Pirate of the Prophecy

by Jack Campbell

  Were the Mages watching? Could they see her? Could they tell where she was? How far off could one of them tell? The one who’d spoken the prophecy had been looking into Jules’ eyes, but did other Mages have to be that close once the prophecy had been made? No one who wasn’t a Mage knew anything about Mage spells except that they were terrible and strange. Supposedly a Mage could make someone’s heart disappear from their chest, or an arm or leg suddenly vanish. That’s if they didn’t appear out of nowhere before anyone knew they were in danger, slashing with those long knives the Mages favored.

  Gord and Marta set down the plank. “You need her carried aboard?” Gord asked, sounding a little out of breath.

  “Nah, thanks, I can get her down below deck,” Liv answered. “Thanks, shipmates. Have your next drink on me.”

  Jules heard Gord and Marta walking away, but waited until Liv picked up her coat and urged Jules up. She got up fast, scrambling up the gangway, onto the deck, and down below without looking around. If the Mages were watching and she faced them, would that give her away? If they saw her face at a distance?

  Shaking with relief, Jules sat down at the long mess table, trying to get her breathing and her fear under control.

  Liv came down the ladder slowly, walking over to sit next to Jules. “I told the watch at the gangway to keep an eye out for any Mages heading this way. There’s no sign those two followed us, though.”

  “Thank you,” Jules muttered.

  They sat close together, Jules staring ahead, aware of Liv sitting by her, feeling the questions the older woman was holding inside. What could she say to Liv? How could she say it?

  Liv spoke up in a low voice. “Most times, you’re a brave girl. Foolhardy, even. But there’re things that spook you bad, Jeri.”

  Jules nodded, not answering with words.

  “There’s been talk, Jeri. Since you came aboard. Because of when and where you came aboard, and because of the things you’ve done. Because of that bit where the Imperials didn’t shoot their crossbows at you, and you having that Imperial officer’s uniform that fit you so well everyone knew it was yours. And the Emperor wanting you, like that legionary officer shouted from the pier in Saraston. That’s not…normal. Captain Mak tells anyone who speaks of it that you couldn’t be that woman who was in Jacksport, that you were aboard this ship before the Mage saw that girl and spoke the prophecy. But there’s been talk.”

  Jules moved her hand, grasping Liv’s hand tightly. “I am her,” she said in a whisper. “The Mage in Jacksport spoke to me.”

  She heard the quick intake of Liv’s breath, and then a long pause before Liv finally breathed again. “It’s true, then,” Liv said. “Not a rumor.”

  “It’s true,” Jules said. “A Mage prophecy. A daughter of my line will someday overthrow the Great Guilds.”

  “Stars above, girl. No wonder you’re so worried about meeting any more Mages. Who else knows?”

  “Captain Mak. You. A couple of my fellow trainees from the Imperial ship.”

  “What? Imperial soldiers? And they know it’s you?”

  “Yes.” Jules finally looked at Liv, seeing her concern. “Ian and Dara. I should’ve killed them, I guess, like I said. To keep the secret. But I couldn’t. So, the Emperor knows. The legionaries wanted to get me at Saraston. I saw a poster with my likeness on it.”

  “So that’s the way of it. The Emperor’d love to get his hands on the girl who’s going to have that daughter, wouldn’t he?” Liv murmured. “Why’d you go ashore at Saraston, knowing that?”

  “I didn’t know they’d be expecting me! And the captain needed me. He wouldn’t have survived that trap. A trap set for me.”

  “I see. You did think it was something that you were responsible for.” Liv suddenly smiled, a fierce look. “A girl out of a legion orphan home. And it’s her line that will free us. I wonder what all the fine ladies of Marandur who look down their noses at those of us from the homes would say if they knew that?”

  “Liv, who I am has to stay secret. The Mages know I exist. If they know who I am, where I am…”

  “You’ll die,” Liv said. “They can tell if they look at you? Even from far away?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Of course you can’t. How could you? You can’t ask a Mage. Mechanics, too, right? They wouldn’t want you alive.”

  “I don’t know. I’d rather not risk it,” Jules said.

