A Jewel Bright Sea

by Claire O'Dell

  “We’re in a sanctuary of sorts,” Thea said. “The stories say the old priests built their temples from stones imbued with spells of silence, so that anyone might pray to the gods without fear of being overheard. The old kings and queens of Eddalyon were no less given to spying than our own Imperial masters,” she added dryly.

  “The rot and poison of power,” Koszenmarc murmured. He shook his head, as though dispelling unwanted memories. “Elise, you and Thea shall have as many hours as you need. The important thing is to know when Aldo Sarrész visited that tavern, and where he went afterwards. I’ll stand watch here, and there will be others keeping watch on our perimeter.”

  More precautions, more layers of if this, then that.

  They took their places on the floor, legs crossed and facing each other, just as they had every morning on Asulos, or aboard the Konstanze. Thea leaned forward and clasped Anna’s hands in hers. Her palms were warm, her skin papery thin.

  “You shall be the leader,” she said. “I’m here to watch over you, to witness whatever you discover.”

  Trust me, said that solemn expression.

  I believe I can.

  Anna drew a deep slow breath and closed her eyes.

  Ei rûf ane gôtter...

  The magic current curled into life around her. Anna felt a flutter of anticipation beneath her ribs as the sharp scent of magic filled her senses, so strong she could taste it. After so many weeks of practice, she knew the pattern she sought, just as Maté knew the shape and scent of a trail he followed.

  Wenden, wenden zuo Idonia…

  Gradually, the temple room receded. Her mind emptied of all thoughts. Her pulse beat slow and steady in counterpoint with Thea’s.

  Thea. Thea was her anchor. Thea was her guardian. But then even Thea’s presence ebbed and faded, until Anna drifted alone through the magic current, with only the faintest thread connecting her to the ordinary world. A snip, and her soul would fly free into Anderswar.

  She drew back from that temptation with an effort that nearly undid her balance. Gently, gently, said a familiar voice. Her father’s. Her first tutor. But also a woman’s voice. A featherweight is all you require.

  Just so. With the lightest touch she could manage, Anna called up her memories of Kasteli’s streets, the path she had walked a few moments or hours before. Her soul lifted from her body and drifted out the temple doors, into the plaza outside, then through the salt-laden air and along that remembered path, until she came to that stone building with the sign reading Agathé.

  Here. Here was her anchor. And now.

  For a moment, she did nothing except exist in the balance of now. It took another effort to detach herself from today, to unwind the hours and unreel the past. She saw…a stream of people in the streets. Children running backwards. A string of carts that flickered in and out of view. She saw herself, a small, dark figure clothed in drab clothes, with Koszenmarc at her side and Thea a few steps behind.

  The sun arced from early morning to night, then through the days before. As the moments flickered past, she caught a glimpse of magic, a letter sealed, a candle lit, an elderly man reciting prayers to Lir and Toc, so that the current swirled around him. But none of these carried Aldo Sarrész’s signature. None was that magical presence that had snatched him from Vyros’s sands and death by Druss’s people.

  She was so focused upon the inn and Aldo Sarrész she forgot to keep track of the passing hours. The moon of the past had waxed and waned before she suddenly remembered. With the greatest effort, she slowed the time unwinding, slowed and stopped it, so that she hovered there, months before the man had ever landed in these islands.

  Nothing, nothing. He is not here. He never was.

  From a distance, she felt a tug from her body. How many hours had passed in the present, while Thea and Koszenmarc watched over her? She ought to return before her soul forgot the way back to her body and she wandered through the past forever.

  No. He came to this island, if not to this tavern. I know it.

  Perhaps the harbor itself held the clue. Perhaps he had landed there and traveled a different direction.

  Anna’s soul spun toward the harbor, even as she heard Thea calling her name. But she was already flying along the streets and down the many steps, while time reversed once again. Ahead lay the ocean glittering under the sun, the ships like scattered pearls that winked into and out of sight as she came closer to the now of her life. A month ago, a week ago. Still no sign of Sarrész as she ran toward the present.

