The Corsairs of Aethalia: A Thalassia novel
Page 26
“We need to leave, Lin; just as soon as you have re-supplied. Liparus will have to go on to Prangli with dispatches.”
“And where are we going?” There was an edge to Lin’s voice now, and Jorse sighed with relief. Things were getting back to normal. “We’re going to the island of Dun, off the east coast of Aion.”
“That old place?” Lin’s voice was sarcastic. “The old duke who lives there is a drunk, and is in the process of squandering his island’s wealth. I don’t know why...”
“He’s not the duke anymore.” Jorse interrupted. “I am.”
Lin put her hands on her hips. “You’ve been busy. What did you do, bed the Queen?” Her voice had a cutting edge.
“He did no such thing.” Dala’s eyes flashed, and in some far removed dimension Jorse could hear the yowling of angry jungle cats. Lin gave Dala a slow look up and down, as if implying that Jorse had bedded her too. Although the sky was a clear blue, there was a rumble of distant thunder.
Lin’s gaze slid from Jorse to his hand resting on Dala’s arm, to Dala’s angry face and then to the cloudless sky. “Why do I get the feeling that you just saved my life?” Her eyes glided to Jorse. His shoulders sagged, and Dala looked slightly embarrassed. “Ahhh, when would you like to depart, Jorse?”
“As soon as you have taken on supplies; let’s say late this afternoon. We have to pick up our belongings, and a few supplies.” He looked at the dark haired woman. “Thank you, Lin.” A boyish grin raised the corner of his mouth. “Have you enjoyed it, enjoyed being Captain that is?” He corrected quickly.
Lin blushed. “Most of the time. Some of the decisions are rough, though. I understand you better now. You had some hard decisions to make. There isn’t always a clear decision, or a right or wrong answer.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, lightly. “You did good, Jorse.”
“Captain Jolenta used to say that.” Jorse said with a catch in his voice.
“I know.” Lin turned away quickly, to hide her tears. “Now, get out of our way, you lubbers. Get your things and get back aboard. We sail this afternoon.”
Anya was silent as they boarded the small boat for the pull to shore.
Jorse replied.
Chapter 16
Dala was standing in the stern of the Liparus waving to him. She was crying, and it made him feel like shit, because he hated to see her cry as he departed. It reminded him too much of the time he left her in Boktor, at the Temple of Selene.
They had arrived at the Liparus at exactly the wrong time — or maybe it was the right time. Lin and Luka were having a shouting match on the small fo’c’s’le, and the rest of the crew obviously wished they were elsewhere. Men stumbled all over themselves just to show Dala and Mirek to their small cabins. Jorse, however, remained on deck to watch the scene play out in the front. Most of the conversation was just a blur, buried in the shipboard noises and the scream of the gulls. Jorse stepped forward when Luka hit Lin across the face with the back of his hand, knocking her to the deck.
“Consider that our divorce, you slut!” Luka sounded drunk, and his voice was loud. “I don’t give a damn anyway. I only married you to get into your pants regularly. Hells, I don’t want you heart, only you’re...” Lin pulled herself to her feet and sobbing, crawled down the ladder to her waiting boat. “I’ll just find another little doxy, you know. I don’t need you at all.” Luka shouted over the railing. “Bitch!” The Liparus’ Captain turned, thumbs hooked in his waistband, a mean predatory smile appearing on his face. Jorse followed his gaze. Dala was coming back on deck.
“How is your cabin?” Jorse asked conversationally, taking her hand in his.
“The cabin is small but fine. What was all the shouting?”
“Oh, you know. Sailors shout all the time. It was nothing. Excuse me a moment, Dala, I need to talk to Captain Luka.”
Luka was on the fo’c’s’le, chest thrust out, staring at Dala with undisguised lust when Jorse’s arrival forced him to tear his gaze away. “Whaday ya want?” He snarled.
“Dala is my sister, Captain. I would just like to explain a few things to you, preferably in your cabin.”
