Alex Bledsoe - Wake of the Bloody Angel

“Yes. He called that one Abigail. Cherish is too big to leave the cave, but the males are smaller and they get in through some underwater passage. She lays eggs every year, and they grow fast. He caught Abigail when she was no bigger than his hand, raised her until she was the size of a rowboat, and then chained her to the bottom of an old ship he stole. She kept growing, and when she was big enough, he towed the ship out into the ocean, figuring any ship that stopped to check on it would get its crew eaten. Then he could raid the poxbinder from their medicine chests.”

“Never occurred to him to just go buy the stuff?”

“Did you meet him?”

“I see your point.”

She turned and leaned back against the bars. Eyes closed, she said, “So Edward’s dead. And Wendell. And everyone else.”

“Except you.”

She let out a deep, long sigh. “Does the real Angelina know about the treasure?”

“She’s not interested in it, either.”

“So what happens to it?”

I thought about Jane, Clift, and Suhonen waiting above. I thought about dirt-poor, dirt-farming Duncan. It was better for all of them if they never knew. “You and I are the only ones left alive who know about it. Do you want it?”

“No,” she said emphatically. “I’ve been raped on top of it, and now that he’s dead, I never want to see it again.”

“Then if you don’t mention it, I won’t.”

“You can really walk away from all that?”

“Doesn’t seem to have done anyone else very much good, does it? Besides, I did what I was hired to do. I found out what happened to Black Edward.”

Her expression changed to one of almost little-girl desperation, disconcerting on such an obviously grown woman. “So you’ll be leaving soon?”

I nodded.

She licked her lips nervously. “And you really will take me with you, like you said? Off the island?”

“Of course.”

She ran her hands through her hair, trying to straighten and arrange it, and arched her back so that her breasts strained against the leather vest. “I’ll do anything,” she said demurely, her assertiveness gone. “Just please don’t hurt me.”

“You don’t have to. And I won’t. No one will.”

I saw gratitude like I never imagined I could see in a human being’s eyes, shaded with the skepticism a life like hers demanded. “You swear?”

“I swear. We’ll get you back home.”

“Not home,” she said quickly. “It’s been too long. Just… somewhere else. Somewhere away from the ocean.”

“Okay. Now let’s go catch up with my friends. They’re probably getting worried by now. And I’d rather not be here when Cherish finally wakes up.”

“I’ll show you the quick way.”

“Quicker than the shaft from the cottage?”

She laughed. “There’s an easy path up the hill outside that crack.”

“Really? Then what was the shaft for?”

“Oh, the crack is recent. It opened up just after Edward got locked in. Before that, they had to use the shaft to bring up the gold he sent off with Marteen.”

“He sent Marteen off with the gold? It looked like most of it was still there.”

“Most of it is. He just sent a single box at a time. He did it a couple of times a year, but never told me why. I asked once, and he tied me to a tree and beat me. I never asked again.”

I suddenly knew exactly where the gold went, but I said nothing. I was too tired for more epiphanies. We climbed the hill just as the rain began, and by the time we found Jane and the others, it fell steadily. It was not a storm, though; it was a hard shower, washing clean the years Barbara had been forced to live here under another woman’s name.

It took a long time to get back to Neceda. I told no one but Jane that I’d found Black Edward. Clift and the rest believed I’d discovered only a cave and Edward’s former concubine.

Barbara had learned a lot of useful nautical skills during her time as Tew’s captive, and she quickly fell into the shipboard routine. She was okay with anyone who spoke to her, but she reacted violently if someone deliberately touched her. This quickly became common knowledge, and she was treated with the deference her experience on the island demanded. She and Jane spent a lot of time together talking, and I think having another woman to confide in, particularly one as self- possessed as Jane, helped a lot. I didn’t know where she’d end up, but I felt good about her chances.

At Blefuscola, harbormaster Moleworth presented Clift with a medal and a certificate of appreciation from Queen Remy herself. She had been monitoring the shipping crisis, and when Clift’s crew arrived with Marteen’s Bloody Angel, she was informed at once. I could tell it bugged Moleworth to deliver this praise, but he did so with professional efficiency. I wondered if it also meant Clift got a raise. Most of the Red Cow ’s crew was there to witness the ceremony, and Moleworth let Jane pin the little ribbon on Clift’s tunic. Clift clearly enjoyed getting the award from his old captain.

As we left the ceremony in the harbormaster’s office, Suhonen said behind me, “Got a minute?”

This time I didn’t jump, although as always, I had no idea he was there. “How did you get to be so good at sneaking up on people?”

“I’m the runt of my family. I had to learn to disappear if I didn’t want my brothers to kick my arse.”

“I see. Well, what can I do for you?”

“After all we’ve gone through, I wondered if you thought I’d make a good sword jockey.”

“Sure. Lots of it isn’t very exciting, though. And it’s easy to lose your way, morally speaking.”

“Easier than when you’re a pirate?”

“Okay, maybe not. But you still have to keep a close watch on yourself.”

He nodded, thinking hard. “Would you like an apprentice?”

“Me? No. I’m not a good team player.”

“You could’ve fooled me. You led that boarding party like you’d done it all your life.”

“And you’ll remember, the other ship got away.”

He laughed. “Okay, thanks, Mr. LaCrosse. I’ll keep what you said in mind. I owe Captain Clift my sword until the end of this tour, but after that, we may be working the same side of the street. Mind if I come by occasionally to ask your advice?”

“You’re way too big for me to refuse.”

We shook hands, and then followed the rest of the Red Cow ’s crew to the nearest tavern.

I bought a round of drinks for everyone, and we all toasted both Clift’s award and the successful voyage. Songs were sung, tales were told, and a few noses bloodied. Mostly we laughed. I realized that I’d actually miss these former lawbreakers, and came closer to changing careers than I can truly blame on the alcohol. But my anchor was already set back in Neceda, my home port.

I kept an eye out for the strange man who’d prophesied that I’d find Black Edward alive. There was no trace of him, and no one else in Blefuscola remembered him. Like the ghost of Dorsal Finn, he’d quietly vanished, his job done.

Before the Cow departed, I managed to get Duncan alone on shore. We stood at the rail along the dock, gazing out at the harbor. When it wasn’t packed to the gills with terrified ships, it was a beautiful place. “So what are your plans?” I asked him.

“I haven’t gotten paid yet, so I can’t go back to Watchorn.

Guess I’ll keep working until I can.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“I miss my boys.”

“And your wife?”

“More than I thought I would. But not as much as the kids.” I paused. I was about to light the fuse. “I need to tell you something. Back on the island, down in that hole… I found your father.”