  And then…

  Below her the stream of people checked and parted. A company of soldiers, a hundred at least, both mounted and on foot, pressed through the crowds. With a shock, Anna recognized their leader.

  Maszny.

  A part of her registered that she no longer saw the past, that Maszny and his soldiers were marching and riding the same streets she and Thea and Koszenmarc had traveled this morning. She felt another, stronger tug from her body that plucked her from the panic that had frozen her. She fled as fast as her spirit could fly. Onward past the tavern, up the flights of stairs that climbed Idonia’s nearest mountain. A mile or so, and she overtook a mass of men and women, a rough and dangerous crowd with knives and clubs and swords. They too were hurrying toward the temple...

  Anna blinked and gulped for air. A pair of strong arms held her steady; two hands cupped her cheeks. Her chest ached and she could not see more than indistinct shadows. Then a woman’s face moved into view. Thea, making a swift examination by touch and magic. And it was Koszenmarc who held her in his arms.

  “You forgot to breathe,” Thea said dryly. “No wonder you tumbled out of the current like that.”

  Anna had to swallow hard before she could speak. “Soldiers!” she gasped.

  Koszenmarc’s hold tightened, and she flinched at sudden, unwanted memories. He immediately loosened his grip. “What did you say?”

  “Maszny, by the harbor. Maszny and soldiers.” She swallowed again. Koszenmarc held a leather flask to her lips. Cool, sweet water. Anna drank and drank until the flask ran dry and she could finally speak coherently. “I saw nothing of Sarrész by that tavern,” she said. “I thought to check the harbor district. But he wasn’t there, either. Not now, not at any time. That’s when I saw a company of soldiers with Maszny at their head.”

  Koszenmarc went so still Anna thought he had stopped breathing. “How interesting,” he said softly. “How far away were they?”

  “And how far into the past were you?” Thea said.

  “Close to the harbor,” Anna said, “and not more than an hour or two. But that’s not all. I saw…men and women, all of them armed, hurrying toward the temple. A mile, maybe less, from here. It could be a coincidence, but—”

  “But it’s not. We should collect our watchers and be off.”

  He stood and drew his sword. Thea held out her hand to Anna.

  Anna needed a moment and a whisper of magic before she could scramble to her feet. She nodded briskly to Koszenmarc. He smiled and nodded in return. Captain to crew, ally to ally.

  The idea of Koszenmarc as an ally stopped her for a moment. Then Thea was urging them out of their temporary sanctuary and through a series of corridors. They exited through a door at the rear of the temple, which opened onto a narrow alleyway. The alley was deserted, except for a few dogs lying in the sun and Joszua standing guard.

  “Captain,” he said. “Have we found our man, then?”

  Koszenmarc scanned the lane and his eyes narrowed. “Alas, no. We’ve a different set of problems. Maszny is heading in our direction with a company of soldiers. And there’s another set of someones hunting us as well. Where did you put the rest of the perimeter watch?”

  Joszua went grey. “It was so quiet, I sent them back to the ship. I’m sorry—”

  Koszenmarc flicked his hand impatiently. “We don’
t have time for excuses. Let’s get back to the Konstanze.”

  He led them away from the temple and Kasteli’s broad avenues into a maze of winding lanes. Several times, he halted at an intersection, only to double back and turn into a covered passageway that Anna had missed before. She had lost all sense of direction, and so had Thea. Joszua knew the city well, according to Koszenmarc, but even he seemed puzzled by their route.

  After what seemed like hours, they reached the city walls and a clear view of the harbor. Koszenmarc sheathed his sword and signaled for Joszua to do the same. Anna leaned against the nearest wall. It was quiet here, quiet and shaded, the air dense with scents from the jungle above them.

  “Ah, interesting,” Thea said. “The Konstanze is not where we left her.”

  Anna immediately came alert. Joszua did as well. Only Koszenmarc seemed unperturbed.

  “That is according to orders,” he said. “Now for the second part of our plan.”

  Oh, really? Anna thought. And how many other lovely plans have you kept secret for today?

