The Runaway King

“My traitorous captain of the guard is in the jail,” I said. “One of us is bound to kill the other in there, so if you want access to us both, I’d suggest taking me elsewhere.”

Roden glanced at a pirate next to me who said, “I’ll put him with a boy we just locked away. I think they came here together.”

“Is it secure?” Roden asked.

“Probably more so than the jail. Nobody’s ever escaped it.”

“Fine.”

The ropes were cut away from my hands and pirates grabbed me on either side. Roden never looked up as they led me away. I said nothing to him either, mostly because I didn’t know the words. Roden hadn’t saved me from the pirates. He’d only delayed what now seemed inevitable.

As the pirate had told Roden, the room where they took me did seem far more secure than the jail where I’d been yesterday. The jail was nearly at ground level, so if a prisoner could get past the vigil, he could be on the run in seconds.

In contrast, this room was midway up the cliff, above the living quarters, and it took the men considerable time to unlock the door to put me inside, so it would likely be nearly impossible to pick the lock from within the room. Even if someone could do it, the stairs down would take him past several well-armed pirates, and there were no stairs up to the top of the cliff. It was obvious why nobody had ever escaped from here. I doubted many people had even tried.

Fink reacted with an excited yelp and a high jump when the locked door opened and he saw me on the other side.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he said. “No offense, but I really didn’t.”

I smiled tiredly. “No offense.”

My escorts thrust me into the room, which was furnished only with a small table and a single chair. One who had been particularly unkind in the way he held my arm said to Fink, “He’s not out of trouble yet, boy, so don’t get too attached.”

They tossed a shirt into the room, which, surprisingly, was in better condition than the one I’d worn before. Then they locked the door behind us and left the room.

“No vigil?” I asked Fink, pulling the shirt over my head.

“I asked for one, just to have someone to talk to. They said one wasn’t needed here, and besides, I’m not much of a threat to anyone.”

“You’re not,” I agreed. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“Where’s Imogen?”

“She left. I hope.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Fink sat on the table and stared at me. “She said your name is Jaron, that you’re the king of Carthya.”

I sat beside him on the table, looking at nothing in particular. “She’s right.”

He scratched his nose and continued to stare. “You don’t look like a king. Or act like one.”

“Often I don’t feel like a king either.”

“She said you came here to destroy the pirates, and that it was the worst idea anyone’s ever had.”

“It’s hard to argue with that kind of logic.”

“And she said that you’re the biggest fool of a king that Carthya has ever seen, and that it’s stupid for you to let yourself get killed because you’re probably the only person capable of saving your country.”

I grinned. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell me anything else she said. I don’t think I can handle hearing any more of her opinions.”

Fink smiled back at me. “Yeah. I didn’t even get to the really mean things.” He yawned. “But I liked you when you were Sage. I guess even though you’re a king, we can still be friends, right?”

“Sure.” I stood and began pacing the room. How long would Roden let me stay in here? What would he do when he finally did come for me?

There was a small window at the far end of the room, opposite the door. Standing beneath it I still couldn’t see the top of the cliff, but I had a good idea of how far above the ground we were. Then I continued my pacing.

“I’m hungry,” Fink eventually said. “You?”

“Yeah, I am too.” The last I’d eaten was only a little at supper the night before, and it was entering the afternoon now. But distracting myself from the hunger pangs wasn’t difficult. Not when the distraction was figuring out how to keep Roden from killing me before I’d had my chance with him.

I turned to Fink. “Listen, there’s a new pirate king and his name is Roden. The only reason I’m still here is that Roden has a grudge from our past and he wants to take his time with me. So when he comes, I don’t want you to be my friend, I don’t want you to defend me or try to help me in any way. That would only make things worse for you.”

Fink shrugged. “I’m not afraid.”

I grabbed his arm to force him to look at me. “This is serious, Fink. I could’ve said all sorts of horrible things just now to make you genuinely hate me. Believe me, I know how to do that. But I’m trying to do this differently. I have to trust you to do this. You must make Roden think you want to get away from me. Say anything you have to say. Do anything you have to do, even if you think it’ll hurt me. It’s the only way you’ll survive.”

Fink frowned, then opened his mouth to speak. He was stopped by the sound of a key in the locked door.

I stood, ready for whoever was about to come through the door, then glanced at Fink. “Anything you have to do,” I repeated.

Erick was pushed into the room first, then shoved to the floor by the men behind him. His right eye was bruised and swollen and he had a bloody lip, but he was walking evenly, so I hoped the worst was over for him. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t.

The intensity of Erick’s glare when he caught my eye was murderous. I would’ve apologized right there except that it would have sounded ridiculous and insulting. Besides, Erick wasn’t alone.

Two large men followed him into the room, while at least three or four others guarded the doorway. The two who entered carried chains in their arms with manacles linked to each set. Presumably for me.

I attempted to do this the peaceful way and held out my arms to show I wouldn’t fight. The pirates shoved me hard against the wall anyway, so I felt justified in kicking them back. If they weren’t playing nice, I didn’t see why I should have to.

Fink and Erick stood at the opposite end of the room. Fear was evident on Fink’s face, but Erick looked a little smug. If he was happy to see me get some of what I deserved, then I couldn’t blame him.

They wrapped the chain around a post in the corner of the room, then the pirates clamped the manacles firmly around my wrists and ankles. I adjusted my feet to keep my balance, which one pirate interpreted as an aggressive move. He landed a merciless fist into my gut. I doubled over, choking on my own breath.

In the background I heard Fink say, “Now give him one for me.”

I smiled slightly but remained bent over. There was too strong a possibility that if I stood up straight again, the pirates would only honor Fink’s request.

A pirate leaned over and snarled, “You think you were in trouble when Devlin was king? I just heard what the new king has planned for you. I’d suggest you ask the devils to take you now, before he gets here.”

It wasn’t a bad suggestion, except that the devils were clearly on Roden’s side.