Read Online The Lost Prince by Matt Myklusch - Free Book Online Page B

He woke up only for a few feverish, delirious moments at a time. Those moments passed as quickly as they came, and all hands on deck were thankful for it. Odds did not favor the captain living to see the shore. Odds didn’t favor anyone on board. Floating on barrels filled with water, salted meats, and pickled vegetables had given the crew a boost to start their journey, but water and supplies were running low even before the
Reckless
went down. It was only a matter of time before morale started to crack.
    The Pirate Youth drank no water on their first day. On the days that followed, rations were kept to sips. Even the captaingot his, though he drank last and took the least. Ronan would bring a small amount to Gentleman Jim and pour it in his mouth. By the second day, Dean could see that Rook considered this a waste of water, but it took him until the third night to do anything about it.
    Dean was up late manning one of the sails when he saw Rook creep past his sleeping shipmates. Dean would have paid Rook no mind if he had just walked across the raft normally, but the focused effort he made to be quiet seemed suspicious. Everything about Rook seemed suspicious, the object he had concealed in his right hand most of all. Rook stopped at the edge of the raft and picked up the rope tied to Gentleman Jim’s launch. He pulled the line tight and crouched down before it. A dagger twinkled in the moonlight. Dean drew in a sharp breath.
He means to cut him loose.
    Thinking fast, Dean let out the sail and jumped into the air. The wind carried him across the raft in a flash. “Avast!”
    Rook whirled around with his knife drawn, but he wasn’t ready for Dean flying through the air at such a speed. Dean threw his feet into Rook’s chest and knocked him back into the ocean. Ronan woke up when he heard the splash. “What just happened?”
    Dean let go of one end of the sail and landed next to Ronan. “Not much. Rook offered to give up his place on the raft, that’s all.”
    “What? Man overboard!”
    “No, you don’t understand,” Dean said, picking up Rook’s knife. “He tried to cut the captain’s line.”
    Ronan’s eyes lit up with rage. “Rook, you double-crossing cur.”
    A wave splashed Rook in the face, and he choked down a mouthful of salt water. “The cap’n’s dead! We’ll all die of thirst if you keep wastin’ our water on ’im!”
    Rook tried to climb back onto the raft, but Ronan stepped on his fingers. “The only water that’s been wasted here are the drops you drank. But, if it’s water you’re after, you’ve got all you can stand down there. Take as much as you like. That’s where you’ll be spending the rest of this trip, however long or short it might be.”
    Rook gave Dean a look that would have disarmed a swordfish. Then he tied a loose rope around his wrist, in case he ever lost his grip on the raft, and snarled at Dean and Ronan. “This ain’t over. Yer gonna wish you never met me, the both of ya!”
    “I already wish that,” said Dean, meaning every word. This job had completely gone to wreck. He’d broken all the rules of spy craft—the same rules that had kept him alive all these years. Don’t get attached to people. Don’t get involved in matters that don’t concern you. Don’t linger long enough to make enemies. He felt Ronan’s hand on his shoulder.
    “Thanks for that, Seaborne. I think I might have misjudged you.”
    Dean shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet. We’re still a long way from home.”
    Ronan laughed. “Where’s that? I don’t know about you, but my home’s lying in pieces on the ocean floor. There’s no home for the likes of us. At this point, our only hope lies in getting rescued by the right ship.”
    “Thanks, Ronan. You always know just what to say.”
    Time passed, food ran out, and the boys languished beneath the hot Caribbean sun. When the water ran dry, as sooner or later it had to do, the crew faded fast. Dean held out as long as he could,