Shadows Book 1 in the World of Shadows (12 page)

“
He knew I would be
coming?” I asked, amazement blooming in my chest.

The Luminos servant nodded. “I wouldn’t be
here if not.” He turned back to the horse and slipped the bit into
its mouth. “The soldier said that Duskies aren’t welcome on boats,
so you might have to get creative.” He checked a strap on the
saddle and ran a hand down the horse’s side. “She’s a good horse
and fast. Watch her head and keep your heels down.”

I nodded and took the reins as though I knew
what I was doing. The boy watched me, openly curious. I smiled at
him and swung onto the horse. The horse stomped a front hoof and
chomped at her bit. The boy smoothed her nose and fed her something
from his pocket, then stepped back. I took a rein in each hand and
waved them lightly, but the horse merely stood there.

“
Click your tongue,” the
Luminos said. He showed me what he meant, then adjusted the reins
so that I held them in one hand. “She’s well trained. You really
won’t need these if you just step into the stirrup on the side you
want her to turn. Let her know you’re in charge.” He took a step
back and then paused. “Oh, and next time mount her from the left
stirrup. That way she’ll think you know what you’re doing.” I
caught his grin before he ducked his head.

“
Thank you,” I said
sincerely. I clicked my tongue like he had demonstrated and the
horse’s ears pointed back and then forward. She bobbed her head and
began to walk. “What’s her name?” I called over my
shoulder.

“
Deseria. The soldier sent
a stable hand ahead to the boat to bring her back,” he
shouted.

I waved my appreciation and clicked my
tongue again. Deseria lifted her hooves in a bone jarring trot and
took us out the castle gates and down the red rock road. Duskies
and a few remaining Luminos on the road glanced up, but didn’t move
to stop me. I avoided their eyes and focused on the docks below.
Three great ships sat out in the bay. Small rowboats made their way
to the one in the center that flew a blue flag with a white star in
the middle.

I remembered Dathien’s warning about Duskies
not being welcome on boats and stopped at one of the clothing
stalls, but I didn’t dare get off the horse because I was worried I
wouldn’t be able to get back on despite the young Luminos’ tip. A
Duskie close to my age with deep blue eyes and black hair that made
a flattering contrast to his gently swirled gray and white skin
smiled up at me where I sat on Deseria. “May I help you, Miss?”

I stared at him a moment, surprised at the
twinkle in his eyes.

He smiled again and indicated his wares with
a flourish of his hand. “Only the finest for ladies as fair as
yourself.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his flirtatious
tone and pointed at a stand of cloaks. “I’d like to buy one of
those.”

He walked to them and ran a hand along the
stand. “What color would my lady prefer?”

“
Black,” I said.

He touched the black one, then pursed his
lips and picked a deep green one instead. “How about green to match
the flecks of color in your beautiful gray eyes?” He lifted his
brows and waved the cloak invitingly.

I knew my cheeks were red, but I couldn’t
help wondering if there really were flecks of green in my eyes. I
nodded and pulled out the purse. I dug through the coins, but they
all looked the same to me. I picked one and handed it to him. “Is
this enough?”

The Duskie looked up from where he wrapped
the cloak in a length of brown paper and his eyes widened. He
handed me the package and took the coin, smelled it, bit it, then
glanced up at me again. “More than enough. Where did you get
this?”

I forced a smile, my heart wavering. “You
don’t want to know.”

He took the coin back to the stall with him.
“I guess I don’t.” Then he shrugged. “Stolen coins buy just as much
as honest ones.” He dropped the coin in a leather purse and dug
through it.

“
I didn’t steal it,” I
said, aghast.

He came back with a handful of silver and
copper coins. “You said not to ask, so I’m left to make my own
assumptions.”

I took the proffered coins and poured them
back in the purse, frowning. “But thinking the worse of someone
isn’t right either.”

His eyes creased thoughtfully for a second
and then he shrugged again. “Perhaps not.” The twinkle came back to
his gaze. “But it makes life more interesting to believe that than
to believe someone earned their money pulling vegetables or
kneading bread.”

I laughed and clicked at the horse.

“
Good luck on your travels,
Miss. That there cloak was made for a good adventure. Trust me!”
the Duskie shouted.