“Not married yet, is she? Well, I may just show her what a real man’s like, before the voyage is over.” His gaze had swung back to Dala.
Jorse just smiled. “Your cabin, please?”
“Make it quick, boy. I’ve got places to go, and people to do.”
“Your wish, Captain, is my command.” Jorse said in a voice like ice, as he followed the man into the cabin.
Luka turned to stare at the two marble sized balls of fire Jorse had created, one balanced on each palm of his hands. Before the big man could shout or even move, Jorse slapped his hands to the man’s chest. Luka was frozen in place, frozen by Anya’s touch. The air in the room started to fill with smoke, and the smell of burning flesh. Luka’s mouth was open in a silent scream. Finally, Jorse removed his hands, and wiped them together, as if he were brushing off the feel of the sadistic captain. Luka stood, frozen still, two round deep burns etched into his chest.
“I burned you so that you would remember who you were dealing with, every time you look into a mirror.” Jorse held out a single hand, with two small plasma balls balanced on it. Luka winced visibly. “Ah, good. You remember. If you so much as bother Dala, I will find you and I will put these two where it will REALLY hurt you.” Jorse glanced at Luka’s crotch, and then back to his face. The man stood white and trembling. “You touch Dala and I will find you and I will torment you until you beg me for death, and then I will introduce you to a certain pine tree I know. There is no place you can run that I will not find you. Have I made myself clear?” Luka nodded vigorously. “Good. You will have nothing more to do with Lin, do you hear me. She is a friend. I would suggest that you deliver your dispatches to Prangli, resign your Captaincy, and catch the first boat headed for Greater Wassaw, and never return. Nod if you agree.” Luka nodded, tears running down his face. Jorse reached out and touched the Captain, and the man collapsed to the deck, hugging his maimed chest while he made little whimpering sounds. “It was so good talking to you, Captain. I hope that you have a nice trip. They say that Greater Wassaw is very pleasant at this time of the year.”
Jorse took Dala’s hand. “Take care of yourself.”
There were tears in her eyes, making them look like pools of liquid sapphire. “I’ll miss you too. Having Uncle Mirek and Aunt Elsbeth there will make things easier, but I’ve come to think of you as more than an older brother Jorse.” Her smile was crooked. “A little less than a father, and not quite a lover.”
“Goodbye, Dala.” His smile was sad. “I’ll see you in Prangli. Mirek will be with you on the trip, so you should be safe. You have the dispatches and copies of my plans. Look over those ideas, and change things if they need changing. Tell Mirek and Elsbeth all you think they should know. I trust your judgment.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek, there at the stern rail under the scorching afternoon sun, and then he left her on the Liparus.
The Evening Bird was strangely quiet when the small boat arrived, and he found Gorku sitting by himself in the bow.
“What’s going on, my friend?”
The big man shrugged. “Lin came back crying, and went below. That’s all I know.”
“Did she give any orders, like ‘prepare to set sail’ or a
nything like that?”
“Nope.”
“Damn.” Jorse thought for a minute. “Could you do me a big favor?”
“Maybe.” Gorku sounded suspicious.
“Go down to the captain’s cabin and comfort Lin. She needs a friend right now.”
“You’re a friend.”
“Ahh, I’m a bit more than a friend.” Was Jorse’s embarrassed reply. “If I go down there things will likely get out of hand and...”
“I see.” The big man said, grinning. “And you want me to comfort her?”
“Yup.”
“What am I supposed to be comforting her from, ah, for?” He frowned, unsure of the circumstance.
“Her husband just left her, called her a slut and told her that he only married her for the sex. Then he hit her.”
“And this is the man that is taking your sister home?”
“Yup.”
“Bad career move.”
A stone’s throw from where he stood, a brown pelican folded its wings and dove into the brackish water with barely a splash, and Jorse’s eyes stayed on the surface till the bird reappeared, the tail of a silver fish hanging from the oversized bill. The fish tail disappeared. “He and I had a little chat. He will deliver my sister unmolested; Mirek will see to that, and then he will head for the far side of the known world. I, in turn, will let him live.”
