“That still doesn’t make it your job. You could advise Blackwood.”
Zara laughed. “She’d never listen to me.” Even revealing why Zara was so close in Jeffrey’s confidence wouldn’t make a difference, not that she could do that. “I might be able to persuade her I know something of Ghazarian’s plans, but that’s it.”
“So do that. You can’t seriously intend to drag the others into this? It’s far too dangerous.”
Zara hesitated. “I don’t—”
The door banged open again. “We’re all agreed,” Theo said. “We’re going after Ghazarian.”
“Rowena, what’s he talking about?” Belinda said.
“We’re not going after Ghazarian,” Ransom said.
“That Miss Blackwood’s job is,” Cantara said.
“Stop,” Zara said, “and sit down. Theo, what did you tell them?”
“That we have a tracking Device and you’re going to lead us to get the communicator back.”
“That’s not a given,” Ransom said.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Slow down, Theo,” Zara said. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes briefly. “I don’t know how many of you have heard, but Blackwood’s attack on Ghazarian’s ship failed to recover the communicator. It sounds like Ghazarian took it and escaped with some of her men. Worse, the soldiers lost the tracking Device, so they’ll have to resort to other ways of finding a missing person. Theo, who was either foresighted or obstinate, built a second tracking Device, which means it’s still possible to track the communicator. But Theo doesn’t want to give it to Blackwood, he wants us to find Ghazarian and retrieve the communicator from her.”
“But…we’re not soldiers. Isn’t that dangerous?” Belinda said.
“Rowena is the only one who can beat Ghazarian,” Theo said. “I’m sure she can find a way to make it less dangerous. It’s certainly better than letting more soldiers tromp around and fail.”
“I afraid am not,” Arjan said, “and Cantara and I willing to fight are.”
“But Theo’s no fighter, and neither am I,” Ransom said.
“You can shoot a gun,” Belinda pointed out.
“Not very well. And I thought you were more sensible than that.”
“I am,” Belinda said, “and that’s why I think we should do it. Yes, it will be dangerous, but if we give Theo’s Device to Miss Blackwood, she’ll do the same thing she did before that’s already failed, and more people will die. She’ll never put Rowena in charge of those soldiers. Ghazarian can’t have many men, and I’m confident we can trick them.”
“People will die,” Ransom said. “Are you capable of shooting to kill?”
“If it’s what I have to do to protect the people I care about, yes.”
“We’re all in agreement,” Theo said. “What about you, Rowena?”
Zara looked at each of them in turn. Arjan looked belligerent. Cantara looked confident. Belinda was pale, but her jaw was set in a way that said she wasn’t going to let fear conquer her. Theo was as certain as ever. “You understand this could mean our deaths,” she said. “Are you sure you want to risk your lives for a Device?”
“For a Device we don’t want the Karitians to have,” Belinda said. “You’ve already risked your life for it. That tells me it’s important. So…yes.”
Zara turned her attention to Ransom, who was standing a little apart from their circle of chairs, his head bowed. “It’s going to take all of us,” she said. “If Ghazarian has gone to ground in the jungle, we’ll need someone who knows how to find their way and won’t get lost. And I’m not superstitious about saying we may need your inherent magic.”
Ransom sighed. “I think it’s lunacy,” he said, “but you’ve convinced me it’s a chance worth taking. I’m in. But if I have to use my magic on any one of you, I won’t be gentle.”
“Understood,” Zara said. “Now, eat up, and I’ll tell you my plan.”
***
Zara sat beside Ransom at the stern of the boat, which bounced along the waves made by the morning tide as if it were as eager to find their prey as she was. The morning mist had all but burned off, and it was going to be another scorcher of a day. She wished she had dressed Karitian-style in loincloth and twisted brassiere, the way Cantara had, but she and Belinda were too pale to do anything but burn under the hot Karitian sun. So they had opted for sleeveless tunics and thin, wide-legged trousers, with sandals and broad-brimmed Veriboldan hats she hoped might throw observers off.
