by Cheree Alsop
The Captain grimaced. “Only stowaways that are half-breeds, my Lord. If they dare sneak aboard and endanger my ship, they deserve to feed the bottom-dwellers.”
Axon’s gaze met mine again and for the briefest second I thought he would turn away and let them throw me over. Then a smile touched the corners of his lips just briefly enough for me to see it. Axon met the Captain’s eyes. “Nexa happens to be one of my party, Captain.” Marken stood beside him and grinned at me.
The Captain stared at him for a second, his eyes bulging in surprise. He fought for control over his voice. “But, I, uh. Not a Duskie, my Prince. I cannot allow it on board. It is a hazard to our voyage.”
Axon’s jaw flexed and when he spoke it was obvious he was trying to hold his anger in check. “If you insult anyone in my party like that again, you will be the one to feed the bottom-dwellers.”
Blood rushed from the Captain’s face and he took off his hat and bowed his head. “My apologies, Prince Axon. It’s just. . . I can’t allow a Duskie on board. It’s too dangerous. What about a mutiny?” He peeked up at Axon’s face out of the corner of his eye.
“By one girl?” Axon replied incredulously.
The Captain turned his crested hat in his hands. “It’s happened before, my Lord. Duskies can be very crafty, especially at night when everyone’s helpless. She could bring down the ship.”
Axon looked at me with his eyebrows raised and I stifled a smile despite the seriousness of the situation.
“Well, Captain,” he said with a tone that didn’t allow for argument. “It looks like we’ve reached an impasse.”
The Captain shifted his feet from side to side and glanced at me, then turned away without meeting my eyes. “There is one solution, my Prince.”
Axon waited for him to continue, but the Captain studied his hat and shifted from foot to foot until Axon sighed, “Well, out with it.”
The Captain glanced at me again, then at Axon. He closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath. “A cage, my Prince.”
My heart clenched at the iron that glinted in Axon’s icy eyes. “What do you mean, Captain?” he said slowly, though there was no doubt what the Captain was implying.
“Well, uh.” The Captain glanced at his men, but they looked away as though they were oblivious of the conversation despite the fact that they stood merely two feet away with the object of discussion still held on their shoulders. The Captain rushed on, “A cage, my Lord. If it would agree to stay in a cage at night, then we wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
“If she,” Axon started, but I interrupted him.
“It’s alright, Axon,” I said. I ignored the gasps at my familiar use of his name and continued, “I’ll stay in the cage if it’ll end the trouble.”
Axon shook his head. “You’ll be the last one in a cage the way things are going.”
The Captain swallowed loudly and I caught his eye. He held mine with a look of desperation. “I’ll stay in the cage at night, Captain. I promise.”
Axon shook his head and stalked away, but Marken stayed to make sure the sailors lowered me down and unlocked the chains. The Captain barely looked at me. “There’re cages on the storage deck under the galley. Be there before dusk.”
“Yes, Captain,” I said with a lilt that copied his. He paused, then walked away without looking back, his sailors close behind.
Marken laughed and patted my shoulder. “You are a feisty little minx, aren’t you?”
I fought back a smile. “Only when my life is in danger, which happens to be a lot these days.”
He took my elbow and gently led me between the crates toward the hatch to the cabins. I followed in silence for a few seconds, then blurted out, “Thanks, Marken. I owe you my life.”
He threw me another smile and his blue eyes twinkled. “You saved mine, I saved yours. We’re even.”
I nodded, but it felt like I owed him so much more than that. We came to the hatch and he motioned for me to go down first. I paused. “You think Axon’s mad at me?”
Marken frowned thoughtfully for a moment and brushed the pale hair back from his eyes. “I think he’s happy to see you, but worried about you at the same time. You complicate things.”
The comment hurt even though I knew he didn’t mean for it to. I sighed and stepped into the darkness of the hatch. When I reached the bottom, I stood aside and let him lead the way to Axon’s cabin even though I already knew where it was. I fought back a wry smile at what the Captain would think if he knew I had already wandered around his ship at night unchecked.
Marken pushed the cabin door open and stepped back to let me in, then closed it and left us alone. Axon was staring out of a tiny round window that showed the sun reflecting across a million golden-tipped waves. When he turned, he met my eyes with a troubled gaze. “You really want to sleep in a cage tonight?”
I shrugged. “Not much different from the Caves, right?” But we both knew it was different. I sat on a chair and toyed with the tassels of a pillow too small to serve any purpose. The fact that it was worn and tattered made me curious. “Who do you think uses this?” I asked in an effort to distract us both.
Axon glanced at it. “The Captain has an itty-bitty wife?”
“Or a pampered pooch?”
Axon chuckled. “Or a gnome under his bed?”
“Or a cave rat in the closet?”
“I’ll bet he has a purple parrot that shrieks love songs,” Axon guessed.
I laughed. “No captain is complete without one. Especially if he already has a pampered pooch.”
“What else do you buy a captain?”
I grinned. “A tiny pillow?”
Axon laughed and leaned back against the bed. “I’m glad you came. I would have missed you,” he said frankly.