I turned on Deseria’s back and waved at him.
He waved back and then blew me a kiss. I blushed again and turned
away. For a moment my thoughts were on the Duskie’s dark blue eyes
and soft swirls, then Deseria stepped into a slight depression in
the road and the package crinkled under my fingers, turning my
thoughts back to the present. I looked up and realized we were
almost to the docks.

I untied the tawny twine that bound the
paper around the cloak and drew it over my shoulders. The thick,
velvety material enveloped me in a warmth and comfort greatly
welcome at the thought of what was to come. I folded the paper and
stuffed it in one of the saddle bags out of habit from the waste
nothing attitude of the Caves, then drew the hood up over my head
and hid in the shadows. I regretted that I hadn’t thought to buy
gloves to hide my hands. I could go back to the vendor, but the
thought of talking to the Duskie again made my heart beat faster; I
pushed forward.

Deseria blew out her breath softly and
bobbed her head when we neared the boat. A Luminos leaned against
one of the thick pillars along the dock. He wore the same red and
gold crest on his shoulder as the boy at the castle, a silhouetted
horse’s head with a pitchfork underneath. He turned our way at the
sound of Deseria’s hooves on the cobblestone of the worn road.

“
It’s getting late, you
know,” he said chidingly with a glance at the setting
sun.

“
I apologize for keeping
you,” I replied, dismounting with as much grace as I could
manage.

“
I was beginning to worry
that you would miss your boat,” he said in a gentler tone. He
slipped the bit out of Deseria's mouth; she ground her teeth
appreciatively and pawed at the cobblestones with a front
hoof.

“
I needed to make some
preparations,” I explained, embarrassed. “I'm not really sure how
this is all going to work out.”

He met my eyes with a smile and loosened the
girth on Deseria's saddle. “You'll be fine.”

His smile eased the tightness in my heart. I
fumbled for the money bag in my pack and tried to give him several
coins, but he refused. “I insist,” I said. “You've gone far beyond
your duty and I've kept you.”

He shook his head. “This is my duty, and it
was worth it to see what all the fuss was about.” His eyes creased
at the corners. “And you're definitely worth it.”

I let out a breath, flustered. I had
received more compliments in the last hundred heartbeats than in
the rest of my entire life put together. “I don't know about that,”
I replied, trying to get my thoughts in order. “But they're worth
it.”

He nodded, running a hand over Deseria's
flank. “She’s quite a lady, isn’t she?”

“
Yes, she is,” I agreed,
petting her velvety nose.

He looked at me with a laugh in his light
golden eyes. “I was talking about you.”

“
Oh,” I said, then I
realized what he said. “Oh! What makes you say that? You don’t even
know me.”

He gave a smile that deepened around his
eyes. “It’s quite the risk for Dathien to allow a Duskie on board,
but he was adamant if you came along to reassure you it would be
alright, just be careful.”

I blinked, touched and comforted. “Thank you
very much,” I said quietly.

He nodded and took Deseria’s reins. “Good
luck. May your journey be a safe one.”

I thanked him again and made my way to the
boats by the dock. The area swarmed with workers loading a
flat-bottom boat with supplies for the trip. A system of pulleys
and wooden beams lifted boxes twice as tall as me off the dock and
down to the boat. I slipped among them while the workers struggled
with bales of hay that had split their twine. I found a box filled
with barrels of rice and climbed in between the barrels, then slid
to the floor of the box and ducked my head with the hood of my
cloak pulled up. I could only hope that if anyone leaned in to
check the contents, I would be just one more shadow among the gaps
between barrels.

Several heartbeats later, the voices of the
dock workers moved my way. They chatted heartily about the weather
and a storm coming off the coast, a dead whale that had beached not
too far away with huge bites taken out of its side, and the
appearance of more mosquitoes than usual for this time of the year.
Ropes slid between the wooden panels and before I could move,
someone shouted and the box was lifted into the air. I fought back
a sudden wave of nausea when we spun in a complete circle, then the
box was lowered at a dizzying speed. It thumped onto the
flat-bottom boat, which rocked gently under its weight and
increased my dizziness. I hoped I could keep a hold of whatever was
left in my stomach because I had a feeling it might be a while
before my next meal.

