by John Booth
Captain Toren was standing on the bridge with Seb Halder when the riders rode onto the jetty. Most of his crew were on deck preparing the boat for departure.
“What is the Keeper up to now?” Seb asked as the riders stopped by the gangway and two of them dismounted and started up it into the boat.
“Go and tell those two to get off my boat,” Captain Toren said. “They have no right to come onboard without my permission.”
Seb went off to do his Captain’s bidding at a run. There was a treaty between the Boat Company and the towns they visited that the boats were sovereign territory of Slarn. It was the Mine Owners Association of Telmar’s refusal to agree to that condition that led to the Company ordering the boats to terminate their journeys at Boathaven.
“You are not allowed to board this boat,” Seb told Captain Gregor. The razor sharp sword that pressed against his throat stopped him from making further protest.
“I’m sorry about this,” Gregor told Seb. “I am under direct orders from the Keeper and have no choice in the matter. All we want is the location of the cabin of Jalia al’Dare and Daniel al’Degar. Once we have them we will get off your boat.”
“And if I refuse to tell you?” Seb asked.
“Then I will be forced to kill you and find a more cooperative member of your crew.”
“I’ll show you,” Seb conceded after assessing Gregor’s determination and realizing he meant every word.
Gregor went back to the gangway and motioned the other men forward, leaving Tib Prentice alone on the jetty.
The silence was broken by a loud shout of ‘Intruders’ from below. The sound carried easily up to the room showing how important it had been for Daniel and Cara to keep their voices low. Daniel stood up and positioned himself to meet anyone coming up the spiral staircase.
A few seconds later, a guard from below came hurtling up the steps. He saw Daniel and tried to bring his sword to bear. Daniel reluctantly cut him down and then dragged his body from the stairs.
“Shouldn’t we go and check if Jalia is all right?” Cara whispered anxiously.
“Now, more than at any other time, going down those stairs would be suicidal,” Daniel whispered back. “Jalia will be here shortly.”
“But going up those stairs would be suicidal,” Cara protested. “She doesn’t know we are waiting for her.”
“Wait and see,” Daniel whispered and moved a few feet away from the stairs.
Two minutes went by and then Jalia ran up the stairs, screaming at the top of her voice. As she reached the top, Daniel spoke loudly and coldly.
“And just what time of night do you call this, young lady? Do you realize that Cara and I had to get out of bed to come and save you?”
Jalia surveyed the scene, making instant and staggering accurate assessments of what was going on.
“Cara could have got dressed first. I wouldn’t have minded waiting a few more minutes.”
“That was part of my cunning plan,” Daniel said smugly.
“You just wanted to see her breasts bouncing,” Jalia retorted, though she was smiling.
“That’s exactly what I thought!” Cara said as she grinned at Jalia.
“Sisters have to stick together,” Jalia said cheerfully. She strode over to Cara and linked arms with her. “Shall we leave here, Cara? This place is beginning to bore me.”
Jalia and Cara strode from the vault and out into the light of the pre-dawn sky
“My clothes are over there,” Cara said as she pointed across to the garden.
When they got to the edge of the stone circle Jalia stepped across it cautiously, but felt nothing happen to her. Daniel trailed behind the two women who were gossiping in whispers.
“Damn all women,” he said softly, but he smiled as he said it.
“You brought my sword and knives,” Jalia whispered with delight as she rummaged in the bag Daniel had brought.
“It’s lucky I didn’t leave them behind. At this very moment our cabin is being raided by the Keeper and a bunch of his soldiers,” Daniel explained.
“Hala?” Jalia asked sharply
“Safe.”
Jalia slumped. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“Not as sorry as you will be,” Daniel said grimly. “Right now though, we have to get back to the Steam Dragon and find out what’s going on.”
“Well lead the way then and stop blathering about it,” Jalia grumbled.
