Cold Iron

by Stina Leicht

  Treaty Island, Suvi thought. It wasn’t what she’d expected.

  More anxiety settled into her already-tense shoulder muscles. Her uncle had been in support of her venture. That alone had given Suvi pause. It was clear he wanted her out of the country for a time, and if it hadn’t been for Ilta’s warning, Suvi would’ve devised a reason to stay. However, Dylan’s freedom rested in the balance as well as the future of Eledore’s relationship with the Waterborne Nations. The full weight of responsibility painfully tightened the muscles in Suvi’s shoulders and brought freezing jolts of terror in the middle of the night. Her mother had been unwilling to leave. She’d given the excuse that someone needed to keep an eye on Sakari, which was true enough. However, Suvi knew that her mother employed several korvas for that purpose. Something else was going on at home.

  Focus on the problem at hand. Suvi sneaked a sideways glance at Dylan. He sat with a rigid back and a carefully blank expression. She’d done the same herself enough times to recognize it for what it was. Her stomach did yet another uneasy jitter. What’s going to happen to him?

  No doubt, there would be consequences for his return—consequences he wouldn’t like, but she had no idea what those might be, and that worried her. She didn’t enjoy entering situations with so many unknowns, particularly when it involved people she cared about. The Sea Lord Kask’s acceptance letter to her hadn’t provided any clues. It had been cordial, if a bit formal. Since the Waterborne Nations hadn’t been open to negotiations with an Ilmari in more than thirty years, some would say that this was an auspicious start. However, the bay was curiously lacking in Waterborne sailing vessels, and angry clouds gathered in the southeast like knotted fists. Something about the storm didn’t seem right to Suvi. She double-checked the jagged reef they’d had to navigate through in order to reach the bay. Is it a trap? It’d be a simple thing for a weathermaster to smash both the Otter and the Indomitable on the rocks. Such things had been done before.

  In the past.

  “The weather will hold until we’ve gone,” Dylan said, fingers trailing in the water as the men and women behind them rowed. His voice was matter-of-fact.

  Suvi wished she could be so calm—or at least fake it as well as he was doing. “How do you know?”

  A line appeared between Dylan’s eyebrows. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “I feel it in the water.”

  Suvi looked to Jami and Piritta, who were perched with careful poise among the baggage. Suvi whispered to Dylan, “The storm isn’t natural.”

  “I suspect it’s only intended as a warning. Of course, if things go bad … well …” Dylan let the sentence trail off and shrugged.

  “You should go back to the Otter,” Suvi said. “There’s no need for you to be among the landing party. I’ve Jami and Piritta for protection. I’ll be safe enough.”

  Dylan arched an eyebrow at her. “Everything isn’t about you, you know.” He leaned forward and whispered, “And it is you who shouldn’t be on this boat. You should be careful.”

  “Are you?” She’d had a lengthy argument with the ship’s captain. It seemed the king had given orders about the meeting with Kask taking place on the Otter rather than the island, but Suvi had felt it was important to make a show of trust.

  “It’s not the same thing.” Staring at the beach for a long moment, Dylan waited and then said, “It would’ve come to a challenge sooner or later.”

  “You didn’t say anything about a duel.”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the words ‘piss off, it’s none of your damned business’ featured heavily in the last discussion.”

  The bottom of the longboat struck the shore, making a loud scraping noise. A sailor leapt out of the prow and into the water, soaking her clothes up to her knees. She was joined by three others and the boat was dragged farther up a beach composed of tiny, smooth rocks. The sailors stopped tugging, allowing the longboat’s passengers to debark. Jami and Suvi were among the first. Dylan and then Piritta, who had to be carried by one of the sailors, followed.

