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“I told you she was going to see you,” Zimah says to Mandsy. “You’re terrible at staying hidden. And quiet.” She meets my gaze for only a moment before looking at the ground, ashamed to have been caught on land when they’re supposed to be on the ship.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“We’ve been following you,” Mandsy says, smiling widely. Her teeth shine now that she’s stepped into the moonlight. “Zimah has been tracking you. We were worried, Captain. Just wanted to make sure you’re all right. I hate the thought of you being stuck on board with that lot.”
“As you can see,” I say, “I’m fine. Really, this was reckless of you. What if you were seen by Draxen’s men? You could have blown my cover.”
“We were careful. No one spotted us, what with Zimah here.”
“Ispotted you.”
“That’s because we weren’t trying too hard to hide fromyou,” Zimah says defensively, as though her skills are being brought into question. “We wanted to talk with you. Ship’s lonely without you, Captain.”
I can’t help but smile. “I suppose I should have expected this from you two. But, Sorinda, what in all the seas of Maneria are you doing here?”
Quiet as death, Sorinda finally speaks. “Niridia ordered me to come with them.”
Sorinda is the best swordswoman on my crew. She’s an excellent killer. And since she’s been in my crew, an excellent protector as well.
“Which means that Niridia’s with the ship nearby?” Niridia is my first mate and trusted confidant. I made her temporary captain of my ship while I went on my mission aboard theNight Farer.
“Aye.”
I put my head in my hands. “I’m perfectly fine. You’re all being careless.”
“What’s it like, Captain?” Mandsy asks. “Being on that pirate lord’s ship? Are they treating you well? No one’s laid hands on you, have they?”
“No,” I lie. “And there will be plenty of time for storytelling later. For now you’re to report back to theAva-lee. And you tell Niridia that I order her to take the ship to the checkpoint and wait for me there. No more following me. I mean it.” I look each one squarely in the eyes. Mandsy nods feebly while Zimah looks disappointed. Sorinda looks as though she really couldn’t care either way. But she always wears that face.
“Aye, Captain,” Mandsy says on a sigh, “but what are you doing here anyway? Why aren’t you on the ship? Is there something we can help with?” She can’t hide the eagerness and enthusiasm in her voice. That’s Mands. Always optimistic and ready to help. Drives the rest of the crew bloody insane sometimes.
“No, I’m f— Wait. Actually, you can. I need to get a message to my father.”
“What is it?” Zimah asks. She has a perfect memory. She can recite back to me minutes of overheard conversation at a time.
“Tell him our plans for getting me on board theNight Farerwent perfectly. I’ve begun my search for the map. No one suspects me. It’s my belief that Draxen doesn’t even know the map is aboard his ship, since he doesn’t hide it in his quarters. Searching the rest of the ship shouldn’t take me long. Be ready at the checkpoint. I’ll bring the ship to him soon.”
“Got it,” Zimah says. “Anything you’d like us to pass along to the crew?”
“Tell them I miss them all, and I’ll be home shortly.”
“Glad to hear it,” Mandsy says.
“Yes, yes, now go. And be quick about it.”
“Aye,” they say at once, and hurry back toward the shore.
Part of me wishes I could go with them. Another part is still eager for the hunt, for the game of finding the map. I long for the victory of finding something so important for my father. He will be quite pleased when I return.
And I am pleased that getting word to my father became easier than I expected.
Now I get to skip ahead to the getting caught part. Should be simple enough once I find Draxen’s crew. The difficult bit will be making it look like an accident. They’ll surely be suspicious if I simply hand myself over to them. The last thing I need is Riden getting more curious about my intent. I’m not too worried, but I’m also not careless. I may have lied to my father in my message about no one being suspicious of me, but Riden is simple enough to deal with. Father doesn’t need to know about him.
I pass by the large estates where the rich live, and have to stomp out the urge to go snooping around their valuables. For one, they’ll have many men inside, guarding their riches from all the pirates currently at this port. (Thanks to my father’s regime, there are always several crews in each port city, stopping to spend their plunder.) Such discouragement has no effect on me, save that I know the steal will take more time and planning, which I don’t have.
And secondly, I wouldn’t have a place to hide such valuables after I took them. Riden would be sure to notice and steal a new gem from around my neck.
Eventually I make it to the raucous section of town, the one that wakes once the rest of the city sleeps. You can tell it’s for the more unsavory sort, because it’s so very loud. Music pours out the windows onto the streets. Gunshots sound. Men and women laugh. Tables overturn. The streets are filled with the light of lanterns.
