Yarwan noted she wore one of the prized local dresses, hand painted with beings from Jentakan legends. One of her daughters had spun golden threads through her hair that accentuated her status. In her hands she clasped the carved cane of village eldest. Beside her, the two men looked sober in their white robes and simple head wraps. She looks old. Much older than when I left, six years ago.
‘We’re honored. Ayancham, the headwoman herself, came out to meet us.’ Yet it puzzled him. Why the honor? She was glad when I left, after I had shamed her pride. He squared his shoulders and strode to the waiting group.
‘Greetings to you, Ayancham,’ he said. ‘I ...’
The headwoman’s angry gesture silenced him. ‘Yarwan! Did the Overcaptain send you, instead of a mighty cruiser? Are we of so little value these days they give us a child to do a man’s job?’
Yarwan felt his stomach surge. ‘I ... do not understand, Ayancham. What made you upset?’
The woman gripped her hands around the walking stick’s handle. ‘In our despair, we get a suckling. We have no need of you, Yarwan. Go! Return to Towne and tell Wallanck to send me a man.’ Without another word, she turned her back to him and disappeared into the hall, followed by her whole entourage.
Yarwan stared after her, blinded by shock, his humiliation almost too great to bear. She rejects me! It took a few seconds before he noticed one of the men had stayed and was asking him a question.
‘Why did Wallanck send you? What were his words?’
Yarwan shivered with shame. ‘Uncle Acham, I don’t understand. The Overcaptain didn’t send me.’
The man’s gray brows crept together till they met over his nose. ‘He didn’t? Did he leave it to one of his underlings?’ The disgust in his voice was audible and Yarwan balled his fists.
‘No!’ He stood stock still, feeling the heat of the planking through the soles of his boots. The heat that fed his anger at the family that rejected him. ‘Nobody sent me.’
‘Then why do you come? Where are your superiors? You’re not saying you command that little ship?’
‘I do command her!’ Yarwan took a deep breath to steady himself. ‘I’m here to negotiate for gunners, and to ... see my family.’
‘You come for that?’ His uncle stilled, staring at him. ‘You don’t know?’
Yarwan held out his hands. ‘Brother of my mother, what must I know?’
‘Wait here.’ His uncle hurried into the hall.
‘Something seems wrong,’ Maud said.
‘I don’t understand.’ Cold anger gripped Yarwan’s soul. ‘I didn’t expect this. Damn this place; I shouldn’t have come. Even my family doesn’t want me.’
‘Easy! I think it’s a misunderstanding,’ Maud said, touching his arm. ‘This isn’t about you. There must be something amiss. Something dangerous.’
Before Yarwan could reply, his uncle returned, panting. ‘Come with me. She wants to talk to you.’
Yarwan followed him into the familiar hall. Here his grandmother lived with her family, and here he had slept every time he stayed with her. It was a large hall, painted gold and red, and able to hold all the villagers. Incense burners spread a heavy, sweet smell that kept both the stink of the swamps and the countless insects away. Across from the entrance sat the headwoman, surrounded by her court.
‘Grandson,’ she called over the breadth of the hall. ‘Come to me.’
Yarwan walked forward and stopped, his lips a thin line of anger. He gave the curtest of bows. ‘I am here.’
‘Yarwan,’ the headwoman said. ‘It seems I was too hasty. I should have asked first, grandson. Forgive an old woman her fear.’ She reached out and her thin hand touched Yarwan’s sleeve. ‘I bid you welcome. Please, tell me why you came and who you bring into our house.’
Yarwan forced himself to relax. ‘Grandmother, as the son of your daughter and as captain of the Daisee, I greet you and I hope I see you well.’
The old woman offered her cheek for ritual greeting. Her skin was cold and wrinkled to Yarwan’s lips, not at all like the woman he remembered from his youth.
‘As well as can be,’ she said. ‘Please, present your companions, that I may bid them welcome.’
Yarwan bowed. ‘She is the Lioness Maud of the M’Brannoe, and he is Jurgis of Brisa. They were eager to see the village of my mother’s birth.’
The headwoman lifted a hand. ‘I rejoice in your coming, Maud of the Kell, you who stride like a djavistra. And in yours, Jurgis of the Alabaster Face. May you find peace in our midst.’
