by Logan Jacobs
“It’s cold,” I warned as I stuck my hand in the water.
“Just as well,” Sorcha replied as she started to pull off her clothing. “We won’t have any reason to linger.”
I watched her strip and reveled at the beauty of her body in the soft light that filtered through the leaves. She smiled at me when she caught me watching, then jumped into the water.
“It’s freezing!” she gasped when she reappeared.
I laughed and jumped in after her, and the sudden drop in temperature nearly sent me into shock. Then I swam to the surface and let out a yell.
Sorcha had remembered to grab the soap, and she was already covered in a thick lather. She scrubbed quickly and tossed me the bar. Then she swam to the shore and climbed out while I was still trying to get a firm grip on the soap with my numb fingers.
“You’re no fun,” I called out as I finally managed to start a lather.
“I prefer something warmer,” she called back as she wrapped herself in a towel. She studied the vials, then selected one and sniffed. Satisfied with whatever she found, she applied some of the contents to her scratches. When that was done, she selected a second bottle and rubbed several drops of the contents onto her head wound.
“Do you plan on finishing anytime soon?” she teased when she saw me watching her again.
I was ready to make a smart ass reply, but my toes were going numb, and the day’s nicks and scratches were starting to sting in the cold. So, I turned my back on her and finished up as quickly as I could.
When I finally pulled myself from the water, Sorcha was dressed in a dark gray shirt and matching pants. The shirt was tighter than the blouse she’d been wearing, but the quilted jacket hid most of her curves. She ran her fingers through her hair as she handed me a dry towel, then picked up one of the bottles.
“Sit down, and I’ll take care of those wounds,” she offered once I was dry.
I dropped the towel onto the rock and sat down. The mage started to rub something into one of the deeper scratches, and I hissed at the burning sensation that shot up my arm.
“Sorry,” she apologized, “but this is the worst one. The others shouldn’t hurt as much.”
“You knew they were mages,” I said a few minutes later as I tried to distract myself from the sting of the medicine while she rubbed it into every nick and scratch.
“Yes,” she agreed. “I can usually tell.”
“But you weren’t sure,” I added.
“No, I was sure,” she said as she shook her head, “but usually I can get some sense of what type of magic someone has. Their readings were … all over the place.”
“Meaning what?” I pressed.
“Meaning I kept getting different types of magic,” she sighed. “Benny definitely has some water magic, which is probably how they move the barge, but then I could sense fire, and even a bit of portal. The same with June.”
“And that’s unusual?” I asked as she capped the last vial and handed me the clean shirt.
“Not exactly,” she said as she sat down next to me. “Mages do sometimes have multiple types of magic, especially if they’re parents were both mages. And powerful mages can train themselves to master other types of magic, though they’re never as strong in those. These two feel different somehow, but I can’t figure out how.”
“Maybe that’s why the Magesterium was looking for them,” I suggested as I tried to pull on the pair of pants. Although the shirt had been a bit big, the pants were proving to be a bit small. Still, I finally managed to get them closed and stood up experimentally.
“Can you walk?” Sorcha asked in a teasing voice.
“Barely,” I admitted. “Maybe June will have something more my size back at the barge.”
“Huh,” Sorcha replied as she watched me try to put my boots back on. “Don’t you think it’s odd they have all these different kinds and sizes of clothes?”
“Yes, but it could just be part of their smuggling operation,” I pointed out.
“I suppose,” Sorcha agreed, but her brow was furrowed.
After nearly knocking myself unconscious against the rock, I finally had my boots back on. Then I grabbed Sorcha’s hand and held it for a moment.
“We don’t have to trust them,” I said. “We’ll just stay with them as long as we’re comfortable. If things start to get weird, we’ll politely bid them goodbye and be on our way.”
“You’re probably right,” she sighed. “I’m not getting anything bad from them. Just the confusing sense of magic.”
Sorcha hopped off the rock with an ease I envied and collected our dirty clothes, towels, soap, and used vials. Then she led the way back to the barge, where Benny and June had cleared the fire pit, scrubbed the deck, and brought in the laundry that had been hanging out to dry.
“All set?” Benny asked as we stepped onto the board that passed for a ramp.
“We are, thank you,” Sorcha replied and earned a large smile from the older man.
He took in my awkward gait and started to laugh, which drew June from the house.
“Oh, dear,” June lamented as she tried not to laugh as well. “I think I have something larger.”
She vanished again as Benny slipped the knots and let the current carry the barge into the middle of the canal. As Sorcha had guessed, he had some water magic, since he stood near the front of the boat and made graceful gestures with his hands. Sometimes, the adjustments to our course were so tiny I couldn’t tell what he’d done, and other times we made quick changes to avoid floating debris or something hiding in the waters.
I was fascinated by his skills, and I only realized how closely I’d been watching him when June cleared her throat. She was standing next to me, though I couldn’t say how long she’d been there. It was unnerving, since survival on the trail meant being aware of everything around you at all times, and I would never have allowed anyone to sneak up that close to me unnoticed. I wondered if it was one of her magics that allowed her to do that, and if so, why she’d chosen to use it on me, but she smiled at both me and Benny, and the oddness of it suddenly seemed unimportant.
