He finally spoke, his voice sounding rusty with strain. “Why should I break my oath to the Emperor on your word?”
Her mood settled on anger. “Your oath to the Emperor? The Emperor whose minions were sending your mother and sister to labor and die growing crops on the estates of a princess? The Emperor who forced your father to take command at Western Port knowing the Mechanics would very likely crush that settlement in one way or another? How about asking why you should honor an oath to an Emperor who has betrayed you at every turn?”
Ian looked down at the deck, clearly fighting for control, his hands flexing in a way that made her place one hand on the hilt of her dagger.
But he didn’t attack her, breathing deeply like someone engaged in a mighty struggle. “How did he die?” Ian finally said.
“Your father?” Jules felt her anger dissolving into regret. “We had no idea he was in command at Western Port. I went to the commander’s home to try to capture him and force the garrison to surrender so as to limit loss of life.” She paused. “What? No scoffing?”
“I don’t doubt what you say so far,” Ian said in a low voice.
“When I discovered the commander was Colonel Dar’n, I resolved to capture him. We fought. He was at a disadvantage, because his orders meant he couldn’t kill me or seriously hurt me, so I was about to defeat him.” She paused, recalling the awful moment. “He knew what would happen to you if he surrendered, what the Emperor would do to your family, so he surprised me by seizing my dagger and killing himself.”
Silence, that felt full of not emptiness but of unsaid things. “Ian, that’s the truth. I never would’ve killed your father. No matter what you were told, I didn’t boast of it, or claim it.”
He stood, silent, his eyes still on the deck.
“Blazes, Ian, talk to me. I’ve never lied to you. I’m not lying now.”
Ian finally nodded, his gaze rising to look at her. “No, you never lied. You’ve destroyed my family, my life, my career, and my future, but you’ve told the truth every step of the way.”
Her anger returned in a flash. She came to her feet, glaring at him. “I chose none of that! I didn’t choose the prophecy, or how anyone else reacted to it. I’ve done what I had to do, because I didn’t want to die and I will not submit to being a slave to anyone. Blame me for that if you want, but I couldn’t have done otherwise.”
He nodded again, the emotion in his eyes unreadable in the light of the cabin. “No, you couldn’t have done otherwise.”
“Give me your word and you can go from here free and speak to your mother and sister and assure yourself that they’re fine.”
“No.” Ian kept his eyes on her, his voice level and strong. “I want to speak with them before I make such a decision.”
“Ian—”
“You owe me that.”
She glared at him. But he was right. Jules remembered how she’d felt when he tossed the keys to her in the brig of the Hawk’s Mantle. “Promise me, then, that you’ll do nothing but find them and speak to them, and then return to me with your decision.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “I promise I will only find my mother and sister and speak to them, and then come back to this ship to tell you what I’ve decided.”
“All right. What happened after I escaped the Hawk’s Mantle? I saw you tossed aside by the Mage troll, and saw Captain Kathrin also knocked down. How’d you end up out here again?”
“Shouldn’t I ask you that?” Ian said. “How’d you end up out here again?”
“It’s a long story. I was worried that you’d been killed.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “Once the authorities realized that you hadn’t died on the Hawk’s Mantle, they thought the Mages might have taken you. But since the Mages kept attacking people and searching everywhere, that obviously wasn’t so. There wasn’t enough left of the brig area on the ship to tell how you’d gotten out, and the legionaries who’d been guarding your cell were both killed by Mages, which left people guessing everything from you using some Mechanic device to you using Mage powers yourself.”
“Seriously?”
“You should have died a long time ago, Jules. That you’re still alive makes people wonder about what powers you might have.” Ian shrugged. “Since suspicion hadn’t fallen on me, and I was in good enough shape to be reassigned to another ship, I was. Captain Kathrin was injured but recuperating.” Ian looked at her. “When she finds out you’re still alive, she’ll be coming for you.”
“If she’s lucky, she won’t find me. I’m not inclined to let her live next time we meet.” Jules looked at his leg. “Has the healer seen your sword cut?”
“I don’t need—”
“Yes, you do. You’ve lost enough because of me. I won’t see you losing a leg as well.” Jules walked past him, leaving her dagger on the table, and opened the door. “Can you find Keli the healer?” she asked Artem and Mad. “This prisoner has need of him.”
As she went back to the table, she saw Ian watching her. “Who are they?” he asked, jogging his head toward the outside. “Those ones in leather armor. I’ve never heard of a force like that aboard pirate ships.”
“They’re…my guards,” Jules said.
“Your guards.” He shook his head at her, his eyes intent. “You’re forming an army.”
“An army?” Jules laughed. “I have eleven guards, who are just men and women who I happened to help rescue and who think they owe me. That’s not an army.”
“It’s the start of one.”
“What if it is?” She picked up her dagger, looking at the play of light on the blade. “If people out here are going to stay free, they’ll need an army to defend them from the Empire. Just like we defended Dor’s Castle today.”
Ian watched her as if trying to see into her mind. “I wondered if you were planning on attacking the Great Guilds, but instead you’re only deciding to go to war with the Empire.”
