The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy #2)

“No, seriously, Sage. I don’t use it often but when I do, it works.”

“Then may your talent for spontaneous tantrums earn you great glory and honor.”

Fink knew I’d insulted him but didn’t seem to care. Instead, he stirred his spoon around his bowl as he mumbled, “Erick said when you went to Libeth you killed a man. Is that true?”

“Whatever I did, he got a lot worse than he deserved,” I said softly. In my mind, I pictured Mott’s strained expression as I left. Not being able to follow me had to be torturing him.

“I didn’t think you were capable of something like that.”

“I’m not.” And yet it was inevitable that I’d have to destroy the pirates.

Fink slowly exhaled. “Do you want to go to the pirates?”

I glanced over at him. “I have to go. That’s different.”

“You seem scared.”

“Everyone gets scared at times. It’s only the fools who won’t admit it.”

We were interrupted by Erick coming back over to join us. He crouched near me and said, “Will you join us around the fire, Sage? Everyone wants to hear your story about our adventures in Libeth.”

I ignored his question and asked my own. “When do we go to the pirates?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. If I had time to know you better —”

“If time is what you need, then I’ll leave tonight and find another way there,” I said without batting an eye. “Time is a luxury I don’t have.”

He massaged his jaw. “Will you promise to give them the location of the cave? Because if I bring you there and you refuse to tell them, both our heads will roll.”

I couldn’t promise that, but with total sincerity I said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my head from rolling. And I’ll try not to do anything that will cause them to detach yours.”

Apparently that was enough. Stars seemed to dance in his eyes as he said, “All my life I’ve wanted a chance with the pirates. But I’ve never had anything worth offering them. Until now.”

“So when do we leave?” I asked.

He thought for a moment, then made his decision. “At first light. I want to ride into camp as they climb from their beds. Devlin will be in his best mood then.”

I handed my bowl to Fink and picked up my bedroll, dragging it into a nearby supply tent. “In that case, I want plenty of privacy for a good sleep. Morning will come early.”

I lay down but never closed my eyes. I’d slept enough during the day that it wasn’t too difficult to stay awake. The hard part was fighting the feeling of urgency to leave, to run while I had the chance.

When it was very quiet, I at last decided that I had to take the risk of going back to the church to meet Mott. He had been right from the beginning: This plan was madness. My earlier conversation with Fink festered inside of me. When it came to the moment, could I really do what was necessary to destroy the pirates? I’d taken a life once at Farthenwood, not intentionally and in defense of Imogen, and even then it had nearly broken me. The closer I got to the pirates, the more I saw the flaws in my plan. I needed Mott’s help if I had any hope to succeed.

I propped myself up on one arm. Fink had settled in at the door of the tent as my vigil, but that wasn’t my exit. I pulled up a corner flap of the tent and silently rolled beneath it.

What I did not expect was to roll into the body of another thief, who sat up and grabbed me by my collar. “Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled.

“I’ve got to go,” I said, fully prepared to launch into my usual explanation of having inherited my mother’s pea-size bladder.

But he wasn’t interested. He shoved me to the ground and lifted the tent flap. “Get back in there ’til Erick comes for you. Wake me up again and Erick won’t have anyone left alive to get.”

His terms weren’t particularly in my favor so I rolled back under the tent. It was safe to assume any direction I went would have someone there as well, waiting for me.

I cursed and kicked at the tent pole, which startled Fink awake. I told him to go to sleep and stop bothering me, then sat with my back against the pole. It looked as if I would not see Mott tonight after all. I’d be going to the pirates alone.

I was still seated against the pole when Erick came for me very early the next morning.

“Already awake I see?”

Awake and still furious. I didn’t even look at him.

“I heard you tried to sneak out last night.”

“Everyone else is permitted to move about as they’d like. Why not me?”

“Because you’re not one of us yet.”

“Then we’re not going to the pirates.”

“Why not?”

Now I looked at him. “If you don’t trust me, how will you convince them to?”

Erick’s face reddened. “Maybe I shouldn’t trust you.” He motioned with his arm and a man with a long scar on his right cheek entered the tent. I closed my eyes a moment, certain that if I listened carefully enough I’d hear the devils laughing at this new joke on me. He was the man who’d held the torch the night I fought to rescue Nila, and he clearly recognized me. I reluctantly stood to acknowledge him. His shoulder was visibly bandaged, which gave me some pleasure. So that’s where I got him.

“Fendon returned to us last night,” Erick said. “One of the men we played Queen’s Cross with thought something was suspicious about you, so he asked Fendon to come see. Fendon said your horse looked familiar. Thinks you do too.”

Fendon swaggered forward. Before I could stop him, he lifted up my shirt and showed the cut to Erick. “Yep, this is the boy I told you about. That’s where I stabbed him.”

“Stabbed?” I snorted at that. “You couldn’t control your sword to do worse than scratch me.”

“You forgot to tell me about attacking members of my family,” Erick accused.

I quietly put a hand on my knife. “You forgot to ask.”

Fendon reared back and hit me in the jaw. I tumbled to the ground but grabbed his shirt on the way and pulled him down with me. He landed on his wounded shoulder and grunted in pain. Then I withdrew my knife, putting it at Fendon’s throat. “Maybe you should ask why they killed an innocent woman and nearly killed her young daughter?”

Erick’s eyes widened. “They did what?”

“It’s been too long since you participated in those Carthyan raids.” Then I leaned in closer to Fendon. “And if you participate in any again, I’ll find you.”

Erick grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me off the thief, then put a foot on his chest to keep him from coming after me. When Fendon signaled that he had calmed down, Erick told him to sit up. He kept his seat, but his glare was fierce and his fists remained tightly balled.

“We have rules here!” Erick said. “We’re thieves, not murderers.”

“Isn’t that what he did in the noble’s house last night, to that man?” Fendon pointed a stubby finger at me.

“If that man had escaped, he’d have called others to capture us,” Erick said. “Sage saved all of us — twice — and he netted a fine profit besides. But what you did, that is inexcusable.”