Arjan and Theo had stripped down to short pants, while Ransom wore a sleeveless Karitian shirt and trousers rolled to the knee. He was too blond to pass as anything but Tremontanan, but Zara hoped the six of them in their varied attire and appearance would look like northern sailors, on business in the Bay of Avizi. The harbormaster had given them all a look of extreme disbelief, but had rented them a boat without comment. For once, Zara hadn’t knocked anyone over upon entering. She hoped it was a good omen.
“Steer left,” she told Ransom. Theo made a noise of protest.
“We’re moving away from Ghazarian!” he exclaimed. “We need to stay on course.”
“Ghazarian will be watching carefully for any signs she’s been discovered, Theo,” Zara reminded him, “and a boat making a straight line for her will be extremely suspicious. Just keep telling us where the Device puts her.”
“She’s still to the west. We’re almost out of the bay. We’re going to look suspicious anyway if we’re the only two boats in the area.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s move closer to Manachen now.”
“I see three large ships in the direction the Device indicates,” Belinda said. She had a rifle lying across the tops of her feet, well below where any observer could see it. “You’re sure that’s where she’ll be?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.” Zara squinted off in the direction Theo had indicated. “Blackwood’s soldiers captured her ship and most of her men, so she needs a new vessel. Ghazarian can’t stay in Dineh-Karit without risking the Karitians apprehending her after their deal, not to mention she can’t live in the kind of luxury that bounty will buy her. So she needs a ship that will take her across the ocean.”
“But those are all Karitian ships. How would she get one of those?”
“Stole it, probably,” Ransom said. “One more reason for her to conclude this transaction rapidly.” He turned the tiller and the boat zipped away in a new direction. “I think I’ll bring us around the far side of those ships, see if we can’t identify which one is Ghazarian’s.”
Zara nodded, keeping her eyes on the distant vessels. One of the ships had what she thought of as traditional lines, several masts with sails furled as it sat at rest. It was bigger than Ghazarian’s captured ship, and Zara concluded it was not their quarry. Ghazarian had been left with barely a handful of pirates after Blackwood’s raid, not enough men to crew a ship that size.
The other two didn’t look like sailing ships at all. They had no masts, and their prows curved high out of the water, sheltering the rest of the ship and making them look unbalanced. Giant Devices, scaled-up versions of the one propelling their boat, were attached to the sterns. One was tipped up out of the water and figures were tending to it, while the other was turned to low and idly propelled the ship forward barely faster than the waves could move it. They didn’t look like anything that could survive the open ocean, but Zara had a healthy respect for Karitian Devices and figured they knew better than she did what their capacities were.
“It’s one of the two funny-looking ones,” Theo said, confirming Zara’s guess. Ransom made another course correction.
“Let’s not get close enough to see their faces,” Belinda said.
“If we can see them, they can see us,” Arjan said. “Best to stay away.”
Cantara, sitting in the bow, half-turned to look back at Zara. “It is the ship with the broken Device.”
“How do you know?�
��
“They tentative are, like ones who do not know what they doing are. They Karitian sailors are not.”
“Theo?” Zara asked.
“She could be right. Turn left again.” Theo rotated the tracking Device in his lap. The heavy oblong case turned awkwardly, as if it weighed much more than it did. “It’s them.”
Zara stared at the ship, committing it to memory. Its dull wooden sides had giant eyes with orange irises painted on them, monstrous things Zara was glad weren’t pointed her way. She felt, with a twinge of superstition, that Ghazarian might through some sympathetic magic be able to see through those eyes. She straightened her spine and said, “Make one more loop around, then back toward the Karitian docks. Now we can make a plan.”
