by Adam D Jones
“Doesn’t that girl ever sleep,” asked Isabel, the dark-haired first mate.
“Once in a while.” Marshal knelt next to the hole. “Doin’ alright, Dawn?”
Her voice echoed from the sandship. “We’re on schedule. Well...if you’re up, then we might be a little behind.”
S’cuse me for livin’.
Isabel crossed her arms. “How can we get going if we can’t even start any of our ships!”
“You can start the other two!” shouted Dawn. “I told you that!”
“You most certainly did not!”
“I said the hydraulics were done, the pipes were cinched, and the fuel was siphoned back in. What else do you think a sandship needs to run?” Dawn scooted backward out of the hole and raised her goggles up to her forehead. “Do you want me to smash a bottle of wine on the bow to make it all official?”
Isabel threw up her hands and stomped off toward another ship, shouting orders to scrambling Corsairs.
“I’m done in here, Marshal.” She crawled out of the ship. “Just got to check a few things on deck.”
◆◆◆
Dawn stood and dusted herself off. At Captain Balen’s command, a handful of Corsairs began replacing the metal panel she had removed.
Good. One less thing for me to do.
She climbed up on deck and saw Raine standing at the prow.
“Need a job?” she shouted.
“Sure.” He walked over and waited.
“We should check each valve. Shut it all the way, then open it quick. It should move easily. If not, we’ve got to take it apart. They’ve let those doors get filthy, but I think I fixed them.”
She headed to the aft side and tested each valve there. Not perfect, but not dirty enough to cause problems. Savages.
She turned around to Raine, and he stuck up his thumb to say the others were clean.
Dawn leaned over the railing and shouted to Balen. “We’re good here!”
From below, Captain Balen muttered the sort of words sailors were known for. “Much obliged,” he added, looking up.
“I heard the first thing you said, too,” said Dawn.
“Aye.” He smiled. “Hard to have one without the other.”
The Corsairs loaded up, taking their places on the ships. The Lodi followed, each carrying small bags and bundles over their shoulders. They all moved for the same ship.
“You’ll need to split up,” Dawn shouted through cupped hands. “We’ll go slower if we don’t distribute the weight.”
Dawn remembered that Marshal’s plan required tricky timing. Some of them were entering Gamon by riverboat, while Dawn was going to help Captain Balen make a distraction outside of the city.
The Lodi looked to Hild. She paused, then gave a nod that sent some of them scurrying to the other two ships. Trust, Dawn had noticed, didn’t come easily to the Lodi, especially the Lodi in The Dunes. They regarded the Corsairs with suspicion as they boarded.
“Let’s move out!” Captain Balen shouted, and the Corsairs scrambled to finish their work.
Dawn waited at the controls, joined soon by Captain Balen. Isabel had boarded a different ship.
“Doesn’t the first mate ride with you?” Dawn asked.
“Not anymore. With so few ships, I’ve got to have someone I trust running as many as I can. Speaking of...you’re in my seat.”
Dawn knew that a normal person would employ diplomacy. It was a tactic she fully intended to research one day.
“We’ll all get there faster if I fly,” said Dawn. “You chart the course?”
“I did,” came Amelia’s voice.
Dawn hadn’t noticed her on board until now. “And you know exactly where it is? In the desert?”
“Memorizing those locations was part of my job with the Growlers. There’s one nearly due west.”
“You think it’ll be guarded?” asked Balen.
Marshal stepped on board and responded. “Amelia says no one guards ‘em. I can’t see how they could spare the men, anyway. It’s just some fuel buried in the desert.”
Captain Balen shook his head. “I hope you’re right.”
Dawn turned on the engines and felt the deck floor vibrate. Just barely.
“Is it on?” asked Balen.
Dawn smiled. Due to her repairs, the ship ran so much smoother he couldn’t even tell the engines were running. “It’s on, Captain. Now, hold on to something.”
