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I slam my heel into the foot of the sailor on my right. Then my free hand goes to the other sailor’s throat. I place one hand at the back of each man’s neck. With one choking and the other stumbling, it isn’t difficult to connect their heads. Hard.
That wasn’t part of my routine back on the ship. But a little improvisation goes a long way. This situation is a bit more dire. For one, it isn’t one I had planned for.
There’s only the man with the sword left. He stays right where he is, though his eyes have widened significantly. “Stay where you are or I’ll kill him.”
I roll my eyes. “Go right ahead. You’d save me the trouble.”
I’m not sure whether I should laugh or not at his confusion. “What?”
“I’m being held prisoner by pirates. If you say more of your men are coming, then you can help me. We can use him as leverage as was suggested before.”
He looks to his fallen shipmates.
“Sorry about that. I don’t like being held against my will. Now please. Say you’ll help me.”
The sailor focuses on Riden, which gives me the distraction I need to reach for my boot. “Is what the girl says true?”
“Trust me. The girl’s more trouble than she’s worth, and you can’t believe a thing she says. You’d be better off killing her now.”
I see sweat drip down the sailor’s face. The hand on his sword trembles. “That’s enough.” He turns his body toward me while keeping his sword on Riden. “I’m—”
The dagger flies straight and true, finding its place in the sailor’s chest.
Thank the stars I still had it on me. The dagger-hidden-in-book trick is one I will never take lightly should I ever need to intentionally get kidnapped again. And it was a wonder Riden hadn’t checked me for weapons when he found me sneaking about the ship that night.
Riden stands up straight. His mouth is slightly ajar, his eyes wide. “I thought you… I thought—”
“You thought I’d really turned on you. Probably should have, but oh well. Too late for that now.”
I walk over to where Riden stands when others enter the storage room.
“What happened here?” Draxen asks. He looks neither worried nor upset by the bodies on the floor.
I wait for Riden to sell me out to save his own skin. He could easily tell Draxen that I left him to die, telling the pirates to come aboard when an ambush was in place. It would be a little farfetched, considering there were only three men on board. But still plausible.
“It was my oversight,” Riden says. “I thought the ship was clear. I told the lass to go above and bring you over. Then they came out of a hidden room. I handled them.”
“Excuse me?” I say. He isnottaking credit for my kills. Not that I need Draxen to know I’m capable. In fact, it’s probably best that Draxen thinks I’m not.
Riden ignores my outburst. “I think you’ll be pleased with what else awaits in the hidden room.”
That distracts me. I look over Riden’s shoulder and see three chests filled with coins. There could easily be more behind other panels.
Draxen’s eyes are on fire as he stares. He alone advances, taking stock of it all.
“They’re smugglers,” Riden continues. “Looks like they’ve just delivered their cargo, whatever it may have been. I suspect that after the storm, most of the crew left to go get a new ship and return here. They weren’t about to leave all this wealth behind. These men were left here to guard it. I probably wouldn’t have found them if I hadn’t heard one of them moving through the wall.”
“Yes, yes,” Draxen says. I doubt he heard a word Riden said. He’s still staring into the wall. “Take the girl back over. The men and I will handle this. We need to be quick before the rest of their crew returns.” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “Well done, brother.”
Riden nods.
And just like that it’s back to the brig I go.
***
Riden opens my cell and thrusts me inside.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
