by David Talon
“In a bit,” Pepper answered him.
Samuel frowned at her then looked at me and shrugged. “Well, come below when you can,” he said as he turned and walked towards the stairs leading down.
The dragon-ghosts continued to feed, one by one, until all six were sated. Then Jade said, “Now is my time. “Tomas, may I take what I need from you?”
“Go ahead,” I told her, adding only half in jest, “Just leave some for me.” I gasped as her fangs pierced my shoulders like swords, sliding deep down inside me to the hip, and I gasped again as she began to draw. My body grew cold as she continued, panic replaced by lethargy as she continued draining me of strength until the world around me grew dark. Suddenly the ship seemed to spin like she was caught in a vast whirlpool, and I collapsed upon the deck.
Jeremiah was beside me in a moment. “Tomas,” he said as he shook me, “what’s wrong?” I shook my head, unable to answer him, and he yelled at the empty air, “Bloody bones, what’re you doing to him? He’s cold as death!”
Pepper was already on my other side as Captain Hawkins snarled, “I told you to drain him safely.”
“Keep Tomas warm,” Jade answered in a calm voice, “and ask the Admiral to make him some hot soup. Captain Hawkins, the ability to give one of us strength is like a muscle that will build itself up if worked hard. Within a pair of days he will have returned to normal and will be ready to resume his duties as your apprentice.” A wry note entered her voice. “I will see him chaste before his betrothal, one way or another.”
“Well warn me next time,” the captain growled. “Am I clear?”
“As always, captain,” Jade answered, her voice sounding amused. “May I go scout for you now?”
Captain Hawkins waved at her to go then turned to Jeremiah. “Get your friend in the shelter above my cabin then see about getting him something hot.”
“Star,” Mr. Smith called out, “Tiger, attend me.” A moment later their little girl voices answered from a spot in front of him and he said, “Tiger, go ask the Admiral to make Tomas broth, and bring it to Jeremiah when it’s ready.” Tiger told him she would and Mr. Smith continued. “Now, Star, you’re going to learn to read the depths as we approach land. First...”
I lost the thread of his words as Jeremiah and Pepper put their shoulders under my armpits and hoisted me to my feet, Jeremiah taking much of my weight as we staggered to the grey-wood shelter. My body had begun to shiver so hard my teeth were chattering in the cool, salt breeze. But they got me in the shelter out of the wind and Pepper wrapped the blanket around me, warmth stealing back into my frame as I closed my eyes and laid back. My body felt like it belonged to someone else as Pepper stretched herself alongside me. “Do you think he’s asleep?”
“Tomas,” Jeremiah quietly called out as he shook me. I thought about answering him, but it seemed far too much trouble, and after a moment he continued speaking. “He’s out worse than Redbeard after a two day drunk.”
“I’ll stay and take care of him,” Pepper said. “He’s in good hands.”
“Crave pardon, mistress,” Jeremiah said in a mocking voice, “but I’ll stay here with him just the same.”
Pepper was silent for a long moment. “Jeremiah, it’s going to go easier if you and I become allies.”
“Easier for you,” I heard him retort.
“I love him just as much as you do.”
“How could you,” Jeremiah shot back, “when you don’t know anything about him? He’s what, an illusion, part of this mystical vision you’ve always gone on about? You don’t know the real person.”
I felt Pepper sit up. “I was prepared to love him even if he was a monster who beat me, but instead he’s sweet and half in love with me himself.” I heard Jeremiah snort and she said, “It’s the truth. I’ve had carnal pleasure enough to satisfy anyone, but I’ve never had sweetness.” Pepper’s voice grew fierce. “I want sweetness; I deserve it, after everything I’ve been through.” I heard Pepper take a deep breath. “Jeremiah,” her voice now sounding reasonable but strained, as if controlling it was an effort, “I understand how important Tomas is to you...”
“No you don’t,” Jeremiah snarled. “Unless you’ve been a slave you don’t know what it’s like to be worth less than your master’s dog. But I had a bright star in my miserable life: my sister, Rebekah. She meant more to me than anyone else, including Tomas, and more than all the riches of the world. And when swamp-water fever hit St. Augustine, I gave up on her. I...gave... up, but Tomas didn’t.”
