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

“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.

Chapter
Five
    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.
    Over two hundred years—almost three hundred
years ago— in England—London—a family lived and grew wealthy. They
were moneylenders—Jews. Joseph ben Saolomon sat in his rooms some
time just after midnight when he heard a soft rap.
    “ Come in,”
    A short, weasel-like man scurried into the
room, closing the door softly behind him. “I have news.”
    “ I should hope so. Why else would you
knock on my door at this hour?”
    “ I was listening to my father talk with
some of the other lords. The king is talking about a Statute of
Jewry.”
    “ What is this statute? What will it
mean?”
    “ The king is appalled at how many of