Seeds

by Chris Mandeville

  He grabbed Linus by the shirtsleeve and made for the Vesuvius, shouting orders.

  “Hoist the sails. Ready the guns.”

  The pirates had hoisted sails, too. It was all a sham. That had been their plan all along.

  Elli probably had nothing to do with the escape. No matter. It was done.

  He leapt onto his boat, Linus at his side.

  “Go, go, go! Faster,” he shouted as Blades streamed aboard and the Vesuvius was freed from her dock lines. “Take positions. Get the grenade launchers. Trim the sails.”

  They gained on the Majestic, but the Belle Jewel was faster, pulling away.

  A man brought the launchers and Linus took charge.

  “Rodriguez, take starboard,” Linus shouted. “Fields, you have port.”

  The boy had courage, confidence. Authority. Pascal’s heart swelled. His son wasn’t just holding his own. He was a leader.

  “I’ll take point.” Linus grabbed a launcher and ran forward.

  They closed on the Majestic. The pirates were now in range. But, Pascal realized, that meant the Vesuvius was also in range of the pirates’ guns.

  “Linus, come back!”

  Sheer, cold terror ran through Pascal’s veins as a torrent of bullets pocked the deck around Linus. Linus stood there, taking aim. No fear. No sense of his own mortality.

  “Get down!” Pascal dove, tackling him. The launcher flew as they tumbled to the deck. Pascal held onto his son, protecting him from the fusillade while blood sprayed and men fell around them.

  Then it was quiet. Had it stopped? Pascal lay still, pressing Linus to his chest. Thank God, at least his son was safe. But why was it so quiet? Why weren’t his men shooting? Was it over?

  He boosted himself up on one elbow. The sails were luffing. The ship was adrift. Broken, bleeding men littered the deck. Gaping mouths and eyes. The ringing in Pascal’s ears faded and sounds came into focus. The men who could were crying out.

  It was over. The enemy ships were already receding into the distance.

  Pascal’s body still buzzed with adrenaline, but he wasn’t hurt. He’d been able to react quickly. It was a miracle he and Linus were spared.

  “Son, get up. It’s over.”

  He looked down and realized they were covered in blood.

  “Oh my God, Linus! Open your eyes! Oh God, oh God.” So much blood. “Medic!”

  The color was fading from Linus’s face.

  God, no! Not his son. He should not have brought his son.

  “No, no, no, this can’t be happening. Medic! My son’s been hit. Medic!”

  No one was coming. They were all dead or wounded.

  He cradled Linus and rocked him, looking down at his angelic face.

  Still a boy. Not a man after all.

  “I will get revenge, son. I swear it.”

  Eighty-Eight

  Newport Harbor, aboard the Belle Jewel

  “Report,” Nikolai shouted.

  “They’re foundering,” the watch called from the crow’s nest. “They’ve stopped the chase—it’s over!”

  A cheer broke out.

  “Good job, men.” Will smiled broadly.

  Nikolai smiled too, but there was a weight in his stomach that would remain until Tatiana was safe. He walked to the rail and sensed Will trailing in his wake, as his son had so often done as a child.

  They stood side by side at the rail looking west. Always west.

  “I appreciate you coming for me, Dad.”

  “You saved yourself.”

  “In part, but you had the Belle ready to sail, saving time and countless lives. Thank you.” Will turned to him, extending his hand.

  Nikolai embraced him. “Moy zolotoy mal’ch’ik.” My golden boy.

  “How much bloodshed was there before I arrived?” Will asked.

  “None.”

  “How’d you manage that?”

  “Cider. When the guards passed out, we tied them up. There’s a dozen in the hold.”

  “What are we going to do with them?”

  “They’ll probably be given the choice to join the pirates or return home. Markoff will figure it out when we get to Catalina.”

  “Catalina? No, we have to go to San Clemente. Tatiana—”

  “Kennedy went with a contingent of northern pirates to rescue her.”

  “Then let’s go help them. What are we waiting for?”

  Nikolai ached to do that, but yesterday it had been a sound decision to keep the two parties separate, and it still was. “The plan is to rendezvous on Catalina. Kennedy may already have rescued your sister. They could be on their way to Catalina right now.”

