“My name is Swifty Tilagon,” the man said. “Ship’s navigator.”
Devlin swatted him across the cheek. “When I want to hear from you, I’ll speak to you!”
Agor stepped forward with papers given to him by one of the men who’d helped capture the ship. “It’s only rocks for cargo.”
“Not rocks,” Tilagon corrected. “I transport metals for a mine in the south. Copper and lead and whatever else we find.”
“Transport it where?”
“To Isel, to sell it. Please release me. That cargo represents several months of labor. Hundreds of men are waiting for their pay.”
Inwardly, I groaned. Did he have to tell them its value?
Devlin gestured to the pirates. “My men have been waiting for their pay too. I believe we need these metals more than anyone in Isel.” Then he nodded at Agor. “Kill this man, then unload his ship.”
The man yelped but by then I had pushed my way to the front of the crowd. “You should think bolder, Devlin.”
His glare turned on me, daring me to have a suggestion worth challenging him.
I could only hope that I did. “You have the opportunity to steal from this man twice. Send some pirates to Isel with him tomorrow disguised as his crew. They can sell the rocks, take his payment, and then kill him. If you send enough pirates, you’ll have fighting power to keep the cargo too.”
With his greedy appetite whetted, Devlin grinned. He pointed to a blond, curly-haired pirate who couldn’t have been much older than me. “Tie this man up. We’ll fetch him again in the morning.”
“Why not put him in the jail?”
“I’ve already got a couple of men in there cooling off for the night. Just tie him to a tree. There’s enough of us around he won’t be able to do anything.”
There was nothing more I could do now. Tilagon spat on my boots when I walked past him to leave. I stopped and he said, “It wasn’t enough to kill my men. Now you’ll steal from our investors too. Of all these miserable vultures, you are the worst.”
“I saved your life,” I said.
“Only for another day.”
“Then use it well. Even a day is valuable around here.”
“I’ll use it to beg the devils to curse you.”
“Get in line,” I said coolly. “Do you think you’re the first?”
Then I wandered to the dinner tables with the other pirates. Erick caught up to me on the way. “It was a good idea back there. At least, Devlin was pleased with you.”
“I don’t care a devil’s inch about what Devlin thinks of me.”
Erick glanced around to see if anyone had overheard. “You should. Because whether you like him or not, he’s king here.” I snorted my contempt, but Erick grabbed my arm to turn me back to him. “Who are you to look down on him? You’re no one, Sage. And you won’t get anywhere with that attitude.”
“Good advice,” I said, fully agreeing that my attitude wasn’t going to endear me to Devlin.
Dinner wasn’t much different than lunch had been. It was loud, boisterous, and obnoxious. I watched for Imogen but only caught a glimpse of her carrying dishes back to the kitchen from where the other serving girls left them as they busied themselves with different tasks.
nned. “Clearly, they’re worse than I am.”
“You must’ve caught them off guard. Because a person would almost have to try in order to be as bad as you were just now.”
Not almost. “How’d you do against Agor?” I asked.
Erick shrugged. “He’s good with a sword, but he’s not great. I held my own.”
“You should teach me some of your tricks.”