Chosen : Assassin Book 1

Chosen- chapter forty-one

Chapter Forty-one

The creaking ship drew me from slumber. I lay there for a long moment listening to the sound of waves slapping against the hull. I pulled the dry towel off my forehead and slowly sat up.

"Angeline?"

Nothing but silence answered.

"Cassius?"

Again nothing.

Did they abandon me? How could they on a ship?

I climbed out of bed and searched around for my daggers.

If I were Angeline where would I hide them?

I scanned the room for any sort of hiding spot or anywhere that wouldn't be too obvious. On the far left wall, a shelf sat a little too high. I pulled a stool over and climbed up. Sitting against the wall were two of my blades.

"Fantastic," I muttered, grabbing them.

I strapped the small leather sheaths to my thighs. My heart sped up as the silence continued. Something wasn't right.

Cracking the door open, I glanced down the hallway. Empty. I furrowed my brows and crept out. A distant rumble set me on edge. There was nothing worse than being at sea during a storm. I took a few deep breaths and continued down the hall. There weren't any sailors, nobody from the king's procession, nobody. At the entrance to the galley, I heard a crash and someone shouting.

Please don't tell me it's what I think it is.

I pursed my lips taking in slow, deep breaths through my nose. I peered around the corner and saw two men holding broadswords to the throats of two of the sailors. Pirates. I looked around for anymore. Of all things that could happen during this trip our ship being overrun with ruffians never registered with me.

Fantastic. How do I get over there without them noticing me? Maybe...

I stepped into the galley and yelped in feigned surprise. The two men glared in my direction. One of them took a step toward me.

Chase me!

I turned to run back toward my room. I heard a chair flip over and the man cursed as he bolted after me. I stopped right inside my door and listened. The sound of his heavy boots echoed down the hall. I pulled out a dagger and crouched in anticipation. The door burst open and the dirty man stomped in searching for me. I lunged at him from the corner and plunged the dagger into his chest. I twisted it and watched as the front of his blue shirt stained. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he slumped to the ground.

Too easy.

I picked up the man's sword and withdrew the dagger. Returning to the galley, I watched the second man hold his sword on the two men who remained on their knees. The one closest to me couldn't have been any older than seventeen or eighteen. Just a kid. Tears and snot covered the front of his face as he sobbed, begging for his life. The pirate looked around wildly, searching for his comrade. I could never sneak up on the man.

"William!" he hollered. "Where are you?"

I dropped to my knees and crawled across the destroyed galley. Tables lay on their sides, benches were overturned, and I had to suppress a gag as I came face to face with a man lying beyond my site. His lifeless face stared out at me; his throat slit from ear to ear. The blood pool spread across the beautiful golden floorboards. My hand ended up in the sticky, red liquid. I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath of air. It stung my nose. The metallic smell permeated everything. I reached over with my clean hand and closed the dead man's eyes. I continued forward, my skirts dragging through the blood. I could feel the wetness seep down to my skin. It was still warm.