by David Talon
She put her hand inside at the place I’d been touching then peered into the opening. “The mortar is cracked.” She spoke to the sailor in Dutch, who responded, and then turned back to me as we climbed back to our feet. “He says the captain knows, but is not concerned.”
“Let’s just hope he feels no need to use it.” I moved to the side, where the light from the dragon-globe wasn’t in my eyes, and looked back. Far off I could still see a faint reddish glow. “All those people died tonight,” I said in a quiet voice, “and maybe are still dying, all because I’m supposed to be something special. Maybe I should’ve just gone with her...Captain Cholula, I mean.”
Selene came up behind me, her scent both sweet and musky as she said softly, “And nothing would have changed,” her hand on my shoulder as she looked past me. “Even the sack of St. Augustine would have happened, except you would have been forced take part.” I looked back at Selene and her dark eyes were upon me. “Tomas, none of this was your fault. The greed of men, and a woman too, set these events in motion, and the best thing you can do right now is follow the advice you were given: make your life your own, and share it with a young woman who makes you happy.”
I looked back out to sea. “Do you think it’s possible I’ll find such a person?”
“I did in Venice,” she answered. “Bartholomew and I were happier than two people had a right to be, up until the day he died.” I raised my eyebrows, hoping she’d go on, but Selene only shook her head. “That part of my life is over, and I need to keep my eyes on the horizon. However, while we were together, Bartholomew had a Dragon in his service named Jarl, who hailed from about as far north as one can go. He told me in his land, people believe that God is a man but Fate is a woman, who goes where she wills. She follows God’s plan for the world but twists events at her own whim, taking away with one hand what she has given with the other.” Selene brushed away a stray lock of hair from my forehead. “My heart tells me Fate has great plans for you, and has already put this girl, whomever she is, in your path. But when you find her, cherish every moment you have together. For you must always remember: Fate goes where she wills.”
Then Selene leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips were soft and tasted of cinnamon as her tongue caressed mine for a brief moment...and then she pulled away. Selene smiled a secretive smile as she turned and glided away, reached the stairs for the aft deck and went down. I stared at her in confusion, my wits scattered as the helmsman grinned at me, but then gaped with his mouth wide as my hair was blown back and I heard the loud sound like an intake of breath. I turned around to see an air-golem: Selene, but ten years younger, so she was about my age. I said, “Smoke?”
“Well, who else would it be, Swamp-rat?”
I smiled as I always did. “I think you’re getting better at crafting air-golems. But I thought you were going to save my strength for the mermaids.”
“I had to do something to keep you from mooning over that woman. Whatever a courtesan is,” she added.
I decided that was a topic I didn’t wish to pursue. “You’re just jealous, admit it.” I expected her to deny my words, but when she remained silent I realized she actually was... which made me realize something else. “Smoke, are you in love with me?”
“I can’t help it,” she said in a voice of exasperation, the mouth of the air-golem not moving as she continued. “I know it won’t work, but I still wish I could find a way to become human and be the girl who makes you happy, the one you stay with the rest of your life.”
I struggled to make sense out of what she was saying. “You already make me happy, just by being close by.” I reached out and brushed my hand against her cheek, the surface of young Selene’s face cold, as all air-golems are, unless they channel heat to warm the air. “If I had the power to make you human, I’d make you into a Dragon like I am, and we could have adventures together.”
She smiled. “I wouldn’t even need to be a Dragon, Swamp-rat, just human. I’d learn to fight your way, do and feel all the things humans do, learn how to make love to you.”
I glanced at the helmsman in alarm, but he didn’t seem to understand us as I said, “I’d like that, but it isn’t going to happen, no matter how much we wish it.”
“I know, and I won’t get in the way when you find yourself a human girl to love. But,” and Smoke’s voice became tart, “if she doesn’t make you happy I’m dumping her in the ocean.”
