Cutlass (Cutlass Series)

by Ashley Nixon

  “What is your purpose?” Barren asked.

  “I came to find you,” the man replied simply.

  “I have no dealings with privateers,” Barren said, accusing him outright.

  “I am not a privateer, but I will fight you if I have too. Will you speak to me otherwise?”

  “If you were a friend, you would not have destroyed my ship so decidedly.”

  And without another word, Barren attacked—their swords clashed and moved against each other in a harsh clank of steel.

  Barren recognized formal training when he saw it—and this man was skilled. He had fluid, but mechanical movements. It didn’t make him an easy target by any means, but it was even more evidence against him. Barren fought hard, the impact of his blows caused his attacker to slow.

  The crews remained behind their respective captain; they would only become involved if one drew blood, and in that instance, a battle would ensue. Despite the common idea that pirates did not play by rules, they respected their own code of conduct.

  The attacker’s sword reverberated against Barren’s, catching between the blade and the hilt. Barren pushed him, and he stumbled and fell, landing on his back. Barren didn’t move to assault, he stayed where he was, waiting for his opponent to get up and begin fighting again. The attacker smiled at Barren, breathing hard.

  “Give up?” Barren questioned with a raised brow. He didn’t expect him to surrender. Privateers never surrendered.

  The attacker shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. Barren swung his sword, and the attacker barely had time to block. He deflected the blow, but Barren was already preparing for another one. The clash of metal was fierce...clank, clank, clank...and the sword the attacker desperately tried to hold on to flew from his hands, landing across the deck. Barren’s sword was at the man’s neck.

  “Down,” he ordered.

  The man went to his knees. As was his custom, Barren pulled a piece of rope from his pocket and tied the man’s hands. Then he pointed to the rest of the attacker’s crew.

  “Drop your weapons and move over there,” he gestured toward the helm where Sam was standing. The attacker’s crew obeyed and metal clanged to the ground.

  Barren turned his attention back to his prisoner, but as he moved to make a circle around him, he heard the attacker call out to one of his crew—the only one who didn’t actually belong.

  “Lady Larkin?”

  Barren looked up at her questioningly, he could tell by the look on her face that she knew him.

  “Jonathan? What are you doing here?”

  She stepped forward, but Barren held his sword out. “What did I tell you?” His voice was dark. Leaf stepped in and moved Larkin back. Barren blocked Jonathan from her view.

  Any other time, Barren wouldn’t have had a second thought about taking a privateer’s life, especially if they attacked his ship—it was part of the code. These men had endangered him and the lives of his crew; what other price was there to pay? But he felt anxiety creeping over him as he stood, poised for the kill. Larkin already thought he was a terrible person, and if he went through with this, it would only confirm it.

  “It is required by the code that I kill any privateers I come into contact with—a waste, really. You were brave.”

  Barren moved his arm back and thrust the blade toward the young lord. Larkin moved quickly, snatching Leaf’s cutlass from his hand, she deflected Barren’s sword and stood between the two.

  “No!” she cried fiercely. “You will spare him!”

  “You do not command me!” Barren’s voice was deadly.

  “What would you gain from his death?”

  “He cannot be trusted!”

  “You’ve spent all your life killing the wrong people! How many more lives will you take to pay for one?”

  Barren let his blade fall to his side. His gaze seared her, and he could tell she was afraid. Her eyes were wide, and she breathed heavily, but her hands tightened on the hilt of Leaf’s blade. For a moment, he wanted to end her life. Then he would have no more interferences, but he knew he couldn’t. He took a step toward her, eyes narrowing.

  “Move,” he commanded. Larkin glared up at him and shook her head. Barren tightened his jaw.

  “It’s okay, Larkin,” she heard Jonathan’s voice. “Move.”

  Barren watched as she turned to face Jonathan. Because she was distracted, Leaf was able to reach forward and pull her away from the scene, ripping the blade from her hands. Barren stepped forward, repositioned himself before the man and pointed the sword at Jonathan’s neck. All Barren had to do was push ever so slightly and blood would pool on the ground, a terrible gurgling sound that would fill the air. Larkin would scream—scream that he was a monster. Only now, she would see it, she would really know it.

