the lurker.
Then she saw Aristia leaning over the back railing, looking down into the wake of the ship. Although Rei swore that she hadn’t made a sound, the girl stopped singing and whipped her head around, staring straight at her.
“Hey there, little one,” Rei said, straightening up into a non-threatening posture. “What are you doing up so late?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Aristia pointed down at the water. “My friend was talking to me.”
Rei folded her arms and approached the railing, but when she looked down, all she saw were dark waves churning behind the ship’s stern. “Who’s your friend?”
Aristia put a finger over her lips. “Shh, I can’t tell anyone that she’s here. It’s a secret.”
An imaginary friend? The girl seemed a little old for make-believe, but Rei didn’t know children very well. Maybe her husband was right about it just being a game. “You shouldn’t be up here in the middle of the night,” she scolded. “If you fell overboard in the dark, no one would see you. Does the mage know that you’re up here?”
Aristia hopped back from the railing and looked down at her feet, ashamed. “No, he’s asleep. I thought I wasn’t bothering anyone. Sorry.”
Rei felt a pang of guilt for her harshness. She reached out and put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Try and get some sleep,” she said in a softer tone. “You can talk to your friend again tomorrow.”
She watched to make sure that Aristia made it back to the mage’s cabin, then went to rejoin her husband at the fore. “That little girl is weird,” she said with a shake of her head.
“We can figure her out another time,” Yuri said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back down onto the blanket.
She thought about telling him what she saw, but his kisses soon made her change her mind.
Mynta emerged from the hold into the bright sunlight of early morning and stretched. A strong wind filled the sails, and Miscreation sprang eagerly forward over the water. The hold was full of food and the first payment from the passengers’ contract filled her pockets. A contented smile spread across her face. Everything was right with her world.
After doing a once-over of the ship, she went to Yuri, who was sitting down nearby in the stern. The wheel was lashed in place, steering them south. “You look like you slept well last night,” she said with a wink. She’d heard the couple’s midnight meeting on the upper deck. “How are we doing this morning?”
He didn’t smile or wink back, just shook his head with a blank expression. “You’d be better to ask your first mate that question.” He jerked a thumb behind him.
Mynta found Rei at the railing, scanning the water intently with a spyglass. “What’s going on?” she asked in a low tone.
Rei held out the spyglass and pointed directly behind them. “There’s something following us,” she murmured. She glanced back over her shoulder at the passengers and other crewmembers, already assembling on the main deck for breakfast. “I don’t want to alarm the others just yet.”
Mynta took the glass and looked. Just under the surface, trailing in their wake, was a huge, shadowy form. She lowered the glass again and realized that it was large enough to see without the instrument. When she glanced back at Rei, the other woman’s face was pale. “It’s probably just a whale,” she said lightly.
Rei shook her head. “I’ve been watching it for a while now. It never comes up for air.” She pointed to the sky above it, where a whole flock of seagulls trailed behind.
Mynta frowned. “Scavengers.” The birds knew that whatever lurked in the water was a hunter, and they were hanging around hoping to pick up scraps from its next kill. Her blood ran cold.
But she wouldn’t let her fear show. She cracked a smile and laughed loudly, clapping Rei on the shoulder. “The gulls are out for Leina’s cooking!”
Rei looked at her closely, then suddenly smiled back and managed a small chuckle. “Yeah, they know we’ve got food to spare,” she answered back, mimicking the captain’s light manner.
Mynta handed her back the spyglass and leaned in closer to her first mate. “Tell Yuri to turn the ship east,” she whispered. “Follow the shoreline as close as he dares, keep us in the shallow waters. We’ll take turns keeping watch with Nikephoros, but don’t let anyone else know.”
Rei acknowledged with a slight nod, then crossed the deck and bent to speak with Yuri. He pulled himself up and braced himself against the wheel to untie the ropes.
Mynta plastered the broad smile back on her face and went down the steps to the main deck, spreading her arms wide. “It’s such a nice day out,” she said brightly to the passengers gathered around Leina’s breakfast spread. “I’ve decided to alter our course a little to follow the coast, so you can enjoy the view of our lovely country in this warm sun. Now when things are still green is the best time to see it.”