Eleven scared men stood outside the cabin Seb had led them too. They filled the corridor on both sides of the door. Captain Gregor drew his sword and indicated that his two best bowmen should stand behind him. They leveled their crossbows at the door and prepared to shoot at the slightest provocation. Gregor put his boot against the door and kicked it in.
The crossbowmen fired instinctively at the two lower bunks and their bolts burst through the mattresses and clanged loudly as they hit solid steel beyond. Gregor stood with his back against the cabin wall and looked for targets as the bowmen withdrew from the room and the next two took their place. It took Gregor over three minutes before he got up the nerve to enter the bathroom and determine that the room was devoid of people.
Seb Halder was dragged from the corridor into the room.
“Where are they?” Gregor screamed.
“This is their cabin. Passengers on this boat are guests, not prisoners,” Seb said calmly. Gregor put his sword against Seb’s throat for the second time. Seb had had time to think about the situation and was far less scared than he had been.
“Kill me and the Boat Company will hire assassins from Bagdor to hunt you down. You will never know a moments rest. So go right ahead.”
Gregor knew Seb was telling the truth. He put down his sword and walked out of the cabin. “Search the boat for them. Bring anybody who looks like Jalia al’Dare out and off the boat.”
At that moment, out on the jetty, Tib Prentice watched as Captain Toren walked down the gangway to where he stood.
“Good evening, Captain,” Tib said politely.
“What are your men doing on my boat?” Toren asked through gritted teeth.
“Just rounding up a couple of villains, Captain. There is nothing going on to concern yourself about.”
“I shall report this matter to the Boat Company. You know the terms of the treaty.”
“I do not care,” Tib spat. “I will have Jalia al’Dare and her man dead tonight; the Boat Company and you can do whatever you want after that.”
“Can this town survive without us Keeper?” Captain Toren asked softly.
“I do not care, Captain,” Tib repeated. “I want them dead.”
Jalia, Daniel and Cara made their way down to the lake. They had no wish to encounter Tib Prentice and his men on the way. When they reached the turning to the jetty, Jalia and Cara insisted that Daniel stay to hold their horses. They found a secluded alley where he would not be seen if Tib and his men rode past.
“We girls have to stick together,” Cara told Daniel before she ran after Jalia.
Everyone on the Steam Dragon was awake and jeering at the Keeper and his men when Jalia peered around a corner to see what was going on. The walkways on the outer deck were crowded with crew shouting insults. All the passengers seemed to be up, as soldiers ran in and out of the boat.
“It looks like the good Keeper and his men are having some trouble finding us,” Jalia commented.
“They seem determined to keep looking though,” Cara said worriedly. She could see Dan looking around in a concerned manner. She really should have told him where she was going. Then she thought how disturbed he would be if she had and grinned. Sometimes it was a good idea to keep family in the dark about what you were up to.
“Oh, I expect that another problem will draw them away any time now,” Jalia said nonchalantly. “They change the guards to the vault at dawn and its past that now.”
As if in confirmation, a rider galloped onto the jetty and came to a halt inches from Tib. The rider whi
spered something in his ear. Jalia could see, even from that distance, that the news rocked Tib to his foundations. He very nearly fell over.
“Time we got back to Daniel,” Jalia said and pulled Cara back from the corner. “We will only have a minute or two to get to the Dragon when Tib is gone. Captain Toren will not hang around waiting for us.”
Tib felt that his world had fallen apart. He screamed for Gregor, who came running to his call.
“Leave four of the men here to stop the boat from leaving. We have to get back to the Palace. Bring the crossbowmen as we may well need them.”
“What is wrong, my lord?”
“I will tell you later, not here where people might hear,” Tib said through gritted teeth. “Hurry.”
Three minutes later, all but four of the men were riding at speed to the palace. Two of the remaining men waited on the bridge, holding Captain Toren and Seb Halder at sword point. The other two stood guard at the bottom of the gangway.
As Tib’s horsemen thundered past the alley, Jalia urged Swift into a trot. Daniel sighed loudly and set off after her, followed closely by Cara on Blaze.