I heard him take a deep breath. “The priest there used to prattle on about God’s love, but Tomas was the only one who ever showed me it might exist...and Tomas was denied entrance to the church.” I heard Pepper gasp as Jeremiah continued. “The priest said he had no chance of entering heaven, because of what he was, so why bother?” Jeremiah went silent for a moment, and when he resumed speaking his voice was quiet. “I’ve got no chance of entering heaven either, not after the life I’ve chosen.” The fire returned to his voice. “But I’d die before I ever went back to being a slave again. So, even if neither one of us can ever reach Paradise, at least I can take care of my friend while we’re still here on earth.”
“I understand,” Pepper said quietly, “or at least I understand better than I did. Jeremiah, I don’t think we’ll ever be friends, but can we at least be allies? For Tomas’s sake?”
Jeremiah was silent for a long moment before he spoke. “Allies then” and I heard the sound of slapping skin, like two hands shaking. A moment later I heard Tiger’s voice, and Jeremiah had his arm behind me as he made me sit up. “Wake your arse, Tomas.”
I forced myself awake, drank fish broth out of a pewter tankard until it was drained, and then handed the tankard back to Jeremiah. “You’re both more precious to me than gold,” I said as I yawned. “Both of you.”
Pepper and Jeremiah exchanged a look before they pushed me back down. “Sleep, you sweet fool,” Jeremiah said. “Sleep and get your strength back.”
I tried to say something as Pepper wrapped the blanket back around me, but darkness took me in gentle arms and I knew no more.
TERTIUS
There are times when the dreams we dream seem more real than the world we wake up to. I was back in Gran-Pere’s apothecary shoppe, rain dancing on the roof as I ground herbs in our black Artifact mortar on the scarred wooden table. Belle-M’ere was packing my travel bag as she continued a conversation we’d seemed to have already begun. “Now remember, Pepper has to drink this every day without fail. You’ll have to coax her at times, but even if she’s not using her strength she has to take a dose or she’ll become as weak as her friend Victoria’s becoming.”
I nodded, looking down at the raw herbs spread out on the scarred surface of the table. Some were familiar, like the yellow flowers of the Bright-eye plant, or the green leaves of mint and the shredded sugar cane. But two I’d never seen before, though I somehow knew what they were: the pale, shriveled up fruit of the goblin-heart tree, no larger than a lime, and a coal-black vine with white tendrils, the infamous Black Strangler that pulled men down into bogs. It was reputed to be almost intelligent, its flowerlike head feeding off men while they were still alive, and its roots feeding off their corpses after they were dead. I had no idea why any of the herbs were there.
Belle-M’ere touched my hand to regain my attention. “Remember the herb-lore the shaman of the Timucua taught us. We both thought it to be interesting but of no value...yet, now it will save the life of your betrothed.” Belle-M’ere smiled at me. “I never would have approved of her before, but now I see things more clearly. Cherish her, Tomas, and forsake the world before you forsake her.” I nodded, not understanding as she placed the leather strap of the satchel over her shoulder and turned towards the open doorway. “Now it is time for me to go.”
“Wait,” I cried out as she calmly walked towards the doorway, “I want to go with you.”
Rain was still pounding on the roof with the windows of the shoppe dark as night, yet for some reason the open doorway was growing brighter. “It was my task to raise you,” she said as she reached it, “but now my time is done. Here,” and she took the Chinese gold coin out of the travel bag and tossed it towards me. I knew I was dreaming then when the coin stopped in mid-air and began to spin. “The time has come for you to find out who you truly are. Always be brave, Tomas, and know my love goes with you.” BelleM’ere turned towards the growing light. I couldn’t see what she did, but a look of wonder and joy came upon her face, and the years fell away from her as she stepped through.
I awoke in shadow. Rain was pounding on the roof of the grey-wood shelter as I sat up with my knees to my chest and cried the last tears I ever shed for Belle-M’ere, my foster-mother Johanna Rios.