  “Your secret is safe, sister. But I ask if I can tell Ang. He’s our brother, and he’ll have your back when I might not be able to.”

  “Liv…”

  “Just Ang. No one else, Jeri. I promise.”

  “All right. You tell him. Make sure no one can overhear.” Jules looked at Liv again. “The Emperor is looking for me. And so are the Mages. My life’s not my own, Liv. Not anymore. It got taken from me. Now it’s about that daughter, whoever she’ll be. It’s about the future. I don’t count, except as the seed for something that will someday grow.”

  “Don’t say that,” Liv urged. “Your life is still yours. You still count. I’ve seen enough of you to know that.”

  Jules smiled a bit to humor Liv. “Thanks. Only tell Ang, Liv. No one else.”

  “You’ve my word on it.” Liv blinked away tears, surprising Jules. “It’s true,” she whispered. “Someday our people will be free. Thank you, Jeri.”

  “I’m not doing anything except trying to stay alive,” Jules said.

  “You’re doing something,” Liv said. “Someday, when it’s safe, everyone’ll know who you were. And they’ll believe the prophecy, because they’ll look back at you and say, yeah, her daughter could do that.”

  Jules surprised herself with a low laugh. “I have a lot of trouble believing that will happen.”

  “Then the rest of us will believe for you.”

  * * *

  Mak had been off the ship, returning that evening with a woman of indeterminate middle age in a sailor’s coat and decent boots. She had eyes that seemed to catch everything going on around her, and a dagger at her belt that was perfectly positioned for a rapid draw and a quick stab. Jules eyed her suspiciously, not pleased to see someone like her with Mak.

  “This is Captain Erin of the Storm Rider,” Mak said to those gathered in his cabin. He and Captain Erin sat at the small table, Ang, Liv, and Jules standing around them. “We were talking about working together for a little while, her ship and ours. I wanted to discuss ideas before we bring it to the crew for a vote.”

  Captain Erin nodded to Ang and Liv in greeting, her eyes lingering on Jules. “That girl seems a little young to be part of your strategy council,” she commented to Mak.

  “I’m twenty,” Jules said.

  “Ah. Old enough to have seen something. The question is, how much have you learned?”

  “Not near enough,” Jules said.

  Erin grinned. “Good answer.”

  “That girl got me and this ship out of Saraston despite part of a legion, an Imperial galley, and some Mages trying to make sure we never left,” Mak said.

  “So? What’s your name, young sailor?”

  “Jeri of Landfall,” Jules said.

  “Have we met?”

  “No.”

  Erin frowned. “You look familiar, though. Wait.” As Jules looked on, her heart sinking, Erin pulled a paper out of an inside pocket of her sea coat, unfolding it and looking at the picture drawn on it. “Ah.” Turning to Mak, Erin raised an eyebrow. “You’re carrying some hazardous cargo, Captain.”

  “I know, Captain,” Mak replied.

  Erin looked at Jules again. “Imperials were handing these out at Marida’s harbor. It says there’s a big reward for locating you, and a bigger punishment awaiting anyone who hides you. What it doesn’t say is why the Emperor wants you so badly, girl,” she said, rustling the paper. “But people have been saying there’s a big reason. What’s the truth of it?”

  Jules gazed back at her. “I walked into the wrong bar.”

 
“Sure you did.” Erin shook her head at Mak. “I was going to go along with you to prey on the shipping around Landfall. We could pick up some rich prizes together. But not if you’re carrying that. Half the Empire will come down on anyone they think has her. Put her off, and we’ll talk.”

  “That’s out of the question,” Mak said.

  “And why is that? Because it’s a death wish you have?”

  “She’s part of the crew.”

  “Part of the crew?” Captain Erin asked. “And does the rest of the crew know about that woman? About what the Mage said of her?”

  “I know of it,” Mak said.

  “That’s not answering the question.” Erin stood up. “I like working with you, Mak. But I won’t as long as she’s aboard your ship drawing Imperial galleys like blood draws sharks.”

  “It’s not like you to be so scared of the Empire,” Mak said, making it sound like both surprise and a taunt.

