Death's Mistress

CHAPTER 8

The sea was calm and dark, and the full moon rose like a bright torch as the Wavewalker glided out of Grafan Harbor. The three-masted carrack cruised past the chain of islands that strung out past Halsband Island, which now held only the pulverized rubble of the Palace of the Prophets.

After they had left the glowing lights of Tanimura, the night sky became a deep velvet black. Nicci stood on deck and looked up, trying to find new patterns among the bright stars that had shifted in the universe.

The canvas sails strained tight, creamy white as the full moon shone on them. The ropes glistened with a thin film of night dew. The carved figurehead of the Sea Mother stared forward with wooden eyes, as if watching out for hazards ahead.

Bannon came up to her near the bow, smiling shyly. “I’m glad you decided to come with us aboard the Wavewalker.”

“And I am glad that you survived Tanimura.” Nicci couldn’t tell whether he had learned any wariness or common sense from his time in the city. “It has been a day full of surprises.”

He still proudly clung to his new blade. “You were right about the sword, that it needs to be serviceable, not pretty. And sturdy. It needs to be sturdy.” He held the weapon as if it had become his most prized possession, turning it back and forth as he watched the moonlight play along the discolored blade. He swept it sideways in a practice stroke. “I can’t wait for a chance to use it.”

“Do not be so eager for that, but be ready if need be.”

“I will. Do you have a sword of your own?”

“I don’t need one,” Nicci said.

His expression fell as he was suddenly reminded of what she had done to the thugs in the alley. “No, I doubt you would. I saw you hurl that man and smash his head against the wall. It cracked open like a rotten pumpkin! And that other man … you turned his neck to jelly! I don’t even know what you did to the third one.” Bannon shook his head. His eyes were wide. “I was trying to fight him for you, but he just … died.”

“That is what happens when you stop a person’s heart.”

“Sweet Sea Mother,” Bannon whispered. He brushed his hair back. “You saved my life, no doubt about that, and you were right—I was too innocent. I should never have blundered into a situation like that. I expect the world to be a nice place, but it’s darker than I think.”

“It is,” Nicci said.

“It’s darker than I want it to be.”

Nicci wondered if the young man had stolen some of the captain’s dream weed. “Better to see the dangers in the world and be ready when someone inevitably turns on you. It is a far preferable surprise to find that a person is kinder than you think, than to discover he is secretly a traitor.”

Troubled expressions circled the young man’s face like eddy currents. “I suppose you’re right, and I want to thank you again. I owe you.” He fumbled in the pockets of his canvas trousers. “I brought you something. To show my gratitude.”

Nicci frowned at him. “That is not necessary. I saved your life because I was in the right place, and because I despise those who prey on the weak.” She had no intention of letting this young man fawn over her. “I do not want your gifts.”

He withdrew a tiny fold of soft cloth that he held in the palm of his hand. “But you have to take it.”

“It is not necessary,” Nicci repeated, in a harder voice this time.

“I think it’s necessary.” Bannon sounded more determined. He set his sword aside awkwardly, squatted against the side wall of the ship, and opened the cloth to reveal a pearl the size of a grieving woman’s tear.

“I do not want your gifts,” Nicci reiterated.

Bannon refused to listen. “On Chiriya Island I was taught manners and gratitude. My parents wanted me to be polite to everyone and to meet my obligations. You were there when I needed you. You saved me, and you punished those evil men. My father said that if I was to be an upstanding man, I had to show gratitude. It doesn’t matter whether you expect anything in return. I am required to give it to you.”

His breathing quickened as he extended the pearl. It seemed to be made of silver and ice. “This is a wishpearl, an advance on my wages. The captain says we’ll have plenty before the end of the voyage, but I wanted it now.” He nodded intently. “Right now it’s very rare, and I want to give it to you.”

A sailor on watch strolled past. “Rare?” His voice had a mocking tone. “That’s just a leftover. We unloaded two chests full of them in Tanimura—it’s how Captain Eli paid for his whole voyage. Soon enough, we’ll fill more chests on our way down south.”

Bannon whirled to face the eavesdropping sailor, clenching his hand tight over the wishpearl. “I was having a private conversation.”

“This is a ship, cabbage farmer! Think again if you expect privacy anywhere on board.”

Defensive, Bannon picked up his sword. “It’s worth something now, and it’s the last wishpearl. I want to give it to the sorceress, and if you don’t treat her well, she’ll crush your windpipe and stop your heart. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

The sailor laughed again and strolled off.

Though Nicci did not want the offering, she understood the complexities of obligations. She had indeed saved him, although she had not set out to do so. “If you’ve learned your lesson and taught yourself not to become a victim, Bannon Farmer, then that is demonstration enough of your gratitude.”

“Not enough for me,” Bannon insisted, and extended the wishpearl again. “Just take it. Throw it overboard if you like, but I will have done what was right. I fulfilled what I needed to do.”

The pearl felt slippery and cold in her fingertips. She rolled it back and forth on her palm with a fingertip. “If I accept this pearl, what does it obligate me to do for you? What are you expecting?”

Bannon flushed, deeply embarrassed. “Why, nothing! I would never ask … that isn’t what I was thinking!”

She hardened her voice. “As long as you’re clear on that.”

“It’s a wishpearl. Don’t you know what a wishpearl is?”

“I do not. Is there some significance other than being a pretty bauble?” Seeing that she had hurt him, Nicci grudgingly softened her voice. “It is a beautiful pearl. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a finer one.”

“It’s a wishpearl,” he repeated. “You should make a wish. It might be just a legend, but I’ve heard that wishpearls are concentrated dreams and you can unleash one if you wish on it.”

“Who would believe such a thing?” Nicci asked.

“Many people. That’s why the Wavewalker makes such a profit on each voyage. Captain Eli knows the location of a long line of special reefs. He harvests wishpearls and sells them in the port cities—at least that’s what the other sailors said.” He lowered his voice and ducked his chin. “This is still just my first voyage, you know.”

Nicci held the wishpearl, thought of where they were going, of the mission the witch woman had given to Nathan. No doubt it would be a long journey. She looked down at the icy silver sphere under the moonlight and said, “Very well, then I wish this voyage will help us get to Kol Adair.” She closed her fingers around the pearl and slipped it into a small pocket in her black dress.