Legends of the Vengeance : The First Adventure (9781310742866) (4 page)

“But—”

“
Do you understand me?”

Again, the silence grew between them.
Nicolo’s commanding and resolute, Sebastian’s rebellious. At last,
Sebastian nodded, beaten. “Yes, Father.”

Escape

Tensions ran high. The crew seemed eager to
get out to sea again, but first they made for Tunis. As far as
Sebastian could see, no one followed. The occasional ship passed,
but nothing seemed out of sorts—except his father.

Edgy. Snappish. Every hour dragged with the
pressure that seemed to build in it. Nicolo’s anger seemed
overblown and unreasonable. Sebastian couldn’t understand it. It
had been years since his father had been so unreasonable.

Something loomed over them. He could feel it
build. When Jaime and Eduardo strode toward the captain’s cabin,
Sebastian knew the time had come. He fled down into the hull,
across the ship, and climbed up to where he could hear everything
said in his father’s cabin. Jaime had shown him the listening post
years before when they would chase one another across the ship.
Jaime was too busy for that these days.

“—think it’s time you tell him, Nicolo.”

“He’s proven himself too young for it. He’s
a child.”

“He’s stretching his legs into young
manhood,” Jaime protested. Sebastian grinned to hear his friend
sticking up for him.

Nicolo exploded at those words. “When a boy
behaves like a child, he is a child. He is only twelve.”

“And at twelve, I—”

“I don’t care what you did at twelve,”
Eduardo interjected. His tone shifted and a measure of respect
entered, telling Sebastian that he now spoke to Nicolo. “Your men
are loyal, but they won’t be forever. You can’t unleash your fury
on them indiscriminately like this. You’ve taught them this
independence. They seek revenge because of your influence. If you
keep this up, they will turn their vengeance upon you.”

“I—”

“He’s right. Don’t take your anger at
Sebastian—if it is really that—out on innocent men who have served
you well.”

The voices faded into further argument as
Sebastian pondered those words. “—
if it is really that…”
what did Jaime mean? A scuffle above told him he’d missed
something. What was it? The boat shifted.

Curious, Sebastian rushed to see what was
happening. Just as he reached the deck, Jaime jerked his sleeve and
pointed toward his quarters. “Get in and change. Now. Do not come
out until someone comes to find you. Go!”

“But—” Something in Jaime’s eyes cut him off
as he protested. Without another word, Sebastian rushed to his
quarters and pulled out the despised garments. He worked swiftly,
shedding his shirt and breeches and jerking the hot, stiff dress
over his head.

“I’m too old—what?” Sebastian stared into
the bodice with disgust. “That is just not fair. I’m old enough to
fight for myself. I’m the best on board with daggers and everyone
knows it, but I am still stuck in this stupid dress like a stupid
girl.” He glared at the bodice as he stared down at it. “Padding. I
guess I’m too tall to be a little girl now. Should I put—” Even as
he grumbled, he frowned at the combs that fell to the floor when
the skirt dropped into place. “It’s a degradation. I hate
this.”

The door burst open and Jaime hurried into
the cabin. “Let me get you fastened up. It fits all right? Giorgio
was very proud of the um… enhancements.”

“Jaime, why? I’m—”

“Too old not to look like the young lady
you’re supposed to be.”

“It’s ridiculous. I’m good with daggers. I
can protect myself. I’m even good with a
coltellaccio
—not as
good as Father, but…”

“But he loves you too much to risk it.”

Filled with the anger and embarrassment of
his latest humiliation, Sebastian spat, “Loves me enough to rail at
me over exploring a town. He boxed my ears!”

“Fear masks itself as anger. Let’s get your
hair in the combs.”

He heard nothing more of what Jaime said.
His friend’s words rolled over and over in his mind until they were
tangled and confusing.
Fear masks itself as anger
. What did
that mean? Could it be true? His father’s rage was simply a cover
for fear? Fear of what?

“If that’s true, what—”

The ship lurched, sending both of them
careening across the small space and slamming them into the door.
Jaime held one finger over his
lips and exited,
locking the door behind him. Sebastian clenched his teeth and
balled his fists. The walls pressed in on him
each time he
heard the click of the key in the lock. Sometimes, he shoved his
head out the hole in an effort to feel as if he could breathe
again.

