by Alex Avrio
“We're just Merchant Blades, yet we know not to offend those greater than ourselves,” Regina said vaguely. Mercy Blue’s face contorted, and she grabbed Regina by the arm and pushed her so she was dangling precariously over the side of the boat.
“Do you see what is hanging from the prow?” Mercy shouted over the roar of the waves. “Tell me.”
“Bones, skeletons,” Regina shouted back. The bones danced in the wind, banging on the prow. The bare-chested mermaid serving as a figurehead looked amused by the company she kept and the music they made. Mercy Blue pulled Regina back in.
“The bones of those who opposed me. Those who fought me, and who broke our laws. I started as less than nothing on this ship. Now I am the Admiral of the Fleet of the Orange Flag. There is no rape aboard my ship. No one steals their brother’s or sister’s property. Loot is shared justly.”
“That’s better terms than many regiments I know,” Regina said, getting her breath back.
“No one will take what I have away from me. I'll burn the fleet and die on the deck of my ship before I surrender to your kings and queens. Do you understand? Or have you set the Storm Lord against me?” Her hand pointed at the turbulent sky.
Regina realized there was great danger. “We are just here to serve.”
“I have a lot of respect for the woman who took Di Angelo’s eye.” Mercy Blue brought her hands together, the tips touching her lips. “There have been many rumors about Pella. Unnatural happenings there. Bluecoats joining the court. Between the two of us, Korthi is no better. Then you lot come out of the city with a frigate on your tail.”
Mercy Blue grabbed Regina’s wrist and lifted her sleeve. The brand mark in the shape of the crescent moon was exposed.
“I thought so,” Mercy Blue said, her voice colder than the Ice Sea. “I should have known when a lash on him brought a scream from you. You share a darkness. I travel far and wide, meet many men, hear of strange gods, some good, some terrible in their anger. I know of the Sea Gods, and of the Old Masters worshipped in the secret corners of the world. It's not good to offend any god, especially the Lady of the Dead and Mistress of Waters. Not in our line of work.”
Mercy Blue lifted her eyes to the rain that had started to fall, the large drops hitting the deck hard.
“I do not know how you and your Kapitan came into her service, but know this: if you cast any ill spells or bring misfortune on my vessel, I will throw you all overboard and damn the ransom to hell. Do you understand?”
Later that day, a man like a crane - messy, steely gray hair rising up like a crest - came down below. He put down a black leather bag and sat next to Schaefer. His hands trembled slightly. He rolled up his sleeves, took a pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his breast pocket and put them on his long nose.
“I am Doctor Watt. Now let’s have a look at you,” he said with a strong Oldport accent. He prodded and poked Schaefer’s swollen arm. His eyebrows met in the middle like two caterpillars surprised to find each other there. Regina wondered if he’d honed his trade on the miners of Oldport, and how many of them had survived his ministrations.
“You should have called for me much sooner,” he told her.
“It’s not too late?” Morgenstern asked with a slight quiver that he coughed away.
“I’ll do my best,” the doctor said, his eyes not quite meeting Morgenstern’s. He took his tools from the bag and lay them in a neat row.
“You two look strapping lads,” he said, pointing to Amanates and Kyfer. “Hold her.”
The doctor leaned towards Regina. “I’ll drain the pus three times a day for three or four days. After that we’ll know if she’s going to make it. I’ll give her a solution that she must drink before the draining. Make sure that she takes it. It’s not pleasant.”
“I’ll make sure,” Jaeger said. Regina hadn’t heard him come up behind her. “What does this solution, potion, whatever you call it, do?” he asked.
“It stops the wound festering. I’ve been working on it for a while now. No one’s died lately, so it’s doing something right.” The doctor picked up a small wooden bowl and threw the contents on the deck. He took a bottle of gin out of his bag, poured some into the bowl, and dipped his surgical knives in it.