No one pressed her for details, which relieved her mind. Her plan up until now had been to gather more information so she could generate a real plan, one which would end with her in possession of the communication Device. Now that she had information, though, the plan which presented itself to her looked like a terrible idea: board Ghazarian’s ship and take back the Device, killing as many pirates as necessary while not getting killed themselves. Blackwood had succeeded in taking Ghazarian’s first ship, but it had been a deadly exchange, with far too many soldiers losing their lives. They would be at a serious disadvantage. But they had to retrieve the Device before Ghazarian sold it to the Karitians, which could happen at any time.
“Theo, keep track of Ghazarian, please,” she said.
“Of course,” Theo said scornfully. Zara realized her preoccupation had pushed her toward condescension and shut up. How could they eliminate some of the pirates and nudge the odds in their favor? Belinda could get off two shots before the pirates realized anything was wrong, and if she was as good a shot as she claimed… Zara wished she knew how many pirates they were talking about. Surely no more than fifteen, but probably no fewer than five. That was a lot of enemies to eliminate, particularly if they were all armed.
“They have repaired the Device,” Cantara said. “It in the water is.”
“They’re moving,” Theo said. “Moving away.”
“Away?” said Zara.
“I think we should follow them,” Ransom said.
“Is that safe?” asked Belinda.
“Better than losing sight of them entirely. And suppose they’re heading off to the rendezvous?”
“Do it,” Zara said, moving to join Cantara in the bow. “Without looking like we’re following them.”
“You don’t ask much, do you?” Ransom said, sounding amused, but the Device roared higher and louder, and they accelerated toward the distant ship.
The wind of their passage, brine-scented and cool, tangled Zara’s hair even though she’d tied it back. They passed a couple of the flyspeck islands dotting the bay and the coast, most of them barely big enough to hold one of the nakati huts, but a few lushly overgrown and tempting Zara to explore. She adjusted the brim of her hat and kept her eye on Ghazarian’s ship. A few other boats zipped past, some of them putting in at what must be private docks west of Manachen proper. She hoped they were effective camouflage.
Ahead, another island loomed, this one larger than the others but still apparently uninhabited. The ship approached it slowly, without displaying any urgency that might indicate they’d noticed their shadow. Zara watched it, conviction growing in her heart. “Faster,” she told Ransom. “Get us to the far side of that island, without looking like that’s what we’re doing.”
“We can’t beat them there, Rowena,” Ransom said even as he steered the boat in a new course.
“We don’t have to. We just have to beat her sentry.” It was all falling into place. “She’s going to make the sale here. It’s far enough from Manachen not to attract attention, it lets her choose her ground, and if she gets a sentry in place, she’ll have warning if the Karitians try to double-cross her. Which I’d bet they will. I know I would.”
“But they will see us,” Arjan said.
“Take a look at the island’s profile,” Zara said, not pointing. “It curves up to a high point left of center, perfect to have someone watching for treachery. But it’s also far from where she’ll land, if she keeps on course. So if we can land on the far side—”
“I understand,” Arjan said. “We conceal the boat and there nothing for the sentry to see is.”
“Then what?” Belinda asked.
Zara’s blood was fizzing with excitement. It had been far too long since she’d gone up against an opponent wily enough to give her a challenge. “Then,” she said, “we take back what’s ours.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ransom steered them to a sheltered cove no bigger than twenty feet across, and they all waded to shore, Arjan and Theo dragging the boat up the beach. “All the way,” Zara said when they reached the high tide mark. “Into the undergrowth. We can’t have anyone noticing this boat.”
When it was concealed under the greenery, she said, “Back into the trees.”
“Were we fast enough?” Theo asked.
“If we weren’t, we’ll find out soon.” Zara wiped her palms on her trousers. “Now. We can’t go rushing in there without knowing how many pirates we’re facing. And we don’t want anyone raising the alarm. So, Arjan and Cantara, I want you to climb to the top of the island and take care of whoever Ghazarian puts there. There might be more than one sentry, though I doubt it. It’s essential he or she not be able to alert Ghazarian we’re coming.”
Arjan nodded. Cantara said, “Where do we go when that is done?”