An image formed in my mind of her doing just that and I snickered, the Selene golem grinning at me as the helmsman glanced back at us in puzzlement before looking forward again. Then I gazed out at the now fainter reddish glow behind us and my mood sobered. “It may be Captain Cholula I end up with. She isn’t going to let me go.”
Smoke made the Selene-golem give a snort, which sounded more like a rush of air. “Swamp-rat, she has to find us first. We may be headed to Tortuga, but who says we have to stay there.” I looked at her as she went on. “The whole world’s out there, just waiting for us to explore it. We don’t have to stay in the New World; we can travel back to the old, or even farther.” Her voice became sly. “We could try to discover who your real mother was and why she had to leave you.”
“We could at that,” I said, as I realized that, for the first time in my life, I was truly free. I leaned against the deck rail. “Where do you think we should start?”
Smoke made the Selene-golem move until it was beside me, leaning on the deck rail as I was. “Well, once we get to Tortuga, we find out more about this Captain Black, and then...”
Smoke and I charted out a new course for our life as the face of the moon gazed down upon us over the restless waves.
SECUNDUS
The Blackjack Davy came with the dawn. It was the morning of the third day since we’d escaped the sack of St. Augustine, and everyone, from Captain Voorhees down to the youngest deckhand, was beginning to relax. We’d reached one of the Bahamian isles the evening before, Mr. Bierson keeping the Dutch Flyte, the ‘Queen Anne’s Regret’, well away from the lush vegetation passing off our port side. We’d also caught a good breeze and the captain had decided to have me pull back my air-golems, still in the shape of mermaids holding nets in their hands, from filling the sails in order to save my strength. Smoke had taken more of my strength so she’d be ready if anything happened, as had the other six little ones, but that night nothing had. So I’d eaten well then stretched out in a hammock down in the crew’s quarters and fallen asleep.
It was the hour before dawn when I awoke. The crew hold stunk of men crammed together in the same space for too long, which included the lower class passengers as well as the dozen or so sailors themselves. Opening my eyes, I looked around. The crew had their own area off to themselves, with a few of the hammocks rolled up while the men were on watch, each sailor’s gear stowed in wooden lockers bearing their owner’s names. The lower class passengers around me held tight to their travel bags as they slept in their hammocks, hung one above another.
Mine I’d used as a pillow, and as I swung out of the hammock, my bare feet hitting the floor, I absently slung its leather strap over my shoulder as I quietly walked toward the ladder, the crew’s name for any set of stairs. It was dark inside but the dragon-globe set above the hatch gave enough light to see as I padded up to the steps. Beyond them I could see the upper class cabins, with their narrow doors of dark wood, each with grills set above and below to let in air. Selene had told me there was also a small duct connecting all the cabins with the outside. Her cabin was on the far left, and I noticed she had a light on as I climbed the stairs to the aft deck.
Once I reached the top I took a deep breath of the clean salt air before heading towards the bow. I climbed down the stairs to the main deck then up again to the foredeck, continuing forward until I reached the small, wooden platform set off the starboard bow, which hung over the water. I heaved a grateful sigh as I finished with matters of nature then moved off the platform to
the bow itself. The bowsprit was a long, thick pole pointing out from the front of the ship, and above it rested the ship’s figurehead: a carved statue of a queen, wearing robes painted bright blue and a crown painted gold. Her arms were held upward toward the sky as if asking God for mercy.
False dawn was lighting the sky ahead and to the left of us, painting the sky with streaks of red highlighting the morning clouds, and I realized I was coming to peace with myself. The bad times were finally over and I was enjoying the moment: the scent of salt water and the smell of tar, the crack of the canvas as the breeze stiffened, and the slap of the waves as the Queen Anne’s Regret bulled her way through them. Suddenly Smoke’s voice spoke in my ear. “About time you rousted yourself.”
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the hammock this morning,” I replied, glancing at the spot her voice was coming from.