I settled more comfortably in the chair, then tossed the pillow in the air and caught it. Water lapped against the hull and I wondered what it would be like to live at sea for a lifetime. Axon chuckled quietly. I glanced at him. “What?”
“A cave rat,” he said with another smile.
“What about it?” I tied the tassels of the pillow together.
“That’s the first thing I called you. A cave rat.”
A smile touched my lips. “I remember. You probably saved my life by not turning me in.”
He pursed his lips, his eyes thoughtful. “If only I’d known what I was getting into.”
I threw the pillow at him and he caught it deftly out of the air. “You’re the cave rat,” I said.
His eyes widened in mock horror. “You could be hanged for calling a member of the royal family such a thing.”
I batted my eyelashes at him. “Why, did I hurt you deeply?”
“Oh, so deep,” he said. He fell back on the bed for effect.
I laughed and threw another pillow. It landed on his stomach. “And what is the charge for assaulting a prince?”
He sat up with the pillow in his hands. “With a pillow? You’d probably lose your head.”
My eyebrows rose. “Boy, you are harsh. Maybe I should rethink going with you.”
“Only if you plan on bringing pillows,” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
I settled back in the chair and tucked my legs underneath me. I hadn’t slept well the night before crammed between the barrels, and the roll of the waves lulled me. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cabin wall.
A soft blanket was settled around my shoulders and I looked up to see Axon watching me. He smiled when I met his eyes. “Sleep, Nexa. It’ll be a long night in the cage and you’re safe here.”
I tucked the blanket around my chin. Under Axon's watchful eyes, I felt safer than I ever remembered feeling my entire life. I sighed and gave in to the allure of sleep.
Chapter 15
“Time for it, uh, her, to go to the'um cage.”
The gruff voice woke me and I blinked fuzzily. The rocking of the ship reminded me where I was and I sat up and gathered the blanket in my arms. Axo
n took it from me without a word. I tripped over a bundle at me feet and he caught my arm before I could fall.
“They brought your things while you were sleeping,” he said quietly.
I glanced at the pack and blushed when I thought of the clothes inside. “Dathien packed it for me.”
Axon nodded. “I know; he told me after Marken found you.” His voice was neutral and I glanced at him, but he didn’t meet my eyes.
I frowned and followed the sailor back up the hall, down a second hatch, and down another hall that was so close my elbows scraped each side if I didn’t turn and walk sideways like he did. He led the way to a long, dark, low-ceilinged storage room lit by a single torch. We passed several crates of salted fish, hard rolls, dried fruit, and sacks of flour, then he pointed to a large metal cage in the corner.
I walked over and put a hand on the cold metal. “What did you keep in here before me?” I asked. At least the cage was clean. It stood a few feet over my head and was as long as it was tall, which would give me room to lay down except for the fact that the long metal bars ran the length of the bottom of the cage as well and would make for a very uncomfortable night.
“You’um don’t be wanting to know,” the sailor replied. He opened the cage door and stood to the side without meeting my eyes.
I gritted my teeth and stepped into the metal prison. The door clanged shut behind me, a key slid into the lock, and when it turned, the click of the locking mechanism sounded loud in the storage room. The man paused, then twisted on his bare heels and walked away. I turned around only when I heard the door shut behind him. He had taken the single torch; it would normally be an insult to leave a captive in the darkness of a ship’s hull, but with my Duskie eyes I could see perfectly in the dark and it was a relief because the shadows cast by the flames made my head ache.
I tested out several areas of the cage floor for comfort, then gave up when I realized there wasn’t one. I sighed and settled into one of the corners with my back to the wall so that I could face the narrow passage between the crates that led to the door. The door opened again before the cold from the bars could seep through my thin clothes; I rose to my feet and leaned nonchalantly against the cage as though not bothered at all that I was in there.
A flickering flame appeared and two sets of footsteps made their way down the aisle. Dathien appeared first with the torch in hand. He had to duck to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling, but he grinned when he saw me as if we were meeting in a fine palace hall instead of a dingy ship’s hull. Axon stepped around the giant Luminos, his eyes tight and face a wash of light and shadow in the torch flame.
“My lady,” Dathien said with a bow. He nearly lit his eyebrows on fire and hastily hung the torch in a holder tacked to one of the support beams.
“My fine sir,” I replied with a curtsy like the kind I had seen the ladies in the castle make.
Dathien laughed, his voice low and pleasant. “A fine evening we’re having.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, and shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
He glanced at Axon. “Preparing, but I was interrupted. Gladly interrupted,” he added hastily at Axon’s glance. “It’s always a pleasure to see you under any circumstance.”
“And you,” I agreed with a laugh.
Axon cleared his throat and Dathien nodded. “I’ll meet you outside, my Prince.” He threw me another grin with raised eyebrows this time and left the room.
Axon waited for the door to close, then leaned against the bars. “This is ridiculous, you know.”
“Us meeting like this? I agree,” I said. I sat down casually on the floor of the cage near where he stood.
He smiled and shook his head. “You spending the night in a cage.”
I shrugged. “Worse things could happen.” At his raised eyebrows, I pointed out, “I could be sleeping at the bottom of the ocean feeding dark, murky things.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, you could.” He sank down so that he faced me through the bars. “Life is strange, you know?” He searched my face intently.