◆◆◆
Raine had kept his hair short as a Keeper-in-training. That was custom. But since being captured he hadn’t bothered to cut any of it. He knew it might make him feel like the right sort of person if he looked the part, but he also knew he would never feel like a Lodi again. Just a man on his own.
He loved the front of the sandship deck, even though its proper name escaped him. When the ship started up, he gripped the rail in excitement and tried to not look like a child as he leaned into the building wind that pushed his hair in every direction. He looked back and noticed Dawn. Her serious face vanished for a moment as she, too, ran a hand through her wild hair.
He still wore the Keeper robes, despite the way the Lodi looked at him. By the time they boarded the riverboat Marshal’s plan would require him to change, to look like one of the Chastened Lodi, but Raine wanted to keep his robes on as long as he could, to let the others know he wasn’t going to stop following his promises. Even if he never managed to take the oaths of a Keeper, he fully intended to live by them.
“Raine!” shouted Dawn. “Raine, I need you.”
He ran back to the controls where Dawn stared at the outputs in front of her.
“Captain Balen, please take control for a minute,” she said.
“Oh, what an honor.” He sat down, using his one good hand to steady the controls. “I’ll try not to mess anything up.”
“Engines are too hot,” Dawn said to Raine. “I couldn’t tell exactly how hot they would run and I let them get too warm. I can keep it from happening again, but we need to cool them down.”
“How do we do that?” Raine remembered opening the vents before to keep things cool, but he sensed it would not that simple.
“We’re in luck.” Dawn smiled. “This ship actually has a store of freezing salts.”
“Freezing salts?”
A young Corsair arrived from below hefting a burlap sack. He handed it to Dawn and she reached inside.
“It’s not hard to do, just don’t burn yourself.” She pulled her hand out and poured a fistful of small blue crystals into his palm. “Just lean overboard and throw them into the engine cube. That should be the right amount.” She looked up. “I need three more volunteers. We have to do this at the same time.”
Three others lined up, including Amelia. They spread to each corner of the ship. When Dawn gave the command, they each dropped the salts into the chute beyond the vents.
Dawn batted Captain Balen away from the seat and took the wheel. “Easy.” She tapped against a thermometer. “See? Already cool.”
A Corsair picked up the bag, but Dawn grabbed it. “Raine,” she said. “You might want to hold on to some of this.”
Raine took the bag. Freezing salts.
Dawn smiled. “I’m only theorizing, but if you were holding a Dae stone...those might make a blizzard.” She shrugged. “Then again, they might not do anything.”
◆◆◆
When she could see the fuel cache through the spyglass, Amelia told Dawn to slow down. “It’s straight ahead, under those rocks.”
“What rocks?” asked Dawn as she slowed the ship.
“You’ll see them.”
In a few minutes, a pile of stones became visible. Amelia knew many barrels of fuel lie underneath.
She stood behind Dawn; hands clasped behind her back like husks were expected to do. Amelia considered keeping her arms at her side, leaning against the rail, or even slouching or letting her hands swing. The possibilities were endless. Parade rest was all she knew, so Amelia continued standing
like a Republic soldier while marveling at how easily the others could adjust their posture without thinking.
The ships slowed and Captain Balen ordered them to land around the stones, with their fuel ports pointed inward. Amelia climbed down, not waiting for the ladder, and began moving the stones.
By time the Corsairs arrived at her side, Amelia had cleared the ground and was already digging with her hands.
“Does anyone have shovels?” someone asked.
“It’s not very deep,” said Amelia. “Please keep one of the ships running.”
They reached the top of the first drum quickly and found the ropes that had been wrapped around the top and bottom. Amelia showed them how to tie the ropes to the railing on the sandship so it could pull the barrel from the ground.
After each drum was lifted, Amelia led the others in hoisting them up and pouring the green liquid into the fuel tanks.
“Let them do it, Amelia,” said Marshal when she had finished the second barrel. “They need to learn.”
