Cutlass Read Free Page B

upon the island. There were demands for William to meet Barren at sea, and demands that the king send ships to destroy this single pirate crew. Neither had happened—the first because William was a coward, and the second because the king’s sons sailed with Barren, and to destroy Barren’s ship meant killing the only two children of King Tetherion.
    While Barren felt a little guilty that his choices had led to so many people’s unease, he knew without a doubt that if any one of them discovered him here, they would turn him over in exchange for the bounty upon his head.
    “Are you ready?” Leaf asked.
    Barren looked down at himself. He hoped he would be hidden enough. Not only was he at a disadvantage because of who he was, he was also half-Elf. Depending on who you ran into, being half-Elf could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes, you were just ignored, other times you were hanged. Barren had witnessed both. The hatred humans and full-blood Elves felt for half-bloods truly sprang from ignorance—the humans feared Elves and believed they would destroy all of Mariana with their magic, while the Elves believed humans to be dull and dangerous with their lustful wishes for power. Barren never understood the hatred. He knew very well that no matter a person’s heritage, everyone’s blood was red.
    To avoid being noticed, Barren pulled his hair into a tight ponytail, careful to hide his pointed ears. A hat he had stolen months ago kept most of his head hidden, and placed a shadow over his eyes. Luckily, he filled Jay Nelson’s red jacket up nicely and thought he looked quite regal for a pirate.
    Then Barren turned to the Elf. He had successfully hidden his long blond hair and pointed ears under his hat, but he still looked Elvish. It was in his build, and with unnaturally ivory skin, bright eyes, and chiseled features, he looked more supernatural than most humans. More than his own heritage, Barren hoped no one noticed Leaf’s, as Elves weren’t guests of the royal court. Ever since Tetherion’s wife, a full-blood Elf, had run away, they had not been welcomed. While no one knew exactly what happened, it seemed the general population believed she’d fallen in love with one of her own kind and left Tetherion to raise his two children by himself. Most of Maris also blamed her for the twins’ choice to take up piracy.
    On top of this, Lord Alder, the King of Aurum, did not care for the human race in the least. As an immortal, Lord Alder had gone from seeing his race thrive, to seeing it bleed out into the mortal world. More and more, half-Elves dotted the world of Mariana, and Alder grew to despise them. Then when King Cathmor, Barren’s grandfather, began vying for land across Mariana—islands in both the Orient and the Octent—Lord Alder had to fight for his right to remain ruler of his people. The deal was settled with a treaty—of which only one detail is known: that Lord Alder could keep his land and rule the Elves—but what he gave in exchange, no one knows.
    “I’m ready,” Barren took a deep breath.
    “Just remember, this was your idea.”
    “How could I forget?” Barren rolled his eyes. Pulling his hat as far down as it would go, and lifting the collar of his jacket, he and Leaf merged with the crowd, following the stream of people toward the markets of Maris.
    The markets at port were a colorful affair. Tents rose in maroon, orange, yellow, and purple. With the sun setting, the sheen of jewel-toned fabric glimmered like gems. The merchandise ranged from weapons to wind chimes, strange trinkets of the sea, even diamonds. And everything was peddled furiously. Women painted with gold danced in what little space they had, musicians worked their instruments until their fingers went numb, men in tattered shirts and dirty pants called out the prices of useless objects, attempting to lure in customers. The market was a loud and tireless place—but this was what Maris thrived on.
    Among this