Palatinii Cycle

by G'vonni Avner

  A loud noise and a thump on the ground woke her up. Her body, sore from sleeping on the floor, was shivering. Footsteps accompanied the sound. Katie got up and tried to see through the bars without being too noticeable. Another sound of someone falling. She heard a grunt. They had acquired another prisoner, or freeloader, as they called them.

  “Move!” someone shouted. Katie heard a sound like a foot stomping on the ground. Then more footsteps. It sounded like the prisoner had given in, instead of struggling with the pirate. As they passed, Katie caught a glimpse of the prisoner; a young man, maybe a few years older than her, with olive skin and short dark hair.

  “Leave him until morning,” Katie heard someone say. “Then the Captain can tell us what to do with him. He’s a nasty little snake, thinking he can sneak up on us.”

  The pirate walked passed her and she heard two sets of footsteps go up the stairs. Again, there was only silence in the prison hall, other than the sound of the rushing sea that had never felt as menacing as it did now. Katie listened hard to see if their new guest was awake. She could hear breathing, but eventually, the man fell asleep, as did Katie.

  Katie didn’t even hear the cell open and woke only when she was kicked in the stomach. “Wake up,” she heard a deep voice say. “The Captain is waiting.”

  Once again Katie was pulled to her feet. While she was dragged across the floor, she attempted to see Tyson and Cyrus, but their cell was empty.

  When she got on deck, the cool and salty air felt warm to her. The morning sun over the horizon momentarily blinded her, but her eyes adjusted quickly.

  They were still way out at sea, with only blue water and sky surrounding them. She saw Cyrus, Tyson and the blond man whom she was thankful that he was alive, if only barely. His eyes were both swollen shut and his hair was so stained with blood it was brown. There was a younger man, who she was able to recognize as the new prisoner. He had dark, unmoving eyes. They all had their arms behind their backs.

  “Get in line,” someone told Katie and shoved her forward.

  Katie stumbled her first few steps and then slowly walked towards the others. She noticed that they all had their heads facing the ground. The blond guy looked like a rag doll tossed off a building. Tyson mainly looked tired. The new guy just stared straight down, almost like he was deep in thought about hurting someone. What shocked Katie was the look on Cyrus’ face. Not only did he look worn, tired and beaten, but there was something else Katie couldn’t quite name. He looked defeated and like nothing could be done about it.

  “Faster,” she heard someone spit out at her. Katie quickly fell in line and put her hands behind her back.

  “Do it properly and keep those hands just above your cute little butt,” a pirate said. Katie shot a quick look at him, which he returned with a nasty smile and a wink.

  “Alright,” said a pirate with a half afro. He walked out towards the prisoners. “I am First Mate Adrian Jorsen. Captain Reynolds will be here shortly. I suggest you do as he says, otherwise, he’ll be feeding you to me.” He chuckled. “I’ll let you imagine what that might mean.”

  With that, Adrian left and went down the stairs that Katie had come from. The five pirates that were on the deck pulled out small bamboo shoots and pointed them at the prisoners, like they were ready to fire in case anyone tried leaving.

  Katie stood there, unmoving, with the others. How the ship’s crew got used to the sun blazing down on them was beyond her. Katie felt like she had stuck her head in a campfire.

  They waited for a little over five minutes, but by the time Captain Reynolds had appeared, the five of them were dropping beads of sweat down their foreheads. The Captain walked back and forth, almost as if surveying them, but his eyes were unfocused.

  “Take these three,” he pointed to Cyrus, Tyson and the face-swollen blonde man, “Down to our kitchens. They can scrub the pots and the floors and pick out the leftovers in the trash so that they can eat.”

  The three of them were shoved downstairs. Captain Reynolds stood in front of the newer guy. “Take him to see Galdy on the masts. Maybe he’ll fall to the ocean,” said the Captain. He lifted the man’s head from his chin and smacked him across the face. “He deserves nothing less.”

  Another pirate grabbed the darker-skinned man and pushed him along the deck. There was no resistance from the guy, unlike yesterday when they had caught him.

  Captain Reynolds then stood in front of Katie. “You, my pretty, are coming with me,” he smiled and grabbed her hand to lead her into one of the cabins. Katie tried slipping from his grasp, but he held her hand tighter with his.

  The cabin was rather large and consisted of two rooms. The first one was an office space, and Katie could only imagine the room in the back was for sleeping.

  “Now, how should we get started?” said the Captain, looking at Katie with a gleam in his eye.

  “I’m not doing anything with you,” said Katie. “You’ll have to kill me. I’d actually prefer it.” Katie attempted to sound fierce, but she was still feeling weak and sounded like a scared child.