‘Grandmother,’ Yarwan said, fed up with both the situation and the formality. He wished Basil were here, to flaunt before their eyes and shock them. ‘I have need of hands. The honorable Hiton requests permission to negotiate with those cousins who might be interested in a berth.’
The headwoman looked past Yarwan at the bespectacled wandin. ‘How come you here, Hiton?’ she asked. ‘You were shipbound to another.’
The wandin stepped forward and went to his knees. ‘We were, o great Ayancham.’ Then he continued in his own dialect, recounting the foundering of his original ship, their time with captain Felrich, and Yarwan’s offer of service. ‘Now we are shipbound to the Daisee, on our way to great honor. I would bid at least ten young cousins to join us.’ The wandin fell silent and bowed his head.
The headwoman made a gesture of blessing. ‘Shipbound to the Overcaptain’s daughter’s company. You did well for yourselves, Hiton.’
The wandin folded his hands in agreement. ‘It will be a great endeavor, Ayancham. And the honorable Yarwan is a great captain, besides being one of us. Above all, we will be paid well and share in the profits.’
‘My heart rejoices for you, Hiton.’ The forcefulness leaked from the headwoman and Yarwan was shocked at her sudden frailty.
‘Grandson, I would gladly have given you permission to recruit, if it weren’t for a great danger threatening the village. Now I need every hand for our defense. I am sorry.’
Yarwan gave his uncle a hard look. ‘Someone could have told me directly. Is this what I should have known about?’
‘We thought you came because of it,’ his uncle said. ‘Two weeks ago, a ship arrived from far away. A large ship, far bigger than your little one, with many guns. It burned two of our outlying villages and we fear it will come here next. Ayancham sent a message to the Overcaptain in Towne, but we fear it never arrived.’
‘I hadn’t heard of it,’ Yarwan said. He looked aside at the others. ‘We need those hands. That means we should do something about this ship. What do you say?’
Maud sighed. ‘Another change of plan. The description is very vague. Has anyone seen her?’
‘The fisher Kaltir,’ Uncle Acham said. ‘He has both seen the ship and the men in her. They killed his brother while they were out fishing together. Yarwan knows where he lives.’
‘Wantir is dead?’ Shocked, Yarwan took a step backward. ‘Gods, how cruel. Why he?’
His grandmother and his uncle both stared at him.
‘Of course, Wantir was the young man you disgraced us with.’ The headwoman bit her lip. ‘Enough. Go now, grandson. I don’t understand what you can do with your little ship, but if you wish to help us, speak with Kaltir. Should you need anything, tell me.’
Yarwan bowed and walked to the door. His thoughts were a-whirl. I disgraced her? What the hells... I must have new hands. But that ship... Do I want to help Grandmother? She doesn’t believe I’m any use.
‘No hands here,’ Maud said when they stood on the walkway outside the hall. ‘Is there any other place?’
‘That would mean hiring Garthans,’ Yarwan said. ‘I’d rather not, if you don’t mind. They aren’t very reliable.’
Jurgis snorted. ‘Tell me something. I grew up among them.’ He looked sidewise at Yarwan. ‘You wanna go after that ship.’
‘I ... don’t know.’ Yarwan looked around the village, the armed people and the worried faces everywhere. ‘I suppose I must.’
‘Well then, how will we go about it? You know this fellow your grandmother mentioned?’
‘Kaltir.’ Yarwan couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice. ‘Oh yes, I know him. Kaltir, his older brother Wantir and I were friends once. Very good friends. As a child, I stayed often with my grandmother. Kaltir was my dearest companion, then.’
Maud glanced at him. ‘What happened?’
‘Growing up happened. While Kaltir became interested in girls, Wantir’s interest was for me.’
‘And you?’
‘I liked him, no more. Wantir was tall and strong; his attention flattered me. He ... we kissed a few times. Kaltir was furious. He said some nasty things, and we quarreled. Then Kaltir accused me in public. We fought and spoke bitter words. After that, I returned to Towne and never came back. But the secret was out.’
‘A pity to lose a friend that way,’ Maud said. ‘Would you rather let us handle it?’
Yarwan shook his head. ‘I’m not going to hide. Besides, I want to hear his words myself; I need to ask questions about that ship.’
It was clear the village was in a state of approaching war. People were polishing up ancient weapons, repairing spears and shields, inspecting gear. A group of fishers was working to make several nets into one giant one.