“Yes, sir.” Amelia stood by and watched the others. She had lifted each barrel alone, but the Corsairs picked them up in pairs.
Marshal stood near, speaking in a whisper. “You don’t...you have to say ‘sir.’ I’m not your commanding officer. Just, well, just something like a friend. I hope.”
Amelia studied his face and nodded. He was smiling, but Amelia remembered that not every smile was a comfortable one.
“I will remember that.”
Amelia knew she could call Marshal anything she wanted, but she didn’t know how to choose. She hadn’t been uncomfortable like this in her entire life, not the part she remembered, anyway, not until Dawn’s surgery.
To answer your question, Raine, I do feel pain, I just know how to ignore it. But these decisions you people make each day...those frighten me.
“You remember what you’re supposed to do?” asked Marshal.
“Follow Isabel. We’ll signal Dawn when we’re all ready.”
“That’s right. Isabel’s clever, and she says no one in Gamon ought to recognize her as a Corsair, so just follow her lead.” Marshal clapped her on the shoulder. “I’m, uh, sure you two will get on fine.”
She turned westward, knowing the city of Gamon lie in the distance. Somewhere, someone in that city knew who had put the control rod in her skull, who had taken away her memories and made her a machine. Someone knew.
“This is where we leave,” said Hild.
The announcement got everyone’s attention. The Corsair’s put down their barrels. Amelia noticed for the first time that the Lodi had all gathered onto one of the ships and were rushing to pull up the stairs so no one else could get on board.
“Hild!” Marshal screamed. “We agreed to talk about it once we got here.”
Amelia had noticed the Lodi paying great attention to the sandship operation. Now they were scattered around the deck, two sitting behind the controls, as the ship rose from the desert floor.
“We’re leaving,” Hild yelled over the engines. “Someone has to warn the other settlements they’re in danger.”
Next to her, Isabel shouted something Amelia didn’t understand and stomped her foot.
Hild stared back but said no more. The ship turned away, gliding over the sand, slowly but surely going its own way.
Every Lodi, all but Raine, crowded the deck of that ship. Amelia looked at Marshal and Balen, who only shook their heads. Their tactical plans were now missing one-third of their assets. Marshal and the others swore and shook their heads.
Amelia watched the Lodi leave on a sandship making poor time. Good luck.
32
Marshal looked through the riverboat’s window, trying to not let it remind him of the last time he rode on a ship with sails, cruising down the Divide with his family.
Stop it. Put your mind to the job.
At his feet, Raine slept on the floor.
He looked the part of a Chastened Lodi. Dirty clothes, long hair, grime under his fingernails. And sleeping on the floor of the boat every night had sealed the deal. Marshal had never employed a servant; he barely knew how to give Raine orders or use the condescending language that others used when talking to the Chastened. Marshal could tell Raine had no trouble dealing with their arrangement, but watching the boy eat scraps and sleep under the bench made Marshal’s stomach churn. Should be the other way around.
Marshal looked out one of the tiny windows and searched for a piece of sky. The hardest part of soldiery was learning how to wait; they’d left The Dunes with a fire in their belly, but that fire had burned itself out days ago, replaced by the doldrums of practicality.
Since it would be impossible to sneak into the city on the Corsairs’ sandships, Marshal, Raine, Amelia, and Isabel had decided to travel by riverboat. Captain Balen dropped them off a day’s walk from a dock city, many wheels from Gamon. Dawn and Balen believed they could get their sandships to Gamon’s front gate just as the riverboats arrived, ready to create a diversion for Marshal’s heist. It was a solid plan, but a week of sitting on the same bench had sapped Marshal of his excitement.
When Raine stirred Marshal gave him a small kick. “Get up. I’m going up and you’re coming with me.”
“Shouldn’t I watch our things?” mumbled Raine.
I should have let him sleep longer.
“You mean my things?”
Raine’s eyes opened wide in a moment of realization. “I’m right behind you, sir.”