  Barren moved his sword back a little and thrust the blade toward Jonathan.

  “A-Albatross sent me!” Jonathan cried.

  Barren’s blade froze in his hands. “Albatross?” He narrowed his eyes and then used his sword to pull back the fabric of the man’s shirt. A black ‘X’ covered his heart: it was a sign of his loyalty to the code of Silver Crest. The mark was newly made as it was still raised and the skin around it red. Barren moved his sword away.

  “He must speak with you. It is urgent,” Jonathan continued, speaking quickly.

  Barren sheathed his sword and pulled a dagger from his boot to cut the ropes he had knotted around Jonathan’s wrists.

  “Where is he?” Barren asked.

  “Silver Crest.”

  “And you had to destroy my ship to tell me that?”

  “He said it was for the best you left your ship behind,” said Jonathan, as he stole a gaze at Larkin. “And now I understand what he meant. If anyone following you finds this ship, well, they won’t very well know where you went, will they?”

  “And why not tell me earlier that Albatross had sent you?”

  Jonathan looked embarrassed as he turned his gaze from the pirate and spoke quietly. “Well…it was a bet. I thought I could capture you first. You know, make it fun.”

  Barren surveyed the man for a moment, and then laughed. “You are very new to this whole pirate gig?”

  “A little, yes.”

  Barren stuck out his hand and helped Jonathan to his feet.

  “What do you mean, you’re new to this? You cannot be a pirate too,” said Larkin. “That’s treason.”

  Jonathan turned his gaze to her. “By what law? Pirates have a different code, and by their code, I am not committing treason.”

  “You cannot just make your own code to justify the wrongs you commit!”

  “Please...someone...make her stop!” Barren pleaded. “If you weren’t so determined to hate us, you might find you fit in better here than you did in Maris!”

  Jonathan laughed. “I agree—it’s about time you joined this crowd. I never cared much for the other company you kept.”

  Larkin was speechless. “But you’ve been to every state dinner since I have attended. You are the son of a Senator in Arcarum. You’ve mingled with the company of Christopher Lee and William Reed, even King Tetherion, and here you are on the open sea, talking to Barren Reed as if he were your equal? That doesn’t make sense!” Larkin threw her arms up in the air.

  Jonathan chuckled, amused, but when he spoke next, there was a certain warning in his voice. “You may not want things to start making sense, Larkin.”

  “Albatross said nothing of what he wishes to speak to me about?” asked Barren.

  Jonathan shook his head. “It may have something to do with Lady Larkin. She complicates things a bit.”

  “She was a mistake.” His words were harsh. He glanced at her, seeing the shock and anger on her face. He was still fuming from her interference.

  “It was not my decision to come here! You were the one who kidnapped me.”

  “And if I had known you’d be so difficult, I wouldn’t have bothered!”

  With that, Barren turned from
everyone and stalked toward his cabin. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned to give orders. “Gather only the belongings you need. Everything else must stay.”

  Barren sat on the steps leading to the helm of Jonathan’s ship the Slayer. His sword lay over his knees. Upon the blade, a leather journal rested and on the leaves of those pages, Barren began to sketch the image of a face. Every now and then he would pause to watch the outline of Larkin and Jonathan before him. Perhaps he had been wrong...maybe she didn’t want to marry William because she loved another. As Larkin’s laughter rose, Barren felt the acid in his stomach react. It was sickening really, her girlish reaction to someone who had just proven to be a liar and a pirate—that which she hated most of all.

  He turned his thoughts to even less pleasant things. Most of the time he tried forgetting the day his father died, but recently, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. It had only been five years ago. Barren had been thirteen years old, William sixteen. William had agreed to play a game of hide-and-seek. Barren was to seek. He hid behind a huge coil of rope as he counted loudly, waiting for William to retreat into some shadowy corner and hide. When he counted to ten, he turned and beheld the murder of his father.

