I rolled my eyes. “I’m taking ’em to the Aja Shore,” I said. “There’ll be whores and gambling aplenty there, too.”
“Tell them that,” said Jeric yi Niru. “I realize to a pirate captain’s daughter the life of a captain is nothing but orders given and orders followed, but in truth it’s an exchange.”
I hate to admit it, but he had my attention. “An exchange?”
“Yes. Like your relationship with that manticore. It was built on favors, yes?”
I didn’t say nothing. I wished to the deep blue sea I knew how he got his information.
“You tell the crew we’re sailing to the Aja Shore at the lovely Queen Saida’s request, but what do they care of Queen Saida? What do they care of you? All they care about–”
“Is pissing their money away at the dice houses. I get it.”
Jeric yi Niru gave me one of his insolent Empire smiles. But he was right. I’d played the manticore and the manticore had played me and we’d wound up friends. Even if her boon hadn’t turned out how she intended.
So I climbed up on the helm and rang the warning bell till I got the crew’s attention.
“What is it, Lady Navigator?” one of ’em called out.
“I wanted to let you know!” I said. “That we’ll be spending close to a week along the Aja Shore.”
The crew all stared at me like I’d just turned into a kitten.
“I know the lot of you have already lost half your earnings to the gambling houses in Arkuz.”
“Most of us more’n that!” somebody called out, and some of the crew laughed and some of them grumbled under their breaths.
“That’s cause you were gambling in Arkuz,” I said. “They take one look at your clothes and see an Empire scummy who don’t know how to hold on to his money.” I paused, looking out over them. “They cheat, is what I’m saying.”
The crew clapped and stomped and hollered in agreement.
“But on the Aja Coast,” I said, “they play nice and fair. You boys want to earn your pressed gold back? Now’s your chance.”
I had no idea how accurate any of this was, but the crew was hollering again.
“And the whores,” I added, not knowing the slightest how to build on that. Apparently it was enough, though, cause the crew hooted and stomped and nudged one another. I guess just saying the word whores is enough to get them excited.
“So I want you boys to think about those Aja women and those Aja dice houses,” I shouted. “While you’re climbing up in the rigging and steering us forward. I ain’t sailing on Queen Saida’s command, I’m sailing to give the lot of you a little taste of paradise.”
They actually cheered me. Not like a crowd cheering a champion in the fighting ring, mind, just some yelling and hollering and whatnot. Still felt good.
“Now!” I shouted. “Get back to work!”
And no one was as surprised as me when they did.
The Aja Shore reminded me of Bone Island, only cleaner and full of nobles and rich merchants instead of cutthroats and pirates. Queen Saida kept a private island set a ways off from the shore, with a big house filled with servants, who, far as I could see, got to live there all year and only had to work when Queen Saida decided she wanted a vacation.
We didn’t bother making port at the dock, just dropped anchor out in the open sea off behind Queen Saida’s island, the Nadir looking big and hulking and monstrous next to her pretty little garden-ship. I let the crew row in to the mainland to go chasing after the gambling I promised them. Then Naji and me made our way to Queen Saida’s house. It was like being in the palace. Her private guards hung around trying to look inconspicuous, and the servants gave me weird looks before leading us up to our rooms. They seemed to give Naji a pass, probably cause every time he opened his mouth he sounded like a noble.
“We’re preparing your midday meal now,” the servant told us as she wandered around my room, pulling down sheets and drawing the curtains away from the open windows. The sea glittered in the sunlight. “The house bell will chime when it’s prepared.” She nodded at me and slipped off into the hallway.
I sank down on the bed and sighed. The warm wind blowing in through the windows made me sleepy, though at least it smelled like the sea, like home, instead of the jungle. It didn’t take long before I drifted off to some breezy dream. Marjani was there, and Queen Saida and the manticore. No Naji. It was nice.
