Anienam asked, “Are they impossible because you choose to disbelieve them or because your mind cannot fathom the depths of mystery? The trappings of the unknown far exceed our mortal realm.”
“Impossible because no one else is missing. Why would a man murder another and then abandon ship? Where would he go? The cold would kill him in minutes.”
“Your line of questioning does you disservice,” Rekka said. “There is no point to wondering if the rest of the passengers and crew are accounted for.”
She had a point, he begrudgingly admitted. Then again, she also took an unwitting step towards defending his point of view.
“Precisely,” he countered. The gleam in his eyes whispered mischief, like a hunter catching the scent of wounded prey. “The killer is still among us.”
“If what you say is true that implies our killer is somehow able to mask himself from my powers, making him a…”
“Wizard,” Bahr frowned.
“Impossible.”
Bahr arched an eyebrow. “Is it?”
“I would have felt him the moment he boarded. Magic cannot be hidden from other users. He could conceal himself from those insensitive to the gift but I would have known.”
“This takes us back to the beginning. The question remains, what do we do next? I am out of ideas and ill at ease,” Bahr all but hissed.
He collapsed back into the cushioned chair. All of this intrigue left him haggard, raw. He had half a mind to turn back to Chadra. Every moment wasted hunting this phantom killer stole from his niece’s life. Above all else, her life was paramount. His thoughts never strayed from the softness of her face and the mirth in her laugh. Tears welled in the back of his eyes. It took every ounce of strength and dignity not to cry in front of his guests.
“We might ask them again but I fear it would end the same,” Rekka suggested.
Bahr asked, “What do you propose? At this point I am willing to listen to any suggestion. Nothing we’ve done has worked yet.”
“There is no need to argue,” Anienam cautioned at the glint of rising anger in Bahr’s voice. “Let me meditate first. Both of you go topside and try to keep the peace. The answer will present itself to me, of that I am convinced.”
“Hopefully before another body turns up,” Bahr added.
He left the wizard behind, cautiously wondering how the old man managed to turn the conversation and place himself in a position of power.
*****
“He’s done nothing but glower since the confrontation this morning,” Dorl said after dropping his last card on the barrel.
Nothol snatched the card and laid down three of a kind. “He’ll be all right. If not then we get to adjust his attitude.”
Dorl eyed the card angrily. “Damn. How much is that?”
“Sixty,” Nothol smirked. “You can save some dignity and quit now.”
“Not until I win my money back.”
Nothol laughed. “We don’t have that much time. Besides, you still owe me from the last three months. I’m waiting to see that.”
“Stop taking my money and I’ll be able to pay you off.”
“Let you win?” Nothol feigned astonishment. “You’ve got a better chance of me cutting my own leg off.”
Dorl gave him a wounded look. “That hurts. Do you think I would do such a thing?”
“Shut up already and deal the cards.”
The soft swoosh of Rekka’s sword slicing intricate patterns through the air mimicked the pulse of the wave against the prow. She ignored the sell swords and their constant squabbling. Dressed in a simple dark brown bodysuit, Rekka was the perfect combination of beauty and lethality. Her hair was tied back in a long braid that whipped around her head and shoulders with each movement. The thin film of sweat gave her flesh a glossy sheen enough to make Dorl sigh.
“You’re going to get yourself in trouble,” Boen rumbled as he walked up behind them. He took a seat and admired Rekka going through her drill. “Still, she’s a fine looking woman.”
Dorl couldn’t agree more. “That she is.”
“Judging by the way she wields that pretty little sword, a very dangerous one. Be careful with that one lad.”
“You’re full of cheer this morning. Uncharacteristically, I might add,” Dorl said. He shifted back to Rekka but it was too late. Boen had already spoiled the vision.
The Gaimosian shrugged off the comment.
Nothol set down the cards with a sharpened look. “Is the old man any closer to finding the killer?”
“No,” Boen answered. “The old salt is spooked and good. That wizard is keeping secrets from us.”
