Bane and Shadow

by Jon Skovron

  Thankfully, he now had friends to keep him in check. Both Kismet Pete and Biscuit Bill were seasoned sailors, and knew him well enough to offer a calming pat on the back when he needed it. Bane’s helmsman, an older, one-eyed Paradise Circle man named Missing Finn, was also a stolid, stabilizing presence. And Jilly (it took some effort not to call her Jillen) was there to goad the more cowardly crew members as she scrambled fearlessly among the shrouds and yards. But when the frustration and anger took their toll and he began to truly despair, it was Yammy who brought him back.

  Vaderton didn’t have his own cabin anymore, of course. He bunked with the rest of the crew. So when he felt like strangling them, he went to one of the few places he knew most of them wouldn’t venture: aloft.

  “Drown it all, they’re hopeless,” he growled into his cup of grog one night as he and Yammy sat on the small platform by the foresail yard. It was only the first level up from the deck, but even that was enough to dissuade many of the new crew.

  “Then hope is what you must give them,” said Yammy. “Just as I gave it to you.”

  “I refuse to coddle them or lie to them about their abilities,” he said.

  “You don’t need to. These people know they aren’t very good. You’ve made that clear enough.” She gave him a hard look and he shrank back slightly. Yammy had never shown true anger, but Vaderton could tell it would be a fearsome thing. “Show them that you are a good enough seaman to turn them into good seamen as well. What’s more, assure them that you won’t simply give up on them.”

  “Abandon my commission? Not as long as I still draw breath.”

  “But they don’t know that,” she said. “These people have been given up on so many times, it’s what they expect.”

  Vaderton considered this as he took another swallow of grog. “That is a poor way to live.”

  “Then show them a better way.”

  When Hope first assigned Vaderton to train the new crew, she kept a careful eye on him. Even if he was honorable and brave, she worried that his naval background had made him too rigid and narrow-minded.

  Her fears were not unfounded. His temper would grow short with anyone who lacked his obsessive attention to detail. But Old Yammy always happened to be nearby. When she saw him start yelling at a hapless crew member who struggled to understand the intricacies of a particular knot, Yammy walked past and whispered something in Vaderton’s ear. He stopped a moment, took a breath, and resumed instruction with markedly more patience. After a week of these gentle corrections, his attitude gradually softened to the point where, while he was certainly not lax in his instruction, he at least wasn’t cursing at them when they made a mistake.

  Hope and Yammy stood on the quarterdeck and watched him explain the finer points of the rigging to a small group of new sailors on the main deck.

  “Your effect on him has been remarkable,” said Hope.

  Old Yammy smiled. “I give him a nudge now and then, but he’s been doing all the work. A person is capable of astonishing transformation when something precious is taken from them. Some grow bitter from the loss. But some allow the suffering to instruct them. To help them grow.”

  Hope’s hand strayed automatically to her forearm. Her fingers touched the cold metal of the clamp.

  Yammy nodded to her prosthesis. “You know that better than most.”

  “I suppose I’ve made that choice a few times now.”

  They watched Vaderton work with the new recruits for a little while in silence.

  “Did you know what would happen to Red?” Hope asked. “That he would be captured by the biomancers?”

  Old Yammy shook her head. “It’s rarely as clear or specific as that when I look so far ahead. The last time I saw him, I had a sense that he would make a choice which would prevent me from seeing him for a long time.”

  “What do you see when you look at me?” asked Hope.

  She smiled. “I see a determined young woman who is beginning to awaken to her full potential.”

  “Potential for what?”

  “I’m not sure,” admitted Yammy. “But I’m very much looking forward to finding out.”

  “Well now.” Sadie strolled up to them, a gleam in her eye. “Looks like I got me some competition for the ship’s wisewoman.”

  “Don’t worry, you old goat,” Yammy said fondly. “I’ll be on my way soon enough.”

  “Oh?” Sadie narrowed her eyes.

