Legacy of the Blood (The Threshold Trilogy) (20 page)

Adesina mused over the possibilities. “Really?”

“So, in a way, you may be helping me to heal already.”

She laughed softly. “I think you are just trying to make me feel
better, but I do not mind. Let us hope that those legends are true, and that we
will both heal faster than what should be possible.”

Adesina felt a cool hand touch her arm. She opened her eyes,
expecting to see Faryl with another dose of herbal tea. Instead, she saw Suvi’s
youthful face.

“I am sorry to wake you.”

The young queen smiled and shook her head. “Do not trouble
yourself. I am glad to see you. You have been busy the past few days.”

Suvi’s bright smile lit across her face. “Yes, we have all been quite
busy. Some of the crew says that it is a miracle that the ship does not fall
apart, but Pa says that
Zephyr
will never fail us. Even so, she needed
help getting to port.”

Adesina sat up. “Have we arrived?”

“Almost,” replied the teenage girl. “It will probably be another
hour before we can disembark, but you can see the city from where we are.”

An hour. Adesina wanted to jump out of her hammock and begin
gathering her things, but she knew that it would be foolish to prepare so
early. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she still had time.

“Have you ever been to Zonne before?” asked the L’avan.

Suvi nodded. “Oh, yes. We come here every year. There are special
spices that can only be found in the desert, and merchants on other continents
will pay dearly for them. The Zonnese will trade for almost anything, because
there are so few natural resources on this continent.”

Adesina smiled at the girl’s knowledge of the world economy. Zonne
was said to be the most desolate land in the world. One might find a small
oasis here or there, but the majority of the land was an arid desert. Her
Shimat instructors had explained this by its location. Zonne was the only
landmass that could be found along the planet’s equator.

That is not the reason. Zonne was the location of the decisive
battle during the Great Wars. The struggle was so great that the land died.

It was a passing thought in Ravi’s mind, but it seemed to take
prominence in Adesina’s. Perhaps this was because it was new information to
her.

Suvi went on, displaying even more of her trading knowledge.
“Sehar really only trades in dyes. They supply their own food, and have no real
interest in exotics. At least, none of the exotics that we trade. We pay for
the dyes with money—along with any other supplies we buy—and then we sail to
Zonne. Zonnese love the dyes we bring, since there is so little natural color
in the landscape. There is also a demand for dried fruits and vegetables,
goats, and a special type of stone that purifies water. We trade in all of
those things.”

“What about other things, like silk or tools?”

Suvi waved a dismissive hand. “Those things are also in demand,
but we do not trade in them. We dock in Joura during the stormy seasons, and
from there we trade the Zonnese spices for coin and for the purifying stones.
Then we sail back to Sehar, and begin the process again.”

Adesina smiled at her matter-of-fact tone. “How long do you stay
in Joura?”

Her forehead wrinkled in thought. “A few weeks. After that we can
safely sail west, and the storms have moved on.”

“Do you like it there?”

“In Joura?” Suvi leaned against the doorframe and crossed her
arms. “I do not really know. Most of the crew will go ashore during that time,
but a few of us just stay on the ship. Pa says it is safer than an inn. We make
repairs, and find other ways to pass the time. There is a library in Joura’s
port city, so Pa and I read a lot of books. We walk to the library together
since it is not far from the docks.”

Adesina’s brow creased slightly. “Do you never go out, other than
to borrow books? See the city?”

The teenage girl shrugged carelessly. “Pa and I have walked around
once or twice. I am sure he would be happy to go with me anywhere. I just know
that he does not care for life on land, and I do not mind staying on the ship
with him.”

“Why is that?”

“His size does not matter on
Zephyr
,” she replied with
simple honesty.

A distant call sounded on deck, and Suvi straightened with a
sudden sense of urgency.

“We are arriving sooner than I expected. You should probably begin
gathering your things.”

The L’avan felt her heart leap, and she immediately climbed out of
her hammock. Suvi grasped her hand and held it tightly.

“Will I see you again?”

Adesina was startled by this pleading question. “I do not know,
Suvi.”

Her big blue eyes were filled with eagerness. “I would like more
time to talk with you. Will you be staying in Jame for long? We will be staying
here while the ship is repaired.”

Adesina could not help but smile fondly. “I am sorry, Suvi, but we
must leave right away. I do not know when we will be returning to Sehar.”

The disappointment was clear on her face. “Oh.”

The queen felt the urge to cheer up her new young friend. “The
next time you are in Sehar, convince Satosh to take a vacation with you. Come
and visit us at our L’avan settlement. I know your father does not care for
life on land, but we would love to see both of you. And his size would not
matter to us, just like when he is at sea.”

Suvi’s face brightened. “Where is the settlement?”

“About two weeks northwest of Emerald Harbor. I can draw you a map
before we disembark.”

The girl could hardly contain her excitement. She squeezed
Adesina’s hand and gave her an ecstatic grin. “We will come visit. I promise.”

The call from above sounded again, and Suvi gave a guilty start.

“I am shirking my duties. I must go, but do not leave without
saying goodbye.”

She ran off, leaving Adesina to smile to herself as she gathered
her belongings.

“That child has a rare soul.”

Ravi had been sitting quietly throughout the exchange, but now he
also began to prepare for their departure.

“Yes,” agreed Adesina. “She is special.”

They will come to us someday.

The young queen turned to her guardian. “Was that your thought or
mine?”

There was a pause before he replied, “I am not certain. Perhaps it
was both of ours.”

It did not take long for Adesina to repack her saddlebags and to
hoist them onto her shoulder. She climbed the stairs to the deck, and walked
over to join the rest of her party. They all stood along the starboard railing,
gazing at the city as they approached.

