Lady of Sherwood

by Molly Bilinski

  Molly Louise Bilinski grew up in Townsend, NY, playing soccer, being a band geek (clarinet), and starting her first serious novel when she hit high school. She's a 2013 graduate of William Smith College with a Bachelor's degree in chemistry. By day, she uses her science powers as a certified asphalt lab technician. By night (and weekend and any other five minutes she can find), she's a novelist. When she's not writing or working, she's scoping out coffee shops, exploring her newest home city (Buffalo, NY), taking day trips to Canada, and putting together puzzles. Her favorite phrase and life motto is carpe diem, and she thoroughly enjoys being a giant nerd;—the stuffed Slimer on her bookcase attests to that.

  Subscribe to Clean Teen Publishing's newsletter to get a free book and to be the first to learn about the sequel to Lady of Sherwood.

  If you enjoyed Lady of Sherwood, we recommend you check out Blue Tide by Jenna-Lynne Duncan. Read an exclusive excerpt here.

  An award-winning YA adventure-packed romance steeped in Middle Eastern culture and set in the Asian Pacific amongst dangerous oceans and tropical islands.

  Seventeen-year-old refugee Lux plots her escape from the island where her family is stranded, denying that her home was lost in the Floods. Lux is determined to get her old life back by any means possible. But before her feet even leave the sand, she's taken hostage by a vengeance-driven pirate nearly as young as she is.

  Her capture is the key to his freedom...

  Captain Draven's scarf veils more than his face. Underneath, he struggles between morality and survival. When Lux sees deeper into his motivations, she's torn. She can commit mutiny to escape to a home that may no longer exist, or she can try to help Draven escape the clutches of the person responsible for the deaths of half the world. Staying would mean entrusting her life to a pirate. Helping Draven would mean losing her heart to one.

  “The sea never sleeps, and in the sleeplessness of the sea is a consolation to a soul that never sleeps.”

  —Jubran Khaleel Jubran, 1883-1931

  Water here and water there.

  Sailing around to who knows where.

  With nothing to do, I sing this tune.

  E’ryone died but me ‘n you.

  There’s only one man to blame,

  Thanks to Asmodeus, we’re rich but insane.

  Lands destroyed—now we rule the seas.

  We’ll take what we want and do what we please.

  Make it stop. I cringed, my head throbbing from the off-key voice. It was a song most people would sacrifice their firstborn to never hear. Most who heard it never lived to hear it twice. Because of all the dangers of the sea… Nothing was worse than pirates.

  Water here and water there.

  Damp, musty-smelling wood filled my senses. I was lying facedown in a small boat. The half-moon offered little illumination in the dark sky. I must have blacked out because I had no memory of this—the boat, the swaying ocean, or why my head felt like a pounding island drum. Blinking away the fog of sleep, I pushed myself up on shaky feet and adjusted my dress.

  I rubbed my temples, fighting nausea, the stench of fish making it worse. The contents of my stomach bubbled hotly and saliva pooled in my mouth. Willing myself not to throw up, I concentrated on breathing. In, out, in, ou—something sharp and deliberate poked at my back. I hissed at the sudden jab, and flung my head around to glare at the pirate who’d poked me. My jaw dropped at the scene behind him. Not good.

  A large ship towered next to us. In the distance, a line of people stumbled up a wooden gangway onto it.

  Lands destroyed—now we rule the seas.

  We’ll take what we want and do what we please…

  The man with the slurred voice herded people onto the next ship, and the islanders in front of me all shared the same hopeless saunter. I imagined this was how cattle looked being sent to the slaughterhouse. Except there were no slaughterhouses anymore. There weren’t even any cattle.

  Water here and water there.

  The man came down the line toward me, his voice growing louder as he approached. Please make it stop. Pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, I paused. I just needed a minute to think.

  E’ryone died but me ‘n you.

  I was the only prisoner left. The man’s cold, dirty hand pushed me, and I slunk away from his touch. “Touch me again and I’ll gut you!”

  His round face and droopy mouth fell before it scrunched together. “That’s hardly language for a girl.”

