Fractured Families (The Pearl of Wisdom Saga Book 2)

by Jason Paul Rice

  “Where will you go?” he asked. “The Greatest City on Earth,” she responded. “I’ve been hearing about this city nonstop lately. I will try to visit you in Ton Abelisy,” he promised. “Sure, sure, you’ll be chasing your lady love for the rest of your days. We can be happy we chanced upon each other and leave it at that,” Dacoda said. “I need one more favor from you,” he squinted. “Sure,” said Dacoda as she spread her legs again and smiled.

  “No, I want one last song in your heavenly voice,” Brehan requested.

  “I hoped you would ask. This is for you and your lover,” she said and got up. She looked right into Brehan’s eyes and belted out,

  “Sir Brehan’s love came so sharp and narrow,

  He shot my heart down with his arrow,

  Then battle cried—we parted ways,

  Inside my heart—he always stays,

  Years have passed and hope has dulled,

  My once warm heart—it now runs cold,

  Returning back—the streets I roam,

  Been so long—I can’t find home,

  That day four eyes became one heart,

  I knew I loved him from the start,

  We pressed our lips and once again,

  We were two but strong as ten.”

  “Bravo, my lady,” Brehan applauded. “Perhaps chance will lead me to Ton Abelisy someday. If you should happen to change your mind about my proposal, the offer stands.”

  “Thank you, sir, but I am quite confident in my choice,” she said as Brehan started to leave. The whore grabbed him and gave the strong man a hug. She planted a wet kiss on Brehan’s lips and with her hands on his shoulders, said, “Go find her, my brave but naive knight.” The two smiled at each other and Brehan left. He thought that would be the last time he would see Dacoda.

  The next couple of days flew by and Brehan found himself boarding the Slithering Seagull. The pirateers performed a normal ritual when they got on deck. All the men pricked a finger and dripped some blood into the water before embarking. Sea Wolf demanded they perform a sacrifice to give the ocean a little bit of blood so the unforgiving waters wouldn’t take it all. This ship was much bigger than the Salty Dragon. He went down the hatch to the rooms below deck. He took the tiny room next to Kopar and went back up on deck. The men gathered near the mizzen mast and passed around some booze. Before he knew it, they were on the open sea. The breeze felt great on a cloudless and hot late-summer day.

  Gator shouted, “I’m gonna buy me a princess and see what royal pussy’s all about.” The men laughed but Brehan didn’t share the enjoyment. He had heard this story three times already. Some of the pirateers just repeated the same stories or wishes over and over again. Brehan felt a stronger brotherhood with the Knights of Mattingly. The pirateers were only out for themselves. The knights served a greater purpose than simply plundering until you got killed. “I’m gonna kill the first man what even looks at me gold. Even if they only look with one eye,” Red Legs chuckled until he almost choked. Rando had to pat him on the back to set the man’s breathing straight. Red Legs spat a slimy mouthful of blood and snot on the deck and smiled.

  Brehan followed Rando and Kopar over near the half-deck. “Ye don’t know what the fuck ye be talkin bout,” Rando angrily said. “Tell this fool that he should have brought a land sword,” Kopar insisted. Before Brehan could answer, Rando shouted, “You lubbers won’t even make it up the fuckin hill with those slowin ya down. When I come back down the hill and see you getting your skulls fucked, I might try to stop em.” Rando shrugged his shoulders and Kopar spoke back, “And when you are shredded like salt cabbage, I’ll stop to piss on you to add some flavor,” Kopar jabbed. The two went back and forth insulting each other and getting drunk.

  Later that night, everyone gathered around the burn barrel on the lower deck. Sea Wolf went over the plan for the men who had blindly joined the effort. He meticulously laid out every man’s specific job first and then put the entire plan together. Everything sounded great to Brehan but he still worried about Sea Wolf’s inside connection. Spies were paid for knowledge and Brehan knew they could easily sell information to the enemy.

  The men aboard were an accurate depiction of pirateers. None of them dressed or looked alike. Coloring ranged from Brehan’s dark skin to the opposite end of the spectrum with Kopar’s extreme paleness and all points in between. Sea Wolf finished the instructions and the men started to get really drunk.

