The Seeker - Finna's Quest

The Seeker - Finna's Quest Page 12

by E L Russell

  “There is a small island due north of the caves.”

  “Yes,” she prodded.

  “Its name is Dia. The Queen says here, in her letter she wants me to provide you with a wagon and two horses to pull it. That is not what you need now. You will need a small boat, one with a sail, to get to this island.”

  She wondered what game he played. “Why must I sail to the island? The treasure is not there.”

  He looked at her as if she lacked brains, but she waited him out for an explanation.

  “No, but you cannot locate the cave, which holds the gold without going to this island.” With a show of great reluctance, Sabas showed her the back of his opened his hand with four sausage-like fingers pointed to the dirt floor of his shop. “Dia is like a big rock with four peninsulas pointing south toward the northern shore of Crete.”

  He grabbed one finger with his other hand. “This one points at the cave with the booty. It is the one closest to the rising sun. Use it as a guide to make your boat land in the right place so you can find the treasure cave beyond the beach.” He paused, studying her as if she were a lackwit. “See, the treasure cave is due south of this peninsula.” He shook his ring finger again.

  He curled his hand into a ball. “Back to business,” he said in a gravely growl. “From Dia, you sail directly south to the coast, find the treasure and load it on the boat. Then you sail the boat back to Heraklion. Boats are extra and you must pay now.”

  The idea of sailing in the Aegean made Finna’s stomach lurch. It held no good memories for her. Although she had learned the basic skills from her crusade comrades, she was not a skilled sailor and the sea was large and frightening. She swallowed hard and hoped the disgusting man didn’t notice her apprehension.

  “I would rather have a wagon and horse.”

  Sabas raised his voice. “Lady, have you no ears to hear? You will never find the treasure cave without using the peninsula on Dia as a guide.”

  Succumbing to a sense of dread, Finna lost her patience. “Other than your say so, we have no knowledge the thieves changed the location of the treasure.”

  His voice softened deceptively behind a cold smile. “My say so is the only information you have on anything. If it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for you. If I say it is the truth, it is so.”

  Right. Finna glared at him, not at all convinced. Her glance at Yasmin confirmed an equal distrust. Jamal’s expression might as well have shouted, you’re a liar and his mother elbowed him in the ribs.

  Sabas followed her gaze. “The Queen said there would be two people. You come to me as three. The plan has changed and I do not know why. That creates risk.” He impaled her with his scowl. “And risk is expensive.”

  It wasn’t easy, but Finna swallowed her frustration and anger. “We’ll take the boat.” Sabas scratched his head while she dug into her money pouch, which she kept deep in her pocket and out of sight. She had no doubt the repulsive man would steal all she had and murder her on the spot if he knew she had more than what she offered. She palmed ten gold coins in her right hand and placed her left hand deep in her left pocket to rest comfortingly on the hilt of her knife.

  “You did hear me say the Queen’s information is incorrect,” Sabas snarled.

  “She knew the information was old and she depended on you to be current.”

  He hissed air through his teeth like the reptilian he was. “Fifteen gold coins for a sea worthy boat.”

  “I’ll pay ten.” She knew the queen had suggested five for the wagons so she upped the payment to shut down his grumbling about change. She hoped it also increased her chances for a boat that did not leak. She slapped a stack of ten gold coins on top of the open scroll.

  He rubbed his chin. “I said fifteen.”

  “Ten and you continue being the center of business on Crete in the eyes of the Queen.”

  “Twelve.”

  Finna gathered up her coins. “We’ll wait two weeks for the name of the new man from the Queen.”

  A threatening rumble rolled from his lips and he knotted his fists into ham-sized hammers. Before he could strike, she backed up to the door with Yasmin and Jamal by her side. Fortunately, the threat of losing the Queen’s business worked and after opening and closing his alarming fists a half dozen times, he yielded.

  “Ten it is, my lady.”

  “Done.” She again slapped down the stack of gold.

  “My man will take you to the boat now.”

  He knew the location of the treasure, yet did not touch it. That made no sense. “How do we know you have not already taken this fortune?”

  Without humor, he snorted through his rotten teeth and she stopped breathing as his foul breath wafted over her.

  “If I tried to steal it, I would be killed. Even if I succeed, I would die later. There is no place on Crete where I could sell my goods without being found. And there is no place on the whole Mediterranean where I could hide.” He shrugged and lifted his hand in a what-can-you-do gesture.

  Honesty, for the first time, and it was all bad news. Finding the chalices sounded dangerous and keeping them sounded deadly.

  * * *

  Slightly bigger than a rowboat, their craft had the one sail Sabas promised. Hoping her saint was working overtime, she offered a silent prayer to St. George and issued orders with as much confidence as she could manage.

  “Let’s launch this thing. Yasmin, while I check the sail, see if we have three oars. Place two for rowing and the third in the back to use as a tiller. Jamal, help me with the rigging. If we sail a distance from the coast, we should be able to see the island, so we’ll head north first. If we can’t see it . . . ” Then what? Icy fingers down her back numbed her brain and she went still.

