by Pete Draper
The arrow screamed towards Luco. His eyes caught it just in time, narrowly missing his head; it broke the skin on his ear. He shut his eyes tight, clenching his fists as a spot of blood dribbled from the cut.
His chest whimpered.
Cassi stared him down ruthlessly when she loaded the next blunt arrow. The fact she was a terrible shot came in handy for the first time in her life. She grinned at the sound of the string tightening; Luco’s narrowing eyes prepared himself.
It ripped the earring out of his other ear, splitting his earlobe in half. Luco’s shocked body shivered.
“Off! Off! Off!” Leon and his Levacians shouted.
Luco shook from the pain, his ear was hanging off. His slumped shoulders vibrated.
The next one hit his gut, he keeled forwards. The crew roared when it looked like he would topple over. He stayed upright, much to Leon’s disappointment. Cassi gave him a moment to catch his breath.
She leaned into her quiver. “Last one. You’re nearly there Luco, wouldn’t want to fall now, would you?” Her voice raised into a taunting squeak.
Luco sighed; it could have been relief, may have been dread.
Cassi pulled the string back, staring at him. “I am sorry that my father beat you,” Cassi said. The string clicked as it pulled tight. “But it does not excuse your mutiny.”
She closed her eyes and let fly.
Luco saw it sailing towards him, he closed his eyes. It smacked his forehead, rocking his head back, blood sprayed out when the skin broke. He wobbled onto one leg to raucous laughter. His standing leg gave way and he fell. One leg smacked the plank and he nearly held on, but for the impact.
He splashed into the waves below.
Carilyo stood beside Cassi. “I always liked him you know,” he said.
Cassi nodded. “Me too.”
“It’s not too late, if you want me to wheel around, we could fish him out.” Carilyo offered.
Cassi thought about it for a while, the air was uneasy. “Okay.” She looked down in regret.
“Man Overboard!” Carilyo called.
A Valuable Lesson
“Rise and shine!” Carilyo leaned his head through the door, yelling.
“What is it?” Cassi growled like a bear in hibernation.
“Today’s your lucky day. I’m going to teach you how to handle the might of the Howling Dragon.” Carilyo stared at his hands, slowly curling the left into a ball, his eyes then shifted to the right as it did the same, as though he was a magician about to cast some spell.
“Give me an hour.” Cassi rolled over.
“No, no, no, no, no.” Carilyo waggled a finger, “We do it now, or not at all. Conditions are more perfect than ever.”
“Fine…” Cassi groaned at the overhead, “Now leave me to get ready.”
“As you wish, My Lady.” Carilyo performed a fake bow, then pulled the door behind him. It creaked incredibly slowly, then didn’t shut fully. An irritating drone of chatter filled her ears.
Cassi grunted. Stomping out of bed, she slammed the door with her palm. She grabbed the largest shard of her broken mirror, brushing her hair quickly, then threw on her dungaree dress.
“Hurry up,” Carilyo called through the door. “Now is the perfect time to learn. The conditions are just right.”
“I’m coming!” Cassi rushed towards the door; she couldn’t miss this.
Carilyo stood alone on the quarterdeck. Cassi approached him, expecting him to hand her the wheel but he didn’t. She reached for it, but he waggled a finger at her. “You’re not ready for that yet.” The digit folded in half, with a sharp point, his finger told her to stand beside him.
“But I thought I was going to learn how to sail.” Cassi raised a confused palm beside her head.
“And you will, but first, you must learn how to read the water…” He waved an emphatic hand. “The sea is a beautiful place… when you treat it with respect. This is not Lake Chirevo you know, it’s not a jolly weekend on a four-man boat. Many a sailor have lost their life in the Green Sea through complacency and ill judgement.”
“The sea is just water, and waves. What else do I need to know about it? Other than to steer over it?”
Carilyo slapped his palm into his forehead. With his eyes closed, he drew in a deep breath, “Maybe you’re not ready for this lesson.”
