Dragonoak (6 page)

“I
woulda said no, but it seems to me like you don't give a toss. Stop
acting like a child, Tae. So you didn't get to stab anyone. You
didn't have to throw any of our own into the sea, either. Didn't
have to watch any of our ships sink.”

Tae
opened her mouth to respond, and wisely snapped it back
shut.

Bowing
her head, she scurried off backwards, blindly helping with the
clear-up, and for a moment, no one who'd brought news to Reis dared
to speak.

“Well?”
Reis asked, eyes scanning across the group surrounding
them.

“Ah,
Captain. Looks like we ain't lost too much within the town itself.
One of the inns took a beating, but it's nothing we can't patch
up,” someone called out.

Reis
nodded, glanced out at the horizon and said, “If you need help
moving anything, go find Kouris. The rest of you, get on your
ships, sail out, and make damn sure that was the only ship the
bastard sent.”

The
crowd dispersed, and Reis stared out at the spot Gavern's ship had
once been, taking deep breaths. Turning in order to head back to
the hut, where they could better issue orders and plan ahead, Reis
caught sight of Atthis and myself. They tilted their head towards
us and said, “Oi, Atthis. You've got a good head on your shoulders.
Fancy talking strategy? It's about time we struck
first.”

“I can't
promise that I'll come up with anything so refined as
dismemberment, but I'll do what I can,” Atthis said, falling in
step next to them.

None of
us slept through the afternoon. The rumble in Port Mahon was loud
enough to reach us, and I busied myself with making food and
serving drinks as Atthis and Reis pored over maps of the land and
sea alike, moving shells across them as though the pieces provided
possible answers. The moment some semblance of a plan was drawn
together, they immediately dismissed it, declaring it wouldn't
work, and the fact that they were narrowing it down was of no
comfort to them.

It was
dark by the time Kouris returned, and Reis and Atthis had accepted
that taking a break wasn't the same as giving up. Katja was with
her, and I did my best to avoid her gaze, but she headed over to me
before I could take refuge in my room.

“I'm
sorry, Rowan. I truly am. I shouldn't have surprised you like that,
to have demanded so much of you. You were right. Nobody was dead. I
was able to heal them all,” she said in a whisper, shoulder pressed
to mine as I focused on scrubbing the dishes clean. “But it's only
going to get worse, isn't it? You need to accept that day will come
when I cannot help, Rowan, and their fates will be on your
shoulders. I do so hope you make the right choice,
dear.”

CHAPTER III

In the
weeks that followed, we were subjected to more rumours about
Gavern's whereabouts than usual, though we heard nothing from the
man himself. Crews set out in search of his fleet, but I didn't go
with them, knowing they'd return empty-handed. I helped rebuild the
patch-work town, went fishing when boredom threatened to consume
me, and slept away the days when boredom was hardly the worst of
it.

I helped
Reis with the accounts in the morning – it turned out that I wasn't
terrible at holding numbers in my head, once they'd taught me how
to properly add and subtract and multiply – and once the heat rose
along with the humidity, I let the day defeat me. The air was damp,
almost enough so to swim through, and I fell down on my bed,
thinking how absurd it was that I'd once bundled blankets atop
myself and still shivered.

The
sound of guests getting comfortable around the table woke me while
the sun was still high, and I rolled onto my side. I meant to fall
back asleep, until I heard their voices.

Grinning, I snapped the rest of the way awake and lugged
myself into the living area.

Reis'
parents visited Port Mahon every third month like clockwork, and
each time, Reis acted as though they'd been blind-sided, caught
entirely off-guard.

Rebecca
and Ben Jones were respected pirates in their own right. They'd
once claimed ownership of a port twice the size of Mahon a dozen
miles along the coast, but after more than thirty years in Canth,
they'd set aside business in favour of travel.

