The Dougs had returned, and the ship was stocked. There was no opportunity for Tress to flee now.
THE EXPLORER
Crow followed Tress out. It wasn’t until the ship was safely away from port—on a heading that would take them straight into the Crimson Sea—that Tress was allowed to go belowdecks.
Trapped. She was trapped on this ship.
They were sailing toward an insane sea where rain fell unpredictably. And if they survived, she would be sold into slavery to a dragon.
Had she really thought she had the upper hand? Had she really thought she could rescue Charlie?
Her? Of all people?
The worst part was, he would probably never know what had happened to her. He’d rot alone in the Sorceress’s prison. And if by some miracle he did get free, he’d find that she’d left the Rock—but her ship had been destroyed by deadrunners.
She drifted down the steps, then down the hallway. Dougs laughed and worked behind her, thumping on the steps to the hold. But she felt alone. Like she was choking at dinner, and nobody could see. Or maybe nobody cared.
She fled to her room as tears threatened to boil free. She doubted that bawling your eyes out was an appropriate pirate activity, so she was glad she was able to get the door shut before she fully lost control.
“Whoa,” Huck said. He scampered up onto the footboard of the bed. “Hey, Tress. What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I…I…” She shook her head and gasped for breath, unable to speak. It was all suddenly too much. People are like stomachs, you know. They can process some of what you feed them, but stuff in too much too fast, and eventually it’s going to come right back up.
“What did they do to you, Tress?” Huck asked. “I’ll get them back. I promise you. I’ll bite ’em on the toes.”
“On…the toes?” she asked through the tears, imagining the ridiculous sight.
“Yup,” he said. “It’s a very noble thing to attempt, as the toes are the third most stinky part on a human’s body. I’d do it anyway, for you.”
Tress settled down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears crawled down her cheeks.
“Tress?” Huck said. “Really. What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” she whispered. “And nobody did anything to me. I’m to blame. For all of this. The captain plans to trade me to the dragon of the Crimson Sea—I’m to be payment for a healing.
“I knew I was in over my head, so why should I be surprised? Why wouldn’t I end up trapped on a ship captained by a demon, sailing straight toward my own doom? It’s what I deserve.”
She put the heels of her palms to her eyes, rubbing them. Then she felt a distinct bite on her left big toe.
“Hey!” she said, sitting up and looking toward the foot of the bed, where Huck sat.
“Sorry,” he said. “But I did promise to bite the person who was responsible for you crying. Also…um, no offense…but yuck.”
She flopped back down. “Don’t make me laugh,” she said. “I might shatter like a cold glass dropped in hot water.”
He scrambled along the bed, up next to the pillow, watching her tears. Those were quieter now, but still persistent, like the pain itself.
“I…went ashore,” Huck said. “I hid in one of the bales of cloth the Dougs hauled out, then made my escape while Fort was selling them. He’s good, by the way. I’ve never seen someone haggle like that man. And beyond that, the town was really interesting. Maybe you’d like to hear about it?”
She shrugged.
“When I’m feeling bad, it’s nice to think about something else,” Huck said, wringing his paws. “So let me know if I’m helping, or if you want me to be quiet. Sometimes it’s better if people—and rats—are quiet. I know that. At least, someone told me that once.
“Anyway, I watched Fort haggle, but I was too far away to read his words. I just know he got way more for those bales of cloth than he should have, considering the buyer must have known they were hot. Oh! And afterward he went to meet with a group of Deaf people living on the island. There were a bunch of them, and Fort smiled a lot and used his hands to talk, instead of the board. I wonder if the other islands have groups like that and I never noticed.
“Anyway, the city didn’t fly the royal flag. Isn’t that interesting? I know we’re at the border of the Emerald Sea, but still. The king has always made it seem like there aren’t any rogue islands. And we just landed on one! I expected a lot of peg legs and eye patches, but the people seemed…normal.”