“He just believed everything you told him?”
“Well, I had to offer a little proof. He should be healed by the time he reaches Prangli.”
“That was considerate. What did you threaten him with?”
“Ohhh, castration and being eaten alive by a Vampire Pine.”
“And I thought it was something serious.” Gorku stood up, grinning. “What does Lin drink?”
“Vaigach Red, what else?”
“Think they have some on board?”
“They probably have a lot on board, knowing Lin. You take care of that, I’ll get us ready for sea.”
Gorku put the back of his hand to his forehead and took on an offended look. “Oh, the things I do for my country.”
“You don’t have a country, you ox. Get out of here.”
“Sure thing, boss.” The big man was beaming.
“Give...give Lin a kiss for me.” Jorse said quietly, as he left.
Gorku turned, his face serious. “That, I will do.”
The wind had turned cold, and the Corsair ship pitched, as she slid down another deep swell of dark water the color of a rhododendron leaf. The wind lashed Jorse’s face, and he was smiling. It was like being home again. Four days ago the Evening Bird had made her turn out of the River Klarr heading east, around the bottom of the continent of Aion. Lin had come up on deck, once or twice in the past week, red eyed and morose. Today was different. She came up behind him silently, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Jorse jumped, and he heard a deep, throaty laugh from Lin.
“I know what you did, and why you did it.” Her voice, almost carried away by the winds, was serious. “Thank you.” They stood like that for a while, until Lin broke the connection. “I’m over it, now. Gorku has been,” she smiled to herself, “surprisingly gentle for such a big man.” Lin turned and looked out over the wind-torn waves. “I tried to seduce him, you know. I took all my clothes off. He gently put them all back on. I tore his clothes off. He just left the room and came back with fresh clothes. I called him names. I hit him. Hitting Gorku is like hitting a tree, by the way. The effect is essentially the same. I tried crying. He just held me and stroked my hair. Finally, I just smiled, and he told me to wash my face. We shared a bottle of wine, and then he left.” She shook her head. “He told me what you had done to Luka. You were more restrained than I would have been. He wouldn’t have survived.” Lin frowned. “Are you sure that Dala will be all right? Luka can be a real animal.”
Jorse checked the course, then turned back to Lin. “I’m fairly sure. I think I made a deep impression on him. Bullies are usually pretty cowardly when confronted with equal or superior strength, and Luka was true to form. Dala should be safe from harm.”
And if she isn’t?” Lin’s voice sounded nervous.
Jorse’s smile was grim. “First of all I arranged for her Uncle Mirek to travel with her, and if that isn’t enough, Dala is a friend of Selene’s too. Selene would take it badly if Dala were hurt.”
“So, the story about the Priestesses and the Goddess weren’t just stories?”
“Fraid not. Selene is involved in this up to her ears. You and I and Anya and Dala and Count and Countess Gorthenal, and the King and Queen of Aion and Gorku and Luka too, are only pawns on her game board.”
“What happened to free will?”
“It never existed. Oh, you can throw yourself over the rail of this ship and watch it sail away, if you wish, but the world moves along according to a plan. You’re maneuvered so that you give it a push here, I’m maneuvered so that I give it a shove there. We’re all cogs in the wheel.”
“That’s depressing.”
Jorse shrugged. “You get used to it, and it does have its compensations.”
“Like what?”
“I can fly.” Jorse said simply.
A wave of emotions broke over the woman’s face, finally settling on envy. “That was a mean thing to do, Jorse Schwendau.”
He took her hand. “I promise you that within the year, if things work out, you will be flying, Llinos. By yourself.”
Her look said, “Yeah, right” and then it slowly changed as she saw that Jorse was serious. “How can you say such a thing, Jorse? I...”
