But mostly because he wanted to see Lera for one last time. Sighing, he tilted his head back to look up at the sky.
Of the nine Benevolent Ones, Arvane was the patron of lovers—though as the priests were careful to point out, Arvane had nothing to do with happily married couples. Fickle and reckless, Arvane was probably the least benevolent of the gods. But he was always ready to bring lovers together, and the more shattering that encounter, the better he liked it.
Somewhere, Jason knew, Arvane was laughing.
Chapter Three
Flagship Nemesis
“I’ve been informed that someone will speak to us before nightfall,” Alyster Juell said. “Nightfall meaning nine bells.”
Lera glanced at the hourglass in its wrought-iron cage. That was still one hour off, so she didn’t hurry with her evening meal, which they ate topside. Checkmate rocked slowly in the harbor. She had done her best to think of some way past the warships, but nothing had come to mind; Checkmate was a swift little ship and that was about all that could be said for her. If the worst came to the worst, she’d suggest to Kovir that he slip through the blockade on his tiger shark and return home. At least the Admiralty of Denalay would know what had happened to the rest of them.
Kovir ate in silence, as he always did. The meal was soon over, coffee steaming in tin mugs, but the ship was quieter than the darkened buildings and closed establishments in the harbor. A dead spread, Lera thought, then told herself not to be morbid.
A line of lanterns glowed on the docks where a fresh relief of guards stood at duty, and on the other side of the bay, the lanterns were so far that they looked like fireflies pinned to a black card. She leaned on the rail, steam rising from her mug, but before she could finish the coffee, a small group of men walked out from among the shadows of buildings and approached the guards. There was a brief exchange too distant and quiet for her to hear, and the guards let the men through.
Lera straightened up. Alyster must have seen that, because he joined her, and they watched as the men headed for the still-extended gangplank. They stopped at the edge of the dock and waited until Alyster went to the head of the gangplank.
“May we be permitted to come aboard, Captain?” one of them called out.
“I doubt we have a choice in that matter.” Alyster stepped aside. “Welcome aboard Checkmate.”
“Thank you,” the man said, and two guards went ahead of him, two more bringing up the rear as he made his way up the plank. The steel of their breastplates gleamed in the light of lanterns on the deck, and longswords hung at their hips. The man who had spoken wore no weapons, but with him was a captain in the Dagran navy.
“This way.” Alyster took them down to his cabin. Lera, Vinsen and Kovir followed, while two of the guards took up position in the corridor outside, one was stationed at the window and another one blocked the door which led to Alyster’s bedroom. The Dagran captain looked around as if for a chair, but all the furniture had been burned to feed the engine on their way there.
The man waited until Vinsen had closed the outer door before he spoke. His clothes were finer than any she had ever seen, but dark hollows surrounded his eyes.
“My name is Anthony Yurchand,” he said, “and I have the honor to be the Minister of Defense for Dagre. This is Captain Alan Garser of the frigate Nemesis, the flag of our fleet.”
Lera looked the captain up and down, which took a moment longer than she had expected since he was well over six feet tall, and striking in their uniform of deep blue and gold. He studied her just as candidly, a faint smile on his face.
Alyster made the formal introductions as well. “I’m Alyster Juell, master of Checkmate. Captain Vinsen Solarcis, Captain Lera Vanze. And I believe you know Kovir Stripe Caller of Seawatch.”
Anthony Yurchand nodded. “I won’t waste your time beating about the bush, Captain. We need Kovir Stripe Caller for an assignment no one else can carry out. We can and will pay well for his efforts.”
“Why don’t you tell him about it?” Alyster gestured at Kovir, who stood as far apart from everyone else as he could while he watched and listened. Insofar as a Seawatch operative could show emotion, he looked slightly discomfited, as though he would have preferred to stand there unnoticed even when the discussion was about him. Anthony turned to him.
