Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) (34 page)

I looked up into the captain’s face, my eyes full of fury. “I don't
care
about his command. I won't let him die, Captain.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that you care for my brother?”

“Of course I do.”

He scratched his chin, considering. “Is this because of the love he was carrying on—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence because Thomas called everyone to order. “Edmond has issued a challenge to William. The time has come for the duel. Contenders, step forward.”

“I’m here.” Edmond held up two swords, one long,
the other short and curved, then sliced them expertly through the air.

“Where's William?” Thomas asked.

I cleared my throat, which had suddenly gone dry. “I’m fighting in his place.”

Thomas’s jaw dropped, and a collective gasp echoed from the crew. Edmond spun toward me, his expression somewhere between amusement and offense.

“Is she allowed to do that?” Thomas asked.

The captain gave me a sidelong glance. “Unfortunately, she is.”

“Her? You're letting
her
fight in his stead?” Edmond swore and threw his swords down. “She’s an old woman!”

“Yes,”
the captain said. “I’ve noticed.”

“So this is what William thinks of my challenge. How dare he insult me like this.”

“He isn’t insulting you. But I’m thinking we might not need to fight. I found this on the island,” I said to the whole crew. I held up the gem so everyone could see it. It twinkled in the light. “It was on a sacred altar and fell to the earth when I touched it. It is the shape of the Emmía’s medallion and might be what the captain was hoping to find on the island.”

I handed it to the captain who stared.

“You found this?” he asked. I nodded. “This may be what we were searching for.”

“That means the trip to the island wasn’t foolish,” I said, loud enough for all to hear. “We found what we’ve been seeking.” I wasn’t at all certain it
was
what we had been after, but they didn’t need to know that. My eyes met Edmond’s. “Will you withdraw your challenge?”

Edmond shook his head. “No. Now he’ll be even more obsessed.”

“Very well, then I accept your challenge.” I hooked his fallen sword with the tip of mine and lifted it in front of him. He grabbed the sword as it rose.

“That’s better,” I said. “You might need that.”

His eyes narrowed. “Very well.” Edmond stepped forward to retrieve his short sword. “William's a coward to let a woman fight in his place, but it'll make for an easier victory.”

The captain grabbed me by my shoulders and spun me around so I was facing him. “He’s fast and he favors his right side. Good luck.” He patted me on the back before turning me back toward my opponent.

I nodded and touched the short sword tucked in my waist, trying to figure out how to put the captain's advice to its best use. The sword in my hand felt suddenly slippery from sweat. My legs felt heavy and I had to force myself to breathe normally.

Slicing the blade through the air, I stepped toward Edmond, a feral cry ripping from my throat. He parried, and moved back. I retreated. Edmond went for the easy kill, his long sword aiming directly at my heart. I sidestepped his thrust and jabbed under his arm, slicing his ribs, missing his heart by inches. Edmond’s mouth fell open when he saw the blood soaking through his sleeve. His short sword slashed at my throat and I jumped back as it grazed my neck.

He lunged high and I ducked low, striking out with my foot to kick him in the knee. He yelped in pain and staggered back a few steps, but he recovered quickly and thrust at me, catching the edge of my left arm. Blood trailed down and I winced at the sharp fire that ripped through my limb. I grabbed my sword with both hands and swung it at him only to be parried aside by his short blade. Thrown off balance, I rolled as I fell and scrambled to a crouch. Spinning about, I raised my weapon above my head just in time to block his blade that bore down on me. I pushed off with my legs and jumped toward him, jamming my shoulder into his gut.

I caught him off guard with the move and he stumbled back. I pressed my advantage, advancing on him while he was off kilter, swinging my sword toward his heart. He blocked me, as I expected he would, and as he raised his sword I kicked again at his knee. He stumbled and fell, coming down on all fours. I came up behind him and smashed the pommel against the back of his head. He fell to the floor, and I stepped on his sword, pinning it to the ground.

Edmond released his sword and flipped over, still holding the shorter weapon. Before he could rise I pressed my blade against his throat. Edmond gulped and stared at me with scared eyes.

There was a collective gasp from the crew and several stared at me with their mouths hanging open. Adrenaline surged through me, and I panted for air. The crew screamed for me to finish him. I pictured the blade slicing into his throat and my heart dropped into my stomach.

Without moving my eyes I yelled towards the captain. “Do the rules state that I have to kill him?” I waited for his response, but none came. “Captain! Do the rules dictate that I must kill this man?”

“You're free to spare his sorry life, if that's what you want. He'll be stripped of his rank and remain in your debt.” He paused. “Or, since you were fighting for William, he’ll be in William's debt.” The crew began laughing and Edmond's eyes simmered with hate.

The captain walked to my side.

“Will he still cause trouble for William?” I chanced a quick glance in his direction before returning my attention to Edmond.

“I promise you, he won't,” the captain said.

“Very well, I spare him.” I stepped back, setting the point of my sword against the deck. Thomas and
Lafe surged forward, securing Edmond and dragging him away.

“It's over then,” Thomas declared. “Sheridan is the victor.” The crew let out a cheer but I couldn't join them. The whole ordeal had seemed so pointless, and I dropped the sword onto the deck with a clang.

The captain marched up to me and grabbed me, steering me towards the infirmary. “You need to see the doctor.”

“Why? He only nicked me once.”

“Uh, Sheridan, he got you more than once. A
lot
more than once.”

I looked mutely at my body and saw my arms and legs covered in trails of blood. With the intensity of the fight I hadn't felt the wounds, but seeing them now brought the waves of pain that had been held back.

