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I drained my coffee to the grounds and balanced the mug on my thigh, glancing back out to sea. My mind turned over possible connections between Lirr andDemery—oldscores and grudges? Shared history in the piratical sphere? Whatever they were, it could seriously complicateHart’s commission.
“Perhaps his new Stormsinger has yet to learn her verses?”
Demery huffed ambiguously, but there was a weight to his gaze. “Or Lirr’s already found him, and you and I wait in vain.”
That thought made my pulse quicken. “How would Lirr catch Randalf without a Stormsinger? He obviously does not have one, otherwise he has no reason to pursue the man to begin with. It is a miracle he even made it out of the storm in Whallum.”
Demery stood up and began buttoning his overcoat. “Well, lad, that’s where you’re wrong.”
I stood up too, setting my mug on the sill of the coffeehouse window. “How?”
“Lirr has the best Stormsinger on the Winter Sea and she’s been with him for years,” the other man said as he popped up his collar against the chill.
I was hard-pressed to hide my shock. “Then why would he be interested in Mary Firth?”
Demery tugged at his scarf, letting it bunch under his chin like a cravat. “Damned if I know.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and glanced down at the slush-covered stone beneath our boots. My vision of Mary must have been real. But I had been so disused to proper visions, so reliant upon the Mereish coin, that I had not known it.
“You believe Lirr caught up with Randalf at sea, then?” I asked. The question felt like a fist in mygut—afist of guilt, frustration and something more. “And took Mary Firth?”
Demery shook his head. “I cannot say anything for sure. But either Randalf will show up in port soon, hurt or hale, or Lirr will.”
I locked gazes with the older man and dared to press, “Captain Demery, why are you hunting Lirr?”
He did not speak right away. I watched him for any change in expression, any hint at the truth. I saw a tightness around his grey eyes and a flicker of his lips, but could not decipher it.
“As I said before, we’ve personal business to discuss. But I would have both you and your captain know, Mr. Rosser, that our interests are not exclusive of one another. Our paths may cross again. Give me no trouble, and I’ll give you none inreturn—scratchmy back, and I may scratch yours.”
With that, Demery stepped back out into the street and crossed, boardingHarpywithout a backwards glance.
As the Winter Sea’s early evening drew in and the cloud-choked western horizon turned violet, I wandered. My head felt sharp and clean, but my nerves ground as I pieced the mystery together.
Demery was after Lirr for personal reasons. As I had pondered before, that was not too hard tobelieve—theyhad both been sailing long enough to have shared history. Whatever the specific reason was, Demery was right to say our paths would likely cross again, and depending on how Slader took Demery’s offer, that meeting would either be to our advantage or peril.
Mary Firth’s connection to it all was growing more undeniable, though the nature of that connection was another unknown. If Lirr already had a Stormsinger, he had no need of her. Unless she was more than she seemed. An elusive lover? A missing daughter?
My dreamer’s sense ignited, rushing over my ears like a gust of smoke. I did not have the answer, but I intended to find out.
AEADINE—The term Aeadine encompasses both the peoples of Aeadine (also called Aead, by foreign tongues) and the island which they inhabit. One of the largest landmasses within the Winter Sea, the island is graced with various natural resources including the infamous Aeadine Ghistwold. Aeadine is well-situated for trade with Tithe, and its coast supports a profitable fishing industry. The Aeadine Anchorage, southwest of the main island, provides a natural blockade to the Mereish and their many invasions, as well as a port of departure for trade in the southern seas. The Aeadine officially worship the singular Saint, and are ruled by the AeadineMonarchy—maythey forever wear his scarlet crown. See alsoAEADINE ANCHORAGE, AEADINE MONARCHS, GHISTWOLD.
—FROMTHE WORDBOOK ALPHABETICA: A NEW
WORDBOOK OF THE AEADINES
TWELVE
Dangerous Men
MARY
Istood in a room with a blazing hearth, a small bed and a steaming wooden bath. Though I was sure spies from Demery’s crew wouldn’t be far away, I was alone for the first time since I’d been arrested as Abetha Bonning.
The inn was a nice one, with a clean common room, middle-class guests, and unstained sheets. The presence of ghistings soaked its wood, lending me a sense of security, and themaid—whospoke Aeadine with a light Ustiaccent—filleda steaming bath, right in my chambers.
My board could not have been cheap. Demery seemed determined to woo me onto hiscrew—though‘wooing’ implied I had a real choice.
All the same, habit took over at the sight of the tub. I stripped. The smell of my clothes, all brine and sweat, nearly toppled me as I tugged and untied and unpinned. I screwed up my nose and tossed them all into a wicker basket, then stuck the basket into the hallway and rang the service bell.