As they approached the Steam Dragon, the guards drew their swords. Daniel pushed Jet ahead of Jalia and stopped ten feet from the men.
“My name is Daniel al’Degar and this is Jalia al’Dare. If you don’t wish to die, I think you should find a good reason to be somewhere else.”
The men stared at Daniel who smiled back. One of them gave Daniel a half-hearted salute and started to run down the jetty. The other gave chase a few seconds later.
“You spoil all my fun,” Jalia complained.
“There are two more holding the Captain prisoner,” Nin shouted down to them from the other end of the gangway. Hala gave them a big wave in greeting.
“Come on,” Jalia said eagerly and set off up the gangway with Swift in tow. Daniel shrugged at Cara and dismounted before following Jalia.
At the top of the gangway, Jalia gave the reins of her horse to Nin and Daniel gave Jet’s reins to Hala.
“See they get safely back to the hold and get someone to take off their saddles,” Daniel ordered.
“Who gets to take my horse?” Cara asked in annoyance.
“I think I saw your brother up by the bridge.”
“Never mind, I’ll take it myself.” Cara really didn’t want her brother asking her any questions at that moment.
“Dan is over the other side of the boat, nowhere near the bridge,” Jalia pointed out as they made their way upwards.
“It was getting crowded and I’ve risked her life enough for one day.”
On the bridge, Captain Toren and Seb Halder fumed silently as the guards held them at sword point. The guards had warned the crew that if there was any action on their part they would kill the men.
Jalia and Daniel burst into the bridge. Daniel had drawn his sword while Jalia had a knife in each hand.
“One more move and we kill these two,” a guard shouted.
“What do we care? I’m Jalia al’Dare and if you don’t surrender right now I will kill you.”
“She means that,” Daniel said wearily. “I never get to kill anybody if there are only a couple of men fighting us.”
“Go to hell,” the man with his sword against Captain Toren’s throat snarled. It was the last thing he said as Jalia’s knife embedded itself in his throat a second later. Captain Toren stepped back as the man fell to the floor with a puzzled expression on his face.
The other guard dropped his sword and stuck his hands into the air.
“Get that bastard off my boat,” Toren shouted as he gave the dead man on the floor a severe kick. “And get someone to throw this carrion over the side.”
“Now would be a good time to leave, Captain,” Daniel suggested.
But the Captain was already shouting into the speaking tubes and the engines began to throb. The crew rushed to release lines and get back onboard while they still could. Daniel watched the guard that had just surrendered have to jump from the withdrawing gangway to get back to the dock. It looked as though he broke his ankle when he landed, because he writhed in agony on the ground and didn’t get up again.
“We’ll just be off to bed then, Captain,” Jalia said cheerfully and walked off the bridge.
Captain Toren turned to Daniel. “Will it be like this when we dock in Bretin?”
“Oh, I think today has been pretty uneventful by Jalia’s standards,” Daniel said seriously.
“May the gods preserve us,” Captain Toren muttered. Then he became far too busy maneuvering the ship to pay any further attention to Daniel.
11. Plots
“How can you live like this?” Nin asked Hala. They were sitting together in the dining room eating breakfast. Very few of the passengers had bothered to get up that morning, having had their sleep disturbed by Tib’s men. However, the Steam Dragon and its crew worked to a strict schedule and mere inconveniences like being held captive by armed men were not sufficient to disturb it.
“What do you mean?” Hala asked, bemused by the question.
“How can you be part of Jalia and Daniel’s life? You’ve been with them what…, three or four weeks and barely a day goes by when they aren’t killing somebody, or risking your life with theirs. How can you stand it?”
“It’s not that bad,” Hala protested. “No one was killed yesterday were they?”
“Dad told me that Jalia killed one of the guards holding the Captain and First Mate captive.”
“Then he deserved it.”
“He was only there because Jalia stole the Five Gem Coin!” Nin shouted.