“You know we don’t sleep,” she said tartly. “But while you were, one of my sisters made a pass over the ship.”
My relaxed mood was gone in a flash. “One of the Draco Dominus?”
“No, she was too big to belong to any mortal organization.”
“What do you mean, too big?”
“Tomas, she was huge! The sisters of the Draco Dominus are the largest and toughest of my kind I’ve ever seen, but this one could’ve ripped any of them apart with ease. She circled the ship a couple times, making note of us, and when I told her you belonged to me she laughed and flew away.”
“Smoke!”
“Short of finding a way to become human, I’m not giving you up, Swamp-rat. Besides, she can’t hurt me as long as I’ve got some of your strength.”
A woman’s voice spoke behind us. “The dragon-spirit is probably not interested in Tomas at all.” I turned to see Selene standing nearby, wearing a simple grey dress with her hair loose around her shoulders. In her hands she held a clay-fired cup. “I made myself some Bright-eye tea. Would you like some?” I smiled at her as I accepted it and took a drink. She’d made it sweeter than I liked, but its taste was still sharp on my tongue as it swept the cobwebs from my mind like a goodwife’s broom cleaning dusty corners of a house as Selene continued. “Smoke, what direction did this sister of yours come from?”
“South-east,” Smoke answered. “The same direction we’re going.”
“The same direction as Tortuga,” Selene said as I took another swallow of tea and handed the cup back to her. “I would say the dragon-spirit is most likely one of Captain Black’s.”
I felt relief the moment her words sunk in. “It makes sense he’d have a dragon-ghost that big, since he’s the strongest Dragon in the New World, or so everyone says. But what’s she doing out here?”
I heard a touch of exasperation in Selene’s voice. “Tomas, he is a pirate king: no doubt he has her scouting the shipping lanes.” She took a swallow of tea. “Since she is now on her way back, I imagine Captain Black will send out a ship to escort us back to Tortuga.”
“Which means Captain Voorhees will have to pay an escort fee,” my wits finally catching up to hers. “He’s going to hate that.”
“Better to pay than have his ship boarded and plundered.”
“True,” I agreed, “though I don’t understand why they wouldn’t just plunder the ship in the first place.”
“Bolts of cloth and the chance of a ghost-shell landing on their deck in place of a bag of gold?” Selene gave me a sardonic smile. “Pirates are basically lazy: they would much rather drink rum and chase wenches than fight. The whores of Tortuga, however, will pay an outrageous price for bolts of cloth they can use to make new dresses, gold they received from the pirates.”
I slowly nodded. “Who will take the gold Captain Voorhees pays them and spend it on the whores wearing their new dresses.” Selene smiled as a thought crossed my mind. “Where does Captain Black fit into all of this?”
“Captain Black calls himself ‘first among equals’, but everyone else calls him king of the pirates. As I understand it, he set himself up on Tortuga close to fifteen years ago, built up its defenses then invited his fellow pirates to join him there in what they call ‘The Brotherhood’. No one doubts that Captain Black is master of the island, but his rules are rather relaxed for its members, and his fellow pirates put up with them in exchange for the security Tortuga gives them.”
“Haven’t the Spanish tried to take Tortuga?”
“Twice,” Selene answered, “and failed miserably both times.”
Remembering Captain Voorhees’s words, I said, “But not all the pirates are part of this Brotherhood?”
“You have the right of it.” Selene took another sip of tea before she went on. “Some resent the fees Captain Black imposes, calling them taxes, while others wish to preserve their illusions of freedom.” I gave Selene a quizzical look and she smiled. “Forgive me: it is far too early in the morning to discuss philosophy. So, Tortuga...as I understand matters, any pirate may dock there if he pays the docking fees and obeys its laws, but they do so on sufferance, and in legal matters Captain Black normally takes the side of a member of the Brotherhood over that of an outsider.”
“How do you know so much about this?”
