The Mage's Daughter 2: Book Two: Enlightenment

by LeRoy Clary

  Prin cast a disbelieving look at him.

  “No, really. The clay bakes in the sun and gets hard, I guess, but where it washes from the rocks, you can see what’s underneath. The streets are so skinny you can hardly pass another person without touching them. And they wear long things kinda like you, but theirs are longer skirts and hoods cover their heads to protect from the sun. They decorate them with wild colors.”

  “Are they nice?”

  “How the hell would I know?”

  “I thought you’d been there.”

  “Listen, I don’t mess with strangers like them and suggest you don’t either.”

  She rinsed the deck and wet the next section. As she pulled the bucket again and started to mop, the bos’n appeared. “What’r you doing here?”

  “I wanted to ask him about Donella,” Prin said before Jam could speak.

  “Yeah, she’s right.”

  “If I catch you sluffing off again, you skip the mid-day meal.” The bos’n started to leave but spun and said, “For you, Prin. The captain sends his compliments for doing a good job.”

  The color in Jam’s cheeks told of his anger, and the look he gave her said she may as well have kept her mouth shut instead of trying to protect him and make him a friend. She pulled another bucket of water and glanced around to find herself alone. The job was hard, the routine steady, and the sea calm. A hum deep in her throat turned into a song. She used the swab as a dancing partner until she remembered the eyes in the wheelhouse. Looking up, she found the captain smiling at her antics.

  When the bell for the meal rang, she ran to the mess hall and intentionally sat in Jam’s seat again. Sara saw what she did and laughed as she placed a large bowl of steaming fish stew beside the small clay bowls. After the lack of food, the day before, she was making up for missing the evening meal.

  The door opened at her back and closed again without anyone entering. She assumed it was Jam after seeing where she sat. Prin refused to allow a smile to show, but inside, she enjoyed a belly-laugh.

  The stew was thick. Chunks of turnips and carrots were in a broth heavy with fish, but there were spices she’d never tasted, and the more she ate, the hotter the spices became, but she didn’t slow down. Sara served a mug of weak ale for each of them. Prin found it sour and a little bitter, but the aftertaste was lingering, and a little like the better ale served at the castle.

  She said to the room at large, “Will we get to go ashore in Donella?”

  The question drew the immediate interest of Sara, but she said nothing. The captain said, “Those not restricted to the ship are free to go ashore—after the cargo is unloaded. That is usually done quickly, and then I must arrange for cargo to carry, which arrives the next day. So, you get an afternoon and night to do whatever you like, to answer your question.”

  “Then we’re sailing back to Indore?” Prin asked.

  “Oh, no. We have a cargo route. People expecting us, and cargo to carry to at least six more ports before we travel back there. If we can pick up the right cargo, we may not return for half a year, or more.”

  “A half year?” Prin wailed, knowing she sounded like Jam and not caring.

  “Or more,” the captain said, scooping more fish stew to his mouth to cover up the amused twitch at the corners of his lips.

  Prin looked around for any indication of humor and saw none. Only Jam wore a smile, and it didn’t look funny, it looked self-satisfied.

  When they all went back to work, only Sara and Prin remained in the mess hall. Sara reached for the small book again, but Prin said, “Did you know about that? A half year?”

  “I didn’t, but I’m not surprised. In fact, there is a measure of happiness because I’m imagining that young mage tearing up Indore and checking on every girl between the ages of ten and fifteen, but you’re not there.”

  “Someone may tell him about me.”

  “I don’t think so. Not because they don’t want the reward, but the few that know you will believe another told him about you, so they won’t. Besides, many will not connect you because he is looking for one, and we are a family pair. Then, there’s the matter of the blonde hair. Only El had noticed the color, and we shaved you again.”

  Sara ignored the book she was supposed to read from. “What do you think the young mage will do?”

  “Well, I don’t believe he will stay in Indore half a year searching for you, but I don’t expect he will stop his search, either. My guess is he will hire people to watch for you and send a messenger to him if you’re seen.”

  “That worries me.”

  “But we have half a year to think of how we proceed and make sure that does not happen.”

  Prin accepted the explanation and started to open the book, but as she turned to reach for it, she noticed the toe of a shoe beside the partly door that led to the crew’s quarters. She pointed.

  Sara saw the shoe and being closer to the door, climbed to her feet, leaped to the door, yanking it open.

  Jam stood there, ear to the door.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sara snarled at Jam, “Why are you spying on us?”

  “There’s a reward for you?” His eyes were locked on Prin, a humorless smile still in place.

  “I hope the bos’n does throw you overboard,” Sara said. “Now get out of here before I do it myself.”

  He left, after a last superior smile cast in Prin’s direction. She said, “Well, that was not the best thing to happen.”

  Sara shrugged, but her tense face belied her concern. “A lot can happen in half a year. Jam may learn some manners, or I may punch that nose that seems to constantly be in our business. No matter, begin reading on page three, no pre-reading this time. Let’s see how you do with no help.”

