The Bird of the River

by Kage Baker

  “And you were in love with somebody else?” Eliss was fascinated.

  “Oh, no; I wasn’t in any position to meet anyone else, you see, I’d been sequestered in the family compound from the moment I’d entered puberty. Possibly because of my little mistake with the tattoo, so I suppose I’d brought it on myself.”

  “Were you angry?”

  “No. I simply thought, ‘Oh, now I’ll have a husband and I can finally see something of the world.’ But when it was arranged for us to meet each other, I saw that he wouldn’t do at all.”

  “Why not?”

  “He was ignorant, and proud of it. His family had made a great deal of money in a very short time, which didn’t bother me (though my mother was mortified), but he was at some pains to tell me they’d done it without ever opening a book. When I informed him I would want a library, he laughed a great deal and then advised me he would break me of the habit of reading. Nor would I travel in his company. He wanted a wife to stay home and weave his shirts, while he was out seeing the world.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Went back to my apartments after the interview was concluded, and wrote a letter to my family explaining that I had no intention of marrying my chosen husband. Then I packed a bag, taking care to include all the ugly jewelry I’d been given over the years. I stole from my brother’s clothespress and dressed myself as a boy, and made a rope out of my bedsheets tied together. I left my family compound by a window and never looked back once my feet touched the pavement.”

  “And . . . and you sold the jewelry for money?”

  “I did. I traveled all the way to Port Blackrock and resumed my proper identity as a lady (though I was careful to change my name) and took a room in a hotel. I hired a cartographer to teach me the arts of surveying and representation, and when I knew as much as he could teach me I applied for a certification. I worked for a surveying company for some years and then I became cartographer on the Bird.”

  “It sounds so easy.” Eliss marveled at the pictures in her imagination.

  “It wasn’t. It required a good deal of study, and then a lot of hard work and living in conditions I’d only ever encountered in the most lurid of novels. But I didn’t mind. I was free to do what I wanted to do.”

  “Didn’t your family try to get you back?”

  “They did. By the time they located me I was legally free in any case, though that wouldn’t necessarily have stopped them. But we came to an understanding. Since I wasn’t the spineless compliant child they would have preferred for a daughter, they agreed to let me go to ruin in my own way, as long as I never used my family’s name or came begging to them for money. I kept my end of the bargain and they have kept theirs. All in all a satisfactory arrangement.” Pentra yawned.

  “And you’ve never needed to ask them for money?”

  “No. I have a trade, after all! And a talent for it, I flatter myself. Just as you have a talent.”

  Eliss wondered what she meant for a moment. “Being able to read the river?”

  “Of course. Ideal situation, really. Earning your own way doing something you like, when you’re actually good at it . . . we’re lucky ladies.” Pentra sounded drowsy. “Good night, Eliss.”

  “Good night.”

  Eliss curled up under her blanket, trying to imagine a life lived like Pentra’s. She decided that the first thing she’d buy herself, when they were paid, was a good nightgown.

  When she slept her dreams retold Pentra’s story like an adventure out of a book, with brightly colored pictures drawn in the margins. Only, the story went on and green vines were drawn stretching across the page, and a handsome Yendri man with flowers in his hair danced with the heroine of the story . . . and then it wasn’t a Yendri man but someone else, and the heroine was someone else too. . . .

  Eliss had just counted off the third sandbar of the morning when she saw the demon.

  She assumed he was a demon, anyway, since his skin was spotted like an animal’s fur and his hair grew halfway down his spine. More than that she couldn’t tell, because he was floating facedown in the water, drifting toward the Bird of the River as she made her way upstream. Eliss was so startled all she could manage to shout was “Body!”

  Everyone on deck looked up at her, just as startled. She managed to point and add, “Off starboard bow!”

  Now the musicians saw it too and began shouting and pointing. Krelan, who had come up from the depths of the galley to dump a pail of grease into the slush-barrel, ran to the edge and pointed too. Mr. Crucible got the gaffhook and pulled the body up on deck. He turned it over. Yes, a demon; it had tusks. There was an arrowbolt embedded in one eye. Eliss, staring down from her platform, saw the eye fill with black blood, just as the demon struck out feebly with one clawed hand.

