Hammers in the Wind (12 page)

Bahr wasn’t so sure he was either. “Rekka, I need your eyes and ears. Most men regard a woman on board as an ill omen. That being said, they will be prone to tell the truth than risk the ire of the sea.”

“You wish for me to try and detect lies and misdirection,” she said, catching on.

He did. “Yes. I’d like you to hide behind that curtain if you don’t mind. Between you and Anienam Keiss we should find our killer and our spy.”

She bowed at the waist. “As you wish.”

Bahr knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded. It was a thin plan at best, but it was all he could come up with.

“That can’t be right. You’ve made a mistake.”

Anienam Keiss stared back at Bahr, his look impassive. “I can only speak of what I know. None of those men lied.”

Bahr slammed a fist on the table. “I refuse to accept that one of my men had his head cut off by a ghost or some such. The killer has to be on this ship.”

“But who?” Anienam countered. “We have spoken to everyone. The killer is simply not here.”

Bahr wasn’t convinced. He couldn’t be. It didn’t make sense. How would a killer just disappear in the middle of the ocean? Going overboard was suicide, besides which, no one was missing. “How can we be so sure? Can your magic be wrong?”

“Do not doubt my capabilities, captain. The foe you seek is not on the Dragon’s Bane.”

The Sea Wolf ran both meaty hands through his thick silver hair in frustration. “If what you say is true this killer can strike again at any time. There is no security for us.”

Anienam nodded.

“What can we do?”

“Nothing,” was the almost empty reply.

The implications were frightening. He didn’t like the prospect of constantly looking over his shoulder for that silver blade coming for him. Old already, it was no stretch of the imagination to feel the icy fingers of death come reaching for him.

Bahr grimaced. “Not what I needed to hear right now.”

Rekka Jel added, “The wizard is correct. We found no blood, no sign of struggle and no murder weapon. This is a confined area with limited room to hide. There should be clues.”

Bahr eyed the tiny brown-skinned woman appraisingly. Brown wasn’t fair, he decided. She was more golden. He groaned. Now was not the time to battle distraction.

“I have sailed across the northern oceans and a dozen kingdoms in my time. I’ve seen strange things, from monsters to dancing Elves, but what the two of you are suggesting is impossible. We must be missing something.”

Anienam asked, “Are they impossible because you choose to disbelieve them or because your mind cannot fathom the depths of mystery? The trappings of the unknown far exceed our mortal realm.”

“Impossible because no one else is missing. Why would a man murder another and then abandon ship? Where would he go? The cold would kill him in minutes.”

“Your line of questioning does you disservice,” Rekka said. “There is no point to wondering if the rest of the passengers and crew are accounted for.”

She had a point, he begrudgingly admitted. Then again, she also took an unwitting step towards defending his point of view.

“Precisely,” he countered. The gleam in his eyes whispered mischief, like a hunter catching the scent of wounded prey. “The killer is still among us.”

“If what you say is true that implies our killer is somehow able to mask himself from my powers, making him a…”

“Wizard,” Bahr frowned.

“Impossible.”

Bahr arched an eyebrow. “Is it?”

“I would have felt him the moment he boarded. Magic cannot be hidden from other users. He could conceal himself from those insensitive to the gift but I would have known.”

“This takes us back to the beginning. The question remains, what do we do next? I am out of ideas and ill at ease,” Bahr all but hissed.

He collapsed back into the cushioned chair. All of this intrigue left him haggard, raw. He had half a mind to turn back to Chadra. Every moment wasted hunting this phantom killer stole from his niece’s life. Above all else, her life was paramount. His thoughts never strayed from the softness of her face and the mirth in her laugh. Tears welled in the back of his eyes. It took every ounce of strength and dignity not to cry in front of his guests.

“We might ask them again but I fear it would end the same,” Rekka suggested.

Bahr asked, “What do you propose? At this point I am willing to listen to any suggestion. Nothing we’ve done has worked yet.”

“There is no need to argue,” Anienam cautioned at the glint of rising anger in Bahr’s voice. “Let me meditate first. Both of you go topside and try to keep the peace. The answer will present itself to me, of that I am convinced.”

