The Leviathan’s Eye Chapter 2

After all I have witnessed, I will not forget the night when a full moon and all the stars revealed my vengeance. The night I changed my fate. The night my story began.

“Damn my reckless impulses,” I hid beneath the old, splintered pier near Hook’s Point, catching my breath, and scrubbing the blood from my face. A faint torch rushed toward the beach. The clicking and clacking of a sword hung from a sailor’s belt followed me as I ran. “Halt or I’ll shoot,” a harsh voice echoed beneath the pier. I planted my feet into the sand, turned, and fell to my knees at the sight of a royal officer.

“This is a bad place to hide,” the officer said. “If I were you, I would’ve started rowing an hour ago.”

“Where would I row to?” I said. “Thalassia is four days by sail.”

“Thalassians are too friendly with The Slavers Union. I doubt they’d welcome a runaway slave washing up on their shores. Is there somewhere else you can go? A man always needs a place to hide.”

“You’re not going to arrest me?”

“Maybe, maybe not; look me in the eyes and tell me why everyone on your island is searching for you.”

I pulled his torch toward my tearless brown eyes. “If the whole island is looking for me, then you know what I did. My master was an old, drunk fool. I promised him this day would come.”

The officer lowered his pistol. “Looks like your master put up a good fight. That’s a nasty gash on your face, and more scars than I’ve ever seen on a man. You’ve felt the whip too many times.”

“Spare the whip, spoil the slave. Isn’t that what the spoiled say?”

“Aristocrats and free citizens say lots of things. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them.”

“In my experience, disagreement leads to the whip.”

“It is an unfortunate truth. Tell me another truth about a brutal murder. I heard a butcher’s knife was involved.”

“I used what I had. Killing a man is brutal no matter how you do it.”

“That’s an honest confession, a brave one too. The king’s navy needs brave and honest sailors. Your sins and secrets will disappear if you swear your life to our true god and king. That is the law.”

“That law isn’t for slaves.”

“You have my word. I will uphold the law and make no mention of your past.”

“And who are you?”

“I am Captain Doss of the king’s royal navy. Swear allegiance to the crown and join my crew. We depart for Perria in the morning. From there, you will board a conscription ship and sail to Boar’s Tooth Island for basic training. Don’t be foolish; accept my generous offer. I could shoot you. No one would question my actions.”

That was hard to argue. His offer was far better than eating a bullet or hanging from a rope. “Fair enough,” I said. “I’ll go with you.”

Doss kept a firm grip on his pistol while we navigated a winding path along the coastal cliffs. A howling wind battered my face and tugged at my clothes. Waves crashed against moss-covered rocks. We would’ve dredged through the sand, stones, and shattered shells all night if I hadn’t shown him a trail through the goat pastures.

We reached the harbor as an orange sun rose above the shimmering Diamond Sea. Barrels filled to the brim with bait fish permeated the air. The port was abuzz with fishers and merchants preparing their vessels for a hard day’s work. Drunks and laborers pointed fingers and shook their fists when they noticed me walking alongside a royal officer. Their faces contorted with anger. Voices rose with insults and jeering.

“Keep your eyes on the ground,” Doss commanded. “Be smart, and you’ll be safe on the king’s warship. But first, we have to shave your head. Can’t risk the crew getting lice on your account.”

“I don’t have lice. I know what they feel like.”

“Standard procedure, you’ll be fine.”

I perched on a stool and faced the port while a one-eyed barber hacked my long hair with a hunting knife. I didn’t suppose it was his fault he had one eye. Still, I was furious with the man who gave him the position. Halfway through my haircut, the barber poured months-old cooking oil over my head and shaved the remaining tufts. The grease burned and sank into the scrapes on my scalp.

“Now you look like a recruit,” Doss slapped my greasy head. “Come on, time to swear your oath in front of my fellow officers. Then we’ll get the medic to look at you.”

I climbed into a rowboat, found an open seat between two barrels of fresh water, and grasped the oars. Small glistening waves splashed into the boat as my home faded into the horizon. We pulled alongside the warship, and I became so small, helpless, and overwhelmed by the size of each towering mast. Intricate webs of ropes and rigging stretched across the sky.

“She’s called the Elsbury,” Doss said. “She’s a fine ship but slower than she looks. When you’re done staring at her, there’s loads of work to do.”

We hoisted water barrels onto the Elsbury. Then a net dropped from above. It was my turn to go up the ropes. Doss stopped me as my feet touched the net. “Before you climb,” he said. “I have one thing to say. All sailors must accept death before going out to sea.”

I nodded, climbed the net, and stepped foot on polished planks. I never knew wood could shine. The ropes were tidy. Every hand worked without complaint. Each man sang a song about his task.

The salts, as the crew called themselves, dressed in bright, form-fitting yellow uniforms. My thoughts of wearing such a thing made me laugh until one of the old salts saw me snicker. “You’ll be dressed like this soon enough,” the old salt tugged on his collar and continued securing an endless line of rope.

I was weary but unafraid of the bloodshot eyes watching me stroll behind Doss like a newfound puppy. A fine group of officers climbed the stairs and joined us on the quarterdeck. Waxed and groomed mustaches nearly blotted out the sun. Every glittering button on their green uniforms was worth more than my life. I’ll never forget how the officers looked at me; it was the same way I inspected a fish before plucking it from my hook.

“Raise your right hand,” Doss commanded. “State your name for all to hear.”

“Richard Hawthorne,” I lied.

Doss cleared his throat. “Do you, Richard Hawthorne, swear to serve our god and king, Winston the Second, Lord of The Diamond Sea, with all your heart and soul? Will you pledge your life in service to his kingdom and his heirs according to the divine law?”

I held my head high and told another lie. “I swear.”