  But she kept her curses and objections quiet as Koszenmarc set off at a slower pace. She recognized the ploy. They were just a group of friends strolling along and chatting about inconsequentials. At least, Koszenmarc and Thea chatted. Anna could not stop thinking about Maszny and his soldiers. Joszua was silent as well. No doubt he was dreading a lecture from Koszenmarc.

  At last they came to the shore, at the far end of the wharves. A wide launch was tied to the last post between the docks. An old man and woman were drinking from bottles and playing cards on an overturned bait tub. Ropes, rags, more tubs overflowing with bait, and an open box of gear were scattered about.

  Koszenmarc dropped into the boat. “Máur. Katerina. Who’s winning?”

  Máur spat a viscous wad into the water. “She is, dammit.”

  “I always do,” Katerina said. Then to Koszenmarc, “We got trouble, Captain?”

  “What do you think?” he said. “Thea, Elise, get under cover. Joszua, make yourself look disreputable.”

  One by one, Anna, Thea, and Koszenmarc dropped into the boat and hunkered down in the bottom. Máur and Joszua spread a tarpaulin over them and tucked in the edges. Katerina untied the rope to cast off. Together, the three of them maneuvered the launch away from the docks.

  Anna closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe steadily. Her nose was pressed against what had to be one of the bait buckets, and she was acutely aware that a very thin plank was all that separated her from the water streaming past the launch. Once or twice, another sailor hailed them. Each time, Anna held her breath and tucked her magic tight inside lest Maszny had watchers and spies who could detect her. But no one shouted a warning, no one called for them to halt.

  She could tell the moment they left the harbor behind. The swells grew stronger, the launch climbed higher, then plunged into the next trough. Now all three crew were pulling strongly with their oars. Anna bit her lip against the rising tide of nausea and counted the passing moments.

  At long last, a whistle echoed over the water from far away. Three rising notes, repeated a second time.

  “All clear,” Katerina said softly.

  Joszua and Máur threw off the tarpaulin. Anna sat up, blinking. They had sailed clear around the island, to a lonely rocky point. Twilight had fallen and a cool breeze washed over them. Overhead, the first stars were winking in the violet sky. Not far away, a small cutter was drawing close. The Daemon, which Anna thought they had left behind at Koszenmarc’s stronghold.

  The launch pulled up beside the cutter. Rope ladders came down, and Koszenmarc swarmed up, followed by Thea. Joszua offered his hand to Anna, who gratefully accepted. When she landed on deck—unsteadily—she found Koszenmarc deep in conversation with Eleni Farakos.

  “Hahn is waiting for us farther out,” Eleni was saying.

  “Any trouble?”

  “No more than we expected.”

  Koszenmarc smiled, but it was a tense, unhappy smile. “Good enough. Let us head out to sea, then we’ll have a conference. I have news to report, and so does Elise.”

  * * * *

  Once they had rejoined the Konstanze and set course for home, Koszenmarc passed the word for Anna and his senior officers to meet in his cabin. This time, there were no flasks of coffee or ale, no jokes. Old Hahn wore a grim expression. Joszua glanced around anxiously at everyone but his captain. Eleni, who had come over from the Daemon, wore a contained expression that could be anger, worry, or something in between.

  “So,” Koszenmarc said. “That was far more exciting than I wished.”

  Only Eleni didn’t appear astonished. “You expected trouble.”

  Koszenmarc gave a shrug. “Of course I did. However, the kind and quality did surprise me.” He glanced over to Anna. “Tell them what you discovered about Aldo Sarrész.”

  Oh, yes. That. Anna took a deep breath. “Nothing at all.”

  “Nothing?” Joszua said. “But—”

  “I searched the past around that tavern,” she said. “Every moment, every day, for the past month at least. I even searched the harbor district, in case we had the wrong tavern, or the wrong days. I found no trace of Sarrész’s presence, or his magical signature, or any trace of that other agency.”

  “Are you certain?” Hahn said. “How can you know you didn’t miss a moment or three? What if his magic faded?”

  But Thea was shaking her head. “His, maybe. That other one? No. From what I saw myself on Vyros, that other signature was much, much stronger. It would never fade in seven short days.”