“Never trust a wizard. They’ve been the bane of Malweir for generations,” Dorl spat.
Boen shot him a skeptical glance. Gaimosians had evolved to become some of the first mages. The order eventually rose to such heights that it tore itself, and most of the world, apart. Men and women of all races filled the ranks. A force for justice, they became corrupt with the taint of darkness and a great and terrible war erupted. Those that survived suffered the effects for thousands of years after. Few living remembered the true beginnings of the hatred of magic, but it had been ingrained in Boen from childhood. It was also his deepest dread. He hoped and prayed his blood lacked the desire to take himself beyond mortality. Malweir had hurt enough because of his kind.
“How much longer till we land?” he asked.
Nothol answered. “Should be this evening. The wind has been good to us.”
“Good. I am tired of boats,” Dorl yawned.
“Who says land is less dangerous?”
“How so?” Nothol asked.
“The killer is confined here, limited in what he can do. Once we get ashore he gets a host of options.”
Dorl swallowed hard. He was a seasoned man, but the thought of being stalked by an assassin chilled his blood. He idly wondered how long it would be until others found his body with a knife in his back.
“I’m beginning not to like this,” he mumbled, thoughts filled with desperation.
The Dragon’s Bane sailed on, drawing ever closer to the port town of Dredl. Rekka Jel finished her exercises against the soft blue sky backdrop. Clouds smattered the skies like so many puffs of dreams from the gods. She casually wiped the sweat from her brow and gave them a peculiar glance. Dorl took it for what was: she knew exactly what they’d been talking about. Dorl Theed blushed for the first time in years.
*****
Ionascu watched them from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t been involved in any more conversations since Bahr went on his witch hunt for the killer. The dead body on deck had been disturbing, making his mission all the more difficult. Everywhere he went Ionascu felt eyes silently measuring him. Noting his every move. Accusations sat on each lip with a growing ache to be said. Ionascu struggled with maintaining a sense of calm and flashes of anger stewing in his core.
No one on board knew his true identity and it was a good thing considering recent developments. If they so much as guessed he was one of the king’s captains he’d be drawn and quartered before dusk. Even the mercenaries would turn on him. No one liked a rat. He snorted. Rat. A lifetime of service devoted to Badron and Delranan had only managed to secure him the title of rat. His veins burned with rage.
“I don’t be liking the way they think they be better than us,” Lon, a gangly youth barely old enough to grow a beard said as he came up beside Ionascu.
The kingsman feigned indifference. “How would you have them act? A man they didn’t even get to meet was brutally murdered. There are nineteen of us left who don’t fit in with the crew. Bahr doesn’t want trouble, but he isn’t willing to trust men he doesn’t know. I don’t think I’d act any differently. Besides, one of us is the killer.”
“Wasn’t me,” Lon shook his head. “None of my boys neither. We’re all good men signed on to help the princess.”
“So are we all. It doesn’t change the facts.”
Lon wasn’t buying in to
it. “You’re in good with the Cap’n. What do they be saying about us?”
A gust of wind tossed his stringy blonde hair across his face.
Be careful here, Ionascu cautioned himself. “Captain Bahr and the others are worried about us.”
“Huh. Can’t tell by me. I say we look at that brown skin girl, her being a foreigner and all. The way she be swinging that fancy sword of hers I got no doubt about her being able to hack a few heads off.”
The boy had a point. He may have been some small town hick with a terrible accent, but he recognized the natural progression of dangerous thought. Ionascu almost smiled. Rekka Jel was the obvious choice for the assassin, which cancelled her out. He knew better than to go with the obvious choices. For all he knew Lon was the killer. Ionascu knew better than to trust anyone at this point.
“Go ahead and try her if you want. I’m sure King Badron will give a good stipend to your next of kin,” he told the boy.
Lon gave it a quick thought. “I’m hungry. Come on, let’s see if there’s any of that stew left over.”
“You go ahead. I want to finish oiling my sword. We should be making landfall soon.”