  His words struck a chord inside of me, as it was something I already knew to be true. I’d once been a refined young lady, one who always left the gutting to Leif when we went fishing. It had to be the stress that made me snap. I’d been so close to getting what I spent the past five years longing for. Now, in the midst of pirates, that life was further away than ever.

  The throbbing got worse, and I closed my eyes, finding small relief in pressing my forefingers into my temples.

  “Ey. It’s you again.” His eyes lit up with recognition.

  I dropped my hand from my face and studied him. Familiarity screamed at me, but my brain couldn’t function beyond the pain. All I needed was to get back to shore so I could finish what I was doing and put this mistake behind me. I could use my position as a mayor’s daughter—act as if we had a hundred ships and an army ready to come to my defense.

  A cunning smile spread across my face. “Yes…” I nodded and spoke in a slow voice. “You know who I am, don’t you? There seems to be some sort of mistake, you see…”

  His pinched expression caused me to pause. “I ain’t slow, and I don’t give a damn who you are. You been disobedient once already, and if I hear one more peep outta you, you’ll wish I killed you with that blow I gave ya earlier. Now move!”

  Ah, so this rude man was the reason my head felt like my brain had been removed, scrambled, and then replaced. My jaw clenched. He didn’t understand whom he was dealing with. I tilted up my nose and said, “My name is Lux Rayan Aiello. I am the daughter of the Mayor of Sirbiad. If you bring me back now, you will not be punished.”

  His lips curled and his bulging eyes—or rather eye—gave me a once-over. His eyes freaked me out. One didn’t move. I thought it might be fake.

  “Send her overboard!”

  “Excuse me?” I put my hands on my hips.

  His crooked eyes never let me out of sight while he signaled to someone behind him and turned away. Sticky hands grabbed me, and the air was once again filled with fish and copper. The men pulled me away, their uncut nails searing through my arms, my skin straining.

  Images of the creatures in the waters below came to mind, as did the many people who had been eaten by them. “Wait,” I pleaded. “We can pay you.”

  The men paused.

  One-eyed’s broad shoulders stiffened. He was a short man with stocky legs, but his burly arms and barrel chest promised pain.

  “My father will trade with you if you return me.” I should have swallowed my pride and said that from the start. Obviously, I had chosen the right words that time because he turned back.

  “What makes you think I want any kind of payment?” He took a quick step toward me, his sweaty, fishy scent sending me backing up into the pirates restraining my arms. Reaching out, he coiled his plump hand around my entire wrist. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip, refusing to scream, but then he twisted my arm. The cry I held back came out in a harsh exhale.

  Hushed whispers spread before a commanding voice rose over the rest. “Stop.”

  I glanced at the second ship. Tall, leather boots stomped down the plank.

  The man groaned and released my arm, shoving me to the deck. I smacked into the slippery planks, breaking my fall with open palms. A splinter bit into my flesh.

  “Sir, this one was being disobedient. I was gonna send her to the fish.”

  I got to my knees, picking the wood out of my skin, even though such a cut was the least of my worries. But for something so small, it really hurt.

  “No
, you weren’t, Sokum. You were trying to keep one of his, weren’t you?” He approached, and I lifted my head. Along with his boots, he wore leather pants with a belt full of weapons and a chest covered in armor. Holy—I flinched, wondering what kind of battle I just found myself in the middle of. I swallowed and continued studying him. His face was covered with a gray scarf that billowed behind him like a dark sail. A sliver in the wrapping revealed a pair of icy blue eyes and thick, dark brows. His clothes were clean and finely made, and he stood with poise rather than slumped over like the Neanderthal next to me. I didn’t know whether to place him in a ballroom or on a battlefield, but he definitely didn’t belong on a pirate ship.

  “N-no, Captain. She—”

  Captain. This mysterious man was the captain? Finally, someone civil to negotiate with. There was hope. Surely, he would—

  Craaack!

  My head shot up in time to see the captain’s fist come away from Sokum’s face. Sokum missed crushing me by inches as the force propelled him to the floor.