“Try these,” she suggested as she held out a pair of black pants in a soft cotton. They looked like they’d barely been worn, and I tried to hand them back to her.
“Those are brand new,” I protested.
“No,” she said sadly. “We’ve had them for a while now. They belonged to a friend of ours, another water mage actually. He used to spend time with us whenever his ship came to the city.”
“What happened to him?” I asked as I accepted the pants.
“They encountered pirates,” June murmured and dropped her eyes. “Just two days out. Being the water mage, they killed him first before he could get the ship to safety.”
“Oh,” I muttered as I looked at the dead man’s clothing.
“He left those behind by accident,” June went on as she studied the fabric, which I now noticed had a pattern woven into them. “He got mud on them while we were fishing so I offered to clean them. He had to leave in a hurry the next morning, and he must have forgotten they were still on the line.”
“I’ll just slip inside and change,” I said as I squeezed her shoulder.
She smiled and went to join Benny.
I looked at the pants again and decided the pattern looked like some sort of interlocking squares, though it was hard to see them unless you held the fabric just so. The fabric was probably some of the softest I’d ever felt, yet I had the feeling they were also very durable. No doubt they were endowed with magic and probably very valuable.
I stepped inside the tiny house and found it was larger than I’d realized. The part I’d been thinking of as the house held a kitchen, a table that could fold up against the wall, a supply of fresh water, and a wash tub.
But there was also a narrow ladder that went below.
I peered around the edge and realized they had converted at least a portion of the old barge into a sleeping area. There was a
narrow hallway that ran the length of the barge, but I couldn’t see what laid beyond the bunks and bookshelves in the bedroom nook.
I thought changing in the sleeping quarters might be a better plan, in case anyone walked in unexpectedly, but I didn’t think I could make it down the steps in my current attire. So, with a sigh, I plopped onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table and started to maneuver out of my boots and pants. As I prepared to slip on the new pants, I noticed there was a label inside that said “Dickie’s.” The mage friend who had been lost at sea, I supposed, and I sent a silent thank you to the long lost friend.
The new pants were a much better fit and definitely magical. I found out for sure when I spotted a ewer with fresh water and a rack of clean glasses. I started to pour just as Benny adjusted our course, and some of the water sloshed onto the counter and my new pants. Yet, they remained completely dry. A handy bit of magic to have if you spent most of your life on a ship, I realized. No wonder Dickie had invested in them. Though as I thought about it, perhaps Dickie was the one who had made the pants. I shrugged and decided I would ask June when I had a chance.
I gulped down the water, then returned to the deck before anyone came searching for me. June and Sorcha were back in the deck chairs and chatting like old friends. I handed my trade-ins to June and turned around in a circle so the ladies could see the new attire.
“Much better,” June laughed. “I’ll just put these back in the chest. I’m sure someone else will be able to wear them.”
She gave me a wink, then slipped into the little shack, and Sorcha and I waited in silence until she was gone.
“Did I miss anything?” I asked.
“She’s very nice,” Sorcha replied with a shrug.
“This place is quite a bit bigger than you might suppose,” I murmured.
“That makes sense if they’re smugglers,” she mused.
“You could hide a body in there, and no one would find it,” I added.
Sorcha nodded, then smiled as June stepped outside again.
“So, I’ve been trying to decide what to do for dinner,” June announced as she dropped into the deck chair. “We still have plenty of the pork, of course, and we picked up some fresh mushrooms and leeks the other day.”
“I’d never thought I’d say this after how hungry I was earlier, but I’m not sure I can think about food right now,” I groaned.
“Neither can I,” Sorcha agreed as the older mage burst into laughter.
“Well, if it helps, I have cherry pie for dessert,” the gray-haired lady said with a smile.
We stayed like that for another hour, and the three of us swapped stories and jokes while Benny moved us closer to the river. I almost didn’t notice when we started to slow, but June noticed right away. She glanced toward Benny, then stood up quickly to peer down the river. Sorcha and I followed after her, but she sprinted back toward us before we had made it more than a few steps.
“You need to hide,” she hissed as she pulled us toward the shed.
“What’s going on?” Sorcha asked.
I could just see over June’s head, and I could make out a line of barges spread out across the canal.
“Pirates?” I guessed.
“No, not exactly,” June replied as she urged us down the ladder, “but they control this section of the canal. We’re on good terms with them, so they let us through, but if they find you two on board, they’ll either kill you on the spot or take you back to their camp for entertainment.”
June pushed us down the narrow hallway during this speech before she signalled us to stop. Then she knelt down and muttered something under her breath. One of the boards glowed blue for a moment, and June grabbed it with both hands and pulled. The board popped free with a groan, and I found myself staring into a dark hole.
“It’ll be tight, but there should be enough room for both of you,” June instructed as she tried to urge Sorcha into the darkness.
I heard Benny talk loudly then from up above, and June shot a nervous glance toward the ladder. I dropped into the hole and found it was barely tall enough for me to stand in. I held my hand out for Sorcha, and she dropped in next to me. June replaced the board, and then it was just the two of us alone in utter blackness.