“I am, I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sure what for, but she had to know how to sail the ship at some point. Carilyo had always been so sensitive about his relationship with the sea. “Please teach me Carilyo.”
“Okay, now look at the colour of it, they call it the Green Sea because of the shallow waters in places…” Carilyo spent what seemed like an age talking about how the sea changed colour depending on the depth of the water, how you can feel whether there is a rock or reef nearby by the changes in the waves and the difference between waves and swell. Not once did Cassi get to steer.
“Now can I have the wheel?” Cassi asked when Carilyo finally stopped talking.
“We’ll take a break for now. I have more to teach you before you are ready to harness the power of the flame of the waves.” Carilyo leaned his head back, letting out a throaty roar like he was a dragon. He grinned, but Cassi wasn’t amused. “The Howling Dragon does not forgive ill judgement, nor does it forget those who treat it well.”
Cassi huffed. “How long will this take?”
“As long as it takes. Our civilisation was not built on the sea for people to take it for granted. Sailing is much more than just dropping your sails and turning a rudder. Zernando, Lord of the Lightning ruled the Arrizean because he knew the sea better than anyone. Some say he could manipulate the skies, that he could turn overcast skies sunny, and a fair day into a monstrous storm.”
“But you talked non-stop for an hour, and I’m still none the wiser,” the jargonised words floated through her head like feathers she couldn’t catch. Whenever she had a grasp on one, it floated away the moment he introduced another.
“Then you need to listen with your eyes open next time. Take a break, then I’ll quiz you on what we did last time.” Carilyo’s voice started to croak from the constant talking; he took a sip of water.
Cassi’s head dropped. She descended towards deck feeling utterly lost and unintelligent. A couple of the crew were scrubbing last night’s blood away from the boards, Leon wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as he had been when he was slitting Zellsee’s throat. He leaned back, massaging the strain in his back while Drax did all the work.
Murta leaned over the large barrel in the middle of deck, rolling the spear handles around.
“Hey Cassi.” Roxy stood behind her. Her shaved hair had grown back a little, the ring in one side of her nose almost hid the break in it.
“Hello,” Cassi said shyly.
“You haven’t forgotten our deal, have you?” Roxy grinned. Her pink cheeks lit up the milky white skin. Her chequered red and black skirt dropped just below the knee.
“No of course not.” Cassi rubbed her arm nervously. “I always keep my word.” Cassi tried to ensure her smile didn’t look fake.
“Good, maybe we can grab that drink when we get to Coalville.”
“I would love to.” Cassi turned, looking for somewhere to run and hide. Murta was nearby.
“Make sure you dress up nice.” Roxy leaned against the bulwark which looked like a poorly built fence.
“I will,” Cassi said. “I never miss an excuse to dress up.”
Murta smiled and nodded at Roxy. He had a knife in one hand and some wood in the other, looked like he was carving something.
“What am I going to do about her?” Cassi asked Murta.
“Just go for a drink with her, maybe yous’ll have fun.”
“Oh yes, I’m sure it will be a pleasant evening. Up until she kisses me, or we’re in bed and she’s trying to pleasure me.”
His chest filled with a rumbling laugh.
“Just be honest with her, tell her that’s not what yous’re inta
y.”
“But what if she gets upset? She is one of the best fighters on board, the only person I’d rather have on my side in a fight is you.”
“She’s a tough lassie. I’m sure she can handle it, doesn’t mean yous can’t enjoy yourself around her.” Murta blew the shavings from the edges of his carving.
“You’re right Murta, what would I do without you?”
“Yous were fine before I came along, yous’ll be fine after. I made yous sometin’, for your quarters.” Murta held out the carving, it was a model of a ship. “It’s the Howling Dragon.”
“I love it, thank you Murta.” Cassi stared at it. It sure didn’t look like the Howling Dragon. The mast leaned sideways, one side of the hull was much thicker than the other and the less said about the crooked blob of a figurehead, the better.
“It’s awful, isn’t it?” Murta saw Cassi’s chuckling grin.
His rough fingers looked like he’d been at it a while.
