Heart of the Rose: Chronicles of the Rose, #2

By Michael Sauls

Lorena, a silver elf, is a thief, a con artist, and an adventurer. Thorne is a human sea captain living as a pirate hunter and mercenary. For Lorena and her sidekick Chetaak, it has been them against the world. For Thorne, it has been a life of bloody conflict fighting for anyone willing to pay his fee. Everything changes when Lorena steals a cursed jewelry box. She realizes that she had taken a jewelry box full of trouble. Known as The Heart of the Empress, a heart-shaped apparition haunts the box, capable of manipulating people and events around her. Lorena and Thorne fall in love, but she doubts her feelings. Now Lorena starts to wonder, can a thief's loot steal her heart?

 

Winner of a 2022 Literary Titan Silver Book Award

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Sauls
• Release date: Jul 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201019693

Book preview

Heart of the Rose

Book 2 Chronicles of the Rose Series

Michael Sauls

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Golden Mice Press

Copyright © 2021 by Michael Sauls

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

Dedication

Prologue

1. Amulet of the Moon

2. Bahari Nyoka

3. Escape

4. Goodbyes

5. An Old Friend

6. Haunting

7. All the World's a Stage

8. Janveer

9. Pirate Hunting

10. Dress Shopping

11. Shogi

12. Casting Call

13. Commission

14. Starting Over

15. Pillow Talk

16. Friend Zoned

17. Assassin's Ruse

18. Desert Kamakiri

19. Black Heron

20. Needle in a Haystack

21. Bad Luck

22. Slave Ship

23. Madness

24. Marcella’s Finale

25. Aftermath

26. Mettle

27. Riddle of the Wind

28. The Perfect Place

29. Biting the Hand

30. Malta

31. The Hunt

32. Reunion

33. Loose Ends

34. Wanted

35. Thief

36. The Cherny Orel

37. Lack of Planning

38. Pirate Justice

39. Porto-Vecchio

40. Stag’s Head Inn

41. Freedom

42. Frivolous Finery

43. Kobold Honor Guard

44. Vea

45. Chaos’ Tale

46. Breakfast

47. Curse of the Sword

48. Infirmary

Epilogue

I want to dedicate this book to raising awareness about human trafficking. Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, should not have any place in contemporary society, but sadly it still flourishes. Criminals and cartels enslave adults and children for forced labor, domestic servitude, and sex trafficking. Estimates say almost 40 million people are trapped in a life of slavery worldwide, according to a 2016 study by the Internation Labor Organization.

Human trafficking has a long hideous place in history. I depict a kidnapped elf, enslaved as forced labor on a ship in my book. The practice of kidnapping men for compulsory service aboard ships became so common in Eastern China that it earned the nickname shanghaied. But this vile practice happened all over the world. While vacationing in Savannah, GA, I recently ate at a restaurant called The Pirate House. During the age of sail, they lured young men into this building. They would get the men drunk and drug them. They had a trap door on the floor that dropped into the basement. They carried the unconscious victims through a secret tunnel to the harbor, never seeing their families again.

Understanding that this crime against humanity is still occurring is key to stopping it. If you know or suspect someone in your neighborhood of being a human trafficker, please do the right thing and contact the authorities.

I also want to dedicate this book to all the friends and family who support me in this writing endeavor. I love you all, and I could not do it without your encouragement. Thank you.

Prologue

During The Chronicles of the Rose, book 1 of this series Thorne was a mercenary traveling with his friend Karn to see the ocean for the first time. The pirate captain, McCullough, and the two friends join his crew on the ship called Maggie Anne. Participating in a life of crime never sat well with the two friends, so they never fit in with the pirates.

Dixon hired the pirates to rescue Maercenus from an island where he was stranded and bring him to Marina De Spezia. The reward for saving Maercenus was significant, so McCullough betrayed Thorne, making the mercenary angry. Thorne succeeded in the rescue operation, but as soon as he was back on the Maggie Anne, he stabbed the pirate captain with a knife and threw him overboard into shark-infested waters. Thorne led a mutiny and took over command of the ship for himself.

