Chapter Twenty-Seven: Betrayal
Reanna frowned when she looked at the clock. It was long past midnight, and Devon had yet to come back to the inn. When he had left her, the evening had just begun, and she knew very well that he had very little money to spend.
She herself had returned to the inn no later than nine o'clock, not wishing to go and get herself stupidly drunk. She had expected that Devon would have been in shortly after herself, drunk on cheap liquor and out of money, but there was no sign of him. She pursed her lips and paced, never one to sit still when she was worried.
Even almost all of the crew members are back already! she fumed to herself. A feeling of foreboding had spread through her body, but she refused to let fear take hold of her and frighten the members of her crew that had come ashore.
Maybe he did come in, and I just missed him? I'll go check...
She went up to the rooms and checked the identities of each of the sodden occupants. None of them were Devon, and the doomsayer in her mind whispered a smug "I told you so."
Where was he?
**
"Where is she?" the seer demanded when he had revived Devon.
Devon could hardly see for the blinding pain that stretched from the base of his skull to his eyes. The odd shapes and colors twisted sickeningly, making him squeeze his eyes tightly shut and wait for the pain to subside. As he laid still, he assessed his position. He was propped up against a wall, and he couldn't move his hands because they were above his head and...manacled? Why would he be chained to a wall?
His eyes snapped open involuntarily. God, the seer had captured him, and now he was going to interrogate him for the whereabouts of...who? Who was this "she" the seer kept asking him about?
His tongue felt thick, and he opened his mouth to ask who it was that his tormentor wanted, but all that came out was a garbled mumble.
"Damn it all," the seer said with disgust. "I don't know why all of you morons seem to think you have to get drunk whenever possible."
The seer shuffled out of his sight, and Devon decided not to try and follow him with his eyes, but to look at what was before him so he could figure out where he was. What he could see wasn't very helpful. A wall sconce held a torch whose flame flickered mesmerizingly, and there was a stool. The walls were made of stone, due to the rough and jagged points that dug into his back. He had no more time for thought as the seer came back, carrying a cup which he hoped contained some wine.
He was disappointed, alas, for the cup contained only water, but he was so thirsty that he gulped it down. Once he finished and the seer pulled the cup away, he asked, "Who are you looking for?"
In the dim light, Devon could barely make out the expression of disbelief etched onto the seer's face.
"Who am I looking for, you ask?" the seer said, almost sweetly, then his voice hardened and any trace of kindness that may have been there vanished. "Reanna! The daughter of Sparrow! Where the bloody hell is she?!"
Devon had to think for a moment, trying to remember who Reanna was, who he was, and why this man wanted her. It all came back to him in a flash, and he replied, "Why should I tell you that?"
The seer was dumbfounded, and had obviously not expected such a reaction. Devon continued, "You have me chained to the bloody wall like I'm your enemy, so why should I tell you what I know?"
"Because you abandoned your duty, you witless idiot," the seer replied menacingly.
I'm sorry Reanna, Devon thought, knowing that there was only one way out of this mess he had gotten himself into. "I didn't abandon my duty, or break my contract in any manner. I'm only on the Black Pearl because my hand was forced. Now, if you would be so kind as to unchain me so we can talk like civilized men, I'll tell you my plan."
He felt an inexplicable sense of sorrow for what he was about to do to Reanna, but he had no choice. He was a survivor, not one committed to loyalty even if he demanded it from those who served him.
**
If he's not back here in five minutes, I swear I'll keelhaul the bastard when I find him, she promised furiously. Not a one of her crew members was unaccounted for except for Devon, and he would pay for depriving her of sleep.
When the door swung open not two minutes later, she turned in surprise to see that it was Devon, looking dreadfully out of breath, as though he had run two miles.
"Reanna!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "It's the Pearl! Come quickly!"
Not even thinking that he could be lying, she ran out the door as fast as she could, heading towards the docks. She heard Devon behind her, but he didn't run the way exhausted men should...the oddity fled her mind when she thought about the danger her beloved Pearl could be in.
What few drunks were still out wandering the streets stared at her as she passed almost too quickly for their slowed minds to see her. Her braid whipped behind her as she ran faster still to reach her ship. Gods, please let the Pearl be alright, please, gods...
When she finally did reach the ship, she didn't see anything wrong with it. She stood stock-still, staring at her ship in confusion. She heard Devon as he finally started to catch up--apparently he couldn't come close to matching her speed--and started to turn so she could ask him what exactly the problem was when a pair of hands grabbed each of her arms. She shouted in surprise, looking to Devon for help when a board crashed down upon her head.
**
"You see? That was far easier than anything you could have done," Devon said mockingly, even though he felt sick at his betrayal.
"Yes, yes, good plan," the seer replied grudgingly, then said, "We should get her back to the manor. My boss will be very pleased to see her."
Devon grinned as convincingly as he could, having learned long ago how to hide his true feelings, and said, "So I'll be getting a bonus for this, right?"
***********************************************************************
AH! THE BASTARD! Drat! What will Reanna do when she wakes up? Will she find a way out of this trap? Will she get her revenge on Devon? Find out! In the next chapter of....REANNA!