“Not at all, I love it. You made it for me, which makes it very special.”
Back on the quarterdeck, Cassi returned to Carilyo. He talked for what seemed like forever about the mechanics of sailing and the wind and how you don’t sail downwind, but ideally at a ninety-degree angle to it, due to the forces of the wind and waves acting against each other.
Then Carilyo stopped talking. Is it over, can I finally get hold of the wheel?
He took a drink of water, “You see, the forces push together, forcing the ship along, if you sail downwind, it is a single force, rather than two forces squeezing together.” He pressed his palms together tight, pushing them forwards through the air.
Cassi groaned.
“Do you want to learn how to do this, or not?” Carilyo tilted his head.
“You know I do Carilyo. But I learn by doing. Everything you are saying is going in one ear and out the other, I am trying my best to listen and learn.”
“Alright.” Carilyo took his hands away. After a few seconds, the wheel clicked, turning clockwise. “There’s a squall coming, you’ve got a few minutes to prepare.”
“What do I do?”
Carilyo waggled his finger, then pressed it to his lips. “No more talking, you wanted to learn by doing. Now do it. I’ll leave you to it, let’s see what you can remember.”
The waves slapped the hull. “This isn’t funny Carilyo. What do I do?”
Her brother stood with arms folded. His head leaned forwards with that annoying, unimpressed look over his face. “I already told you how to do this, maybe you should have been listening.”
“I was listening,” Cassi groaned. “It is hard for me to remember sixty things all at once.”
“I’ll give you some time to think about what you can remember.”
“Please Carilyo, this isn’t funny.”
“Well you have time, try. You have the crew’s life in your hands.” Whistling along, Carilyo strolled down the steps.
“No! Come back!” Cassi screamed, gripping the wooden handles like her life depended on it.
“You shall be fine,” Carilyo said. “I believe in you. Besides…” The wrinkles in his grey cheeks rose, “You learn by doing, right?” He tipped his hat to Roxy as he passed her.
Cassi wiped cold sweat from her forehead. She saw the heavy cloud coming in, dark streaks danced beneath it like souls trapped between this world and the next. She closed her eyes, placing a hand over her forehead. Her fingers squeezed her temples as though it might push the knowledge to a place she could use it.
Suddenly, she remembered something. “Furl the sails!” She shouted, “Storm’s coming in!” Cassi pointed at the barrels and musical instruments lying around, “Get all that shit below deck!”
The crew leapt into action, the Levacians climbed the rigging towards the top of the two masts. The Katalians cleared the deck. Tipping a barrel onto its side, they rolled it into the cargo hatch.
Cassi gulped, watching the grey streaks under the dark cloud. The dense rain swept in beneath it. White peaks covered the waves like snow on a mountain, those waves sure looked high.
With the sails rolled up, Cassi tried to remember what else Carilyo had said. It was something silly, something that rhymed. ‘Go with the blow.’
Cassi turned the ship, though it took a while. They would go with the storm, following it downwind. It would take them a little off course but might be safer.
Cassi closed her eyes tight, opening them again when the storm was close. The waves slapped the back of the ship. More of them battered the hull at the sides like dozens of undead hands. A veil of fat raindrops splattered down on deck, rattling against the wood.
Everyone had disappeared down below.
“Carilyo!” Cassi screamed. “Where are you?”
The heavy cloud turned the sky dark. She couldn’t see much for the rain. Within seconds her clothes were drenched. She looked desperately around for her brother.
“You’re doing fine!” Carilyo was stood behind her. “I knew you could do it!”
The boat raised from the back, a large wave pushed it up, then down.
“Take the wheel Carilyo!” Cassi cried; her voice barely carried through the downpour.
“No! You can do this! It is the perfect time to learn how!”
Cassi hung on for dear life. A wave bashed into the side of the hull, rocking her to the side, but she managed to hold on.
“How long will this take?” Cassi asked.
“Not long now, you’re doing fine!”