“I'm
only saying, you've gotta think these things through, honey,” Reis'
mother lectured from across the table, as Reis laid with their head
in their arms. She was of Myrosi descent, as I was, covered from
head to toe in tattoos, and wore her hair longer than Kouris'.
“Once you catch the bastard, how are you going to make an example
of him? Hanging, beheading? Both fine choices, but they don't do
much to prolong the point you're trying to make.”

“Ma
,” Reis protested, red hair
falling across their face as they sat up straight.

“Your
mother's right! This is worth thinking about, kid. Excellent work
on the hands, though. Heard all about that half a dozen ports off,”
Reis' father chimed in from the sofa. “Ah! Rowan. Good afternoon.
We were just talking to Reis about the importance of planning
ahead.”

I waved
at them both, and propped myself on the arm of the sofa. Ben was a
little older than Atthis, but certainly didn't look it; he was a
wide, well-built man, dark skin covered in the tattoos his wife
didn't have space for.

“Don't
talk to her,” Reis grumbled, “She's a nice kid.”

“No one
in Mahon is nice, honey. That's why we keep coming back,” Rebecca
pointed out. “We're only looking out for your
reputation.”

“Lot of
bloody good you're doing it, waltzing in here and lecturing me,”
Reis said, leaning back in their seat. For a moment, I was certain
they were mulling over the consequences of pulling off their leg
and throwing it at someone.

“Now, we
didn't turn up empty-handed. Did we, Becca?”

Reis'
interest was piqued almost as much as mine was. When their parents
had something to share, it was usually worth all the nagging and
fussing. With a gesture from Ben, Rebecca pulled her satchel onto
the table and retrieved a map from it. I leant forward, trying to
discern something from it, but couldn't gather much from the sea
and jungle scrawled across it.

“So.
This – supposedly – leads you right to a long-forgotten temple.
Word has it that no one's been down there in centuries. The
original gold phoenixes are said to still be there,” Rebecca said,
“You know us. We're not about to be duped; we've got a solid
source. The original was recently tracked down by Queen Nasrin
herself, so you know it's gotta be worth looking into.”

Rebecca
slid the map across the table, but Reis only stared down at
it.

“...
who's your source?”

Reis'
parents shared a look of wry amusement, and their dad said, “Varn.
Now don't—”

Reis
slapped a hand against the table, growling in annoyance as they
looked off to the side.

“Can't
bloody leave it, can you?”

“We
happened upon her by chance! Come on, kid. She's a lovely woman.
Never in all my years have I seen someone wield a crowbar so
magnificently,” Ben said, then turned to me, adding, as an aside,
“Varn bested Kouris in a fight once, you know. Hand-to-hand combat,
and Varn was drunk.”

I'd
heard the name tossed around the taverns a few times, but it didn't
mean much to me. A glance at Reis told me I'd be waiting a long
time for an explanation.

“Couldn't even remember her own name,” Rebecca added. “So you
don't want the map?”

“That
ain't what I'm saying,” Reis grumbled, snatching it up and promptly
throwing it over to me. “Take it down to the docks in the morning.
See who'll pay the most for it.”

Reis'
parents stayed for a few more hours. Conversation became a little
more serious, though the topic rarely swayed from Gavern, and I ran
into Mahon to fetch us all food. Kouris returned with me and they
made a fuss over her, both rising to kiss her cheek and get a
better rendition of what had happened those last few months than
Reis was willing to part with. In order to distract theirself, Reis
had Kouris sit on the floor while they sat on the table, one leg
hooked over her shoulder as they worked on the patterns they were
engraving into her horns. After a few drinks, even Reis was
smiling.

I got to
my feet and held the door open when Reis' parents decided it was
time to make a move, and as Ben stepped out into baking evening
air, I said, “Any luck?” needing to ask though I already the
answer.

“'fraid
not, kid,” Ben said, patting my shoulder. “We'd give you a ship –
hell, we'd give you ten ships – but nothing gets into Asar. Not
without Nasrin pulling a few strings.”

