They moved cautiously up the steps and through the door. The room was cavernous, lined with candles tucked into alcoves carved along the walls. Light danced over a large wooden desk squatting before towers of crates and piles of canvas sacks, each tagged with pale yellow strips denoting their contents. Next to them a stairway opened beside a lift not unlike the one they’d used earlier this morning. The cold air smelled faintly of animal fat and smoke. There was no sign of Nettle.
Before the girls could set their sacks down, a boy rushed into the room. At first glance, Caledonia thought she spotted a bandolier on his arms, but as he came closer, she realized they weren’t lines but scrolling designs like the one Nettle wore on her cheek and forehead, the scars the same soft ruddy brown as his skin. Silt didn’t poison his blood.
Darkly, Caledonia wondered what kind of bargain kept a boy like this out of Aric’s clutches. Whatever it was, it was surely the work of Sly King Hesperus and it was surely nothing good. Yet another sign that this was no place for a girl like her to linger. They needed to make their trade and get out before anyone realized they were here.
The boy stopped halfway to the desk and bobbed his head in greeting, breathing hard.
“Apologies for the wait,” he said, though they’d barely stepped into the room when he arrived. “Nettle says you’ve brought goods for trade. We’ll take the stairs. You can put your goods on the lift if you like.”
“We’ll hold on to them,” Caledonia said, even as her muscles cried for reprieve. The scales were all they had for leverage, and she preferred to keep them close.
The boy nodded as though that were a common response and gestured for them to follow as he trotted up the stairs. Amina stepped in front, shielding her captain from whatever might be lurking around the corner.
The boy kept a steady pace as they climbed flight after flight of the curling stairs. They passed fourteen platforms between flights, and with each one the air grew cooler and thinner. Caledonia kept her pace behind Amina, but both girls breathed heavily. By the time the boy stopped, they were more than ready to let their sacks hit the floor.
“Captain Caledonia Styx,” a voice boomed around them, and Caledonia’s head snapped up to see a tall, broad-shouldered man with skin as black as the midnight ocean crossing the room toward them. His long greatcoat was tied at the waist and billowed around his legs like storm clouds, and he was trailed by six or seven others. Just behind him, Nettle followed, expression contrite but also pleased.
A girl of her word, Caledonia thought with a splash of humor. She was certainly that.
Caledonia forced her breathing to calm as she straightened her back and squared her shoulders with this man. “And you are?”
“My apologies, I thought you’d been informed,” the man said with a quick glance over his shoulder for Nettle. “I am Hesperus Shreeves, and this,” he added with a sweep of his hand, “is my court.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Caledonia made herself a rock. Before her stood the most dangerous person in all of Cloudbreak, the one man she needed to avoid. This was a man who went to great lengths to appease Aric Athair in order to continue operating with authority, who would certainly turn over Caledonia and her crew if it meant securing his own interests. And now she stood in his court with only Amina at her side.
The room was nearly a mirror of the one they’d entered on the ground floor. To one side was the lift, protected by a metal gate, and all along the walls were small, candlelit alcoves. Hesperus and his party had entered from a door opposite the stairway. He strode confidently across the stones to stand in the center of the room. The rest fanned out behind him; four women and two men were now followed by four guards dressed in the short cerulean-banded black cape so prevalent throughout the market. While the guards placed themselves strategically around the room, the others stayed in Hesperus’s wake.
“Nettle says you’re the only one in this place capable of making the trade we need,” Caledonia said, determined to proceed through her growing sense of dread. The bounty was on her ship, she reminded herself, not on her, and her ship was safe in the wharf beneath a layer of fog.
“She knows her business.” The smile Hesperus offered was as broad as his shoulders. “Just as I know mine. What have you brought me?”
“Solar scales, all in good working order. Ready to be repurposed into whatever device you need.” As she spoke, Amina pulled open a single sack. The scales glittered darkly in the candlelight.
A man hurried forward to inspect the scales. Amina stayed put, her eyes pinned to him. He worked quickly, selecting a few scales from the pile and turning them over. When he nodded, Hesperus continued.
“And what are you looking for in exchange for such a treasure?” he asked, voice smooth.
Caledonia ran down her list of goods: protein, ammo, solid-state lithiums. Hesperus kept his expression neutral as she spoke, listening as casually as though she were discussing the currents and winds.
“A hearty trade,” he said finally, when she’d finished speaking. “Shall we take refreshment while I have your scales tested?”
“They work,” Amina protested, offense resonating in her tone.
“Of course they do, my dear.” Hesperus shifted his gaze momentarily to Amina, who bristled at the epithet. “But I don’t trade until I know what I’m getting. So, take my refreshment or take your leave.”
In spite of herself, Caledonia smiled. He was dangerous and not to be trusted, but he wasn’t foolish and he wasn’t a brute. She could work with that.
“We only drink red wine,” Caledonia said.
Hesperus laughed loudly, his head tipping back to reveal all his teeth. “Kae! Red wine for my guests. Ladies, I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to climb a few more stairs, but I promise it will be well worth the effort. Please, follow me.”