  There was a concerted scream and near-stampede as all the women on deck grabbed for all the children who had run to see the demon. Mr. Crucible backed away quickly. In a blur of motion, Krelan grabbed a root-cutting machete from the tool rack, and then the demon’s head was spinning free of its body and had rolled into the scuppers.

  All this happened at once, within a few seconds. The screams from the women on deck died away. Yet someone was still screaming. . . . Eliss, distracted, looked up. The Bird of the River was just rounding a bend in the river. The headland and screening trees drew back like a curtain to reveal a pleasure-boat with gaily striped sails, with little fishing skiffs clustered around her.

  But it wasn’t a landing. Men had thrown lines from the fishing skiffs onto the deck of the pleasure-boat, and swarmed upon her deck. There was the woman, screaming under her pink sunshade as she wrestled with a demon who was attempting to rape her. There were the pleasure-boat’s crew, fighting for their lives. Two other bodies floated in the water.

  “PIRATES!” roared Mr. Riveter. Captain Glass steered the Bird straight for the pleasure-boat. The women on deck collected the children and fled below. Some of them returned, minus the children but clutching bows and pulling on quivers full of arrows as they came. The polemen swarmed for the arms locker and by the time the Bird came within range she was bristling with defenders. The captain dragged the tiller back at the last minute and the Bird swung around ponderously, presenting her broadside to the pleasure-boat and crushing some of the fishing skiffs between their hulls.

  It was over quickly. Some of the pirates ran across the pleasure-boat’s deck and dove into the river on the other side. Eliss spotted them swimming for shore. Some reached the shore and ran off into the woods; others took arrows fired from the Bird and flailed, splashing, before rolling over in the water and drifting motionless. Most of the pirates who fled were Children of the Sun. Only the demons remained on the pleasure-boat’s deck, fighting even when they must know they were doomed. Men from the Bird boarded the pleasure-boat—Eliss could see now that her name was the Dancing Girl—leaping over the skiff debris being ground to yet smaller pieces.

  Eliss saw Krelan, still clutching the machete, beheading another demon as he made what looked like an impossible leap into the air. She saw one of the Dancing Girl’s crew, a well-dressed man who looked like a lord, taking the opportunity to bind a scarf around his wounded arm before driving his sword through the heart of a demon who had fallen to the deck wounded. The woman under the pink sunshade had killed her attacker with a tiny golden-hilted dagger and crouched above the body now, weeping as she plunged her dagger into its throat repeatedly. There was blood all over the Dancing Girl’s deck.

  Captain Glass bellowed the order to strike sail and lower anchors. As the topmen climbed all around her to obey, Eliss looked down to see whether Alder was all right, caught herself, and clenched her fists. She climbed down while the Bird of the River moored beside the Dancing Girl.

  “The gods bless you for your timely aid,” the lord was saying to Mr. Riveter, as Eliss approached the rail.

  “What happened?”

  “I should have thought that was obvious,” said the lord, scowling.
“We were attacked by river pirates.” Mr. Riveter blushed.

  “Yes, my lord, I only meant—in a general way. Are you all right? Have you lost anyone?”

  “One or two of my household, I think,” said the lord, looking around. He pointed to one of the bodies floating in the water. “There. Damn. That’s one of mine. Retrieve his body, please.”

  “Yes, my lord.” Mr. Riveter saluted, and ran for the gaffhook. The lord walked aft to speak with the woman in a low voice. The surviving servants and those who had come over from the Bird busied themselves with dragging the bodies of the pirates from the deck and pitching them into the river. On the Bird, the children came swarming on deck again, to stare at the bodies in the water. Wolkin ran to the rail by Eliss.

  “Did you see him chop the head off that demon?” he exclaimed, pointing at Krelan, who was helping a servant mop blood from the Dancing Girl’s deck. “He has moves! Eeee-yah whack!”

