“I think it’s over out there,” Ronan said.
Dean nodded. “In here too.”
“It doesn’t look good for us, I’ll grant you that.” For what must have been the hundredth time, Ronan tugged on his chains to no avail. “What do you think’s gonna happen?”
Dean leaned his head back to rest against the stone wall. He was miles away. “I’ve been thinking about that.”
He didn’t elaborate.
“Well?” Ronan pressed. “What’d you come up with?”
Dean’s eyes snapped forward to look at Ronan. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “By now, One-Eyed Jack’s on his way to the orchard, if he’s not there already. There’s gold left on those trees, but not enough. Not to suit his taste. Most of it went out with the harvest, and if he’s looking to find enough treasure to fill nineteen ships, he’s going to be disappointed. I don’t have to tell you how he takes to disappointment. Odds are, he’ll take his frustrations out on us.”
“Aye.” Ronan grimaced. “He finds us here, we’re as good as dead.”
“Unless …” Dean put up an index finger. “Unless he decides he’s got bigger fish to fry. There’s a chance he’ll take what he can from the trees, rob the island for the rest, and realize he has to get out before the storm hits. If things go that way, he won’t have time to sort out the two of us.”
Ronan’s face brightened. “I like the sound of that.”
“But once he’s gone, the people of this island will have all the time in the world. They’ll want revenge, and they’ll deserve it too. When the dust from this fight settles and the blood dries up, you can bet they won’t forget about you and me.”
Ronan’s smile faded. “In which case, we’re as good as dead.”
“Exactly.”
“So what you’re saying is, it doesn’t matter what happens. We’re dead either way.”
“Pretty much.”
“Can you pick the locks on your shackles?”
“If I could reach them.” Dean’s hands were chained too far apart to get at the keyhole. “It’s no use, Ronan. We’re not getting out of here.” Dean looked at the door to their cell. The Ralians hadn’t locked it behind them when they left. It hung on its hinges, wide open, taunting Dean like a metaphor for his life. There had never been a time when he wasn’t trapped somewhere he didn’t want to be, with the way out just beyond his reach. It was always within sight, but a step too far away. From the looks of things, it always would be.
“What gives, Seaborne? You’re supposed to be the optimistic one here.”
Dean slumped further down against the wall. “Sorry, Ronan. You rubbed off on me.”
Ronan let out a weary sigh. “I think so. Gentleman Jim did too, I can tell. Whatever happens, Dean, he was right to take you on. You’re a good egg, sailor. You kept to the code.”
Dean sat up with a puzzled look. “Ronan, we failed. Everything you and I tried to keep from happening happened. People are hurting out there, and we’re next. We’re going to die here.”
“Looks that way,” Ronan agreed. “It surely does. But if it comes to that, I’ll step to the gallows with my conscience clear.” Dean looked at Ronan as though the guards had locked up his brains in some other cell. “I will!” Ronan vowed. “If I have to. It’s not an easy thing, trying to be a pirate and a good man at the same time. Gentleman Jim tried, and you saw where that got him. But even when things went bad, he never gave up walking that line. Right up to the end, he stayed true to what he thought was right. He’d have been proud of what you tried to do here. I am.”
Dean took a minute with that. “Thanks.” He didn’t have much to feel good about at the moment, but he felt good about what Ronan had just said. Maybe it was because he had never thought of himself as being true to anything.
“Does this mean we’re friends now?”
Ronan rattled his chains. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
Dean laughed. “Not exactly your decision.”
“I didn’t say it was. And I’ll tell you something else. I don’t much care to stay either. There has to be something we can do.”
Dean heard arguing in the hall outside. “Someone’s coming up the steps.”
He and Ronan listened quietly, wondering who was coming to get them. As the people outside got closer, their voices became clearer.
“I told you we should have started at the top and worked our way down,” the first voice argued.
“That makes a lot of sense,” the other shot back. “What if they’d been on the first floor? We’d have walked right past them and hiked up these stairs for nothing.”
“They weren’t on the first floor, were they? And we hiked up all these stairs anyway—at a snail’s pace, thanks to you!”
