The Never Tilting World

by Rin Chupeco

  “She’s your charge, you besotted fool,” I muttered out into the darkness, ashamed of myself. Mother Goddess, you haven’t even seen her naked, to be acting like this! “You damn pervert. Get the filth out of your head and do the job you’re paid to do. You can’t have her, Tianlan.”

  But that’s the problem, isn’t it? It was serious enough for you to proposition her. Asteria mustn’t have known that detail or she’d have your head.

  Noe poked her head out from the other room. “I heard noises. Is there something wrong, milady? You look a little—”

  “Go away, Noelle.”

  “As you wish, milady.” The door closed again.

  I couldn’t get Odessa back to Aranth soon enough.

  It felt like I’d been standing there forever before I heard the soft knock behind me. To my relief, Odessa had already changed into fresh clothes and was rooting around in her bag. A few of its contents had tumbled onto the bed.

  The time spent outside had done wonders in tamping down the more ardent of my thoughts, fortunately. “Books again?”

  She looked down at the romance novels that had spilled out. Capturing the Prince. Untamed Wildness. “I thought I might get bored.”

  I snorted. “And you brought your ointments, I see.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing.” She was a cloistered girl, sheltered from every bad possibility life threw at her. She didn’t belong here, on this ship heading into hell-knows-what.

  “It doesn’t work, you know,” Odessa said.

  “What doesn’t work?”

  “Romance. It’s not like the stories. Life’s more complicated than a book, I guess.” She looked away, brushing her hair. “Mother dislikes romance books. It’s why I’ve had to get mine outside.”

  My mouth twitched. “You risked getting discovered for that?”

  “Mother’s volumes were depressing. I needed something cheerful. There was one book in particular, about rituals, that gave me nightmares.”

  “Rituals?”

  “Things goddesses had to do in the past, to ensure prosperity and good fortune for all. Including rituals that deal with galla. That’s why I wanted to be on this expedition. I know how to deal with them.”

  “I still don’t think that’s worth risking your life.”

  She looked away. “I’m still mad at you,” she said softly.

  “I know.”

  “It’s going to be a long while before I forgive you.”

  “I know. You were very brave when that creature attacked the ship.”

  She couldn’t stop her blush. “Really?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone use so much of their gates as you did then.” She couldn’t have possibly channeled so much in her weakened state. The ferocity of the attack had stunned me.

  She paused, and I knew she was being evasive about something. “Like I said, I could help. And I’ll forgive you, too, if you’ll let me stay.”

  I leaned toward her and pressed a chaste kiss against her temple. She didn’t move. “Go to sleep, Your Holiness.”

  Later, when she was doing just that, I stepped into the tub. The water was cold by now, but I took a deep, shuddering breath, and dunked my head down, and tried to forget about how warm her forehead had been against my mouth.

  I came awake almost immediately when the knock sounded at the door. “We have a situation, milady.” Noe spoke from the other side, voice slightly muffled. “It would be best if you were outside to hear about it.”

  I snatched a quick look at Odessa on the other bed, but she appeared fast asleep. I donned my cloak hurriedly and joined the others on deck, where Gracea was standing, tight-lipped, with Grenny, her helmsman, and the other Devoted.

  “What do you mean we’re lost?” the Starmaker hissed.

  Grenny, who’d been on hand to witness what Gracea had done to Janella, was already stuttering and trembling. “It’s just that this is no longer the course we originally set out on, though we have faithfully followed the maps, milady. There were no miscalculations on my part. It is simply that the geography, so to speak, is no longer what it once was. The map is no longer accurate.”

  “Is that possible?” Graham demanded. “Are the riverwinds capable of changing courses on their own?”

  “We rarely have occasion to travel this far out into them, Seasinger,” Janella volunteered. “Perhaps the terrain has evolved without our knowledge.”

  “The reason I allowed you on this journey was because you’ve studied the maps longer and better than any of us,” Gracea snapped. “What has changed?”