“I have certain connections, you see.” He interrupted. “I called in a favor.” A look of regret passed over his face. “You see, I made a mistake once. I introduced someone I care about to someone I didn’t know. I did it because I was scared of my own feelings for that friend. I wanted to distract her. It didn’t work out well.” Lin was silent as Jorse walked to a railing and looked over at the vast stretch of ocean. “I was given a second chance, as fate would have it.”
“And you are doing the same thing all over again.” Lin said calmly, her hand resting on his shoulder. He could feel the heat of her body through the touch, and it brought back memories of a certain steamy night in Aethalia.
“Not quite.”
Lin was quiet for some time, her thoughts elsewhere. “You know, I think you’ve underestimated your friend Gorku. There is a lot more to the man than you know.”
“You don’t say...”
Lin turned a glaring look on him. “You knew, you knew all along...”
“Of course I knew. I would never send someone to see you through this that I didn’t trust implicitly. I couldn’t do that, Lin, not after...”
She interrupted him with a kiss. When she pulled back she had a smug, satisfied look on her face. “I thought so. I thought you still loved me.”
Jorse was having a problem catching his breath. “All you had to do was ask, Lin.”
“My way was much more—personal, but don’t worry. It won’t go any further.” Her eyes took on a hard look, like a housewife sizing up a slab of prime beef. “For now.” She turned her back and began to leave. “Let’s see you juggle your feelings now, oh mighty sea captain.”
“Two.” He said to her retreating back. Lin stopped dead in her tracks and turned.
“What did you say?”
Jorse crooked a finger, and the captain of the Evening Bird followed him down the narrow companionway to her cabin, where he closed the door securely once she was inside.
“You might have heard tales about the Schwendau curse.” Lin nodded, silently. “It wasn’t a tale.” Her eyes got big. “Before you ask, I’d like you to meet Anya.” The door to the cabin opened, and the young woman who was Anya walked in, to sit on the bed beside Jorse.
“Hello, Lin.” Anya’s soft contralto voice sent shivers down Jorse’s spine.
Lin swallowed. “Hello, Anya.” She looked inquiringly at Jorse. “Is she your
demon? Are they all so... so beautiful?” Lin seemed to be having trouble believing what was in front of her eyes.
“Each advisor manifests itself differently to each host.”
“And you love Anya too?” Lin’s eyes narrowed.
“It goes beyond love, Lin. Anya is a part of ME now. Without me she would die. Without her I would die.”
Anya’s composed figure sitting on the bed seemed to waver, for a moment, and Jorse saw that she was crying. She wrapped her arms around him and seemed to flow into him.
Lin’s eyes had a wide-open and crazy look. “I take it THAT wasn’t supposed to have happened.” Her voice shook.
“It happens sometimes.” Jorse’s smile was crooked. “When you love two beautiful women. Please don’t tell Gorku about this right now. You needed to know this—he doesn’t.” Lin nodded briefly, and Jorse stood to go. “You’ll find out more, someday; fairly soon, probably.” He smiled and closed the door as he left.
The old castle sat on a black splintered cliff, one hundred feet high, overlooking a roughly circular harbor of dark water, torn to ripples here and there, by the light wind. Tall straight pine trees lined the northern side of the four mile wide bay, adding their deep shadows, while the southern side was taken up with a small merchant port and surprisingly, a small shipyard. Drawn up to the quay at the shipyard rested a sleek two masted topsail schooner, hull painted in bright white with black trim at bow and stern, and wide scarlet wale. Her sails were neatly furled, and a few despondent workers seemed to be making fast the last items as the Corsair pulled into the harbor. Behind the schooner and high on the ways sat a second schooner, still mostly framing and futtocks, looking like a vast drying carcass. Not a nail was being driven, and not a hammer pounded. An expectant hush seemed to hang in the very air.
At the rickety merchant pier, a small brig was being unloaded, and a few people turned to watch the Corsair drop anchor. There was no guard boat, and no pilot boat.