Page 16 of Hooked by a Hero (Tales from the Brotherhood #4)

Elias and Caspian both turned to see what had caught the vile man’s attention.

Caspian’s heart caught in his throat as he looked up into the rigging, where Dick was looking, to find Ruby in the process of climbing down.

She had a loop of rope over her shoulder, but had frozen when she noticed Dick watching her.

“No!” Elias hissed, pulling away from Caspian. “He’s found her out.”

Caspian winced and pushed away from the railing to follow Elias. He’d let his guard down and turned his focus to Elias instead of shielding the women.

That was the nicest explanation for why Dick stood just below Ruby staring up at her with a vicious grin. The more alarming explanation was that his absence from the water had gone on for so long that he was losing what little ability to protect the people he cared about entirely.

“You’re a pretty lad,” Dick called up to Ruby, who clung tightly to the rigging. “Now why haven’t I noticed how lovely a boy like you is before?”

“I thought you abhorred sodomy,” Elias said as he approached Dick. His voice was tight and the muscles of his back bunched, as if he knew he might be walking into his own doom.

Sure enough, Dick turned to him, his grin turning into a grimace. “It isn’t sodomy if it’s with a nubile young lad like that,” he said, twisting to face Elias like he would pick a fight.

“That’s even worse,” Caspian said, moving to stand beside Elias, even though he questioned the wisdom of challenging Dick the way they were. “He’s young and he isn’t willing.”

“He’ll be willing if he knows what’s good for him.” Dick argued, grabbing his crotch.

Above them, Ruby whimpered. That only encouraged Dick. “Come on down here, lad,” he called up. “I’ve got a lovely sausage for you to gnaw on.”

Elias sent Caspian a desperate look, but a moment later, his attention shifted to the side. Tumbrill was approaching them. Elias grabbed hold of the opportunity to say, “You really should stop,” in a louder voice than before. “You know Tumbrill hates buggery of any kind.”

“Dick! What are you doing?” Tumbrill shouted, just as Elias had probably hoped he would.

Dick glanced away from Ruby, glared at Elias for a moment, then took a few steps closer to Tumbrill. “It was just a bit of fun, mate,” he said. “Seeing as the women all took a dive in the briny deep.”

“Sodomy is not fun,” Tumbrill answered in a tight voice.

Caspian begged to differ, but now absolutely was not the moment to mention as much. He glanced up and focused on Ruby, thickening the veil around her as she continued down the rigging to the deck.

Out of nowhere, the effort it took to help his friend had Caspian feeling woozy. He needed to swim, and he needed it as soon as possible.

“Come on, man,” Dick continued to argue with Tumbrill. “A boy is as good as a woman when times are desperate.”

“Absolutely not,” Tumbrill hissed. “That is disgusting.”

“What do you expect me to do, then?” Dick raised his voice. “It’s been months, I tell you, months!”

“Use your hand like the rest of us,” Tumbrill muttered, flushing slightly and looking around, as if he didn’t want anyone to overhear.

Caspian might have been tempted to laugh at the exchange.

They might have been friends in their younger days, but Tumbrill had clearly been affected by the time he’d spent in slightly more refined company.

Ruby finished her climb down to the deck, however, and as soon as her feet touched the boards, as if she had created a great earthquake, Caspian’s knees gave out and he tumbled to the deck.

“Caspian!” Elias shouted, lunging toward him.

Ruby gasped in shock as well. “Caspian!” she whispered, dropping to a squat beside him and reaching out as if she could somehow revive him.

“What is the matter with that man?” Tumbrill demanded, stepping past Dick to stand towering over Caspian.

“Oy! We’re not finished with this conversation,” Dick snapped, grabbing Tumbrill’s sleeve.

“Take your hands off of me,” Tumbrill shouted back. “I will not allow you to commit the sin of perversion while I am captain of this ship.”

“And who says you’re captain of this ship?” Dick demanded, eyes going wide. “I’m the one who planned this whole endeavor. I’m the one who made it possible for you to toss that tosser Woodward overboard.”

Caspian heard the argument as if it were at the end of a long tunnel.

Elias had rolled him to his back and held him across his lap now, and even though that went a long way to restoring Caspian’s senses, it was only a temporary fix to a problem that would become much bigger with each hour that passed.

“I need…to swim,” he panted, fighting not to pass out entirely.

“What is the matter with him?” Tumbrill demanded again.

“He’s been out in the heat too much,” Elias answered, cradling Caspian desperately. “He needs a bath of cool sea water.”

“That man cannot die,” Tumbrill repeated. “He is our navigator.”

“What do you need him for, now that he’s got us pointed toward Hindustan?” Dick demanded.

“Will you be quiet for once?” Tumbrill demanded, turning back to Dick. “God’s sake, man! You know nothing of sailing. You are a constant thorn in my side.”

“I’ll give you a thorn in your side, if that’s what you want,” Dick said, gripping the handle of one of his daggers.

“Please!” Ruby shouted, raising her hands to cover her ears for a moment. “Now is not the time for arguments. Caspian is ill.”

“I will be well in a moment,” Caspian gasped, attempting to muscle himself into a sitting position. He was grateful for Elias’s arms around him, even if their closeness earned a sneer from Tumbrill.

“See?” Dick demanded. “He will be well in a moment. I, however, will not. I’ve been stuck on this floating prison for months now with no entertainment at all, without so much as a drop of rum to ease the ache.” He grabbed his crotch again.

“Is that what you want?” Tumbrill turned to him. “Would rum make you shut your gob for a change?”

Dick looked as though he wanted to argue, but he cocked his head to the side and considered the question. “Yes,” he said, then shrugged. “I would be satisfied with a bit of a drink.”

“Fine, then,” Tumbrill said, marching away from them. “I’ll open up the rum rations for you and the rest of the crew. But only in moderation.”

“Truly?” Dick followed after him like a dog who had been promised a meaty bone. “There’s rum aboard this ship you haven’t told me about?”

“Perhaps that will keep him quiet,” Ruby whispered as the two of them walked out of earshot.

Caspian shook his head. “Men like that and drink are never a good combination,” he said.

“It looks as though we have no choice in what Dick and Tumbrill and the others do,” Elias said, shifting and helping Caspian to his feet. “My concerns are only with you right now.”

“I will be fine,” Caspian said, believing it less by the moment. “I am more concerned with those clouds ahead of us.”

His words were meant to distract Elias and Ruby, which they did, but the more Caspian looked at the darkened skies ahead of them, the more concerned he was.

There was no question, they were heading into another storm.

Whether it would be as harrowing as the last one or not was hard to tell, but if the crew was drunk when they sailed into it, the severity of the storm might not matter.

Either way, they were in for another fight for their lives.