Lon grunted again. “Looks like you be expecting a war as soon as we land.”
“It never hurts to be prepared. You’d do well to follow my example.”
“Just cause those fools named you our leader don’t mean we have. For all we know you killed that man. Can’t trust nobody on this crate.”
Ionascu bristled. He may be a spy, but he was no murderer. Lon’s youthful ignorance needed a lesson; one he could ill afford to give with everyone’s attention on him. Ionascu was still good enough to hack the man to pieces in a fair fight. He forced the thought from his mind and took a calming breath.
“If I am not your leader why do you keep looking to me for guidance?” he asked. Anger laced the words like poison.
Lon shot back, “Someone’s got to talk to the Cap’n. Might as well be you. Me and the boys didn’t come to do no talkin’. ‘Sides, they always be asking for you. Looks like they found a leader of their own.”
“Careful friend. I’m a patient man but I do have my limits,” his voice was measured and warning.
Lon’s face hardened. “If I didn’t know better I’d say that be a threat.”
“Think what you want. I’m one of you.”
“We’ll see,” Lon said and walked off.
Ionascu frowned. His life suddenly got much more complicated, making his task damn near impossible.
*****
“We’ll see.”
Skuld listened intently to the mercenaries argue. He fully expected an all-out brawl before the younger one stormed off. The gutter rat idly considered running to tell Captain Bahr what he’d heard. Being a stowaway was bad enough, but if the mercenaries got wind that he was spying for the captain he wouldn’t last the night. Dorl Theed and Nothol Coll would stand for him, but even they wouldn’t be able to watch him constantly. One of Lon’s troop would slit his throat and drop the body in the waters.
Skuld shivered at the thought and paled as Ionascu turned and looked him dead in the eyes. Recognition flashed, though just a hint. The older man sheathed his sword and moved away, leaving the boy to wonder how much shorter his life just became. Skuld felt trapped. He desperately needed to be trusted. Turning in the mercenaries to Bahr would assure that much but it would make dire enemies out of men who lacked scruples. A jolt of fear ran down his spine. He was the least harmless on the boat. So why did he feel it all hinged on his actions? Skuld suddenly knew exactly what he had to do in order to preserve himself another day.
SIXTEEN
“Land!”
The call echoed over the frosted decks of the Dragon’s Bane. Most of the surviving mercenaries crowded the bow, eager to see the calming effects of the nearing shore. A singular sentiment echoed in them all. They wanted off the boat and the choice of disappearing completely if things went sour. No one wanted to be the next to die.
Bahr stomped on deck. He looked haggard from the lack of sleep the murder had produced. There’d been no breaks in solving the murder. Suspicions rose across the boat. Boen had been forced to put down three fights between passengers and crew. Tensions ran high and Bahr had no solutions. Rekka Jel and the wizard were proving to be of little worth in the matter. The greater part of Bahr wanted to put the mercenaries ashore and head back to Chadra.
Bahr gazed out towards the eastern shore. It took a moment of careful scanning but he was satisfied that the northern tip of the Murdes Mountains lay off to his starboard. They’d made land close enough to Dredl to make him happy. Better, they didn’t have to worry about crossing into Pell Darga territory. Another hour or two and they’d make port. Delranan was far behind. The closest rule was that of the city-state of Rogscroft. He frowned. Rogscroft was a potential enemy. Bahr recognized the fact they needed to be careful from here on out.
“Dorl!” he called out. “Round up the others and have them meet me in my cabin.”
Dorl obeyed, silently wondering what had sparked this new round of meetings.
Bahr waited for Boen to close the door behind him. He was the last to enter.
“Our focus changes once we hit land. Dredl is a neutral port but we will be under the constant scrutiny of Rogscroft. We have no friends here, no allies. Do nothing to provoke any sort of attack or our lives are forfeit.”
“We can handle ourselves well enough,” Ionascu said for the men under him.
While Bahr approved of the man taking charge, he wasn’t clear of the motive. Men like Ionascu almost always had a second angle of approach. He was still dangerous, even with some of the wind taken from his sail.