  Suvi waded to shore on her own, wetting her tall boots in the warm water. Luckily, her moon time had passed. Skirts and confinement were no longer necessary. She preferred to wear breeches when aboard ship. Regardless, she wore stays underneath her uniform coat—she kept to some conventions while aboard ship, provided she wasn’t having to scale ratlines. They weren’t regulation, but she liked stays. So, she wore them much to her mother’s relief. However, skirts and a pannier were another matter. The idea of having to swim in yards and yards of heavy, waterlogged wool should the worst happen terrified Suvi. There would be no quick means of shedding them, especially since the current dress styles often required Piritta to sew her into them. Still, the occasion required finery. So, Suvi wore her dress uniform, which consisted of a long, dark blue velvet officer’s frock coat with cuffs, gold and silver braid, matching dark blue breeches, white stockings, and tall brown boots. She kept the weighty cocked hat with its ridiculous plume of white feathers tucked under her arm.

  Breathing in the island’s heady perfume of sea spray, pine, and baked sand, she cleared her nose of three weeks’ worth of ship’s filth. Then she strode up the beach. The crunch of her steps joined the chorus of tiny stones grinding against one another. With the exception of Jami, every party member’s footsteps seemed to echo off the cliffs. The marine lieutenant gave his troops a series of silent signals, and two Eledorean marines remained behind to guard the longboat. Suvi stopped twenty feet from the tree line with Dylan on her right and Jami to her left. The korva’s scarred face was set in its usual serene mask.

  Still, there was no sign of anyone.

  What if this was a mistake? Suvi thought. It felt good to have Dylan there. She hadn’t seen him in so much finery before and didn’t think it a good sign.

  Dylan tugged down the formal Waterborne coat of teal-dyed raw silk with green cuffs. His green trousers and deep blue shirt were trimmed in gold thread. The wind tugged at his spirit knots, which were newly adorned with glittering gold and silver jeweled tokens. Even his boots were polished.

  “We’re at the chart coordinates given. I checked them myself. So, where’s Sea Lord Kask?” she asked.

  Dylan’s left hand rested on the hilt of his cutlass as he scanned the trees. “That storm is his. He isn’t far.”

  “Then where is he?”

  “Don’t get your feathers ruffled just yet, girl chick,” Dylan whispered. “Like as not, this is a test. Eledore isn’t known for patience and courtesy. And it was your uncle who raided and sank the Walrus, after all. Arrogant prick.”

  “He hasn’t changed much,” Suvi muttered, and then paused. “That reminds me of something.”

  “Aye?”

  “Try to remember that I’m the marshal of a fleet.” She kept her voice low. “Do not refer to me as ‘girl chick’ in front of anyone again.”

  Dylan gave out an amused grunt.

  If a display of patience was what Sea Lord Kask required, Suvi would give it to him. Unlike her father or her uncle, she was willing to sacrifice a little pride. So, she stood her ground in the humidity while sweat traced an itchy path down her back. The weather was too warm and close for the layers of itching wool. At least we’re standing in the shade, she thought. The calls of birds and other wildlife drifted back into hearing. Moisture rode the wind gusting off the bay. Midsummer was already a week away. She wondered if this island ever saw a real winter. She suspected not. Staring at the trees, she practiced keeping her mind blank.

  A series of snapping twigs jerked her out of her thoughts, and she signaled to the marines. It wasn’t long before a lone young woman dressed in blue and green stepped from under the trees. Her light brown hair hung in hip-length spirit knots sparsely threaded with silver charms. Her clothes, made of fine silks, were less formal, and her feet were bare. A large brown dog with short fur kept close. She stopped a few feet from where Suvi stood, made a graceful g
esture with her left hand at the dog, and then said something that Suvi didn’t understand. The dog, obviously well trained, sat.

  Suvi thought it odd that Sea Lord Kask would send a lone messenger that didn’t speak Eledorean to meet an Eledorean diplomatic party. She decided it was some sort of a ploy. Or a repayment for past insult.

  She turned to Dylan for a translation. “What did she say?”

  “Her name is Mirna Spardancer of Kask, little sister of the Silver Heart, Second Frigate of the Fleet. She welcomes you to Treaty Island.”

  “Thank you,” Suvi said, and opted to use her mother’s name rather than her father’s as she had in the previous communication. “I am Lake Marshal Hännenen of the Eledorean Royal Navy.” She paused while Dylan completed the introductions. “I’ve come to meet with Sea Lord Kask. Where is he?” She watched Mirna’s face while Dylan translated, hoping to discover some hint of what to expect.