They traveled the curling stairs up two more flights to a circular room wrapped in cerulean-blue curtains which were pulled aside to reveal sky on all sides. This was the very top of the stronghold. In the center of the room a fire blazed, and around the perimeter four telescopes on adjustable tripods pointed in the cardinal directions. The clouds that had been so dense this morning were thinning, and from this vantage they could see everything from the cliffs in the east to the beginning of sharper snow-capped mountains in the west. With a jolt, Caledonia realized the wharf below was clearly visible.
She caught Amina’s eye. Saw her own alarm reflected but not amplified. If this was a trap, then they were squarely inside it. Their only way through was forward.
Two women preceded them into the room, both with skin as dark as Hesperus’s and armed with blades and guns. One took a seat along the lip of the wall, her back to the cloudy expanse outside, her eyes on Caledonia and Amina. Her head was shorn as smooth as Pisces’s, her eyes wide and elegantly shaped like Hime’s. Though she slouched against a column, she couldn’t hide the power of her lithe body.
The other woman, Kae, went to a low table and filled three stone goblets with a ruby-red wine. Where the first woman was cool, Kae’s presence was calming, surely meant to settle tensions before the work of trade began or encourage Hesperus’s guests to drink a little too much. Always assume the actions of those around you are intentional, her mother had said. That was especially true of a man like Hesperus. He didn’t rise to power by accident, and he certainly didn’t keep it by being careless in his actions.
Hesperus took a hearty swig from his goblet, proving the wine was safe. Caledonia helped herself to a sip. It was sweeter than she was prepared for, with a tang that left her blinking in surprise.
“Cherry wine,” Hesperus said, sounding satisfied. “The cherries grow in the mountains outside the city but are far too fragile for a life of trade. One of the many benefits of living in Cloudbreak. But you’re not often in my port, Caledonia Styx of the Mors Navis, or you’d know such things.”
Her s
hip. So he had seen it. He knew its name. Her pulse spiked, but she forced herself to take another sip of the wine before she answered.
“I’m not often in any port.” She spoke as casually as her tight throat would allow. “And I don’t plan to be in this one very long.”
“That remains to be seen,” he said, dropping all pretense of humor. “You don’t fly under the Father’s banner. Tell me, Captain, how you stay outside his grip.”
“I’m not here to discuss my tactics with you, Lord Hesperus. No disrespect,” she added lightly, though her pulse was pounding in her ears. “I’m here to trade, and then I’ll be on my way.”
Behind Hesperus, the guard seated in the window shifted, her hand resting very near her blade.
“Trade is tactics, Captain. And before I engage, I like to know who I’m dealing with. It’s not every day a young girl comes into my court seeking solid-states.”
Trade is tactics. The words hung in Caledonia’s mind as she considered her response and Hesperus’s motives. It was possible he was exercising caution. Solid-state lithiums were rare. If she were caught with those in her possession, Aric would know where she’d found them. But surely the Sly King of Cloudbreak wasn’t concerned with what people did with their goods. He was stalling. Searching for information that might be just as valuable as her solar scales. She needed to give him something.
“You know who I am. And I think you know more than you’re saying.”
“You are keen.” His smile returned, predatory and pleased. “There is a bounty on you and your ship.”
Caledonia’s fingers became a vise on her wine goblet. The world was suddenly very small and very cold.
“Do you intend to claim that bounty?” she asked, hoping her voice didn’t break.
The guard’s hand settled firmly on the hilt of her blade.
Hesperus leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands before him with thumbs crossed on top. A small tattoo nestled in the thin flesh between his thumb and forefinger, a simple design in faded black ink. “I’m in the business of keeping my port, my market, and my family safe. I do that by keeping the Father happy whenever the opportunity lands at my feet. So, yes, I intend to claim the bounty.”
Caledonia’s guts flattened. “Would you consider another exchange? My solar scales for our freedom? Surely their worth comes close to the bounty.”
“If it were only numbers, that might be true, but they’re not as valuable as the Father’s goodwill.” He shook his head. “I do like you, Caledonia Styx, and if not for the bounty, this might have gone another way, but I’m afraid I’ll be keeping your solar scales in addition to claiming the bounty. Unless you have something else to offer?”
“Villain!” Amina cried. Her voice was followed by the snap of the guard’s pistol leaving its holster, the bite of its hammer pulling back as a bullet moved into the chamber. Both Amina and the guard stopped.
For the smallest second, Caledonia considered the Bullet in her hold. It was possible Hesperus would consider the value of returning a deserter of Aric’s army a worthy replacement for the bounty. But an uncomfortable twist in her stomach kept her from putting it on the table.
She had nothing else of value to offer, and he knew it.
“Think what you will. I have more to consider than your small woes.” Hesperus stood with the wine goblet held loosely in his grip. He crossed the room to stand with his back to them, eyes cast forward.
The guard kept her gun pointed at Amina’s eye while Kae rose gracefully to her feet and spoke. “Keep your peace. We have no wish to spill your blood.”
“The wind is in the north. Are you so sure it would be ours that spilled?” Amina gripped the pistol strapped to her thigh, shoulders angled to cover her captain.