  The brunette flinched. There was a faint cut on her upper lip, and the bruise on her right cheek was darkening. “The only logical explanation I can think of is that the seascape itself is warping, milady.”

  “Warping?”

  “There have been documented cases where strong bursts of magic warp the patterns around these riverwinds, forcing them to change directions, create new paths. It is similar to how a river on land can wear away at the rocks underneath it, or how erosion can alter the shape of how one flows. But while the corrosion can take decades, even centuries, the patterns here tend to be more volatile. Something might have triggered the riverwinds to shift away from their original channels in only a matter of months. Weeks, even.”

  “Like what?”

  “An . . . an explosion, maybe. A sudden burst of energy from somewhere, big enough to disrupt the magic.”

  “What caused this one?”

  “I . . . we don’t have any pertinent data to answer that, milady.”

  Gracea scowled. “Are you telling me that we have no choice but to follow this path without any guide whatsoever and hope it doesn’t lead us off a cliff?”

  Nobody said anything.

  Gracea chewed at her bottom lip. “Watch the sails. Keep the wind low at the bow. Windshifters, I want pairs of you on watch at all hours; channel as many patterns against the current as you can. That should slow us down enough to keep an eye out for any dangers ahead and act accordingly.” She paused to glare at me like this was somehow also my fault. “I trust that Her Holiness is still inside the cabin?” she asked icily.

  “Fast asleep. She’s had a busy day.”

  “Perhaps you should check up on her all the same. She has such a talent for squirming out from under your nose, after all.”

  I pushed myself off the wall. “All right. You’ve been on my case ever since I stepped foot on the Brevity. Spit it out. Are you planning to go ahead and say everything you’d like to say to my face, or would you prefer a good ol’ round of fisticuffs instead?”

  “Lady Tianlan!” Graham gasped.

  Gracea reared back at the mention of violence, her eyes narrowing. “You were responsible for Odessa’s safety. That she escaped onto this ship with you none the wiser is evidence of a lapse in your judgment. I told Her Holiness it would be foolish to let you join this expedition, especially given your failure from the last time. You yourself were adamant about not taking part. Your reluctance to be here will prove more hindrance than asset to us.”

  I took a step forward and balled my fists, but Grenny and Noe hastily placed themselves in between us before I could reach her nauseatingly smug face. “I made no secret of my distaste for this mission,” I snapped. “But you have no experience facing off against these creatures—neither in Aranth nor on this boat. If you’d like to go and get yourself killed, then by all means go on without me. I bet I’d find Brighthenge before you do. Let’s see how long you’ll last on your own.”

  “It surely will not be any worse than the last mission you led,” Gracea purred.

  I stepped past Grenny, but it was Noe who laid a hand on my arm. “She’s not worth it, milady,” she murmured.

  “Definitely not a lady. And I’ll decide who’s worth what, because she’s not in any—”

  I stumbled; so did everyone else. The current had picked up, faster than I’d anticipated, quicker than I knew it should, and fe
ar gripped my chest. I recognized the signs.

  I knew next to nothing about ships, but I did know a lot about spotting danger a mile off.

  “Milady?” It was Noelle again, shaking me gently by the shoulder. The others were looking at me with a mixture of surprise and worry; I must have blanked out in midsentence, staring at nothing. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. All good.

  “Where are we now?” I opened my eyes and made for the ship’s bow, clambering up to get a better view of the rivers up ahead. The rushlights showed me a fork in the wind some ways up ahead—a calmer stream on the left, but riptide-like flows on the right. “Has anyone been plotting these new routes for us?”

  “I—yes,” Nebly warbled. “Grenny and I have been drawing new maps as we travel—”

  “Keep to the left.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Keep to the left. And you better be damn sure you do, because the right leads to our deaths.” I heard his sharp intake of breath. “Raise the rigging and unfurl the sails, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do to keep us from straying to the right! And get me a spyglass!”

