Page 12 of The Lost Child

The rest of the crew burst out laughing, and I suppressed the urge to chuckle with them. Instead I shot a disappointed glance at Gerrick. “How in the world did you let this one through?” I asked, disgusted.

I jumped off him, and made a show of wiping my blades on my pants before re-sheathing them. Seth muttered something under his breath and disappeared faster than a shoal of fish who’d spotted a shark.

“It wasn’t my choice to let ‘im in,” Gerrick grumbled. “Pirate king said ‘e was a cousin of some noble or such nonsense. ‘Bout as useful on a boat as e’ would be floatin’ on the waves staring up at the sky.”

The others grunted in agreement, and I shook my head.

“Now, if you really want to know about drakens, I helped bring ‘im in with Blind Barny.” Gerrick proudly admitted, and the other sailors gathered around him with wide eyes, me included.

“I saw him the day he was brought here,” I pointed out. “I thought he was a lost boy, small and frightened.” If my voice had a tinge of accusation in it, well, that wasn’t my fault.

Gerrick put his fingers out, and Hai was quick to jam a lit smoke between them. Gerrick took a deep draw, closing his eyes in pleasure. “Now, let’s see here. I learned a bit when I traveled, fetchin’ ‘im from the belly of a traveling merchant’s ship, betrayed by a jilted lover of some kind. This woman knew all about the creature, her man bragged about it to her, so she sold the information to the pirate lord.” He chuckled darkly. “Should ‘o kept his prick in his pants, because it cost him!”

Gerrick took another drag, and continued, “Said the creatures are from a distant island, but something happened to destroy it. They displeased the gods somehow, and they all died. Well, obviously not all of them were there that day because a few survived. Don’t think there’s any wild though, just those found and captured. If someone was smart, they’d breed a few,” he muttered to himself, no longer telling a story.

I wiped my face with my hands. “Yes, but details. What do they eat? Do they actually fly? Do they have children like us? Families?” It would break my heart imagining Canavar’s family somewhere out there, mourning him.

Gerrick rolled his eyes. “Yes, they fly. That’s why you have to keep ‘em chained. Who knows if they have families? They give birth just like most creatures. Picky ‘bout it, though. Something about blood magick and mates, but it sounded all like hoo-doo to me. Devil’s business. No self-respecting sailor involves themselves in any of that hocus pocus.”

The other sailors all took that moment to cross themselves to ward against evil. I rolled my eyes at their superstitious nonsense.

“I can see where you’re going with this, missy. I know you,” Gerrick growled at me, one gnarled finger gently prodding my chest. “Don’t try to go savin’ anyone. The pirate lord has had ‘im too long. Ee’s a lost cause. Can’t be tamed by anyone but the pirate lord.”

My head nodded, but internally I raged. If you wanted me to leave something alone, the absolute worst thing you could say was that I couldn’t do it.

A fire lit under me at his accidental challenge, but I said nothing. Did nothing. Simply looked away and went back to my ale.

Six

My father offered no explanation for why our raid had been so easy, and I didn’t ask. Gaitworth’s body was swinging in the breeze the next day, but the first mate was no where to be found. I wondered at that.

Nevertheless, father was pleased with the results and me, so that was all that mattered. Despite his sudden good mood, I couldn’t get what Gerrick had said about Canavar out of my mind.

He’s a lost cause.

I refused to believe it. Surely any intelligent creature couldn’t be ruined forever, could they? Seth came to mind, as well as any number of the disgusting scallywags who only left me alone because my father’s threats of castration were always fresh in their minds. It was true that I didn’t think there was any hope forthem.

Why was Canavar different? I mused it over.Choice. I supposed it was choice. These men chose to behave this way. Canavar never had a choice. He was forced into what he was now.

There was no question it was wrong, but who was I to suddenly take the moral high ground? I had just as much blood on my hands as anyone else around here, even if my father or Canavar had more.

It was the guilt, wasn’t it?That had to be it. I’d seen Canavar all those years ago as a boy. I could have helped him, but I didn’t.

You were a child. Those around you are at fault. Not you.

True, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help him now. At least, that was the reasoning I used while I snuck down the passageway my father had shown me, careful to ensure my steps were solid and I didn’t make an unnecessary noise. An apple and a few drumsticks stuck out obviously in my pocket. It had been obvious that Canavar was kept on the verge of starvation.

It was pitch dark down here, but I was fine with that. I’d always been able to see things in the dark that others couldn’t. So far, so good.

Squinting, I spied a large lump lying in the middle of the cage. I assumed that was Canavar, asleep. This was confirmed when nothing came and rushed at the iron doors in front of me. I bent to retrieve my flint and rock from my satchel, deciding to risk just enough of a torch that I could see him, and ensure he was alright. I took the wand of dried twigs and leaves and went to my knees, working to get a spark to catch a flame. Small, red embers appeared. Concentrating, I blew gently. Within a minute, the ember caught the hay, and a small flame flickered in my hand. It grew until I had a decent sized torch.

WHUMPF.

I stood up straight and made a small pained noise in my throat as I smacked my head against the wheel that controlled Canavar’s chains. I winced and froze, listening.

A small grumble, then nothing.

I held the torch in one hand, and my longest knife in the other. Heart pounding, I kicked the latch for the iron gate. It swung open with a groan, and I hurried inside before closing it behind me. A few more steps in, and my thoughts were confirmed. Canavar was quite literally chained against the floor on his stomach.

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