  “Don’t let her push you out,” Hope told Yammy. “You’re welcome to sail with us as long as you like.”

  “A person might even think she’d feel obliged to help out,” said Sadie. “What with us rescuing her and all.”

  “I did give you a reformed naval captain and enough crew to sail a ship for him,” pointed out Yammy. “And I have… other ideas that will help with the coming struggle. Perhaps things you haven’t considered yet.”

  “I hate when she gets all mystical like this, Captain,” said Sadie. “Permission to throw her overboard.”

  Hope failed to keep her smile at bay. “Permission denied.”

  Sadie sighed. “Guess I’ll just have to drive her off, then.” She leered at Yammy. “So, you bent the cock of that navy tom of yours yet?”

  Old Yammy rolled her eyes. “No, Sadie.”

  “Why not? Couldn’t have been much else to do up there on them Empty Cliffs. And I seen him walking around in them tight naval breeches of his. Not bad on the gander at all. Wouldn’t be because you’ve gotten too old for such things, would it?”

  Old Yammy gave her a level gaze. “If you’re going to insist on this topic right now, I think I’ll find other company.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” Hope said quickly.

  “Sadie’s mentorship is more what you need right now, anyway,” said Yammy. “Our time will come.”

  Hope and Sadie watched Old Yammy head across the deck toward the bow.

  “Heh,” Sadie said quietly. “I won that round.”

  “It’s not a competition,” said Hope.

  “It surely is, my girl. And has been for a very long time.”

  Brigga Lin stood as far from everyone else as possible, up at the very front of the ship, practically leaning on the bowsprit. She wasn’t used to so many people around. Especially when she wasn’t killing them. The air was saturated with their pheromones and other scents. It was like she could taste their emotions in the air. Some were tangy or bitter; some were spicy, some sweet. All of it was more than she wanted.

  “Don’t worry.” Old Yammy walked over to her. “You’ll acclimate.”

  “What do you mean?” Hope might trust this woman, but Brigga Lin hadn’t quite made up her mind yet.

  “All the stimuli.” Yammy waved her hands around. “All the people. They can become exhausting if you let them.”

  “How would you know?”

  “Because it bothers me as well.”

  “Are you saying we’re alike?” asked Brigga Lin carefully.

  Old Yammy shook her head. “Alike? Not really. I don’t think there’s been anyone like you for quite some time. But we have qualities that overlap.”

  “Such as?”

  “You sense the edges of perception that I am completely suffused in.”

  Brigga Lin’s eyes widened. “You’re telling me there’s more?”

  Yammy nodded. “I can’t affect it directly like you, however. That is your biomancer training. I need to resort to what people call blood magic, or else herbs and medicines. Neither are as impactful as what you do.”

  “But still,” said Brigga Lin. “What is it you can perceive?”

  “It’s difficult to explain, exactly. I feel the connectedness of all things, as you are beginning to do. A bit more strongly, but I’ve had more practice at it. I also feel this connectedness not just as it is now, but as it was, and as it might be.”

  “The past and future?” asked Brigga Lin, stepping closer. “You can divine what is to come?”

  “To some degree.”


  “Could…” Brigga Lin swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as she contemplated the potential. “Could you instruct me to do it as well?”

  Yammy’s eyes narrowed. “Once you open the doors of perception that widely, you will never be able to close them again. You would be reaching into the unknown with no guarantee of what the end result would be. It might very well be something counter to your current goals.”

  “I have always reached boldly into the darkness,” said Brigga Lin. “I see no reason to stop now.” She curtsied low to Old Yammy. “Please train me as your pupil.”

  Old Yammy smiled broadly, her eyes suddenly glittering with eagerness. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask that since I came on board this ship.”

  Vaderton, Finn, and Hope continued to train and drill the crew in seamanship as much as they could without going on a voyage or engaging in a real battle. That included drilling them on loading and aiming the cannons, without actually firing them.

  “I really don’t see why this is necessary,” Alash said to Hope with a certain amount of sullenness as the two of them watched the crew perform the actions over and over again at Vaderton’s command.