Sir. That word, whether it came from Amelia or Raine, made Marshal squirm.
Marshal left his seat and headed for the stairs that led topside, letting Raine struggle to keep up while fighting a yawn. Once outside, they found an empty corner on the top deck and gazed downstream, ahead of them.
The city had come into in view.
“I hate being on boats,” said Marshal. “Like being wrapped a in cigar.”
“Believe it or not, there’s more room on the floor.” Raine stretched his back. “Everyone’s just too proud to sleep there.”
Marshal smiled. The boy continued to surprise him.
“We’re on schedule,” Marshal whispered. He took out his watch. “So long as Amelia and Isabel made it, too. They ought to be right behind us on the next boat around the bend.”
It had made sense to travel on separate ships. That way if anyone was caught the other pair could get still get into Gamon. But since boarding Marshal had been uncomfortable spending a few days away from the others, not knowing for sure if they would all reach Gamon at the same time.
“We didn’t have any trouble.” Raine cast his eyes down, keeping up the act. “But it would be nice to be able to see if Isabell and Amelia are where they’re supposed to be.”
“Yeah.” Marshal looked behind them, where another riverboat sailed in the distance. “Seeing all of us together might be a giveaway. The Republic hires folks who just ride these ships and look for troublemakers.”
Raine grinned at that.
A bell rang, and the crew shouted for everyone to return to their seats in the hold.
They waited below with the other passengers while the boat passed under a few bridges and then into a tunnel that blocked out all light. Light streamed through the windows again just before the boat slowed, dropped anchor, and settled roughly against a dock.
The passengers stood and gathered their things. Marshal kept his eyes on the door instead of watching to make sure Raine had collected all of his things. No one looked at Lodi servants. No one made sure they were keeping up or weren’t getting separated. It was the servant’s job to be where they were supposed to be.
Marshal walked like he knew where he was going, out of the ship, across the boardwalk, and right into town where he turned east and strolled toward the biggest buildings.
A tongue clicked behind him. Twice.
Left.
Marshal turned left at the next corner and continued, hands buried deep in his pockets. He even managed to whistle as they strolled
past rows of stores.
Raine lightly clicked his tongue.
One click. Right.
Raine’s incredible memory kept them on track.
Raine guided him around a few more blocks. Their path wasn’t direct, but Marshal noticed they kept walking through upscale parts of Gamon where servants were common.
Raine clicked his tongue three times and Marshal stopped. Next to them stood an eatery with a drawing of fish on the door and a few empty tables sitting outside.
Marshal cocked an eyebrow at Raine: Here?
Raine nodded.
Marshal shrugged and took a seat. Raine cleared his throat and Marshal looked up, realizing he’d done something wrong.
Raine stared at the seat across from him.
Right. Marshal got up and moved to the other seat. From here he could see the tenement buildings where Amelia and Isabel were going to raise a signal.
Raine sat across from him and they waited on menus. Marshal thrust a hand into his pocket and his fingers grasped the small mirror there. Everything was ready.
That was too easy. He tried not to think about the old wisdom, that fortune was like a balancing beam, and if one soldier was lucky then another soldier was about to be very unlucky. You know it doesn’t work that way. You’re just worrying because you’ve got nothing else to do.
Marshal knew it was true, but he worried anyway.
◆◆◆
The boat had barely touched the dock when Isabel clenched Amelia’s hand and jumped from her seat.
“Why are you holding my hand?”
Isabel hissed. “Quiet. And try to keep up.” She began pushing through the crowd, dragging Amelia along.
“I think we’ll all get off the boat at about the same time.” Amelia watched Isabel tap a man on the shoulder and then squeeze by as he turned around. “Is this necessary?”
“Stop saying things,” Isabel whispered.
The docking ship leaned left and right, pushing passengers around as it tried to right itself alongside the pier. Isabel weaved through the leaning men and women, using each heave of the boat to her advantage. Amelia followed calmly.
