I looked up. I was in a cell. He sliced away the rope. I crumpled to the straw-covered floor, the strips of my clothes falling away until only my undershorts remained. At least the cell was clean. And I was the only prisoner. No, these weren't men who kept prisoners. Not for long.
“Pirate?” Baellius toed me.
I grunted. “I'm a little busy healing right now, Baellius. Can we have this conversation later?”
Baellius chuckled. “Damn. Still fighting, eh?” He crouched and rolled me onto my back. His stare moved over my body, taking in the sealed wounds—sealed but not completely healed. He poked at one, and I hissed. “You'll heal by tonight. Then the Captain will be back. Think about that, pirate. What good is your loyalty if you die?”
“I believe dying for someone is the highest form of loyalty.”
Baellius grunted and stood up. “Fair enough. It's a shame that your loyalty is misplaced. I may have liked you if we'd met under other conditions.”
“Really? Because I think you're a prick.”
Baellius burst into laughter and strode out of the cell. He closed the door, locked it, and left, still laughing.
Chapter Nine
The Captain was right. He didn't need to torture me further. All he had to do was leave me in that cell, naked and suffering from blood loss. As a Neraky, I could handle extreme cold, so the blood loss didn't bother me as far as body heat was concerned. It did, however, deplete my precious moisture. Which hurt. And I knew it would only get worse.
When the Captain came by that night, I ignored him. It wasn't so hard to do, what with the dryness of my mouth. Would have been harder to speak. He went away after a while. I can't even recall what he said. Maybe he hadn't been there at all. It was very possible that I was hallucinating. But if that were the case, my mind chose a poor subject. I would have been happier to see Vaxarion. Or maybe not. Maybe seeing him would have been another form of torture.
Hours passed. The ship stopped moving. My only comfort was that my friends—most of them—were safe. Poor Herru. He'd been a good guy. Always smiling. But that described most of the crew. Just thinking about them solidified my will. I'd die to make sure they continued to be safe.
Shouldn't be long now.
“Come on, pirate. Are you giving up already?” Baellius was back. He tossed something at me. “Get dressed.”
I didn't move.
“Are you dead?” He pushed me with his boot.
I groaned and even that hurt.
“Good. Get dressed.”
I didn't move.
“Fuck,” he grumbled as he sat me up and dressed my floppy body like a doll. “The Captain took too much blood. He gets carried away sometimes. He does enjoy fresh fish.”
I didn't rise to the bait.
To the bait. Oh, that would have been good if I'd been up to laughing. As it was, I could barely think. My blood was like mud in my veins. My heartbeats were so slow. Like the drumbeat of death. The pain was far worse than anything Aras had done. I fell backward onto the ground as Baellius pulled some pants on me.
“Your skin is healed. Come on. You'll be fine.”
I didn't even open my eyes.
“Fuck. All right.” He propped me up against his chest, sitting down to hold me like a child. “Drink, damn you.”
Something pressed against my lips. I smelled water. With a groan of need, I pushed past the pain and opened my mouth. Dried-up flesh tore, but that cool liquid was a salve worth the pain. Instantly, my body sucked up the moisture, drawing it from my throat and mouth before it even reached my stomach. I gasped and gulped more. Flesh mended and plumped. Water sank into my blood. My hearts leapt back into action, pushing the refreshed blood through my body.
“All right. Easy now. That's enough.” He took it away. “I can't have the Captain seeing you in good health. This is just to keep you alive for questioning. Get it?”
I groaned. “One more sip. Please.”
“No. You have to look pitiful or I'm in trouble.” He stood up, yanking me with him, then tossed me over his shoulder. “You gonna live?”
I grunted.
