The Whisperer

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The Whisperer Page 26

by Fiona McIntosh


  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to—’

  ‘It’s alright. Ellin’s whistle did save his life.’ He looked suddenly sad. ‘I just wish it could have saved hers.’ He looked away, clearing his throat. ‘I suggest we stay on the move. Let’s put some distance between ourselves and the Stalkers, though I suspect you will no longer be followed, and if Davren can stand the pace and keep up, then I think by tonight he can have some rest.’

  Everyone was in agreement on this plan. Soon they were all focused on the needle and thread that Pilo managed to find in his saddlebags. Neither Griff nor Tess wanted to do the stitching so Pilo asked permission of the centaur and it was granted. Davren bore up bravely, making no sound, simply grimacing now and then. Before long they were saddled up and moving in a northwesterly direction again, with Elph and Helys happily riding with Pilo and Griff. Tess kept Davren close at her side although Griff didn’t believe the centaur needed nursing. He could see the gleam of adventure in his friend’s eye and instinctively knew that, despite the arrow wound, he had never had such fun. In years to come he imagined the centaur would wear that scar as one of honour.

  ‘How long will it take to reach where Lute is?’ Griff asked.

  ‘If we ride all day at this pace, I should be able to get us to Ghost Beach by nightfall. It’s one of Calico Grace’s favourite haunts and we just have to hope they’re still there once we arrive. That’s assuming they’ve found her, of course.’

  31

  Lute stood aboard the gleaming schooner. This wasn’t how he’d imagined a pirate ship would look. He’d always thought they’d be grubby places with a nasty looking crew and dark timber that creaked and groaned.

  ‘I know what you are thinking, majesty,’ Grace said, tapping her nose again.

  They were watching Little Thom being hauled up the rope ladder from the row-boat. It seemed to require the help of a dozen men that Bitter Olof had taken charge of for the time being. He was calling out orders, fussing and flapping his arms around.

  Grace shook her head and pointed at the dwarf. ‘He’s worried they may hurt him.’ She snorted. ‘I can assure you that the giant can’t feel a thing. He’s nearly dead as it is.’

  ‘Don’t say that, Calico Grace. We have to save his life. We have to.’

  ‘Take him below,’ she yelled at her men, once she’d seen them finally get him on board. ‘Olof, you go with them and see to it that Dash attends to him.’

  She returned her gaze to Lute.

  ‘What is it that I’m thinking?’ he asked. It was an awkward moment and he was tired of Calico Grace’s scrutiny that felt as though she was plotting and planning as to how to make the best of having a royal at her mercy.

  She smiled and he stepped back. It was the first time she’d done that and he could see now that she was missing teeth. Calico Grace really was a most plain woman and yet her clothes were crisply ironed and they didn’t look at all tatty. She was obviously wealthy. ‘You’re wondering how come this schooner looks so shiny and new, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, you are indeed a mind-reader, as well as a successful pirate,’ he said, looking around.

  She cackled a laugh, barked an order to pull anchor. ‘No, my King. It’s true I’ve had my wins here and there. But the greatest win of all was my schooner here.’

  ‘She must have cost a fortune to build.’

  ‘She didn’t cost me a single copper.’ And Grace laughed again but in it he heard sorrow.

  ‘Nothing? How…how come?’

  ‘Ah, well now, that’s a long story, majesty.’

  Before he could reply Bitter Olof came running out onto the deck, dragging a man with him.

  ‘Tell her what you told me,’ Bitter Olof said, his breath coming in short gasps.

  ‘Yes, Dash?’ Calico Grace responded.

  ‘Captain, er, well, that wounded man is dying before us. We have but minutes I would say. There’s nothing I can do for him. He’s too far gone.’

  ‘Gracie, please, I beg you,’ Olof said.

  ‘What? If Dash can’t save him, there’s nothing more I can do, dwarf. I’ve already done more than I should have by interfering in your matters with the Duke.’

  ‘You can do more, you know it.’

  ‘No, I refuse. Why should I?’ She looked away.

  Lute looked between them. There was a fresh tension he didn’t understand. Bitter Olof looked desperate.

  ‘What’s going on? How can Calico Grace help? She’s not a healer.’