His sarcasm stung, though she tried not to let it show. “I’m not going to war with the Empire. No one is. We’re just defending ourselves against anyone who tries to control us.”
“Anyone? You mean like the Great Guilds?” Ian asked.
“Yes, like the Great Guilds!” Jules shouted. “Someday that daughter of my line will come, and on that day she’ll need an army! And she’ll have one, thanks to me! Maybe she’ll be the one to overthrow the Great Guilds, but she’ll do it with what I’ve handed down to her! Free, independent people who can fight for their freedom!”
Ian stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. “Stars above. You really believe it’s true that you’ll do those things.”
“Does that scare you?” Jules asked.
“No. What scares me is that when you said it, I realized that I believed it, too.”
Jules was still searching for a reply when Keli arrived. The healer fussed over the sword cut, daubing on a salve before bandaging it. Then he checked the bruise on Ian’s forehead, peering into Ian’s eyes. “If you start getting very bad headaches or find it very hard to stay awake, get to a healer fast. The healer probably won’t be able to save you, but there’ll be a chance.”
“Thank you,” Ian said. “Can I leave now?” he asked Jules.
“Yes, you can leave the ship.”
“If this one is going into town,” Keli said, “he should either get a new outfit or have an escort. Trouble could find him otherwise if he parades about in that Imperial uniform.”
“That’s right,” Jules said, annoyed that she’d missed such an obvious thing. She was so used to seeing Ian in uniform that it hadn’t occurred to her how dangerous that could be for someone walking around Dor’s. “Since he hasn’t made up his mind about his allegiance, an escort will have to do. Artem! I need two guards to walk with this officer through town to make sure no one gives him any trouble.”
“I’ll do it myself, then,” Artem said. “Me and Mad.”
Ian gave Jules a troubled look, nodded in silent farewell, an
d walked out of the cabin, the two guards following him.
“He’ll be all right?” Jules asked Keli before the healer left.
Keli shrugged. “After a blow like that to the head, the only answer is maybe. You’re worried about that one, aren’t you?”
“I worry about a lot of people.”
“Sure you do.”
Unwilling to wait in the stern cabin, which had begun to feel too much like a prison of another kind, Jules went out on deck. While many of the crew were ashore celebrating their victory, others had remained aboard to keep an eye on some of the prisoners. She was happy to see that Gord, who had a tendency to drink too much and then do something stupid while ashore, had volunteered to stay on the ship. Gord was a solid sailor who might be able to rise to command someday if he could stay sober.
They sat around the mainmast while Gord and the others brought her up to date on what had happened while she was off the Sun Queen. “We had a vote,” Gord said. “And that was to make sure we got copies of that chart out to as many places as we could. We figured while we were dropping off copies in different ports, we could also try to hear anything about you and where you might be.”
“That was a good plan,” Jules said. “I’m glad you got those copies out.”
“We ran out of ink and parchment more than once. So what all happened to you?”
“Oh,” Jules said with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Mages attacked the ship that had captured me so I was able to slip away, and then I hid for a while and ran for a while, and after a bit I managed to get on the Prosper and out of Landfall again.”
Cori, one of the other sailors on the Sun Queen, laughed. “We been talking to those pirates off the Evening Star, you know. They been telling some stories about you that make things sound a little more exciting than you let on.”
“Hey, are you calling your captain a liar?”
“Is it true that Artem fellow killed Captain Tora?” Gord asked.
“Yes. In a fair fight.”
“Good for him. I never liked what I heard of Tora. Maybe with him gone the Bright Morning can turn into a decent ship.”
“They seem like a good bunch,” Cori said. “With the Evening Star gone they need a ship, and they’re pirates, so they understand how a free ship works.”
Ang came by, nodding to everyone. “Are you telling lies to the Cap’n?”
“We’re just talking about the new guys from the Evening Star.”
“The Cap’n’s Guard?” Ang said, drawing a pained look from Jules and laughs from the others. “It’s all right, Cap’n. To be honest, I think we’re all glad that you have someone following you around to protect you when you try to get yourself killed.” He paused, a shadow crossing his face. “After we lost you, we felt a lot of guilt. I think every sailor aboard the Sun Queen blamed themselves for you being captured.”
“Truth,” Gord said.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Jules said, leaning her back against the mainmast. “Except those Mages on their giant birds who were trying to kill me. It was definitely their fault.”
“We saw you fall,” Ang said, “and wanted to turn, but the Mages and those monster birds kept at us. Liv said, they think she’s still aboard, we should draw them off, so we sailed into a storm to lose them. But when we came back to where you’d fallen, you were gone.”
“That was a good decision,” Jules said. “I can’t fault Liv for that. Is that why she’s been avoiding me?”
“Yeah. Thinks it was mostly her fault.”
“I’d better find her. Excuse me.” Jules got to her feet and went below decks, finding Liv sitting talking to Keli. When Liv saw her, she started to get up to go, but Jules blocked her. “I’ve got something to say to you, Liv.”
Liv looked away. “I’m sure I’ve said it all to myself already.”
Jules reached and wrapped her arms around Liv, holding her tightly. “You did nothing wrong. Your decisions were the right ones for what you knew. I’m grateful that you and Ang took good care of the Sun Queen and her crew. At my darkest moments, I knew if you were all right then the ship would be as well.”
