Jalia Prevails (Book 5) (34 page)

Sila Klint arrived at Tonas’s cabin just as he and the Denger brothers were leaving.

“I would like to discuss the purchase of your swords, gentlemen.”

“The swords are already sold, Lady Klint,” Tonas replied, “We are going to the dining room if you would care to join us?”

“I have never met a trader who would not overturn a deal for a more favorable one, should the opportunity arise,” Sila said as they walked down the corridor.

“I doubt that even you have the money we are being offered,” Tonas pointed out.

“Twenty thousand gold pieces? I regard such amounts as pin money.” Sila waved her hand.

“But do you have such money here?” Tonas asked.

“None of the parties who wish to buy the swords have it presently.”

“Perhaps we should hold an auction when we dock?” Wilf suggested hopefully. He would much sooner sell to the highest bidder than the one who just happened to have slept with Tonas’s father.

“There are things I can offer in return that the other bidders cannot,” Sila said as they reached the dining room.

Tonas stopped and looked at her enquiringly.

“I am setting up business in Slarn with Alin Bredan as my financial advisor. You know how good the two of us are at that. We could become partners, as I am looking for investment capital and you three are about to come into rather a lot of it.”

“Let us talk about it further over dinner,” Tonas suggested and Sila nodded in agreement.

Gally Sorn reached Captain Toren’s door and knocked. She had grown attached to the Captain and found their liaisons entertaining. She was looking forward with great anticipation to the night ahead. There were few men that Gally thought truly liked her as much as Gil Toren.

There was no response and she knocked again a little louder. The door swung inwards, revealing the body of the Captain in a pool of blood.

Gally pushed the door fully open and dropped down to the Captain’s side. She turned him over and cradled his head on her lap, ignoring the blood that covered her dress as she did it.

“Who has done this to you?”

The Captain’s eyes flickered open and he tried to speak. Ignoring the blood dripping from his mouth Gally put her ear to his lips.

“Jak… Venjer,” the Captain whispered hoarsely and died.

18.
      
A Dish Served Cold

Hal Patin knocked at the door of the Captain’s cabin. He had barely come on shift before he had been ordered to report below. Hal yawned as he waited for the door to open. He always felt tired at the start of the morning shift. Today the Steam Dragon would reach its home port and Hal was feeling more than a little excited at the prospect. His wife and their two children waited for him and it had been a harder than usual voyage.

To Hal’s surprise, the First Mate answered the door. Seb Halder looked exhausted and there were dark rings around his eyes.

“Come in, Hal. There are things you have to know.” Seb gave Hal a weak smile and waved him into the room.

The first thing Hal noticed as he stepped inside was that the Captain’s carpet had been removed. Very few cabins on the boat were carpeted. In fact, apart from the four royal suites and the Captain’s cabin, there wasn’t an inch of carpet to be found on the Steam Dragon.

“I needed to speak to you and the Captain anyway,” Hal said as he stepped into the room. “There is a crew matter that I need you to make a decision on.”

“Captain Toren is dead,” Seb said, interrupting him. “He was found stabbed in this cabin last night by Lady Sorn.”

Hal sat down with a thump, feeling giddy with shock. He had worked for Captain Toren for over ten years and Toren had proved to be a good boss and an excellent friend.

“I can’t believe… Who did it?” he asked in horror.

“We don’t know. The Captain was dead when Lady Sorn entered the cabin. She ran to the bridge in a distraught state. I believe that she actually cared for the Captain, which came as a bit of a surprise to me last night.”

“But why would anybody kill the Captain? He was a good man and not the sort of man to make deadly enemies.”

“He has been working on a mission for the Board. I believe that mission is what got him killed,” Seb explained. “We were working together, but he was taking the risks. Now he is dead I need to take you into my confidence in case something should happen to me.”

“I understand,” Hal said as bravely as he could. Working on the Steam Dragon was not usually a hazardous occupation and he suppressed a shiver of fear as he waited for Seb to tell him what was going on.

“You know about the swords, the ones we have been letting Jalia al’Dare and Daniel al’Degar steal?” Seb said, covering the common ground they had.

“Yes sir. The men have been wondering why we are letting them do that. Though the truth is, we would have likely never known if you and the Captain hadn’t set us to watching them.”