He listened at the door, at the porthole,
and even the floor—anything to hear what might be happening. A
cannon fired, hitting the water a hundred yards away by the sound
of it. A warning shot. Eduardo would recommend a sharp turn toward
the cannon shot. They wouldn’t expect it. Jaime would recommend not
turning at all. Turning takes up precious time if you have to run.
A pursuer also wouldn’t expect to see no change of course.

Sebastian waited to see whose suggestion
would prevail. Seconds passed, a minute then two. He grinned.
Jaime. It made sense to him too. Once they made it around the tip
of Sicily, they’d be safe. Getting there might not be so easy.

After another half hour and another cannon
splash, it seemed as though his father intended to outrun the other
ship. It was probably larger and slower, likely a military vessel.
Who else would fire upon them? Who else would his father run from
rather than fight?

~~~~~~~~~~

They sailed south to the tip of Sicily,
occasional cannon fire causing them to weave, but it was clear even
to Sebastian, locked in his quarters, that their pursuers did not
wish to sink them. In fact, he wondered if they even hoped to
capture them. It was an odd chase and one that made no sense.

He felt the shift—the change in the water as
The Vengeance
headed through the
Golfo di Noto
and
out into the Mediterranean. They must be far ahead of the other
ship. No cannon fire had announced the presence of their pursuer in
the past hour. Of course, Sebastian ached to know who
they
were and why his father allowed himself to be chased out into the
Mediterranean.

It had been a curious day, and night
encroached onto it. Without a moon, they would float until morning
and then continue to run. Again, he wondered why. Why had they
docked so early and then hurried from port just hours later? Not
even a day! Who had recognized his father, and why did that matter
now? People knew of Nicolo the pirate captain of
The
Vengeance.
They feared him. It seemed now that the question
was: what did Nicolo the dreaded pirate of the Mediterranean
fear?

An hour after dark, he heard the cry of
“helm’s-a-lee” and the ship turned sharply. He’d been right. They’d
stop at night. A compass might be an excellent navigational tool,
but it would not light the ocean to see other ships in the waters.
The door latch clicked, and Sebastian jumped—more questions
flooding his heart.

Jaime entered the room, leaned back against
the doorjamb and grinned. No, Sebastian could not see it in the
dark, but nonetheless he knew his friend still saw the vision of
him standing in a young lady’s dress with jeweled combs in his hair
and smirked at the memory.

“Just get me out of it,” he whined.

“But you looked so fetching. That green
looks perfect with your auburn tresses…”

“I’ll cut it off—it all off. Then
maybe—”

“You will not. You’ll trust the man who has
kept you alive for the past ten years and do as he says.”

“Isn’t it the job of fathers to keep their
children alive if possible? If Father wanted me to stay alive,
perhaps a change of occupation might be a simpler way to handle the
danger.”

“You know nothing,” Jaime began.

Sebastian cut him off. “That’s right! I
don’t. I don’t because no one tells me anything. Why? I’m the
captain’s son, but you all treat me like I’m a wayward street
urchin and the crown jewels all at the same time. It’s lunacy.”

Something in Jaime’s demeanor—Sebastian had
seen or felt it from time to time. His friend wanted to tell him
something; what it was, he could only imagine. Jaime seemed to
remember what it was like to be a boy who wanted people to take him
seriously. Then again, he was only twenty-two—just ten years older
than Sebastian.

A second cry to warn of a sharp turn rang
out, and the ship rocked as it turned more. “What is happening? Why
are we turning?”

“I should just have you keep that on. We’ll
fire in the morning, but we’re going to eat on deck and Eduardo
asked for a story. I have a new one I’ve been saving.”

“That’s good. We’ve heard most of your
others until we can tell them ourselves.”

“You should try it sometime,” Jaime
encouraged. “I have always thought you had the passion and talent
for storytelling.”

“I doubt my father would consider it a very
masculine accomplishment for his brave son.”

“He doesn’t look down on me for it, does
he?”

There Sebastian had to agree. Nicolo Soranzo
may have one of the finest quartermasters on the Mediterranean, but