When I’d finished, I looked out from my shelter across the ship. It sat above and behind the captain’s cabin, cunningly crafted so the rain flowed towards the port side of the ship while the shelter’s overhang kept the fat raindrops from finding their way inside. Beyond the captain’s cabin I could see the mainmast and the foremast beyond it, their sails furled so the masts looked like the skeletons of dead trees with vines hanging between them. Beyond the ship I could see the outline of real trees and beyond them a dark bulk like an enormous hill, although the rain made it impossible to know for sure.
I also realized I didn’t see another soul on board. “Everyone must be below,” I remarked to the empty air.
“Sleeping,” Jade’s voice replied from beside me. “Not long after you fell asleep the ship made landfall near a village they have dealt with before. Most of the crew took the opportunity to get drunk with the villagers and are now sleeping it off in their huts. If they follow their past behavior, they will be retuning shortly for the morning porridge to settle their stomachs.” Jade’s voice became amused. “I also imagine you will become quite popular when they discover you know how to mix a cure for their hangovers.”
“No doubt,” I said with a snort. “So, what’s this place called?”
“The island is known as ‘Big Bluff’, because of the large hill taking up much of it. There are several villages located at various spots near the ocean, where fresh water from the hill flows into the sea. The village we are near is called ‘Haven’, and has been settled mostly by escaped slaves and runaways from other villages. Jeremiah went there with Mr. Smith this morning to negotiate for wood to make Artifact weapons.”
“Where’s Pepper?”
“The shaman of Haven came aboard the ship last night to speak with Master Khan. There is some matter she needs help with, and Pepper, along with Sally and Redbeard, went to the shaman’s hut this morning to deal with the problem. Now, how do you feel?”
“Like a piece of driftwood,” I answered with a yawn. “I may look solid but inside I feel light, almost hollow.”
“That feeling will pass soon, although you should keep the little ones from drinking too deep for a day at least. Pepper did send back some wild oranges, with the strict instruction that one of them be saved for you.” I smiled as she added, “Pepper also carved you off a small chunk of soap.”
I stared at the spot Jade’s voice was coming from. “How did she know?”
“That you desire to keep yourself clean? Tomas,” Jade sounding amused again, “you are a Dragon, and all of you share similar traits. Now,” her voice brisk, “next to the soap is a thick piece of cloth you can dry yourself with, and when you are ready the Admiral has a kettle of porridge on.”
Porridge was a staple of our diet, the most simple, boring, food you could imagine...yet my mouth began watering at the thought of having a bowl of it. I stripped down to wash myself in the rain, got dressed, and ran down the stairs and across the deck towards the crew’s hold. One of the mermaid air-golems was hovering near the hatch, and she lifted it up as Tiger’s voice greeted me. I greeted her back as I got out of the rain, padding down the stairs in bare feet as the hatch lowered back down again behind me.
I realized I was getting used to the smell as I visited the privy then walked down the clear pathway toward the galley. Much of the crew’s area was empty, but I still heard snores coming from hammocks slung deeper in, the dragon-globes covered over, leaving the inner part of the hold dark while the outer remained well-lit. Reaching the galley, the Admiral himself dished me up a bowl of porridge from an iron kettle, adding in the flesh and juice from a wild orange and a handful of nuts sitting on a palm frond on the table. I didn’t wait but ate the entire bowl in front of him, the Admiral smiling broadly as I scooped up every last morsel until the bowl was almost clean. He motioned towards the kettle with a questioning look but I shook my head. “I need to let this settle...but maybe in a bit?”
The Admiral nodded and I gave my bowl and spoon to the blond-headed man with manacles on his ankles, who was washing dishes in a bucket of water at the opposite end. The man, whose name was Terence I remembered, gave me a strange look as he accepted them. “Is it true you’re going to marry Pepper?”
His expression was so intense I felt a trace of unease. “I’m going to betroth her in Tortuga, and after that I guess we’ll see...why?”
