by Jon Skovron
Leston’s eyes strayed over to his father on the far side of the room. “I tried, but…”
They were silent for a moment.
“I think I understand the problem better, now that I’ve seen him,” said Red. “How old is he?”
“Nearly a hundred and fifty.”
“I thought that was just palace gossip. People exaggerating.”
Leston shook his head. “He was one hundred and twenty-eight when I was born.”
“How’d he manage that? Your mom must be quite a beauty to make a cock that old take notice.”
Leston smiled sadly. “I suppose she is.”
“How come I never see her around the palace? Think she’ll come tonight?”
“Palace life was too strenuous for her. She retired to a small estate on Sunset Point when I was a boy. I visit her now and then, but she never comes here.”
“I reckon there’s a story there,” said Red.
“You’re probably right. But I doubt she’ll ever tell it.”
“We should go visit her. I’ll bet I could wheedle it out of her.”
Leston attempted a smile that didn’t quite make it to his eyes. “Perhaps you could, my friend.”
The general buzz of conversation suddenly dipped, and the orchestra ground to a halt, not with the clean precision of before, but as if every one of them suddenly forgot how to play. At the same time, heads turned toward the high steward again. His normally stoic features looked strained, and there was a sheen of sweat on his brow.
“Announcing…” He hesitated, and glanced behind the curtain, as if seeking confirmation of something. Then he swallowed and continued. “Citizen Nea Omnipora, ambassador of Aukbontar.”
It sounded like a gust of wind blowing through the ballroom from all the shocked whispers that floated around.
“Ambassador of Aukbontar?” Leston looked unbelieving.
Then a woman stepped from behind the curtain. She was thin and graceful, with dark skin that contrasted strikingly with her brightly colored clothing. She didn’t wear a gown, however. Instead, she wore a fitted lavender jacket with wide, pointed shoulders, and light blue loose-fitting pants that tapered down to a tight fit around her slender ankles. On her feet were flat-bottomed silk slippers that matched the jacket. Her long, jet-black hair was twisted into thick braids that ran down her back. Her calm demeanor looked neither cold nor merciless. Maybe Ammon Set was wrong about the Aukbontarens.
She glided placidly across the room, as if she didn’t notice or care that everyone in the room stared at her. The only one who didn’t look shocked to see her was the emperor. Instead, he just looked confused. When Ambassador Omnipora reached him, she bowed with one foot forward, like she was beginning a dance.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” she said in a clear, loud voice, made liquid and musical with her accent. “I come at the behest of the Great Congress of Aukbontar as an ambassador of peace, so that our two peoples might find mutual benefit.”
The emperor only stared at her. She might as well have been speaking in her native tongue for all the sense she seemed to make to him.
She paused a moment. If she was surprised or alarmed at his reception, she didn’t show it. “I have traveled far, Your Majesty, and hope I can count upon your hospitality during my stay in your fair country.”
“This molly is pat as paws,” Red murmured to Leston. Then he realized Leston wasn’t standing next to him anymore. Instead the prince was hurrying over to the ambassador.
“We are of course delighted to welcome the ambassador of Aukbontar.” Leston bowed lower than Red had ever seen him bow. “I am Prince Leston, heir to the imperial throne. I’m sure that after such a long and arduous journey, you must be weary. It would be both an honor and a pleasure if you would allow me to see to your accommodations personally.”
Despite her pat confidence, there was a flash of relief in the ambassador’s eyes. “You are most kind, Prince Leston. It is I who am honored.”
The prince held out his arm and she accepted it. Red thought it was interesting that this woman from another country was well versed in such minor lacy customs, when the common folk of this empire were unfamiliar with them. He remembered when Alash had done the same thing for Hope and she had been completely baffled.
Leston gave Red a meaningful look. “Lord Pastinas, would you be so kind as to accompany us?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
The crowds parted wordlessly as Leston led the ambassador out of the ballroom, with Red trailing a little behind them. As they left the ballroom, he heard the orchestra cautiously begin playing again.