Xan was on the run, hiding from assassins hired by his brother to kill him when Ronin found him. The old mercenary helped the young man hide his identity and escape from the people after them. Along their journey, they met Killikuuk, who joined their party. A mage named Kagar hired Ronin, Kllikuuk, and Xan as mercenaries guarding an expedition to find a lost city in the north. The operation was successful, but Kagar started acting strangely after acquiring a magic wand hidden in an old temple. They decided to leave the expedition and got a job helping a dragon deliver a wagon load of spices to Marina De Spezia.

Lorena and Chetaak are a pair of skilled thieves employed by Dixon. He hired them to steal a jewelry box hidden in a wizard’s tower. They brought the box to Marina De Spezia and delivered it to their employer, but there was a catch. The jewelry box is cursed.

Chapter one

Amulet of the Moon

Recap from book 1

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Captain Thorne was a large man who wore black lamellar armor. He had short-cropped black hair and almond-shaped eyes, a trait of the Kalmyk of the northern steppes. The Kalmyk people tended to be short of stature, but Thorne was over six feet tall and covered in muscle. Strapped to his back were two swords, and a dagger rode sideways at his small back. He was only half Kalmyk.

His father was a soldier from Elbrus, a nation whose people tended to be blonde or red-haired and very tall. He had never met his father or knew who he was. Thorne gave little thought to such concerns.

Accompanying Thorne was the ship’s quartermaster, a dwarf named Harkaz. He was a stout dwarf with a long brown beard and a bald head. Harkaz had a war hammer riding on his hip and a long dagger strapped to his boot.

The two had just witnessed a duel that had not ended well for a third companion who had accompanied them named, Maercenus. Thorne thought we were in serious trouble. Recently, his ship received a very lucrative contract because of his association with Maercenus, but now the man was dead.

The three of them had been walking down the street when a woman named Rhavaniel challenged Maercenus to avenge her husband’s death at his hands many years ago. She was beautiful but frightening, with long blonde hair and fierce blue eyes. She wore a striped suit of armor and carried a jeweled sword, but what scared him the most, Maercenus crumbled to dust after she stabbed him. Thorne wondered if it was because of some magic she possessed or because Maercenus had been so ancient.

The situation worsened when a giant insect walked over and took Maercenus’ magic amulet. The creature resembled a praying mantis but was as large as a man. Maercenus had called it a Kamakiri. After the Kamakiri took the charm, another strange creature appeared and cursed him for doing so, then vanished.

Thorne’s mind was reeling. He drew his sword, prepared to fight, but just when it looked like hostilities would escalate, one of Rhavaniel’s mercenaries gave the rose salute, a double fist tap over the heart. For some reason, knowing rose mercenaries were among the men working for Rhavaniel made Thorne feel calmer.

The Order of the Rose was a fraternity of mercenaries of which Thorne was a member. It was a policy that members help one another out as long as they did not violate a mercenary’s contract. Thorne returned the salute and got responses from all of Rhavaniel’s companions. All of her people seemed to be roses, including the strange giant insect. Thorne had hope.

He decided to talk to the strange group to try and salvage this situation. He could not afford for his ship to lose its contract. He put away his sword and approached with his hands shaking nervously and sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The mercenary who saluted them was a middle-aged man with gray hair and a beard. He had a scar on one cheek and carried himself well. He seemed to be the leader of the guards protecting Rhavaniel’s wagon. As Thorne approached, Rhavaniel imposed herself between Thorne and her wagon.

What do you want, Captain? she demanded. Are you looking to avenge your friend?

Anger still flashed in Rhavaniel’s eyes as she spoke. Though she had just satisfied her thirst for vengeance against Maercenus, vengeance was an empty victory left one wanting. Thorne was all too aware of this truth.

I don’t want any trouble. If I may, I would like to speak to your mercenaries, my lady, Thorne explained. There was something odd about Rhavaniel’s scent. He could not quite put his finger on it.

She turned and glanced at Ronin, then back at him. You will speak to me. I am his employer.

My lady, I need that amulet that your pet bug took from Maercenus. We went through a lot of trouble to retrieve it from Isula Tempeste, and losing it puts us in a predicament, Thorne explained. His voice was shaking. He wondered why he felt so afraid. He’d faced death countless times without fear, but something about this woman was not normal. Then he realized that she was not a woman at all. Her smell was not human.

Hmm, that is a problem. I killed Maercenus; I’d say it is mine by right of combat, wouldn’t you? Rhavaniel commented scornfully. Killikuuk, could I have that amulet, please?

