by Jon Skovron
Captain Brice Vaderton sat at the small table in his modest quarters. It was a far cry from the spacious cabin of the Guardian, but he was far more content than he ever was before. And although he sat at the table with quill in hand, he wasn’t writing meticulous logs this time. Instead, he wrote a letter:
Dearest Yammy,
You said I would be a captain once more, and here I am, beyond all hope, in a hat and coat again. What can I say except that you were right? And not just about me. You were right about Dire Bane as well. I’m sorry you had to miss her address to the fleet at the docks of New Laven before we set sail. I found it so moving, I will try to describe it to you here. Hopefully my dreadful penmanship won’t detract from the inspiration I so desperately wish to convey.
The crews from all four ships gathered on the docks, upwards of sixty men and women, all waiting expectantly to hear from the woman we have all sworn to sail under. When the time came for her to speak, she vaulted up to the bowsprit of the Kraken Hunter and stood on her precarious perch as easily as you or I would stand upon the ground.
I hope you will forgive me, my dearest, if I cannot resist setting down some description of her. So lithe a form I have never seen in male or female. The imperfection of her lost hand only serves to emphasize her exquisite grace. Her hair and skin, so startlingly pale, truly brings to mind old stories of the angelic warriors called forth by Emperor Cremalton in his quest to unite the empire. Her elegant neck and fine features make it difficult to believe that she was born to the rude peasantry of the Southern Isles. Yet all these pretty details are mere ephemera when compared to her eyes. They make me think of a day, long ago, when, as a boy, I first gazed out at the endlessly majestic expanse of the ocean and decided that I would dedicate myself to knowing its dark mystery. That was the feeling I had as I looked into her eyes.
She spoke about the dangers that lay before us. Horrors almost impossible to conceive. An army of dead children created by a necromancer and led by not one, but a group of biomancers? My mind reeled at such an abhorrence, and I grew afraid. But I had only to look into those fathomless blue eyes again and my courage returned.
Since then, my resolve has only grown stronger. I think back to how the navy betrayed me after my many years of service. I think back to those months spent on the Empty Cliffs and the poor victims of biomancer experiments. And I think back to all my past crimes, when I was an instrument of such biomancer cruelty myself… I know you said I should not be too hard on myself and try to forgive myself. But if it serves to strengthen my resolve in the coming battle, then I will use this burning shame and regret to atone for my past sins and stop others from doing what I have done.
If I die in this endeavor, my only regret is that I will no longer be able to drink in the gentle beauty of your face. While I do love Dire Bane, it is as a soldier loves his emperor, at a worshipful distance. But my love for you is of a sort I have never known before. I yearn to be near you, to close this terrible distance between us as quickly as possible. I know you have your own part to play in all of this and my meager imagination can hardly conceive of what it is. But I do pray nightly that we might win through this nightmare eventually, and in doing so, that I become a better man than I am now. One deserving of your love and affection.
Yours until my final breath,
Brice
Vaderton put down his quill and carefully blotted the final page. Then he let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.
There was a respectful knock at his door.
“Yes, come in,” said Vaderton.
Biscuit Bill opened the door. “The Kraken Hunter is signaling the fleet, Captain. I think we’re coming up on the Breaks.”
“Thank you, Bill.” Vaderton rose from his chair. “I want to take the helm myself for this.”
Captain Gavish Gray was an idiot. He knew that well enough. All he had to do was assess his current situation, which involved sailing his schooner, which was fitted only for night raids and smuggling, in a battle fleet that included ex-naval officers, ex-Vinchen, ex-biomancers, and ex-prisoners through the Breaks, known to be some of the most treacherous waters in the empire, to an island reportedly populated by walking corpses. Why in all hells had he said yes?
He knew the answer, of course. Because Nettles—the Black Rose—had asked him to do this for her. And if there was one thing you could say about Gavish Gray, other than that he was an idiot, it was that he hadn’t been able to say no to that woman since he met her at age fourteen.