The ship jerked side to side, Cassi winced, she felt like it would capsize when the tip of the hull brushed the water. It leaned heavily to the starboard side until a wave attacked from there, tipping it back until it was almost straight.
More waves manhandled the hull like a giant hand had hold of it. The rudder juddered. She had no control.
“I don’t like it Carilyo!” Cassi complained.
“You can do this Cassi! Not long now!”
The boat scraped over the waves as though it was sailing over a mountain. A giant upsurge lifted them. Her terrified eyes could see the sea beneath the bow. She closed her eyes tight, the flaming figurehead dived below. Cassi was sure it would sink it. When she opened her eyes, a huge gust of water filled the deck, spreading along until it dribbled into the cargo hold.
The sky was getting a little lighter.
“We’re through the worst of it now!” Carilyo called, “Just a few more waves to deal with.”
The salty water spread like butter across deck, leaking through the lattice hatches of the cargo hold.
Through terrified eyes, Cassi saw the break in the cloud. The thrust of a wave slapped her forwards, her chest hit a handle and she was nearly winded, but held on.
As the boat sailed over the final wave. The cloud floated past them and the sky cleared. Cassi felt it, she felt exhilarated. The sky had never been so clear.
Carilyo placed a hand on her soaked back. “I’m so proud of you Cassi. You are a true captain now.”
House Otep
The evening sky dripped blood-red. Fragmented shards of cloud sparked out from it. Black sails lay beside as a Golden Empire galleon passed them by.
“What’s that doing so far out here?” Samia asked, a look of horror filled her face.
“Must be scouting,” Carilyo said.
“Should I get below deck?”
“They wouldn’t attack merchants this close to Levac.” Carilyo wrinkled his nose and turned his head. “Look, they’re leaving. Must be heading for the Passage of Corsov.”
Samia breathed a sigh of relief watching the heavy water ripple beneath the galleon’s massive hull.
“Tell me, how did you escape?” Carilyo asked. With cautious eyes, he watched the tetractys glide away.
“Someone gave me some rags to wear, a grey wig and something that smelled awful, I don’t even know what it was: to rub on my skin.” Samia turned up her nose at the thought. “I snook out looking like an old crone.”
“H
ow did you get Doriya out?”
“Someone had already managed to smuggle her out. My brother, he has a lot of money, he is a powerful man. He always had… ways to do things, even back in Traki.” Samia stared at the horizon thoughtfully.
A suspicious thought crossed Carilyo’s mind, but he didn’t want to press further about who her brother was, or what he did. Not many people had five sestas to spend. “Well I’m glad you’re out of there. It won’t be long now until you’re safe. The hardest part of the journey is over.”
“I know, I cannot thank you enough Carilyo. The thought of that cage makes me want to die. All those eyes on my body while I had to dance for them makes me uneasy, even now. To think… that would have been Doriya’s fate too when she was old enough.
“The worst part is that everyone around me was enjoying themselves so much. Either looking at me or the other girls, or gambling at the card tables. Don Alev took a liking to me; I had to give him private shows whenever he wanted.” She looked away anxiously.
Carilyo shifted, he’d once been to House Otep’s gambling house: the flame. It was popular in Cathis, and throughout the Arrizean, the crew went in every time, but once was enough for Carilyo. He could remember the girls in the dancing cages in their colourful underwear and the serving girls with the silver platters of drinks in their black and white uniforms which left little for the imagination.
Until the Merged Sea’s leaders took action, slavery was an unfortunate fact of life. At least Auria of Levac had taken the right steps in abolishing it from all of her empire. Carilyo knew he was doing his part with Samia and Doriya, but he wished there was more he could do. Maybe there is.
“You shall never have to do it again,” he croaked. “Once we get through Coalville, there is just the Western Ocean to travel through. Then you’ll be free.”
She held his elbow; with the back of her other hand, she brushed his cheek.
Cassi glanced down at them from the quarterdeck; just then, Samia took her hand away. Looking off awkwardly. Carilyo glanced at his sister, and they shared the slightest of smiles.