  “He did it again, to that one.” Eliss pointed at a headless body floating in the water. Wolkin peered down at it and went a little pale.

  “Well. Well, maybe he isn’t so weasely after all. Do you think he’d teach me how to do that?”

  “I don’t think it’s something you can teach in a day,” said Eliss, watching as Krelan expertly swilled bloody water into the Dancing Girl’s scuppers. He set about picking up the contents of a tray that had been scattered on the deck during the attack: pieces of fruit, a decanter, a pair of goblets. Eliss saw him halt, staring at one of the goblets a moment. He placed it back on the tray and carried it aft to the area under the pink sunshade, and presented it to the lady with a bow. She, still weeping as she spoke with her lord, impatiently waved at a table. Krelan set the tray down and turned to go. The lord turned and spoke to him, clapping him on the shoulder. Krelan smiled deferentially and replied. The conversation went on for some time, as order was restored to their respective craft. The woman wiped her face on her veil, shouted angrily for a maidservant, and went stalking into the Dancing Girl’s great cabin.

  “She looked mean,” Wolkin observed.

  “You should have seen her killing one of the pirates,” said Eliss. “She looked really mean then.”

  “I wish I could have seen the fight.” Wolkin sighed. “I could have climbed up to the masthead and seen everything from there and still been safe. Next time we see pirates, can I just climb up there with you and you not tell Mama? Because we couldn’t get shot at up there. It’s too far up in the air.”

  “How often do we run into pirates?” Eliss looked down at him, startled.

  “Oh . . . once in a while. Last time Tulu and I were only one and a half, so I don’t remember. Anyway, can I go aloft and watch from there?”

  “I don’t think your mama and daddy would like that,” said Eliss, gazing out again at the Dancing Girl. Krelan and the lord were still deep in conversation. Two polemen from the Bird carried over the body of the lord’s servant that had been pulled from the river. The lord looked aside long enough to give a terse order. Three of the surviving servants took charge of the body and, weeping, wrapped it in canvas.

  “Besides,” Eliss continued, “if it’s been eight years since the other pirate attack, it might be eight years until the next one. You’d be seventeen then, all grown up. Probably you’d be expected to fight, by that time.”

  “That would be great,” said Wolkin fervently.

  “And anyway, what if the pirates had fire-arrows? They could reach the platform, you know.”

  “Oh, well, if I was fighting I wouldn’t be up there.” Wolkin climbed up and stood on the rail. “Anyway, pirates don’t fight with arrows, they have swords and tridents.”

  “Really?”

  “Because they don’t want to burn a boat until after they loot it and kill everybody.”

  “Oh.”

  The door of the Dancing Girl’s great cabin flew open and the woman leaned out. “Magoron,” she shouted. “Please take a moment to come see whether I’m alive.”

  The lord broke off his conversation with Krelan and turned and strode to the cabin. He slammed the door after him and the muffled sound of a furious argument came from the cabin. Krelan, meanwhile, walked forward and spoke in a low voice with the servants as he helped them wrap the body of the other dead man.

  “I didn’t think rich people had fights,” said Wolkin.

  “Of course they do. All those vendettas.”

  “No, that’s just sort of war. I mean yelling at each other about things. Like, ‘You spent all your pay on wine! How am I supposed to buy food? You leave your clothes lying around!’ ” Wolkin spoke in a shrill falsetto. He stretched out his arms and walked along the rail, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.

  “Maybe they’re more like us than we think.” Eliss watched Krelan take something small from inside his hood and show it to the servants. Was it the portrait of Encilian Diamondcut? They stared intently and then began to speak all at once. Krelan held up his hands. Looking over his shoulder at the great cabin, he leaned in closer to them. One of them began to speak, rapidly, with gestures, and from time to time the other two would interrupt him or nod in agreement.

  That night as Eliss waited near the end of the dinner line, Krelan caught her eye. He mouthed, Meet me in the bow afterward? She nodded and, after receiving her bowl of dinner, waited around until everyone else had been served. Krelan loaded up his own bowl and they walked forward together to the Bird’s bow.