The Kamakiri took the amulet off his neck and handed it to her, but the necklace vanished before she closed her fingers around it and reappeared around Killikuuk’s neck. Rhavaniel laughed, finding it all very amusing. You should see the look on your face, Captain. You have no idea what just happened, do you?

I know the amulet is cursed, Thorne said. I also know that you are not what you seem to be. Maercenus told me that you are ancient, but I sense he was not speaking about human years. He was measuring your age against his own, which was millennia.

She looked surprised. That is very insightful, Captain. It would seem that I misjudged you. I took you for some ignorant savage, but you have seen something of the world, haven’t you?

You could say that, he confirmed. Your men are mercenaries, are they not? His voice became more confident. Somehow knowing the source of his fear was supernatural gave him strength.

They are, she said. A single eyebrow rose for a moment.

Is your need for them a long-term contract? Thorne asked. By the way, she was looking at him. He could tell she was sizing him up.

No, it is not, she admitted.

Then, when you’ve concluded your business with them, I wish to hire them, he explained. He felt more confident but still had the eerie feeling, but now he could ignore it. That is why I wish to speak to them. I’ll not interfere in your business, but surely you cannot deny your employees the opportunity to find a new job when you’ve concluded your business with them, my lady.

Rhavaniel looked perplexed. She paced back and forth a couple of times and finally said, Very well, Captain. It would seem you have found a logical argument that I cannot refute. She smiled, but there was a hardness to her gaze.

Thorne made a mental note of this. Rhavaniel was not human. Maercenus mentioned as much before facing her in single combat. She destroyed one of Ddaear’s greatest warriors like it was nothing. She could hold a grudge. Maercenus mentioned that the battle with her husband happened a long time ago. Granted, he would do the same to someone that took someone that he loved away.

He decided she wished to maintain appearances while delivering whatever was in her wagon. He did not believe her to be evil; otherwise, why concern herself with the dictates of appearances, logic, or contracts?

He concluded that she must be an honorable creature. Perhaps if people knew what she was, it would terrify them and start a panic. There might even be some supernatural explanation for it. If she wished to conclude her business without drawing attention to herself, it made sense for her to do it.

He approached the older mercenary. Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Thorne.

Ronin, the mercenary said. He clasped Thorne’s hand, returning his greeting. The two men discussed this for some time. Once they negotiated terms agreeable to both, they made arrangements to meet at the cantina after their business with Rhavaniel was concluded.

Captain Thorne bid them farewell and walked down the street towards his ship. The dwarf Harkaz struggled to keep up with the large man’s pace on his much shorter legs. Thorne, judged by his companion’s uncharacteristic silence, was still affected by Rhavaniel. He wondered why he could push through the fear while his companion could not. Was it a force of will or something else? He considered it back to the ship.

Chapter two

Bahari Nyoka

McCullough stood on the deck of the Bahari Nyoka, watching the orcs maneuver through the darkness with a sense of awe and trepidation. It was late in the night, and the orcs were navigating the marauder, a type of orc warship, into Smugglers Cove. The smell of tropical flowers and dead fish hung in the air. The Bahari Nyoka was a crude vessel compared to other races, but it was sturdy enough to get the job done. Orc ships were never pretty, but at least they stayed afloat.

It would have been a treacherous task during the day for most sailors to maneuver such a large vessel through the narrow passage between the rocks and coral. It would have been courting disaster doing it at night, but orcs could see better at night than they could during the day.

McCullough would never have tried to do the same with this size ship. Off in the darkness, an animal made a strange growling noise. He could see an outline of palm trees dotting the rocky shore, but he could not determine the noise’s source. He shivered despite the warm sticky air.

Captain Nobba shouted the order for his orcs to weigh anchor, causing McCullough to jump. Nobba was a tall orc with muscular arms covered in tattoos. His dreadlocks whipped around as he spun to face McCullough, and he rubbed the stump of his left tusk with his thumb. Nobba shoved the large pig-like snout towards his prisoner, and he sniffed, causing the gold ring piercing his snout to bounce. He adjusted the dark lensed goggles riding on top of his head. It was an accessory shared by all the orcs on his crew. He grinned at McCullough, then the orc captain barked, and his sailors hustled to prepare the longboats.

