Page 104 of Ship of Smoke and Steel

There was a time when I’d have considered it. But I’ve seen Zarun fight, and I doubt I could take him and Karakoa together. And, unlike back in Kahnzoka when I was cornered by the Immortals, I have something to lose. If I die here, Tori dies with me, and Meroe as well if the Scholar is right.

So this time, I let them take me. It turns out to be the right move. Zarun is no fool, and there are a dozen armed crew waiting nervously outside the entrance to the Captain’s tower.

“I’ll work this out,” the Scholar says. “Don’t worry.”

We’re not bound and gagged, but the circle of guards marks us clearly as prisoners. We descend via the cage, in carefully managed shifts so I’m never alone. I’m honestly impressed—the Ward Guard in Kahnzoka would have given me a dozen chances to slash someone’s throat and make a run for it by now. Zarun catches my eye and smiles, as though it’s all one big joke, but Karakoa’s expression is grim.

“So what happens now?” I ask, when we’re on the deck.

Karakoa shakes his head. “It has yet to be decided. For the moment, you will be detained.” He glares at the Scholar. “And you will explain your actions to the Council.”

“Gladly,” the Scholar says. “Maybe this time you’ll actually listen.”

That doesn’t make Karakoa any happier. They take us to the First Tower, at the corner where Soliton’s side and rear walls come together. I’d expected to be shoved back down in the Drips, where Pack Nine had originally been quartered, but instead there’s a long hallway fitted out as an actual cellblock. Guards open the door to one of four small rooms and gesture me inside. I hear the clatter of bolts and bar after they close it.

As cells go, it’s not bad. Sleeping pallet, chamber pot, water basin. No rats. I’ve paid good money for worse rooms, frankly. I stretch myself out on the pallet, suddenly feeling the exhaustion that’s been hovering somewhere behind me since last night. I haven’t slept since before we went after the dredwurm, and my eyeballs feel like they’ve been wrapped in wool.

For a while, though, I can’t rest.

There is no Captain. There is no Captain. But the Scholar thinks he can control the ship.

Which means, presumably, I should go along with the Scholar, at least until the time comes to stab him in the back.

So why are my instincts screaming at me that something’s wrong?

Why do I feel like he knows more than he should, and he’s telling me what I want to hear?

Does Meroe hate me?

Focus, Isoka.

I open my eyes. There’s a small candle on a shelf, but I haven’t bothered to light it, and no light is seeping through the cracks in the door. But I can see, just barely. A tiny trickle of gray light runs up through one of the walls, pulsing strong and fast. I edge over to it and press my hand against the metal.

“Hagan, are you there?”

It’s a moment before his voice comes. “… weak. Can’t hold … long.”

Rot. I have so many questions, it’s hard to stick to the most important.

“If I get to the Garden,” I say, “will I be able to turn the ship? Avoid the Rot?”

Another pause. “… no. Not enough…” His voice fades, then returns. “… Garden will protect you.”

“Just me?”

“Whoever reaches it.” His voice is strained. “Hurry. It’s…”

He fades away again, the river of gray light dwindling to a trickle, like a dying spring.

“Hagan?”

No answer.

I don’t remember falling asleep, only waking to a sharp rap on the door. I sit up, head full of fragments of dream.

“Who’s there?” I call out, before I fully remember that I’m stuck in a cell.

“’Tis Clever Jack,” says Jack. “Here to see the business done.”