The Ship of Tears_The Legend of the Nine_Part One Read online

  “Why would they be sending messages to Aleria?” Olivia said to the air.

  “Maybe it has something to do with Mairi,” Elspeth said. “Evin did send her to Whitecliff to talk to Lord Breen. Maybe she has come back.”

  “They would not send Aleria a message about Gialyn’s mother,” Olivia said.

  “No,” Elspeth agreed, “but Daric is down there, remember? The message would be for him.”

  “Oh yes,” Olivia said. “I hope she is well. Sending her to treat with Lord Breen was an absurd idea. They should have sent a full ambassador.”

  “That’s what I told her,” Elspeth said. “But Mairi was sure she could get through to the man. She said something about knowing Breen from some trade fair her mother was hosting. They got on well, so Evin tells it. But I don’t see how that’s possible; Mairi is nothing like Breen.”

  “Well,” Olivia said. “Whatever the message is, let us hope it is not bad news.”

  Elspeth nodded her agreement. If it were bad news, Gialyn would have known, and he would have told her when they spoke, however brief that conversation had been. But Olivia was right, why send a message at all? She knew Daric would never have agreed to Mairi’s going down there in the first place. Would there be any reason to contact him now were it anything but bad news?

  “And… uh… what of Gialyn?” Anooni asked, grinning. “What did he have to say? Is he still with those dragons?”

  “Yes, he is still with the dragons. Sek took him to see something, but he would not say what. He is staying there for a while, something to do with the shards. And he says they are waiting on another group to join them. Some special dragons. Gialyn could not remember their names, but he said Sek was excited over their arrival.”

  “More dragons?” Olivia said. “Just how many are there?”

  “He didn’t say how many, only that Sek would not let him leave until he had spoken with them. Once he has done that, he said he will come to Eiras. He’ll likely be there by the time we get back.”

  Anooni giggled at that, and Elspeth smiled.

  Gods, I miss you, Gialyn. Be safe.

  “Maybe he will join us in Toi,” Olivia said. “We could use a few dozen dragons.”

  Elspeth nodded absently. “Maybe,” she whispered. But she knew Gialyn would not bring the dragons to Toi’ildrieg. The island was Sek’s home; for all she knew, the black dragon could be behind all the kidnappings; maybe Tyrell was working for him – and Lady Zill.

  And now Gialyn is working for him, she added.

  With that thought floating about in her mind, she could not help but wonder if Gialyn knew something about Lady Zill’s plans for the wet witches. Was that why Gialyn would not tell her about these new dragons?

  Don’t be silly, she told herself. He did not say who they were because you only had a minute to talk. And stop thinking such rubbish; Gialyn is not working for Sek.

  Thinking about it, Elspeth was not sure Zill and Tyrell were working for the black dragon. Juran had said the kidnapping started after Sek had left Toi’ildrieg, and talking with Lady Zill, Elspeth was sure whatever was happening with the wet witches was all her idea, not Sek’s. Maybe telling Sek about the witches would bring the dragons back. Maybe he would be angry at them for making their own plans and stop…

  And maybe he will warn them we are coming.

  No, if they were going to rescue the witches, they would have to do it on their own.

  “I think the dragons have their own business to tend to,” Elspeth went on. “Something to do with what Sek showed Gialyn, maybe? It sounded important. He seemed a bit scared, to be honest. No, I don’t think we should count on their help.”

  Olivia shrugged. “Not to worry. We will prevail. And we will be coming back to the tower with a lot more initiates for Elucia to teach.” The princess smiled at that.

  Elspeth felt her brow crease. “If they want to come back,” she said. “We are here to free them, remember? We are not on a recruitment mission for the Blue Tower.”

  Olivia waved off the comment. “Yes, yes, I know. I’m just saying, it would be nice if some of them chose to thank us by joining our efforts against the Karakin.”

  Anooni’s eyebrows shot up, and Elspeth bit her lip against a sudden guffaw. “Rescue them from Zill and put them in the line in front of the Karakin? I expect most will want to go home, Olivia. And we should let them.”

