Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms (44 page)

Keris shook her
head. “I still don’t trust them. They agreed to supply our
lodestone in three days. That was
eight
days ago. I think they are
suspicious of why we need it.”

“I’m sure they are,” Lyall
agreed. “But a good trader knows not to ask his customers too many
awkward questions. The Guilds cannot be seen to be connected with
any trade in lodestone, so I knew when we conceived of this plan
that we would probably have to deal with an ‘unofficial’ source. If
you know of another way…?” Keris shook her head. “Then I think we
have no choice other than to be patient.”

“Still, we are taking a real
risk,” Keris warned. “Patris already told us there is a large
bounty being offered. If they were to decide to deliver us to the
Prophet’s spies, they could easily do so, and the lodestone
provides the perfect excuse to keep us here and delay our
departure.”

Lyall cast his eye over the
neatly stacked planks of seasoned wood. The work below deck was
proceeding apace. However, to provide added stability, he ideally
wanted the fore and stern castles lowered. There was also the
lodestone to be installed–whenever it finally arrived. Keris was
right. Time was of the essence, and every day they remained here
involved added danger. “When the lodestone is fitted, we should
test it to see if it works properly. After all, I don’t think
anyone has ever attempted this before.”

“I will do that,” Keris said.
“You still don’t wish for Shann and the others to know what you’re
planning.”

“No. I have my
reasons.”

Laughter drifted over from the
direction of the gangway. Shann and Oliah appeared together, locked
in animated conversation. The day after their encounter with
Patris, Oliah had shown up at the Calandra and introduced herself
as one of Patris’ ‘business associates,’ which was to say that she,
too, was a street thief. The unlikely pair had hit it off and were
now virtually inseparable. Alondo was involved, too, although Lyall
had firmly told himself that it was none of his
business.

The girls were both small and
slight, although Oliah was a little older and had short fair hair.
They could easily have been taken for sisters. Shann sauntered up
to Lyall and Keris with a spring in her step. Oliah was hanging
back, peeking out from beneath her delicate eyelids with a coy
expression. “Have you seen Alondo?” Shann asked Lyall
casually.

“I left him
below.” The girls turned tail and left together, arm in arm.
“Don’t take him away from his work,”
Lyall called out after them.

“We
won’t,”
Shann promised. Both girls erupted
again in peals of laughter.

Lyall and Keris
stood side by side, watching them go. Finally Keris spoke under her
breath.
“They have no idea what they are
facing.”

For once, Lyall
was in complete agreement with her. He felt an odd twinge.
Worry? Regret? Fear?
And
once more, the spectre of the decision he would soon have to make
rose in his consciousness like a maralah, its four penetrating eyes
demanding his attention.
Not yet.

There was a
further sound coming from the direction of the gangway, but this
time it was not laughter.
A shout of
greeting. Two more in acknowledgement
.
Patris’ narrow face and hook nose were followed by his slim body,
clothed in an expensive looking purple and yellow suit. He hurried
towards them across the deck. He was all smiles.
“Good news,”
he
beamed.
“Your lodestone is
here.”

~

The wharf area–the very heart of
the port city of Sakara. By night, a place of scarlet pools. Of
secret shadows. A tall, broad man stepped forth from one. He strode
purposefully to the edge of the dock. Ships great and small lay
alongside one another, framed as silhouettes against the dimly lit
cloudscape. Their hulls creaked gently like a row of old men
turning over in bed. Waves lapped gently against the
breakwater.

Most of the gangways had been
taken up, but one had been left conspicuously rolled out. It
vanished into the bowels of one of the larger vessels. Inviting.
The man moved silently up the gangway and into the dark recess of
an upper deck.

He paused a moment to allow his
eyes to become accustomed to the gloom; a tiny point of light was
visible towards one corner. The man headed for it, ducking
carefully to avoid the low beam work. The light gradually resolved
into a flickering candle, set in the centre of a small round table.
Before the table were two stools, one of which was occupied by a
figure in a dark, close fitting jacket. The candlelight cast his
features in sharp relief. One hand was by his side; the other
rested on the table, revealing a bronze ring on his index finger,
set with a black stone. He motioned to the other stool and the
broad man took a seat.

The man at the table raised his
Ringed hand. “Fealty and service to the Three and the
One.”

“Fealty and service,” the
newcomer intoned.

“My Lord, Saccath,” the man at
the table began. It is good to meet you at last. I am called
Girmala. I have the honour to be the eyes and ears of the Prophet
in this city. I have been informed of your arrival by the keep at
Chalimar. I am to do all in my power to assist you.”

Saccath nodded slowly. “Very
good. You have been briefed as to my mission here?”

“Somewhat,” Girmala affirmed. “I
am aware that you are pursuing the renegade, Keris. Armed with that
intelligence, and in anticipation of your arrival, I have had the
subject under surveillance for a number of days. The group she is
travelling with is staying at the Calandra. What is not clear,
however, is the reason for their presence here. They appear to have
allied themselves with one of the thief gangs.” He screwed his face
up. “It is difficult to believe that a servant of the Prophet would
consort with such people.”

Saccath ignored the man’s thinly
disguised attempts to curry favour. It had been a long journey here
and he did not have time to waste. He needed information,
information that would enable him to deal finally with Keris.
Murderer of Nikome and Mordal. Traitor to the Prophet. Betrayer of
everything she stood for. Somehow she and the group she was
travelling with had survived the Pits of Kharthrun. He had promised
Mevan and himself that if any of them reached Sakara, then he would
see to it that that would be the end of their journey. He intended
to make good on that promise. “What else have you
discovered?”