  The captain bent over and pulled him up by his collar. I blinked. The man moved like a tiger, beautiful to admire from afar, but frightening beyond all measure when he pounced. Sokum looked so meek under the towering form of the captain, cowering from his cocked-back fist. I winced at the thought of him receiving another blow.

  “Don’t!” The word escaped my lips, surprising me as much as everyone else.

  That set of chilling eyes burned into me, narrowing with suspicion before easing and turning back to his victim. He drew his fist back farther.

  I released a quivering breath, preparing myself for more violence. The captain’s eyes darted to me again. To my surprise, he dropped the fist. “Don’t ever disobey me again.” He released his grip on Sokum, as if it was beneath him to even touch him.

  Racing to a stand, I wiped the ocean slime from my dress with little success. The captain towered over me. I shuffled back a step.

  “You defend him even though he just tried to have you killed?” He quirked a brow at me, waiting for an answer I couldn’t give. I suppose Sokum deserved it after he tried to have me thrown overboard, and it wasn’t as if he would have done the same for me. But there was that moment right before Sokum was about to be hit again when true fear flashed in his eyes. No matter how many sparring sessions they put me through on the island, I detested violence. I couldn’t watch anyone suffer at the hands of someone who wasn’t his equal.

  The moon caught my attention when it reflected on the captain’s armor. Dawn was quickly approaching. I was running out of time. It was imperative I get back to shore before anyone knew I was missing.

  “My name is Lux. I am from Sirbiad—”

  “Lux… of Sirbiad?” He indicated my sundress with a nod. “You hardly look Sirbiadian.” Despite his dark and foreboding demeanor, his eyes danced with amusement and held a promise that his veiled-mouth was smirking.

  I clenched my fists. Let him laugh, Lux, you’ll have the last one. Ignoring his insensitive comment, I attempted to add the much-needed confidence to my voice. “Based on the Maritime Codes, I demand you take me back immediately.”

  He tipped his head back and laughed. “And which code is that?”

  “What?”

  “To which code are you referring?”

  I straightened my posture, shoulders back and chin high, even though I felt very small inside. In truth, I had never read the laws created by Asmodeus before. The only allegiance I had was to the US. I would do anything to make it back to shore, and if that meant using a dictator’s laws to suit me, then so be it. “580.” I spoke the first number that came through my mind.

  His dark eyebrows arched.

  I swallowed. 580? Dumb, Lux. Might as well have guessed three million.

  “And who put the Maritime Codes in place?” His smooth, muffled voice contrasted the harsh, mocking tone

  My forehead creased. If he noticed I was bluffing, he made no indication of it. But what was with the inquisition? I tilted my head and answered. “Asmodeus.”

  “And that’s exactly whose orders I’m following.”

  He’s following Asmodeus’ orders? That didn’t make sense. As far as I was concerned, Asmodeus was evil with a capital E—a dictator of the third degree. But my dad still brokered with him. Asmodeus fed our island. Was he the one behind our villagers’ disappearances?

  He glanced over me from head to toe, as if truly seeing me for the first time. My stomach fluttered at his scrutiny, but I glared back, refusing to let him intimidate me. His ocean blue eyes contrasted starkly with his dark eyebrows and lashes. Night and day in one tall, dark, and cruel package.

  “Take her to the ship. We depart immediately.” At his orders, everyone dispersed except for Sokum, who wore the same baffled expression I imagined I wore.

  My lips parted, but the words caught in my throat.

  “You broke my nose,” Sokum shouted nasally, cupping it as if it were a priceless artifact. Pretty sure it already looked broken before. “And sir, she was being disobedient. There must be consequences!”

  Snapping my head in his direction, I narrowed my eyes. I was really starting to regret telling the captain to stop.

  The captain glanced back. “Your mouth broke your nose.” Still refusing to meet my eyes, he added, “She appears strong enough for labor. Now do as I say, or I’ll impose the consequences on you.”

  “Please, I have to go back.” It made my flesh crawl that I was begging a pirate. Possibly the same ruthless pirate who was responsible for the disappearances of our villagers for years, but it was my last chance to be returned to shore while we were still anchored.