McCullough watched them lower the boats into the water. He was the only human aboard this ship. An unkempt brown beard covered his chin, and blood-stained bandages wrapped his abdomen. He moved slowly towards the captain, each step making his side ache.

I want to come too, McCullough said.

Ha, Captain Nobba scoffed in a heavy orc accent. You are a prisoner. I’m not taking a hostage to steal gold. Ha, stupid human. Go back below deck.

You need my help, McCullough said. I know The Maggie Anne better than anyone. I can help you find where they hid the gold.

You can barely stand, Captain Nobba said. He gave McCullough a shove that made him cry out in pain. You’re no good in a fight. You are no good to me, ha.

Ok, you made your point, said McCullough.

You be a good hostage and wait here. Captain Nobba pointed to the stairs down below deck and waved goodbye. McCullough turned and went below deck.

McCullough went to a portal. He watched the orcs row out of Smugglers’ Cove until the darkness swallowed them. Then moved towards his bunk and reached behind the water barrel standing near it. He pulled out a three-foot-long piece of wood and brandished it like a sword. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was all he had. It had been sheer luck when he spotted the stick floating in the ocean one day. Getting it out of the water without the orcs noticing was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. It had taken him days to file a point onto the end of the stick, working during the day while most of the crew was asleep.

He could hear the sound of the orcs rowing in the darkness. The rhythmic splash, swish, and splash were hypnotic. Orcs’ eyes glowed red all around him. He didn’t have much faith in Nobba’s plan to sneak up on The Maggie Anne while the sailors were sleeping. It would be a solid approach to ambush most ships, but he knew Captain Thorne, the ex-mercenary who now commanded his old vessel, very well.

Captain Thorne was once a McCullough’s pirate crew member, but McCullough betrayed his old friend. Thorne survived, and when he came back onboard The Maggie Anne, he wasn’t happy with McCullough. He stabbed McCullough, threw him overboard, and took The Maggie Anne for his own. He’d likely be dead if the Bahari Nyoka had not sailed by and pulled him from the sea. That was how McCullough became a prisoner of the orcs.

They would eat him at first, but McCullough convinced the orcs that The Maggie Anne had gold on board. The orcs kept him alive and even bandaged his wounds, but they didn’t do this because of any charity on Captain Nobba’s part. The shrewd orc captain thought McCullough might help them steal the treasure from his old comrades. Once his usefulness was gone, McCullough was certain that Nobba would slit his throat and feed him to his crew.

McCullough had a score to settle with Captain Thorne, but not today. He had more immediate concerns, like ensuring he did not end up on the menu. He took a couple of practice stabs with his stick in the air. It was painful, but he was sure he could manage if he needed to fight.

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Captain Thorne’s ship was moored in the bay of Marina De Spezia. His watch spotted a suspicious group of longboats rowing about the harbor checking vessels, so he ordered his men to keep an eye on them. The longboats had already passed by The Sea Wolf twice. Thorne observed them through a portal from below deck.

The lights of the city reflecting off the sea and the dip of their oars striking water met his ears. His ship was called The Sea Wolf now, with freshly painted signage designating the vessel, but yesterday his ship had been called The Maggie Anne.

Orcs filled the longboats. A huge tattooed orc said in a low voice, This must be The Maggie Anne. The paint is fresh. I bet McCullough will be mad when he finds out the new captain renamed ship, ha, The orc he was talking to laughed.

Thorne resisted the urge to gasp. McCullough is alive, he thought.

It is bad luck to change the ship’s name? one of the orcs asked in a thick accent. Are you sure this is the right one?

This is the one. the big orc said with a grin. And the humans have terrible luck. Ha. They get robbed their first night in port. Let’s go.

The first longboat pulled up alongside the ship, and the orcs went to work, throwing up grappling hooks with ropes attachéd. The first orc climbed up, and several others followed, hurrying up the lines with practiced ease.

The big orc watched with satisfaction as the first longboat emptied. Something went flying off the ship and landed with a loud splash. A moment later, the body of a dead orc floated to the surface. There was a sound of clashing steel, and another orc flew into the water.

Guess this is not going to be so easy, boys. Get up there. Ondoka huko uwaue, the captain ordered.