Jaeger called Charlie over and suggested she take Emilia and Rosamynd up for a walk above deck. Schaefer reached out for Morgenstern’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“You’re not the one holding us captive,” Morgenstern replied, trying to muster a smile. Only the right side of his mouth turned upwards.
“I wanted to say sorry for involving you.” Schaefer said.
“There’s no need,” Morgenstern began.
“I got you into this, even though I couldn’t manage to turn you to our side. But I want you to know my feelings were real – despite my having an ulterior motive. And I regret getting you involved. Though our politics don’t agree, my feelings for you are genuine.”
Morgenstern held her hand softly, his cheeks flushed. “It doesn’t matter. When we get home we can put all this behind us.”
Schaefer looked at him for a moment. “I’m really worried that I’m going to die.”
“Not with me taking care of you, lass,” the doctor said. “Here, have a sip of this.” He passed her a small, dark green glass bottle.
“What is it?” Schaefer inquired.
“Secret recipe to take away the pain.”
Regina guessed it was laudanum to keep Schaefer sedated. The doctor brought the storm lamp closer. He lit the candle with a match and held the scalpel in the flame. Even with the sedative, Schaefer’s screams could be heard all the way up on the deck.
52 THE MOTHER OF STORMS
THE storm lamp flickered and the long shadows in the holding pen danced. Doctor Watt made a gesture. His boy fiddled with the lamp and it flared brighter. The doctor pressed his long fingers on Schaefer’s hand. The swelling was beginning to subside.
“How are we today?” he asked, prodding here and there.
“Better than yesterday,” Schaefer replied, wincing. That bastard doctor knew exactly where to press to exert maximum hurt. The boy opened the leather bag and put the steel tools on the bench in an orderly line like soldiers before inspection. Then he began preparing the bowls.
Morgenstern came closer. “Disgusting medicine time,” he announced, holding a small bottle. Schaefer rolled her eyes. She pursed her lips and shook her head. Morgenstern wasn’t having any of it. “Come on, open wide,” he said.
“I’ve heard that one before,” she said.
“It’s the potion’s strength that matters, not its quantity,” Morgenstern replied. Schaefer laughed.
“If I have to.”
“You have to.”
Regina approached. She exchanged a few words with the doctor and then turned to Schaefer.
“Sorry to leave but it’s our walkies time. Amanates and Kyfer will stay.” Schaefer nodded.
“I’ll stay too,” Morgenstern said.
“You don’t have to,” Schaefer said. “It’s not pleasant. Especially the stench that comes out.”
“I want to,” Morgenstern said, and that was his final word.
Doctor Watt took a long sip from his hipflask.
“Is that wise?” Morgenstern asked sternly. Doctor Watt returned the stern look.
“You’re not in your Eressian palace, sonny boy,” he said, folding his sleeves all the way up to his elbows. “You’re lucky to get a doctor at all.”
There was a tremor in Watt’s hands; he took a few more sips from his flask to steady them.
“What kind of doctor ends up on a pirate ship?” Morgenstern demanded.
“One that’s good in patching people back together. I was a good doctor back in Oldport,” Watt said, hovering the scalpel over the candle flame, “but I drank too much. I went once to deliver a woman, blind drunk. She bled to death. Stupid. I had to leave Oldport. As long as some of them make it alive, pirates aren’t so choosy with their d
octors.”
“That’s encouraging,” Morgenstern said with a tight smile.
“The doctor who did my stitches,” Schaefer said, “his hands shook so much that the orderly had to thread the needle. So as long as you get the right hand, I’m happy.”
The boy brought the bowl near Schaefer’s arm. “What’s your name then?” Schaefer asked him. The boy gave her a look and put his finger on his lips. Then he smiled at her.
“His name is Quiet,” Watt said. “He can’t speak.”
“Young one, for a pirate ship.”
“A ship we raided turned out to be a slaver. Half the cargo was young boys, destined for the harems of the South Across the Water. Mercy Blue set everyone free. I won’t tell you what she did to the flesh merchants. Some of the boys stayed with us, by choice. Powder monkeys and the like. Quiet here is my apprentice. One day he’ll be a doctor. Now, are you ready?”