“Kovir.” His voice was so courteous that Lera distrusted him at once. “I don’t think there’s anything I have to offer you that you need, so I can only say this. We are hunting a ship commanded by a madman who holds the lives of innocent people in his hands. We have to save those people. Will you help us?”
Kovir frowned. “Who is this madman?”
“His name is Richard Alth. He was allied with a faction which opposed the Council of Dagre. Three years ago they attempted to actively incite rebellion with a bastard granddaughter of the last king of Dagre as their figurehead. They meant to crown her queen and marry her off to Richard to be certain of his support.”
Typical of Dagre, Lera thought. That was what happened when people ruled through right of blood rather than because they had earned their positions. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, they went on to believe that marriage somehow meant a right to rulership as well.
Anthony went on. “That was dealt with, but this seems to be Richard’s attempt at retaliation. His ship is loaded with tons of explosives, which is why we’re not simply launching a fleet after it. We need to find it and stop him.”
Tons of explosives. For a moment no one said anything, and all Lera could think of was a hold packed with more destruction than a volcano, a great dark mass waiting for the single spark that would bring it to devastating life.
Then Alyster shook his head a little as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. “Find it? Do you have any idea where this ship might be?”
“A dozen miles beyond the Sea of Weeds,” Kovir said, and Anthony nodded.
Alyster frowned. “How did you know?”
“Why, he told us,” Anthony said.
“What?”
Anthony sighed. “He is a spoiled stupid whelp who has never been thwarted in his life and who doesn’t take too kindly to being put in his place. He sent us word of where he is and said that unless we met his demands…” He allowed that to trail off—a little too dramatically, Lera thought.
“What demands?” Alyster asked.
“Gold.”
Alyster looked incredulous. “Where is he planning to spend this gold?”
“I know, Captain. I know. But that gives us a chance. We want to send Nemesis to him—with the gold—and neutralize him as a threat.”
That didn’t make any sense to Lera. As Alyster had pointed out, even if Richard Alth got his hands on every grain of gold in Dagre, there was no land of Eden where he could spend it. Perhaps he planned to sail off into uncharted waters looking for another continent, but if she’d been him, she would have demanded plenty of food and water, rather than gold.
Besides, if his family had been backing a claimant to the throne, surely they weren’t poor.
“What kind of ship does he have?” Kovir asked.
“A three-masted schooner named Princeps,” Anthony said. “We’ve confirmed that’s missing, as are the explosives—stolen from a manufacturing plant. So we have to assume there are teeth behind the threat. As for Princeps, the ship has six cannons.”
When Alan Garser grinned, a flash of white teeth showed through his closely trimmed blond beard. “Nemesis has twenty-two.”
“And hellfire.” Anthony sounded almost cheerful.
“But the other ship is loaded with explosives,” Kovir pointed out.
Exactly. Which meant it was unlikely Nemesis could simply pump cannon-shot into its enemy and expect to return home. Lera decided that if she had been in charge, she would have taken Nemesis and another ship, a sacrificial pawn with a few cannons and sailors who were prepared to die fo
r their duty—though, truth be told, that didn’t describe too many of the sailors she knew. Still, such a ship could destroy Princeps while Nemesis stayed at a safe distance to mop up anything left over at the end.
Anthony nodded. “It is. Kovir, we are aware how much of a challenge this mission will be, so even if you choose not to undertake it, we will lift the quarantine and disperse the cordon. But if you do…well, whether you succeed or not, you’ll be richly rewarded.”
Here comes the carrot, Lera thought. Kovir didn’t look any more interested than he’d done previously, but he did ask the same question she was wondering.
“How?” he said.
“The prize for the recent race.” Anthony pursed his lips. “The half of the prize Captain Vanze walked off with, anyway—a thousand eagles, was it? We’ll match that. And confer an honorary title upon you. You’d be the Earl of Loftmark, with all the privileges and benefits of such a station.”