  “If they’re not there when we get there, I’m turning around and heading for San Clemente to get Tatiana. This whole mess happened on my watch. It’s my responsibility to make sure she comes home.”

  Nikolai looked at his son—the lined forehead, the erect posture, the expression of determination. After a moment, he nodded his agreement.

  At some point, Will had become a man.

  Eighty-Nine

  Aboard the Belle Jewel

  Reid tended Mia as best he could in the makeshift infirmary. His stomach turned flips from the motion of the ship, and from the memory of all the men who’d been killed during their escape. He couldn’t think about Tinker, or the car, or his failed mission. He couldn’t think about his grandmother or Kayla.

  He focused on Mia, dabbing her ashen forehead with a cool cloth, talking to her softly about everything and nothing. Her pulse was steady, her breathing regular. There was no external wound, but he was sure she had a concussion. Twice he’d seen her eyes flutter beneath the lids like she was dreaming. Dreaming would be a good sign.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. She had to be okay. Nothing else was.

  “Mia, it’s time to wake up.” He held her hand. “Come on, Mia. Squeeze my hand.”

  There was no response, but he kept talking, trying to stay positive, trying to keep his mind from wandering anywhere else.

  “You’ll wake up when you’re ready, and when you do, I want to know everything about you. Who your parents were. If you grew up in Lost Angeles. What books you like. We’ll take walks under the stars, and you’ll tell me everything.”

  He squeezed her hand again, and it could have been his imagination, but he thought he felt the slightest hint of a response. He smiled and kept talking.

  “That’s right, Mia. Come back to me. I know you can do it.” She had to come back, she had to be okay. There’s been too much loss already. He couldn’t lose her, too.

  Ninety

  Newport Harbor

  Twenty years of work. All his hopes and dreams. All his plans. In his mind’s eye, Pascal watched a vast inferno burn it down until there was nothing left. None of it mattered anymore. Without Linus, nothing mattered.

  “It’s time, sir,” Minou said.

  Pascal hated her reticence, the sympathy in her voice. No, not hated. His feelings weren’t that strong. His emotions, his thoughts, his very being was muted. Every iota of his existence had been deadened by the loss of his son.

  “Sir?” Minou, louder now.

  He closed his eyes, blotting out her presence, wishing her gone, wishing to turn back time for a day. Just a day.

  Pascal felt the touch of a hand on his, and he jerked away. “No!” He opened his eyes and met Minou’s pitying stare.

  “Sir, you have to let us take him now.”

  “Don't tell me what I have to do.” He gripped his little boy’s hand, already growing cool to the touch. He turned his glare from Minou to Linus. A sleeping child. Anything else was unfathomable.

  After a time, Minou addressed him again. “I understand, sir. Take all the time you need. All the other . . . all the others have been prepared for transport. When you’re ready we’ll take . . . Let me know when you’re ready.”

  The kindness in her voice made him want to rip her throat out. His muscles hummed and twitched
beneath his skin, and he thought his body might leap up and strangle her of its own accord. He kept his gaze on Linus until eventually Minou left.

  Even then he stayed, looking at his son. He would not let go of his little boy, of this moment. He could not turn back time, but neither did he have to let it progress.

  Ninety-One

  Pacific Ocean

  Nikolai stood in the bow of the Belle as they sailed west toward Catalina. He felt the familiar pull of the islands beyond, and realized he’d soon be too old to make the trip alone.

  He didn’t really want to go alone.

  Had it been so long since Jess stood with him at the rail?

  “We’ll go someday,” she’d always said with a wistful smile.

  Picturing Jess at the rail brought Tatiana to mind. Mother and daughter, as similar as two drops of water. From their charmingly crooked teeth to their maddening stubbornness. That obstinacy is what got Tatiana into this fix. He prayed Kennedy would be able to rescue her from San Clemente and bring her to Catalina. Maybe they were already there.

  He was reluctant to admit it, but Kennedy actually seemed to be a decent man. Perhaps not completely unlike someone he would choose for his daughter.