Before Schaefer could answer, Amanates and Kiefer grabbed her and Watt began his work.
The boat danced on the waves like a nutshell and the rain pelted down. Up on deck, Regina took Jaeger aside and recounted her encounter with Mercy Blue. As they were speaking, their heads close together, Regina noticed a small boy, around the age of seven, staring at them. The boy realized he’d been spotted and made the sign against the evil eye. Jaeger's scowl sent him running.
“Now the powder monkeys are afraid of us,” Regina commented.
“Afraid is good,” Jaeger said, wiping the rain from his eyes. “They’ll leave us alone. I haven’t seen such bad weather in ages. Last time I was in a boat I was drunk for half the journey.”
“Yes, I remember,” Regina commented dryly.
When the screams stopped, they started to make their way back out of the rain. They met Morgenstern coming up looking pale. Jaeger chose to come back up with him.
“That quack is putting moldy cheese in the wounds – as if things weren’t bad enough,” Morgenstern commented.
“It’s a common remedy among the peasantry,” Jaeger replied. “Prevents festering.”
Morgenstern snorted.
“You’re very interested in Schaefer’s health, considering,” Jaeger commented.
“We’ve been through too much together now to be petty,” Morgenstern said, not quite meeting Jaeger’s eyes.
“She played you for a fool, Valerian.”
“Now listen here,” Morgenstern said, “not that it’s any of your business, but she’s the only one that was involved in the original misguided scheme. When we go back–”
Jaeger’s eyes widened in disbelief. “When we go back, what? She’ll tell the Emperor about this small misunderstanding: how it was her fault, just a little joke really? And he, being a man well known for his understanding and forgiving nature, will wave it away as a jest, pat us on the back and we can laugh about it together?” Morgenstern had gone pale. “And you and Schaefer’ll get married and have golden-haired children together?”
“I’m sure we can get everything sorted once we get the ladies back safely,” Morgenstern insisted stubbornly.
“Oh, for the love of the Mother, you’re more stupid than a cabbage!” Jaeger shouted. “This can’t be swept under any carpet. They’ve been gone far too long for it to be covered up. Whatever explanation the palace comes up with, there will be a scandal. That’s if we get them back unharmed. A big if, from where we are at present.”
“I know where we are,” Morgenstern snarled at him
“Shut your muzzle and listen. Assuming, by some miracle of the Mother and Child, that we return to Eressia, what then? There's a whole band of conspirators who organized this, who stand opposed to the Emperor. Arlanza Schaefer is one of them. Her sister, brother-in-law and father are also involved. When it comes to laying the guilt at someone’s door, what do you think she’ll do? Who do you think she’ll stand with? Them or you?”
Morgenstern had gone ghostly white.
“You’re the commanding officer: the first to get shot,” Jaeger pressed on.
“Not to shirk my duty, but Colonel Meyer is the commanding officer.”
“We don’t even know if Meyer is still alive.”
Suddenly the gravity of the situation seemed to dawn on Morgenstern. He took a deep breath and covered his mouth with his hand.
“With all the running around I didn't stop to think, I just assumed that if I brought the women home unharmed I might be spared. That’s never been true, has it? I was dead the second I lost them from that carriage; as dead as if the bullet had gone further than my arm and through my heart.” Morgenstern paused and looked into Jaeger’s face. “Lose the princess, lose your head. But what about you, Max? Can we save you and your bluecoats?”
“I’m in the same shit as you, my friend. Ironically, the very thing that has been holding me down in the esteem of my fellow Eressian officers, my being a member of The Merchant Blades, offers me and my troops some measure of protection. Though for the life of me I can’t figure how I can argue that we kept the contract.”
There was silence as the two men reflected on their situation. Morgenstern took his flask out from his coat pocket and offered it to Jaeger.
“At least we’re in it together,” Jaeger observed, taking a long swig.
