Legends of the Vengeance : The First Adventure (9781310742866) Read Free

either, but here I am. I will do
anything to restore my fortunes, and if I can gain revenge in the
process, all the better.”
    Nicolo stood and nodded. “We have a deal. Be
ready at any moment to leave. You may only hear four knocks and no
one is there. No matter what time of day or night, be ready and
come immediately. We do not wait if we must leave quickly. You will
have at most an hour.”
    “Surely not today—”
    “Likely not, but it isn’t impossible. I hope
to be here a week. Come when you are bidden or we leave you and
will not return. You have one chance at your revenge—one.”
    Without another word, Nicolo strode from the
little house and back toward the town. He had other business to
attend to—business that didn’t involve fools who thought fortune or
spirits would ease their pain. He knew what they did not. Only the
soothing power of carefully and successfully executed revenge would
bring the kind of numbness that they craved.
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    Nicolo watched as Jaime left the church. As
usual, it had been the first place his friend went upon landing. It
sickened him to see the young man so taken with religion. Religion
was an evil, cruel master. It would rip the lad’s heart out of him
and stomp on it for play. How many times had he thought to forbid
the visits? It wasn’t possible. What his men did on their own time
was their business. As long as Jaime kept those fables out of the
stories he told on ship, Nicolo had no authority to stop him.
    As expected, Jaime strolled through the
marketplace, arranging for oranges, lemons, limes, meat, flour,
wine, and other supplies to be delivered to the ship. Satisfied
that Jaime would purchase all that they needed, he chose to find
the quartermaster, Eduardo, and inform the man of the success of
his mission. Hector Castillo would join them for their next voyage
and would find himself wealthy once more and with the knowledge
that he had struck a financial blow to the animals who had stolen
everything from him.
    Small groups of children played in the side
streets, occasionally darting out to retrieve a rag ball or to
evade being tagged. The fleeting but familiar regret came and left
faster than it ever had. His son was too old for such games now.
That was something anyway.
    A new thought niggled at him. Should he have
brought Sebastian to port with him? The boy spent nearly every
moment of his life on The Vengeance. Perhaps he was now old
enough for short trips into a town now and then. He should consider
it anyway. Not this time. They needed to be ready to go within the
week. He simply had too much to do without worrying about what
trouble Sebastian might find.
    As he rounded a corner, a sedan chair
passed. The woman seated in it gave a startled cry. His eyes met
hers briefly—as if frozen in time—and then he looked away again.
Before she could cry out his name, Nicolo dashed around the chair,
between two buildings and was out of sight. A commotion behind him
told him the servants carrying the chair now pursued him. Quickly,
he tossed his hat into the back of a wagon as he ran past, worked
himself out of his coat and threw it into a yard, and then rounded
another corner at a full run.
    At the wharf, he wove through the men as if
in an obstacle course. Once he reached the rowboat, he hesitated.
If he took the boat, a few men would have to row back for the
others. It was also huge—too large for one man to row swiftly
enough. Hesitation over, he fought to get out of his boots and dove
into the water. A cry went up from the end of the dock as his head
surfaced for his first gulp of air. The servants. He glanced back
to see if they’d follow, but it seemed that neither of them swam.
To his relief, they turned and hurried back to their mistress.
    Heart pounding, he sliced through the water,
his strokes long and powerful until he reached the side of the
ship. “Ahoy, Giorgio! Drop me a ladder.”
    Several crewmen leaned over the side,
startled to see their captain