“Very strange,” I agreed quietly.
He slipped a hand through the bars and I froze when he touched my cheek so gently it felt like the fleeting brush of a butterfly's wing. His brow lowered and his icy blue eyes were troubled. “Why do I care so much about you?” he whispered.
My heartbeat rose and I gave a little smile. “That’s a nice thing to say.”
He shook his head and dropped his eyes. “My thoughts get so confused around you. I can’t say what I mean.”
I turned away from his hand. “I complicate things,” I said, quoting Marken.
Axon took my chin softly in his fingers and turned me back to face him. “You do complicate things,” he agreed. I glared at the floor and refused to meet his eyes. He sighed and, putting his other hand through the bars, pulled me close and kissed me firmly on the lips. When we parted, I could only stare at him in shock. He smiled softly. “But it’s a good complication.”
I shook my head. “Axon, you can’t-“ But the sound of the door creaking open interrupted my words.
Dathien spoke from the shadows. “It’s time to go, my Prince. Sundown is near.”
Axon touched my cheek one last time and rose. My heart beat in time with his footsteps long after the door closed and they faded away.
I ate in Axon’s room the next day and avoided the ship’s crew as best I could. Dathien, Dyloth, and Rasa taught me a game with two dice and an odd assortment of other items, a button, three marbles, a bent silver coin with the head of a serpent on one side and the tail end of a horse on the other, a gold cuff link, and a small, curved object Dathien said was for putting on shoes. By the end I won more games than I lost, and I accepted the crackers and cheese that we had bet upon, though I had a sneaking suspicion that they let me win.
I took my winnings to the cage that night and settled on several cushions Axon had been thoughtful to send down. I wondered if he would come to see me before nightfall, then tried to tell myself it didn’t matter when he failed to show up. I ate my cheese and crackers and fell asleep holding the tiny, tattered cushion we had joked about in Axon’s room.
When I awoke, I could feel that it was light out even though no daylight penetrated so far below the ship’s decks. I wondered why no one had come to free me when a crash of thunder reverberated through the entire ship. The door to the storage room creaked open and shut again with a bang.
“Sorry,” Dathien called out. The ship lurched and he stumbled against a crate. “It’s just me. You alright, little minx?”
I braced myself against the bars and stood up, holding onto them for support when the ship rolled again. “I’m fine.”
His torch came into view first, held far in front of him so he wouldn’t light anything on fire. He quickly put it in the sconce and breathed a sigh of relief when it was secure. “Gonna burn this whole place down if I’m not careful.”
I smiled. “Fire on a wooden ship doesn’t seem like the best idea.”
He grabbed the bars against another shift of the waves and snorted. “Surprised they allow fire on here, especially with a Duskie aboard.”
I slapped his shoulder through the bars and he grinned. Thunder roared again, sounding closer this time. “What’s going on? Why am I still in here?”
Dathien frowned. “The Captain said that because of the storm, there’s going to be no sun, and because we’re weaker away from the sun, he’d feel safer with you still locked up.”
I sighed and nodded. “I was afraid of that.”
“Do you mind?” he asked quickly, his eyes searching mine with concern. “Prince Axon said that if you minded in the least he would command the Captain to hand over the key and he’d release you himself.”
I could hear Axon saying exactly that and it made me smile. I shook my head and sank back into the cushions. “No, I’m alright. I don’t want to cause trouble. Besides,” I noted as Dathien fought to keep his footing against anoth
er roll of the deck. “I think I’m safer in here.”
Dathien laughed, showing his jutting teeth. “You probably are. Any room in there for me?”
I glanced around the cage and tried to picture Dathien inside instead. He would have to hunch over even more than he was doing right now, and he wouldn’t be able to lie down at all. I shook my head and he sighed as though it was a great loss. “Oh, well. Guess I better get back to the Prince.” He glanced at the torch. “Do you want me to take the light?”
I nodded. “I can see fine in the dark, and you’ll probably want it to help guide you back up.”
He glanced suspiciously at the fire. “I don’t know if I want it, but I’ll probably need it.” He rubbed a bruise on his forehead. “There’re a lot of low beams around here.” Then he grinned. “Have a splendid day with your cushions. I’ll have someone bring you down some food shortly.”
“Thanks, Dathien. You’re a true gentleman.”
He turned back with a smile. “And you are a true lady, Nexa.” He bowed, took up the torch, and left between the crates crouching low with the torch held far in front so that he looked even bigger and more out of place than he already was.
I listened to him leave and settled back on the cushions to catch some more sleep since there wasn’t anything else to do in a big metal cage in the middle of a storage cabin.
Chapter 16
I thought at first that another thunder clap had awoken me, but in my dreams it had sounded different. I listened quietly, my ears searching between the crash of waves and the groan of wood for something that was out of place. After several moments, I heard it, a low scratching, gouging sound not far from where I sat. My heart jumped in my throat when I realized it was the sound of claws working their way up the side of the hull. I held my breath and listened closer. There it was again, the deep scratching sound of razor sharp claws digging into wood. My back echoed with the remembrance of those same claws.
