan back to the mast or throw him overboard. “Are you sure you want this one with us, Your Grace? It doesn’t bode well that you should need protection from your protection.”

Dean massaged his aching nose. It hurt, but it wasn’t broken. “We’re fine,” he told Verrick. “Just a little disagreement between friends. Isn’t that right, Ronan?”

Ronan snorted as Verrick’s men held him fast. “Aye, Captain. Friends to the end.”

Verrick put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “If this is how you are among friends, I’d hate to meet your enemies.”

Dean let out a nervous laugh. “You can say that again.”

• • •

The
Tideturner
sailed all day and through the night. The next morning, Dean woke up with the sun and found that most of Verrick’s men were still asleep. A full day’s journey into the Bermuda Triangle, and all hands on deck were snoring loud and resting easy. So far, no one on board had given Dean any reason to believe they were the con men that he first took them to be.
Could they really be from Zenhala? Do they really think I’m their prince?
Dean spotted Ronan at the bow of the ship, whittling away at a small piece of wood. He joined him there and looked out on the horizon in silence. Not a word had passed between them since their fight the previous morning. The tension was as thick as the fog clouds up ahead. Dean wanted to clear the air before they went any further.

“Look what I found below deck,” Dean said, holding up a kiteboard and sail from the
Santa Clara
raid. “They must have brought it on board with the rest of us.”

Ronan barely looked up from his woodwork. “Lucky. You can use that to jump ship when it’s time to cut your losses here.”

Dean grimaced and set down the kiteboarding rig. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you? I know you’re hurting right now, Ronan. You loved Gentleman Jim like a brother; any fool can see that. The man made a lasting impression on me in a day, so I can’t imagine what you’re feeling after sailing with him for years. But whatever’s gone before … however we got started … we’re in this together now. We’ve got to have a truce between us. You’ve got to
trust me and follow my lead. This is what I do. We’ve got a chance here, but not if I can’t count on you to do your part.”

Ronan’s knife slipped and he nicked his thumb. He cursed and threw the whittled cross he was working on to the waves. “Let me tell you what you can count on. You see those mists up ahead? They mark the center of the Bermuda Triangle. I’ve only come this far one other time. That’s where this journey’s going to end. Finding Zenhala is no plan for settling our debt with One-Eyed Jack. It’s suicide. The Golden Isle’s a myth, and we’re all going to die chasing it.”

“I see you remain as hopeful as ever.”

“Make jokes if you like, but you’d share my optimism if you’d ever sailed these waters before.”

“Look, I thought this was crazy at first too, but now I’m not so sure. Think about it. Would these men sail this far into the Triangle if they weren’t really after the island? Would One-Eyed Jack let us go after Zenhala if he didn’t think we might find it?” Dean pointed to the impenetrable fog up ahead. “What if the Golden Isle’s really out there somewhere waiting for us?”

Ronan scoffed at Dean. “There’s nothing out there but a watery grave. One-Eyed Jack’s obsessed with Zenhala, Seaborne. He only sent us here because he’s too scared to go himself. I was with him the last time he went looking. It didn’t end well.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up. “You sailed with One-Eyed Jack?”

Ronan nodded. “Nine years ago, I sailed with him. On board the
Maelstrom.
I was there for his final expedition.”

“What happened?”

“Something I’ll never forget. I was just over six years old when I joined his crew. A lowly cabin boy no one ever spoke to unless they needed someone to yell at, that was me.”

“Sounds familiar,” Dean said.

“Not likely. I lived through more foul weather than you can imagine, all of it right here.” Ronan shivered, as if someone had just walked over his grave.

Dean looked around. The fog clouds ahead were as dark as smoke from a fire, but other than that, conditions were dead calm. “The ocean seems gentle enough this morning.”

Ronan wagged a finger at Dean. “There’s always a storm raging somewhere in the Triangle. Believe me, I know. Not a day went by that One-Eyed Jack didn’t have us out here in the thick of it, scouring these waters for the Golden Isle. How is it you don’t know that about him? One of his own spies?”

Dean scratched his head. Seven years had passed since One-Eyed Jack had sent him out on his first spy mission, stowing away on board a gold-laden trade ship. In all that time, One-Eyed Jack had never left St. Diogenes, but anything before that, Dean was too young to remember. “What made him stop looking?”

“The worst storm any of us ever saw stopped him. Dead in his tracks.” Ronan pointed ahead. “It was out there, right where
you and I are headed now. The weather was unnaturally cold. The clouds were black curtains drawn across the sky, and the wind scraped against our faces like frozen chunks of coral. Rain stabbed down like nails, and the waves …” Ronan shuddered. “Huge swells rose high above the ship and crashed down on us over and over again. I had to tie a line around my waist just to keep from getting washed away, but not One-Eyed Jack. He stood rooted to the spot like the trunk of a tree as the ship pitched up and down, nearly flipping us over.”

Dean shrugged. “Doesn’t sound like the storm got the better of him.”

“It wasn’t only the storm. We hit something out there. Or should I say, something hit us.” Ronan took a deep breath. He eyed the mists up ahead with grim trepidation. “I’ve never spoken of this to anyone. Not ever. I didn’t get a good look at first. I only caught a glimpse. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and a tall winding shadow cast itself over the sails. I spun around to see what it was, but I was too slow. The light was already gone. A moment later, something big and heavy slapped against the boat like a whip. Decking splintered and a cannon flew through the air. Jim Harper pushed me out of the way as a hundred pounds of iron flew by, just missing me. He was saving me even then.”

Dean looked out at the fast-approaching mist. “What hit the ship, Ronan?”

“It was hard to make out in the darkness, but I know what
I saw. There was no doubting its giant size and twisting shape. When the lightning flashed again, I got a good look. Big as a whale and twice as long. Its snakelike body rose up out of the water in arcs as it looped around us. Armored scales covered its hide like shields, and waves of sharp fins ran down its back like swords. That thing moved faster than anything its size had a right to. One minute I spotted its head on the port side, and then in the blink of an eye, I saw it again on the starboard. It was half the size of the ship, and it roared loud enough to drown out the storm.”