“The swords could decide the next King if they found their way into a single set of hands. Worse, we could end up with a leader who will take over the Triums, which the Board thinks would be bad for business. The Captain believed that Gally Sorn was going to hand the swords to Maximus Tallis.”

Hal Patin’s face paled at the thought of someone as ruthless and notoriously evil as Maximus ruling Slarn. His wife and children would not be safe in such a city.

“We have to stop her, sir. Let’s throw the damned things over the side,” Hal said, standing up as if he was going to do it himself, there and then.

“If the Boat Company is seen to be playing favorites we will make ourselves a target for the Triums. The Triums leave us in peace, because we have made a point of never interfering in their affairs.” Seb put a hand on Hal’s shoulder and encouraged him to sit down again.

“Then what can we do?” Hal was approaching a state of panic.

“The Captain was feeding information to the spies from Jenver and Dalk who are onboard. They are Prince Doran Dalk and his servant Jant Pinder and Queen Kalenda’s representative, Jak Venjer. The Captain hoped to prevent them bringing their war onboard the ship. He was getting close to Gally Sorn to try and learn her plans. It is a shame we have no one to replace him.”

“I’m a married man, sir. My wife would kill me if I ever got involved with someone like Lady Sorn,” Hal spluttered as the horrifying thought of what he might be asked to do occurred to him.

“Relax Hal, no one is asking you to betray your wife. It suited the Captain to allow the swords to be stolen. Gil believed that Jalia and Daniel are seeking revenge on Lady Sorn for trying to kill them in Bratin.”

Seb sighed before he continued. “If they prevent the swords from getting into the hands of Maximus then we cannot be blamed, and at least a part of our mission will have been accomplished. Gil ordered me to help them as necessary.”

“What can I do, Captain?” Using the title for Seb felt strange to Hal, but he was undoubtedly the new Captain of the Steam Dragon. Hal had no doubt that the appointment would become permanent once they reached port. Everyone in the crew knew that Seb would be appointed captain of one of the boats as soon as a post became available.

“Pick eight of the crew we can trust and explain what is going on. Tell them to be ready to assist me should the need arise. I would do it myself, except that I have to see if I can find out who killed the Captain. Whoever did it is not going to escape this boat unpunished; I can assure you of that.”

“I will get on it right away, Sir.” Hal got to his feet.

Seb stopped him before he could leave the room.

“What was the crew matter you wanted to discuss with me?”

“It can wait, Captain.”

“No, tell me about it. I want to know.”

Hal paused to collect his thoughts. It seemed as if days had passed since he walked into the cabin. The matter in question came back to him in a rush.

“Hala Taldon, sir. She has been asking about possible apprenticeships with the Company. I believe she might be officer material, sir; after her actions rescuing Lady al’Dare.”

Seb smiled. This was good news.

“I agree. I know the Captain expressed admiration for her quick thinking and unswerving loyalty. That’s an uncommon mix these days. I would not hesitate to recommend her to the Board when we reach Slarn.” Seb paused as he thought more on it. It felt good to be discussing simple matters of recruitment rather than high politics. “Is she aware she would have to go to the training school for a couple of years before she moves onto one of the boats?”

“I explained that to her, sir, and she seemed happy at the prospect. I told her she would probably get to travel on the Steam Dragon a couple of times in a year. She could see Nin in Slarn during the stopovers.”

“Well, I think we can regard the matter as settled then,” Seb said with satisfaction. “I will fill in the paperwork as soon as we are docked and the matter of the swords is resolved.”

Hal frowned and Seb looked at him in puzzlement.

“Is there still a problem?”

“Hala has made an unusual demand of us, sir. You are not going to believe what she wants.”

Gally Sorn woke as the light of dawn filled her cabin. She had left the curtains open so it would wake her. She washed quickly, wiping the stains from her face and tidying her hair. Gally wanted to look her best for what she planned to do. In her mind, it was a matter of showing Gil Toren the respect he deserved.

Maximus would be onboard tonight and she had other responsibilities to address before she could concentrate on avenging Gil. Maximus’s men on the boat had not yet revealed themselves and time was getting short. Gally’s memory was excellent, but she felt she needed to read Maximus’s words one final time, especially regarding his love for her. She needed to know that there was a man who still loved her.