  At first he thought he had stumbled into a nightmare, but reality shook him as William moved toward the turned back of their father. He was packing supplies, unaware that his son would skewer him at any second. Barren wanted to scream, but words went dry in his mouth. His body told him to run for his father, but fright paralyzed him. He was unable to do anything. Jess turned at the very moment William was upon him and...he didn’t move. He had plenty of time to defend himself, but didn’t. William stuck the sword through him.

  Barren stepped out of the shelter of the rope, and Will turned to face him, his eyes full of bewilderment. It was not the gaze of triumph, but a lost expression, one that had no comprehension of what had just happened. For a moment, Barren thought William would come after him, but he didn’t. He dropped the sword and ran. Barren had approached the body of his father cautiously, but there was no movement. The crew found them soon after, Barren crying over his father’s dead body.

  Barren watched the blade beneath his sketch book shine under the moonlight. It was the one William had used to kill his father. Barren had washed away all the blood himself, tears plaguing his face all the while. He couldn’t help thinking that if he had called out to his father, maybe he would have been alive today. But there was something in Jess’s eyes...a resolution that made the pirate wonder if it really would have mattered.

  Leaf approached and peered down at Barren’s sketchbook. His fist rested over his drawing, and the pencil poised in his hand was still. “Nice drawing…Larkin, is it?” asked the Elf, taking a seat next to Barren. “Interesting, considering you look as though you might stick that blade through those two.”

  “I might stick the girl,” replied Barren coldly.

  “She’s done nothing to earn your punishment, and no—undermining your authority doesn’t qualify. Though, they have been carrying on for ages,” Leaf rolled his eyes and covered his ears. “None of you have respect for the Elf—I can hear everything. For once, someone should sympathize with me.”

  Barren smiled, but he didn’t say anything. Leaf waited a moment before he continued.

  “She sure did test your nerves today.” A smirk played across his lips. “I will say that I am proud of you. You’d have killed anyone else who dared to do what she did.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” Barren said in protest, closing his sketch book.

  Leaf gave the pirate a dull look. “You are used to being obeyed. It’s nice to have someone who can order you around.”

  Barren frowned.

  “She won’t be doing that much longer. I intend to put her on a ship and send her back home.”

  “Well now, this whole thing would seem a little pointless then, wouldn’t it?”

  “You were right. I shouldn’t have kidnapped her.”

  Leaf smiled, and Barren saw all the mischievousness of his Elvish heritage in that one look. “Did you ever think that you weren’t the one who kidnapped her? Maybe she kidnapped us?”

  Barren’s brows came together for a moment, then he shook his head. “She doesn’t even know what she wants…”

  “Sounds familiar,” mused Leaf, resting his chin in his hands.

  “I mean, look, she says she’ll marry William, but she finds Mr. Pirate-Politician over there a charming substitute! How does that even make sense?”

  “You sound jealous,” said Leaf.

  “I’m not jealous,” Barren averted his eyes and toyed with the worn leather binding on his book.

  Leaf stared at him and his eyes glazed over as if he didn’t care to hear Barren deny how he felt. So what if he were jealous? What was it to the Elf? It was one thing to know Larkin hated him for what he was. It was another thing to witness her girlish affection for a man who was no different from him.

  “Look, Leaf,” he said with a sigh. “While I’ve not made the best decisions in the world, all I’ve ever tried to do is right a wrong.”

  Leaf’s features softened at Barren’s confusion. “Barren,” he said quietly. “We are all here because we believe what you are doing is right. Granted, not all of what you do is particularly good, but your goal is what keeps us all together. Never forget that. All of us here—we are loyal to you and your father’s memory.”

  Barren had nothing to say, but he nodded his head, suddenly overcome with exhaustion.

  “Now, go lie down. With the way these Elvish ships ride, we’ll be at Silver Crest in no time.”