“Hopefully before another body turns up,” Bahr added.

He left the wizard behind, cautiously wondering how the old man managed to turn the conversation and place himself in a position of power.

*****

“He’s done nothing but glower since the confrontation this morning,” Dorl said after dropping his last card on the barrel.

Nothol snatched the card and laid down three of a kind. “He’ll be all right. If not then we get to adjust his attitude.”

Dorl eyed the card angrily. “Damn. How much is that?”

“Sixty,” Nothol smirked. “You can save some dignity and quit now.”

“Not until I win my money back.”

Nothol laughed. “We don’t have that much time. Besides, you still owe me from the last three months. I’m waiting to see that.”

“Stop taking my money and I’ll be able to pay you off.”

“Let you win?” Nothol feigned astonishment. “You’ve got a better chance of me cutting my own leg off.”

Dorl gave him a wounded look. “That hurts. Do you think I would do such a thing?”

“Shut up already and deal the cards.”

The soft swoosh of Rekka’s sword slicing intricate patterns through the air mimicked the pulse of the wave against the prow. She ignored the sell swords and their constant squabbling. Dressed in a simple dark brown bodysuit, Rekka was the perfect combination of beauty and lethality. Her hair was tied back in a long braid that whipped around her head and shoulders with each movement. The thin film of sweat gave her flesh a glossy sheen enough to make Dorl sigh.

“You’re going to get yourself in trouble,” Boen rumbled as he walked up behind them. He took a seat and admired Rekka going through her drill. “Still, she’s a fine looking woman.”

Dorl couldn’t agree more. “That she is.”

“Judging by the way she wields that pretty little sword, a very dangerous one. Be careful with that one lad.”

“You’re full of cheer this morning. Uncharacteristically, I might add,” Dorl said. He shifted back to Rekka but it was too late. Boen had already spoiled the vision.

The Gaimosian shrugged off the comment.

Nothol set down the cards with a sharpened look. “Is the old man any closer to finding the killer?”

“No,” Boen answered. “The old salt is spooked and good. That wizard is keeping secrets from us.”

“Never trust a wizard. They’ve been the bane of Malweir for generations,” Dorl spat.

Boen shot him a skeptical glance. Gaimosians had evolved to become some of the first mages. The order eventually rose to such heights that it tore itself, and most of the world, apart. Men and women of all races filled the ranks. A force for justice, they became corrupt with the taint of darkness and a great and terrible war erupted. Those that survived suffered the effects for thousands of years after. Few living remembered the true beginnings of the hatred of magic, but it had been ingrained in Boen from childhood. It was also his deepest dread. He hoped and prayed his blood lacked the desire to take himself beyond mortality. Malweir had hurt enough because of his kind.

“How much longer till we land?” he asked.

Nothol answered. “Should be this evening. The wind has been good to us.”

“Good. I am tired of boats,” Dorl yawned.

“Who says land is less dangerous?”

“How so?” Nothol asked.

“The killer is confined here, limited in what he can do. Once we get ashore he gets a host of options.”

Dorl swallowed hard. He was a seasoned man, but the thought of being stalked by an assassin chilled his blood. He idly wondered how long it would be until others found his body with a knife in his back.

“I’m beginning not to like this,” he mumbled, thoughts filled with desperation.

The Dragon’s Bane sailed on, drawing ever closer to the port town of Dredl. Rekka Jel finished her exercises against the soft blue sky backdrop. Clouds smattered the skies like so many puffs of dreams from the gods. She casually wiped the sweat from her brow and gave them a peculiar glance. Dorl took it for what was: she knew exactly what they’d been talking about. Dorl Theed blushed for the first time in years.

*****

Ionascu watched them from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t been involved in any more conversations since Bahr went on his witch hunt for the killer. The dead body on deck had been disturbing, making his mission all the more difficult. Everywhere he went Ionascu felt eyes silently measuring him. Noting his every move. Accusations sat on each lip with a growing ache to be said. Ionascu struggled with maintaining a sense of calm and flashes of anger stewing in his core.