  Approaching the rocky shore of Avalon Harbor, Nikolai scanned for Kennedy’s yacht among the silhouettes of the boats, but the Emancipation wasn’t there.

  He felt as old and weathered as the round Casino building—forever the focal point of the harbor—whose iconic red roof had gone missing since his last visit. He let out a long, silent sigh and wiped the melancholy from his face. The Emancipation would arrive soon. Neither Tatiana’s personality nor Kennedy’s would have it any other way.

  After checking the crew at the lines and the helm, Nikolai returned to the bow to wave at their welcoming committee—a lone round figure in bright orange.

  “You’re back!” Cook’s voice carried from the pier.

  She waited restlessly while the ship eased into dock, alternately clapping and wringing her hands until Olexi leapt onto the pier and planted a kiss on her shiny pink lips.

  “Oh my.” She fanned herself with her hand. “You scamp. You devil.” She grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him again.

  “That’s a sight,” Will said, stepping off the ship.

  “Will, Will! My little William!” Finola crowed. She pulled him into a smothering hug. “You stupid, stupid boy. How could you sail off with your sister like that? You worry us half to death.” She rocked him back and forth like she had when he was an infant.

  “I’m sorry,” Will said.

  She boxed his ear. “Sorry? You’ll know sorry if your sister doesn’t come back safely.”

  Will glanced at Nikolai, pleading to go after Tatiana.

  Nikolai was torn but shook his head. “We give Kennedy until morning. Meanwhile, the Belle needs tending. You should enlist Friday’s help.”

  “Friday?”

  “Only the best shipwright in the known world,” Finola said. “I’ll take you to him.”

  “You coming, Dad?”

  “After I check on our passengers. The girl’s in bad shape, but that young man seems to know what he’s doing.”

  “His name’s Reid,” Will said. “He’s some kind of doctor.”

  “Good,” Nikolai said. “I’ll see if he needs anything.”

  “Don’t be long. I’ll need your eye if I’m going to have the Belle ready to sail at first light.” Will had that look of determination he’d developed as a toddler, but he’d added an air of authority. Of a captain.

  Nikolai turned to Olexi. “Join me below?”

  The hatch to the makeshift infirmary was open, but one look at the lovesick boy at the bedside told Nikolai they were intruding on a private moment, so he knocked on the open door.

  “Excuse us,” Nikolai said. “We’ve come to see how you and your patient are faring. Do you need anything? Bandages? Water? Food?”

  Reid grimaced at the mention of food, and Nikolai recognized the look of someone unaccustomed to sea travel.

  “We’re fine,” Reid said. “You’ve been very kind.”

  “What’s your patient’s prognosis?” Nikolai asked.

  “Hopeful. She’s in a coma, but showing signs of increased brain activity.”

  “I was wondering,” Olexi said. “Would you be willing to take a look at the other injured? Mostly minor on this boat, but on the Majestic, there’s at least one gunshot and a broken arm.”

  “Of course,” Reid said. “I lost my med kit, so I need to gather some things.” He pulled an empty drawer from the nightstand and loaded it with scissors, gauze and bandages.

  “What else do you need?” Olexi asked.

  “A scalpel or sharp knife, needle and thread, sheets and towels. Antiseptic like peroxide, or hard liquor will work. I’ll know better once I see the injuries.”

  Nikolai was impressed. The kid seemed to know his stuff.

  “I’ll come with you.” Olexi took the drawer and went into the hall.

  “Captain, would you stay with Mia while I’m gone?” Reid asked.

  “Of course, but I have only the most rudimentary medical skills.”

  “If she wakes, she may be confused or frightened, so do your best to calm her and send for me. If it sounds like she’s struggling to breathe or anything like that, have someone get me right away.” Reid kissed Mia’s cheek.

  “That I can do,” Nikolai assured him.

  The boy gave a half-smile and left with Olexi.

  Nikolai settled in to keep watch, more accustomed now to having nothing to do, but still not comfortable with it. He stared at the young woman, thinking her beauty was the sort ballads were written for. Dark tresses fanned out on the pillow. Perfect lips, arched brows. Warm mocha skin unlined by age or worry. Like the fabled Sleeping Beauty.