“So what? You move about as fast as a fish floppin’ on the beach does, anyway!”
Dean looked at Ronan. “Is that who I think it is?”
Ronan grinned. “None other. Kane! Marko! Up here!”
The bickering outside stopped abruptly. It was replaced by the sound of footsteps charging up the stairs. Moments later, the ever-sparring twins, Kane and Marko, burst through the door. “There you are!” Kane said. “Told you we should’ve started at the top,” he added, giving his brother a shove.
“All right, all right,” said Marko.
“I don’t believe this,” Ronan said. “What are you two doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Kane replied. “Would’ve been here sooner if not for him.”
“Belay that,” Marko said, punching Kane in the shoulder. “We found ’em, didn’t we?”
“Don’t touch me.” Kane punched Marko back, giving better than he got. As usual, they couldn’t go two minutes without fighting. Both brothers were determined to get in the last shot. Things escalated and within seconds they were wrestling on the ground and trading blows.
“AVAST THERE!” Ronan thundered, loud enough to grind everything to a halt. He held up his hands, still locked in irons. “Forgetting something, are you?”
“Right,” Kane said, freezing mid-punch.
“Sorry,” Marko added, getting up. “Force of habit, you know.”
“I do know! They should have called you two Kane and Abel!”
“Actually, I think that one spells his name different,” Kane said. “You see, mine starts with a K and his …” He trailed off when he saw the look on Ronan’s face. “You’re right. Not important.”
“Is the rest of the crew here?” Dean asked before Ronan blew his top.
“Aye,” Marko said. “The whole fleet is, not countin’ the Reckless. One-Eyed Jack split our crew up onto different ships, but once we got here, they forgot all about us.”
“The rest of the Pirate Youth’s downstairs lootin’ the castle. We came to find you two.”
“Good men,” Ronan said. “We need to pick the locks on these shackles. Can you find us something to do the job?”
Marko held up the key ring that Jarret had thrown away. “How about this? Found it outside on the ground. Thought it might come in handy.”
Dean laughed out loud and sprang to his feet with a huge smile. “I never thought I’d say this, but you two are brilliant.”
Kane and Marko beamed with pride. They unchained Dean and Ronan, and the four of them hurried down the steps.
“And you thought we were gonna die in there,” Ronan chided Dean as they made their escape.
“We’re not out of it yet,” Dean replied. Before they left the tower, he stopped Ronan at the door. “When we get out there, I need you to talk to the crew. You were Gentleman Jim’s first mate; they’ll listen to you. We need to go to the orchard.”
Ronan took a breath. He didn’t like where Dean was going with this. “You can’t stop him, Dean. The whole Black Fleet is here with him. What do you think you’re going to do?”
“Whatever I can.”
Ronan threw his head back and closed his eyes. “All right,” he sai
d. “Let’s get the others.”
One quick lap around the castle later, Dean was walking to the orchard with a crew of fifty at his back. Every member of the Pirate Youth had dropped their loot where they stood and followed him without question. All it took was a word from Ronan. Dean was amazed at how quickly they all came together. He didn’t have a plan, nor had he given the crew any incentive to rally behind him. There was nothing in it for any of them, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Dean needed their help, and Ronan had vouched for him. Never before had someone placed this kind of trust in him—certainly not someone who knew him. Having a friend was a new experience for Dean, but he knew one thing for sure. Friends like Ronan didn’t grow on trees.
As they made their way to the orchard, Dean saw firsthand how One-Eyed Jack’s pirates had laid waste to the island. Smoke filled the air as fires burned unchecked in the once peaceful villages. Blood stained the road, and people cowered in their homes as the wounded roamed the streets asking for help. Dean still hadn’t worked out how to help any of them. He felt better walking in a group than he would have felt walking alone, but he didn’t have enough pirates to challenge One-Eyed Jack. He didn’t have enough by half. The Pirate Youth could maybe take on one ship of full-grown pirates. Maybe. What about the other eighteen? What did he plan to do about them? What did he plan to do, period?
