An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Sixteen

My head throbbed.

I rolled over and buried my face in my arms as if that would stop the pain, but of course it didn't. It took me a moment to remember where I was. Earlier, the Deoran guard had dragged and pushed me down into the bowels of the ship. I had started struggling the moment Tannix was out of sight, which had only resulted in the guard slamming me into a wooden beam to stop me. I vaguely remembered my mind swimming in and out of focus while we entered a dark room, lined with shelving.

But there had been something weird about the shelving. Instead of cargo, there had been people lying on the shelves.

Without opening my eyes I could tell I was on one of the shelves, and that I was surrounded by people. I could hear breathing, and shuffling. Mostly I could smell them—sweat and other even less pleasant smells. There were cuffs around my wrists, loosely locking my arms in place at the head of the shelf.

The ship was swaying and creaking around me, the thought of which ignited my terror. There was water all around us, with only some wood protecting us. What if the ship sank? I'd have no way to get out, I would drown, I would—

I grit my teeth and forced myself to stop thinking about it. Roe wouldn't let me drown. Once I'd calmed down, I took a deep breath and tried to push myself up, only to immediately hit my head on the shelves above me. I bit back a groan and opened my eyes.

It was dark in the room, but shafts of light came from above that were just enough to make out my surroundings. On the other side of the room, across a narrow aisle, there were more of the shelves. They were stacked three high, with people packed on each one. The shelves ran the length of the room, each prisoner's head was at the end near the aisle. Their wrists were chained above their heads. It seemed safe to assume that my side of the room looked the same.

"Finn?"

My name was hissed from close by. I blinked in an attempt to help my eyes adjust to the darkness. It was Acen lying next to me, his long blond hair free from its usual knot.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was caught." I glanced at the man on my right, hoping to see another one of the knights, but he was a stranger. "What is this?"

"A prison ship," Acen whispered.

"Where are the others?"

In the dim light I saw him shrug. His hands were bound, and attached by a chain to the wood above his head. There was enough slack in the chain that he'd clasped his hands together and was resting them under his head. "I tried calling out to them when we were first locked down here, but the Deorans don't want us talking."

"Oh." I lowered my voice instantly, even though there didn't seem to be any guards around. "I saw Tannix."

"Where are they keeping him?"

"I think the captain's quarters."

Acen sighed. "Good. He'll be safe there."

"Safe? How?"

"From starvation and sickness. Sicknesses spread quickly in these ships. But he's valuable. The prince will take care of him."

Acen's words made me aware of the gnawing in my stomach. "How long have we been here?"

"Hard to tell. A day or two."

"What?" My voice rose with my panic, but I forced it down again. "What? Days?"

"You've been out the whole time. I was afraid you might die." Acen shifted, rolling onto his side slightly so that he was facing me. "Can you pick locks?"