Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates Read Online Free PDF Page A

strange warmth flowed out of the end of it. The warmth seemed to travel throughout his body and he was just about to say how strange it all was when he found that he could not even open his mouth. He tried to move but there was no strength in his muscles. The nearly empty bowl of stew slipped from his hand and fell to the floor where, without a sound, it broke into several pieces. Sebastian registered this even as a black hole seemed to open at the back of his skull and spread outwards like a growing stain, until it had claimed him completely.
     
He knew nothing else for quite some time . . .
     

C HAPTER 4

     

THIEVES IN THE NIGHT
When he woke, he was still slumped in front of the fire; or rather, what was left of it. The wood had long since burned away and all that remained was a heap of cold grey ash.
     
The broken bowl still lay scattered at his feet and the half-empty goblet of wine stood beside it. He felt terribly groggy, as though he'd drunk much more than he actually had, and when he got unsteadily to his feet, he realized that his shoulders and knees were aching from having slept in such an unnatural position.
     
He gazed blearily around the interior of the cave, but there was nobody else about and he could only surmise that Leonora had left him asleep and gone to her own bed. He imagined himself dozing off in front of her and felt mortified. What if he'd been snoring? Or, worse still, drooling like an imbecile? Clearly he had been more tired than he thought. He had the distinct impression that he'd missed something very important but couldn't for the life of him think what it might be.
     
He turned and stumbled towards the cave mouth. Stepping out into the night, he took a much-needed breath of fresh air and looked around. Max was slumped on the ground beside the caravan, fast asleep and snoring at an incredible volume. Presumably Cornelius had unshackled him before turning in for the night. Sebastian felt vaguely guilty since that was usually his task. Cornelius himself, as was his usual custom, was lying under the caravan, all bundled up in his bedroll. Sebastian fumbled around in the back of the caravan, found his own blankets and, wrapping himself up in them, lay down beside Cornelius and fell swiftly and deeply asleep.
     
He dreamed he was back in the cave, sitting with Leonora beside the blazing fire. She was talking to him in a low, hypnotic tone but he couldn't make out what she was saying; the words seemed to fragment around him like a blizzard of falling snow, and he was really only aware of her big, tawny eyes staring at him, seeming almost to devour him with their intensity. It occurred to him that she was even more beautiful than he had first thought and he just sat there, gazing at her in helpless devotion.
     
Suddenly she reached out to him and opened her hand to reveal something set into her palm – a strange oval of smooth, raised flesh. As Sebastian stared at it, a layer of skin slid back, revealing an eye gazing steadfastly up at him, the same tawny colour as the ones on Leonora's face.
     
Sebastian woke abruptly to the sound of Cornelius bellowing beside him. He sat up quickly and banged his head on the underside of the wagon. Turning to his left, he saw two dark shapes struggling beside him. Cornelius, lying on his back, was wrestling with a tall figure kneeling over him. A shaft of moonlight filtering through the spokes of a wheel revealed the man's face. It was Adam. In the same glance Sebastian saw that one of Adam's hands was trapped inside Cornelius's breastplate. The little warrior had both his hands gripped tightly around Adam's wrist and was attempting to pull him to the ground.
     
'Try to rob me, would you?' he roared. 'You two-faced lizard – I thought there was something about you that couldn't be trusted!'
     
In reply, Adam simply pulled back his other arm and struck Cornelius hard across the chin, making him relinquish his grip. Adam scrambled out from under the