  “Will we leave at first light?”

  Jamal's question broke her paralysis and she considered it from several angles. If they stayed where they were, they were sitting targets. Either Sabas would send people to kill them or the Queen’s men could arrive in search of Yasmin. Her heart skipped a beat. Or maybe, Zafir was still chasing her and Jamal. God’s Bones. Her instinct was to get going, but with her trifling knowledge of sailing and the terrifying possibility of getting lost at night on the Aegean Sea, she held her back. She did not want to sail in the dark.

 

 

 

  < Some protector you are. Where the hell have you been?>

 

  She couldn’t refute that theory.

 

 

 

 

  The impatience in his voice was palpable and Finna wallowed in panic.

  Yasmin gently shook her arm. “Finna? What do you think?”

  “About what?”

  “Leaving in the morning?”

  “No.” Her decision was made. “We leave now.”

  Finna handed Jamal a line and untangled the rope around it, hoping it was right. She looked up. “None of it matters without a sarding wind. We’ll have to row out to sea and pray to Poseidon the tide and current are with us. We’ll guide by the North Star and the shoreline. There’s a good moon and no clouds in sight, so we will be all right.”

  Please, God, make that true.

  23

  Dia

  A Rocky Waypoint

  Yasmin’s voice cut through the blanket of darkness. “Finna. Finna, wake up.”

  Disoriented, she blinked in the dim morning dawn in disbelief. She had dozed off. The rowing seemed endless and with little to show for it and the three had taken turns rowing and sleeping.

  “We have wind.”

  Finna shared her enthusiasm. Glorious wind. It filled their sail. “How wonderful. Yasmi
n, I didn’t know you knew how to handle a boat. How long has the sail been up like that?”

  Yasmin laughed. I can’t. Not really, but any fool could follow the directions you gave me . . . over and over and over and—”

  Finna raised her hand, “I get it. It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it? A sail in full bloom.”

  “Is that what it’s called?” Jamal asked. “Full bloom?”

  “I doubt it,” she chuckled, “but it’s magnificent, nonetheless.” She gazed dreamily at it before sitting upright. “God’s Bones, woman, how long has it been full?”

  “Not too long. I set it up and Jamal and I ate some dates and then we woke you. Why? What’s wrong?”

  Although it didn’t feel like they’d made much progress with their rowing, she didn’t know how strong the current was. “We need to be sure we didn’t overshoot Dia in the night.”

  The dim early morning light was sufficient for her to see fear rippling over Yasmin’s face and Finna feared her expression reflected the same. Lost at sea. It didn’t bear thinking of. “I’ll adjust the sail to push us in more of a southeasterly direction toward the mainland of Crete. That way we’ll at least know where Crete is. Adjust the tiller paddle to keep the bow aimed that way. Everybody keep a sharp eye for an island to the northeast. Dia must be in that direction.” Or we’re doomed.

  Finna tied the sail and hung on to the side of the boat. The slight change in direction put the small craft at odds with the prevailing ocean rolls and the now choppy sea reminded her of her first voyage with the Crusaders.

  “The man who showed us this boat said once we get close to the island, we’ll be protected from sea wind and the waves won’t be as rough. He also said as long as we had good weather, we could see the beach on Crete if we looked south from Dia. That would make navigation easier.”

  That was one of the many things that worried her about this part of her quest, how to keep on a straight line from the finger of Dia to the specific cave on the cliff overlooking the beach. Her father had impressed on her the importance of exact measurements and this didn’t even come close. She sent more prayers to St. George and then thought better of it. He might take her constant prayers as whining and close his ears to her. Damn. One more thing to worry about. She thought of Leeth and wondered if he saw her as her father did, as a strong independent woman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  A large ocean swell lifted them and Jamal fairly bounced in his seat with excitement. “Land. I see a bump on the horizon. Is it the island?” His mother sent him a huge smile.

  “Yes. It must be. There is no other land in this part of the sea so it must be. You have sharp eyes, my son.”

 

  She waited for his response and derided herself when none came. He couldn’t suddenly make an island appear . . . or lift an ocean?

  Could he?

  She joined Yasmin in her praise of Jamal. “You see with the keen sight of a falcon. We are lucky to have you on board. Do you remember the way Sabas held his hand with four fingers pointing south? We need to land between the last two fingers on the eastern side of Dia. Use your sharp eyes to help us find that. The boatman said the water would be calm there. Then we’ll climb the rocks and walk out the longest and highest peninsula and see if we can see Crete. We’ll look for some special shape of the hills on Crete that we can use to guide us.”

  Jamal knit his brows. “Can we not simply aim straight for the beach?”

  “A very good question,” Yasmin said. “The important word is straight. How will we stay on a straight line?”

  Jamal looked back toward Crete. “It is far away. But I can see it and it’s higher on the horizon than Dia.”

  “What else do you see when you look at Crete?” Yasmin asked.

  Jamal grinned. “Ah. I see where you are going, Mother. The mountains, of course. We should be able to see them because they are high.”

