Racing through the canopy provided an exhilarating workout. She’d run this course so many times over the months that her body knew when to jump, where to run, and what would support her weight.
Free from Bludgaard, free from duty, free from the stress being a captain had brought her. I’m not sure this is the life for me, but at least it’s a step closer.
Kota neared the camp and her feet slowed. She shifted into a crouch and slunk closer. She had no desire to bring her morning activity to light. Besides, this gave her a chance to practice her stealth.
Excited voices rose from the camp. Kota frowned and climbed lower, keeping out of sight. It was too early for many people to be up.
She peered through a cluster of leaves and spotted the talkers immediately: Cali, Voice, the captain who’d washed up with them, and—Kota hissed and her eyes narrowed. The fish girl. Clad in a pair of vibrant red shorts and a formfitting top stood the woman she’d spent so many months hunting. Months. More like a year.
“Angel here was sae eager tae get away from Kileah, she jumped right overboard an’ swam ashore.” The captain laughed heartily.
Kota’s long-time prey scowled. “I was too excited to wait. It had nothing to do with Kileah.”
Angel, so that was the girl’s name. Such an innocent name for such a troublesome person.
Does it really matter? There’s no need to capture her now.
Maybe it didn’t matter, but Kota doubted that Angel would see it that way. And she obviously knew Cali, which presented a problem.
If Angel sees me, there’s no way she’ll remain silent.
“How did you survive the storm? Where have you been?” Voice asked, bobbing around Angel.
Angel grinned. “That’s a story for later, but I want to know what you’ve all been up to. Seems like you’ve got quite the setup here.”
Careful to keep the tree between her and the speakers, Kota shimmied to the ground and slunk through the underbrush until she reached her tent.
She’d been lucky enough to get her own place after a few months—thanks to some skill in tent-making. Apparently not all of her time spent in her mother’s dress-making shop had been a waste, though she was sure the fact that her skills were put to such a rustic use would horrify her mother if she knew.
The tent was small, but she preferred privacy over spacious quarters. Inside she let herself breathe. There was no need to panic. She’d just have to keep a low profile until things changed.
A mottled brown and green cloak lay at the foot of her bed, the product of a recent venture in hopes of expanding her sewing skills for the next trade. She settled it around her shoulders and lifted the hood to cover her face.
She stiffened as she heard the chattering Angel and Cali approach her tent.
“So what’s your plan, now that you’re an island princess?” Angel asked.
Cali laughed with more mirth than Kota had heard from her in the past eight months. “More like temporary island princess.” She stopped right outside Kota’s tent and lowered her voice. “With you and Captain Rebol here, I’m thinking maybe it’s time to go home. I could stay here and learn more, but I think learning never ends. And Badger, the leader, will probably want his camp back soon.”
They started walking again and soon were out of earshot.
Kota sank onto her cot. So, she wouldn’t have to hide long. But Cali’s talk of leaving struck a flame in her. Maybe this is a sign that it’s time for me to be moving on also. I feel like there’s something I should be doing. I just don’t know what. All she really did know was that her place wasn’t here. The island had given her time to think, to separate herself from her past, and to start anew. But the restlessness that drove her to get up before dawn and run the canopy was urging her on. To what, she didn’t know. But she was going to follow.
Chapter 27
Two days later
Cali clasped Badger’s arm in farewell. “Thank you, Badger. You’ve given me a priceless opportunity here. If there’s ever anything you need, send word to Trabor and if it’s in my power, I will help.”
They stood on the shore with the midday sun pouring down on them. After loading Captain Rebol’s ship and bidding the band goodbye, there was nothing left but to board the longboat that would take her out to the vessel.
“You did well here, Cali. There were some rough patches to start with.” Badger flashed a devilish grin and Cali knew he was remembering the incident with the fish.
“No one told me that basket was full of fish!” Her defense was half-hearted as the catastrophe had been hilarious.