Thorne drew his sword and rushed up the stairs. More orcs swarmed up the ropes, and Thorne cut down two of the creatures instantly. He looked down in the water spotting the big orc shielding his eyes after his men shined a spotlight down at them. There was a loud twang and a crash. The orcs in one of the longboats screamed, and a geyser of water shot up from a newly formed hole in the bottom of their boat. There was another twang, and a huge ballista bolt impaled three orcs simultaneously.

We must go. Hebu tuondoke hapa, the big orc cried. They have ballistae. Wa nao na ballistae.

More longboats began to sink, and long metal spears skewered more orcs. The orcs were rowing hard to escape. The sound of fighting on the deck was dying. The last of the orcs on the ship were slain and thrown into the bay. Thorne estimated the orcs lost more than half of their number in that attack.

So McCullough survived somehow, Thorne thought. The orcs must have pulled him out of the ocean after the mutiny at Isula Tempeste. Then he probably told them about the reward for rescuing Maercenus, so they came to steal the gold. Very interesting.

One of his crew came up. Should we pursue them, Captain?

They can’t be far from here. We will weigh anchors and pursue them from a distance. Orcs have bad vision during the day, so when we find their ship, we will wait and attack them when the sun is up.

Aye, Captain.

Chapter three

Escape

McCullough snuck back on deck and found a place to hide and watch. He waited for sunrise. Orcs were uncomfortable in the bright sun but even more so in the early morning. It took them longer to adjust to the light than a human. As the sun rose, most of the orcs went below deck. Those on guard duty donned protective goggles and hid in the shade.

McCullough listened until he could hear snoring down below decks. Only two guards remained topside. He snuck up behind one and stabbed it in the back with his pointy stick. The creature grunted in pain, turning and drawing a rusty cutlass. McCullough smacked the orc’s wrist with his stick, knocking the blade to the deck with a clang. Then he jabbed the point of his stick up under the orc’s jaw into its throat. The orc staggered backward, toppling over the rail and landing in the water with a loud splash.

The second guard rushed towards him. McCullough snatched up the rusty cutlass and met the orc’s attack. Their swords clanged loudly together, and McCullough stomped on the orc’s barefoot hard. It yelped, and McCullough shifted his weight, letting the orc stagger forward. He stabbed the creature in the ribs. It fell to its knees, and he thrust again and again until it lay face-first on the deck dead.

Some of the orcs below deck must have woken up; he could hear them stirring. The bandaged wounds on McCullough’s ribs felt like they were on fire, and blood was seeping through the bandages. He was bleeding, but he needed to get out of here before more orcs came.

He would have to risk it. He ran for the rail and leaped into the water. The salt stung, but he gritted his teeth and swam for shore as fast as he could. His muscles protested with every stroke, but with the sheer force of will, he forced himself to keep swimming.

A dorsal fin appeared in the water about forty feet away from him. Panic gripped his mind, but he could not afford to freeze. He pushed terror aside and kept moving. He reminded himself repeatedly even though pain clouded his mind making him dizzy.

He could hear the footsteps of the orcs running on the ship’s deck. They started shouting at him, ordering him to stop. An arrow struck the water near McCullough. He dove down, swimming underwater. He swam as long as he could hold his breath, ignoring the pain, ignoring the dark shapes floating in the distance. He could see the trail of his blood streaming from his side through the water. He swam for the surface, gasping for air, and more arrows struck the water around him. The orcs shouted again.

He dove again, swimming underwater, and a shark swam past him. He ignored the predator and swam until his lungs burned, and it felt like his eyes would pop out of their sockets.

He broke the surface, gasped for air, and repeated the process, diving under and swimming, only resurfacing long enough to breathe and continue until he finally reached the shore. He climbed to his feet, exhausted.

He paused to thank the gods for the miracle that he had not been eaten by sharks or impaled by an orc’s arrow. He observed at least two dorsal fins circling offshore.

An arrow struck the sand near him and then another. He thought it was a good thing orcs could not see worth a shit during the day. He ran for the tree line as fast as his feet could carry him, and he didn’t stop running until he couldn’t hear their shouts anymore.

He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. As soon as Captain Nobba left with all the longboats, he realized that this would be his best and probably only chance to escape.

It didn’t seem like any of the guards on the ship were willing