Read Online The Kings Man by Rowena Cory Daniells - Free Book Online Page B

sit on a sack that, by the feel of it, contained potatoes. He cursed his bad luck.
    Then he cursed his too-ready tongue. He should never have accused the surgeon of hiding in a bottle. He couldn’t afford to make an enemy of Rishardt.
    He should have anticipated this trick.
    Now how would he serve Byren?
    Frustration churned in his gut.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    G ARZIK HAD NO idea how long it took, but eventually the thin stream of light intensified as someone came up the passage with a lantern. Desperately hungry, he’d just eaten a raw potato, and now he regretted it. The unpleasant feel of the dirty skin remained on his lips. Grit still crunched between his teeth.
    From the pitch and roll of the ship, they were well out to sea and any chance of escape was long gone.
    Some warrior he’d turned out to be.
    The door swung open, lantern light speared into his eyes, making made him flinch.
    A thick-fingered hand reached in and dragged him to his feet. ‘Bring beans, an’ onions. Come.’
    He’d been expecting the kitchen lad or the ship’s surgeon; certainly not the cook. The man was big, beefy and impatient. His Rolencian was minimal and Garzik knew from the bruises on Arolt’s face that the cook let his hands do the talking.
    Since there was no point arguing, Garzik found a sack of beans and onions and followed the man along to the galley, where a meal bubbled away.
    Immediately, his stomach knotted with hunger.
    The cook slit the bag’s stitching and upended the beans into a pot, then he gestured to the chopping board. ‘Onions.’ He imitated dicing.
    ‘Isn’t that Arolt’s job?’ Garzik dared to ask.
    An open hand caught the side of his head, knocking him into a bench and bruising his ribs. Ear burning, head ringing, he picked up the knife. For a heartbeat he imagined driving it through the cook’s chest.
    The man grinned and beckoned him.
    Garzik turned away to the chopping board. Soon onion-induced tears streamed from his eyes. Trapped in the galley, he could not escape the cooking smells and his stomach contracted painfully.
    He kept expecting Arolt to return from running an errand, but there was no sign of the lad. The longer it went on, the more worried he became. But with the reminder of his stinging ear and sore ribs every time he breathed, he wasn’t about to ask after Arolt. He’d prepared enough meals while hunting with Captain Blackwing not to disgrace himself in the galley. Once the onions were done, he handed the chopping board to the cook, who tipped the contents into the pot.
    Garzik licked his lips. ‘Uh, I really have to pee.’
    The cook used the knife to gesture for him to go. ‘Back quick, or...’ He mimed what he’d do and Garzik instinctively covered himself.
    Not sure why he had been demoted to kitchen lad, Garzik went along the passage to relieve himself. On his way back, he spotted the surgeon, who must have been watching for him.
    Rishardt beckoned from the doorway of his cabin and Garzik hurried over to join him. They both ducked inside.
    ‘What happened to Arolt? Did the cook hurt –’
    ‘Arolt jumped ship in Rolencia,’ the surgeon told him. ‘You’re the kitchen lad until we can find another one. Whatever you do, don’t anger the cook. He killed the lad before Arolt with one blow, just lashed out and cracked his skull.’
    Garzik shuddered.
    ‘Don’t worry. He knows he’ll have to deal with me, if he hurts you.’
    ‘Why...’ Garzik began, recalling how rude he’d been to the surgeon last time they spoke. ‘Why –’
    ‘Help a seven-year-slave?’ Rishardt shrugged. ‘I might be a drunken sot living amongst men who act like beasts, but that doesn’t mean I have to sink to their level.’
    In that moment the surgeon reminded Garzik of Captain Blackwing. A surge of fellow feeling surprised him. Neither of them could ever go home. Garzik’s home no longer existed. As for Rishardt, a powerful noble would ruin his family if he returned. No wonder he