Badger slapped her on the back. “But surely you didn’t need to be told not to try and lift baskets off things that are over your head. You couldn’t have picked a heavier container.”
“I learned my lesson after I went the rest of the afternoon smelling like fish.” Cali rubbed her hair in memory.
Badger leaned forward to sniff her head. “Ah yes, and the heat made you so aromatic.”
They laughed as they turned towards the longboat where Captain Rebol and Voice waited.
“Are you sure you’re okay with Zarna joining you?” Badger’s question drew her up short.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“She’s been acting strangely since your friends arrived. Spent most of her time away from camp and when she was there, she had her hood pulled up over her face.” He rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “I can’t help feeling something is amiss. I just don’t know what.”
“She’s always been a bit reclusive, but I trust her. Besides, I can’t imagine her causing any trouble that Angel and Kileah couldn’t handle.”
Badger perked up and his eyes brightened at Kileah’s name. “She’s a wonder! I wish she’d stay and duel with me some more.”
Cali rolled her eyes. The past two days all Kileah and Badger had done in their spare time was duel. It seemed pointless to her, until Angel explained flirting. Cali decided that if all love ever did was make you act goofy or break your heart, it was something she’d gladly forego. I’m not sure even Badger would stand a chance with Kileah.
They reached the longboat and Badger helped her aboard. He and Captain Rebol shoved the boat out into deeper water, Captain Rebol leapt in the back once the bottom no longer dragged on the sand.
Cali couldn’t find words fit for the occasion, so she lifted her hand in farewell. She watched Badger standing in the surf until he turned and headed back for camp.
❄❄❄
Cali knocked on the cabin door, not really expecting Zarna to answer. Just as she turned away, the door cracked open. She couldn’t see anything but fingers grasping the edge of it. Stepping to the opening, she peered into the darkness.
“Zarna, you can’t stay in there the whole voyage. You’ve been acting oddly ever since . . . Well, even before we boarded, but you must be sick of being cooped up.”
The door opened enough to let her slip through. Once Cali entered, Zarna shut the door. She pushed the hood back from her face and waved Cali to the table and chairs that squatted near the porthole.
They sat, Cali staring at the dark-haired woman who looked out the porthole.
She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “What’s troubling you?”
Zarna’s shoulders slumped as she turned from the window. She pulled a quill, ink, and parchment from a bag beside the table. One of the pieces of paper already had writing on it. Zarna slid it to her.
“I have something to reveal and I wish you to hear me out.”
Cali’s gut wrenched. Great. Why does that sound foreboding?
Badger’s voice echoed in her head, “Part of being a leader is listening, even if it’s to something you might not like.”
She swallowed and nodded.
Zarna inclined her head as she slid a second note across the table.
“My name is Kota. I was the one heading the pursuit for Angel.”
Cali leapt to her feet, knocking her chair to the ground. She fumbled at the belt
on her waist and slid a dagger from its sheath. Pointing the blade at Kota, she backed towards the door and shouted, “I trusted you! I defended you to Voice and Badger and you’ve been lying to me the whole time.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Stay where you are!” Never taking her gaze from Kota, she opened the door and yelled down the passage. “Voice! Angel! Come quick!” She moved to the side as first Angel and then Voice hurried into the room.
Angel cried out and lunged across the cramped quarters. “You! Will I never be rid of you?” Her hands closed around Kota’s throat. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
Cali stepped forward to do . . . Well, she wasn’t sure what, but stopped mid-stride as Kota effortlessly twisted out of Angel’s grasp. In one fluid movement, Kota had Angel on the floor with her knee planted in the middle of Angel’s back. A thin, silver dagger gleamed in her hand.
“No!” Cali didn’t dare intervene physically. “Leave her be. Kill her and you will never leave this ship alive.”
Kota’s walnut eyes searched hers. She raised the blade above Angel’s head. In a blur, she thrust it downward and buried it deep into the floor. Kota rose swiftly and snatched a piece of parchment from where it’d fluttered to the ground during the struggle. She strode to Cali, grasped her hand, and slapped the paper into it.