  Prin began reading, slow and stumbling, but after figuring out the words to a sentence, she went back to the beginning and read it all without error, then went on to the next sentence, rarely needing help.

  When she reached the bottom of the page, Sara said, “I think we can truthfully say that you can read. Now it is just a matter of practice. Read aloud each day. I’ll be sitting here studying the diary, and when you don’t know a word, stop and point.”

  “Is it so hard to read the diary? I’d like to read it.”

  “Yes, it’s way too hard. First, it is written by hand, and not always the most careful. It is also written using a few strange words, and I get the feeling some others have different meanings.”

  “Did she do that on purpose?”

  “No, I think things change over time and distance. In our land, we may call a female horse a mare, but in another land, it might be something else. It was not done to confuse, it’s just different.”

  “Is there anything interesting?”

  “Yes. This was written when she was first living alone, and about my age, I think. She did not say that directly, but was intended to be read only by her so she wouldn’t add that sort of information because she already knew it.”

  “But she was a sorceress?” Prin looked to the door to make sure it was closed to Jam, and she had lowered her voice.

  Sara said, “That much is clear. She went to live in the city from a small village. It reminds me of what I intended to do. She took a room to rent, and found another sorceress that she hopes will teach her.”

  “You should write a diary. And you might put in your diary when we learn something good, something we can use. Like maybe a forget-what-you-heard spell that we can put on Jam.”

  Sara chuckled and said, “We have six months to find something like that, and they do exist. Maybe it will be right on these pages if you let me get back to reading it.”

  Chagrined, Prin turned back to her reading about the silly dog with the tail that was so long it caused one problem after another. When a word couldn’t be figured out, she silently pointed, and Sara provided the information. But Prin was old enough to study each word she didn’t know, then when she came across it again, she often recognized it. But th
ere was another problem she encountered. Not all words were familiar to her ear. Those she asked about, and even Sara hadn’t heard some.

  Instead of reading a single page, as the day before, she finished with six. Back on the deck, she went to her bucket and mop. The bos’n came along and tossed a floppy hat to her. He said, “Sunburn. Wear that in the middle of the day.”

  He barely paused as he spoke. Her face felt hot, and she put the hat on, then pulled up another bucket of water. Nearly the entire deck had been swabbed, but she took the time to look around as she worked. Seabirds circled the ship, and in the distance, she spotted two other ships, but no land in any direction.

  Three more days of afternoon study, and one storm in the night brought them within sight of mountains in the far distance, with clouds surrounding the white peaks. She accompanied the bos’n to each of the crates on the deck, him carrying a clipboard and her reading the destination of each. She also carried a small jar of green paint and a brush. After verifying each crate destined for Donella, a splash of green was made on each where it couldn’t be missed.

  He took her below to the forward cargo hold and carried a lantern. They repeated the pattern, and she found that nearly all crates for Donella were stored together, so crates shipping to other ports didn’t have to be shifted or unloaded to get to the ones they wanted. She started to realize there was more to the procedure than she knew, but she appreciated the forethought.

  She said, “Shouldn’t Jam be doing this? I don’t want him more upset at me than he already is. I’m just supposed to be the deck scrubber.”

  The bos’n was double-checking the last of the crates in the forward hold. He turned and said, “The boy refuses to learn to read, so he’s no help. Sayed tries to help where he can, but he reads another language, so about all he can do is hold the lantern for me.”

  Prin started for the ladder and the small hatch to take her above deck, when he called softly, “Listen here. Don’t you worry about him. His father knows he’s worthless and he sees how hard you work. Me too. If that boy does anything, and I mean anything to cause you problems, you let me know.”

  “But his father is the captain.”

  “I run the deck. If I have to, I’ll restrict him to stay in the wheelhouse with his father the entire trip. Then it’ll be his father that throws him over the side, not me.”

  “His father might not let you.”

  “As it is, the crew has had about enough of the boy. The deck hadn’t been properly cleaned since long before you came aboard, and other tasks have fallen behind. He isn’t well liked; his father depends on me to make him grow up a little. I fear I’m failing.”

  Prin decided to change the subject. It seemed she was learning more than she wanted, although the bos’n was generally quiet. “I heard we get to Donella tomorrow morning.”

  “We do.”

  “We’ll unload the ship, and then we can go into the town?”

  “You can go if you’re with an adult. Sara will do. I’ll talk to her and give a few suggestions.” He climbed up the ladder and waited for Prin before replacing the hatch cover. They went to the next hold and repeated the process.

  When done, she went to the rail where Sayed leaned and looked out to the land. “Where is your home?”

  “Far from here.”

  “What’s it like?”

  “There is a great river that flows through a desert so dry there is no water for days in any direction. But along the river, it is green, and there are villages of farmers on both sides, as well as cities. Boats sail the river instead of using roads.”

  “That sounds interesting. Will we be going there?”

  “No, it is so far away, I’ll never see it again.”