“Be quiet,” Hala hissed furiously. “Nobody knows that but us, and beside which, I don’t think those men could even have known the Coin was gone by then. Jalia didn’t arrive back until after they were on the boat.”
“I’m sorry,” Nin whispered, embarrassed that he had shouted a secret. He looked around the room and was relieved to see that they were alone. “The point is, if you stay with them you’ll end up dead and I don’t want that.”
Hala thought about the crossbow bolt she had taken saving Jalia, and that she was only alive because Daniel had healed her. She acknowledged to herself that Nin had a point. Jalia and Daniel had told her the same thing. Being around them was dangerous, but she had no one else, and she knew they cared about her.
“They are my family now, and they are so much better than the life I lived before. I grew up with people being killed in front of me for sport…” Hala trailed off as she found tears rolling down her face.
Nin took her hand and squeezed it gently. “You don’t have to live like this anymore. Stay on the Dragon with me and Dad. I’m sure the Captain will sign you on as crew if we ask him.”
“I don’t know, Nin. We’ve only known each other a few days.”
“You don’t have to make a decision now. It’s over a week until we reach Slarn. Assuming we ever reach Slarn with Jalia and Daniel onboard.”
“Of course we will.” Hala laughed “Do you think that any force in the universe can stop those two from getting somewhere once they have set their minds on it?”
It was past noon when Sila Klint and Alin Bredan walked into the dining room. Sila had been busy during their stay in Wegnar and was dressed much more sensibly than when she had been rescued. Gone were the reams of silk and in its place were leather trousers and jerkin, both immaculately cut to a fit that looked as though she had been poured into them. On her belt was a stiletto knife in an elegant scabbard, positioned on her left hand side to be drawn by her right hand.
“Go to the traders,” she told Alin curtly. “I will join you there shortly.”
As Bredan walked over a little uncertainly to where Tonas sat with the Denger brothers, Sila went to the far corner of the room where Dor, Jant and Mal had just stood up from their table to leave. Ignoring Jant and Mal, Sila strode up to Dor and slapped him so hard in the face she knocked him down onto one knee.
Jant and
Mal reached for their swords, but were stopped dead by Sila’s words.
“Pull a sword on me and it won’t be put back until one of us is dead.”
Sila certainty gave them pause. After all, she had not stabbed Dor, but simply hit him open handed. It did not merit a death. Worse, it was not clear who would die. Dor pressed his hand against his stinging cheek and looked up at Sila in sheer astonishment.
“You do not attempt to blackmail my secretary and you cannot blackmail me. Is that clear Prince Dor Dalk, youngest son of Gilan Dalk and currently third in line to the Dalk Trium?”
“I only asked for Bredan to be prepared to help, should I call on him,” Dor told her, trying hard to keep tears of pain from his eyes. Sila had struck him very hard.
“And do not lie. It does not become a Prince of the Trium.” Sila paused and looked at Jant and Mal. “I do not know why you are on the Dragon with your retinue, slinking around like rats, nor do I care. There is no enmity between Jalia al’Dare and myself. Those times are past. If you reveal who I am to her it will make this journey a little more uncomfortable for me, but that is all. However, your father would lock you in his dungeon if he finds out you had been stupid enough to try and blackmail me.”
Sila stalked away, Jant put out his hand to help Dor, but Dor knocked it away. He got to his feet and walked out of the room so fast it looked much as though he was running. Jant and Mal rushed after him as soon as they got over their surprise.
Alin Bredan was standing nervously by where the three traders sat. He had mumbled words of greeting and they stared at him, wondering what he wanted. When Sila arrived, the Denger brothers looked at her as if for the first time. Both suddenly leapt to their feet as if a snake had bitten their backsides.
“We did not recognize you before, my Lady,” Tred said as if he was a little boy talking to his teacher.
“We never moved in the same circles,” Sila replied, smiling kindly at him. “You are Tred Denger and this is your brother Wilf, is it not?”