The mage Ameyron lifted his head from his plate with a frown. “That sounds a bit round-a-bout for our direction. Won’t it take longer if we hug the coast?”
Mynta lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Oh, it’ll take a bit longer, but we’ve still got the wind at our backs. We should be there by this time tomorrow. And we’re not in any big hurry. We could stop at a coastal village or two on the way, if you like, and question the locals.”
Genara was watching her with a suspicious look in her dark eyes, although she was feigning a smile of her own. “We’ll be passing by Sympaia, too, won’t we?”
Now the priest, Benu, shared a concerned look with Ameyron. Political relations were strained when Duke Galenos took over the city-state of Kyratia two years ago, and most of their neighbors, including Sympaia, had refused to accept his claim. Would a research expedition sponsored by the controversial ruler be welcomed in that port?
“Well,” Mynta said lightly, “I don’t know that there are many monsters of interest in Sympaia, and we’ve no need to stop for supplies. So unless the mage has a reason to visit…?” She looked over at Ameyron.
Ameyron coughed and shook his head. “Uh, no, we can pass on that one.”
Mynta nodded. “Well, then, we’ll stick to more scenic destinations.” She rubbed her hands together and headed for the stack of clean plates. “Time to eat!” She looked around the assembled crowd. “Are we missing someone?”
Benu pointed at the forward cabins. “Eirenaios isn’t joining us. I knocked on his door, but he only moaned at me to go away.” He shook his head sadly. “I think he’s feeling a little sea sickness.”
Mynta chuckled to herself. “The physick doesn’t have a cure for sea sickness? Well, I guess he’ll just miss out on this delicious food.” She reached for the cold cuts.
Ameyron looked at the various notes and papers spread out across the table in his cabin, squinting in the dim light. Somewhere in all of the mess, Omalia had given him information about all of the members of the crew and the other passengers on board Miscreation. After the strange interaction that morning, he needed the cheat sheet to tell him how to read these people—but with his lack of organization and so many different research materials to keep track of, he didn’t know where exactly it had gotten to.
“Light another lantern.” He looked around at his apprentice and saw her looking out the back window. “Better make that two.” He sighed in frustration. When the ship turned southeast, his windows all pointed toward the northwest—the exact opposite direction from the sun, so the natural light in the room was reduced to almost nothing.
Aristia climbed up on a chair to reach the lanterns hanging from the walls. When the mage beckoned, she unhooked one and brought it closer to the table.
The flickering flame in the lantern illuminated the table enough for Ameyron to see the handwriting on the assorted papers. Most of them were printed on the school’s movable type press or scratched in his own sloppy hand, but one folded bundle of papers had Omalia’s neat, even script. He picked them up and sank back on the bed to read.
Each sheet had a name a
t the top, one for each person on board. He flipped to Captain Mynta’s page first. Her birthplace, her mercenary career, monster-hunting contracts that she’d taken—all the details of her life laid out. He saw that she’d never been married, with no known family, and all her profits seemed to go right back into the maintenance of the ship. No savings, no investments, no permanent home on land anywhere.
He shook his head in disbelief. What kind of person would take such a risk with their livelihood? Even the trading caravans that he’d traveled with between cities, who called the road their home and wrote ballads about the romance of a nomadic life, still had a family residence that they could return to after a journey.
But even knowing this about the captain, he couldn’t see how that would help him communicate with her. It seemed rude to confront her about her unusual lifestyle, and he couldn’t bring up secrets from her dossier in casual conversation. There was nothing that he could actually use to make his interactions less awkward. He threw the dossiers back on the table with a groan.
Ameyron turned to the child, perched on his bed to stare out the window. “Do you know anything about this crew?” he demanded. “Have you had a chance to talk to any of them?”
Aristia glanced back over her shoulder. “Um, the lady who cooks the food is nice. She gave me an extra roll after breakfast this morning.” She pulled a piece of bread
The Voyage of the Miscreation #1: The Voyage Begins Page 5