  Calico Grace turned back, triumph gleaming in her eyes. ‘There, dwarf, even your own King knows it’s a lost cause.’

  ‘But why does he think you can still do something?’ Lute wondered aloud.

  Calico Grace glared at them both before making a sound of disgust and stomping away below deck.

  Bitter Olof sighed.

  ‘Tell me what’s going on,’ Lute implored.

  ‘It’s not my place,’ the dwarf said sadly. ‘She must tell you.’

  ‘Right,’ Lute said, tired of all this. There was a man’s life ebbing away as these two bickered. ‘Let’s sort this out now.’

  Bitter Olof forlornly followed as Lute marched below deck, asking directions to the captain’s quarters. He knocked on the curious pale wood of her door, the silver doorknob gleaming. ‘Calico Grace, may I come in?’

  She pulled the door open. ‘There’s nothing to say!’ she yelled but she stepped aside and let Lute enter. She even allowed Bitter Olof to follow.

  The chamber was tastefully furnished in pale silk and velvets and it smelled sweetly of old tobacco from Grace’s pipe. She sat down heavily in a magnificent brocade armchair in the palest of blue fabric.

  ‘Go on—say it!’ she said.

  Lute wasn’t sure what she wanted him to say but he said what was on his mind. ‘How on earth does this chamber manage to look so fresh and clean…and well, beautiful?’

  ‘Are you saying I’m too dirty for it?’ she accused.

  ‘Not at all. In fact, you’re so clean and tidy as well. Come to think of it, for pirates, your crew is very smartly kitted out. I don’t think I saw a single stain on any of their shirts or trousers.’

  Calico Grace looked indignant. ‘I run a tight ship here, majesty.’

  ‘Tell the truth, Gracie,’ Bitter Olof growled. ‘Tell him all of it. He’s going to find out one way or another.’

  They had to follow the line of the forest so that Davren could remain hidden by a thin veil of trees but their horses were finally out on open road and that would make the going much swifter.

  Pilo decided that the creatures made them too noticeable. If Davren cut through the woods and headed north, he reasoned, he would come out on the other side of the river at Tarrow’s Landing where they would also be.

  ‘He can carry Helys and they’ll both stay safe in the forest. We’ll keep Elph covered under my cloak because he can’t move fast and Davren can’t carry them both.’

  ‘But you said we’d stick together,’ Tess appealed.

  ‘We’re parting for very good reasons of safety, Tess, and only for a few hours. We’ll be reunited sooner than you think, I promise. This keeps your creatures safer than if they were out and about in open country. They attract too much attention. You have to trust me. We can’t keep them hidden unless we do it my way.’

  Tess was quiet for a moment and then nodded. ‘Davren says you’re right and I have to agree that, much as I don’t want us to split up, I do want them to be safe.’

  ‘Good girl,’ Pilo said.

  He spent several long minutes explaining to Davren how to reach Tarrow’s Landing. The centaur looked confident and Tess checked several times with him that the pain wasn’t too bad at the top of his back leg. He shook his head as though it was merely a scratch. They all knew it was more than that but he certainly looked quite capable of making the journey.

  ‘It will be around mid-afternoon when we all find each other again. Don’t emerge from the forest until then. Perhaps you
and Tess, using your mindlink, can work out exactly where we’ll meet.’

  Davren grinned.

  ‘Go. Be safe. Talk to us constantly so we know you’re alright.’

  And then they were gone, bounding off, Davren clearly enjoying the freedom of independence and even Helys was a beautiful warm golden pink as she sat comfortably in his arms.

  They rode hard for several hours, no-one talking. It was a few hours later when Griff looked over at Tess.

  ‘You’re very quiet,’ he said, ‘are you worried about Davren and Helys?’

  She shook her head. ‘Davren can actually take very good care of himself so long as he’s in the forest. I think most of the time he’s been taking care of me rather than the other way around.’

  ‘So why so silent?’

  ‘Well, I’ve been thinking,’ she said, frowning. ‘I believe I know how you can beat the Duke, Master Pilo.’

  Pilo glanced at her. ‘I’m listening.’

  ‘You say that Griff is the walking image of the real King.’