  “Of the Empire?” Erin leaned down, looking at Mak. “Some important news, given freely because of past association. We came from Marida’s harbor. Mages were there, Captain Mak. Stopping every young woman and looking at each one as if reading their deepest secrets before moving on. What do you suppose they’re after? Who do you suppose they’re after? I’ll face the Empire, Mak. But the Mages, too?”

  Ang spoke up. “Captain Erin, one of her line will free us all.”

  “Oh, to be sure,” Erin said. “Some day. A Mage prophesized that, the stories say. But when will that be? She doesn’t look to be expecting anytime soon.” Her eyes went to Jules again. “Is that daughter already on the way?”

  Jules felt her face grow hot with mingled anger and embarrassment. “No. And it’s a daughter of my line. There’s no telling how many generations it might be.”

  “So it’s no one that’s going to help us today. Or tomorrow, when the Mages and the Imperials come knocking. I pity you, girl, I do. But I won’t die for the promise that long after I’ve left this world some girl in your line will come along and do what no one can do.” Captain Erin walked toward the door. “Put her off, and we’ll talk, Mak. Keep her, and no one will work with you.”

  “She’s crew,” Mak repeated, his voice hard.

  “And what about the rest of your crew, Captain? Do they know what they’re carrying? Do they know what’s going to come looking for her and what’ll happen to them if they’re in the way?” Erin shook her head, her hand on the door. “I have a responsibility to my crew, Captain Mak. And you have a responsibility to all of your crew.”

  “Are you going to betray her?” Mak asked. “Tell the Imperials and the Mages where to find her for the reward?”

  Captain Erin paused, looking at Jules. “No. She’s got burden enough, and will probably die soon enough. I want no part of that.”

  “Thank you,” Jules said between clenched teeth.

  “I told you I pitied you and I meant it, girl. But if you care for any other person on this ship, you’ll leave it. I don’t know when you’ll carry that child, but I do know that today you carry death with you.”

  Erin left. Mak sat silent.

  Jules inhaled a shaky breath. “She’s right. I’ll go.”

  Mak looked up at her. “No, you won’t.”

  “It’s my choice,” Jules said. “I’m poison for the rest of the crew.”

  Ang and Liv started to object but Mak stopped them. “You’ll go? Here? And just wait until they come for you?”

  “I’ll go somewhere else,” Jules said. “Overland.”

  “Where?” Mak waved north. “Kelsi’s settlement is surrounded by mountains. There are some paths inland, but they’ve barely been explored. How much do you know about survival in the wilderness, Jeri?”

  “I heard there’s a pass in the mountains, leading west,” Jules said.

  “West to what? Has anyone followed it yet? Answer me, Jeri, can you survive in the wilderness?”

  “I can’t survive anywhere!” Jules clenched her fists, staring at them, ashamed of her outburst. “Mages can’t be killed by normal weapons. Everyone knows that. Sooner or later, they’ll find me. Do you want to die with me when that happens?”

  Mak shook his head. “What we want is to ensure that daughter of your line gets born. Maybe we’re willing to risk some danger for that. And for you.”

  “Captain-”

  “I won’t put you off. And I won’t let you leave this ship here.”

  “Because of her? That daughter of my line? I don’t even get to decide how I die because of her?”

  Mak’s mouth formed a tight, unhappy line. “You’ll ride with us, remain crew, until we reach a better place to disembark. Caer Lyn, maybe. I heard Dor of Emdin was planning to head along the south coast of the sea, looking for a good place to set up a town far from the Emperor’s reach. And far from where Mages are looking for you. We can find him. You can join him.”

  Jules stared at Mak. “So it’s not my choice.”

  “All of our hopes ride on you,” Ang said. “You’re important.”

  “I am? I’m important? No, I’m not. That’s not what you think. She’s important, isn’t she? That daughter of my line. That’s what you all really think.” Jules closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Liv?”

  “Yes?”

  “You told me my life was still my own. You lied.”

  Opening her eyes, Jules stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her. Though she stood for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dark, none of those inside tried to follow her.

