the rope around his wrists. They helped him stand, but then forced him to walk out of the room at knifepoint. It seemed they were not going to take their chances by setting him loose.
“Come on, princess,” growled a rather small, ugly-looking man. I followed the strange procession up the stairs again and out onto the deck.
When my eyes adjusted to the sunlight again, I could see the island that must have been our destination just visible on the horizon.
“Alright!” yelled Rio. Apparently he was giving orders here instead of the captain, even though Bolivar was standing right beside him. “Six men in each longboat. I’ll take the faun, you five take the kin.” He pointed out the group that was already hovering around Levent.
“We’ll meet at the beach, and from there you must have your weapons ready. Remember: it’s not only the great big monster that we have to worry about on that island. Now get going!”
There was a flurry of activity, and I was shoved roughly toward the opposite side of the deck from Levent. I was instructed by several crewmen to climb down a ladder and sit in the small boat below it. Rio joined us shortly, and we were off toward the island. Three boats followed us.
“What are these other things we have to worry about?” I inquired of the half-blood once we were on our way. He fixed his eye on me, eyebrows set seriously and not looking entirely like he wanted to answer the question.
“It’s like the captain said before.” He tied a sheath to his belt as he spoke. A bundle of blades and weapons sat beside him, and I recognized Levent’s strange swords among of them. “The island hasn’t been bothered for over a thousand years, so there are things that survived there that have died out elsewhere.”
“Like…?” I prompted. Knowledge of obscure ancient creatures was not something I had on hand.
“Like mantises the size of your head.” He put his hands out to demonstrate the size. “Not to mention the nasty big birds that hang around the beast’s nest, living off what he doesn’t finish eating.”
“Sounds lovely,” I said sardonically. This was even more than I bargained for, and I trusted these people less and less as the moments passed.
Rio nodded slightly and grinned roguishly. “Oh, yes.” He then turned his back