The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding [1]
A Spectra Trade Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Chris Wooding
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Spectra,
an imprint of The Random House
Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Originally published in hardcover in the United Kingdom by Gollancz, an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group, a Hachette UK Company, in 2010.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wooding, Chris.
The Black Lung captain / Chris Wooding. — A Spectra trade paperback ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-345-52259-7
1. Pirates—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6123.O535B57 2011
823′.92—dc22 2010048060
www.ballantinebooks.com
Cover design: Dreu Pennington-McNeil
Cover illustration: Raphael Lacoste
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
About the Author
AN ESCAPE—“ORPHANS DON’T FIGHT BACK”—PINN FLOUNDERS—DESTINATION: UP
arian Frey was a man who understood the value of a tactical retreat. It was a gambler’s instinct, a keen appreciation of the odds that told him when to take a risk and when to bail out. There was no shame in running as if your heels were on fire when the situation called for it. In Frey’s opinion, the only difference between a hero and a coward was the ability to do basic math.
Malvery was to his left, huffing and puffing through the undergrowth. Alcoholic, overweight, and out of shape. Pinn, who was no fitter but a good deal dimmer, ran alongside. Behind them was an outraged horde armed with rifles, pistols, and clubs, baying for their blood.
The math on this one was easy.
A volley of gunfire cut through the forest. Bullets clipped leaves, chipped trees, and whined away into the night. Frey swore and ducked his head. He hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself small. More bullets followed, smacking into earth and stone and wood all around them.
Pinn whooped. “Stupid yokels! Can’t shoot worth a damn!” His stumpy legs pumped beneath him like those of an enthusiastic terrier.
Frey didn’t share Pinn’s excitement. He was sick with a gray fear, waiting for the moment when one of those bullets found flesh, the hard punch of lead in his back. If he was especially unlucky, he might get blinded by a tree branch or break his leg first. Running through a forest in the dark was no one’s idea of fun.
He clutched his prize to his chest: a small wooden lockbox, jingling with ducats. Not enough to be worth dying for. Not even worth a medium-size flesh wound. But he wasn’t giving it up now. It was a matter of principle.
“Told you robbing an orphanage was a bad idea,” said Malvery.
“No, it was Crake who said that,” Frey said through gritted teeth. “That’s why he wouldn’t come. You thought it was a good idea. In fact, your exact words were: ‘Orphans don’t fight back.’ ”
“Well, they don’t,” said the doctor defensively. “It’s the rest of the village you’ve got to watch out for.”
Frey’s reply was cut off as the ground disappeared from under his feet. Suddenly they were tumbling and