Dean supposed he’d find out when he got there. Along the way, they passed through the poverty-ridden town, which had been all but destroyed by the battle. With a heavy heart, Dean stepped over the bodies of palace guardsmen on the way to the mill by the orchard. The islanders had made their last stand there, and One-Eyed Jack’s forces had routed them. Dean prayed that he wouldn’t find Waverly or her father among the fallen. He reached the golden orchard and found the iron trellis and false vineyard raised up high. A legion of pirates milled about in the fields before him. It was a loud, noisy scene. The badly injured were nursing their wounds and drowning their pain in rum. The ones who were just nicked were pretending to be worse off in order to shirk their duty and snare an extra pint of grog. All hands that were shipshape and seaworthy had been put to work in the orchard. Scurvy Gill was up on the ridge directing hundreds of pirates, but to what end, Dean couldn’t tell. Gill didn’t need that many men to pick the branches clean. There wasn’t that much gold left.
The crowd of buccaneers in the field made way for Dean and the Pirate Youth as they passed. One-Eyed Jack’s men should have blocked Dean’s path to him, but they were too busy carousing to bother, or too badly wounded to care. When Dean cleared the mob, he saw One-Eyed Jack sitting on a large, comfy chair outside the mill.
One-Eyed Jack was feeding Sisto a cracker as Lunk brought him a cup of tea. Dean watched him take a sip and let out a satisfied “Ahh.” He turned to Lunk with a smile. “One sugar. Just the way I like it. Thank you.” The world’s least likely waiter hobbled off, speechless. Dean was just as shocked as Lunk was. Never before had he heard One-Eyed Jack thank anyone for anything. Not unless he was being sarcastic. Dean had expected to find One-Eyed Jack in another one of his moods, but instead, he looked happy. What was going on here?
One-Eyed Jack caught a glimpse of Dean and sat up with a jolt. “Well, well! Prince Seaborne, as I live and breathe! Surprised to see me?” He motioned Dean forward. “I bet you’re wondering how I got here so fast. After all, St. Diogenes is two days’ journey from this place, and the bird only went out last night! I bet your little brain’s tied up in knots trying to figure that one out.”
Dean swallowed hard. One-Eyed Jack knew everything.
“Did you really think I was gonna just sit on my hands and wait for you? We followed that ship the Tideturner as far as we could before we lost sight of you in the Triangle. We were sailin’ these waters for three days when Sisto finally showed up to lead us in. Now, what are you doing here with this pack of feral sea pups? First Mate Rook told me you were locked up in the tower.”
Dean blinked. “He’s first mate now?”
Rook stepped up behind One-Eyed Jack with his back as stiff as a board and his chin high in the air. “That’s right. This is how the pirate king rewards his loyal hearties. If you played yer cards right, you coulda been one of ’em.” He drew his index finger across his neck in an off-with-your-head motion. “Too late for that now. Don’t try and take any credit for this business. I told him all about how you both went soft once we got here. How you stopped me from lettin’ Sisto fly. I fixed you, though. Once I lined up the Ralian boys to take you out, I was free to act.”
“You mean you knew One-Eyed Jack was close by, but you held off sending the bird just to save yourself a beating from me?” Ronan asked.
“That’s no surprise,” Dean said. “He’s as much a coward as he is a rat.”
Rook snorted out a laugh. “That’s yer problem right there, Seaborne. You think yer so much better than me. Yer not. At all. Whaddaya call bein’ a spy except a fancy name for a rat?”
“He’s right,” One-Eyed Jack said. “You used to be a good rat too. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, you got it in your head that you were worth something.” He drained his teacup and tossed it away, shaking his head. “What was it made you lose your way here? Rook says you took a fancy to some fair maiden. What was her name?”
“Waverly,” Rook said.
“Ah yes, Waverly … Let’s have a look. She in there?”
