A Shaper's Birthright

by Karen MacRae

  The Sergeant in charge of the King’s Guard spoke sternly into the silence. “We’re under orders to allow the Quorum Guard to execute legal warrants, but the King’s Law trumps any Chancellor-stamped warrant any day. The First Mate is correct. You cannot board a King’s ship without permission.”

  Brodie decided it might be best to give the Quorum Captain a way to save face and whispered a suggestion to him.

  “We will wait here, men!” the officer shouted. “Our Chancellor is safe while we guard these assassins!”

  “Good decision, mate. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me who you’re looking for and I’ll see if they’re on board? Save you the hassle.”

  The descriptions were spot on: Finn Braxton, Spider Peyton and Sy Ffion. What a lot of rubbish though. Still, he’d best go wake Finn and tell him what was going on. If the King’s man didn’t kill him for sneaking the Shaper off the Lealta, he’d try to do what he could to help. He saluted the Quorum Captain and sauntered up the gangway.

  The King’s Guard arrayed themselves in front of the ramp. No puffed-up Quorum officer was going to break the law with them around.

  Anna sat back and wondered what the light she was supposed to do. She couldn’t stay here indefinitely, but she’d be spotted as soon as she came out from behind the barrels. She noticed some movement up on the deck. She could only see a silhouette, but she’d swear it was Brodie. He was pointing towards the anchor chain and gesturing away from the ship with two fingers. Or was it three? She hadn’t a clue what he meant but he was definitely making a bit of a wave then holding up two or three fingers. Was she supposed to go to another ship? But what did the anchor chain have to do with anything?

  “Number Two,” he shouted. “Check the port side anchor pin. Did you hear me, Number Two? Port side anchor pin.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” came a shouted reply. “Straightaway, sir.”

  It sounded just like any other order he might shout to his Number Two, but Anna knew it was meant for her. She pulled the black gown tight around her then crept away from the ship, trying to keep the barrels between her and the guards.

  “I said port side, sailor!” came the huge bellow. “Port side!”

  Anna realised she was walking in the wrong direction, but the other direction meant going past the guards. She turned around, hoping the First Mate had a diversion in mind. Sure enough, as she got close to the guards, three sailors came down the gangplank carrying twelve steaming mugs of caffe between them. Anna gave a small wave of thanks and rushed port side. She slowed as she got out of view and looked ahead to the ship two ahead.

  She was stopped as soon as she got within twenty feet of its gangway. She pulled out the pouch she always wore and dug inside for the tiny golden anchor. The man who’d stopped her was completely terrifying. Almost as big as Sy, completely bald and covered in tattoos, he was sporting so many weapons he looked like a walking armoury. It was still too dark to see his aura properly, but it seemed a deep, icy swirl of blues. This was not a man who suffered fools. She held out the anchor nervously, praying the First Mate hadn’t got port confused with starboard. To her relief, the sailor put away his sword and gave her a small bow. He gestured for her to go aboard.

  Anna found herself in what she assumed was the Captain’s cabin. It was decked out in lush, soft, sweet-smelling fabrics and furs with beautifully embroidered cushions and curtains. It was incredibly feminine and not all what she’d expect for the heavily armed sailor. He ushered her in and gestured for her to take a seat while he turned up the lamps. She’d been right about his aura. He was not a man to mess with, but she could see no animosity in it; he meant her no harm. She relaxed a little as she watched him finish with the lamps then pour her a drink. It was a delicious berry flavour with one heck of a kick. She put it down. This was no time to get drunk.

  She wondered at the lack of conversation and tried to think of something benign to explain her presence, but the man bowed and left. Two minutes later, he returned with a woman in her thirties. She had the most ferocious, fabulous, red aura with strong hints of gold. She was no beauty, but her short hair shone like sunlight and her aura was about as strong and proud as Anna had ever seen. She paused in the doorway to survey her new guest and Anna knew instinctively this was no time for games. She drew power from her dagger, just in case, then pulled back her hood to reveal her birthmark.