Angel slowly stood and then lowered herself into a chair, rubbing at a spot on her back. “You can’t just let her go. She’s dangerous.” She jabbed a finger at Kota. “She’s the captain who’s been hunting me.”
Cali stared at the paper in her hand, the one that held Kota’s simple request to be heard. The request I agreed to and then denied. Angel sat glowering. Waiting for an answer. Cali ran her fingers through her unbraided hair.
“I know.”
“You know what,” Angel snapped.
Cali sighed and lifted her head. “I know who she is. That’s why I panicked and called for you.”
Voice placed herself between Cali and Kota. “Then why are we not doing something? Angel is right. We cannot just let her wander the ship.”
“If she meant to harm us, don’t you think she would’ve done so by now?” Cali stepped past Voice and went to sit on the solitary bunk. “She’s had every chance, on the island and on the ship, to do us ill and yet she has not.” She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I want to hear what she has to say.”
Voice flashed purple. “Listen to her? Why should we?”
Cali gestured Kota to the chair opposite Angel. “It’s not about should. It’s about me choosing to hear from someone I am predisposed to dislike. Call it practice, if you want. Besides, I did agree to listen.”
They turned to face Kota, who had once more gathered her writing supplies. She began to write, never taking her eyes off Angel’s face. She slid the note to Angel. Cali rose from her perch on the bunk and peered over Angel’s shoulder.
“I have no quarrel with you. It was my job to track you. It wasn’t personal.”
Cali couldn’t see Angel’s face, but her tone was tight with barely suppressed anger. “I don’t care if it was your ‘job.’ You hunted me for months. Do you have any idea what that is like?”
Kota’s face remained blank.
She isn’t sorry. She must really have seen it as doing her duty. Cali stared into Kota’s eyes, searching their depths for some hint of what was in her mind.
“What about now? Is it not still your task?”
❄❄❄
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Voice floated up next to Cali as she gazed over the water.
“I suppose I have to decide, don’t I?” Cali attempted a smile, but managed only a grimace. Her elbows rested on top of the rail. Clasping her hands together, she thunked her chin repeatedly atop them.
“Yes.” Voice’s simple answer wasn’t helpful.
“What if I make the wrong choice?” Cali flicked her gaze sideways to stare at Voice.
“Then you will have to deal with the consequences,” Voice said softly.
Cali straightened and turned to her companion. “Only this choice doesn’t just affect me. I’m starting to wish Captain Rebol hadn’t decided to make me ‘sea princess.’ He says I have to decide, but that if I say she’s guilty than we can’t very well let her roam the ship or lock her in the brig and release her when we get to shore.” She began to pace, waving her hands in exasperation. “No one in Shayal would dare hold or harm her. She’d escape justice and someone would pay for us holding her hostage. So we’d have to kill her.” Cali’s rant picked up speed. “If she speaks the truth and I do not believe her, then her blood is on my hands. Innocent blood. If I say I trust her and she’s not being honest . . .” She halted in front of Voice. “Then I doom everyone on this ship and possibly other people. I don’t know if I can live with that.”
A breeze brushed her face as she waited for Voice’s guidance. The orb remained silent, until Cali threw her hands up and raised her eyebrows.
“Princess, I cannot make this choice for you. Your future will be littered with hard choices. Sometimes you will make the wrong one.”
Cali opened her mouth to interrupt, but Voice flashed bright white. “You will make a wrong call eventually, Princess. No one can be right all the time. But when that day comes, I trust you will find a way to endure and not let it defeat you.”
Voice floated away, leaving Cali to her thoughts.
What do I do? Follow my instincts? Or my fears? She said she no longer works for Bludgaard and that she wishes to start over. Everything I believed about her over the past months could have been a facade. Why should I trust her? But what if . . .