I
nodded, thanked them regardless, and went back to poring over the
creased map. All it was going to take to get home, then, was
befriending the Queen of Canth.

Reis said nothing more about the map, gave me no
specifications beyond selling it to the highest bidder, and I took
it upon myself to decide that I came with the map. I'd been on a
handful of these expeditions – calling them
treasure hunts
was frowned upon –
and though I'd hardly come back drowning in wealth, I wasn't about
to miss out on the chance to see an ancient temple.

I went
down to the docks at dawn, while the pirates were still milling
around, deciding on what to do with their day. People had tired of
chasing Gavern's ghost, and I garnered plenty of interest, most of
it in the form of pirates humming and rubbing their chins, wanting
to look at the map for a little too long.

I stood
atop a crate to make sure no one could miss me, and saw Atthis
heading across the docks.

“Atthis!
Hey!” I called out, and he turned on the spot, looking around for
me. “Up here. Where are you going?”

“Rowan!
Good morning. I'm taking the ship to Votas,” he said, holding up
the bag at his side. “I shouldn't be gone for much more than a
week. I heard tell a man there can get letters to
Kastelir.”

He'd
followed plenty of these leads before, never failing to come back
empty-handed, but I wished him luck, knowing that sometimes,
keeping busy was all we could do.

“Sending
letters?” Tizo asked with a snort, and stared up at me, hands on
her hips. “You lot really are desperate to get back to a wasteland.
What's all this about, anyway?”

“An
ancient temple,” I said, holding the map up for half a second. “I
hear the golden phoenixes are still there and
everything.”

Tizo
reacted as the other pirates did – she hummed, sucked a breath
thought her teeth and tilted her head from side to side as she
considered it – and offered me up a third of what I knew she could
afford. I told her I'd think about it.

“You got
a reliable source on that, Felheim?” another vaguely interested
party asked.

“It's
from, uh—Varn?” I tried, hoping the name carried as much weight on
the docks as it had with Reis.

Somehow
hearing me across the din, Tizo shoved her way through the gathered
masses, and said, “Why didn't you say that in the first place! Look
here, I'll pay you twice what she will, plus I'll let you pick who
we take along.”

Deciding
that her offer was more than fair, I parted with the map and
scanned the deck. Tae would probably worm her way into the crew
whether I picked her or not, and there were only two other people I
particularly wanted with us. Kouris was nowhere to be seen, but
Akela was at the other end of the docks, standing taller than the
others and helping someone carry a crate, and I jumped on the spot,
waving her over.

“Oi,
Akela! Wanna help us track down a long-forgotten temple and take a
share of the gold?” Tizo asked as she approached.

Akela
stared blankly and smiled pleasantly, turning to me.

“She
asked if you want to come on a treasure hunt,” I said, translating
for her.

“Ah! Of
course. I am always enjoying time spent with Tizo, yes. She is
always making terrible decisions that are somehow working in our
favour,” Akela said, nodding enthusiastically for Tizo's benefit.
“Only, I am needing to be back by tomorrow morning. I am having a
job I must attend to. Four whole days of being someone's shield of
meat. But I am being paid well for it, do not be doubting
that.”

I'd
studied the map a dozen times over. I was used to being gone for
days on end a few times a month, but the temple wasn't far, only
well-hidden.

“We'll
be back before it's dark,” I assured her.

Tizo
picked a crew of twelve for the trip, not too eager to split the
profits she'd already exaggerated a dozen times over in her head. I
didn't want to imagine how she'd react if her faith in Varn didn't
pay off, and the map ended up leading us in circles around the
jungle.

We
headed out before anyone could ask too many questions, sailing east
along the coast, where the towering cliffs gave way to jungle so
thick it was difficult to imagine that anything could fit within
it, let alone an entire temple. Work tended to, I leant against the
railing, eyes fixed on the clear green-blue of the sea, water
churning white along the edge of the ship.