“I’ve been dreaming about this since you were in diapers, boy. This time, I’m taking the trees.”
CHAPTER 32
TRUE COLORS
Something inside Dean exploded.
When he saw One-Eyed Jack’s men digging out the trees and loading them onto wagons, he didn’t think, he just acted. Before he even knew what he was doing, Dean ran at One-Eyed Jack, trying to tackle him to the ground. He bounced back as if he’d smacked into the side of a ship. Dean recovered quickly and spun around with a kick. One-Eyed Jack saw the move coming a mile off and caught his leg easily. He held it under his arm, refusing to let go. Undeterred, Dean peppered his midsection with a flurry of punches, but they did no more damage than grass reeds whipping away at the trunk of an oak. One-Eyed Jack picked Dean up by the collar and held him a foot off the ground.
“We’ve got a live one here, haven’t we?” He laughed. “What’s gotten into you, boy? Don’t lose your head now. That part comes later.”
Dean reached forward and grabbed One-Eyed Jack’s pistols from his gun belt. “You sure about that?” He took one in each hand and aimed them both at One-Eyed Jack’s head. “These aren’t much good at a distance, but at this range they work just fine.” One-Eyed Jack froze. He set Dean down and backed away.
Ronan, Kane, and Marko drew cutlasses and moved in front of Waverly. The rest of the Pirate Youth formed a wall around the entrance to the mill, closing off access to the prisoners. It was a superficial show of strength, since less than half of them were armed. Meanwhile, the hundreds of pirates who were milling about in the fields took a sudden interest in Dean’s conversation with their captain.
“What are we doing, Dean?” Ronan asked warily.
“What’s it look like?” Dean replied.
“Looks to me like the baby shark has grown some teeth,” One-Eyed Jack said. “Good for you, boy. Leastways, when this is over, you can say you gave it your all.”
“It’s over now,” Dean said. “Tell your men to leave those trees alone.”
“Or what, laddie?” Dean felt the tip of a knife prod his belly. Scurvy Gill appeared behind him. “Unless you wanna see me open up yer gut, you’ll drop them pistols right quick.”
Dean kicked himself for not checking his blind side. Thanks to that bit of carelessness, his little mutiny was over before it began. Not that he’d gone into the affair with any kind of plan. He had just acted on impulse. The gambit was doomed from the start. Dean lowered the pistols and handed them over to One-Eyed Jack.
“I should’ve just opened fire,” he said.
One-Eyed Jack snickered as he took back his guns. “You don’t have it in you.” He spun Dean around and pushed him down the ridge. Dean tumbled to the bottom and landed in a puddle of mud. “That’s why you’re down there and I’m up here. Put him with the others.”
“Yer not gonna kill ’im?” Rook asked.
One-Eyed Jack shook his head. “Let his new friends do it. That’ll sting you worse, won’t it, Seaborne? Getting strung up by the people you tried to save?” He waved a hand at the Pirate Youth. “Best put them all together. That’s the side they picked. They’re welcome to it.”
“Aye,” Scurvy Gill agreed. “Never did trust Gentleman Jim’s brats. Better off without ’em. Ask me, you should do away with Seaborne, here and now, for raisin’ a hand against ya.”
One-Eyed Jack cast his eyes up at the heavens and tapped a finger on his chin. “That crossed my mind as well, Mr. Gill. However, it occurs to me that we wouldn’t be standing here without him, now would we? Seems to me he honored our deal … in a roundabout way. Least I can do is pay him back in kind.” One-Eyed Jack laughed as Dean was tied up and placed with the other prisoners. “Seaborne can have his freedom for as long as he lives. Never let it be said that I’m not a man of my word.”
One-Eyed Jack and Scurvy Gill went off to inspect the crew’s progress excavating the trees, leaving Dean alone with the captive Zenhalans. Dean felt their eyes bearing down on him like the tips of red-hot pokers. He knew they would like nothing better than to see him dead, but just in case there was any doubt, they cursed him, bumped him, and spit at him as he squirmed through the crowd, trying to get to Waverly.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
She turned away. “Don’t talk to me.”
“I’m trying to help.”