  “Miss Northcott. It’s an honour to receive you,” the woman said, handing back her golden anchor. “I look forward to hearing how you earned the pin. What with that and Alsham, you have been busy.” She smiled then and Anna immediately revised her opinion of her attractiveness. The smile was large, heartfelt and gave the recipient a wonderful, warm feeling. Anna was quite sure this woman made friends and broke hearts wherever she went. She instinctively knew she could trust her.

  “Thank you, miss…”

  “Call me Caro, Caro Newell. At your service. Now, how did you come to need sanctuary on my Elizabeth?”

  Anna looked closely at the woman’s aura, just in case. Just where she had hoped, she could see a tiny golden badge. Captain Caro Newell was loyal to the King. She let go of the crystal energy in relief.

  “I was on the Lealta. I had to step out a moment and was stranded when the Quorum Guards cut it off. I am… unwelcome in some parts of Ionantis.” Anna noticed the bald man had reappeared. He and Caro moved their hands and fingers very quickly towards each other then Caro nodded.

  “Thanks, Monty. Could you ask the cook to make us some breakfast, please? If rumours are true, the King’s Shaper gets hungry after Healing.”

  Anna realised her mouth was a little agape. She’d just seen these two communicate every bit as effectively with their hands as others did with their mouths. She’d never seen the like. She was about to ask if Monty was deaf when she realised Caro had spoken to him too.

  “He’s mute?”

  Caro nodded. “Best damn First Mate on the seas and no other Captain will look at him. It’s a damn shame. My good luck though.”

  “Thank you for the food. I hadn’t realised my appetite was becoming common knowledge.”

  Caro laughed. “You haven’t tasted it yet. Don’t know what it is about cooks. Never can seem to find myself a good one.”

  Anna realised she hadn’t reopened the peristone links. As soon as she did, she felt a cold disappointment from Finn. He was extremely unhappy with her. She sent a strong feeling of duty then safety and comfort back to him. She hoped it would be enough to explain she couldn’t have ignored men dying right next to the ship and that she was now safely hidden. She felt his anger ease a tiny bit. It was going to take a while for him to forgive her disobeying his order.

  Finn shook off his strange communication with Anna and tuned back into the conversation in the cabin.

  “You’ll just have to stay on board. We’ll manage without you,” Malik was saying.

  “Perhaps. In the meantime, I need you, Euan and Jimmy up at the Hub. It’s open entry to the graduation show rehearsal tonight so the place will be packed and the guards stretched thin. All too easy for Prof K to disappear and no one notice. I don’t expect them to try anything in the daylight, but I could easily be wrong. We also haven’t heard from Professor Sifry. They might still try to get the books.”

  “Or use it as a diversion,” said Sy.

  “Absolutely. That’s why I need you all there and all using your brains. No reactions without thinking first. Got it?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “What about Ebdry’s?” asked Sy.

  “We know that Concealer can get in and out of there without us seeing so there’s no point wasting manpower. Anyway, the King’s Guards are all over it since the murders. No, we concentrate on the Hub. Don’t forget she’s got at least two young men working for her, indigo gowns, one dark-haired, one fair. She’ll have muscle with her too. Locals or sailors.”

  “It’s a damn shame there are so many ships in the harbour,” Jimmy said. “It’d be nice to t
ake out their transport.”

  “Captain Alexander’s working on it.”

  Captain Alexander had, in fact, narrowed it down to eight ships and had men out spending money in local inns to narrow it down further. It was only a matter of time.

  CHAPTER 41

  T he report of a Shaper being seen in the harbour was the opportunity the Chancellor had been waiting for. He couldn’t believe his luck. He shouted for the most senior guard on duty as he wrote out the arrest warrant, allowing himself a moment of intense satisfaction as he dripped hot wax onto the paper and pressed it with his seal. The King would know the Chancellor’s power.

  The Quorum Major left with a full platoon. His orders were clear: bring the criminals back in shackles or spend the rest of his career cleaning privies. The King’s Sergeant on duty at the Rim gate took one look at the approaching troops and ordered the gate closed. He sent two men galloping off on horseback: one to his commanding officer and reinforcements, the other to Lady Kuri. He knew about the standoff at the harbour. It seemed the Chancellor had decided to force the issue. He didn’t have the men to stop the Quorum platoon, but he would do his best to delay things.