Jame was much larger than Emerald Harbor, and it was clearly more
populated. The masses of people could easily been seen, and they seemed to push
at each other from all sides. There were rows of palm trees that lined the
streets, but no other plants could be seen. The buildings were all made out of
the same brown clay, making them even more monotonous than the High City had
been.

In contrast to the High City, the people were dressed in vibrant,
many-hued fabrics. Suvi was clearly accurate in her description of the Zonnese
desire for bright dyes. Many of them wore draping robes that consisted of no
less than three different colors. A number of them wore turbans or scarves on
their heads, adding even more tones to their ensembles.

The crew of the
Zephyr
bustled about, preparing to bring
the vessel into the harbor. Captain Zulimar was leaning over the side, shouting
to a man in a rowboat that had pulled along the side of the ship.

Adesina did not recognize the language, but she assumed that it
was one of the Zonnese dialects.

The man in the rowboat pointed to one of the docking stations, and
Captain Zulimar waved in acknowledgement.

“We have been given permission to land,” he announced to the
helmsman. “Take us into Number Twelve.”

The helmsman accordingly adjusted their heading, and began easing
the ship into the docking station that the Zonnese man had specified.

Kendan appeared at Adesina’s side and gave a great sigh of relief.
“I have never been so glad to see a city. It almost seems worth it to me to
stay here in Zonne than to suffer through a return trip over that wretched
ocean.”

She smiled at his joke. “You would not be happy here. You dislike
extreme heat.”

He was surprised by her observation. “How would you know that?”

“We spent every day together for a year,” she reminded him. “The
hottest days of summer were unpleasant for both of us. You, because you dislike
heat, and me, because I was the recipient of your surly temper.”

“I was never surly,” defended Kendan.

Adesina gave a small laugh. “You were surly,” she maintained.

“It is the duty of every Shar to push their Shi to excel,” he said
in a lofty tone. “Perhaps you are projecting your bad temper on me because I
drove you so hard.”

“My other Shar also had a high standard of excellence, but they
were always perfectly controlled. Why would I ‘project’ onto you and not onto
them?”

He grimaced at her logic. “Psychology was never a strong subject
for me.”

They smiled at one another and then turned their eyes back to the
busy port city. Now that they were drawing closer, Adesina could see more of
the details of the people and places.

It was a diverse place, just as Emerald Harbor was, but the
Zonnese were clearly the dominant ethnicity. They all had dark hair and skin
the color of cinnamon, but their eyes seemed to have a wide variety of shades.
They walked on sandaled feet, apparently disdaining to ride any sort of animal.
There were horses, camels and donkeys used by the other inhabitants of Jame,
but none of the native Zonnese chose to use them.

There appeared to be an open market set up right on the dock. Some
merchants chose to land their ships and then set up shop right there. There was
a great deal of shouting as the merchants tried to attract customers, which
added to the clamor that already existed.

The
Zephyr
pulled into harbor, and ropes were thrown down
to the dockworkers to tie her off. The gangplank was lowered, and Captain
Zulimar had the honor of being the first to descend.

A grizzled man in vibrant robes of blue, green, yellow and orange
walked up to the captain and embraced him warmly. They kissed each other on
each cheek and spoke a few fond words.

The Zonnese man turned to look at the vessel. “Eh! What happened
to your lady of the water? She has had better days, no?”

Captain Zulimar’s dark face was somber. “You should have seen her
a few days ago, Meerca. I am blessed that she made it this far.”

“What great misfortune has befallen you?”

“An aekuor.”

“Eh! How is it you survived?”

“Only by the mercy of the gods, and with the help of some new
friends.”

The two men walked off, leaving the ship in the hands of the crew.
Satosh immediately took over, shouting orders and supervising the unloading of
their merchandise.

Suvi could be seen running back and forth, following the
instructions issued by her father. She kept looking in the direction of the
L’avan, and it was clear that she dearly wanted to speak to them before they
disembarked.

“Our horses are being unloaded,” remarked Mar’sal. “I will go
check on them.”

He was followed by Than’os, Kendan and Maizah. Faryl tried to join
them, but she was accosted by one of her burly admirers.

“Yeh know, life at sea ain’t always rough. I would be good to ya,
treat ya like gold. Yeh sure ya don’ want to stay on with me?”

Adesina suppressed a smile as she turned away from the tender
scene. Satosh beckoned for her to come closer, and she did so readily.

“Captain said he would be back soon, and he would like to speak to
you before you go.”

“Very well.”

Satosh leaned against a staff he was holding in his hand. “You
know, I have learned enough about history to believe that there is no such
thing as coincidence.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

He gave a decisive nod. “If you look at the seemingly chaotic
events of the world over the course of time, patterns begin to emerge. I am not
saying that I believe in fate, but I do believe in human nature and the mercy
of the gods.”

Adesina smiled warmly at his uncomplicated faith. Life seemed so
simple through his eyes. “What has brought this up?”

“I am an unimportant man, and my role in this life is modest. I
have never been part of any historic event, nor do I anticipate that I ever
will. I do not mind, really. There is nothing wrong in leading a simple life.”

His eyes swept out over the azure waves of the ocean, and his
expression became distant. “This voyage may not be recounted in history books,
but it has changed the way I see my life. For whatever reason, the gods saw fit
to send you to us. Because you were with us, we were able to escape destruction
from the aekuor.”

Satosh returned his direct gaze to the young woman standing before
him. “I never thought my life mattered much to anyone, but the gods value it
enough to have sent you to save it. I have come to realize that each of us
matter more than we imagine.”