“No more argument,” he said, pushing me anxiously towards the doctor’s room.

“Why are you pushing me?”

“Because you’re not moving.” The captain actually smiled at me, and for once there was no hatred in his eyes. “I can't believe you did it. It was a stupid, foolish thing to do, of course, but you did it. More than that, it was very well done.”

“Um . . . thank you,” I said, not sure of how to take a compliment from him.

“William will have my hide once he finds out I let you fight.”

“It had to be done,” I said. My tongue felt heavy.

“It was still stupid.”

“He’s worth it.”

The captain gave me a curious glance and then smiled at me again. “Yes. He is worth it.” We stared at each other for a moment. This was probably the only thing he and I would ever agree on. He broke my gaze then and turned the knob. I walked through the door but he stayed in the corridor.

“There is something I must do. Excuse me.” He gave me a bow before turning, his eyes full of purpose.

As Doc began tending my wounds, I heard the captain’s retreating footsteps clump down the hall, and then a short time later, the sound of a man screaming so loudly that my own throat ached in sympathy.

“What was that?” I asked the doctor.

He dabbed at my wounds, and shrugged. “That was the last of Edmond's tongue.”

Chapter 21

I bit my lip and tucked a piece of my gray hair behind my ear as I walked toward William. He hadn’t spoken to me since yesterday when he had woken up from his drugged sleep and demanded a full account of what had happened.

I winced at the memory of his face twisted in a rage that gave way to gratitude, followed by hurt before returning back to anger. It had cycled through these various emotions several times before he stormed out of our room. In order to preserve me from the full force of his fury, William had marched into his brother’s quarters and shouted at him instead. I hadn’t been able to make out the words, but the timbre was enough to let me know that William wasn’t happy.

Later, when he had worn down the worst of his temper, he demanded a joint audience with his brother and me, and confronted me with a series of questions and accusations. Did I think so little of his ability that I felt driven to such extreme measures? What was I thinking? Did I appreciate all that he had done to save my life, or was I intent on getting myself killed one way or another before we reached port?

He stormed from the room and I exchanged a commiserating glance with the captain before I made my way to my quarters. I had sat up late waiting for William to come back, but he never returned to our room.

When the first wisps of morning danced through my window, I made my way to the deck to look for him. There he stood, looking out to the horizon. I followed his gaze and was surprised to see the faint blur of land.

I licked my lips and walked towards him.

“William?” His spine stiffened but other than that he gave no indication I had spoken. “You've said your piece, now let me say mine.” William grunted but didn't try to stop me, so I pressed on. “I couldn’t let you throw your life away. You were tired and still weak from the poison on the island. And I know that swords aren’t your strong suit, whereas I’m—”

William held up a hand. “I know why you did it. Your intentions were honorable, but Sherry, I—”

“Sherry? Where did that come from?”

He glanced at me. “I can’t very well keep calling you Sheridan, and I can't call you by your real name either. It sort of just came out.”

“Oh.”

“Do you mind?”

I shook my head and despite his icy demeanor he smiled. “As I was saying, your intentions were noble and I’m moved that you would make such a dramatic gesture on my behalf. But you lied to me, you drugged me, and worst of all, you’ve . . . injured my pride.”

I choked down a laugh. “I did
not.
Well,” I conceded, “I did lie and drug you, but I did nothing to injure your pride.”

William shot me a wry look. “Unfortunately that's what the crew is saying. The bottom line is, I let a woman fight in my stead, and now I’m seen as a coward who hid behind his wife’s skirts.”

I gripped the railing tighter. “I never meant to do that.”

“I know.” He slid his hand so that it covered mine on the railing and we stood watching the land on the horizon draw closer.

“So, is there a way you could reclaim your honor, or have I done you in forever?”

William smirked. “I could smack you around and punish you publicly.” William broke into a laugh at my horrified expression. “You do beat all, Sherry. I couldn’t so much as pretend to hit you.”

I winked at him. “Well, if it will help—”

He cut off the rest of my sentence with a wave of his hand. “Truth be told, I don’t much care what the crew says. Well, all right I do, but it's mostly my vanity that's suffered a blow, and vanity is a weakness. I shall strive courageously to overcome it,” he said, straightening up and puffing out his chest.

I laughed and nudged my shoulder against his. “So, am I forgiven?”

William exhaled and dropped back into a normal posture. “There's nothing to forgive.” He leaned close and whispered into my ear, “I very likely would have lost to him.” I started to object but he shook his head. “Edmond and I have sparred together enough for me to know his abilities fairly well. I'm not being modest; I'm being honest. He stood a fair chance of winning. So really, the only thing you need forgiveness for is risking your neck for me.”

I reached up and caressed his cheek with my hand. “You’re worth it, William.”

He pressed my hand more firmly against his face. “It doesn't change the fact that my life isn’t nearly as important as yours.”

“It is to me.”

William frowned at me. “Your life will help thousands of others to survive.”

“Yes, the kingdom’s precious commodity.”

“Not just the kingdom. There are people struggling outside in the Wastelands who desperately need your help.”

“But they hate
Orea and all they stand for. I’m sure they hate me even more than the king does.”

“What they hate is the oppression the Manacle brings, not the Emmía herself. Never you. In fact they believe you’re a victim of the tyranny as much as they are. Actually,” he said, pausing to gauge my reaction, “there’s talk of a resistance against the kingdom.”

I snorted. “There’s always been talk of a resistance. People have even tried before, but it never works. The kingdom is indestructible.”