  Fifty mounted King’s Guards were at the harbour moments after the eighty Quorum Guards arrived. The two leaders stalked forward to talk. The Quorum Major thrust the warrant at the King’s Captain. He scanned it then passed it to his aide. The man, a lawyer, read it carefully and blanched.

  The warrant called on an international law the King had yet to have amended. Shaping in any form was punishable by death. Supporting the act of Shaping was punishable by death. The Chancellor had attached witness statements from two dockworkers who’d seen three men Healed that morning. They all identified the Healer as a girl with a snakeskin birthmark, commonly associated with Anna Northcott, the so-called ‘King’s Shaper’. Two further witness statements placed the girl on the King’s ship Lealta prior to the Shaping. According to the law, every person on the Lealta was a confederate of a Shaper. They were all to be taken into custody. The executions would be carried out at midnight.

  The lawyer shook his head and passed the warrant back. “We could try to argue there is no actual evidence of Shaping or even that the girl was not the King’s Shaper, but the birthmark is infamous,” he whispered. “No one could convincingly claim they didn’t know what she was.”

  The King’s Captain did his best. He argued that the King had pardoned Anna Northcott. He berated the Quorum Major for forgetting his greater duty to protect the innocent. Did he not know what would happen if Nystrieth had a clear run at The Kingdom?

  The Quorum Major knew for certain he was resigning his commission as soon as he possibly could after this fiasco, but orders were orders. “The Chancellor told me to tell you he’d let the crew live if the Shaper and the three men implicated in the conspiracy gave themselves up. He knows they’re on the ship.”

  “We’re honour bound to uphold our King’s wishes. If you try to board the ship without permission or remove any of the occupants by force, we will be forced to engage.”

  “I’m fully aware. I would do the same myself if I were you. Sadly, I am not.”

  The King’s Captain couldn’t help but sympathise with the Quorum Major, but he’d put a sword through the man’s heart if he tried to take the King’s Shaper away to be executed. He nodded sternly and turned back to his troops, ordering them to make way.

  The Quorum Major ordered his men forward, four abreast. They found the Lealta closed up, the wide ramp and thinner gangway put away.

  “Purchase a lantern and two barrels of oil,” he told his Sergeant. He waited patiently, standing silently to attention, cursing his bad luck at being on duty when the Chancellor decided to throw his weight around.

  A scuffle broke out by the oil vendor’s shop. The Sergeant returned empty handed. “They won’t sell to us.”

  “Then go and get the oil from a Quorum vendor and bring a torch from the gate. We’ll wait.”

  The Sergeant returned with a lit ‘Q’-embossed torch and two barrels of oil.

  Mutters spread through the King’s Guards. “They mean to burn them alive!” “We can’t just stand and watch!” “Captain? Shouldn’t we do something?” Their Captain prayed the man was bluffing but waved his men to be quiet. He knew they were more than ready to attack on his command.

  “Hear me, Lealta!” the Quorum Major shouted. “I have a warrant for the arrest and execution of the crew and passengers of the Lealta. I am authorised to carry out this execution immediately and by any means. I will burn this ship if the so-called King’s Shaper and the three men wanted for conspiring to assassinate the Chancellor do not give themselves up in the next five minutes.”

  A voice came from above. “The King’s Shaper is not aboard the Lealta. Even if she were, we would not give her up.”

  The Quorum Major’s shoulders sagged a little. He would much prefer not murdering dozens of sailors. He ordered all but his front line to turn towards the King’s Guards but to draw their weapons in defence only. With great regret, he told the front line to douse the side of the Lealta. The pungent oil glugging out of the containers and splashing the wooden hull made him want to vomit, but he held his hand out for the burning torch. He lifted it high in the air and tried once again to finish this monstrosity without anyone dying. “I have my orders, Lealta. As distasteful as they are, I will follow them. The King’s Shaper and the three men or I will burn you. You have one minute to decide.”