Terence’s gaze dropped towards the bucket as he began washing the bowl and the spoon. “No reason at all; I was just curious.” He began scrubbing them with far more effort than they required, and when I glanced at the Admiral he head motioned towards Terence then shook his own head as if in warning.
I nodded to show I understood and the Admiral motioned with his hook towards the table where I’d eaten...and almost had my throat cut, the night before. Samuel was wiping it down with a wet rag as I took the Admiral’s suggestion and walked towards him, the smell of alcohol stinging my nose as I got close. Glancing at the deck I noticed he’d thrown down sawdust, which I knew from experience was good at soaking up blood, and I got a feeling of unease. “Samuel, are you expecting trouble?”
Spectacles perched on his nose, Samuel looked up from wiping down the table. “There you are. No, I’m only getting ready for my patients from the village.” Noticing my puzzled look he said, “Jade and Fire-rose are very skilled at healing, and since they now have enough strength, the captain made an agreement last night to trade healing for fresh provisions.”
“We did the same thing in St. Augustine...and speaking of the captain, does he want me to attend him?”
Jade spoke in the space between us. “Captain Hawkins left explicit instructions not to be bothered, short of an attack on the ship.”
“I imagine the courtesan had a lively night,” Samuel said with a chuckle. I hoped Selene was alright, though I suspected she could take better care of herself than I could as Samuel continued. “Speaking of lively nights, Sally was in a carnal mood this past evening with those who remained aboard. We could have a woman give birth on the table this morning and I imagine the crew would sleep right through it.”
I shared a laugh with him as a thought crossed my mind. “Why do you have the villagers come here? Wouldn’t it be easier to just use their huts?”
The voice of an Englishman spoke from the direction of the galley. “It’s because Samuel won’t leave the ship.” I turned as three men approached. Two of them were Europeans, burnt brown from the sun, the one on the left clean shaven while the stocky one on the right had a beard. Both were dressed in stained trousers and striped shirts.
The man leading them was the African Jeremiah had pointed out the night before, the one known as the Mulatto. He also wore stained trousers but was bare-chested, and as he approached I noticed a strange thing. His skin was a very dark hue, more so than Jeremiah’s, but he had patches that were almost white, though reddened by the sun. The three stopped a few yards away as the Mulatto continued. “Samuel’s been cheating death for years, and he’s afraid if he leaves the Davy he might not get back on.”
“That’s not true,” Samuel said,
not meeting the Mulatto’s gaze. “I always get off the ship when we dock in Tortuga.”
“Because you know no one’s going to try forcing the captain out.” The Mulatto turned his gaze on me. “On Tortuga, anyone staging a mutiny while in port gets hung, regardless of the reason why or whether the captain’s a member of the Brotherhood.” He hooked his thumbs into the blue sash around his waist. “Do you know why I’m called the Mulatto?” I shook my head no, and he pointed at one of the light patches on his chest. “My former master said the reason my skin continues to do this is because inside of this African is an Englishman fighting to get out. He used to take great delight in making sport of me,” he held out his hands, “until I strangled him one night aboard his ship. I led his crew in a mutiny against the officers and they’ve followed me ever since.”
“That’s the truth,” the man on the Mulatto’s left side said. He had gaps in his teeth which made his speech come out with a slight hiss. “We all expected to die when the Draco Dominus caught up to us, but then the Blackjack Davy sailed in from behind, with little Pepper high up in the rigging, and the moment I saw her I knew our luck had changed. The Mulatto led us in a last, desperate charge while the Davy blew out an Artifact cannon blasting the red bastards to the bottom of the sea. When it was all over we pledged our lives to Captain Hawkins and our red-haired luck.” His expression turned ugly. “But now you mean to take our luck away from us.”
Hold your ground, I could almost hear Alfonzo say in my ear, and I went into a defensive posture with my right foot forward and left foot back for support. I kept my hands loose at my sides, fearing it was Seth and his bully boys all over again. “I’m not taking her anywhere the captain doesn’t tell me to.” Frustration bubbled up inside me as I added, “I’m his apprentice, or are you such an empty-head you haven’t noticed?”