“I must apologize for my father’s rude reception,” Leston said once they were out in the empty hallway. “He is old and unaccustomed to surprises.”
Ambassador Omnipora frowned slightly. “Surprise? So neither of my messengers reached you?”
“Messengers? When did you send them?”
“I sent one before leaving Aukbontar, and another when my team and I arrived at Stonepeak early this morning.”
“Strange. I heard nothing about it.” Then he gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean by ‘team’? Like a team of horses?”
“Perhaps I use the wrong word… ‘Retinue’?”
“Ah, yes. Of course. And where are they now?”
“They stay at an inn named the Call to Arms, awaiting my return for further instructions. When we arrived, the innkeeper mentioned there was an important ball this evening, so I left my team in charge of transferring our cargo from the ship to the inn and hurried over here.”
“They shall all be accommodated at the palace, of course. I will see to it while Lord Pastinas fetches them and your cargo.”
“I am quite capable of fetching them myself,” said the ambassador. “After all, I have just come from there.”
“Yes, but that was before you so grandly announced your identity. Now, I’m sorry to say, you’re in quite a bit of danger.”
“From whom?”
Leston looked pained. “Aukbontar is greatly feared by my people. Hated, even, by some.”
“But we have done nothing to you.”
“There is… an elite group here that holds a great deal of sway over my father and therefore over the empire. They see the might of Aukbontar as a threat, and believe you are determined to invade and conquer us.”
Red was surprised the prince knew about the biomancers’ fears. How could he know that, but not have known about the countless people who had died so horribly because of those fears?
“What nonsense! I am here to prevent hostilities.” The ambassador looked alarmed, but only for a moment. Then her calm demeanor reasserted itself. “If we set up mutually beneficial trade treaties, I am confident that tensions between our people will greatly diminish.”
“I hope you’re right,” said the prince. “And in the meantime, we must keep you alive. You and your retinue will be safest in the palace. They would not dare to make an attempt on your life here. But out there in the city, they could lay the blame on thieves or dissidents. Even now they could be setting traps for you. Leaving the palace, particularly at night, would be extremely dangerous for you.”
“My people will not be fetched by some stranger. They will only come at my direct order.”
Leston sighed. “Then at least let Lord Pastinas accompany you.”
“If what you say is true, I’m not sure one man will make much difference,” said the ambassador.
“Trust me, Ambassador.” Red stuck his head between them. “I’m better than a squad of imps.”
“Imps?” she asked.
“Imperial soldiers,” said Leston. “You will find that Lord Pastinas is… rather eccentric. But there is no one in the palace I trust more.”
“Your Highness!” said Red. “You’ll ruin my reputation!”
Leston clasped his hand. “Please take care of her, my friend.”
“I’ll treat her like she was you, old pot.”
“Exc
ept perhaps not the jokes,” Leston said with a concerned frown. “Your manner with ladies can be somewhat… coarse at times.”
“Why, princey, what a thing to say!” Red looked at him with mock horror, then patted him reassuringly on the back. He’d never seen the prince this concerned about someone before, or frankly this interested in politics. “You go and make the beds. I promise I will get her back to you as lovely as you found her, all international incidents avoided.”
“Er, yes, thank you, Lord Pastinas. Good luck, then.”
“Luck is never a thing I need, Your Highness.” Red bowed to him.
Leston turned back to the ambassador. “Until we meet again, Ambassador Omnipora.” Then he hurried down a side passage.
Red offered the ambassador his arm. “Shall we be off to defy politics and death on the hard streets of Stonepeak, my lady?”
“I’m not nobility, Lord Pastinas,” she said as she slipped her arm through his and they continued down the hall. “My father was a machinist.”
“Not sure what that is, but it sounds fancy.”
She smiled, showing him the same bright white teeth as the lacies. “It’s not. He worked with his hands. Honest labor.”