One of the women rested her needle. ‘If you want out, don’t dawdle. We’re going to close off the channel.’
‘Give me some time, sister,’ Yarwan said. ‘I’ll be going after that enemy ship, but there are things I must do first.’
The fishers looked sharply at him. ‘You’ll hunt her with that little cutter?’ a man said, unbelieving. He nodded to Maud. ‘You really need the djavistra’s aid, then.’
‘Tell me,’ Maud asked as they walked on. ‘What the hells is a djavistra? Your grandmother called me that and now this fellow.’
The captain glanced at her. ‘You are not a follower of Kallianura.’
‘Otha and Gorm,’ Maud said. ‘The Siblings of Battle.’
‘That’s why you don’t know. Our Kallianura is a martial goddess, too. She is aided by a guard of three black-faced demons, each more than man-sized and terrible to behold. Those are the djavistras. These people see you as one; that gives them courage.’
They stopped at a small, unpainted house, surrounded by nets and strongly smelling of rotting fish.
‘It could do with some repairs,’ Jurgis said. ‘The other houses are much nicer.’
Yarwan showed his surprise. ‘It’s always been like this. Kaltir and his brother are ... were the wandering sorts, always out fishing or whatever, and the rest of the family wasn’t very active.’
The door flew open and a young man rushed out, clad in nothing but a loincloth. His bare chest and arms were covered with scratches, as if he’d been running through bushes.
‘Yarwan!’ he yelled, red-faced with rage. ‘You rotten faggot! You have the guts to return here? After you corrupted my brother with your filthy lusts? You come in vain, Yarwan. He’s dead! You killed him, you chicken-livered lily.’
‘You’re talking rubbish, Kaltir,’ Yarwan said. ‘I’m sorry about Wantir’s death. He was a friend, once. But if you’re saying it was my fault, you’re full of shit.’
The young man shook his fists. ‘It’s the truth,’ he screamed. ‘You infected him. You made him weak, with your girlie ways. Because he was weak, he died. You killed him and now I’ll kill you!’ Kaltir sprang forward, his fists flailing, and struck Yarwan on the chest.
Yarwan moved with the blow, then threw a punch at the other’s face that sent him sprawling. ‘I’m a sailor, Kaltir,’ he said. ‘I am not weak.’
Shaking his head, the fisher came to his feet. He charged at Yarwan, head forward like a bull, but Yarwan sidestepped at the last moment. A quick kick sent Kaltir stumbling over the edge of the walkway into the bay. He came up, spitting water and curses, and swam to the nearby ladder. Yarwan stood waiting for him, hands on his hips. ‘Will you listen now? The headwoman sent me.’
Again, Kaltir rushed at him, but this time Maud gripped the young man’s arms and pinned him in place.
‘You will calm down and listen,’ she said. ‘We came to fight the enemy ship, not you.’
Kaltir’s face became a mask of madness. ‘The ship-that thrice cursed ship! We didn’t stand a chance!’ He lifted his head and howled, oblivious of the shocked onlookers and the anxious eyes watching from inside the house. ‘They shot him! Cannon against canoe–I saw him shred into bits. Wantir, my fine brother. You can’t fight the ship! She’s too strong! Too disdainful!’
‘Tell me about her.’ Yarwan stared at his former friend as if he’d never seen him before, and his voice was hard. ‘What type is she?’
Kaltir tore at his hair. ‘I don’t know. She’s big! I’ve never seen a ship that big before. All blue. They painted her all blue—her hull, her masts and sails, even the smoking thing on her deck. Blue as the sky. Her guns were enormous; gaping holes in her sides.’
‘How many guns did you count?’
‘Six on each side. They looked big enough to stick your head in.’
Yarwan and Maud looked at each other. ‘32-pounders?’
‘Sounds like it,’ Maud said. ‘Did you see her name?’
Kaltir nodded violently, drooling spittle. ‘I did! Magonaut. Her flag was blue, with four faces. She will come here; be sure of that. She will come and finish her work. Blood will fill the bay that day. She’ll butcher us all! All!’
‘Get a grip on yourself, man,’ Yarwan said, disgusted at his former friend’s hysterics. Then his eyes met those of Maud.
‘Battle shock,’ she mouthed.
