Chapter 8 Oblivion
Chapter eight
Oblivion
Bash
Oblivion is not granted here. It is earned, one blow of the hammer at a time.
— Prisoner’s Proverb
Sweat dripped down my face, but I loved every fucking second of it.
The sound of my hammer against the sword was music to my ears.
It meant that Billy was quieter, and I could stop worrying for ten minutes at a time.
I’d get about as long as it took for the steel to cool.
If my hammer was lifting and falling, my mind was quiet.
Which is why the sword lost its fire. Billy was loud.
Aye, you worry worse than a jellyfish at low tide. The Hellcat can take care of herself.
“I know that!” I slammed my hammer down.
Frustration blew through me hotter than the steam of the forge.
Just a few weeks ago, I could barely lift this hammer, but now I was fighting back the restraint not to throw it through the fucking door.
The guards wouldn’t thank me for it, and Edmonds would throw me back in my cell night and day.
That was a fate worse than any I could immediately conceive.
It still stung to go back at the end of the day, but at least sleep found me quickly until it was time to go back to the forge.
Sometimes I would torture myself by wondering what the weapons I created would be used for, but morals like that were a luxury.
I knew Edmonds gave me this position because it amused him to give me a weapon and watch me fail to use it. It meant he didn’t understand me yet.
If he did, he would have known I never intended to escape this prison.
The moment Oscar was gone, I could accept my fate.
He would take Rose and carve the mark I knew she took from her chest. They would have to claim burns, and it would be a shame to mar her perfect skin, but it was better than Edmonds sniffing at her feet and threatening the gallows.
You’re being paranoid, ain’t no one sniffing anybody.
I lowered the anvil with as much force as I could muster, hoping it would erase Billy’s voice from my mind and living in terror that I wouldn’t hear it again. The conundrum of a madman.
“I’ll add more coal!” the boy said.
I’d forgotten he was there. When there was already company inside your mind, the outside was all a bit quieter.
I watched as the boy with sandy brown hair and sad eyes shoveled more coal into the furnace of the small forge.
Only ten feet across, it was small, but effective.
It only meant that with every added coal, more sweat dripped down my neck.
Just last night, three souls had perished in the cold in the large, round room where they tossed prisoners. Sweating in Newgate was a privilege.
“That should do it,” he hummed.
He held out the bellow, pointed it at the fire, and blew steady air, encouraging the coal to light. It was a wonder he had any upper-arm strength since he was built like a twig. Sure enough, after a few pumps of his arm, his chest rose and fell quicker, and he began panting.
“I got it,” I said, taking it from him.
“But, sir, that’s my job,” he said. “Plus, your–”
He was covered head to toe in soot, his green eyes pale, and his face thin. He looked like he needed a good meal, not manual labor. I didn’t need him to finish his sentence to know he was concerned about my lack of arms.
“It’s fine,” I said.
His thin lips turned down, and he watched me like he might argue more, but exhaustion pulled at his eyes. I was learning well enough to cope with one arm. The stone anvil was designed to hold the sword in place while I hammered it, and as for the bellow–well, I could figure it out.
“Go sit down. You should sleep,” I said.
With the fire lit once more, I placed the sword tip in and let the flames have their fill. It was more of a square edge now, but by the end of the day, it would be sharp enough to end a life. Just as ordered.
“The Gaoler will beat me if he thinks I shirked my duties, sir,” the boy said.
“Good thing no one here will say otherwise,” I said.
He tilted his head up, jaw tightening. “I prefer to earn my keep, sir.”
As stubborn as you were.
The echo of Billy’s laughter bounced in my mind, creating an ache in my chest. After he died–after I killed him—I told Rose I didn’t know how to be without him. I just didn’t realize the extent of how true those words were. I knew grief well.
No, Bash, you knew vengeance and anger well. You never learned to grieve.
The urge to argue with a voice created by my deranged imagination was creating a tightening in my chest. It only sounded like him because they were words he’d spoken many times over the years. They weren’t real.
That I had to remind myself of that was worrisome.
I nodded to where I held the sword.
“Hold the end if you are determined to work.”
His mouth curved up in a quick smile that was too good-natured for a hellhole like Newgate. I didn’t ask why, though. Never ask why.
There was a reason Edmonds threw this boy in here with me, and I was not prepared to give him exactly what he wanted. Attachments made for vulnerabilities. I couldn’t stop Billy and Rose from becoming weaknesses, but I could control this.
Straightening the sword and sure the kid had his grip, I brought down the anvil again and again. Each time I struck, I prayed for oblivion.
Oblivion never came.
Instead, the Gaoler came and barked at the kid to leave, and my guard was only a few minutes later. As predicted, he led me to the same room as before, where Edmonds sat straight-backed, careful to touch nothing.
I ignored him and took my own seat. The smell of garlic and lemon wafted through the perpetual burning smell lodged in my nose. Roast chicken and an array of vegetables. It was hard to know the game Edmonds was playing, but I couldn’t complain about the food.
The first bite of chicken was infused with flavor and cooked to perfection. I closed my eyes, savoring it because one day I’d go back to stale bread. Sooner or later, Edmonds would get what he wanted from these little rendezvous, and all I would have was memories of decent food.
“What would you say if I told you I knew exactly where the Sea Wraith and her new captain are right now?” Edmonds said.
Despite the cold grip of fear that squeezed my heart, I raised my head and arched an eyebrow.
“I would ask why you are here, then?” I said, holding his gaze.
The captain’s blue eyes could have been twins to the ones I used to see in the mirror.
Where mine had a tendency to change, his were always cold, reminding me of the icebergs.
Just like icebergs, I also knew he was hiding much of who he truly was beneath the surface.
People weren’t usually puzzles, but this one was.
Locked door giving way to another locked door.
The corner of his mouth pulled up.
He enjoyed playing cat and mouse. There was a mind there that was fathoms beyond what most people could comprehend.
That was his greatest strength, but it was also his weakness.
Smart people get bored easily. I knew why he was here and not with the Wraith, and it served my purposes just as well. He wasn’t ready to give up the game.
“Someone once told me the key to hunting wasn’t the chase. It’s finding out what the creature wants. Once you have that, the prey will always deliver themselves,” he said.
“Seems unsportsmanlike,” I said.
The message was clear enough. Oscar and I were the bait.
“You could just hang me.” I offered.
He shook his head, brown hair falling softly over his eyes, making him appear more boyish.
“I have considered it. The world knows you are imprisoned at Newgate, and I have already received accolades for my service to the crown in apprehending you. Hanging you would solidify my contribution to ending piracy, and it would send a clear message to your successor and anyone else who thinks there might be a vacancy,” he said.
“Sounds reasonable,” I said.
Despite slowing myself, the meal was nearly complete, which meant the company would be departing soon as well. A good and a bad thing. Every minute he was here, I risked giving something away, but on the other hand, every minute he stayed, he risked the same.
He stood, and that was it for tonight.
The rules of the game were clear. If I wanted something from him, I needed to give him a reason to stay.
Just as he faced the door, he said, “Those scars around your neck must have been very painful.”
Then he closed the door behind him as if it were nothing at all.
I waited a few minutes, my exhausted mind searching for answers that hid at every turn.
Even though I’d nearly come to the end of my purpose, Rose was meant for a long life.
If she was going to have any hope of it, I needed to understand who Captain Edmonds was.
The problem with that was that I didn’t have the slightest clue.