  “Did you find out something?” Eliss inquired as they sat down by the rail.

  “You were watching us. Tell me first what you saw, and what you think it meant. This is a test.” Krelan looked quietly gleeful.

  “All right . . . You picked up a bunch of things that had been knocked off the table. And one of them interested you. It was a goblet. There was something about the goblet that . . . did it have something to do with Lord Encilian?”

  “It did.” Krelan blew on his soup. He tilted his bowl and sipped.

  “So it must have belonged to him. They looked like fancy goblets. Did it have his personal crest or his house sign or something on it? It must have.”

  “It did.”

  “So somehow or other one of his goblets got on that boat. So . . . at one time or another, he must have been on that boat. The goblet might have got there a couple of other ways, but that’s the easiest explanation.”

  “So it is. And he was, as it happens.”

  “And you know this because you got Lord—what’s his name?”

  “Lord Chrysoprase.”

  “All right, you got Lord Chrysoprase to tell you. He was very friendly with you. I’ll bet he saw you cut off that other demon’s head during the fighting. You talked for a long time. I’ll bet . . . he offered you a job as one of his bodyguards, since two of his were killed.”

  Krelan gave her a sharp look. “You must have heard us.”

  “No. It just makes sense. The lord’s on a cruise, he’s just lost two of his people, he doesn’t want to hire just anybody, and here’s this boy who’s shown how good he is at killing enemies. And you’re good at sounding like anybody you want to be, and you must have talked to him as someone who’s worked for nobles.” Eliss felt a little smug, looking at Krelan’s expression, until it occurred to her that Krelan might have accepted the job offer.

  “You are good.” Krelan nodded slowly.

  “So . . . he told you something about your lord being on the boat. Or maybe he didn’t. Because his lady called him away. So you went and talked to the servants. You showed them your little portrait of your lord.” Eliss realized she’d miss Krelan if he left. And he might just pick up and go over to the Dancing Girl, mightn’t he? If that was what it took to find out more about how Encilian had died.

  “I did show them the portrait. That much must have been obvious.”

  “And . . . they told you a lot. Because you talked to them a long time. And there must have been something, well, not quite right about what they told you, b
ecause they looked so scared and shut up so quickly when Lord Chrysoprase came out again.”

  “Gods below.” Krelan drank more of his soup. “If you can tell me any more, I’m going to propose real marriage. You’re better than a temple oracle.”

  “It’s just watching and paying attention,” said Eliss, drinking some soup. “Same as with the river.”

  “But most people don’t pay attention.” Krelan glanced over at the lights of the Dancing Girl, where Captain Glass and Mr. Riveter were dining with Lord Chrysoprase. “And they don’t think about what they see. Can you tell me any more?”

  Eliss thought about it. “Lady Chrysoprase doesn’t seem very happy with her lord. She feels neglected. So . . . maybe Lord Encilian slept with her, behind her husband’s back? Maybe their boats were at the same landing for a few days. And that would maybe explain why the servants looked so scared, and how one of Lord Encilian’s goblets got on board their boat. And maybe that means Lord Chrysoprase found out and murdered him!”

  “I thought so too.” Krelan took his spoon and dredged up rice from the bottom of the soup bowl. “But he didn’t. Yes, Encilian moored beside them at a place up the river called Silver Trout Landing. Yes, they visited back and forth on each other’s boats for a few days. Yes, he romanced Lady Chrysoprase and may even have done the wicked deed. And yes, somehow or other one of his goblets got on the wrong boat, either because Lady Chrysoprase wanted it as a keepsake or because Encilian’s personal crest looks a bit like Chrysoprase’s and someone got them mixed up clearing the table. But Lord Chrysoprase didn’t kill Encilian.”

  “And you know this because . . . ?”

  “Because he was still alive when he left Silver Trout Landing.”

  “Lord Chrysoprase might have sent an assassin after him.”

  “He might have, but he didn’t.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because he never found out about Encilian and Lady Chrysoprase.”

  “He might have, but hidden it from the servants.”