Sorcha trembled, so I pulled her in closer, and with nothing to see, I strained to catch every noise I could. My hand went to my jacket, the one piece of clothing I’d kept, and felt the reassuring weight of the snub nose. Then I pulled it from the pocket and waited.
It was deathly still for an eternity, and then I caught the sound of boots as several people descended the ladder and dropped onto the floor. I could hear Benny offer assurances that they weren’t carrying anything other than some magically enhanced tobacco at the moment, and a gruff voice responded. The boots passed our hiding spot and continued toward the far end of the barge where the mages must have had their storage.
Sorcha buried her head against my shoulder as we waited again, but this time, the boots returned more quickly. Benny said something about someone being mistaken, but the gruff voice didn’t sound convinced.
“I don’t know why he thought he saw someone else,” Benny insisted. “That’s a pretty far distance to see anything clearly.”
“He was using a spyglass,” the gruff voice grunted, “and if he says he saw strangers on this ship, then he saw strangers on this ship.”
Benny sighed dramatically, and I could picture him shaking his head. The two sets of boots had stopped practically above our heads, and I could feel Sorcha try to burrow into me.
“We can tear this piece of garbage apart until we find them,” the gruff voice snapped.
“You know we would never do anything to violate our understanding,” Benny replied more forcefully. “We value our time on the canal too much to risk it.”
“I also know this crate is littered with hiding spots,” the gruff voice huffed as one of the boots slammed the board over our heads. “Don’t think I can’t find them all.”
Benny started to protest, but the gruff voice yelled out something I didn’t understand, and then I heard more boots drop into the hallway.
“Tear this place apart,” the gruff voice ordered.
I pointed the gun toward the plank over our heads and prayed I had enough bullets left to get us out of here in one piece.
Chapter 9
“There’s nothing here,” Benny huffed. “Search all you want.”
Boots tramped along the narrow passageway, and I heard Benny sigh as he was pushed roughly against the wall. A moment later, I could hear the sound of crates being cracked open, and I felt my heart hammer inside my chest.
“Don’t destroy the merchandise!” Benny bellowed. “If you do, I’ll be sure to let Don Arbino know who to hold responsible.”
The sounds of destruction diminished, and a heated discussion took place between Benny and the gruff voice as they moved toward the hold. My arm grew tired as I kept the gun pointed upwards, but I was afraid to move in case I somehow tipped off the invaders to our location.
A moment later, several boots stomped overhead. I held my breath, and then two more sets of boots approached more slowly. They stopped near us, and someone kicked one of the walls.
“Is that necessary?” Benny sighed.
“I’ll find out if you’re hiding someone,” the gruff voice replied.
“There is no one,” Benny insisted. “And there’s nowhere else for you to check.”
The other man laughed, then kicked the wall again.
“You’re a good liar, old man,” the gruff voice admitted. “If I didn’t know what you really were, I’d believe you. You can tell Don Arbino that his tobacco is safe, and you can tell your passengers that they got lucky.”
“Just because you keep saying there are passengers doesn’t mean it’s true,” Benny replied.
“Same goes for you,” the invader snorted. “Next time, old man. And you better have that whiskey you promised, or we’ll hunt down you, your old lad
y, and your mystery guests. We’ve been looking for some good entertainment.”
The boots moved back toward the ladder. I heard the two men climb up, and I lowered the gun, and breathed out slowly as Sorcha nearly collapsed against me.
There was more noise from the deck, and then the barge started to move again. I wasn’t ready to emerge from our spot just yet, and neither was Sorcha, to judge by the tight hold she had on my shirt. I pulled Sorcha as close as I could and said a silent prayer of thanks that I hadn’t used since my childhood.
The barge moved slowly onward, and after what felt like an eternity, I heard a pair of soft shoes move across the boards. They stopped, and then after a heartbeat, the board above our heads glowed blue. Sorcha and I both watched it, and I felt her tense up as the board was lifted from the deck.
“We’re safe,” June said happily as she peered down at us.
“Thank you.” I remembered I still had the gun in my hand, and I quickly slid it into my jacket so the older woman wouldn’t see it.
Sorcha had already grabbed June’s hand and started to pull herself out of the hole. I thought that motion probably blocked June’s view of me and that she hadn’t seen the gun. Or if she did see something, I hoped she would assume it was a knife.
I pulled myself from the hole and plopped onto the deck once Sorcha was clear, and then the blonde woman got to her feet with June's help.
“Who was that?” I asked as I stood up slowly.
June rolled her eyes at my slow pace, then dropped the plank back into place and muttered the spell. There was another shimmer of blue light, and then the board melded back into place. June nodded in approval and then stood up.
“They call themselves the Red Rovers,” she finally said. “They’re a gang, I suppose, though they tend to limit their activities to the canals. So perhaps they’re pirates. This isn’t one of their favorite hunting spots, which is why we decided to come this way. Lucky for you we did. If you had stumbled across them on your own, well…”