In the dream, Marjani knocked on wood, looking at me expectantly. She knocked so loud it woke me up, and I realized someone was knocking on my door. The little whisper in my head told me it was Naji.
“What do you want?” I called out.
He pushed the door open and stood there staring at me.
“Well?” I asked. “Ain’t no Mist lady in here.”
“I can see that,” he said.
I had half a mind to go sifting through his head, but I didn’t much feel like putting forth the energy.
“Seriously,” I said, “did you need something?”
Naji shook his head silently and just kept staring at me. I sighed and rolled over onto my back, looked up at the ceiling.
“I spoke to the Order about this Court of the Waves,” Naji said. “There’s no record of such a place in any of our histories. Saida’s librarian had never heard of it either.”
I sighed. “Well then. I really don’t trust it.”
Bells started ringing.
“Well, that’s proper timing, isn’t it?” I sat up. “Food’s always better than magical killing rocks.”
“Wait,” Naji said.
“What? They said they’d ring the bells for lunch.”
Naji shook his head. “They aren’t coming from the house.”
I froze, listening. He was right. The bells were caught on the wind, blowing in from the sea–
And then I heard the faint boom of cannon fire.
That got me to my feet. I rolled off the bed and darted over to the window. I couldn’t see nothing but the sparking sea, but the smell of cannon fire smoke, acrid and burning, was on the air.
Naji grabbed me by the arm, yanked me back. “My room,” he said.
He dragged me down the hallway. His room looked the same as mine, but the thud of cannons was louder. I ran over to his window, which faced land.
The Aja Shore was burning in patches. A Confederation ship sidled up along it sideways. Another volley of cannon fire. I leaned out the window, ignoring the sudden pain in my temple, straining to see what colors she was flying – but the smoke was too thick.
The city bells clanged against my skull. Naji tried to pull me out of the window.
“No!” I shouted. “I gotta see which ship. If it’s some Hariri allies–”
“Ananna, you’re hurting me.”
The pain in his voice startled me enough that I loosened my grip on the windowsill and went tumbling backward. He caught me before I could hit the floor. My headache evaporated.
“They aren’t here for you,” he said. “They’re sacking the town.”
“Yeah, looking for me!” I wrenched away from him and was halfway to the door when he had one hand on my shoulder, one arm wrapping around my chest, drawing me into an embrace that startled me into stillness.
“Please,” he whispered into the top of my head. “Please. It hurts me even more now. Now that I–”
I pulled away from him. Whatever he almost said, I didn’t care. And besides, I didn’t have any other choice. I needed to get out to sea. It wouldn’t take long before they made it to Queen Saida’s island, before they saw our boat floating out in the water – if they hadn’t already. We didn’t have the colors up – I ain’t stupid – but any pirate worth his salt would see that the Nadir was a gussied-up Empire boat. And if these were Hariri allies, they would know what that meant.
“I ain’t safe here, neither,” I finally told him, pulling out one of my pistols. “And if we lose our ship, then we lose everything.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ma
rjani caught me in the hallway. She had her sword in one hand and her pistol in the other, though she was still dressed like a princess.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked.
The smell of smoke was everywhere.
“Not any of the Hariri allies that I know about.”
I slumped with relief, dropping my sword to my side.
“They’re here because of Saida,” she said. “The Aja merchants always bring out the best jewelry and silks when she comes to visit.” Marjani took a deep breath. “Her guards have taken the queen’s ship. I told her we’d take the Nadir.”
“As privateers?” I frowned. “Are we gonna have to swear allegiance to Jokja and all that?”
Marjani scowled. “Does it matter? And not officially, no.” She jerked her head in direction of the shore. “Those pirates are going to try and take the Nadir once they’ve finished sacking the shore anyway.”
That was probably true.
We didn’t have much crew on the Nadir – most of ’em were on shore, and so we just had the few scoundrels who got stuck with the second shift. Jeric yi Niru was one of them, though, and lo and behold he’d gotten them to ready the boat for battle. When me and Marjani came on board and saw the crew packing the cannons and readying the sails, he gave us both a bow and a tip of his Qilari hat.