  The pain in his shoulder had finally subsided and Brehan was going into this mission with confidence. He wasn’t comfortable fighting at sea, but the upcoming land skirmish made him confident he would leave a wealthy man and could find his way back to Elisa. He thought about her even more as he got geographically closer to her. He planned to go back to Shant Island and wait at port until a trade ship sailed for Donegal after this mission.

  Kopar passed Brehan a goat skin and he took a drink. The booze burned his throat and he gave it back to his friend. He looked at the other men getting excited and jumping around. Too bad most of these men will spend a lifetime of riches in less than a year on Shant Island. I’m almost certain Kopar will.

  Everything on Shant Island was overpriced. Kopar had blown through almost all of his treasure in a month and a half. Brehan still had three-quarters of his original take. Brehan found that the vendors on Shant Island were the ones becoming rich off the pirateers’ excess. The men started to get rowdy and a light rain hit the sea, but didn’t cool down the rambunctious men. Brehan caught a few drops in his dry mouth. The pirateers spontaneously broke out in a group song.

  “Yo—ho—ho and it’s off to sea we go,

  It’s all we fucking know,

  The wind will blow, our cocks will grow,

  The whores will know, in our rooms below,

  And still we say, yo—ho—ho,

  It’s off to sea we go,

  Short stick has to row,

  Find a carrack on the slow,

  And yo—ho—ho, back with treasure in tow,

  We reap what others sow and yo—ho—ho,

  It’s all we fucking know, we’ll take or you can give,

  Die or choose to live—you won’t be held captive,

  In the land of the lawless on the seas,

  Get down on your knees,

  The treasure we will seize,

  Then back to our ship we please,

  And we sing, yo—ho—ho, it’s back to Shant we go,

  The gold will surely glow to the chant of yo—ho—ho.”

  The men patted each other on the back and a drunken Kopar came over and put his hand around Brehan. “Woo,” the albino screamed. He slurred his speech as he spoke in Brehan’s ear, “A plan. I still have a plan. I…I can’t tell you now. Do you know why? Do you? Do you? Cuz…cuz you’re my friend. Do you know that? A good friend is what you are. Sir Brehan Castaway, a good friend. I can’t tell you now, I can’t, I just can’t. I thought up this plan a long time ago when I found out. It’s a plan for you cuz you’re my friend, my good friend. I didn’t know we could become friends, such good friends,” Kopar rambled. Brehan just smiled and nodded. Kopar’s eyes were rolling around in his head as he chugged the booze the pirateers called cherry juice. Brehan didn’t think it tasted anything like cherries but it was red and potent. One cup made Brehan feel lightheaded and talkative.

  The other pirateers had drunk at least a dozen cups and they all tried to scream over each other’s stories. Brehan spotted Sea Wolf at the wheel and walked over to the captain. Sea Wolf didn’t even look at Brehan but began talking, “We should get in sometime in the morn and have enough time to look things over before making the ascent. If we hit them right, the pickings should be easy. If the fight gets thick, then the split will be amongst less people. I know I plan to live. Everyone calls you the lubber but this job is to your advantage. You’ll lead the men into the northern position as Gator and I go inside. When you hear me yell, “Holy Kraken,” you better come thundering down that hill and kill all the guards
and bankers quickly. Kopar and you are probably the fastest so you will grab the last of the gold as we have planned. Keep close watch on more security to show up. Get that gold and get down that hill. The ship won’t wait long. You can do it, I know you can. Look at these men, is it any wonder why I already trust you more?”

  The pirateers spent most of the day finding out what they had done the night before. Most of the men had to be told about their own actions which had been wiped from their memory by the booze. Then, after their daily trip down memory lane, the pirateers would start the debauchery again.

  The pirateers yelled unintelligible ramblings at each other and Brehan saw Rando slap Kopar across the face. Kopar just looked at Rando and laughed. The two men smacked their copper tankards together and slammed their drinks. Kopar ran over to the port side and threw up into the Sea of Green. The other pirateers pointed at Kopar and shouted insults.