he respected his boatswain more than anyone else. “I’ll think about
it.”

Relieved, Sebastian pulled off the dress and
hung it on a peg in the wall. “Might as well keep it there if we’re
going to fire. Why fire?”

“Captain wants to disable the ship so it
will stop chase. He thinks they’ll try to sail through the night,
but it’s big and it’s dark. They won’t reach us before
morning.”

“That’s why you kept going even after dark.
It’s inky out there.”

“Like an octopus.”

Sebastian pulled on his breeches and shirt,
grabbed his flute, and turned to follow Jaime. Even in the dark,
the young man knew what he did not. “Have you grown attached to
those combs already? Your father is right. We should get you a nice
jeweled cross and a ring or two.”

He snatched the offending things from his
hair and tossed them at his cot. He’d probably forget about them
and poke himself trying to sleep. A fine finish to a rotten
day.

“Let’s just go.”

“Hungry? I did manage to buy a
half-butchered cow while your father was looking for you. Mac and a
few of the others are working on it now.”

The idea of beef, well cooked and seasoned—
“Who is helping?”

“Filipe for one…”

Sebastian grinned. “Let’s go.”

To his surprise, several lamps lit the deck.
He could see his father standing with Eduardo on the quarterdeck,
their telescopes trained on the horizon where they expected the
chasing ship to emerge. His father turned and caught sight of him.
Shame washed over Sebastian as he realized that his father
hesitated to call to him.

He ran across deck, forgetting his recent
attempts to put his childish ways behind him and threw his arms
around his father. “I’m sorry, Papa.” Even the familiar papa
instead of father felt as if an apology in itself, and by the
squeeze he felt, Sebastian knew his father understood.

“I suppose I can understand why you did it,
but you must not—not again. If you want to go ashore, we will plan
where we land and make arrangements in advance. Do you
understand?”

“Yes.” He wanted to ask why, but it was
enough. It had to be enough. For now. Eager to change the subject,
he pointed out to sea. “We will fire on the ship?”

“In the morning. We’ll aim for near a mast
and hope for the best.”

“Who are they?”

His father did not speak for some time. Just
as Sebastian was certain that he would not answer, his father
whispered, “
El Cazador—
I think.”

“
El Cazador
? It has been years, has
it not? Three? Four? I was just a child! I thought we were rid of
him.”

“It seems he has returned.”

Two plates of delicious-smelling, sizzling
beef appeared, carried by a man Sebastian had never seen. He found
one plate, the one that should have been given to Eduardo, thrust
into his hands. “Here you are, Captain. Is this your boy?”

“Get a plate for Sebastian and give that to
Eduardo. My quartermaster eats before a child.”

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t know.”

“You know now. Go.”

He waited until the man was out of earshot
before he asked, “Who is that man, Papa? How did we have time to
take on any new crew?”

“He’s a man who has suffered at the hands of
Spain—or so I thought.”

“You do not think so now?”

“I wonder, is all. It is likely coincidence,
but our troubles did begin the moment I left his house. Stay away
from him and don’t go anywhere alone until I tell you he is
safe.”

“If he isn’t?” The moment he asked the
question, Sebastian regretted it. He knew the answer before his
father had the chance to speak it.

“I’ll kill him.”

His father ruffled his hair, annoying him
greatly, and sent him to sit near Jaime. “You’ll like the new
story. I think he plans to turn it into some sort of epic tale. I
doubt we’ll hear the end of it before we die, but it will be
interesting.” Sebastian took two steps before his father called
out, “And be sure to play us something when he’s finished. He
should have a treat before morning too.”

Sebastian realized as he settled in to
listen to Jaime’s story that he’d forgotten to ask what it was his
friend had wanted to tell him when he’d complained about his lot in
life. He’d have to try again soon. Very soon.

The Legend: Part One

Jaime began his story as soon as he took the
last bite of bread and gulped down a swig of wine. He stumbled at
first, his words as unfamiliar to him as they were to the rest of
the crew, but after a few false starts, the young man closed his
eyes and began a tale that seemed fantastical.