  She watched the mountains and found they were clearer than the last time she had looked. A few had snow on the peaks. The tall sides appeared rugged. She said, “It’s none of my business, but why did you leave home? I mean, were you escaping or did they send you away?”

  “An old story. There was a girl. Her station in life was above mine. It was best to leave.”

  “Do you regret it?”

  “I think about her, sometimes, but do I regret leaving? No. Had I stayed, I would have worked with my four brothers on a farm too small to support half that many mouths. Or, I would have indentured myself to another farm with no sons, a farm I could never own. As the youngest, my options were few, but that is life, no matter where you live. At least, it was that way for me. My goal was to find work that interested me. I was lucky to find the sea.”

  That was the most Sayed had ever spoken to her, and she suspected the most personal information about himself he’d shared with anyone on the ship. “Have you ever been to Donella?”

  “Three times with this ship. It is a good place, if isolated. The mountains are impassable, they say, so there is no travel inland. They form a half circle, from the ocean to the ocean, so, the only access is from the sea. There cannot be an expansion of the city, so they make the best of what they have.”

  “I heard the houses are made of mud.”

  “Clay, plastered over shale. Most buildings are generations old. It does not rain much, but the roofs overhang and keep the walls dry, as well as providing shade. The people are friendly, if strange because they live differently, but that goes for all ports.”

  “That people live differently?”

  “Yes, and that they are friendly. In my land, we have a story that is true about people, all people. When you travel, you find the same sort of people as those you left behind. If they were kind where you used to live, that’s what you will find in a new place. If they were spiteful and hateful, again that is what you will find.”

  “How can that be?” Prin asked.

  Sayed looked off to the mountains and waited before answering. “I think it has to do with how you see others. How you treat them.”

  “Jam said they are may not be nice in Donella, but he didn’t know for sure because he didn’t care.”

  “That is about what I’d believe he would think. Either that or that they are terrible people who are lazy and do only a little work when the bos’n is around. And they blame their problems on others.”

  She laughed.

  He said, “You carry a knife for protection.”

  “I do.” She didn’t mention the other, the one between her shoulder blades. There hadn’t been a time she needed it, and Sara had told her to keep it hidden.

  “No matter what, there are good and bad people anywhere. Carry your knife ashore and hope you do not require it, but do not be fearful of using it. There are parts of any port where those who do not follow the law congregate. Stay away from there, and you should be fine. If you want an escort, I’m free.”

  She thanked him, but she and Sara had private things to discuss. She’d ask Sara if they wanted to include him, but the offer to explore a new city unimpeded was too good to ignore. Sayed left her standing at the rail, and she watched the details of the land become more distinct. To her right, she saw where the mountain chain turned and went down to the sea. She imagined the same to the north, still out of sight. A small crescent of livable land in the hollow between the mountains and sea. She found she liked the idea. It seemed the mountains embraced and protected the city.

  Jam eased up to her side as the sun went down and the last of the sky tinged pink, and then faded to dusk without speaking. Then he suddenly asked, “So, how much are they offering for your head?”

  She turned to him. “More than you would think.”

  “Who did you steal from?”

  She glanced around. They were alone and out of sight of the rest of the crew in the dim light. He stood blocking her advancement, and the rail blocked her retreat. His smile grew nasty. He shoved his chest at hers, pushing her harder against the rail.

  “I didn’t steal,” she said softly, leaning closer to him as her hand slipped between her legs and pulled the dagger without him seeing. “Some say I killed two boys about your age.
Others say five. I don’t like boys with smart mouths who push me around, you see.”

  He backed a step.

  She cleaned her fingernails with the point of the knife, being careful to never point it, or threaten him in any way. He back another step, his eyes on the dull blade. She said, “You see, I’m the kind of person who only hurts those who hurt me, and those who try to.

  “What do you do?” He took another step away until he stood near the base of the mast.

  She glanced up. “See that little white spot in the mast?”

  He turned to look, as the knife from her other scabbard filled her hand. She threw. It buried itself in the center of the white mark. He never saw where it came from, but it struck and quivered close enough for him to reach out and touch. She placed the rapier back under her skirt.

  She said, “Would you mind bringing that thing back to me? Please?”

  He spun and disappeared without returning the knife.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Sara appeared out of the darkness and joined Prin at the rail, the throwing knife in her hand. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I know.”

  “His father is upset.”

  “At me? I didn’t do anything but protect myself,” Prin protested.

  “No, at Jam. He thinks the boy was down here causing you problems and now he’s up there telling all sorts of strange stories about rewards offered for you and knives almost taking his ear. Of course, his father already knew about the rewards from El.”

  “That boy is going to be trouble for us,” Prin said.

  Sara sighed, “I know. If he becomes too much, you and I can stay in port and catch another ship.”

  “Maybe one larger than this, and we can sail as passengers instead of as part of the crew?”

  “That would be boring. For now, be thankful for what we have. Tomorrow, we’ll find ourselves in a strange new land where we know nothing. I’ve heard the people have different customs and live in strange houses,” Sara said, her excitement evident.