  “Sounds like yer shittin a chicken over there,” Rando bellowed. Kopar ran back over, wiped his mouth on Rando’s shoulder and kept drinking. Brehan hoped the men wouldn’t get this drunk tomorrow night, the eve of the mission. The crew didn’t seem focused on the job that could pay out more money than they had ever seen. Brehan was convinced the pirateers would get obscenely drunk again the next evening.

  The time had arrived and the Slithering Seagull was perched in the port of Lightview as the crew readied for the task. “Nervous?” Kopar asked. “A little,” Brehan responded. They gazed at a steep hill which looked different from the one they had seen on their maps. The path looped around further than Brehan had expected which should make the uphill march even easier. They had plenty of room to avoid the checkpoints and go straight up the incline. Small trees and bushes hinted at the approaching fall season with green leaves turning to a dry, rusty orange and falling in a stiff wind. The dirt path could clearly be seen from the ship as the men disembarked.

  The men began the uphill march and made it through the first checkpoint without suspicion. Eighteen pirateers continued the trek up the looping path. The overcast day gave Brehan an ominous feeling about the job. To his surprise, the pirateers had behaved themselves the previous night and had only gotten really drunk.

  Against their nature, the pirateers seemed focused on the job now. Brehan’s confidence subsequently rose, feeling the men could follow him into a fight. The pirateers were dressed in fancy clothes with boiled leather underneath. The heavy layers had them roasting as the sun peeked out through the gray clouds. Brehan didn’t want it to rain or he would be weighed down even more.

  They made it through the second checkpoint with ease. Sea Wolf said all the right names to have the guards step aside. Brehan’s confidence skied even higher. He knew Dragon-Bite would cut through chain mail or boiled leather after seeing it rip through plate metal. All the men passed through two more checkpoints. The last two points would only let two men pass as per Sea Wolf’s sources so the pirateers moved into the brush and up the steep hill. They climbed for about twenty minutes and spotted the cabin. Sea Wolf pointed around the cabin where Brehan was to circle around with the men. He only saw six guards as his men stealthily moved up the uneven hill. His heart pounded as he thought about how breaking just one twig could jeopardize the entire operation. Carefully, they made it to the designated spot.

  Brehan could barely see Sea Wolf and Gator enter the wooden cabin. The two men had to go in unarmed so as not to raise suspicion. Brehan became very nervous waiting for the signal. A bird squawked above and almost sent Brehan rushing down the hill. Brehan was a man of action, not one who waited for action. He heard the yell, “Holy Kraken.”

  “NOW, GO, GO, GO,” Brehan screamed and the men charged fifty feet downward. The guards were ready and some pirateers forgot to draw until it was too late. Four pirateers died even before the fight really began. Steel on steel echoed down the hill and off the emerald waters, making the action seem thicker than a small scuffle. Several pirateers invaded the cabin. Brehan had Dragon-Bite ready and ripped a man’s chest open through the ring mail protection. The prepared pirateers killed three guards and the others ran into the woods.

  Sea Wolf and Gator emerged with bags filled with coin but Sea Wolf’s bags were red. “It’s so strange, they weren’t supposed to be armed,” Sea Wolf said as he dropped to his knees. Brehan moved in for a closer look and saw that the damage was much worse than he expected. Red-life-liquid gushed down the hillside from a gash in Sea Wolf’s chest. He coughed up a thick wad of purple blood that ran out the side of his mouth and Brehan knew there was nothing to be done for the most intelligent pirateer he had known.

  A procession of pirateers went in and out of the cabin with their arms full of coin bags. The men followed the order that had been set by Sea Wolf, and Brehan waited until the end. A rustling in the bushes caught Brehan’s ears and as the knight looked in that direction, he saw a sword blade tip emerge from Rando’s chest. The man had refused to wear any layers of protection because he thought it would slow him down.

  Seven more guards emerged with swords drawn. Most of the pirateers had already grabbed the gold and moved back down the hill. Only five pirateers remained. Brehan traded blows with a skilled man on the sharp hillside. Brehan had never fought on an inclined surface, but he came down with a mighty swing to move his opponent’s sword and raked upward to split his foe from belly to neck. Blood drenched Brehan’s fancy clothes. A light rain began to fall. The moist ground started to get muddy and made it difficult for keeping balanced. Brehan looked over to see Kopar thrust his blade under a man’s ribs and Light House take a man’s head off with a great sword.