“Liar.” Liv laughed, holding her tight as well. “Thanks.”
* * *
She’d eaten dinner and was sitting in her cabin, a single lantern lit, when Artem poked his head inside. “We’re back, Captain. He wants to see you.”
“Send him in. You and Mad take off for the rest of the night. Get something to eat.”
Ian came in, looking oddly forlorn in his battered uniform. He stood before her, uncertainty and weariness in every line of his body.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Jules asked. “Do you need something to eat?”
“I’m all right,” Ian said in a dull voice, but he sat down facing her, his eyes lowered. “Tax evasion, and oath breaking,” he finally said. “That’s why my mother and sister were condemned to labor.”
“I’m sorry,” Jules said.
“It’s not your fault. Really.” He looked up his eyes meeting hers, and she was surprised to see anger there. “The thing that mattered most to my father was his personal honor. His word mattered. He never lied or falsified anything. But when the Imperial authorities went after my family, they chose charges that claimed my father had lied. He devoted his life to serving the last Empress and the current Emperor, and his reward was to be accused of being faithless and a liar.”
“They expected him to die at Western Port,” Jules said. “The Emperor knew the Mechanics would respond when he tried to establish that settlement.”
“So you said earlier.” Ian lowered his face into his hands. “Was this how it felt, Jules? When the Mage spoke that prophecy to you, and you realized that everything you’d lived for was gone?”
“Sort of,” Jules said. “I was lucky, though. I met Mak, the former captain of this ship, and he told me I could make a new future for myself. The old future I’d dreamed of was gone, taken from me by the prophecy, but I could make a new one.”
“You spoke of that Mak before,” Ian said, his eyes still lowered. “I guess he was very important to you.”
“He was a father to me,” she said, unbending and explaining in the face of his distress. “Nothing more than that, but as important as that.”
Ian finally looked up, meeting her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“Why did you assume anything else? And since when do I need to explain myself to you?”
He surprised her with a short laugh. “You never change.” Then he fell silent again, his eyes lowered.
“What are you going to do?” Jules asked. “And, before you answer, there are plenty of opportunities out west for a man of your skills and character. I’d gladly help you with any of them.”
Ian shook his head, frowning. “My first obligation is to my mother and my sister.”
“What are their plans?” Jules asked, trying not to sound harsh when speaking of those two.
Some trace of her feelings must have come through, because Ian glanced up at her before replying. “Their plans are fairly vague, and all seem to revolve around ensuring that you meet an awful fate. I still have an obligation to them. They can’t go back to the Empire. Even they realize that.”
“Unless they trade me for pardons,” Jules said.
He nodded, his mouth tight. “Yes. But they can’t do that because they don’t know where you’ll be and when. They’re…”
“Hoping you’ll tell them,” Jules said.
“Yes.”
“I’m not planning on telling you, so you won’t have a moral dilemma in that regard.” Jules got up, walking to look out the stern windows, her back to him. Part of her wondered why that didn’t worry her at all. “The people out here need someone like you, Ian. The Empire is reaching west, I think the Mechanics are partly paralyzed by internal disputes, and the Mages just want me dead. What none of them realize is how close everything is to splitting wide open.”
“What do you me
an?” Ian said.
She watched the light from a torch on the pier dancing on the surface of the harbor waters. “I felt it when I was in the Empire. How many people want to escape, find new opportunities and new lands. Captain Erin commented to me today that the Empire has been all there was for commons for all of history. I’ve realized what that meant: that no matter how corrupt the Empire got, no matter how badly its people were treated, no one had anywhere else to go. But now they do. When they come flooding out—and it will be a flood when enough find out about those lands to the west I found—they’ll overwhelm the ability of the Empire to stop them. No matter what the Emperor wants or what the Mechanics want, new cities are going to spring up in new lands.”
“The Empire can change, fix some of its worst elements,” Ian said.
“Maybe, but it’ll take a major shock to cause that, and in the end it’ll remain the Empire.” She turned to face him again, trying to speak what she felt. “I’d…I’d like…”
“Jules, I can’t,” Ian said. “I have to see to the welfare of my mother and sister.”
“Of course.”
Ian stood up, looking about to avoid setting his eyes on her. “You have my word that I won’t harm anyone here, and will no longer serve the Emperor. I’ll need some new clothes.”
“Ang can find you some,” Jules said. “Come on.” She led the way out of her cabin, realizing that she had no choice but to once more betray Ian. And she’d have to do it soon.
Chapter Seven
Two days later, after Captain Erin and the Storm Rider had departed, Jules was speaking with Ang and Liv about where Sun Queen should go next when the lookout at the harbor entrance flashed the mirror warning that ships were coming from the east. A period of frantic preparations and anxiety followed until the lookout added the quick flashes that meant the ships didn’t seem to be Imperial warships.
What finally reached the harbor early that afternoon was a good-sized merchant ship, followed by a string of five large fishing boats like ducklings following their mother. Ship and boats were all packed with escapees from the Empire, crowding the decks and eyeing the new world to the west with fear and hope.
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