“They’re protesting,” Imogen mumbled.
The captain took notice of their actions but lifted her arms as if they were all cheering for her and loudly announced, “My friends, as you can see from the condition of our ship, we have suffered greatly while at sea, but we return in victory, with five crates of weapons to strengthen the Prozarian armies, one crate for each ship that has remained at watch here.”
I felt Imogen’s eyes on me and frowned back at her. We both understood the significance of losing those weapons, the terrible impact their loss would have upon Carthya.
Strick continued, “Very soon, some of you will receive orders to transfer the crates to each of our ships. Be cautious in your work. Without fail, the crates must not get wet — the contents are too precious; nor should they be exposed to flame. They were stored near a gunpowder magazine, and you will not want to be the person who discovers whether any dust settled on the crates themselves.”
Imogen leaned close to me. “Without those weapons, what strength does Carthya still have?”
“Not much. A few dinner knives, and maybe we could throw dirt in the eyes of our invaders.” Imogen half-smiled, but I hadn’t been entirely joking. The recent war had been devastating to our supplies.
“Where is Darius?” Strick asked.
He briefly glanced at Trea, then took a deep breath and walked forward. Without warning, the captain slapped him, hard enough that his head turned to the side, where he left it while she yelled, “You might’ve done a better job of warning me about Jaron!”
Now he looked at her. “What did he do? I warned you of everything I knew.”
“Then you do not know him well enough. He escaped my ship yesterday. Where is he now?”
I leaned forward, anxious for the answer. He might not know exactly where I was at the moment, but he did know I was here. If he was going to betray me, this was his opportunity.
But Darius only said, “Give me tonight to think about where he might have gone. I will have answers for you in the morning, I swear it.”
“Why should I believe your promises now?” Strick withdrew her sword and advanced on him until he had returned to his knees. “Maybe I’ll just kill you here and take the lens for myself.”
“I told you before; if you kill me, you will never find the lens. Now, please, give me tonight to think of a way to mend our agreement.”
“Our agreement was based on us having more time with the second lens. Your brother caused damage to the ship, which delayed our arrival.”
Darius’s head shot up. “Whatever Jaron did, that isn’t my fault!”
“But you will bear the consequences of it. We are returning to our original agreement, including the second lens.”
Darius closed his eyes. “That is too much.”
“After what your brother put us through, it is more than fair.” She raised her sword. “Accept now, if you wish to live.”
I looked back at Imogen and saw the same alarm in her eyes that surely was in mine. With a hand on my knife, I started forward, but before I could, Trea ran between them, shouting, “Captain Strick, there is no cause for this. Darius told you everything he knew, but it has been many years since he has seen his brother. Surely Jaron has changed since then. Darius could not predict that.”
The captain slowly lowered her arm, then a sly smile stretched across her face. “Our original terms are fair. Agree to them now.” She looked toward the Bellanders. “Or our negotiations will begin again.”
She marched forward, grabbing the arm of a girl who was kneeling in the front row. She cried out with fear and I immediately recognized her as Lavita, the older girl I’d seen with the other children.
“This one volunteers to make the next jump into the cave,” Strick said. “Shall I choose another?”
“Release her. I agree to your terms.” Darius lowered his head, though he was clearly shaken by what had just happened. “All of them.”
“And Jaron?”
“I will have something for you in the morning, I promise that.”
“You better go and start thinking.” Strick released Lavita, then called back onto the ship. “Roden, you should be here by now!”
I gasped when I saw him. Roden’s face was bruised, his shirt was torn, and he walked unevenly, as if exhausted. But he said to the captain, “How may I serve you?”
“What’s happened to him?” Imogen whispered.
I shrugged, but the answer seemed obvious enough. He had paid dearly for my escape from the ship.