“They have purchased a ship and
appear to be modifying it, although I cannot say to what purpose.
Their destination, too, is something of a mystery. Most curious of
all, they have acquired a quantity of lodestone.”

Saccath’s ears pricked up. “How
is that possible?”

“We do not know. We… were unable
to track the source.” Girmala’s eyes flicked to the other man and
then down at the table.

Saccath did not care about
delivering a rebuke. The Guilds were supposed to be prohibited from
acquiring or trading in lodestone. Clearly the authorities in
Chalimar had underestimated their resourcefulness–and their
treachery. He would have to report the matter in due course. For
now though, he did not care about anything other than his quarry.
His eyes became distant. “Why would she require
lodestone?”

Girmala took the question as
addressed to him. “I will investigate.”

Saccath roused himself. “No…no, I
want you to take the woman Keris into custody as soon as possible.
I will interrogate her myself. She must be taken without
interference from the city watch.”

Girmala smiled; shadows cast by
the candlelight lent his face a ghoulish appearance. “Do not
concern yourself, Lord. We have done this sort of thing a number of
times before at the behest of the Unan-Chinneroth. We are quite
good at what we do.”

Girmala was a little too self
assured, a little too complacent. His use of the Prophet’s formal
name was calculated to impress. It had the reverse effect. Saccath
found that his dislike of the other man was growing by the moment.
This had to be done right. There was no room for mistakes. He
leaned forward, the single flame reflected in each eye. “Listen
carefully. This woman is no mere petty thief or corrupt city
official. She is one of our own, a trained Keltar with skills well
in excess of those of your men. Even unarmed, she will not be taken
easily. The operation will need to be well planned.”

Girmala’s smile vanished. “It
will be as you command.” He paused, weighing his next words
carefully. “We have discovered a further piece of information that
may be of use, my Lord. It seems that one of those travelling with
her–the coward who attacked a Keltar in Corte and then fled–has
been identified as the same person who led an attack on Persillan
eleven turns ago. The Prophet has a special interest in him. In
fact, his sister is being held in custody at a secret location, in
the hopes that he would show his face again.”

“I see. Well, we will deal with
the rest of them, as soon as the woman Keris is out of the
way,”

“Understood.”

Saccath rose from his stool and
turned to leave. He heard Girmala’s voice behind him. “What will
happen to her?”

Saccath did not
turn around.
“She will not leave this city
alive.”
He strode off into the darkness,
leaving the other man seated alone at the candlelit table. Girmala
leaned forward, cupped the flame gently in one hand as if it were a
life, and blew it out.

~

“We sail on the morning
tide.”

Lyall made the announcement to
the gathering seated in the back room of the Calandra that had
become their unofficial meeting place. Keris and Patris were off
making final arrangements and were expected shortly. Shann and Boxx
sat on one side of the table; Alondo and Oliah were on the other.
Oliah’s eyes were red rimmed, as if she had been crying. She kept
looking at her hands.

Lyall and Alondo had been friends
since childhood. The musician’s ready smile and easy manner had led
him into numerous close friendships with women, but none that Lyall
could recall as being serious–until now. Lyall was grateful in a
way, since it made the decision he had come to, the decision he was
going to have to announce a little later this evening, somewhat
easier.

Before that however, there were
two small but important matters to deal with. The first was purely
to do with morale. He smiled at the group. “Our ship needs a
name.”

“It already has
a name–the
Soraya
,” Shann reminded him.

“The ship is ours now.” Lyall
pointed out. “Besides, a ‘soraya’ is a sea creature with four eyes
and tentacles.”

Alondo had a puzzled look. “I
thought it was the name of a local soup?”

“It is,” Lyall confirmed. “That’s
what’s in the soup.”

Alondo suddenly looked ill.
“That’s what I had for breakfast. No wonder no-one would answer me
when I asked what the bits were.”

Shann stifled a
giggle.

“Well, I think we can do better.
Suggestions, people?”

Alondo and
Shann looked at each other. Shann’s face lit up. “How about
Stormchaser
?”

“I like it,” Alondo
beamed.

“So do I. However, I don’t think
we want to give Patris quite such an obvious clue to our
intentions, do we?” asked Lyall. Shann and Alondo both shook their
heads.

Alondo interrupted the silence.
“We could name her after Oliah, here.” Oliah squeezed his hand,
looked up into his face and smiled.

“Annata
.” All eyes turned to look at
the Chandara.

Lyall nodded. “That seems good.
After all, it is she who started us on this journey. It’s a
reminder of why we are all here.”

“Annata’s
Reach
,” Shann added.

“Perfect. Are
we all agreed?” There were nods from around the table. Lyall broke
the top off a bottle of narrian wine and filled five goblets. He
raised one. “The
Annata’s
Reach
.”

“Annata’s
Reach,”
the others
chorused.

Lyall put down his goblet. “Well
now that that’s decided, there is another thing for us to take care
of.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened
it carefully. Set within it were the two Speaker Rings that Keris
had acquired back in Gort. “I think it is time for us to put these
to use. Alondo has explained to Oliah where we are going. She has
agreed not to tell Patris. She has also agreed to care for the
Speaker Ring on this side, to keep us informed of developments
here. Of course, we cannot be certain that the Ring will function
across the Great Barrier, but Keris and I both feel that it is
worth the risk.”

He passed one Ring to Alondo, who
took Oliah’s hand and put it on her finger. The fair haired girl
was looking up at him all the while.