Read Online Jaded Tides (The Razor's Adventures Pirate Tales) by P.S. Bartlett - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: P.S. Bartlett
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jowls were covered in unkempt whiskers. Oddly, the urge to sit him in a chair and shave them off came over me, and a light chuckle skipped from my lips as I turned quickly back to my medical log.
“That’s fine,” I said without looking back while waving him off. “Come back when yer feelin’ green around them gills, and I’ll have somethin’ for ye.” When I turned back a moment later, the man was gone, and I quickly wrote my first entry into my own medical journal:
Gunner – seasickness.
Once I’d prepared his remedy of ground ginger and mint leaves, more than enough for at least ten men, I rushed after the crewmen and up the gangway into the morning sun. The fresh air I’d been deprived of for nearly twelve hours revived my spirit, and I drank it in like the juice of a freshly picked orange. Just for fun, or perhaps to prove I hadn’t gotten lazy, I sprinted across the deck and pounced on the ratlines. The view when I reached the highest point on the main mast took my breath away. I hooked my right arm and the heels of my boots through the web and lay back against the bed of lines, allowing that boiling pot of white light in the sky to kiss my pale cheeks.
“Razor!” a familiar voice shouted up at me. I recognized it immediately as Master Green. “Come down here now.”
With a heavy groan and without nearly enough sun, I clambered back down and leapt to the deck to greet Master Green. “Is there a problem, sir?”
“I believe you have been charged with the sick berth, and you are out here behaving like a monkey in the trees.” Master Green leaned his big shoulders back and crossed his arms at his chest. There was something unnerving in those pale green eyes as they shined out from his dark, cocoa skin. So far, I’d seen a completely different side of him. He seemed angry, or resentful, about something. I wondered if Cass could see him this way, would she still think she loved the man. I knew I was indebted to him and had truly promised myself I’d not annoy him, but he was starting to get under my skin. I believed he was deliberately trying to piss me off in order to prove I had no right on the ship.
“You called me down from that glorious view just to scold me? Oh, please, Master Green, you can do much better than that,” I said turning to walk away.
“Razor, had you been more observant, you would have noticed we are in pursuit of a ship, and this is no time to be racing yourself up the lines for your own entertainment.” Master Green tapped the spyglass in his belt and then swung out his right arm across the port gunnel. “Will you be needing this, or can you see her with your naked eye?” he asked with a crooked smile.
Before I realized what I’d done, I snatched the spyglass from his belt and pulled it to my eye, “Are you toying with me? We’ve been out here less than a week and…”
“And we do not know who, or what, she is yet, but we will know within a few hours.”
“A few hours? I’ll die of curiosity until then!” I barked, handing him back his spyglass.
“Then we shall provide you with a proper burial. Now, in case she is the ship you and the Captain believe her to be, I suggest you prepare the berth for injuries. I am not suggesting there will be a fight, I am only advising you to be prepared.”
“I hope the stupid wench does want a fight. The only problem is, if there are any young women aboard, I’d not wish for them to suffer due to my hunger for revenge.” I stopped and found myself in thought for a moment. “You’re right, of course, Master Green. I’ll be in the sick berth, at my post, making the preparations as you advised.” I nodded to him and turned to leave when he called out to me.
“Razor, do not worry yourself. According to the log, unless the channels have changed or that ship is not a merchant, we are fairly certain she is, in fact, the ship we seek.”
“Fairly isn’t good enough for me. Until I can look through that glass and see the
“That’s fine,” I said without looking back while waving him off. “Come back when yer feelin’ green around them gills, and I’ll have somethin’ for ye.” When I turned back a moment later, the man was gone, and I quickly wrote my first entry into my own medical journal:
Gunner – seasickness.
Once I’d prepared his remedy of ground ginger and mint leaves, more than enough for at least ten men, I rushed after the crewmen and up the gangway into the morning sun. The fresh air I’d been deprived of for nearly twelve hours revived my spirit, and I drank it in like the juice of a freshly picked orange. Just for fun, or perhaps to prove I hadn’t gotten lazy, I sprinted across the deck and pounced on the ratlines. The view when I reached the highest point on the main mast took my breath away. I hooked my right arm and the heels of my boots through the web and lay back against the bed of lines, allowing that boiling pot of white light in the sky to kiss my pale cheeks.
“Razor!” a familiar voice shouted up at me. I recognized it immediately as Master Green. “Come down here now.”
With a heavy groan and without nearly enough sun, I clambered back down and leapt to the deck to greet Master Green. “Is there a problem, sir?”
“I believe you have been charged with the sick berth, and you are out here behaving like a monkey in the trees.” Master Green leaned his big shoulders back and crossed his arms at his chest. There was something unnerving in those pale green eyes as they shined out from his dark, cocoa skin. So far, I’d seen a completely different side of him. He seemed angry, or resentful, about something. I wondered if Cass could see him this way, would she still think she loved the man. I knew I was indebted to him and had truly promised myself I’d not annoy him, but he was starting to get under my skin. I believed he was deliberately trying to piss me off in order to prove I had no right on the ship.
“You called me down from that glorious view just to scold me? Oh, please, Master Green, you can do much better than that,” I said turning to walk away.
“Razor, had you been more observant, you would have noticed we are in pursuit of a ship, and this is no time to be racing yourself up the lines for your own entertainment.” Master Green tapped the spyglass in his belt and then swung out his right arm across the port gunnel. “Will you be needing this, or can you see her with your naked eye?” he asked with a crooked smile.
Before I realized what I’d done, I snatched the spyglass from his belt and pulled it to my eye, “Are you toying with me? We’ve been out here less than a week and…”
“And we do not know who, or what, she is yet, but we will know within a few hours.”
“A few hours? I’ll die of curiosity until then!” I barked, handing him back his spyglass.
“Then we shall provide you with a proper burial. Now, in case she is the ship you and the Captain believe her to be, I suggest you prepare the berth for injuries. I am not suggesting there will be a fight, I am only advising you to be prepared.”
“I hope the stupid wench does want a fight. The only problem is, if there are any young women aboard, I’d not wish for them to suffer due to my hunger for revenge.” I stopped and found myself in thought for a moment. “You’re right, of course, Master Green. I’ll be in the sick berth, at my post, making the preparations as you advised.” I nodded to him and turned to leave when he called out to me.
“Razor, do not worry yourself. According to the log, unless the channels have changed or that ship is not a merchant, we are fairly certain she is, in fact, the ship we seek.”
“Fairly isn’t good enough for me. Until I can look through that glass and see the
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