“I’m sure you can, though it is not the conduct of your mercenaries that concerns me. I’ve had suspicions King Badron is preparing Delranan for war. If that is true, Rogscroft is the only viable target. My….king has long envied the city. That makes our task all the more hazardous.”
“What makes you think the army is coming here?” Ionascu asked. A tinge of nervousness hinted his words.
He regretted the comment immediately. Talk like that was the surest way of revealing his true reasons for being on board. Just like Bahr nearly slipped by saying my king. Ionascu idly wondered what that was all about. He needed to stay focused, especially now. The good captain had a secret he didn’t want people to know. The spy smiled. He’d get to the bottom of that sooner or later and the game would shift back in his favor.
Bahr was hesitant to explain his reasons for what he knew. Doing so would just give the spy more time to panic and he needed calm heads all the way around.
“Some would claim an army has no use unless deployed to the field. The Wolfsreik is the strongest army in northern Malweir but they haven’t been tested in nearly a decade. Their blades have grown rusty while lesser kingdoms’ grow sharper,” Bahr told them.
And I know Badron better than any man alive. He’ll stop at nothing to expand his empire, no matter the cost. He’d even sacrifice his own flesh and blood in order to advance. An empire wouldn’t be enough for him.
“Perhaps you know more than the rest of us,” Ionascu slyly suggested.
Bahr didn’t take the bait. “Perhaps I do. That doesn’t change the obvious. If it is war ahead we need to avoid contact as much as possible.”
“We’ll be watched from the moment we touch ground,” Boen put in. “Strangers are never accepted easily. If it is war, the leadership here should already know, in which case our problems will become simplified.”
“Simplified?” Dorl exclaimed. “How do you figure that? We’ll be wanted men the moment the harbor master logs the Bane in.”
“Then stay on the boat,” Rekka Jel said in her straightforward manner.
Nothol Coll stifled a laugh with the back of his hand.
Dorl’s face reddened but he stayed quiet. The foul look he gave his best friend was enough.
“You could stay on the boat, but the Bane sails at dawn,
” Bahr told them all.
“What?”
Shock rippled through the cabin. No one could believe Bahr was willing to abandon them on hostile ground.
Ionascu exclaimed, “What is our plan for escape once we have the princess? You’ll doom us all.”
The Sea Wolf waited long enough for the uproar to calm down before explaining. A sidelong glance told him that even Anienam Keiss was concerned. Good, Bahr thought, that ought to take out some of his smugness. Truth be told, Bahr felt trapped almost every time the wizard opened his mouth. A little humility went a long way.
“My helmsman has been given explicit instructions on where to meet us. Fear not, and do not concern yourself on this matter. The Dragon’s Bane will be there.”
“How can this not concern us? We’re being dropped off in enemy territory to fend for ourselves! This is madness,” Ionascu protested.
Anger flashed hotly in his eyes. He wasn’t the only one thinking they’d been betrayed. Bahr noticed that same reluctant doubt in Dorl and Nothol. Even the stalwart Boen appeared taken back.
Rekka Jel bowed her head ever so slightly. “This is the captain’s boat. He may do as he wishes. I will prepare.”
She slipped through them and out the door before any could object.
Boen shifted suddenly. There was something about Bahr’s speech that didn’t sit right. He just couldn’t put his finger on it. “Dredl won’t be the problem. I’ve been here before. The folk are pleasant enough, after a fashion. It’s the city guard and any garrison that will make things difficult. This should be fun.”
His booming laugh echoed off the cramped walls even as he filed out to gather his meager belongings. The others all spoke their peace and left Bahr to carry out his final preparations. Their mission had suddenly become real and they needed to rely on each other if he expected to make it back to Chadra with Maleela. Bahr hoped he had collected the right people for the job.
Dorl and Nothol were the last to leave. Halfway out the door Dorl turned back and said, “At least we can get a proper mug of ale before we all get killed.”
Hammers in the Wind Page 12