“You’ll come back here. Ransom, you’ll scout ahead and see how many enemies we’re dealing with. Ghazarian will have to leave a few of her people on the ship, but she’ll want as many as possible with her to keep the Karitians from getting any ideas about overpowering her. If she’s smart, she’ll have limited the size of their party in her demands. It doesn’t matter, because we’ll have retrieved the Device before the Karitians get here, but we should expect to be outnumbered.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ransom said, his hazel eyes twinkling with amusement. Zara smiled back. By heaven, it felt good to be in command again!
“Come back as soon as you’ve scouted the place—I don’t have to tell you to be careful, do I?”
“I’m always careful,” Ransom said. He kissed her swiftly and disappeared between the trees.
The rest of them gaped at her in astonishment, even Belinda. Embarrassment crept over Zara, and she willed her blush away. “Arjan, Cantara,” she said, and the two Eskandelics started out of their reverie and vanished in the direction Ransom had gone. Zara found a fallen tree and sat on it. The memory of Ransom’s kiss lingered on her lips. She had no reason to feel embarrassed, but…it was just that they’d all been so close on their journey, and now that two of them were even closer, it felt awkward, as if their relationships all had to alter to make room for a romance.
Belinda cleared her throat. “So…what should Theo and I do?”
Grateful for the distraction, Zara said, “It depends on what Ransom finds. The best outcome would be for us to find you high ground to shoot from, but the moment you fire that first shot, that’s the end of secrecy. So we’ll want to eliminate as many pirates as we can before that happens.”
“And what about me?” Theo asked.
“You’re not a fighter, Theo,” Belinda said.
“So I’m supposed to just sit there and watch the rest of you?” His belligerent voice echoed off the trees, and Belinda shushed him. “I hit that pirate back by the river, remember? I’m not weak.”
“No one’s saying you’re weak,” said Belinda.
“Then let me fight. What about a gun? I can fire a gun. They don’t take much skill. No offense, Belinda, but you know what I mean.”
“I’m not a fighter, either.” Zara pushed off from the log and faced Theo. “Are you saying I’m weak?”
Theo blinked. “Well…no.”
“Theo, my father taught me a long time
ago—” a very long time ago—“when you’re facing an opponent, you should match your strengths against their weaknesses and not the other way around.” She’d learned so much from her father, King Sylvester, that had shaped the woman she’d become. All those years ago… “You want to fight because right now it looks like that’s the kind of battle this is. But you’ve already beaten Ghazarian because you built the Device that let us find her. That’s your strength. If you want to go in with your fists flying like Arjan, I won’t stop you. But you’ll be matching your weakness to their strength. Think about it.”
Theo nodded once, slowly, like he was digesting her words. “I just don’t want to be useless. There’s a strong source on this island, I can smell it from here—I can imbue your gun Devices—”
“That would be pointlessly dangerous. And you’re not useless. I want you to stay with the boat and have it ready to launch. If we retrieve the Device without killing or incapacitating all the pirates, we’ll be leaving here at a run. If you’ve got the boat in the water and its Device ready to go, we might actually make it out alive.”
Theo had looked like he wanted to protest, but by the time she wound down, he was nodding again. “I understand. I can do that.”
Belinda had taken a seat on Zara’s log and was examining the rifle Device. “Are you sure you’re ready to fire that thing?” she said, indicating Ghazarian’s pistol, jammed into Zara’s waistband.
“I probably won’t do anything more than frighten people, but yes, I’m ready.” Zara sat beside her. “I hate this part.”
“The waiting? How often do you fight pirates that you can call it ‘this part’?” Belinda teased.
Zara shrugged. “It’s always the same, no matter what the challenge. The hardest part is waiting for others to do their jobs so you can do yours.” Memory surfaced, of facing down the Magistrix of the Scholia in her throne room, her nerves keyed to the breaking point waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. It was essential not to let the waiting break you. She let out a long breath and surreptitiously rolled out her shoulders. She was much older now, and better at waiting. It didn’t make her like it more.
Voyager of the Crown Page 28