Might as well confer an honorary pastry upon him, Lera thought, he could at least eat that. “I’d like to think about this,” he said.
“By all means, though time is of the essence. Nemesis leaves tomorrow, at dawn.”
“I won’t need that much time.”
Anthony smiled. “I’ll be in the harbormaster’s office until I receive word.” He inclined his head. “Captain. Captains. Kovir Stripe Caller. Thank you for hearing us out and have a pleasant night.”
Alyster left the cabin to escort his visitors and their guards off the ship. Checkmate had taken on supplies of candles days ago, and those in the cabin were burned down to half-mast before he returned.
“What would you like to do?” he said to Kovir. “I mean—do you want to talk it over with us or be alone for a while?”
Kovir looked at the window and clasped his hands behind his back as though he wasn’t sure what to do with them otherwise. Lera thought he would have preferred to be given an order, one way or another, rather than be told it was up to him to decide what to do.
“They weren’t telling the truth, were they?” he said after a pause.
Vinsen made a contemptuous sound. “I doubt it. Why would they pay so much to find a ship, even one carrying explosives?”
Lera couldn’t think why either. Also, if Richard Alth really was bent on vengeance and aware he could never return to his homeland unless he was in chains, why didn’t he simply sail Princeps—under a different name—into the nearest harbor and destroy that instead? He might get away safely, too, if he ignited the explosives from a distance. It was odd that instead he had retreated beyond the Sea of Weeds where he couldn’t hurt anyone except the innocent people on board his ship.
“Maybe his ship is carrying a prisoner related to the Council,” she said, “and they’re willing to pay well for that person’s safe return. We could speculate all night.”
“I’ll go,” Kovir said abruptly.
Alyster studied him. “You’re sure?”
He nodded. “If they were willing to go to these lengths for our help, they’re desperate—and we can’t be sure they’ll just open the harbor to let us go. Besides, if I were a prisoner on a ship that could blow apart at any moment, I’d want someone to help me.”
There was a look of resignation in Alyster’s eyes, as though he was mentally preparing for Kovir not to return, but he spoke with a quiet pride. “I hope they realize just how good a man they’re getting.”
“Oh, they will,” Lera said. “Because he’s not going alone.”
They all turned to look at her. “You too?” Vinsen said, but he didn’t seem surprised. Lera knew there was no one else who could have done it; Vinsen was still recovering from what he’d gone through during the race and Alyster had to remain with his ship. Whoever accompanied Kovir had to have a rank high enough to command respect even on a Dagran vessel.
Besides, no one really needed her on Checkmate.
Kovir shifted his feet. “I’ll be all right, Captain Vanze. I’ll have my shark.”
Lera started to say, You’re only seventeen, and stopped herself in time. After Alyster had paid the boy a great compliment, she would be cutting him back down, which was hardly a good way to begin a mission. He couldn’t be allowed to go off with foreigners alone—that wouldn’t cast Denalay in the best light—but she tried to think of a better reason.
“You’re representing Seawatch,” she said. “I’ll be standing in for the navy.”
Alyster nodded. “She might as well, Kovir. We can’t leave harbor until you’re back, and it’ll give at least one of us something to do.”
Lera slid her hands into her pockets. “Let’s go,” she said to Kovir. “We’ll let them know what we’ve decided and then try to get some sleep.”
Jason’s limbs felt stiff after hours spent seated on the bench—thank the Benevolent Ones it wasn’t winter, otherwise sitting out there would have been a great deal less pleasant—but despite that and the emptiness in his belly, he was pleased to see the small delegation going to Checkmate. Maybe matters would be resolved now. At least, he hoped those guards hadn’t strode onto the ship with any other intentions. That possibility began to prey on him, so he was relieved to see them all leave with no signs of bloodshed.
Now what? He supposed he should begin the long journey to Crusaid—afoot, since he didn’t have any money for a carriage—and he didn’t look forward to what would happen at his destination. Deliberately claiming a false find to the Ministry of Defense was going to land him in water far hotter than anything in that steamship’s engine.