  The King’s Guard surged forward, their swords in their hands. “Hold!” yelled their Captain. Only discipline stopped his men. They scowled at their enemy, committed to preventing these upstarts from harming a single Kingdomer.

  “Your King would be so proud of you,” taunted a Quorum Guard.

  “Our King?” shouted one of the King’s Guards. “He’s your King too, you traitor!”

  Months of antipathy boiled over and swords clashed. The two officers managed to restore order before there was any serious bloodshed, but peace stood on a knife edge.

  A calm voice came from Lealta. “Major of the Quorum Guards, the King’s Shaper is not aboard. You have my word. Two of the three men you seek will surrender peaceably as long as the crew are unharmed. The third man yis not aboard. We will lower the gangway. You may come aboard to check.”

  “I and four men.”

  “One blade each only.”

  “Done.”

  The Quorum Sergeant looked at his commanding officer in horror. “Are you mad, sir? They’ll kill you.”

  “No, they won’t. They would much rather avoid a political disaster than we would.”

  Finn’s voice boomed out again. “King’s Guard, I carry a King’s medallion. Move back thirty steps. You are not to engage unless the crew is threatened.”

  The King’s Captain had no idea if the medallion bit was true, but it made perfect sense given the ship belonged to the King. He ordered his men back but had them keep their swords and crossbows ready to defend the crew.

  The gangway was lowered, the Quorum Major passed the torch to his Sergeant with strict instructions to put it out then he and four guardsmen disappeared into the ship. They were accompanied to the top deck by the First Mate. There they found the entire crew lined up, unarmed. In the front stood the redhead and the giant. The Major came to a stop directly in front of the two men.

  “You do realise that the charges against us are complete nonsense,” the redhead told him.

  “I don’t doubt it, sir. Believe me, nothing about this gives me any pleasure.” He turned to his men. “Search everywhere. Leave nothing unturned or unopened. If the Shaper and the third man are here, we will find them.”

  Anna had scurried over to a porthole as soon as she’d felt the tension in the green and red peristones. She’d sent a pulse to their stones and had been told very clearly by both Finn and Sy to keep away. She’d pushed open the door to listen to the raised voices, shaking in fury when she heard the crew threatened. Monty had
stopped her running outside when oil was poured on the Lealta. He’d ignored her tears and held her tight until she’d realised she was being foolish. Finn would never let the Lealta burn with the crew aboard.

  She paced the cabin as she waited for the King’s flagship to be searched and wept bitterly as she saw Finn, Sy and Brodie taken away in shackles by forty of the Quorum Guard. The green and red peristones insisted everything was all right but that was clearly nonsense. She saw the other forty Quorum Guards line themselves up before the harbour gate once her friends had passed through. The message was clear: no Shaper or third man would enter or exit the harbour. The King’s Guards corralled their horses and settled in for a long stay; they were going nowhere.

  It seemed an age until Caro arrived.

  “Why did they take the First Mate?” Anna asked before the woman was even halfway through the door.

  Caro yanked the door closed and poured herself a large whiskey, sitting down with a thump opposite the King’s Shaper. Her aura matched her body language, but it calmed down as she took a large swallow of her drink and breathed out in a long, slow exhalation.

  “They took him in place of the crew. The Quorum Guards didn’t get what they wanted but their Major had no stomach for mass murder. Brodie accepted responsibility for not alerting the crew to the presence of the King’s Shaper who, he claimed, never left her cabin until he himself had escorted her out this morning. He claimed no one except himself had seen her on the Lealta.”

  “You called him Brodie. You know him?”

  “He’s my kid brother. Didn’t think to meet him in Ionantis, but the light works in mysterious ways.”

  “You sound so calm!”

  “Now. You should have seen my hands screaming at Monty a few minutes ago.” Caro gave a wry smile. “Half of me still wants to march you up to the University this second. The other half knows full well that Brodie’s a grown up and he wouldn’t thank me for it. You going up there doesn’t change the charge against him anyway. More likely you’d both be killed. I have to confess I’m confused though. I thought you were this incredibly powerful Shaper? How are they supposed to get you in chains?”