  “Unless Sarrész is alone now,” Eleni said. “Or he’s worked no magic since. Is that possible?”

  “It is,” Anna said slowly. “But the magic itself means nothing. I am convinced our Lord Sarrész never set foot upon Idonia. He certainly never visited that tavern.”

  Everyone sat in uncomfortable silence at her words. The implications were obvious. Sarrész might have survived his brief journey through the void. He might have landed safely somewhere in Eddalyon. But where?

  “We shall discuss what to do about Sarrész later,” Koszenmarc said. “Tell us what else you discovered, Elise. What you saw at the very last.”

  By the harbor, he meant. “I saw Maszny,” she said. “He had landed at Kasteli with a company of soldiers.” Now she recalled more details that had escaped her at the time. “They had at least one mage, besides Maszny himself, and they took the same route we did, as though they knew exactly where to find us.”

  That caused an uneasy stir through the officers. Koszenmarc, however, simply nodded. “What about the others you saw?”

  That offhand mention caused a second, stronger stir among the officers. Anna had to take a moment to recall exactly what she had witnessed in those last scrambled moments before her soul dropped back into her body.

  “I saw at least two dozen men and women,” she said. “All of them carrying weapons. They looked…rough and dangerous.”

  Eleni gave a soft exclamation, but Koszenmarc waved her to silence. “Go on. Give us all the details you can remember.”

  Anna closed her eyes and concentrated on that brief glimpse. The slap of their bare feet as they jogged through the lane. The glitter of sunlight on metal. The chain wrapped around one man’s thick waist. The vivid pattern of red ink on one woman’s arm. She recited as much as she could remember.

  “What was the pattern?” Koszenmarc said.

  Again she had to think. “A thick band, at least a finger’s width, drawn in dark red ink. Not solid. Speckled or spotted, I can’t be sure. But I do remember she wore a sleeveless shirt, and the band showed midway between her wrist and elbow, like a rope or—”

  “A serpent,” Eleni said. “So Isana Druss was there. Hunting you, just as you said.”

  “But how did she know where to find us?” Thea said. “And
when to find us?”

  “And how did Maszny know?” Hahn said.

  “Perhaps he was hunting Druss, not us,” Joszua said.

  Koszenmarc shook his head. “That might explain why he brought so many soldiers, but it doesn’t explain Druss at all. I think…” He blew out a breath, leaving the sentence unfinished. “We shall have to make new plans. And take better precautions.”

  He pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. None of his officers spoke. Anna had the impression they were braced for possible squalls. It was only by Koszenmarc’s foresight, after all, that ship and crew and captain had not been taken by either Druss or Maszny. And that was the most baffling piece of the puzzle. Druss might have sighted them from afar and recognized the ships, but how had Maszny known about their expedition? Either coincidence could be just that, but together…

  At last Koszenmarc opened his eyes with a sigh. “Do you have more to report?” he asked Anna. His voice was soft and colorless. Angry, then, but no explosions.

  She shook her head. He acknowledged that with a nod, then laid both hands on the table. “That will be all, then. I want everyone, including you, Hahn, to take a watch below. Iris can take the evening watch, and Felix the next. I’m to be called if they sight any sails. Elise, stay a moment. I want to ask you a few questions.”

  Anna had stood with the rest, but she sank back onto the bench. Koszenmarc’s officers filed out of the cabin with no more than a casual salute to their captain, though Joszua exchanged a worried glance with her.

  Once they were alone, Koszenmarc smiled ruefully. “You look anxious. No, I think we’ve learned to trust one another. And I am grateful to you. Druss or Maszny would have taken us by surprise, except for your warning. Then there is the matter of what you discovered with your magic.”

  “Except I found nothing,” she said carefully.

  “Not exactly. You determined that nothing was to be found. That alone is an interesting point. Are you hungry?”

  She started at the unexpected question. “I—What?”

  That provoked a smile, however fleeting. “I am—hungry, that is—and I thought you might be as well, after all that magic. I also have a few questions to ask, away from the others. Let me send for dinner so we can discuss things more comfortably.”