  Barren stood without another word and walked to the corner of the ship where blankets were piled for him and his crew. He sheathed his sword, keeping it close to him as he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

  ***

  “Who is Albatross?” Larkin thought he sounded rather unpleasant. She imagined a dirty sort of man—old, maybe missing his teeth. “Are you really a pirate, Jonathan? You can tell me—I won’t expose you.” Words poured out of Larkin’s mouth as she attempted to register what was going on with the man before her. She couldn’t believe someone she’d known for years, someone who had seemed so loyal to the crown, was now a pirate.

  Jonathan smiled. “Albatross is a good friend, Lady, and I am sorry to disappoint you, but I joined the code of Silver Crest not three days ago.”

  Larkin frowned. “But why?”

  “Because I believe in a free world.”

  “But…how did you get involved in this, when you, of all people, have been freer than most?”

  “Well that’s exactly it. How fair is it that no others in this world are allowed the opportunities I have been given just because of my parentage? I daresay, Lady Larkin, haven’t you always been the rebellious type? Does this life not seem to suit you more than the one you were born into?”

  “I cannot answer that in fairness,” Larkin said, “as I don’t know what it means to be a pirate.”

  “Ah, but what it means to be a pirate is simple. A pirate loves the sea and revels in his freedom.”

  Larkin glanced over her shoulder; she watched as Barren lay down to sleep. She did not miss the exhaustion tearing at his features or the distress in his eyes. As he pulled the covers over his body and laid his arm over his sword, she let out a low breath, feeling overwhelmed. Jonathan caught her gaze and smirked.

  “How do you like him?” he asked.

  She looked away from Barren quickly, gazing out at the ocean. The waves were silver under the moon. “Like? There is nothing to like. He is mean and barbaric,” she shook her head. There was nothing she could like about a man who found her to be a mistake. “He is stubborn and immature…”

  “And it sounds like you’re reading from a list you’ve made of things to hate about him.”

  Larkin frowned. “He’s a bad man, Jonathan.”

  “Oh? How so?”

  “I need not enlighten you. He was a second away from
killing you before you opened your mouth about Albatross—whoever that is,” she said, surprised that she even had to explain herself. It was that one little act that made all her assumptions about Barren’s character seem completely true. “And I know you’ve heard the stories. He stakes out the coast of Maris, intent to kill any who leaves the shore. He thinks it will somehow convince William to fight him, when all he does is damn himself.”

  “You are very unreasonable, Lady,” he said. “Barren has seen things no child should see. You know he watched William murder his father in cold blood, and your father is to blame for that.”

  A lump rose in Larkin’s throat. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ve heard your father talk about how Jess was one of his greatest enemies. Your father is the one responsible for sowing the seed of power in William. Your father bribed William to get what he wanted. All it took was Lord Lee promising William status, wealth…and his daughter to convince him to kill Jess.”

  Larkin shook her head. “That cannot be true.”

  But the look on Jonathan’s face told her it was. “I’m afraid so. Your father planned your engagement long ago. Much more than three weeks ago, I assure you. Your future was determined when Jess Reed’s ended.”

  Nothing in the world could have prepared Larkin for this news. She had been more prepared for Barren’s kidnapping than this. Her chest felt tight and her heart pounded painfully against her ribcage, driving home the realization that, not only had part of her been responsible for what Barren had become, but her father had used her as a puppet to achieve his greatest wish—the death of Jess Reed. Though Larkin did not agree with piracy, the means her father took to accomplish his goal shocked her. If there was truth to this—any truth at all—it meant her father was partly responsible for leaving Barren fatherless.

  “It was not your fault, what happened to Barren,” Jonathan reminded her gently.

  “So I was a tool?” she questioned quietly. “I was…an object.”

  Larkin constantly attempted to please her father, to get his attention. He was always so busy, locking himself in his study all hours of the night. Sometimes, she would hear objects slamming against the wall or glass breaking, as if hurled by a man in a state of rage. Once she’d tried to see if he was okay, but he had ordered her away.