CHAPTER 8

We hurriedly walked back to the inn after hearing about Godwin . John was fully pumped up when he heard that Godwin's ready to talk .

I was excited too , but not wanting to blow up my cover I toned it down .

" What's your name ? " I asked to the young boy who walked along with us .

" My name is Lien , my lady . "

" Are you with him ? " I asked pointing towards John .

" Yes ma'am . "

" We picked him up from Aris , a few months ago . He badly wanted to leave that place . He wanted to be one of us ." John spoke proudly as he ruffled Lien's hair .

" Really , how old are you ? "

" I turned fifteen yesterday ."

" Well, belated happy birthday dear . "

~

Entering the inn , I looked at Godwin who sat on the floor surrounded by John's men , with one of them holding a knife to his neck. His eyes were puffy from all of the crying . Godwin was a mess . He had not moved an inch from the place he fainted . He sat in the water , fully drenched .

" Heard you're ready to talk . " John spoke looking at the man , not even an ounce of pity seen on his face .

Godwin didn't care to reply , he was far too broken down , after all this inn was the only source of income he had and he had nowhere else to go , but it seemed like John didn't care . Signalling one of his men , the man holding the knife towards Godwin's neck , held it even closer , this time almost shedding blood .

Feeling the knife , almost cut his neck , Godwin looked up , trying to hold back his tears .

"If you tell us , about the caves . I will give you 5000 coins . " John spoke , this time lighting up Godwin's eyes , but still there was a hint of

mistrust in his eyes .

Taking a a bag of coins , he dangled it infront of Godwin's face . " I am not lying , eh . Now tell me what you know , before I personally slit your throat because I have no problem doing that. "

Looking more carefully at the bag , I noticed that it was the same bag I had gave John the money in . Looking back at Godwin , I saw how desperate he looked . He looked like he was trying to control himself from acting impulsively and snatching the money bag straight from John's hands .

" I will tell you , what ever I know . " Godwin spoke , slightly smiling . It seemed like his fear about the knife plunging into his flesh was gone as he almost moved forward , accidentally having the knife slit his throat, but thankfully for him and the rest of us , the man ( who held the knife ) pulled him back by his hair , which resulted in Godwin slightly groaning in pain .

Recieving an order from John , the man moved away his knife and safely secured it to a belt he was wearing . Godwin stood up slowly . Water falling down from his pants , making me look at him weirdly as I remembered the last time I wore wet clothes.

He slowly walked towards a broken chair , positioning it at such a way , that he could sit on it without falling down . John walked forward as me , Amia and Emlyn followed him and sat on some chairs that seemed to be in good condition while John dragged the wooden chair across the floor , the sound irritating almost everyone including his crew , who tried to hide their judgemental faces as much as possible , hoping that their captain wouldn't notice .

Settling on to the chair , John kept his hands on the table , a thud heard due to the force he had used . He kept the money bag on the table as Godwin's eyes followed it , hungry for the money . Why do I feel as if the money is more than enough to renovate the whole place as well as buy all of the other things that he need .

' He cheated me .' I thought as I looked at John then at the girls , who sat on their respective chairs , looking at me . Amia stared at me looking disappointed , while Emlyn seemed as if she would fall off the chair on to the floor any moment , her eyes drooping . Mouthing a ' sorry ' I looked back at John who sat infront of me , a bit to the left side .

Hearing Godwin talk I focused on him . " The red caves are not in Cian " , he started .

" Cian just has one of the keys to it , " he continued as everyone looked at him eagerly.

" Do you know where are the keys in Cian ,"

one of John's men asked .

" Unfortunately no. " Godwin replied looking at the man that had spoke .

" How do you know that the caves are not in Cian ? " John asked squinting his eyes as he bit inside his cheek , his right hand playing with his hair .

" One of my traveller friends told me about it . He knows a lot about stuff like this ." Godwin answered looking at John .

" Where is he at ? ." I asked .

" Oh , he dead . It was very sad . Lad fell off from his horse and broke his neck or something . " Godwin spoke wearing a smile , showing his golden teeth among which some seemed broken . That smile weirdly disturbed me .

Returning an awkward smile , I leaned back onto the chair as John asked the next question . " Why do you think we will die ? "

"Everyone who has went has died atleast that's the news that's been spread around , captain. "

" Who is spreading these news , was it your dead friend ? "

" Oh , no. It was someone from Cian , itself . He said that a lot of people asked his assistance with their journey and that he saw all of them die . He was a lucky guy , narrowly escaped every time . He says there are some very scary things guarding the cave . "

" This guy still alive ? " Amia asked this time as she lent her shoulder for Emlyn who was fast asleep , her mouth wide open as she drooled .

" I don't know , lass. Haven't heard from him for I guess three years. "

" What's his name ? " John questioned .

" Don't remember . I have told you everything I know about the caves , now can I get the money . " Godwin spoke smiling at John .

John smiled back at him , one all too fake .

" So soon , " he started " and that's all you know . "

" Aye , sir ."

" You see , my dear friend , it's not that easy , eh . " John spoke as he took back the money bag .

" What ? " Godwin asked surprised . However , I was not surprised though , I expected something like this from him , not defending him , but it seems like something I might do as well .

" My friend , you told me you love the seas , so I am going to take you for a trip with me . " The pirate spoke , the same ugly smirk that he had , now plastered on his face .

" I am not going anywhere . I swear , I don't know anything more. "

" I don't care you are coming with me ." John spoke as he patted Godwin's shoulders .

" I am not leaving ." Godwin spoke rebelling against John's idea of taking him along to venture through the vast seas , where the only thing he would see for days , maybe months would be the deep blue waves , both gentle and destructive . For him , however alluring the gentle waves seemed , he knew that the gentle waves were just a mask to cover the true behaviour of the seas .

Besides the seas' children wouldn't make anything better . He knew he would be completely fine staying at one of the sea shores looking at the waves , that slowly came upto him , trying to pull him into the deep blue mass .

His mind wandered through the various stories that he had heard from his friends .

BANG! The sound came out loud . Matilda was startled as she heard the loud noise . She was keeping herself busy with her own thoughts , trying to scare away the sleepiness that was creeping up to her , which was surely now gone , also wakening Emlyn from her sleep.

Looking for the source , she saw John's hand which looked painfully red , but no signs of pain were present on his face.

" Don't tempt me , " he spoke . His voice came out deep and rough , eyes filled with rage as his dark hair now rested messily on his forehead , small beads of sweat rolling down his face as he kept a knife pressed against Godwin's neck . " Where did he get that from ?" I thought.

" Matilda , " I looked around for the person who had called me , only to see John staring right at me , his eyes looking through my soul.

" Yes . " I replied , hesitantly , not remembering if he had said something else .

" Do you want to ask him something? "

" What ? " I asked my head still clouded with his face .

" He will be leaving with us soon , so do you want to ask something ? "

Without thinking I spoke ,

" Take me with you . "