  ‘He is. I guess I can tell the difference now but it’s so subtle that someone who doesn’t know Lute as well as I do couldn’t pick them. And frankly, even I was taken in.’

  ‘Exactly. So, I’m thinking that you could pretend that Griff is the King.’

  Pilo stared at her and Griff began to feel uncomfortable as the silence lengthened. Finally he spoke. ‘How do you see that working, Tess?’ There was no disbelief in his tone. Pilo was clearly taking her seriously.

  She took a breath and her words came out in a rush.

  ‘Well, it’s not very nice, I know, but you’ll have to use Griff as bait. You need to swap him with Lute, clothes and all. Get Bitter Olof—is that his name?—anyway, you and the dwarf have to be seen by the Duke or his men. The Duke is hunting Bitter Olof and he knows with him goes the King. Once you’re both spotted, you go on the run. They will give chase, thinking they’re hunting down the King. Meanwhile, you take Lute back to the palace and ensure the army knows that their true King is alive and ready to take command of his realm. The army is loyal, you said. I’m right, aren’t I?’ she asked worried. Pilo nodded, his jaw slack. ‘And then Lute will have his army hunt down Janko and his mercenaries. They won’t know what’s happening back at the palace, so they’re not going to expect an attack from within, if you know what I mean…especially as they are convinced they’re already chasing the King.’

  Pilo stared back at her, a smile forming. ‘Inspired, Tess! What are you, some sort of military strategist?’

  She laughed. ‘Years of trying to dodge the Stalkers. But they finally caught up with me, so I’m not that clever.’

  ‘No, truly. That is a cunning plan, young lady. And you know Janko is so blinded by his own cleverness that it wouldn’t even occur to him that he’s being tricked.’

  Tess nodded. ‘He doesn’t know about Griff, so it won’t enter his mind I’m sure. The main thing is that you get Lute quickly back to the palace, onto the throne and seen by the army and everyone else who counts.’

  Pilo agreed. ‘You’re absolutely right. When I stole this horse from the stables I heard that the Duke was preparing to pronounce himself King but I knew he’d need to await Rodin’s funeral before he produced the body of the Crown Prince.’

  ‘He’d just lie,’ Tess cut in. ‘He’d place an empty coffin into the royal tomb. No-one would be any wiser.’

  Pilo looked crestfallen. ‘Right again. That’s exactly how he’d work. But he hadn’t been crowned King when I left the palace grounds last night and I doubt he’s King yet, especially as he is giving chase himself to Lute. No, he wants to be sure Lute is dead. We still have time to put your plan into action.’

  They had been talking around Griff for all of this time, not noticing how quiet he had become. They turned now and regarded him.

  ‘Of course you would have to agree to being bait for Janko, Griff,’ Tess said, obviously only now realising what they were asking of him.

  He didn’t hesitate. ‘I agree. It’s a clever plan.’

  Pilo frowned. ‘Griff, it will be incredibly dangerous. Janko is unpredictable.’

  ‘Lute is the King. That’s what this is all about isn’t it? We’re trying to save the Crown, save the realm from a madman?’ Pilo nodded. ‘And if you’re right, he’s also my brother. I can’t let my brother be killed in cold blood without trying to stop it.’

  ‘I can’t believe how brave you are, and you’re so young. I’m very sorry I ever doubted you or suggested you would slow me down.’ Griff felt himself blush. ‘You’re quite sure, Griff? I feel ashamed even asking this of you. It’s putting your own life on the line.’

  ‘My life’s not worth much. Lute’s is. And I couldn’t live with myself anyway, if I didn’t do this.’

  Pilo nodded. ‘I salute you. So now we have to get to Ghost Beach as fast as possible. We have to stop Calico Grace pulling anchor.’

  ‘Well, that’s easy,’ Griff said, grinning. ‘I’d better have a chat to my brother.’

  32

  Lute looked at Calico Grace and Bitter Olof with astonishment. ‘A magic ship?’

  They nodded.

  ‘Who gave it to you?’

  Calico Grace sneered. ‘The Witch Grevilya.’

  ‘Why would she give you such a beautiful vessel for nothing?’

  ‘It wasn’t for nothing. It just wasn’t for money,’ Bitter Olof said and he certainly sounded bitter to Lute.