  Captain Reynolds laughed. He grabbed a long blade that curved upwards at the end from the desk and stroked it. “Don’t worry. Killing you isn’t a problem. I have all the tools necessary.” He walked closer to Katie and shut the door of the cabin. Katie was just a few feet away from him. She shivered.

  “I also believe that you’ll be more complacent dead,” he told her. “I suggest you don’t tempt me.” He licked his lips.

  Katie didn’t respond, which left the Captain to smile again. “Now, be a good little girl and do as you’re told. In the backroom,” he pointed to a red door, “there are a pair of fresh clothes. Put those on and come back. I’m sure you’ll appreciate not having to wear the stinky, sodden clothes you’re wearing now.”

  Katie may have been able to feel grateful if it were not for the tone the Captain spoke in. She shuddered at the idea but walked towards the back room despite.

  There was a large bed in the middle with a pair of black leggings and a skirt that wasn’t too small if you were about thirteen years old. She gave the clothes a disgusted look before putting them on.

  Katie was desperately trying to think of a way to save herself, and the others. She knew that she could control water, and it surrounded her. But why can’t she figure out how to control it at her will?

  She walked back to the office room where she found the Captain sitting at the desk. “My, you are pretty,” he said. He threw a rag on the table. “I’ll just ask you to do some cleaning. Nothing too strenuous. We’ll start with dusting,” he drawled, smiling at her. With the lighting, or perhaps that just was the way they were, Katie thought that all the Captain’s teeth were wooden.

  “If you could just dust the top of the counters and shelves over at the wall,” he said, pointing.

  Katie sighed quietly and made her way to the counter closest to the exit door. The floor was littered with large objects and books that she was sure weren’t there before.

  “For now, don’t mind those,” said the Captain. Katie didn’t respond but started dusting the top of the shelves. She had to stand on her toes, and unwittingly, one of her legs rose into the air briefly.

  “Ooh, there we go,” said the Captain. “Good work there. Nice and skinny, but built. Firm. That’s how I like them. Haven’t caught one of you in a long time.”

  Katie put her leg down and stared at Captain Reynolds, fury in her eyes. “I assumed that’s why you made me wear this. You are a pathetic pervert, after all.”

  Captain Reynolds stood from his desk and slammed his hands on it. Though when he spoke, he spoke with a calm, almost quiet, voice. “Now, pretty dear, don’t raise your voice at me. I may have to hurt you, but I don’t want to yet. Besides, I have no idea what a ‘pervert’ is, but your tone tells me enough. Now, if you will finish dusting the shelves. Then pick up the stuff from the ground.”

  Katie glared at him for a few more seconds before returning to clean. All
the while, the Captain watched her, occasionally letting out a breath of satisfaction or making comments that made Katie want to stab him.

  When Katie bent over to pick up the items on the floor, she heard a loud gasp from the desk. She glanced over and wish she hadn’t. The Captain was reposed, his head tilted upwards and both his hands hidden beneath the desk. Katie looked away quickly and pushed all thoughts and images from her mind.

  After what seemed like hours, the Captain had her stop and sent her out to get some lunch. Katie ate by herself. She was given a small tin plate with a half-eaten, odd-colored fish on it and a few scraps of, perhaps, seaweed. She didn’t touch any of it.

  Captain Reynolds called her back after twenty minutes and had her clean the floors with a dirty, nearly unusable, mop. It was covered in grime and sludge and she didn’t want to think of what it could be.

  Again, the Captain sat by his desk and watched her. Katie knew that his hands were dirty, and even more so now, but she was grateful that was all the Captain was doing with her. How he got so much pleasure from watching her clean, she didn’t know.

  More hours went by and he sent her out to eat dinner. The sun was about to set below the horizon but was still fully visible above the sea. The sky turned from clear blue to shades of orange and purple. Katie saw a large mass of land out in the distance and hoped that she wasn’t just hallucinating. She hoped, even if it was delusional, that the pirates would drop her off on land.

  This time Katie wasn’t alone. She was led to the mess hall where everyone ate, though all the ship’s crew had already eaten.

  Tyson brightened up when he saw her, though she noticed that he had dark and purple marks across his face. The blonde man was also there, but he was as silent as ever and looked even worse, though Katie hoped that he was healing.

  “Katie,” said Tyson, his voice dry.

  “Hey,” said Katie. “Where’s Cyrus? And the other guy?”

  Tyson shrugged but answered, “I don’t know. I think Cyrus followed the other guy when he was taken to the deck. I think they were going to kill him. But I heard this talk hours ago.”

  “Who?”

  “The younger dude,” answered Tyson. “I don’t know why they’re killing him.”

  To Katie’s surprise, the blonde man spoke. “They said that he had stolen something from them.”

  “Stolen what?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t know,” the man said. “My name is Tantor, just so you know.”