“Captain,” he said. “I imagine we’ll need to fetch the rest of our soldiers for the battle.”
“They’re my crew, not soldiers,” Marjani said. “But yes, you’re right.” She took the helm. I stood beside her, my heart pounding in my chest. The sky was black with smoke, and I could hear screaming and pistol blasts coming from the mainland. The queen ship was ahead of us, her green sails bright against the haze. My head ached some, from being separated from Naji, but it wasn’t too bad. If I concentrated I could make it disappear completely.
“Ananna!”
It was Naji. He stepped out of the shadow of the mast, clutching a sword and a knife, his eyes glowing.
“I have to protect you,” he said.
I didn’t say anything.
Marjani glanced at him. “Oh, good, you’re here. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
Naji frowned at her, and then put his hand on my arm. His skin was warm through the fabric of my shirt. “Please,” he said to me. “It’s not your fight.”
“It’s my boat!” I said. “Marjani said so. The Nadir’s as much mine as she is hers. I ain’t gonna let some Confederation scummies steal off with her.”
The skin crinkled around Naji’s eyes. He pulled out his sword.
“Hold steady!” Marjani shouted, leaning against the helm. We were close to the Confederation ship, close enough that they had to have spotted us–
They had. Their cannons were rotating.
“Fire!” Marjani screamed, and the whole boat rocked backward as the cannons fired, adding more smoke to the thick air. I braced myself against Naji. The Confederation ship shuddered, but we’d managed to knock half their cannons off the line of sight.
The men cheered. Marjani didn’t; she just set her jaw straight and hard. “We haven’t won yet.”
I jumped down to the deck, figuring they’d need as much help in the reloading as possible. I ignored Naji following me as I worked on one of the cannons, the gunpowder making my eyes water.
The Confederation ship fired on us. I skittered backward, limbs flailing. Naji caught me even though I knew I’d slid past him in the explosion – his lightning-quick assassin dance again. He looked relieved.
I pushed up to my feet.
A wind blew in from the open sea, sweet and clean, and for a few quick seconds it cleared away the smoke.
I saw the other ship’s colors.
A blue field. A gray skeleton, dancing the dance of the dead.
The Tanarau.
Mama. Papa.
“Stop!” I screamed. “Stop firing!” I was half-talking to the crew and half-talking to the Tanarau, even though I knew it was madness to think they could hear me across the water. “Stop! It’s me! It’s me!”
“What in the darkest of nights are you doing?” Naji grabbed at me but I wrenched free. I raced up to the flagpole and yanked on the rope. Our colors dropped.
“What in the holy hell!” Marjani leapt over the helm. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“We have to surrender!” I shouted.
“What?”
I didn’t answer, just pulled hard on the rope and caught the colors in my arms. One of the crewmen was on me with his sword, and I swung around and caught him, blade to blade, before he could cut me.
“I know that ship!” I shouted, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to fight. The sound of our swords rang out across the deck. I tossed the colors aside, lunged at him. More cannon fire from the Tanarau, and the boat lifted up and slammed back down. I managed to stay on my feet.
Then Jeric yi Niru stepped in, nimble as a dancer, wedging himself between me and the crewman so that the crewman hit his sword instead of mine.
“Go on, first mate,” he called out over his shoulder. “Hoist up the surrender flag.”
Where the hell is Naji? I thought, and then I saw – Marjani’d gotten a couple of the bigger fellows to hold him down. And she was coming after me herself.
“It’s my parents!” I screamed.
She froze in place. “Are you sure?”
“Course I’m sure. I sailed under those colors for close to two decades.” I fumbled around on the deck for a scrap of sail. Yellow-white, but it would do. “Once we get them to stop firing I can go over and have them let us be.”