Several more thumps sounded followed by
additional rocking, then someone whistled; there was a slide of
wood against wood as oars were set out, then water lapped against
the sides as we moved against the waves toward the waiting boat. I
shut my eyes tight and prayed for my stomach to stay strong.

It felt like a lifetime passed before the
flat bottom boat hit against something that didn’t give. More
shouts went up, a creak of pulleys and ropes, and I could hear
boxes being raised into the air once more. Each time one left the
boat, it swayed like a mother rocking her baby; but I had never
been rocked and I wondered briefly if that had anything to do with
my current nausea.

Before I could think it through, the ropes
were fastened to my box and we were lifted into the air again. The
box threatened to spin, but was stopped by other ropes held by men
on the ship. The box was lowered to the ground, shoved a few feet
to sit firmly against something solid, then the men turned their
attention to the next pallet of supplies.

I tried to listen to them, but the lull of
muted voices and the soft lap of waves against the side of the boat
eventually soothed my nerves and invoked a feeling of safety. I
fought to keep my eyes open, but I didn’t plan to leave my hideout
until nightfall and knew a little sleep couldn’t hurt. I shut my
eyes and drifted off.

Chapter 14

Stars shone high in the diamond-shaped patch
of sky I could see from my crouched position when I awoke. I
straightened slowly and bit my lip against the rush of blood that
raced back to my legs. I eased up to the top of one of the rice
barrels and then lowered down off the edge of the box to the
ground. My legs quivered and I leaned against one of the barrels
while I checked to make sure the area was clear.

I felt tired, hungry, and cramped from
sleeping in one position for so long. My legs wobbled with the
strange rhythm of the waves and I staggered against another large
pallet of barrels. I worked myself along its side and almost
tripped over the first Luminos. He slept with his back against the
box, his light blond hair over his eyes and his feet bare. I smiled
at the bare feet, remembering how out of place I had felt at the
castle when I refused to wear shoes. At least I wouldn’t have to
worry about that here.

I tiptoed around him even though I knew at
this time of night nothing short of a hurricane with gale-force
winds and lightning close enough to crack the mast would wake him,
and even then he wouldn’t have the strength to do anything about
it; but it felt better to tiptoe rather than remind myself that I
was the only one awake on the massive ship. I passed a couple more
sailors stretched out on the wooden deck as if it was a luxury to
sleep with splinters, then I saw the thick chains that connected
the ship to the anchor far below the ocean’s surface. I put a hand
on the links that were thicker than my arm. They felt cold to the
touch, and the thrum of the chain rubbing against the side of the
boat ran up my fingertips. My heart throbbed as the boat pulled
against the anchor, and though the ship wasn’t alive, I felt a
kinship to something so free and spirited chained against its will.
I shook my head to center my thoughts and crossed the deck to the
cabin hatch.

It was easy to find Axon’s cabin for the
Captain had done as I guessed and given up his own room in order
for the Prince to rest comfortably. Snores came from the behind the
door and I grinned. Dathien could best a cave bear on even his
lightest nights. I wondered if Axon regretted sharing the room, but
knew he slept better with his men nearby on such a dangerous
voyage. I made my way past the room and down the narrow hallway,
following my nose to the kitchen.

The cook slept on a counter top, a bottle of
liquid gripped firmly in one hand even in slumber. Plates and bowls
had been packed away and the pots and pans smelled clean. I don’t
know why that surprised me. I had always assumed that a ship’s
galley would be the dirtiest place on board, but it looked like
this captain kept a tight rein on his crew.

I found hard rolls in a barrel and put a few
in my pocket, added to it an apple and a type of fruit leather that
tasted like old prickly pears, and filled up my water skin at a
barrel of fresh water in one corner. Further down the hallway, I
found a small corner with buckets that worked as a privy and made
use of them, then crept back to the box and climbed slowly and
unwillingly back into my hiding place. I pulled the bag of
belongings Dathien had packed onto my lap and rested my head on it.
I didn’t know how long I could last in my tiny hole, but the longer
I hid without being found, the less likely that they would turn
around and take me back.