  “Because soon Nettles will be contacting us to say she’s convinced whoever is running Paradise Circle to give us a few ships. And those ships won’t have your firing system in place. You’ll still man these cannons during the assault, but we need to get the crews for the other ships ready.”

  “I suppose,” Alash said grudgingly.

  Later that day, she stood with Vaderton and Finn and watched the crew raise and strike the fore and main sails again and again.

  “Starting to look a bit smart,” said Finn.

  “They’re better than they were,” said Hope, “but I wish we could test them under more realistic conditions.”

  “They’ll get those soon enough,” said Vaderton. “This time of year, the course between here and Dawn’s Light is rife with storms. Might as well build their confidence a little now while we can.”

  “Aye,” said Finn. “Before the sea knocks it right out of them.”

  The two men grinned at each other.

  Hope shook her head. “Couple of salty old wrinks.”

  “Old?” Vaderton winced. His hand strayed to his hairline, which Hope guessed was a little further back than it used to be.

  “Don’t worry, my wag.” Finn patted Vaderton on the shoulder. “Old Yammy’s still got many years on you.”

  “She can’t really be that old,” Vaderton said firmly. Then he looked at them uncertainly. “Can she?”

  “You’ve seen what the biomancers are able to do,” said Hope. “Do you think she’s any less capable?”

  “Well, no. But…” Vaderton glanced around, as if worried Yammy might overhear. It wasn’t a completely unfounded concern, Hope thought. Wherever Vaderton was, she was usually lurking nearby. Although that had become less frequent, now that she seemed to have taken Brigga Lin under her wing.

  “To give you some idea,” said Finn. “Sadie told me she looks exactly the same as when they first met over twenty years ago. Not even one extra gray hair.” He grinned at Hope. “Maybe that’s why Brigga Lin has been spending so much time with her lately. To learn the secrets of ageless beauty.”

  “I think it’s a little more than that,” said Hope.

  Finn’s smile faded. “You think she’s learning how to use the Sight?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Begging your pardon, and I know you two are wags, but do you think a molly with that kind of… temper is someone we want seeing the future?”

  Hope laughed. “Perhaps it will give her a broader, more gentle perspective.”

  “Or maybe she’ll go as mad as the Dark Mage,” said Vaderton.

  Hope shot him a hard look. “That’s not a joking matter.”

  Vaderton didn’t flinch from her gaze. “With all due respect, Captain, I wasn’t joking.”

  Days went by and the crew started to get restless. Hope calculated it had been nearly a month since they’d last been to Dawn’s Light. That meant the monthly shipment of innocent girls would soon arrive for the slaughter. But there was still no word from Nettles and Filler. Hope decided if they didn’t hear back within a few more days, she would have to go check on them. What would they do if Nettles had failed to get them ships?

  But the next evening, Jilly gave a shout from her perch on the foreroyal yard. A lantern had been lit in the old temple bell tower in Paradise Circle. Hope and Nettles had chosen that as the signal, partly because it was the highest point in downtown New Laven, and also because it was the place where Hope, Nettles, and Filler fought side by side for the first time. As soon as Hope saw the tiny flickering light at the top of the bell tower through her glass, an eagerness welled up inside to see her friends again.

  She turned to Vaderton with a tight grin. “Mr. Vaderton, if you please, I would like to see us docked at Paradise Circle well before the sun rises.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Vaderton stepped smartly to the main deck and bellowed, “Listen up, you babies of the sea! This is not a drill! All hands, make ready to sail!”

  Hope turned to Finn, who already held the wheel and looked at her expectantly. “Mr. Finn. I believe you know the way.”

  “That I do, Captain.” Finn gave the wheel a spin toward starboard.

  They had a light, favorable wind and made good time as they rounded the south coast of New Laven. They reached the docks shortly after midnight. As soon as they were secured, Hope leapt to the gunwale and scanned the decks for Nettles and Filler. She didn’t see them, which made sense. It was late, after all. They would probably come by after sunup.