  “Of course,” Olivia said. “I have no intention of forcing anything on those poor women. But it is our duty to remind them of what is at stake. I’m not saying they should line up against the beasts, but they can help in other ways; run messages, help with the wounded, use their Voice to summon aid, and, if they are strong enough, maybe learn some spells. Imagine a line of women who can summon an adole spell, or even using a leus to help guide our troops. And never mind what wonders Nerys has yet to teach us. We could have an army of witches, Elspeth. Think of it!”

  “I am,” Elspeth said, voice flat. “A horde of badly trained, damaged women who have spent the last few months being tortured by Lady Zill. No, you should let them go home. And as for using spells, half the time, we can barely control the Power long enough to pick up a pin. How do you propose we teach dozens of women? Because it will be us teaching them; Nerys and Elucia will have nothing to do with it. And that’s if they don’t lock us up for trying. There is a reason so few witches learn spells, Olivia, and even less choose to use them. Using the Voice, sending messages, helping with the wounded: that’s one thing, but we should forget about the spells – it is too dangerous.”

  Olivia was doing her staring out the window trick again. She often did that when she knew Elspeth was right. In the palace, she would even go to her window – which, for some unknown reason, Olivia always kept open, even in a snowstorm – and lean out. She did it because she did not want to agree but knew the argument was lost.

  “Still,” Olivia finally said, looking away from the tiny window of the captain’s cabin – which Elspeth utterly refused to let her open. “We can ask if they want to help. I’ll even let Anooni do it; they might not want to say no to a princess. Would that satisfy you?”

  “Satisfy me? This has nothing to do with me, Olivia. This is about doing what is right, giving those poor women the right to choose for themselves.”

  Olivia sat down heavily on the bed. Hands folded in her lap, she stared down at the floor. She had looked ready to argue, now, she looked like she wanted to go to sleep.

  Could they afford to let those women chose? Elspeth wondered. Fifty thousand Karakin, the Watchers, rogue dragons, and the gods knew how many humans were fighting for the Black. Knowing that, could they just let those women go?

  Of course you can, Elspeth told herself. If you don’t, you would be no better than Zill.

  Still…

  “Yes,” Elspeth said, “I think having Anooni ask them is a good compromise. She is young, and looks harmless enough; they won’t mind saying no to her.”

  “Harmless?” Anooni said, grinning. “Clearly you have not seen me with the cooking spoon on porridge day.”

  Olivia laughed. “I thought every day was porridge day.”

  Anooni started to laugh, too, but then put a hand up to her nose. “I think your dog needs to go out.”

  Trapper was lying by the door, he had not moved.

  “Why do you say…?” Elspeth began, then stopped when the smell hit her. “Oh yes, I see what you mean.”

  “Gods,” Olivia said, reaching for the window. “Get him out of here.”

  “Don’t you dare open that window, Olivia,” Elspeth chided.

  “Are you jesting? Never mind porridge day, it’s like cabbage stew day in the guard’s barracks in here. I’m opening the window.”

  She did, and a fierce gust of freezing air gushed into the small room. Despite the cold, it was a relief from the thick dog smell.

  “Come on, Trapper,” Elspeth said. “I think a quick walk around deck is called for.”

  “The b
ucket,” Anooni said.

  “Oh yes,” Elspeth said, she had forgotten about that.

  Wex had said, “If you’re bringing a dog, you clean up after it.”

  Elspeth grabbed the bucket and headed up the steps, Trapper following. From the deck, she could still hear Olivia’s retching.

  “Oh well,” Elspeth told Trapper. “Maybe I’ll let her keep the window open, just for a little while.”

  * * *

  The following morning gave them their first view of Toi’ildrieg. Not the town they were heading for; the mountains which made up the centre of the island. They still had a way to go before they could dock at Sugal, but at least they could see land – which was a relief; given the state of the Swallow, it was good to know they could swim to shore if needs be.

  They followed the coast west, then north, all the while staying far enough out to sea to avoid notice – or rather, to avoid anyone recognising the boat and reporting the find to Lady Zill or one of the Kel’mau.