  “Smart boy,” Finna said and he flushed pink with the praise. His contributions had been well above anything she’d expected of a twelve-year-old and there was no question he was a valued member of their little crew, both on land and on sea.

  “Since we won’t be able to see the beach until we get much closer, we’ll line up our return trip to Crete in relation to the spot we see on the mountain directly opposite our direct southern view from the peninsula.”

  He smiled with satisfaction. “The mountain will keep us sailing in the right direction.”

  “You are quick to catch on,” she said pointing toward Dia’s rocky coast. “Now, my boy, over there is the inlet we want. Let’s see if you can steer us into it.”

  Once Finna made adjustments for the sea’s current and the direction of the wind, the small boat made slow but promising progress toward the island. Jamal sighted the tip of the eastern-most finger with its steep rocky coastline and charged Jamal to find the best place to land. Once they entered the promised calm waters, Yasmin steered by the boy’s directions and they grounded the ship easily in the sandy armpit of the two easterly spits of land.

  In case anyone searched the coast for them, the three pulled their small craft onto the beach and hid it behind several large boulders. Although satisfied the boat was out of sight, Finna took additional precautions. Too many factions could be after them to leave anything to chance.

  “Jamal, hide behind the boulders close to the boat. You are the lookout for any boats, and you are the guardian of the tide. We do not want to be stranded here.” She grabbed her short sword and jerked her chin toward the boat.

  “Yasmin, take your fighting stick just in case. I’m taking my bow. You lead and I’ll be right behind you.”

  In case of what? Except for birds, the island was a desolate rocky wasteland. Slinging her bow over her shoulder, she adjusted the front of her shirt under the string and grabbed a fistful of arrows before following Yasmin up the steep slope.

  * * *

  The top of the peninsula flattened out somewhat and they walked south on the uneven surface. “I hope we are high enough to see Crete clearly. This feels like such a wild goat chase. One way or another, we have to get back to Crete. I don’t like the idea of eating sea birds for the rest of my life.”

  “I saw some interesting shellfish that might be tasty,” Yasmin said, using her stick for balance when she stepped from one boulder to another. “We could taste them all.”

  “Ha, ha.” Finna scanned the sea below for any sign of pursuit before lifting her eyes to Crete’s mountains. “Phew, they are visible. I can’t make out the beach or any of the narrow rows of caves beyond it, though.” Biting her lip, she studied what she could see. “Give me your lance, Yasmin.” She pointed it toward the mountains on Crete. “See how the one in the middle has that bulge on the left side? That is our new North Star. It is high enough that even from our small boat we will see it from far off and we can adjust our course accordingly.”

  She squawked when Yasmin jerked her down on the rock. “Ship to the right.”

  Finna knelt and shielded her eyes. “I see it. It’s a cargo vessel, not unlike the one we sailed on from Antalya to St. Simeon.”

  “But their deck holds no cargo.”

  “No. It doesn’t, does it. Maybe we are to become their payload.”

  The ship had sailed into view from the west and it continued past the tip of their peninsula. “Do you think they saw us?” Yasmin asked.

  “Don’t know. They may be avoiding the rocks closer in. Do you see the sailboat they have in tow? It’s bigger than ours and it has two sails.”

  A shout behind them scared them both and Jamal frantically waved both arms. “Hurry. The tide’s going out . . . fast. We’ll be beached. Run.”

  Before she turned to scramble after t
he boy, she checked the boat. Sarding body of Christ. It had turned and was heading straight for their harbor.

  Scrambling off the flat rocky table, Finna slid down large boulders and scrambled over smaller ones. “They’re coming this way,” she shouted while taking in the position of the boat to the water. Jamal hadn’t exaggerated. It was more like the tide had drained rather than changed and gone out.

  Fortunately, the exposed beach sloped downward and the three managed to slide their craft into the water without excessive grunting and shoving. Finna held the bobbing boat while the other two jumped in and fixed the oars.

  “Jamal, take the bow and watch out for rocks. Use the lance as a pole if you must. We won’t raise the sail. We’ll row along the leeward side of the peninsula as close as we can and head toward that tiny cove-like indent we saw when we arrived. Do you know where I mean? We have to get there before we’re seen. Yasmin, take the tiller’s paddle.”

  24

  Escape into Death

  The Race to Freedom

  Finna’s heart beat so hard it choked her. She fought to get a proper breath while searching the harbor entry with burning eyes. The enemy ship would come for them, of that she was certain.

  “There,” she pointed and pulled on the oars to hug their undersized vessel closer to the shore. It wasn’t close enough. The very tip of the bow stuck out and she thought it might as well have a red flag on it. The three of them huddled, or more accurately, cowered at the stern for what seemed like hours.

  When Jamal inhaled for a sneeze, his mother fell on him and pinched his nose. Although he looked like he might die of shame, he did not sneeze. They all held their breath and prayed as the ship drifted at the mouth of the harbor with the men on deck shouting and searching the shoreline. Their voices carried on the water and they sounded all too close.

 

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