He’d been between ships then, eking out a living on the docks until he could find a new crew. She’d been Nettles back then, of course, and she’d recently started working security at the Slice of Heaven. She’d already gotten a bit of a reputation by then as someone not to cross. He’d been trying to flirt with her and she’d been having none of it until she learned he was a sailor. Then she asked him if he was interested in a potentially lucrative arrangement. The two of them had cooked up the scheme to make the Slice of Heaven a part-time crimp house. He’d been the one who negotiated with the captains, while she handled things on the brothel side. Soon, they’d made enough money for him to afford his own little ship, and he’d been off to seek fortune and adventure. Worst mistake of his life. When he came back, expecting to sweep her off her feet with thrilling tales of his exploits (somewhat embellished), he found she’d gotten herself involved with Red. That pissing cock-dribble of a tom was so inhumanly charming, Gavish knew he hadn’t stood a chance. All pissed and peppered, he’d set sail again, that time for nearly two years. When he came back, he learned that she wasn’t with Red anymore. In fact, Red was completely sotted with some Vinchen molly, and a Southie to tack. Gavish thought this was his chance. He and Nettles started tossing, and everything seemed to be going in the right direction. But then all hells broke loose when the neighborhood found out Drem had sold them out to the biomancers, and a full-scale riot erupted in Paradise Circle. Gavish waited out the insanity from the safety of his ship. Then when things finally started to settle back down, Nettles disappeared. Tosh said she’d gone with Sadie and Filler to help out Red and that Vinchen Southie of his. That time, Gavish decided he wasn’t going to run or hide. He waited it out, getting whatever work he could find smuggling along the coast of New Laven. She’d be back eventually. A molly like her could never leave the Circle for good. And sure enough, a year later she came back with a vengeance. And he swore he wouldn’t lose her this time.
Except here he was, halfway across the empire, about to get swallowed up in someone else’s hell, being led by that same Vinchen Southie, who had somehow become the dread pirate Dire Bane. And all because the Black Rose had a favor to ask him. A big favor, she’d said. One she couldn’t trust with anyone else. He wasn’t sure he even thought that what she wanted him to do was right. But by this point, that didn’t matter. He knew he’d do it for her anyway.
All this went through his mind as he stared at the tall, ragged reef-heads of the Breaks that loomed before them.
“Captain, the Kraken Hunter is signaling for us to slow down,” said Fisty.
“Slow down?” Gavish frowned. It seemed more prudent for them to continue apace, letting their momentum help carry them through the dangerous currents that swirled around the Breaks.
“That’s the signal.” Fisty pointed to the small flags flying from the foremast of the Kraken Hunter.
“Give the order, then,” Gavish said curtly. The Black Rose had told him to follow Bane’s orders without question. Right up until it was time for that favor.
Sadie the Pirate Queen was back, and this time in a proper pirate vessel with swivel guns and a battering ram. Before they’d left Paradise Circle, she’d even had one of her crew roll a merchant captain for his coat and hat. Now she once again stalked the deck of a sloop in ill-fitting clothes and barked orders at a crew of dangerous wags from downtown New Laven. Granted, her old bones didn’t move so well as they used to, and after a few minutes, she had to take a rest. But this tim
e, the prize was far more grand than some petty thievery.
To think, only a year ago, Sadie had been at death’s door with tunnel lung shutting down her throat like a tavern at closing time. She’d known the end was coming, and she’d made peace with it. After all, she’d already lived an unnaturally long time for a true wag of the Circle. But then that angel slice had come waltzing into their lives and knocked it all askew. She’d saved Sadie’s life and won Red’s heart without even breaking a sweat. But she wasn’t finished even then. What started as a riot in Paradise Circle was now shaping up to be a full-scale rebellion, the likes of which the empire had never seen. Oh, it would be glorious, no matter how it ended.