  Nebly scurried off, squeaking out my orders.

  “I am the captain!” Gracea sounded outraged. “I will not have you assume command of my ship like some—”

  “For once in your life, Gracea, shut up with the squawking! And make some light!”

  “I will not—”

  “Make some light, Gracea, or I swear by every Good Mother before Asteria that I will in this instant sic five kinds of herpes on you!”

  Gracea shut her mouth. Orbs of light wafted up before my face before they were tossed out ahead of the ship’s bow, and I could see the looming divide before us more clearly.

  I could now also see the sheer drop on the right, a waterfall of air leading down into darkness. Gasps rose from the others as they, too, saw the danger.

  “This makes it harder to steer the ship left.” Fear crept into Gracea’s voice as she finally understood. She dashed up the stairs without so much as a thank-you and took command of the wheel. “Graham, Miel! Fire up your gates and keep those counter-winds coming starboard. Channel them as hard as you both can manage! Jeenia and Holsett, assist! We’ll need to tack hard and fast long before we hit that fork. Ensure that you all keep the ship’s prow at forty degrees, or we’re as good as sunk!”

  I dashed back toward the cabin and found Odessa sitting up on the bed, awake and puzzled by the shouts from outside. “What’s happening?” she quavered.

  “Stay here. Gracea’s about to do something to the ship, and I actually want her to succeed this time.”

  She scowled. “No. I’m going outside.”

  “Your Holiness—”

  “There’s nowhere for me to run, Lan! And if anything happens to the ship, it won’t matter whether I’m in here or out there!”

  I needed to keep an eye on the riverwind flow outside, and I knew Odessa was going to disobey as soon as my back was turned, anyway. “Keep close to either me or Noelle.”

  At her nod, I ushered her onto the deck, and she gaped at the twin rivers up ahead. “Are we going to make it?” she breathed. “Can I do anything?”

  About to say no, I paused. The others were doing a good job firing off gates on the ship’s right side, but the closer we got to the forks, the more restless the currents began to look. “I want you to find something secure to hold on to. Here at the center mast—not over the railing, you hear? The ship’s about to do an abrupt left soon, and I don’t want you pitching over. Is there a way to slow down the currents up ahead, so Gracea can maneuver easier?”

  She thought for a moment. “I could try to stopper the direction of the wind for the moment, build a sort of air-dam so the ship won’t rock as much when she makes the turn?”

  That sounded good to me. “And can you do all that without having to move from this spot?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. Noe, keep her safe.”

  A sudden crash against the side of the ship sent us tumbling to one side, the force lifting the starboard almost straight up into the air and nearly capsizing us. I saw barrels flying, tumbling past us to plummet down into the swirling waters below. Odessa shrieked as she slid sideways, but I grabbed her by the waist and anchored her firmly against me, my other arm straining from our combined weight. Noe had latched on to another mast, but there were cries of pain as others were not as fortunate. “Creature at port!” Nebly screamed.

  I dashed to the railings to have a look myself and saw a familiar gargantuan eye glaring back at me before swimming out of view. “Devil beast’s back!” I shouted over to the rest, biting back a fresh string of curses. With it worrying us from the left, we’d never escape the deadly river on the right. Another shudder ripped through the ship, though the force was considerably weaker.

  “We won’t make it!” Graham shouted down to us. “The beast’s blocking our path!”

  “We need to get rid of it, then!” I grabbed a rope ladder hanging down the side of the ship. It would take all of us just to summon enough gale force needed to push the whale away, and that was firepower we didn’t have. Not when everyone else had their hands full trying to steer the ship left.

  “What are you doing?” Gracea gasped.

  “What are you doing?” Odessa echoed behind me, voice rising to a shriek.

  “What does it look like? Still thinking of leaving me back in Aranth?”

  I waited for the devil beast to draw close enough again and swung out.