  The deck was shrouded in darkness that the lanterns of the town beyond only served to emphasize. Aside from a single, small lantern near the gangway, nothing but the stars overhead illuminated the ship. Most of the crew were ashore, so the deck was deserted except for the gangway watch, who was apparently trying to avoid getting involved in whatever drama had occurred in the captain’s cabin.

  Jules walked as far forward on the ship as she could, feeling trapped, knowing that there was no escape from what her life had become. Seeing the cathead projecting outward, she crawled out along it to the very end, the anchor suspended below her. She sat on the end of the cathead, her legs dangling, looking down at the harbor water, seeing nothing in the black surface. Not even her own reflection. The sounds coming from the town mocked her, speaking of normal things she could no longer share.

  Why did you do this to me? she thought to that distant daughter of her line. What did I ever do to deserve this?

  I had a life.

  I was going to do so many things. Be so many things. I worked hard for that.

  And it’s all gone. Because of you. Because of you, I’m so important that I don’t matter any more. Because of you I carry death for anyone near me. Because of you I’ll never again know a moment of peace.

  What will happen to my children if I survive long enough to have any? Children who also won’t be you. Who also will be so important that who they are no longer matters. How will I be able to protect them when I can’t protect myself?

  Will they be children from someone I choose, or children forced upon me? Will I be able to love them if that happens?

  Why did this have to happen to me?

  Jules stared down at the water, trying to pick up any trace of her reflection, any sign of herself.

  Who will you be, daughter of my line?

  You took my life from me. But I’ll never get to see you. I’ll never get to hold you. I’ve never see your smile or touch your hand or watch your first steps or comfort you when you’re hurt or frightened. I don’t even know what you’ll look like. Who your parents will be. Will they be good to you? Who will be there when you need someone? Will you have to face the world alone as I did?

  Will there be any trace of me left in you?

  Why have you done this to me?

  Why can’t I hate you?

  She watched her tears fall, dropping to mingle with the salt water, vanishing into the harbor as if they’d never been.

  * * *r />
  In the morning, the Sun Queen sailed out of the harbor. Jules stood on the yardarm of the mainsail, watching the other ships as the Queen passed them. There was the Storm Rider. Captain Erin stood at the stern rail, her eyes on the Sun Queen.

  Jules stared at Erin, hating her, yet admiring her for speaking a hard truth to people who didn’t want to hear it.

  Jules straightened to attention, standing there on the yardarm, and saluted Erin.

  Captain Erin returned the salute, her expression impossible to read at this distance.

  I decided to salute you, Jules thought at Erin. I decided that. No one made me do it. She might be carrying death, but she’d do it with dignity. And she’d pretend that what she did still mattered. Because anything else would make whatever remained of her life impossible to endure.

  * * *

  Two days later, with the Sun Queen beating just east of south toward Caer Lyn, Jules sat in the maintop as the sun rose, finishing her watch as lookout. She hadn’t said much to Ang or Liv or the captain in the last couple of days, carrying around a cocoon of isolation that others in the crew could sense and didn’t try to pierce. Solitary duty as a lookout suited her mood perfectly.

  She squinted to the northeast, where a low-lying cloud skirted the horizon, lit by the rising sun. An odd cloud, it seemed to be growing longer and larger on one end. As the sun peeked over the eastern edge of the sea, Jules caught a momentary glimpse of a dark object below the larger end of the cloud before the brilliance kept her from seeing more.

  Oh, no.

  “Ship to the northeast!” Jules called down to the quarterdeck. “I think it’s a Mechanics Guild ship!”

  Within a few minutes her once-lonely perch was crowded with Ang, Captain Max, and Marta. “Marta,” Mak said. “You’ve seen one of those Mechanic ships underway. Is that what we’re dealing with?”

  “Yeah,” Marta said, squinting. “See that cloud? What’s it make you think of on land?”

  “One of those Mechanic trains,” Ang said. “What’s that thing on the front that pulls the train?”

  “A locomative. Something like that,” Marta said. “Someone told me once they thought that whatever makes the Mechanic ships go is the same thing that makes their trains go. I don’t see how that can be, but they do put out the same sort of smoke.”