One-Eyed Jack snapped his fingers, and the men behind him pulled open the doors of the mill. Inside, along with several other prisoners, Dean saw Verrick, Arjent Ralian, the regent, and his daughter. Rook pulled Waverly out of the mill. “Get your hands off her!” Dean called out, taking a big step forward. Ronan held him back. He couldn’t help her that way. Dean took a breath and thought through his options. There weren’t many. He was relieved to see Waverly and her father unharmed, but he didn’t expect that to last. She and the other prisoners were at the nonexistent mercy of One-Eyed Jack. Their lives dangled by a thread. Waverly looked at Dean, terrified, incensed, and unsure what to make of him. “Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’m going to get you out of this.”
“You are?” One-Eyed Jack laughed. “Hah! If I were you, I’d be worrying about my own self.” He got up and walked around Waverly and Rook, brandishing a pistol. “What should we do with her, you think? What can I do to remind you of your place?”
“No! Don’t hurt her. Please!”
One-Eyed Jack shrugged. “Why shouldn’t I?”
Dean breathed in quick, stilted puffs. He was at a loss for words, searching his mind for something to say. Desperate for anything he could do to make One-Eyed Jack stop. “What’s the sense?” he asked. “You’ve already taken the island. Killing her won’t make you any richer. If you’ve got business with me, let it stay with me. Leave her out of it.”
One-Eyed Jack pressed the gun against Waverly’s temple and eased back the hammer with his thumb. She closed her eyes, trembling. A tear ran down her cheek. One-Eyed Jack backed away and lowered the pistol. “I was going to do it to teach you a lesson, Seaborne. I started out the day very angry with you.”
Dean and Waverly both shuddered and emptied their lungs. “What are you saying? You’re not angry anymore?”
“No, I am,” One-Eyed Jack said. “But standing in the shadow of this orchard cools my temper somewhat.” He tapped the barrel of his pistol against Waverly’s forehead. “Lucky for you, lassie. Your little friend over there’s got nine lives, and you … you just might get to keep yours.”
“Please,” Dean said. “Enough blood’s been spilled for one day. You don’t have to hurt anyone else. There’s gold left in those trees. Maybe it’s not the haul you were hoping for, but it’s something, and there’s more in the palace. I can show you if you just leave them alone. There isn’t much time. You have to get out of here before the storm returns and traps your fleet here for a year.”
“I have to get out of here? Not we?” One-Eyed Jack turned to Scurvy Gill with an
amused look on his face. “You hear that, Mr. Gill? I don’t think Seaborne wants to come back with us!”
Standing at the edge of the orchard, Scurvy Gill spit on the ground. “Boy’s gone native, has he? Wants to stay with his people?”
“Aye,” One-Eyed Jack agreed. “I reckon that’s it. A body spends a few days living in a palace, he’s bound to develop a taste for it.”
“That’s not it,” Dean said. “The only room they’ve got for me in the palace is a cell.” Lightning struck in the distance where dark clouds were gathering. “I’m telling you the truth. The storm’s coming back. You don’t want to be on this side of the rain when it does.”
“You don’t have to tell me, boy. I know all about that storm.” One-Eyed Jack holstered his pistol and walked toward Dean. “Not to worry. Rook told me how things work here on the island. He says you know when the storm will break next year, just in case I want to come back.” One-Eyed Jack scrunched up his lips. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to make you tell me that. I don’t have the patience for waiting. I waited thirteen long years to get back here as it is. I think that’s quite enough.”
One-Eyed Jack took Dean by the arm and led him up to the edge of the orchard. His choice of words shook Dean. “What do you mean back here?”
One-Eyed Jack nodded with a grin ten leagues wide. “Picked up on that, did you? About time. Aye, I’ve been here before, Seaborne. Years ago, back when I had two eyes. I swore that if I ever made it back, I’d be a little smarter about what I carted out of here. I’m taking more than the golden harvest this time around. Have a look.”
Dean’s head was flooded with questions as he walked ahead of One-Eyed Jack to the threshold of the orchard. When he saw what One-Eyed Jack was up to, his heart swirled around inside his chest like a ship being sucked down a whirlpool. An army of pirates, armed with shovels, was digging in the dirt and carefully pulling out roots.
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