Legends of the Vengeance : The First Adventure (9781310742866) Read Online Free PDF

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.