“If not yours here, then that of your crew down there.” Though the words were very clearly a threat, Kae spoke with calm command. “Keep your peace.”
Through it all, Caledonia kept her gaze on Hesperus. “I have forty-eight girls down there on that ship. If you claim the bounty, you’re killing every last one of us.”
He spun. “And if the Father finds out I let you go, he’ll make me watch my family die before he takes my life. I have no choice but to turn you over.”
“Of course you have a choice! You can fight! You have endless resources here. Surely if anyone can resist him, it’s you.” She let the force of her words carry her forward.
But Hesperus stopped her with a laugh. “My girl, how would you propose I take on a fleet like his?”
“One ship at a time.”
Now the Sly King’s laugh turned soft, pitying. “That is no kind of strategy. Better to choose the path that costs us the least.”
“Even if it costs the person next to you their lives?” Caledonia countered, feeling a surge of disgust for the man before her.
“I should throw rocks at the mountain, is that it?” Hesperus countered, unmoved.
“Better than hiding in one.” Insulting him was reckless, but in that moment, Caledonia didn’t care.
“Mino,” he called to the guard, “bind our guests and take them to a cell while we welcome their crew to the Cloudbreak prisons. Forty-eight will be a squeeze, but I doubt they’ll be staying very long.”
“Brother.” Mino’s voice was tense and soft. She lifted her hand, pointing beyond the window.
The clouds that had crouched so steadily over the Rock Isles all morning had lifted away completely. The seas were long before them, the breaker islands gleaming dully in the sunlight. And just beyond, perhaps ten miles or so away, half a dozen Bullet ships sailed directly for them.
Their ghost funnels should have struck a note of panic, but for the first time in her entire life, Caledonia was glad to see them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Captain,” Hesperus’s voice was as hard as the mountains surrounding them. “It seems your wait will be even shorter than I thought.”
“Brother,” Mino’s voice again, soft as a falling rain. She lifted her eye from the eastern telescope. “It’s a Fiveson.”
Hesperus cursed, spinning to press his eye to the scope. Caledonia waited anxiously, her eyes pinned to the approaching ships, her heart thready in her chest.
“The Bale Blossom.” Hesperus lifted his head to glare over the water.
Without invitation, Caledonia moved between Hesperus and the scope to peer through the glass. Six ships of varying shapes and sizes cut toward the protected bay of Lower Cloudbreak. Five of the ships bore a single orange blossom on their hull. The nose of the sixth was covered in them. The blood drained from Caledonia’s fingertips as she realized she was looking at the very ship that carried Lir.
Time fell away like the petals of a dying flower. A cold kind of focus washed over Caledonia’s mind as she surveyed the ships. Only four of them were small enough to make it through the breakers. The Bale Blossom and one other would be forced to stay behind. If the smaller four couldn’t pin the Mors Navis down in port, they’d try to flush her out, crush her in the open. Before Hesperus could apprehend them, her crew would be locked in battle.
The sharp edge of a blade slid along her neck, and a firm hand landed on her shoulder. “I would appreciate it if you came without a fight,” Hesperus said in her ear.
“I might.” The thrill of finding the upper hand added heft to Caledonia’s voice. “But my crew certainly won’t.”
“That isn’t really my concern,” he continued.
“It should be.” Caledonia kept her eyes on the Bullet ships, on the shrinking distance between them and the port. “My crew will tear your harbor apart trying to fight their way out. And you think those Bullets care where their missiles land? There won’t be a berth left intact in a few minutes. And when word gets around that Bullets are bringing the fight to your shores . . . Seems like bad business to me.”
With a jerk, Hesperus spun her around. Frustration was apparent in the furrow of his brow, irritation in the clench of his jaw. He held her gaze for several long seconds before saying, “Speak plainly, Captain.”
“I’m offering you a deal.” Caledonia lifted her chin above his knife. “A chance to save your port.”
Behind Hesperus, Amina had been contained by Mino, hands held behind her back. Kae watched all four of them, expression flinty.
To Caledonia’s surprise, Hesperus didn’t look angry. He looked alert, impatient, as though the shift in circumstances delighted him in a very distant way. Sheathing his knife, he asked, “What are your terms?”
Caledonia pressed her eye to the scope, finding the ships much closer than she’d anticipated. Her blood sang loudly in her ears. She was mere miles from the man responsible for the death of her family. Her skin flushed and she felt light as air, filled with the desire to fight. But even as her body vibrated with the urge to charge directly for the Bale Blossom, she could see the field was stacked against her. Engaging them here would mean the death of most, if not all, of her crew. Even if they made it past the breaker isles, she’d never get close to Lir.
She preferred a fight she could win. Or one that got her close enough to see his face. If she took her crew into this battle, she was betraying them on every level.
“Lord Hesperus, are the Rock Isle canals passable?” Caledonia turned again to face him.
“Passable, yes, but it takes a nimble ship, a narrow one, and yours, as I understand it, isn’t.”
“I’ll worry about my ship. Do you have charts?” When he nodded, she continued, “Then here is the deal: You get me and my crew back to my ship with charts in hand, and we’ll take the fight out of your port.”
Seafire Page 12
