A Pirate's Life For Me

The Beginning of the End

I try to answer truthfully, to tell him right to his face how unbelievably furious I am to see him, but my throat closes with an emotion entirely different from anger and I curl into myself—curl away from him.

He only laughs and returns his attention to Annie.

"I see you've taken care of the pesky little chance that he'll escape." He shifts his stance, both boots landing with a thud on either side of my head. I shiver in the grass. "Spoken from experience, he does have a nasty habit of making good friends."

Annie gives me a grim smirk, a little kick to the ribs. I grunt in response, turn my head away. "Oh, you won't have to worry about that. My partner here made sure he won't be leaving on his own two feet."

They share a laugh before Hazelton butts in. "Pardon me, but who're you?"

Annie flashes him a dangerous smile. "Shut up, Haz."

Icas grins widely, lips pulling back to show his sparkling teeth. "I'm the one with the power here, buddy. I assume your friend told you of our deal?"

In the silence, Annie's jaw ticks. My body itches to crawl away from the danger—three powers that be standing in a triangle, surrounding me? Every nerve beneath my skin screams at me to log roll into the basement, curl into a ball, rip my hair out and cry, anything but lie here and be still. But if I move, I have no qualms about what will happen next. So I grit my teeth, watch Jackson thrash in someone else's arms, and keep quiet.

Hazelton licks his lips and sighs a quiet sort of laugh, looks at the ground before meeting Icas' eyes again. "I'm sorry, you said there was some kind of a deal?"

Icas's eyes shine. "Yes. Something along the lines of, 'the kid is mine'?"

Hazelton turns to Annie, feet shifting dangerously close to my throbbing leg. "Sorry? I thought you said that I got Cas, and the other three musketeers."

Annie gives Icas a tight lipped smile and pats Hazelton on the chest in a vain attempt to calm him down. "Well, there was a slight change in plans. I assure you, you'll still have your fun, but for now I need you to shut your—"

"I don't think you understand, Annie," Hazelton hisses, leaning down, inches from her face. "I. Get. Caspian. And the only way to get Caspian, as you so eloquently put it, is to get his friends, too."

The hand that waves at the three stationed by the door is tense and tight, wearing a glove but angry and strong. Icas snorts, a laugh under his breath. Hazelton's attention snaps to him.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm gonna have to tell you that your deal is off, pal." He steps forward, puffed chest millimeters from Icas' grin.

I wiggle an inch to the right before Icas's boot stops me from going much farther.

"Well, lucky for you, Mr. Haz?" Icas ignores Hazelton's indignant huff and rolls my head to the side with his foot. "My deal wasn't made with you. But I am not opposed to making another one. So have your fun. We'll discuss the price afterwards."

With a snarl, Hazelton wraps his hand around the collar of my shirt and lifts me a foot or two above the ground, dragging me forward until my chin connects with the dirt with a solid thunk.

Jackson lets out a grunt, thrashing harder against the man holding him. Closer, now. I can see that the other men are guards. Icas' crew. Colette has stopped struggling in favor of glaring at Hazelton, and I finally recognize the other restrained figure.