Waverly let out a scornful laugh. “A bit late for that!”
Dean found it hard to disagree with her.
“You want to help us?” Lord Kray asked. “Now? Where do you find the nerve to say something like that? You’ve ruined us! That orchard is the lifeblood of this island. Without it, our people will starve. Thanks to you, Zenhala is finished.”
“And don’t expect any thanks for your posturing here today,” Arjent Ralian chimed in. “Cheap theatrics as far as I’m concerned. We can see through your lies easy enough.”
Dean glared at Lord Ralian. “You’re a fine one to talk about lies. You had your sons try to kill me!”
“My sons!” Arjent Ralian said. “Where are they? How did you escape the tower? I swear, if you’ve harmed them in any way—”
“They’re gone!” Dean shouted. He turned to Waverly and her father. “It’s true. The Ralians wanted me out of the way to clear a path to the throne. His sons tried to kill me during the trials. When that didn’t work, they cut a deal with Rook. Jarret let him signal One-Eyed Jack, not me. I didn’t bring them here!” Dean sneered at Lord Ralian, defiant. “Your boys confessed everything before they left. That’s right, they ran out on you. Didn’t think twice about it. Some family!”
“That’s it, Dean, blame everyone but yourself!” Waverly exclaimed. “Don’t you understand? Even if what you’re saying is true, it doesn’t matter. Not now! None of this could have happened without you. You are the cause of this.”
Dean shut his mouth. She was right and he knew it. Dean had doomed Zenhala the same way he had doomed every ship he had ever spied on for One-Eyed Jack. There was no use pretending it wasn’t his fault, or that he didn’t have a choice. He did have a choice. He was going to make the right one too, but he waited too long. He wasn’t strong enough. Like Waverly said, it didn’t matter now. What’s done is done, Dean thought. You don’t get points in life for good intentions. There was nothing left for Dean to explain, and no way for him to fix things up with words. It was over.
Dean felt Verrick staring at him. “I believed you were the prince,” he said sadly. “I truly did.” Dean fixed his eyes on the ground, unable to look Verrick in the eye. The old man was judging him and punishing himself at the same time. It was too painful to bear.
“I’m sorry, Verrick. I didn’t want this.”
“I convinced myself you were the one,” Verrick said, not really listening. “I wanted the search to be over. I wanted to believe in you so badly.”
“I never believed,” Dean replied. “Until now.”
How could I be so stupid?
Dean realized One-Eyed Jack had played him from the beginning. He had been to Zenhala before. He’d lost his eye stealing the golden harvest and the infant prince thirteen years ago. What does that say about me? Dean asked himself. As if the answer weren’t obvious. It was all so clear to him now that it was too late to matter. Dean had grown up on board One-Eyed Jack’s ships. He was thirteen years of age. His arm was branded with the mark of Aquos. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined this was possible. One-Eyed Jack, being the ice-blooded scalawag that he was, had used him to destroy his own people. Dean was so busy thinking about what was in it for him that he had gone right along with the plan.
Rook found Dean in the crowd of prisoners. He couldn’t resist gloating. “Finally figurin’ it all out, are ya?” he asked Dean. “I’m so glad I get to see ya like this. One-Eyed Jack told me about his last trip here. I knew before we set sail on the Tideturner. The way you dragged yer feet on this job, I thought maybe you suspected, but no. You couldn’t see the forest fer the tre
es.” Rook cackled as he moved on to Ronan. “As fer you … you had me pegged. I might as well tell ya now. Was me that cut the rope on Gentleman Jim’s raft. I set him adrift back when we was lost at sea, and not a moment too soon, neither.” Rook pointed to Verrick. “Another day and that one woulda picked us up. He’d-a nursed ol’ Jim right back to health, and then where would I be? No, I took care of him just in time!”
Ronan growled and lunged at Rook, but his hands were tied and his ankle was weak. Rook took a step back and Ronan fell flat on his face. “You’re gonna pay for this, Rook. Mark me, and mark me well. You. Will. Pay.”