“How’d you end up in politics, then?”
“We have no nobility in Aukbontar,” she said. “No rigid class system. Each person is judged on their individual worth. My skills in language and diplomacy made me a natural choice for this position.”
“No nobility? Everybody just does what they’re good at? Sounds sunny to me.”
Her smooth brow furrowed. “I thought I was adept in the language of the Empire of Storms, but you use words in a way that confuses me. ‘Sunny’ describes a day in which the sun shines brightly, does it not?”
“Words can have many meanings. You only learned what the common folk call lacy speak. In Paradise Circle, we have our own way of talking. The talk of real people.”
“I have not heard of this Paradise Circle, but it sounds lovely.”
“It is, in its way.” Red’s eyes grew distant as images of the Drowned Rat and Gunpowder Hall came to mind. Then he shook his head and grinned. “If you’re real lucky, I’ll take you there sometime. I know a few wags from Aukbontar down there. Maybe you know them.”
“Aukbontar is a very big place, my lord.”
“That’s what I hear. One great big land, like a hundred islands, all mashed together. Not sure how you get from place to place with no waterways. But listen, since you don’t go in for all that lacy balls and pricks, let’s drop the ‘my lords.’ They’re newly acquired and frankly, I don’t think they suit me.”
“Very well, what shall I call you?”
“My friends call me Red.”
“And am I a friend?” she asked archly.
“Everyone’s a friend,” he replied. “Until they’re not.”
“An admirable stance, friend Red.”
“Oh, I think you’ll find that I’m all sorts of admirable.”
When they reached the moonlit cobblestone courtyard, Red took off his smoked glasses with relief and pocketed them in his jacket. He still hadn’t found a way to keep his nose and ears from getting sore after wearing them for any length of time. Now that they were out of the stabbing lamplight of the palace, he was able to truly open his eyes and look around. The night sky was like day to him, the countless points of starlight as bright as tiny suns. He saw the guards by the tall front gate and guided the ambassador over to them.
“Evening, my wags,” he said cheerfully. “This here’s an important visitor and personal guest of Prince Leston. She and I are going to fetch the rest of her crew. When we get back with a whole group of unfamiliar-looking foreigners, I’d appreciate it if you’d let us in all chum and larder and not go shooting us. Keen?”
“Yes, my lord,” they all said, loud and clear. These imps had seen Red escort the prince several times now into the city, and they were used to him. Red had to admit, they weren’t bad toms either. Mostly local boys, with mollies and kids of their own.
Red pulled the guard captain aside and said quietly to him, “Say, old pot, not that I’m pining for trouble, but do you think I could borrow your revolver while I’m out? Give it back to you soon as we’re through, I promise.”
“My lord,” the captain said gravely, “you spared my life when you had no just cause to do so.”
“Did I?” Red squinted at the man’s face, trying to remember.
“When those two… women attacked the palace. You followed after. Before I realized who you were, I tried to take a shot at you.”
“Oh, yeah!” said Red. “But you missed by a lot, if I remember right.”
“Even so, my lord, you could have killed me right then, but you spared my life and made sure my daughter still has a father. So as far as I’m concerned, you can borrow my revolver anytime you like.” He drew his gun and held it handle first to Red.
“Much obliged, Captain… What’s your name?”
“Murkton, my lord.”
“Captain Murkton, this is real sunny of you, and I won’t forget it. Now, let’s hope I don’t need to use it.”
“Indeed, my lord.” Murkton signaled to the guards to open the thick iron gates.
Red tucked the gun into the back of his trousers so it was hidden beneath his jacket. He wished he had his longcoat and throwing blades, but this would have to do. Besides, as nice as it was to see the prince interested in someone or something for once, the wag was probably overreacting. How likely was it that someone would try to kill the ambassador already, not an hour after she’d been announced?
7
It was all up to Jilly.
