The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (57 page)

Bells rang every once in a while, signaling the arrival and departure of more vessels. Captains and local merchants haggled over imports and exports so loudly they deafened the cries of the seagulls littering the sky.

Everywhere Fadan looked, throngs of workers pushed wooden containers to and from ships and warehouses. The crowd was so thick they were forced into a single file, meandering as they carved a path to the seaside port.

“This is it,” Lucilla finally indicated, waving towards the dark hull of a two-masted ship.

It was small, for an ocean-going vessel. So small it had no castle, aft or fore.

Fadan halted in front of the boat’s nearly vertical keel. “
This
?” he asked. “You said it would be a fast ship.”

“It is fast!”

The voice did not come from anyone in the group, but from someone up on the ship’s deck. Fadan looked up, shielding his eyes from the bright, morning sun. There was a man perched upon the ship, his feet atop the bulwark while his hands wrapped around a thick rope tying one of the sails to the keel.

“It’s a tiny, old caravel,” Fadan told the man.

“Which makes it fast and maneuverable,” the man replied, scratching his dark beard. “Lucilla, Shayna.”

Both women greeted him with a simple, “Drusus.”

“I was expecting something a bit more modern,” Fadan insisted, following the others into the boat. “Like a Thepian frigate, for example.”

The Captain jumped from the bulwark and landed on the main deck just as they climbed onto it. “I guarantee the Blessed Marian is as fast as any frigate,” he said, kissing Lucilla’s hand.

“This is Captain Drusus,” Lucilla told Fadan, then turned to the Captain. “I suppose you know who this is?”

Drusus nodded. “Your bird reached us, yes,” he said. “Still a bit hard to believe. Even if he
is
standing right here.”

“Well,” Shayna said, climbing onboard, “we’re the ones who brought him, and I’m still struggling with it…”

“Alman!” the Captain yelled. “Alman Larsa, you beautiful sack of bones.”

“Drusus,” Alman greeted as the two embraced each other. “I’m sure we have a lot of catching up to do, but we should be going.”

The Captain nodded in agreement, then stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled so loud Fadan lost his hearing for a moment.

“Wake up, you lazy mutts,” Drusus barked at his crew. “Let’s get the girl back in her waters.”

A small crowd of olive skinned, bare chested men and scantily clad women came alive across the entire boat, tying knots here, untying knots there, and getting to their respective positions.

“Make yourselves comfortable in my cabin,” Drusus told Lucilla, pointing at a door aft of the ship. “I’ll meet you shortly. Just want to make sure we don’t sail into the customs building.”

Around them, sails unfurled and swelled as the crew got the ship in motion. The soldiers who had accompanied them from Augusta were led below deck through a trap door while Fadan followed Lucilla, Shayna, and Alman to the Captain’s cabin.

It was a narrow, dark room, lit only by a small window behind a desk. It smelled like an empty wine barrel and looked slightly less clean than one. Besides the desk, the only other furnishing was a wardrobe and a narrow bed that had been nailed to the floor and wall. 

Fadan walked to the tiny window and looked outside, the city slowly drifting further away as they picked up speed.

“If Drusus says this ship is fast, it’s because it is,” Lucilla said.

“Then my question is, is it fast enough?” Fadan muttered.

“And the answer is the same,” Drusus replied, surging through the door. “Yes, it is.” He walked to the wardrobe and opened it.

Fadan’s eyebrows jumped. Instead of clothes, the wardrobe was packed full of bottles. Drusus selected one and poured himself a cup of its contents.

“How can you be sure?” Fadan asked. “Any frigate will be faster than this ship.”

“That’s not true,” the Captain retorted. His expression softened and he raised the bottle. “A sip, anyone?” They all passed. “Besides, we’re not chasing a frigate. They moved the prisoners to a big, fat carrack called The Faint Star.”

“You are sure of this?” Lucilla asked.

Drusus swallowed a mouthful of his drink. Golden droplets spilled into his beard. “Nothing happens in our port that we don’t know about,” he replied. “And that’s not all we found out. We have all the details of his Imperial vileness’ plan.” He turned to Fadan. “No offense.”

“Go on,” the Prince said.

“Well, it’s devilishly simple. The Faint Star’s entire water supply has been poisoned. The crew will die and the ship will be left adrift. There will be a search, of course, but ultimately, the investigators will conclude that the carrack sunk somewhere along its route. For all intents and purposes, everyone on board will be the victim of an unfortunate, unknown accident. Including those the Empress has been guaranteed will be kept alive.”

“Like Doric,” Fadan muttered. “And all those people will die, even the Paladins and the crew members…” He looked down. “Just because he’s jealous…”

“Hey, this is great for us,” Drusus said, his arms wide. “Think about it. The crew will be dead. There will be no one left to guard the prisoners. It’ll be easier than bribing an Akhami.”

The Captain’s enthusiasm met little echo as Alman, Lucilla, and Shayna sent concerned glances at Fadan, who didn’t even look like he was listening.