  They had just caught their first sight of Sugal when the ship’s mast decided it was time to break. It did not break all the way through, but enough so that using the sail was out of the question.

  Elspeth had been in the cabin when it happened. To her, it felt like they had hit a reef. The sound of the cracking mast boomed throughout the lower decks. Trapper, who had been on the bed, jumped down and starting growling at the ceiling.

  “Now what?” Olivia had said. She had been sitting at the small desk, reading.

  Before Elspeth could say she had no idea what had caused the bang, Chrissa barged her way into the cabin.

  “On deck,” the bodyguard said. “Come on, all of you, hurry up. You can’t be stuck down here if she sinks.”

  “If she sinks!” Olivia squeaked. “What has that fool done now? Did we hit something?”

  That was when Elspeth had learned about the cracked mast.

  They followed Chrissa out onto the deck and into a howling gale. Sleet and small hailstones peppered the deck. The wind was so strong, Elspeth had to hold onto the crank the sailors used to wind in the anchor with one arm, the other wrapped around Trapper’s neck. Her cloak billowed, he hair thrashed against her face, and she could feel freezing water drip down her back.

  Olivia was faring little better. The princess was holding Chrissa’s arm, her other arm around Anooni’s shoulder.

  Most of the deck was covered in the sail cloth which had fallen from the cracked mast. The crew, what was left of them, were busy tying up things and dragging other things away from the rails. Jebb was even working hard, which told Elspeth just how serious their predicament was.

  As the hail beat a rhythm on the deck, the tall waves crashed against the hull. Elspeth wondered if she could do something to stop the ship rolling – remembering what she had done to Rieg harbour, when she had summoned the tidal wave – but she could not hold herself steady long enough to focus on the two feet in front of her, never mind use the Voice.

  “Well, this is just unacceptable,” Olivia shouted.

  The princess looked like a drowned rat, Elspeth noticed. She might have laughed, had she not been in a similar state. Anooni was smiling at something, and Chrissa was too busy grasping the rail to do much of anything.

  Nini, Elspeth realised, was on his way over to them, fighting the wind and hail to cross the deck.

  “What are you doing out here?” the lieutenant asked the princess. “Get back inside.”

  Olivia glanced over at Chrissa, then said, “She told us we might sink, and not get stuck below deck.”

  Chrissa raised her head. She looked like she had just been sick. “That’s what Wex told me,” she groaned.

  Nini sighed. Stumbling, he made his way over to the princess. “We are not going to sink; it is just a crack in the mast. Get below, where it’s dry.”

  So, they all went back to the cabin.

  After a long hour of being jostled about, they tried to hang their clothes up to dry, and Elspeth attempted to hold back the vomit which threatened to rise in her throat, the weather finally calmed.

  “Maybe we should have waited for a better ship,” Chrissa had said, when the cabin finally stopped moving up and down.

  Olivia said nothing in reply, but Elspeth could not help nodding her agreement. Even Trapper barked. What harm in waiting another few days?

  Don’t blame Olivia, she told herself. You spent two weeks waiting for a ship from Bailryn, and you could have waited another month.

  Still, even a Krassian barge would have been better than this.

  “We’re here now,” Elspeth said, “and we only got a bit wet; no harm done.”

  Olivia smiled at her. “Yes, no harm done. Come, we should ready ourselves. We’ll be docking soon.”

  The last few miles were done under the sweeps. Once within hailing distance, the harbour master flagged them over to the north pier, and they docked next to a row of sleek crafts that made the Swallow look like the poor cousin in the family – the poor sick cousin.

  When the moorings were secure, the ten volunteers Nini had found – most still dressed in their wet clothes – made for the nearest inn, the lieutenant following close behind, with orders to find rooms for the night. Anooni went with them, Trapper close at heel. Elspeth was going to go, too, but Olivia had gotten into another argument with Jebb – over money, as usual.

  “Well that be down to you, Princess,” Jebb said. “You pay the three silver a day for her birth, and another two to keep us fed, and we’ll stay ‘ere long as you like.”