He got up, stretching cramped limbs and unknotting his shoulders, then took one last look at the ship before he could start for the nearest road.
Lera was at the top of the gangplank. She hadn’t noticed him—he was a short distance from the docks and well out of the lanternlight—and she was talking to a young man who accompanied her as she went down the plank. The guards on the docks let them both pass. He wasn’t sure where she was going, but with her long strides she was soon out of sight.
Jason sat down. He told himself he was being ridiculous, waiting there like a schoolboy who had seen a girl for the first time, but it was only for that night. After he was sure she’d returned safely to the ship, he would leave as well.
The row of lanterns burned on the dock, one beside each guard, and occasionally there was a shimmer as a moth flew to the glass. A shadow fell across the stones as another guard appeared and paced the length of the cordon, pausing only to give quiet instructions to each man.
One by one, they gathered up the lanterns and followed him away from the dock. Jason straightened, leaning a little to watch them leave. That was a good sign. He got up and came out of the shadows now there was no chance of the guards seeing him and possibly arresting him, especially since he was no longer officially assigned to work the harbor. Lera and the young man had left the harbormaster’s office, heading for the ship, but she stopped when she saw him.
“Go on, Kovir,” she said to her companion. “I’ll be along shortly.”
He left. Lera’s pace slowed as she approached, as though she wanted to speak to him while still keeping a deliberate distance between them.
“The quarantine’s been lifted,” she said without preamble. “Did you have something to do with that?”
“Not much.” He could see very little of her in the near-darkness, but he would always remember the sound of her voice, velvety beneath the crisp direct tone. “So you’ll be going back home soon.”
“Actually, no. I’m going to be enduring—I mean, enjoying Dagran hospitality a little longer.”
“Oh?” Jason hoped only polite interest showed in his voice, but his pulse quickened. She was staying. Maybe he could share a meal with her, or show her the rose arbor in the public gardens.
“Yes. Me and Kovir, we’ve been invited to join Nemesis when she leaves tomorrow morning.”
Nemesis? In the course of his work, Jason had learned not to show what he thought or felt, but he couldn’t help frowning. Even he knew what the flagship was called, so he wondered why that ship needed two Denalaits on board. Though he supposed if she wanted him to know the purpose of their mission, she would tell him.
“I wish you a safe journey, then,” he said.
“I hope we have one, and thank you for whatever you did.” She hesitated. “But were you waiting here to see me?”
Tired though he was, he heard the change in her tone, but it took him a moment to realize what it was—prickly suspicion that didn’t bode well for him. “No, of course not.”
There wasn’t enough light for him to see her expression, but her silhouette was clear enough under the moon as she looked around pointedly at the dark windows, the closed places of business. “Then why?”
Jason tried to think of a plausible story, but by then he was so ragged-edged and hungry that his usually active imagination failed completely. Plus, if he didn’t talk fast, she might pull that saber again.
“I think I’m about to lose my position, if not my job,” he said.
“What?” To his relief, she didn’t sound tense and wary now. “Why?”
“I sent a telegraph to the Ministry saying that if they didn’t meet with your people to discuss terms, I’d do my best to have Checkmate sent back to Denalay under armed escort.”
“Unity.” Her voice was hushed, but before he could decipher what she meant, she continued in a more back-on-solid-ground way. “Would it make any difference if I spoke to your superior officer? I mean, your…master?”
Despite his weariness, he couldn’t help smiling. “The departmental coordinator? No, it wouldn’t. Besides, it’s too late. You’ll be gone before the office opens in the morning.”
Her boot went taptaptap on the cobblestones before she spoke again. “What are you going to do for the night? Don’t you have a place to stay?”
Jason had a sudden back-off feeling. “I’ll find somewhere.” He turned to leave.
The Highest Tide Page 5