There was nothing Sadie liked more than proof that a single person’s actions could still change things. It was easy to forget something like that in Paradise Circle, where no matter what you did, it always seemed to come back around. Being old and poor and ground down under years of sorrow tended to do that to a person. But here she was, on top one last time. And she’d be damned to every hell there was if she wasn’t going to make it count for something.
“Captain, the Kraken Hunter’s giving the caution signal,” said Ruby Raw, a nervous girl they’d rescued from the Empty Cliffs. “Should I give the order to slow down?”
“Not just yet.” Sadie squinted at the Kraken Hunter. It had pulled in some sail and slowed down as it crossed the northern tip of the Breaks. Sure, caution was important here. She remembered seeing all the wrecked ships on the eastern side of the Breaks when they’d come this way the month before. But slowing down didn’t make a whole lot of sense, unless there was something else going on. Something maybe they weren’t even sure of. She knew Brigga Lin could sense things from afar. Maybe she’d caught a whiff of something. But what? It didn’t look like there was anything around.
“Captain,” said Ruby Raw. “If we keep this pace and line, like as not we’ll cut pretty close across the Kraken Hunter’s wake.”
“I can see that, baby slice,” Sadie said absently, but didn’t give the order to slow down. Something was nagging at her…
She found herself staring at a strange ripple in the water past the Breaks. Something that didn’t match the prevailing current. Sadie was no true salt like Finn, but she knew enough to recognize that it wasn’t natural. It was as if there was an object in the water that was fighting against the current. But she couldn’t see anything.
Then it hit her. This was the same kind of sneaky biomancer trickery that Brigga Lin had used more than a few times when they were plundering naval ships. Bending the air to make a ship look as though it wasn’t even there. The Kraken Hunter was on course to come within firing range of an invisible ship in a few moments.
When Sadie thought about it, this whole last year had been something she’d stolen from right under God’s nose. In that year, she’d found love and seen the world, all the while hardly doing a thing to earn it besides a few wise words to young people who would’ve come to it on their own eventually anyway. She reckoned now was the time to pay up for this stolen extra year of life. Nearly every reason Sadie had to keep living was on that ship. She’d be damned if she let it be blown out of the water.
“Give me every inch of canvas we’ve got!” she roared as she gripped the wheel and aimed her battering ram at where she judged to be the center of the invisible vessel. “And then anyone who wants to live past the next couple of minutes better abandon ship.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know what it is?” demanded Hope.
“Something is out there,” said Brigga Lin. “I can feel it. Or, rather, I can feel the absence of something. Like it’s being hidden from my senses.”
“Biomancers, then.” Hope scanned the horizon with her glass. She could make out the shore of Dawn’s Light far to the southeast. “You’re sure whatever this is, it’s not on the island?”
Brigga Lin shook her head. “Whatever is hidden, it’s close. Very close.”
“What in piss’ell is Sadie doing?” muttered Missing Finn. His one good eye glared at the Devil’s Your Own, which had apparently ignored the signal to slow down and was speeding full tilt across their wake toward the gap between the Kraken Hunter and the Breaks.
Hope trained her glass on Sadie’s ship and saw forms falling off the back. “People are jumping ship. Jilly! Throw some floats aft to them!”
“Aye, Captain!” Jilly leapt down from her perch in the mainmast and popped open the storage hatch that contained some float rings.
“What is she pissing doing!” Finn’s face was pinched with fear.
Hope turned her glass back to the Devil’s Your Own. Sadie held the wheel, an exultant grin on her face. “What is she doing?”
Then the empty space between them and the Breaks flickered. There was suddenly a three-masted naval frigate with its guns trained on the Kraken Hunter. Thick chains stretched from the ship to the water, anchoring it against the strong currents so it wasn’t pulled into the reefs.
“Ambush!” said Hope. “Everyone brace for impact!”
But before the frigate fired, the Devil’s Your Own smashed into her side. The frigate’s cannon shot went wide and Sadie’s battering ram tore into the hull like it was paper. The impact also ripped the anchors free. The frigate and the Devil’s Your Own spun wildly around and around, locked together like they were dancing. It was strangely beautiful, with flickers of light as the naval sailors fired on the nearly empty deck of the Devil’s Your Own.