  “I told you not to call me that,” Olivia said, glancing around to see if any of the dock workers had noticed. “Especially here, of all places.”

  Jebb just shrugged. He did not even have the decency to look abashed.

  “Very well,” Olivia said, after giving him her best disdainful glare, which made absolutely no difference to the man. “Here’s five ren, enough for a week, and there will be five more if you are here when we get back, and another ten to take us on to Bhail.” She gave the money to Wex.

  Jebb laughed. “You want to go out in that again?” He gestured toward the open sea, where dark clouds were once again gathering on the horizon. “We barely made it ‘ere in one piece.”

  “Then I suggest,” Olivia said, “that you use the time wisely. Fix that mast, and do whatever it is you do to stop those leaks.”

  “Ah, but that will cost,” Jebb said.

  “I’m not paying to fix your boat, Jebb,” Olivia said. “The seaworthiness of your vessel is your responsibility, not mine.”

  Jebb just smiled, and even Wex rubbed the back of his neck, pulling in a long breath through his teeth – at least he had the good grace to look embarrassed.

  Olivia glared at the two men. “Is this some joke? I could have bought a boat of my own for what I’ve paid you over these past few weeks. Where is all the money going? Fix your boat. If you see us safely back to Bhail, I might see to it that you get an extra five ren.”

  “Gonna take fifteen to fix that mast,” Jebb said. “And that’s if they got the wood to do the job.”

  “Fif—!” Olivia nearly spat. “No. You can use the money I gave you for food and go fish for your supper; you will not get another fifteen from me.”

  “Suit yourself,” Jebb said. “But you might wanna leave in a hurry. If we aint got the money to throw round, we aint gonna get no one to do the work.” He raised a hand to the stormy sky. “I mean, would you come out in this for less than double pay? I wouldn’t.”

  “No,” Olivia said. “I know you wouldn’t.”

  She looked over at Elspeth, then at Chrissa. “Have we even got that much money?”

  “You have my money,” Chrissa said, shrugging. She was giving Jebb the evil eye. Again, the man paid no mind.

  Elspeth looked in her purse. “I’ve got six, and a dozen krùn. I can maybe spare the krùn, but we might need the rest.”

  Olivia looked in her purse. “You have more than me, once I’ve paid this th
ief.” She looked up at Jebb. “Four more, that’s the best I can do. And I expect that mast to be made of gold and shining like a crystal spire when we get back.”

  Jebb laughed. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “But we’ll do our best, princ – uh, Olivia.”

  “You’ll do more than your best, Jebb,” Olivia said. “You will do your—”

  “Yes, all right,” Elspeth interrupted. “Do your best, Jebb. Remember, we are counting on you. A lot of good women are counting on you. And never mind some of those women could be rich. You never know, five ren might look a poultry sum by week’s end.”

  She left him to think about that and pulled Olivia toward the inn.

  “You really only got six ren?” Chrissa whispered. “What if we have to—”

  “Of course I’ve got more,” Olivia said. “Closer to fifty. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. If I told him I had a hundred, that blasted mast would cost a hundred and ten to fix.” She turned to Elspeth. “You should not have given him that extra; men like that are always out for what they can get, and never mind our cause. And what was all that about rich women?”

  Elspeth shrugged. They were at the inn. As she pushed the door open, she said, “I thought I’d give him something to think about. You know, make him wonder a bit. I’m betting he will like the idea of saving some rich lady from strife. Men like that sort of thing.”

  “Men like whatever comes easiest,” Olivia said.

  She had spoken too loudly; the common room went quiet. And, of course, it just had to be full of men, didn’t it?

  “We do at that,” York said, a chuckle in his voice. “Especially where women are concerned.

  Everyone laughed, and Olivia turned the colour of the red cloth on the six round tables. She scurried over to where Nini was sitting by the fire and sat with her back to the room.

  All ten volunteers where in the common room, along with a few other folk from town. The inn seemed a nice place, given it was next to a dock. Clean, fragrant, and, best of all, warm. Elspeth sat next to Anooni, opposite the princess. Chrissa took a krùn from Olivia’s outstretched hand and went to the bar.