Yarwan nodded his understanding. Wantir’s death must’ve upset him, as close as they were. He phrased his next question gentler. ‘Where shall we find her?’
Kaltir howled again and wrestled against Maud’s grip. A great spasm ran through him and he gurgled. Then his face cleared, and he relaxed.
‘I ... I ...’ He took a deep breath. ‘I know where she is. Wantir and I, we followed the coastline, looking for turtles. We were going to that hidden bay past Grayhose Point. There were always many turtles there, and we hadn’t been that way since last year’s rains. We went in so merrily and there she was. Big and blue, with those awful guns. Oh Kallianura, she fired at us, because we’d seen her nest. The old fort in the cliff had been dead for ages, but it fired a shot as well.’
‘Jamril Bay,’ Yarwan said. In his mind, an image formed of a large bay, with a mountain. ‘It’s perfect to hide a ship in. Never knew there was a fort, though.’
‘It’s very old; hewn into the mountainside. From the sea, you won’t recognize it as a fort; it’s that cunningly made. Part of the bay is shallow. Perfect for turtles.’ Kaltir looked over his shoulder at Maud. ‘I’m done with fighting. Would you unhand me?’
Maud let go of his arms. ‘I understand your despair, friend. Yet we must keep our heads. Don’t run off now, we’re going to need your help.’
Yarwan gave her a hard stare. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘How to tackle that ship.’ Maud smiled. ‘Aren’t you?’
‘Yes. Only ... twelve 32-pounder guns. The Daisee can’t match them with her six 4-pounders. She’d blow us out of the water as easily as she did poor Wantir. We need a plan.’
‘Go on. You’re doing all right,’ Maud said.
Yarwan turned to Kaltir. ‘Is there an inland route to that fort?’
The young fisher bared his teeth. ‘There sure is. That’s how I came back home after she killed Wantir and crushed my canoe. I made it look like she got me, and swam to the shallows. Then I fled between the mangroves and waded home. You can do the same. It won’t be easy, but there is a series of small lakes and creeks running through the jungle between Maiwar and the Jamril fort. They’re pewbara hunting grounds and no one ever goes that way.’
‘All the better, then they’ll not expect us.’
Maud’s eagerness made Yarwan grimace. ‘Pewbara are dange
rous cats.’
‘They’ll flee from any large force.’
‘It has to be done fast, before she sails,’ Yarwan said. ‘And I need a map with soundings. If there are shallows in that bay, I want to know more about them.’
‘The Magonaut won’t leave immediately.’ Kaltir’s face was empty now, as if all emotion had drained from him. ‘She had her masts down. Working on repairs, or something.’
‘What are you two thinking?’ Jurgis said. ‘I’m getting a very nasty feeling, all at once.’
‘You and I are going on a canoe trip,’ the lioness said. ‘We won’t be alone, so you’ll have to behave, but it will be a grand adventure.’
Jurgis stared at her. ‘Damn it, girl; I see it in your face. You want to take it, you greedy bitch! You want to take the fort and ...’
Maud smiled. ‘Yes?’
‘Don’t tell me you want to capture the bloody ship as well?’
‘We must, if we want to get more hands. Besides, our cabin on the Daisee is rather cramped. You always complain you bump your little buns against the ceiling when we screw.’
‘You’re mad, woman!’ Jurgis pointed an accusing finger at Yarwan. ‘And what are you going to do?’
The captain shrugged. ‘I will block the entrance to the bay with the Daisee and pray that blue bastard won’t try to escape.’
Jurgis shook his head. ‘You’re both out of your mind! Curse you, girl, with your pretty, bamboozling ways. No danger, you said. Just a short impersonation. Yeah. All riight then. Let’s go and ask the headwoman for an army. And you, fisher boy, go put on your boots. You just volunteered to join.’
‘What?’
Jurgis grinned at Kaltir’s puzzled face. ‘You were going to guide us there, weren’t you?’
The fisher stiffened. ‘I ...’
Jurgis blinked at the open terror on Kaltir’s face. ‘You must, you know. Face it; get rid of the fear.’
Kaltir nodded spasmodically. ‘I ... Must.’
‘I love him when he’s playing,’ Maud said to Yarwan. She ran her hand through Jurgis’ hair.
Jurgis’ face fell. ‘Only then?’ He put an arm around her waist. ‘There are enough serious faces here.’
Lioness of Kell Page 13