  ‘Well tell me will you? I can’t guess what you could possibly exchange that is worth a magic schooner.’

  Calico Grace made them both sit down. She called for Dash, who arrived, looking nervous. They watched Calico Grace go to a small chest that she unlocked and from it withdrew a dark green bottle. She lifted the glass stopper and sniffed the contents.

  ‘I’m always amazed that it smells so sweet and enticing.’

  Lute glanced at Olof but the dwarf shook his head slightly, telling him to say nothing.

  Dash looked unsure. ‘There’s so little left, Captain.’

  Calico Grace sighed. ‘I know. But you know what to do with it—all of it if you have to.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Do it, Dash.’

  The man took the bottle and departed, throwing an angry glance Bitter Olof’s way. The dwarf looked humbled; Lute remained quiet. He had no understanding of what was going on here.

  ‘Happy, dwarf?’ Calico Grace asked Bitter Olof.

  ‘Thank you, Gracie. I can see that’s all you have left and that you’re about to use it for our benefit. I owe you even more now.’

  ‘And you will pay, I shall see to it.’ She turned haughtily to Lute. ‘I’m going to tell you everything and let you decide whether you think I’m justified in feeling angry.’

  Lute nodded.

  She began.

  ‘A long time ago there was a handsome couple. It’s true they were thieves and they were very, very good at it. But they made every effort to steal only from the wealthy—er, especially the King.’ She grinned apologetically. ‘They were very much in love and decided once they had enough money they would marry, buy a ship and they would sail the high seas as famous pirates. Except one day they stole from a very wealthy noble, who used the services of a witch to track them down. They offered to give back the money and jewels but she said it was too late. The noble was so aggrieved, because it was the third time the couple had robbed him, that he wanted them punished properly.’

  ‘By hanging,’ Bitter Olof interrupted.

  Lute’s eyes widened.

  Calico Grace continued. ‘The young couple begged the witch to tell them if there was any possible way she could spare their lives and keep their identity secret but take back all that belonged to the noble. She thought about it for a while. And then she said there was a way to avoid the hanging, and give the loot back, and get away safely. Naturally the handsome couple agreed instantly to whatever the terms were. But the Witch Grevilya told them to be very careful
and to be very sure they understood what they would have to give up.

  “‘Anything,” they had cried.’

  ‘Everything,’ Bitter Olof chimed in bitterly, ‘except their lives.’

  Calico Grace ignored him. ‘The Witch Grevilya said in return for the woman’s beauty, she would keep their secret. And in return for the man’s handsome looks and proud figure, she would give them a very special ship to sail away on.’

  Lute stared at the pair as it all fell into place. ‘You were that couple?’

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Bitter Olof growled back. ‘If you’d known me, majesty, you’d have seen a tall, strong-limbed, dashing man.’

  ‘They said I was not only the most beautiful thief to ever have walked the realm,’ Calico Grace said in a forlorn voice, ‘but I had a face and figure that would enchant even a king.’ She turned to Bitter Olof. ‘Except I loved him, your highness. He promised to marry me, no matter how we looked. He promised to stay with me, on our ship, and sail the high seas.’

  ‘And the ship is magic, you say?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Calico Grace replied. ‘The Witch Grevilya only dealt with magical things. Silver Wind never needs cleaning or polishing. She changes colour to suit her surrounds. She can blend to almost invisible, your highness. Silver Wind clothes us and feeds us. As you can see we are a healthy and neatly dressed crew. No-one can catch her. She can pull into the shallowest of waters and, if there is no wind and she has to pull out of those waters quickly, then she can create her own.’ She looked around the chamber. ‘She’s pale and silver today because from far away on this very sunny day you can’t see her easily. If it’s overcast tomorrow, she’ll turn grey and at night, she turns black.’

  Lute gave a low whistle. ‘That’s amazing.’ Then he turned to Bitter Olof. ‘So what happened? You deserted Calico Grace?’

  The dwarf looked appropriately embarrassed. ‘I couldn’t do it, your highness. We were both so ugly. I felt like we’d sold our souls. And I knew that every time I would look at Gracie or wake up aboard this ship, I’d be reminded of what we’d given up.’

 

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