She slit the pillow open with her knife and, without regard for scattered feathers, pulled the puzzle box from within its depths. It took Gally three tries to get the box open; she had never been good at remembering the sequence.

Taking out the sheets of paper, she retrieved a small vial from her purse. She took off her necklace and undid one of the small silver trinkets attached to it. Gally took the top off the vial and replaced it with the trinket, which fitted perfectly. Across its top was a tiny silver pipe. When she blew through one end of the pipe, a fine mist came out of the other end and covered the sheet of paper. Maximus’s words came back into existence on the paper.

“I will see you tonight, Maximus,” Gally told the sheet of paper after she had read it. “But I have another little matter to finish first.”

Jalia undid the last of the sword bags from the rope. She was exhausted, as was Hala who sat beside her. Hala handed over the last four swords to be put back in the bag.

“We must have worked through half the night,” Hala said, yawning.

“Daniel will be here soon, once they have finished clearing up the mess in the shaft. You can go back to the cabin and get some sleep if you want.”

“What about Cara and Don?”

“We planned they should go back to their cabins once the job was done. We hardly want a parade.”

“I want to see you put the cover back,” Hala said softly. “I could help.”

“We can do it on our own, Hala,” Jalia said gently. “It would be best if the three of us aren’t seen coming up together. It might get the crew to thinking.”

Hala sighed and went to the door. It opened and Daniel walked in. If anything, he looked even more tired than Jalia. Daniel smiled and held the door open for her to leave. She walked through and then stuck out her bottom and waggled it at him before skipping down the corridor.

“The energy of youth,” Daniel said, giving a deep sigh. “We used to be young once, didn’t we?”

“I think we still are.” Jalia raised herself laboriously up from the pile of bags.

They went to the cover and levered it back into place. Daniel and Jalia put the bolts that the ring had removed, back into the holes they came from.

“It would look better if we could glue the sheared bolt back in place,” Jalia said as she looked at the cover critically. “Someone might notice if we don’t.”

“Well the bolt heads are here,” Daniel told here. “I collected them from the floor, remember?”

Jalia touched her ring and spoke to it in a whisper.

“Jaliscia, you know what I want you to do later tonight. If you can also stick these bolts back in place, I would ask you to do it.”

The heads jumped off the floor and fastened themselves back in place around the cover.

“If that ring isn’t truly alive, then I am damned if I know how it can follow your instructions,” Daniel said.

“Of course she’s alive, silly,” Jalia said as she gently stroked the ring.

Gally Sorn looked impressive in long leather boots, sheer black trousers, and frilly blouse. She had pulled her hair back severely into a bun at the back of her head. It did not take her long to find Jak Venjer, who sat at a table in the dining room in deep discussion with Tonas and the Denger brothers.

“Excuse me, Tonas, Wilf, Tred. I have business to discuss with Jak if you don’t mind?” Gally asked in her most polite voice.

Jak looked at her and was astounded how vibrant she looked. He knew that Gil Toren’s body must have been found by now and that she must know of his death. Obviously, the Captain had meant little to her.

“I did not know that we had anything to discuss, my lady?”

“Please, feel free to take Jak with you,” Tonas said airily. “We were discussing the price of bread throughout Jalon.”

“Such a dry subject,” Gally said with a light laugh. “I’m sure that my business proposition will interest Jak a great deal more.”

Venjer stood up and walked with her, stopping as they approached the dining room door.

“I really do not think that we have anything to discuss together,
 
my lady,” he said insistently.

“Not even about how the swords will be gone from this boat long before it docks?” Gally asked. “If you want Queen Kalenda to see any of the swords in her hands, rather than that of her enemies, you will come with me now.”

Gally strode towards her room without looking back. Jak Venjer watched her retreating back. As she turned a corner, he cursed and began to run after her. He didn’t know what she was playing at, but he was sure that she was not dangerous enough to do him any harm. He knew all about her little tricks.

Jak caught up to her as she opened the door to her suite and strode in.

“You cannot get these swords off the Steam Dragon in mid-river.”