  His thoughts wandered to another time he’d sat vigil at a sick bed. Tatiana had been delirious with fever, moaning and thrashing and crying out for her dead mother. Days later, when the fever subsided, the doctor had said there was likely brain damage and she might not wake up.

  All anyone could do was wait and pray.

  But Nikolai wasn’t any good at either, so instead he’d held Tatiana’s hand and told stories. Fantastical adventures of knights in shining armor, Hawaiian princesses, mermaids—anything that might entice her back. Eventually, Tatiana had opened her eyes. She had a wicked headache, but had retained her equally wicked wit.

  Nikolai took Mia’s hand and held it gently. Her parents weren’t here to call her back to the living, so he would stand in. “Once upon a time, there was a princess of uncommon beauty, unmatched charm, and rapier wit named Mia. She was beloved by all the kingdom, except for a jealous witch who cast a spell upon her to sleep like the dead for a hundred years. . . .”

  Ninety-Two

  Catalina Island

  Despite his name, “Ray the Ruthless” was a shy twelve-year-old. His mom held his hand while Reid cleaned a gash on his leg.

  “Rinse it with antiseptic once a day,” Reid said. “Then put on a fresh bandage. Do your best to keep it dry, okay?”

  Ray grinned, exposing missing front teeth.

  “I’m guessing Ray doesn’t eat a lot of fruits or vegetables,” Reid said to his mother.

  “No, doesn’t like it much. Seaweed neither.”

  “Do you like rat?” Reid asked Ray. Ray nodded. “If you bring me one, I’ll show you a special part to eat that will keep your teeth from falling out.”

  “Bless you, Doctor,” the mom said. “How can we repay you?”

  “I have everything I need, and then some,” Reid said. “Just come by later with the rat.”

  Grateful pirates had been stopping by with gifts all morning—a leather satchel for his supplies, a clean shirt, some delicious fish cakes. Judging by the sun, he’d been working more than four hours. The battle injuries had taken only half that, but the pirates had been cut off from medical support in Lost Angeles and were eager to see a “doc”
while they could.

  Reid was tucking the remaining supplies in his new bag when Olexi returned.

  “How’s Mia?”

  “The same,” Olexi said. “Cook’s with her, and I guarantee, there’s no safer place than under her watchful eye. Nikolai would like you to join him for a bite to eat.”

  “Sure, but I want to check on Mia first.”

  “They’re holding lunch for you,” Olexi said. “Tell you what. I’ll sit with Cook and Mia, and come get you right away if there’s any change.”

  Reid nodded. Olexi wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. He hopped off the dock and hurried down the beach to the squat restaurant Olexi indicated.

  The restaurant windows no longer had glass, and sand covered the floor. A dozen picnic tables were scattered about. Only one was occupied.

  “Glad you’re joining us,” Nikolai called from the head of the table.

  Brandt and Will were seated across from a man and a woman Reid didn’t recognize. Will scooted over and Reid slid in beside him.

  Reid estimated the woman was on the plus side of fifty, though her hair was jet black and her only wrinkles were at the outer corners of her almond eyes. The graying man next to her looked about the same age but hadn’t weathered as well.

  “Penny, he’s here,” the women bellowed over her shoulder.

  “Coming,” a voice with an odd accent answered from the back of the restaurant.

  “You had a busy morning, Doc,” the woman said.

  “Olexi told me there was a line for your services,” Nikolai said.

  “Glad to help.” Reid picked up his glass, careful to smell the liquid before he drank.

  “You’re a hero to my people,” the woman said.

  “Bloody Mary calls things by their names,” Nikolai told Reid.

  “If that means I don’t beat around the bush, you’re right,” the woman said. “But you can drop the ‘Bloody.’”

  “Mary runs Avalon,” Will explained.

  “The whole of Catalina Island, if anyone’s keeping track.” Mary winked. “It’s a fine place to live. Good weather most of the time. Good fishing. Good people. But we don’t have a doctor. If you take the job, we’ll treat you like royalty.”