Hope watched through her glass as a bullet struck Sadie in the temple. Her manic grin faded away, and she toppled over.
“Sadie…,” whispered Missing Finn, tears streaking from his one eye. He could not possibly have seen her die without a glass. But it was like he’d felt it all the same.
The two ships continued their dance for a few more seconds, then came to an abrupt stop when they smashed into the frothing, jagged reefs. The ships began to break apart, the hulls cracked and taking on water.
Hope continued to watch as the frigate’s crew jumped ship, only to be swallowed up by the relentless current themselves. Over a hundred men drowned within minutes, but even combined, she did not think their deaths outweighed the loss of Sadie the Pirate Queen.
“There’s only one person who could hide a ship so well from both sight and my sense,” said Brigga Lin. “Progul Bon, one of the chiefs of the Council of Biomancery.”
Hope turned to her. “Could he have been on the ship?”
She shook her head. “It’s unlikely. Bon is not one to put himself in danger, and he could have easily camouflaged the ship before it disembarked from Dawn’s Light.”
“But he is at least on the island, then?” pressed Hope.
Brigga Lin nodded.
“Then we owe it to Sadie to make sure he never leaves.”
26
Red let them chain him up for the remainder of the voyage to Lesser Basheta, even during the day. He didn’t remember what he’d done, but the look of fear on the surviving crew’s faces and the grim expression on Merivale’s face as she described the events were all he really needed. Even Hume seemed nervous in his presence.
The only one who didn’t seem afraid was Merivale. He really had no idea what to make of her now. She had more layers than anyone he’d ever met. He suspected she was carrying around all the secrets of the empire in her head, and yet it never seemed to weigh her down. Now Red’s biggest secret had been exposed, yet he felt heavier than ever.
After two days, they arrived at the small village on Lesser Basheta. The island seemed mostly composed of dense forest with the occasional rocky mountain peak jutting out. Even those peaks were dotted with spindly trees that were oddly twisted and almost bush-like in their thickness. As they sailed into the harbor, Merivale brought Red up onto the deck. The surviving crew insisted he be immediately chained to the mast, but at least he was on his feet and breathing fresh air.
The villagers eyed the damaged yacht warily as it glided up to the dock. But t
he moment they saw Merivale standing on the deck, they hurried over to help the sailors secure the ship.
“Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Owens,” Merivale called to an older fisherman as he tied one of the ship’s lines to a cleat. “I’m afraid we ran into a significant amount of trouble along the way.”
“The honor’s mine, my lady,” he said without quite looking at her. The rest of the villagers reacted to her similarly, as if they were too awed to make eye contact. “Will you be wanting your luggage taken to the manor?”
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Owens, that would be appreciated.” Merivale turned to Hume, who stood patiently nearby. “Hume, would you let my parents know I won’t be heading directly there? Lord Pastinas and I have an urgent need to call upon Casasha first.”
“Very good, my lady.” Then Hume hesitated and for the first time, Red saw struggle on his usually inexpressive face. “Will you be all right without an… additional escort?”
Merivale gave him a level gaze.
He bowed his head. “Yes, of course, my lady. My deepest apologies. I will make certain everything is prepared for your arrival.”
“Thank you, Hume,” she said.
Hume hurried over to Mr. Owens and the two began to direct the unloading of the ship.
“Mrs. Mackis,” Merivale said to an elderly woman with a scarf wrapped around her head. “Please tell Casasha we have arrived and will be calling on her shortly. We all know how she dislikes surprises.”
“Yes, my lady.” Mrs. Mackis hurried off.
Merivale turned to the surviving ship’s crew. “Gentlemen, my sincerest condolences for the loss of your captain and fellow crew. I fear we don’t have adequate means here on Lesser Basheta to fully repair the empress’s yacht. But you are welcome to stay as long as you like at my expense before you continue on to Greater Basheta for repairs.”