Well, okay, it was all up to Jilly, Alash’s experiment, and a fair bit of luck.
Jilly moved cautiously up the rigging of the mainmast. Not because the height made her nervous. She’d conquered that fear well over a year ago. And sure, rain was pouring down so hard, it felt like God was pumping it straight from the ocean. But that wasn’t the reason either. No, it was because Captain Bane had made it clear that if any of the soldiers saw so much as a shaky ratline, it would be over for all of them. The whole crew had put their trust in her, and she’d be damned to the wettest hells imaginable if she let this go leeward. So she made her way up the mainmast slow and steady, keeping as much canvas and mast between herself and the soldiers below as she could.
She had an iron rod tied to her back, a long, thin chain coiled crosswise around her middle, and a thick roll of parchment tucked into the chain. All the weight around her middle made it hard to breathe, but with so much water streaming from the sky, there wasn’t much air to be had anyway. It was a bit noisy, too. But there was so much racket from the crashing waves, the booming thunder, and the shouting soldiers that the rattling sound of the chain was lost.
Far below, Captain Bane stood and watched impassively as soldiers swarmed her deck. Beside her stood Brigga Lin, Missing Finn, Filler, Nettles, Sadie, and even Alash. Just before the frigate came alongside them, he’d hurriedly explained to Jilly what needed to be done. Now it was up to her to do it.
As she climbed, she faintly heard their voices below.
“Which one of you is the captain?” said one of the lieutenants warily.
“I am.” Bane’s voice was calm and steady.
The lieutenant walked over to her, his revolver held stupidly in one hand. The younger officers liked to swagger around like they could fire off a gun single-handedly, which even Jilly knew wasn’t possible with any sort of accuracy.
“A woman?” The lieutenant cocked his head to one side, as if that would somehow change what he was seeing.
“Very observant of you, lieutenant,” Bane said without a trace of humor.
He scowled at her. “Where’s the rest of your crew?”
“This is everyone.”
“Damned if it is.”
“Search the ship if you like.”
“I think I will.” He motioned to a few of the soldiers. “You,
and you, take the officers’ quarters. You and you, take the bow. And you three, take the holds.” He watched them go for a moment, then added, “And beware of ambushes around corners!”
Just as the search began on deck, Jilly reached the top of the mast. She wrapped the tip in parchment. Alash had explained that this would help insulate the Kraken Hunter from the bulk of the electrical charge. Then she fastened the iron rod to the mast with one end of the chain.
The other end of the chain had a small grappling hook. All she needed to do was throw the grappling hook so that it attached to the naval frigate’s mast. It seemed so simple when he’d explained it. But as she straddled the main-royal yard, she saw that both the Kraken Hunter’s mast and the frigate’s mast swayed in a wind so strong that the rain fell on a diagonal. She’d have to time it to when they were leaning in toward each other. But the lightning that flickered hungrily above reminded her that she couldn’t take too long. Alash had said that if the rod drew lightning while she was still holding the chain, she would be the one to explode.
Calm yourself, Little Bee, she commanded herself. Funny how, in moments of worry, that’s still how she thought of herself. What Red called her, ’cause she was always so busy. She pictured him. His sparkling eyes. His firm grip on her wrist as he showed her the way she needed to follow through when throwing a knife. He’d remind her to take a breath and look at her target. Don’t look at it like you’re trying to throw something at it, he’d say. Look at it like you’re already there. Feel yourself there, touching it, connected to it, one unbroken line between you and the target.
She saw it. That unbroken line. She was already there.
She threw.
The grappling hook sailed up in an arc, straight and true. Then a gust of wind pushed it off course and it caught the frigate’s mizzen topgallant yard.
Was the yard close enough? She didn’t know. Alash had said the mast…
“No one else on board, sir,” she faintly heard one of the soldiers report to the lieutenant.
“All right. Get these people in irons and down into the hold, then make ready to raise the sails.”