  My hand slapped against the beast’s rough hide. It sensed my touch and tried to shy away but I doggedly pressed on, my palm firmly against its skin as I forced patterns through the point of contact, locating its heart and sending every debilitating sickness I could think of straight into its core.

  The beast screamed, and it was a most awful sound. It veered away almost immediately, struggling, and its tail punched hard against the side of the ship one final time.

  The rope slipped from my fingers. I scrabbled desperately at the side of the ship, managing only to rip out a fingernail as I plunged straight down into the inky swirl of—

  I stopped, hovering soundlessly in the air. I looked up.

  Odessa’s hands were stretched toward me, her face panicked as she yanked me up with Air. How had she gotten this strong?

  “Milady!” Another rope ladder whipped down beside me, and Noe’s face appeared beside the goddess’s.

  “You’re both lifesavers,” I panted, grabbing on and hoisting myself up, inch by painful inch, until I lay sprawled on the deck once more, Odessa hugging me tightly. “I thought you were really going to fall,” she sobbed.

  “I was going to fall,” I corrected her, coughing a little. “And I didn’t, thanks to you.”

  “Still thinking of leaving me back in Aranth?”

  I looked up at her grinning face. How had she done that? “I don’t think we have much choice in that anymore,” I said, as the triumphant shouts of the rest of the crew told me that we’d veered into the left river and were now speedily sailing away from the endless deep, and into more territories unknown. I staggered to my feet. “Keep it steady,” I continued. “We should be at the lakes before long.”

  And then I turned back to the railing, and threw up again.

  I hate ships.

  Chapter Ten

  Arjun the Sandpilot

  “WHAT KIND OF CONTRAPTION IS this?!”

  Her Holiness had been at it ever since we’d left her city and started hightailing it after the mirage, who’d been leading us on at a breakneck pace, tough to match despite the rig’s own impressive speed. I stepped harder on the pedal in response. No matter how fast I drove, we couldn’t pull up alongside the mirage; it felt like we were doomed to forever follow the specter rather than catch it.

  I was hoping to run it over, preferably. The goddess was convinced it was leading us to the breach, but I’d much rather have gotten it stationary long enough to demand more
answers.

  “The coils are barely working as it is, and these other cylinders don’t seem to be doing anything much beyond providing some ugly aesthetics, which is a terrible waste of good metal! The whole instrument panel is a haphazard mockery of good design! Half the switches on this side don’t even work, and the other half make no sense—”

  “Will you,” I said, through gritted teeth. “Shut. Your. Damn. Rathole. For just a second.”

  It was her turn to glare. “Rude,” she muttered, fiddling with the controls.

  “Will you please shut your damn rathole for just a second, princess. And stop messing with the switches. I don’t want you accidentally blowing us up.”

  “It’s Haidee, not princess. And I don’t even know your name.”

  I scowled, but it was obvious she wasn’t going to let up until she got what she wanted. “Arjun.”

  “Well, Arjun, do you even know what these switches do?”

  “I didn’t make this, I only stole it.”

  “Oh well, gee. That explains everything, then.” She slouched backward, folded her arms across her chest, and transferred her baleful stare to the endless sands before us, at the speck of black that was the mirage, still somehow outrunning us. I continued to drive.

  The peaceful bliss lasted a good five minutes.

  “I thought you wanted to kill me,” she grumbled. “Why are you even coming along?”

  “Coming along with you? You’re coming along with me.” Balancing my wrist against the wheel, I jerked a thumb behind me, where an enormous sack lay stashed against the back seat. Hell and sandrock, it even had wheels underneath it. “How the hell were you expecting to lug all that through the desert chasing after a mirage, without a ride?”

  “I would have found a way.”

  “You never think things through. You want to bring some whale back to life, but you don’t have enough water on hand to stop it from suffocating if you succeed. And now you wanna hike your way through the dunes, with no mount or vehicle to your name.”

  It was her turn to bristle. “Oh? So you know everything about me now?”

  Damn right I did. She was the enemy. That was all I needed to remember.