  Mirna answered but didn’t acknowledge or even look at Dylan. She was no more than fifteen or sixteen, and Suvi got a sense that Mirna’s aloofness had more to do with nerves than negativity.

  She’s not the only one presenting a false front, Suvi thought. What is Kask up to?

  “She says he waits for us on the other side of the island,” Dylan said.

  “Why so far?” Suvi asked, blinking in confusion. “Did we drop anchor in the wrong place? Was there a change of plan?”

  “We landed where we were meant to land,” Dylan said. “We must follow Mirna. Our weapons are permitted as a courtesy. However, we are not to make threats or move to defend ourselves. To do so will result in the revocation of both hospitality and the guarantee of safe passage.”

  “Do you hear that, Lieutenant Ketola?” Suvi asked. “None of you is to even think about drawing a weapon.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The same goes for you, Jami,” Suvi muttered under her breath. “Twice.”

  “If you insist,” Jami said, not bothering to hide her disgust.

  “The terms of the agreement are accepted,” Suvi said to Mirna. “Please proceed.”

  Nodding, Mirna vanished into the brush from which she’d appeared. The dog followed. Jami went in after. Suvi looked to Dylan for reassurance and then did the same. Mirna led them to a path, forcing her way through the underbrush with a quiet grace that almost rivaled Jami’s. Suvi stole a moment to dust leaves and twigs from her uniform coat. The surrounding trees were shorter, smaller cousins of the ones from her home. The land itself grew less rocky and became flatter and sandier. The sand itself lightened to a dirty gray and wasn’t as black as the beach. Gray-green moss hung down from the branches of the stunted oaks and pines. Unfamiliar insects sang a buzzing chorus in the humidity. Unseen birds chirped. To her left, a tree with broad green leaves and twisted branches displayed large, sweet-smelling white blooms with yellow centers. Suvi again filled her lungs with the combi­nation of fresh pine, ocean, sweet flowers, and warm earth. She waved away a cloud of tiny gnats that had drifted too close to her face.

  Mirna stayed where she was until the last of the marines caught up. “You will come,” she said in passable Eledorean. “Stay to the trail. Do not leave the path. The island is very dangerous for you.”

  Suvi nodded and attempted not to show amusement. Her Eledorean is better than my Acrasian. It’s most certainly better than my Ocealandic. Although it might have been helpful to speak the language of the Waterborne Nations, there were at least five different recorded dialects, and Suvi didn’t know which was preferred by Clan Kask. Not that I couldn’t have asked Dylan.

  As if to emphasize the danger, the dog barked at the woods to the right and a loud cat snarl erupted. The sounds frightened a flock of small bright green birds who took flight in a panic. Suvi suppressed a shiver. To their credit, the marines didn’t flinch or draw their weapons. Mirna stared into the underbrush and frowned briefly before whispering something Suvi didn’t catch. Then Mirna spoke to the dog, ordering it away from the trees.

  “Stay to the path,” Mirna said as if she needed to repeat herself. “The path is safe.” With that, she continued.

  Jami took a position between Suvi and the woods where the sound had come from. Suvi focused on the back of Mirna’s blue jacket. It’d been embroidered with a beautiful wave pattern that had taken a great deal of skill to execute—more skill than Suvi had ever possessed. They walked for about a mile before the trail began a steady slope upward toward the mountain ridge. Eventually, the grade grew steep enough that Suvi found herself gasping for breath. She sweated through her linen shirt under the wool uniform coat but still refused to loosen the button on her collar. The trail narrowed, and a high black mountain wall emerged from the trees. Mirna finally stopped at a dark fissure barely wide enough to admit one person at a time. Cool air brushed against Suvi’s face, providing an instant’s pure bliss until she was reminded of the World’s Pillar. A surge of fear chilled her to the marrow. For a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to enter. She searched the walls for telltale claw marks.

  “Is something wrong?” Dylan whispered.

  The black stone walls were smooth to the touch. Suvi swallowed and shook her head.