The sun set and the moon rose. Stars twinkled in the night sky and still Cali stood there. Her thoughts at war, tumbling over each other in a never-ending battle.
Kota had seemed so genuine on the island. Cali had relied on her, trusted her. Was it all a lie? She assumed the duke would not be happy about his captain’s long absence with no contact. Did Kota see capturing Angel as her way back into Bludgaard’s good graces?
Finally, Cali made her way below deck.
Voice is right. I can’t guarantee that my choice is right. And if not this day, then one day I’ll be wrong. But I need to choose.
❄❄❄
Voice was terribly uncomfortable. There were times when she really wished for the ability to release some of her emotions through movements besides bobbing and circling. I wish for once I could just fidget or throw my hands in the air. She snorted. Or even have hands for that matter.
Ever since Cali’s decision, things onboard were tense. A snowstorm waiting to bury the world. That’s what it is.
She left her post at the bowsprit and floated down to the cabin Cali and Angel shared. Something has to be done to break this mood or I will go mad. Slipping around the door, thankfully left ajar to allow her entry, Voice moved into the room and stared at the two girls. Cali lay on her bunk, facing the wall with a blank expression while methodically petting Boo. On the other side of the room, Angel lay on the floor with her feet on the bunk, staring at the ceiling.
I suppose it’s an improvement over Angel throwing her dagger repeatedly into the wall. The two girls had hardly spoken to each other in three days.
Angel tipped her head to look at Voice, and then went back to glaring at the ceiling.
Three days of this is enough.
She moved to the middle of the room. “I think there has been quite enough of this.” No response.
“Calisandra, I am speaking to you,” Voice said sharply.
Cali sat up, disturbing Boo, a sulky expression on her face. “How come you’re not yelling at Angel?”
“Perhaps I do not expect Angel to be polite.”
Angel bolted upright. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she accused.
Ha! That got to her. “That means you are more likely to pay attention if I say something about expecting your behavior to be worse than Cali’s.” She couldn’t suppress her smug tone.
> Now they were both glaring at her with sullen expressions. Angel jabbed her finger in Cali’s direction. “She is the idiot who decided that Kota was telling the truth.” She placed her hands on her hips and mimicked Cali. “I think Kota is trying to change. I don’t think Kota is a threat.”
Cali bit her lip and shot back, “I can’t condemn a person who I feel is sincere in their desire to change. It was my decision to make. I have to live with the choice and I couldn’t have lived with myself if we’d thrown her overboard.” Her voice cracked and she sank to the bed sobbing.
Boo shot Cali a miffed look and jumped to the floor. Tail erect, he marched from the room.
Voice moved back, waiting to see what would happen. Angel closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. A sigh escaped her and her shoulders slumped. She lowered herself on the bunk next to Cali and hugged her.
“Don’t cry. I don’t agree with your choice, but you are right.” She squeezed Cali’s shoulders. “It was your choice and I can’t fault you for following your intuition.”
Cali scrubbed her sleeve over her eyes and hugged Angel in return. “It wasn’t just intuition. I’d worked closely with her for several months and I think even though she lied about who she was, that her actions were genuine. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea that the Zarna I lived with wasn’t in some part real.” She shrugged. “Let’s just forget about it.”
Angel half-laughed and dabbed at her own eyes. “Yes, please. I don’t like being angry with you.”
The tension slipped away as if it’d never been there and Voice sighed. “I am glad that is settled.”
Shifting on the bunk, Cali faced her. “Now that we’re altogether again, will you finish Amee’s story?”
“You haven’t finished it?” Angel exclaimed, pulling back to stare at Cali.
Cali stuck out her tongue. “After I thought I lost you it just didn’t seem important. I enjoyed the story, but I also liked being with you two and it felt like our thing. It wouldn’t have been right to continue without you.”
Angel pulled her feet onto the bunk. “Well, what are we waiting for? No one’s here but us. We have no plans, and we won’t reach land for another day.”
Heart of the Winterland Page 24