Ronan struggled with his bonds like a man possessed, but things being what they were, Rook wasn’t worried. “Don’t seem likely,” he laughed. “Look at ya, down in the dirt like that. Big, tough Ronan MacGuire. Pull yerself together, will ya? Try and go out like a gentleman.”
Rook stepped on Ronan’s ankle as he walked off, leaving him and Dean to contemplate their failures, which were magnificent in their scope. The hours passed slowly as Dean watched the pirates load Zenhala’s trees onto carts and roll them down to the docks. His only hope was that they wouldn’t be able to get them all out in time, but One-Eyed Jack would tolerate nothing less than a clean sweep of the orchard. He let his men know that every tree limb they left behind would cost them a limb of their own. As a result, his crew moved heaven and earth to excavate the trees. By the time the sun dipped low in the sky, and dark clouds began to gather, the golden grove was empty.
One-Eyed Jack stood with his hands on his hips, marveling at all he had accomplished. He turned around with a smile on his face and motioned to the vacant plot of land. “Not bad for a day’s work!” He chuckled to himself as he approached Dean for a final farewell. “I’m joking, of course. There’s more to it than that. Had to put you up all these years to get back here, didn’t I?” He looked around, taking it all in one last time. “Zenhala. First time I saw this place, I figured I’d be coming back every year. Lord knows I tried, but I never got near the island again. Couldn’t break through the storm. Wouldn’t have been caught dead in these waters if not for you, Seaborne. I’m in your debt. In case you’re curious, that’s the reason why you’re still breathing.”
Dean looked daggers at One-Eyed Jack. That wasn’t what he was curious about at all. “If you’re done talking in circles, maybe you can finally tell me the truth. You say you owe me a debt; I say fine. Speak plain and shoot me straight for once. Am I the child from the legend? If I’m the lost prince, say so. Give me that much at least!”
“You’re lucky I don’t shoot you straight,” One-Eyed Jack laughed, tapping the butt of a pistol on his belt. “Maybe next time. Until then, I hereby release you from my service. Fare thee well, Dean Seaborne!”
One-Eyed Jack brought the iron handle of his cutlass down on Dean’s head.
That’s when the lights went out.
When Dean came to, night had already fallen. There was a brief moment when he woke up that he thought everything was fine. It took all of one second for that to pass. Fresh memories swarmed his brain like angry wasps, and reality came crashing back in. He was in the courtyard outside the Aqualine Palace. Everyone was looking at him. The regent was there, as was Arjent Ralian, and a lot of angry people he didn’t recognize. Dean’s head was throbbing. Ronan and the Pirate Youth were with him too, and all of them were tied up like he was. Dean could hear Kane and Marko arguing about whose idea it had been to spring him and Ronan from their cell. That lasted until the palace guards knocked their heads together to shut them up. Every face in the crowd looked down on Dean with scorn except one. There was someone missing.
“Where’s Waverly?” Dean asked.
All eyes turned to the regent.
“They took her,” said Lord Kray in a quiet, broken voice. “They took her and the orchard. Your pirate friends struck this island like a hurricane. Again. I didn’t think it possible, but they hurt us even worse than the last time they were here. We’re left … I’m left with nothing.”
“This can’t be,” Dean said. “What are you still doing here? We have to go after her!”
“He’ll kill her if we do,” the regent said.
“That’s the whole point of taking hostages,” Arjent Ralian added. “I would have expected you, being a pirate, to know that. Even if we thought he was bluffing, which we don’t, he’s beyond our reach. The storm has returned. Perhaps you noticed the fountains?”
Dean’s head spun around, left and right. He hadn’t noticed, but now that Lord Ralian had mentioned them, it was impossible not to. The dry fountains that lined the walls of the courtyard were all overflowing with water. The massive sculpture of winged horses in the center of the plaza was alive with dancing streams, straight from the ocean. Dean looked up at the castle. Water poured out from the mouths of gargoyles and cherubs at every tower window. It ran down the walls inside winding channels that led to additional fountains below. The waterworks made for a sight both awesome and terrible. The spectacle was a wonder to behold, but it also meant that the tempest that had kept One-Eyed Jack at bay for so many years had returned. The great storm of the Bermuda Triangle was back, and Dean was on the wrong side of it. “No! We have to save her.”