“And how do you know that will work?” Her voice was quiet and cold, but she’d dropped her sword to her side.
“How’d you know it’d be safe for you to come back to Jokja?”
Her jaw moved up and down like she was trying out responses. Nothing came out. She gave me a curt nod, and I tied the scrap of sail to the flag rope and hoisted it up. Jeric yi Niru had knocked the crewman out and nobody else tried to stop me. The Tanarau stopped firing on us once the sail was halfway up, the way I figured she would. Papa always heeds calls to surrender.
Naji shrugged away from his captors.
“Let me do the parley,” I said to Marjani.
“You bet your ass I will.”
“No,” said Naji. “If they harbor ill will because of the Hariri affair–”
“They won’t.” I was already readying the rowboat. I had my sword and my pistol and my heart was beating faster than it did before any battle. I called over Jeric yi Niru.
“Drop me down,” I told him. I know it’s crazy, but I trusted him more in that moment than I did anyone else, on account of him helping me call surrender.
“Aye aye,” he said, eyes glinting like he was making fun of me.
“Wait!” Naji flashed across the deck and reappeared beside me in the boat. I didn’t have time to protest before Jeric yi Niru cut the line and we crashed into the water.
I rowed us over to the Tanarau. The closer we got the slower I rowed. What if Naji was right? What if they were still sore about me running off on my wedding day? What if they pledged some sort of allegiance to the Hariris, and this was all a Hariri trap after all?
“You’re right to worry,” Naji said, staring straight ahead, looking grim.
“Shut up!” I said. “It’s my family. They ain’t gonna hurt me.”
“You don’t know that,” Naji said, and he tapped his finger to my forehead. “Can you see what I’m thinking right now?”
“I don’t got to. I know you think this is a bad idea.” We were almost to the Tanarau. I pulled the oars in and let the waves knock us up against her side. A few seconds later, the ropes dropped down.
Two Tanarau men hauled us up. One of ’em I didn’t recognize, but the other was Big Fawzi, and when he saw me he squinted and then widened his eyes.
“Hey,” I said.
“Ananna? What the hell? We thought you were dead.”
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“Not yet.”
And then I heard Mama’s voice, sweet as a song, asking the men what the hell was going on. I jumped out of the rowboat, the feel of the Tanarau firm and familiar beneath my feet. The sails flapped and snapped in the wind, and the sound was different from the sails on the Nadir and the Ayel’s Revenge and the Goldlife. The rigging hung different. It was like I never left.
“Ananna!” Mama pushed through the crew. She was decked out for battle in men’s clothes, her belt lined with pistols, but when I saw her all I could think about was the way she’d looked when she wore her worn silk robe as she rocked me to sleep back when I was a little kid.
“Mama!” I raced forward. She caught me up in her embrace. The pirate in me thought back to Tarrin of the Hariri, reaching for his knife as he lay dying. But the daughter in me just wanted to be hugged.
“I never thought I’d see you again.” She pulled away and I saw the smudges in her kohl where she’d started crying. Mama never lets you see her cry; she can stop a tear before it falls down her face. But if you know how to look for the signs, you can still spot it. “I’d heard the Hariris sent an assassin after you.”
“They did.”
Mama frowned, and before she could say anything, Papa’s voice boomed across the ship.
“And what the hell kinda parley is thi–”
He stopped when he saw me. For a moment nobody moved. We all just stood there in the smoke and the sea breeze.
“Nana,” he said. He threw off his sword belt and his pistols and then rushed toward me, scooping me up like I was a kid again. “You were dead,” he said to me, leaning close. “You were dead. The assassin–”
“He’s here,” I said without thinking.
Everybody on the damn boat pulled out a weapon. Swords and pistols and daggers all threw off glints of light in the sun.
Naji slumped against the railing and sighed.
“No!” I said. “You don’t understand. He didn’t… he can’t kill me, alright?”
“That him?” Papa jerked his chin toward Naji.
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