Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,72

this time. I will not tolerate any more loss of wealth from mischievous females and their games.”

Terri smiled innocently and lifted her hands in front of her in the universal gesture of surrender. “I won’t even dream of coming in,” she said agreeably.

There was enough for her to continue to lift from the room she was already in.

She didn’t need to enter the treasury, though she had to admit that she was curious to see it. Pirates’ gold was a thing of dreams and fairytales. To be that close to it… No. Veral didn’t want her to enter. Egbor eyed her suspiciously, but she sat on the bed once more and patted the embroidered cloth covering one of the prince’s skeletal arms. “Princey and I will keep each other company until you return.”

Egbor grunted and nodded at the remains. “Be of some use then and strip that robe. Those fibers are of a quality to last for generations, according to rumor, and it appears the rumor is true. I want that robe for myself. It will be the finest thing in my wardrobe.”

Terri balked, her hand dropping away. “You want me to remove it from a dead body? So you can wear it?”

That’s sick.

Apparently he was determined, because his eyes did not move from her until she reluctantly turned and began to pull the sleeve from the corpse. The bones fell out from the sleeve, along with the dust of decay. She swallowed back her bile and yanked the robe out from beneath the skeleton, the bones rolling from it, scattering over the bed. Gray matter dusted the forearms of her armor. Gingerly, with one hand, she plucked off a few smaller bones that were stubbornly clinging to the fabric.

“This is so disgusting,” she mumbled as she yanked the other arm out of the robe, freeing it of bones and plucking off the few remaining strays before rolling the fabric up. She held it out, certain she was going to throw up at any moment.

Scurrying over the body was one thing. Direct contact made her stomach turn.

“Your robe, Captain.”

A smug smile curled his lips, no doubt noticing how green the entire situation was making her. “Put it into your pack and carry it for me. I will need mine to fill with treasure. I will recover it from you once we return to the ship.”

Terri grimaced and swung her pack from her back. “Sure. Just… awesome.”

She tried not to think about the nastiness that it would be getting all over everything as she shoved the rolled-up material into her bag. As far as she was concerned, anything within it was now tainted from the contact, including the food rations and hydration pods that were divvied up the last time they stopped out of concern over having the food all with one individual, with the way the crew was dying off. In light of how few people survived the encounter with Experiment 226, as Veral called it, she’d been grateful. Now that they were buried in the crumbly remains of a dead prince… well, she was no longer hungry. She hoped that Veral had been given some rations to carry.

She shouldered the bag again and looked back toward the pirates, noticing that they were no longer paying attention to her. His orders being followed, Egbor had resumed focus on his objective: getting into the room. He drew up to Veral’s side, his face tight with expectation as Veral worked on the door codes.

The door unlocked and slid open as Veral stepped back to permit the captain entrance. Egbor didn’t even hesitate, pushing his way through, a joyous shout coming from him. Terri’s eyes widened at what she could see from where she sat.

There were visible containers of gold, precious metals she couldn’t even identify from the distance, and gems that put the palm-sized ones she had ferreted away to shame. Most containers were large enough that they stood above the water level like brilliant beacons, but even those beneath it glittered beneath the artificial lighting that had activated when Veral opened the door. In fact, the water seemed to lend mystery to those it concealed, and Terri had to wonder what was hidden on the floor, obscured by the sediment.

She blinked. Wait… Water?

The prince’s chamber hadn’t been flooded until they opened it. Why was the treasure room already flooded? It appeared to have been for some time, the lower ends of several tapestries rotting and falling apart where they were submerged.