  Katie didn’t respond but got up and ran up to the deck. Tyson followed right behind her. No one paid her any attention as she walked across the deck. There were about thirty pirates in a circle around Cyrus and the darker man. Captain Reynold was also in the center, holding a large sword in one hand.

  “Koran, you are hereby sentenced to execution, for stealing a valuable treasure from this ship.”

  “I didn’t steal anything,” the man named Koran said. “Do what you want. It’s not going to help you.”

  “Oh, yes it will,” said the Captain. “One less enemy equals one less enemy,” Captain Reynolds so wisely said.

  Katie squeezed herself through some pirates and faced Captain Reynolds. “What are you doing?” Katie acted much braver than she felt.

  If the Captain was surprised, he didn’t show it. Instead, he smiled widely, showing his brown, decaying teeth. Katie was sure she saw green stains dotted in his repulsive smile. “How nice for my sweet, pretty lady to join me at sunset on the deck.”

  “Katie!” shouted Cyrus. “Whatever happens you need to get off this ship!” As soon as he said it one of the pirates behind whacked him across the head with a pole.

  Captain Reynolds stared at Cyrus for a moment and turned back to face Katie. “Join me, if you will, while I perform this execution.”

  “I will not,” said Katie. “Let them go.”

  Katie noticed that Tyson had made his way around and was standing, unnoticed, behind the pirates. Tantor was also there. They were craning their necks to see what was happening.

  “Of course,” said the Captain. “I understand how hard this may be for you. I can’t let them go, unfortunately. But don’t you worry, you have a long, pleasant life with me ahead of you.”

  “I’d rather die,” said Katie.

  “As you wish,” said the Captain. “But I must do this quickly.”

  He drove his sword towards Koran. Cyrus shoved Koran out of the way and the sword went straight through his body. Katie screamed and watched Cyrus’ eyes gloss over. He looked at Katie and tried to speak, but blood poured out of his mouth and he gurgled in it before dropping dead on the deck.

  Koran yelled furiously on the ground, picking himself up. He was screaming out words that Katie was too angry to make out. She didn’t know where her energy came from, but it surged through her like a rocket heading through the atmosphere and into space, taking her anger with it. She felt her necklace burn cold for a moment. She threw her arms up and a large wave hit the ship, knocking everybody over, including herself.

  Katie got to her feet quickly, stuck out both her arms in front of her and swung them upward, causing thick jets of water to shoot through the ship’s hull. The jets fired out like geysers. They hit three of the pirates and they flew into the air before crashing down through the wooden deck.

  Captain Reynolds’ eyes widened with shock and fear as Katie turned to face him. He couldn’t even get out a word. Katie spun her arms over her head and water leaped from the sea and twisted around the Captain. Then the water formed into a large ball, engulfing him. The water spun around more fiercely and boiled. Captain Reynolds held his nose to prevent water from rushing up into it but the heat overtook him and he opened his mouth in a cry that couldn’t be heard. Boiling water rushed into his body, burning his insides faster than he could drown.

  Before the frenzied water died out, the Captain’s body was covered in boils and turned red. Suddenly, the water evaporated. Captain Reynolds was already dead before falling onto his own deck.

  Katie turned to face the other pirates, but none were in sight. Then she heard an angry yell from behind her. First Mate Adrian was charging at her with the sword that had killed Cyrus. Another jet of water flew up and tossed Adrian into the air and sent him into the sea.

  More jets of water shot out, these thicker than the originals, each one punching into the ship. The jets fired out like a volcano, coming closer and closer to her. Tantor, Tyson, and Koran moved towards her. They had fear in their eyes, as though her attacks would hit them next.

  “Jump over,” Katie told them. “And I’ll meet you.”

  Tyson stared at her but understood. He grabbed Tantor and Koran and led them to the ship’s side. The ship was rocking back and forth with every jet and was starting to sink. Tyson looked out at the sea, hesitated for a second, and jumped. Tantor and Koran followed. Katie looked back. She felt the ship sinking fast. She shot another blast of water at Reynolds’ body out of anger and ran to the side of the ship and jumped over. Behind her, the ship collapsed and completely sunk beneath the sea.

  Katie found the others and created a strong current that kept them afloat and led them towards land.

  13

  On the Edge of the Equire Plains

  Tyson spluttered onto a sandy beach for the third time since arriving on Narque. Koran was standing on his feet, dripping wet and pissed, but physically okay. Tantor was unconscious, his body being swept onto the sand, and taken back by the tide.

  Barely able to stand, Katie tried to pull Tantor onto the beach so he wouldn’t wash away into the ocean. Koran came over and dragged Tantor out of the water and onto dry sand.

  “You’re pretty scary when you’re pissed,” Koran said. Katie didn’t reply. She felt completely wiped out, as if she had been awake for a week straight and wanted nothing more than to fall over and sleep for days.