“It’s too late, Seaborne!” Arjent Ralian barked. “We couldn’t mount a rescue now even if we wanted to.”
“I want to!” Dean shouted. “You can’t leave her with him. You can’t give up!”
“You’re the one who gave us up,” Ralian stated, matter-of-factly. “Zenhala is dead, thanks to you. Lady Kray is lost, thanks to you.”
“What about your sons?” Dean accused Lord Ralian. “Don’t forget them!”
“My sons …” Ralian gritted his teeth. “I forget nothing. But all I can do now is see that justice is served.” He drew his sword and held it out. “The recommended sentence is death.” He looked to the regent.
Lord Kray gave a nod. “Let justice be done.”
“No!” Ronan shouted. “You can’t do that.”
Before Arjent Ralian got anywhere near Dean with his blade, Ronan broke free of his bonds. He grabbed Dean and pulled him away.
“What are you doing?” Dean asked.
“Just follow my lead,” Ronan told him.
“You’re wasting your time!” Arjent Ralian shouted as the palace guards unsheathed their swords. “You can’t save him or yourself.”
“Maybe not,” Ronan said as the guards closed in on him and Dean. “But I can show you.”
“What are you talking about?” asked the regent. “Show us what?”
“Who he is!” Ronan said, shaking Dean by the collar. “He’s still got one more test to take, doesn’t he? Don’t you want to see if he passes?”
The courtyard fell silent.
“Where’s the palace fountainhead?” Ronan asked.
Again, the crowd was silent. A voice called out the answer:
“Inside.” It was Verrick. “Through those doors. The statue of the queen.”
Ronan pulled Dean toward the steps of the palace. “Let me at it.”
“Seize them!” ordered Lord Ralian. “SEIZE THEM!” His voice was wild. No one listened. The crowd parted as Dean and Ronan made their way into the palace. “What are you doing?” he shouted in disbelief. He raised his sword and went after them, but the regent blocked his path.
“Hold,” said Lord Kray. “First, I would know the truth.”
“No!” Ralian screamed. He looked as though he might explode, but the guards held him back as Ronan led Dean to the fountain.
The red marble statue of the queen and the infant prince was a unique fixture of the castle. Its crimson hue stood in stark contrast to the white stonework throughout the palace. The color served as a fitting reminder of the blood the queen had shed trying to save her son. Dean noticed the aquariums that lined the walls around it were filled with water and tropical fish. The storm outside had driven the sea and its inhabitants into the palace along with water for the foun
tains. He knelt down before the statue of the late queen. Now that Dean saw the fountain in full working order, he recognized its heartbreaking beauty. The water that ran down the queen’s body to the bubbling pool at her feet started out as tears on her face. The queen was crying. The thought of a statue created in Waverly’s memory made Dean want to cry with her.
Ronan took his arm and pressed the knife against his brand. “Trust me.”
Dean felt the knife slice open his skin. It was just a tiny cut, but enough to draw blood. He held his arm out over the pool at the base of the fountain. His blood ran down to his wrist and dropped into the water, red as could be. At first, nothing happened. At least not as far as Dean could tell. Someone in the crowd saw the color before he did.
“Look!” they shouted.
A collective gasp overtook the room as the tears of the queen were transformed. Dean couldn’t believe his eyes—or hers. Color swirled in the giant tanks of water on the walls, and Dean shook from head to toe as the room was cast in a cool shade of blue. He rose to his feet, stunned to find the people around him bending their knees.
“There you have it,” Ronan said. “He’s your prince.”
Dean walked to the door in a fog. The fountains outside were all gushing brilliant blue water. The people in the courtyard didn’t know what to think. He was their prince—their rightful king!—but he was also a pirate who had destroyed them. What were they supposed to do?
Dean knew what he had to do.
“I need a ship.”
He ran back to the statue of the queen. “I need a ship,” he said again. “I’m going after Waverly.”
“The Tideturner is yours,” Verrick said.
“It is not!” Arjent Ralian bellowed. “He has been sentenced to death.”
“That was before,” said Ronan. “He can pardon himself now.”
The Lost Prince Page 24