  Brehan didn’t see any more guards coming to help. Kopar struggled with a huge guard, only feet away. Kopar’s foot slipped in the mud and he had to plant his sword in the ground to avoid falling. The guard raised his sword in the air for an overhand strike to finish him. The large guard hit a tree branch, disrupting his concentration and before the blade could drop on Kopar, Brehan ripped his sword across the man’s neck, and the head plopped onto the moist earth and rolled down the hill. The remaining pirateers rushed the cabin as Brehan looked for more guards to come out of the unknown.

  Brehan and Kopar finally entered the bankers’ cabin. The ransacked room had more gold than he had ever seen and at least ten of the pirateers had already raided it. They were supposed to take the remainder of the stash but due to the death of many of their comrades and the size of the haul, two men couldn’t carry all this treasure. The men grabbed as many bags of gold coins as they could handle and exited the makeshift bank.

  Kopar stopped Brehan before they started down the hill, “You’re too close to her to go back to Shant Island. With that gold, you can find her. And if you happen to run into a man that looks like me but twice as old, put a blade in him for me, please. Be careful, lose the bloody clothes, just wear the leather and mail and tell them you are a free sword looking for work if anyone should ask. Be careful and remember, you can’t help anyone if you are dead,” Kopar smiled. Brehan gave his friend a quick hug and said, “You planned this, the whole time, telling Sea Wolf to put me on this mission.” “Don’t know who told you that,” Kopar said and took off before it could get emotional.

  Brehan heard more men closing in and worked his way up the steep hill. The light rainfall continued and Brehan slid back several times, but kept climbing. He fought through jagger bushes and after a few hours finally saw the earth level off. Brehan shed his outer layers of clothes and walked another twenty minutes through the woods. A town appeared at the edge of the forest. He found a huge oak tree and buried his gold near the trunk. He then pulled out a dagger and carved a ‘B’ on the tree trunk to mark it.

  He came upon a market area of a decent sized city. From the golden apple flags, Brehan knew the Ellsworths ruled this area. He hid behind some wooden barrels of wine and looked at the customers on the other side. He saw a large entourage surrounding a woman in all black and a long white cloak. The woman turned and the cloak showed a b
lack bear holding a giant golden apple in its paws. The woman turned again and faced Brehan’s direction. She wore a veil and gloves with a sexy black dress to reveal her figure.

  It can’t be! Can it truly be her? He stared for a few more moments. My first, my last, forever my only. What is she doing in Lightview? Why is she wearing a crown here? Is she visiting from the Capitol? What blind luck.

  He ducked behind the barrels and prepared what he would say to his lost lover. As he rehearsed, a crushing pain on the top of his head made the world go black for Sir Brehan Castaway. He crumpled to the ground in a heap.

  ELISA

  “What’s it like?” Elisa asked. “Same as anything else, once you do it a few times,” the Grizzly Bear responded. “Was the first time easy?” she pressed. “No, it’s the hardest. At least for me it was,” her guard revealed. “How old were you?” the queen wanted to know. “Twelve,” said the Grizzly Bear as he walked behind Elisa through the castle.

  “Only twelve, who was it?” a shocked Elisa gasped. “Ha ha ha, only twelve she says. That’s a late age for boys in Bear Gate. Harrys of that shit house Pritchard and I were sparring with wooden swords and the son of a bitch bested me again in front of everyone. As he walked away, all I could see was red. When everything was over, someone told me I had beat his head into a rock and broke his skull. I looked back to see the mess I created and wouldn’t be surprised if the buried body was still gushing blood from the head. My father heard the story and saw an opportunity to sell my services to the local lords. At twelve I was bigger than most grown men and my father made out pretty well, but the first kill haunted me for a while. The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth still bothered me. After I killed enough men that they all blended together is when I found peace with the killing. The faces in my dreams all swirled together to become a faceless person. It’s easy to kill a faceless man. After that it becomes how many, not murder. About fourteen, that’s when your father jumped in to have me control his citizens for him,” the gruff man stated.