  But then she saw Handsome Henny sitting in the driver’s seat of a small black carriage. She wondered if things had gone badly and the two were hiding out in the carriage.

  Henny waved up to her. “Ahoy! Captain Bane, is it now?”

  “It is,” Hope called back.

  “However we call you, welcome back to Paradise Circle.”

  “Thanks, Henny.” Hope paused for a moment, deciding the best way to ask in public like this. “Where are they?”

  “Apple Grove Manor. I’m to take you there.” There was a strange tone to Henny’s voice as he said it. Like that wasn’t all there was to say about it. Maybe he would say more once they were in the carriage.

  “I see.” Hope still couldn’t tell if she should expect trouble or not. The safest bet would be to assume that things had gone wrong somehow. “How many can I take with me in the carriage?”

  He shrugged. “I reckon you could fit three or four in there, including yourself.”

  “We’ll be down in a few minutes.” Hope dropped back to the deck.

  “A’course I’ll be going with you,” said Sadie. “I missed this festering cunt of a neighborhood more than I expected. It’ll be nice to see it again, if only to remind myself why I left. And besides, my good name might help recruit more wags.”

  Hope nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Can I come, too, teacher?” Jilly shinnied down the ratlines and landed next to her. “I ain’t seen the Circle in five whole years.”

  “What would Brigga Lin say about your choice of words?” asked Hope.

  “I haven’t seen it,” Jilly said quickly.

  “I suppose you can come,” said Hope. “And I think I’ll ask Brigga Lin to come along as well.”

  “You think there’s trouble?” Jilly’s hand went eagerly to her knife.

  “A warrior doesn’t seek trouble,” said Hope.

  Jilly bowed her head. “Yes, teacher.”

  “Don’t worry, Little Bee.” Sadie ruffled the girl’s hair, which had grown out somewhat from her boyish naval cut to a ragged mop. “You stick with us, you won’t ever have to go seeking trouble. It always seems to find us. Ain’t that right, Captain?”

  “Bold choices have a tendency to bring conflict,” Hope said.

  “Ah, is that the reason?” Sadie nodded with mock
gravity.

  Hope smiled. “Wait here, I’ll go find Brigga Lin.”

  She moved quickly below deck and found the hairless crew member named Kismet Pete standing outside the officers’ quarters.

  “Begging your pardon, Captain,” he said as soon as he saw her. “Old Yammy wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry, but that she and Brigga Lin are in the middle of something that shouldn’t be interrupted.” He glanced back at the door nervously, then said more quietly, “I think they’re doing some kind of magic, Captain.”

  “She knew I’d be coming, then?” asked Hope.

  “Seemed that way, sir.”

  Hope decided there were no such things as coincidences where Old Yammy was concerned. Apparently, this was something she wanted Hope to do without either of them.

  Hope returned to Sadie and Jilly on deck. “Alright, let’s go.”

  “No Brigga Lin?”

  Hope shook her head. “Mr. Finn, you have command of the ship.”

  “Aye, Captain,” he called back from the helm.

  “Mr. Vaderton.”

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “I want us ready to sail at a moment’s notice. Just in case.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Hope set her hat on her head and walked briskly down the gangplank to the dock, the tails of her captain’s coat swirling around her legs. Sadie and Jilly followed quickly behind.

  As Hope neared the carriage, she noted with some surprise that it was very nice. Black lacquered wood with silver trim. When she opened the door, she found that the seats were padded with soft leather. Hope wondered if Nettles and Filler had stolen the carriage. Or maybe they’d borrowed it from the current ganglord. That would suggest that things did go well after all. So why did they send Henny to get her, rather than meet her themselves?

  Hope and Sadie settled into their seats. Jilly started to climb in after them, but Hope stopped her.

  “You’re not riding.”

  “Why not?” asked Jilly.

  “You remember where Apple Grove Manor is?”