“I’m not sure that captain of yours will have the same opinion.”
“I know she won’t. But no one has much choice in the matter.”
Morgenstern laughed and took a drink from his flask. “A magnificent officer and a fine woman. However did she get involved with you?”
“Long story. Starts with a gambling debt.”
“Of course it does,” Morgenstern said, drawing another sip. “Shame she’s Merrovigian.”
The weather deteriorated further over the next few days, but Schaefer's condition improved dramatically under Doctor Watt’s care. The sailors who brought them their food and drink now seemed careful not to offend any of them, and made signs against the evil eye as soon as they thought they were out of sight.
“It’s not only the powder monkeys that are afraid of us now,” Regina whispered to Jaeger.
“We’re nowhere near the full moon,” Jaeger whispered back in her ear. “Yet there’s something in the air I can feel. Something coming.”
“Probably a storm,” Regina said. “Now, when we get out of this mess we need a long talk.”
“I find you very optimistic, Fitzwaters,” Jaeger commented.
“This is happening, Jaeger. We are going to talk.”
Jaeger looked into her eyes. “Alright. I promise you when this is over, we’ll have a long– something,” he said with an insolent smile. Regina cuffed him on the ear and got up to sit next to Briggs.
“What are you worried about? You can swim,” Eleven teased Jackson as one of their leather travel bags tumbled past from one side of the hold to the other.
“I can, but this is too much water,” Jackson replied.
“This is spoiling my game frightfully,” Emilia declared as the cards slid out of position.
“You were never winning this round,” Rosamynd said, smugly putting down her hand. Under the tutorage of Charlie and the Blades, the two princesses’ game had reached a whole new level. They could play with professional gamblers in Border Town now and win. They’d even picked up a trick or two from the pirates.
Thomas’s grip tightened on Charlie’s hand so much she let out a squeal.
“What is it, Stripes? You’re breaking my fingers,” she asked.
“I can’t swim,” he muttered.
“I can’t either,” Charlie said, “but those waves are so big that unless you’re a fish I don’t think it’ll make a difference.”
All through the night no one managed any sleep. The sailors ran around shouting instructions over the crashing thunder and the rolling waves. They could hear the crew on the lowest deck manning the pumps, fighting a deadly battle with the water that crept in. The sea was rising and falling like a feather quilt shook by a maid.
; It was one of those nights that took forever to pass. Thus had many nights waiting a dawn attack passed: cold, cruel, and quick as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing. The end of the storm came abruptly, between the moment of being hit by one wave and the expectation of being hit by another. The anticipated next massive swing simply didn’t happen; the ship gracefully found its balance. And an eerie silence hung in the air.
“What happened?” Regina asked, jumping to her feet.
A gang of sturdy crewmen scurried below deck, bewilderment in their eyes as if from both the greatest miracle and the greatest horror. Regina had seen that look before: in the eyes of dying men on the battlefield, sword in one hand, guts clutched in the other. The look was enough to frighten her, and she did not scare easily. A tall bald man, two crossed swords tattooed on his chest, indicated that they should bring all their meager belongings with them. The Merchant Blades took up their leather traveling bags with mixed feelings; the princesses hadn’t anything to carry. Morgenstern stood near Schaefer, who could move on her own now. Jaeger positioned himself close to Emilia and Rosamynd. They were escorted through the narrow passages and up the stairs to the deck. Mercy Blue was waiting, the crew at her back. The scene on deck was devastation. The once majestic vessel’s main mast was broken, the sails in tatters.
Mercy Blue, her voice a hoarse whisper from shouting, was nevertheless clearly audible. “What have you done to my ship? What have you called from the deep? The crew say they have seen a Sea Serpent in the distance, circling around us.”
“’Tis true,” a sailor said. “Its head towered above the tallest mast: eyes like silver moons, teeth ivory sabers, lightning struck rainbows dancing upon the polished scales. We saw it with our own eyes.”