Selene gave a sigh as she looked out over the ocean. “Bartholomew. His was a mind well-travelled, and he delighted in having ship’s captains dine with us so he could hear their tales.” Her voice grew sardonic. “One of his Dragons would also dine with us, his dragon-ghost’s claws deep into the ship captain’s flesh so she would know the truthfulness of his words when she discussed it with us later.”
“But a dragon-ghost can’t tell if a tale’s true or not if the captain thought it was true,” I argued, on solid ground for once. “So your Bartholomew would’ve had to weigh the captain’s words with that in mind as well.”
Selene gave me a smile that warmed me down to my toes. “Well said, Tomas. I wish you could have met Bartholomew; I think the two of you would have gotten on. Bartholomew always did exactly what you said, and looked at problems from several different directions. No one in Venice could match wits with him. I remember the time...”
Selene told me amusing stories about important people I’d never heard of as the earth turned, and true dawn began lighting up the sky. Suddenly Smoke said in my ear, “Tomas, there’s a ship coming, straight ahead.”
I peered ahead, grabbing the deck rail as the ship hit a swell that sprayed us with cold salt water. Far off in the distance was a shape vaguely resembling a ship under full sail...coming right for us. I looked at Selene. “Could it be a Brotherhood ship?”
I heard a worried note enter Selene’s voice as she answered. “It would make sense to have the dragon-spirit working with a ship of the Brotherhood. Still, I had best warn Captain Voorhees.”
Remembering the tales the sailors visiting St. Augustine told, I said, “Isn’t it true the figurehead of every ship is different?” Selene nodded and I said, “I could send Smoke out to see what their figurehead is, and report back.”
“Belay that thought,” Smoke said at once, “because I’m not leaving you here without me. Besides, I’ve taken in so much of your strength I can’t fly their and back in time to warn you.”
An unknown girl’s voice spoke. “Me and Tiger could do it. We’ve used up all the strength you gave us, so we could fly there fast and get right back. We’re too little for the big sister to bother chasing, and even if she does, the other can warn you.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said, “but why don’t you have any of my strength left?”
“Because,” Smoke said in an amused voice, “Star and Tiger used it all animating the little dog-golem for the sailor’s amusement last night while you slept.”
“I told you we’d get into trouble,” Tiger said.
“Tomas never said we couldn’t,” Star shot back.
“You’re not in trouble,” I said quickly. “Go see what the figurehead looks like and fly right b
ack.”
“Yes, Tomas,” they said in unison.
Amusement tinged Selene’s voice. “Little dragon-spirits truly are like children.”
“They are,” I answered, watching the sails on the horizon grow steadily larger. “I’d better go warn whoever has the watch.”
Selene agreed and we went down the stairs to the main deck, crossed it, and climbed back up to the aft one. As luck would have it, Captain Voorhees had come up from the hold himself and was now standing on deck. Captain Voorhees truly resembles his ship, I thought as he adjusted his captain’s coat and heaved his bulk towards us with a rolling gait. “You both are up early.”
“Captain,” Selene said urgently, “we may have trouble.”
As she told him about the large dragon-ghost circling the Flyte and the approaching ship, the captain’s expression grew grave. “Ya, trouble indeed. She may well be a ship of the Brotherhood, but we take no chances. Tomas, go below and warn Mr. Bierson then wake the others.”
“Aye sir,” I said and ran for the aft hatch, pelting down the steps into the hold. Once below, I ducked under crossbeams and skirted my way around barrels until I reached Mr. Bierson’s hammock. I also noticed a dragon-globe in a rope basket, covered by a black cloth, and I whipped off the covering so its light filled the cabin.
At once men began complaining as they covered their eyes with their arms. “Belay your whining,” Mr. Bierson growled as he swung off his hammock. He was dressed in a stained undergarment covering him from chest to thigh, and he absently reached for the clothes folded on a barrel next to his hammock as he looked at me. “What’s amiss?”