No one on board knew his true identity and it was a good thing considering recent developments. If they so much as guessed he was one of the king’s captains he’d be drawn and quartered before dusk. Even the mercenaries would turn on him. No one liked a rat. He snorted. Rat. A lifetime of service devoted to Badron and Delranan had only managed to secure him the title of rat. His veins burned with rage.

“I don’t be liking the way they think they be better than us,” Lon, a gangly youth barely old enough to grow a beard said as he came up beside Ionascu.

The kingsman feigned indifference. “How would you have them act? A man they didn’t even get to meet was brutally murdered. There are nineteen of us left who don’t fit in with the crew. Bahr doesn’t want trouble, but he isn’t willing to trust men he doesn’t know. I don’t think I’d act any differently. Besides, one of us is the killer.”

“Wasn’t me,” Lon shook his head. “None of my boys neither. We’re all good men signed on to help the princess.”

“So are we all. It doesn’t change the facts.”

Lon wasn’t buying in to it. “You’re in good with the Cap’n. What do they be saying about us?”

A gust of wind tossed his stringy blonde hair across his face.

Be careful here, Ionascu cautioned himself. “Captain Bahr and the others are worried about us.”

“Huh. Can’t tell by me. I say we look at that brown skin girl, her being a foreigner and all. The way she be swinging that fancy sword of hers I got no doubt about her being able to hack a few heads off.”

The boy had a point. He may have been some small town hick with a terrible accent, but he recognized the natural progression of dangerous thought. Ionascu almost smiled. Rekka Jel was the obvious choice for the assassin, which cancelled her out. He knew better than to go with the obvious choices. For all he knew Lon was the killer. Ionascu knew better than to trust anyone at this point.

“Go ahead and try her if you want. I’m sure King Badron will give a good stipend to your next of kin,” he told the boy.

Lon gave it a quick thought. “I’m hungry. Come on, let’s see if there’s any of that stew left over.”

“You go ahead. I want to finish oiling my sword. We should be making landfall soon.”

Lon grunted again. “Looks like you be expecting a war as soon as we land.”

“It never hurts to be prepared. You’d do well to follow my example.”

“Just cause those fools named you our leader don’t mean we have. For all we know you killed that man. Can’t trust nobody on this crate.”

Ionascu bristled. He may be a spy, but he was no murderer. Lon’s youthful ignorance needed a lesson; one he could ill afford to give with everyone’s attention on him. Ionascu was still good enough to hack the man to pieces in a fair fight. He forced the thought from his mind and took a calming breath.

“If I am not your leader why do you keep looking to me for guidance?” he asked. Anger laced the words like poison.

Lon shot back, “Someone’s got to talk to the Cap’n. Might as well be you. Me and the boys didn’t come to do no talkin’. ‘Sides, they always be asking for you. Looks like they found a leader of their own.”

“Careful friend. I’m a patient man but I do have my limits,” his voice was measured and warning.

Lon’s face hardened. “If I didn’t know better I’d say that be a threat.”

“Think what you want. I’m one of you.”

“We’ll see,” Lon said and walked off.

Ionascu frowned. His life suddenly got much more complicated, making his task damn near impossible.

*****

“We’ll see.”

Skuld listened intently to the mercenaries argue. He fully expected an all-out brawl before the younger one stormed off. The gutter rat idly considered running to tell Captain Bahr what he’d heard. Being a stowaway was bad enough, but if the mercenaries got wind that he was spying for the captain he wouldn’t last the night. Dorl Theed and Nothol Coll would stand for him, but even they wouldn’t be able to watch him constantly. One of Lon’s troop would slit his throat and drop the body in the waters.

Skuld shivered at the thought and paled as Ionascu turned and looked him dead in the eyes.  Recognition flashed, though just a hint. The older man sheathed his sword and moved away, leaving the boy to wonder how much shorter his life just became. Skuld felt trapped. He desperately needed to be trusted. Turning in the mercenaries to Bahr would assure that much but it would make dire enemies out of men who lacked scruples. A jolt of fear ran down his spine. He was the least harmless on the boat. So why did he feel it all hinged on his actions? Skuld suddenly knew exactly what he had to do in order to preserve himself another day.