“Did you hear me?” Drusus asked. “The Emperor won’t even know we rescued his prisoners. He doesn’t expect anyone on that ship to return. There won’t be a report. He’ll be none the wiser.”

“Yes, we get it, Drusus,” Alman said. “What about… what if the ship ends up washing up on some beach or something. I mean, if there’s no one to steer it…”

“Not in the Western sea, old friend,” the Captain replied.

“If they’re adrift,” Fadan told Alman, “the current will drag them southwest, to the broken sea.”

“All we have to do is find them before they get that far,” Drusus said.

“Yes,” Fadan agreed, narrowing his eyes towards the Captain. “As long as your ship is fast enough.”

Cassia jumped from the chair, her heart hammering in her chest. She didn’t even notice the Emperor striding past her until he was on top of the old General.

“Traitor!” Tarsus screamed.

Fabian tried to hoist himself from the floor, but one of his arms failed him and he fell again. The guards had beat him into a pulp. His left eye was so swollen the man couldn’t even open it.

“Majesty…” he mumbled through the bloody swell of his lips. “I neve
r
‒
‒
”

“Liar!” The Emperor shouted. “I know everything, you scum.”

Cassia found her hands grasping at the neckline of her dress, but her pendant wasn’t there anymore. Beside her, Venia shifted sideways, edging slowly towards one of the windows.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Tarsus asked, beginning to pace around Fabian’s defeated body. “Did you think you could betray me in my
own
palace?”

The Empress opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She felt like something was reaching inside her guts and tearing her apart.

He knows…

Tarsus knelt beside Fabian, grabbed his hair, and pulled the man’s head back. “You will not die quickly, Fabian.” He dropped the man’s head and stood back up, facing his guards. “Escort the Empress to her quarters.”

For a moment, Cassia was sure she was about to vomit.

“And the maid?” one of the Paladins asked.

Venia stiffened and the Emperor looked at her, disgust twisting the corners of his mouth.

“Take her as well.”

Thunder crackled in the sky just as the ship reached the crest of a wave, flattening and tumbling forward, falling down the other side as if they were sliding down a steep hill
.
The sky was so dark it felt like night had already fallen. Around them, the ocean had turned into mountainous black swells, rising and falling furiously. Sprinkles of foam twirled in the air, dissolving into the swathes of rain blowing sideways.

“All hands to the windward rail, lads!” the Captain ordered, a wave washing over him. “We’ll be upon them soon.” The man was standing on the bulwark, holding onto a rope above his head while his body dangled outside the ship.

“You heard the captain!” an ensign barked. “Man the starboard rail!” A sailor ran past him, skidded on the slippery deck, and fell. “On your feet Holsen.” The ensign hoisted the sailor up by his collar. “Man your station.”

Fadan could barely see far enough to witness the crew obeying their orders, but he could hear their shouts over the raging gusts of wind. He was tightly gripping the bulwark right beside the standing Captain. “We should have caught them by now,” he yelled.

“The Prince is right,” Lucilla agreed, her arms around the upright keel. “We can’t keep sailing into the broken sea.”

Drusus’ head swung back as he burst out laughing. “This isn’t the broken sea yet, my girl,” he said. “We’ve barely reached its edges.”

Lucilla glared up at him.

“He’s right,” Fadan told her, wiping water from his face. “This storm is nothing. In the broken sea, waves can get as tall as towers, and the wind is strong enough to send ships flying into the air.”

“How would you know that?” Lucilla asked.

Fadan shrugged. “Technically, the broken sea is part of my Empire too.”

“This is insane!” Shayna cried. “We can’t keep going like this. We have to turn back.”

Just as she finished her sentence, the ship swung downwards, hit the base of a wave, and a massive wall of water crashed down onto the deck.

Fadan’s feet were swept from beneath him, and he felt himself slide across the deck until his head struck something. The world seemed to disappear for an instant, then, as everything returned to focus, Fadan coughed water, gasping for air.

“Are you alright?” Lucilla asked, helping the Prince up.

Fadan nodded and looked up at where the Captain had been standing, positively sure that the man had been swept away by the water. Drusus, however, was still there, laughing madly.

“Captain,” a crewmember called, stumbling near them. “Captain, the foremast is cracking. It can’t take this much longer. We
have
to slow down.”

“Nonsense, Calban. She can take it. Steady as she goes.”

“But Captai
n
‒
‒
”

“Calban, man your station before I have you flogged!”

The crewman mumbled something beneath his breath but obeyed.

“Drusus, where is that prison ship?” Lucilla asked.

“Dead ahead,” the Captain replied. “If the Prince’s pendant is to be trusted.”

“Yes, I know they’re dead ahead, but how far?”

“We’ve been at this for an entire day, Captain,” Fadan chimed in. “They’ll be at the bottom of the sea if we don’t find them soon.”

“And we’ll be joining them pretty quick,” Lucilla added.

“Faith and patience,” the Captain said. “Faith and patience. They had a five-hour head start on us. We’ve been catching up on them ever since we left Capra. It won’t be long now.”