  “You belong to Asmodeus now. There’s nothing I can do.” His voice was as hard as the iron rigging of his ship, and he turned away before I could register his words. I was left openmouthed and speechless as he crossed in perfectly measured strides onto the next ship, disappearing in a thick, salty fog that crept in with the morning air.

  A grunt sounded behind me, and I whipped around.

  “Move it,” a bald-headed giant roared.

  A sudden knife of panic slipped through my gut. I shook my head. This was not happening. I had to get back to shore, or I would lose my one chance to—

  The bald pirate shoved me toward the gangplank. I stumbled, ducking under his arm, wanting to be far, far away from the very narrow plank that was the only solid surface between the boats and the dark, deep water below. But when I came face to face with more pirates, the water looked like the better option, despite the certain death lurking there. I turned in every direction, a blockade of criminals surrounding me. It was hopeless. The bald pirate turned around, his face scrunching together.

  He stepped toward me again.

  “No, no, no.” I twisted and pulled at my dress. “I need to go back.” Prickles covered my scalp as I shot sidelong glances at the pirates advancing on me.

  How could I let this happen? How could I let myself be kidnapped when I was so close to getting the only thing I’ve wanted for the past five years? Dizziness consumed me, and I was starting to hyperventilate. “I won’t go!” I tried to dodge past them to the smaller boat.

  Someone caught me, and I let out a scream.

  “Wait just a sec now, boys.”

  I held my breath in hope, but the voice that spoke was nasally. I turned to find Sokum still holding his nose trickling with blood.

  “I’ll take care of this one.” Sokum’s eyes shined with a vindictive twinkle. When he drew a long sword, the moonlight glinted off the razor-sharp blade.

  “Sokum, you heard what the captain said.” The bald man’s voice sounded lower than humanly possible.

  “I said I got it from here.” Sokum turned his fish-like eyes back on me. “Now you’re gonna walk across to the other ship like a good little girl, and we’re not gonna have any more problems with you, are we?” He gave me a confident smile, all the while holding the sword as though it was an extension of his body.

  If
he straightened that elbow, I could knock it from his hand. Could show him how well trained Sirbiadians really were.

  He raised his cutlass, bringing the tip dangerously close to my neck. I tipped my chin up, exposing my throat. Should I be worried that it was irritation, not fear, that clawed at my insides?

  The deep voice of the bald man whispered Sokum’s name in warning.

  There was no way I would be able to make it back to shore. I couldn’t argue my way through this one. “Do it,” I egged him on in a moment of recklessness. He wouldn’t really kill me, would he? The pirates’ loyalty seemed to draw beyond their fear of disobeying the captain, and he did make it seem like he desired me alive. For the time being. But the look in Sokum’s dark eyes told me he was more than capable of taking my life.

  “You wanna die, girl, or are you gonna move?”

  My mouth opened to speak, but words escaped me as I was scooped up by the bald man. He held my arms and legs tighter than a fisherman’s ropes. The scream I let out burned my throat.

  “I said I was handling it,” Sokum complained from behind us on the gangplank.

  “Enough time wasted.” The bald man’s clipped response rumbled against my back as I wiggled like an angry octopus.

  My stomach rolled when I was carried over the threshold of the next ship. I stopped fighting the iron hold the pirate had on me now that my first plan of escape had been crushed.

  The new ship towered over the measly one that brought us to it. Looking around took me back centuries. It was like the old ships I’d seen in movies back home. Based on the materials, it had to have survived from the Floods five years ago.

  Despite numerous snowy white sails, the ship was dark and screamed power—just like its captain. Fascinating to see, but teasing with the promise of danger. There was no doubt in my mind that this was his ship.

  Sensing I was no longer a flight risk, the bald pirate none too gently set me down. As I stumbled across the deck, the teak beamed in the moonlight. The work and time it must have taken to build such a vessel was unimaginable. I continued to stare up at the sails with a mixture of fascination and contempt. The bald man pushed me below after I had taken too long at the top of the stairs.