  Mirna stopped, reached into a pocket, pulled out a bone ­whistle, and blew into it. Suvi was reminded of a boatswain’s call. The piercing notes echoed down the tunnel, sounding ghostly. A low moan answered, and Suvi shuddered before she understood it had to be the wind. Pocketing the whistle, Mirna waited for a hidden signal before nodding and then entering. The dog bolted ahead with a happy yip. Suvi quickly lost sight of Mirna and Jami when both turned a sharp corner. The fear of embarrassing herself finally spurred Suvi forward. She hadn’t gone far before the sweat plastering her shirt to her skin began to chill her. Running to catch up, she was glad of the narrow ribbon of blue sky, the freshening breeze, and the sounds of the singing insects. Every sound echoed. Soon, she spotted several notches carved high into the rock walls that were the source of the wind’s low sough. Her shoulder ­muscles relaxed a bit when a few pebbles landed on the path at her feet. More stones skittered down the left wall, almost hitting Mirna, who continued seemingly unconcerned. Suvi looked up a little higher and thought she spied the toe of a boot protruding from the offending ledge. Glancing backward at Dylan, she saw him shrug in answer to her unspoken question.

  The fissure widened, and Suvi was afforded a view of the valley on the other side. The first thing to catch her eye was the ship-crowded bay. Distant sounds of hammering and other evidence of ship repair work drifted up the mountain. She counted sixteen ships of varying sizes, most of which were schooners, but a few were barques. Only two of the vessels carried cannon, and both were heavily armed frigates. Combined, they possessed more than enough firepower to outgun the Indomitable and the Otter.

  Why so many ships? She didn’t have long to think about it before the others began the journey down to the buildings below.

  Carpeted with thick green grass, this side of the mountain had fewer trees, and the underbrush was nonexistent. The trail grew more defined. Soon it was paved in black stone, eventually evolving into a series of steps leading down to three black stone buildings circled with a protective wall. The buildings stood in a cluster a thousand or so feet from the beach. Suvi recognized a mixture of architectural styles from across the known world. Familiar Eledorean slate roofs with high angles were decorated with stately spires from Tahmer. The bright-colored window glass glittered in shades she knew from Nels’s descriptions of Acrasian designs. Kaledan’s red-tinted gold graced a dragon-shaped lightning rod from Ytlain that topped the largest building.

  They were met at the bottom of the steps by a large group of Waterborne dressed in varying shades of blue and green. Like the island’s architecture, their faces and clothing styles seemed borrowed from different parts of the world. Several dogs of various breeds wandered among them, and Mirna’s pet ran to meet the others. Standing close to the group of Waterborne, Suvi caught the pleasing scent of foreig
n perfumes. All were armed but none made threatening moves. Their faces were set in solemn ­expressions—none giving any indication of how Suvi and her party were to be received. After an exhausting hike across the island, she couldn’t help being somewhat irritated.

  Remember, Kask has very good reasons to be cautious. Don’t give him control. But stay calm.

  At the front of the group stood an older man—she assumed he was old, anyway. His spirit knots were bright white against his dark skin. At the same time, his athletic posture didn’t indicate age or infirmity.

  Mirna didn’t halt until she stood directly in front of the white-haired man. Then she nodded a bow and stepped aside.

  “I am Sea Lord Kask,” the white-haired man said. His voice was deep and warm. He spoke Eledorean with no trace of accent. His eyes were a beautiful pale green and contrasted with the white of his hair and the darkness of his skin. “Welcome, Lake Marshal Hännenen. I apologize for the lengthy walk. However, I thought it wisest to keep your ship’s cannons at a safe distance.”

  Ah, Uncle. You do make a lasting impression, don’t you? Suvi stopped herself mid-shrug. He did no differently than I’d have done in his place. Keeping this to herself, she merely said, “No need for apologies. After a week in a tiny ship’s cabin, the walk was most enjoyable.” She met his eyes with what she hoped was a warm but confident expression. I’m not my uncle, Mr. Kask. And I am not easily flustered.

  Sea Lord Kask nodded and granted her a small smile in return. Shifting his attention to Dylan, his eyes grew sad and his expression more open. At the same time, Suvi sensed tension. “You have returned.”

  Dylan answered with calm dignity. “I have, Father.”