Leesil carefully watched Brot’an, who was usually hard to read, and Brot’an looked slightly troubled. Leesil glanced at Wayfarer, who was trying to pull the stuffing out of her clothes, and the girl appeared drawn and worried.
“What happened?” he demanded, turning to Chap. “Why are you back so soon?”
“We found passage,” Wayfarer answered. “Perhaps.”
Magiere lifted a pitcher from the bedside table and poured water into a clay cup.
“Come and sit down,” Magiere said, pulling Wayfarer to the bed’s edge and handing over the cup. “What do you mean ... ‘perhaps’?”
The girl sank onto the bed, and Leesil cast a glance at Chap. The dog wasn’t saying anything, and that bothered Leesil all the more.
“There is a Suman cargo ship in dock,” Wayfarer said. “I spoke with the captain, and his ship has come up from il’Dha’ab Najuum. It is here to exchange goods and cargo before returning south again. The captain said he would take us as passengers.”
“All right, that’s what we need,” Magiere replied.
Leesil wasn’t satisfied and eyed Chap again. “What’s wrong?”
Wayfarer looked at the floor, and Chap still remained silent.
“The ship is not leaving for two days,” the girl said, “and the captain wants ten silver pennies a person and five for Chap ... by tomorrow to ensure our passage.”
Magiere’s eyes widened a bit, and even Leesil was stunned.
“Forty-five silver pennies?” Leesil asked a bit too loudly. “Just to take us to the next port south?”
When the girl flinched, Magiere shot him a glare, and he shut his mouth.
“We don’t have that,” Magiere said, and she exhaled, obviously just as troubled as Leesil was by all of this. “We’ll have to keep looking for another ship.”
“There is one,” Wayfarer cut in quietly. “A Numan vessel, but it has too recently come from Drist, and Chap thinks ... ” The girl stalled, and when she looked the dog’s way, they both averted their eyes from each other.
“Chap fears,” Wayfarer began again, “that the ship’s captain or crew may have heard of the trouble back in Drist. And maybe some heard more ... descriptions of the three of you ... and a large wolf.”
“Trouble?” Leesil repeated. “All we did was free a hold full of slaves. Those killers following us caused all the trouble.”
“No one knows that,” Wayfarer countered. “They would only know there was violence—maybe some slaves escaped, that crew members were killed, and maybe we were involved. Chap thinks it is too risky.” The girl looked up, her large green eyes fixing on Leesil. “He thinks the Suman vessel is our only choice.”
Leesil breathed in through his nose and realized why Chap wasn’t talking. The dog probably wanted Brot’an to hear directly from Wayfarer about everything that had taken place.
However, this might not have been the best tactic because, to Leesil’s surprise, Brot’an nodded once.
“The Suman vessel will suit our needs,” the shadow-gripper said. “The only obstacle to overcome is acquiring the fee. I will procure that tonight.”
The room fell silent, but a single memory-word snapped in Leesil’s mind.
—No!—
Leesil was way ahead of Chap. He could only imagine how the aging assassin would “acquire” such coin. Several local citizens would be left for dead—or actually dead—in some alley.
“No,” Leesil repeated aloud. “I’ll do it my way.”
Magiere came instantly to her feet.
“Oh, no, you won’t!” she snarled at him. “That’s not going to happen ... again!”
Chap looked at her intently, and Leesil wondered what passed between them.
“I don’t care!” she snapped at the dog. “We find another way somehow.”
Wayfarer’s head swung back and forth between Magiere and Chap. Her eyes were wide in alarm.
Brot’an raised one eyebrow at Leesil. “I assume you mean to earn the money at cards?”
“I’ll have it by morning,” Leesil answered flatly. “You said the anmaglâhk would be watching the port, so I should be able to slip out alone and find a game.”
—In this quiet city?— ... —These people ... do not strike me ... as gamblers—
“Where there are sailors,” Leesil responded, “there’s always a game.”
“No,” Magiere insisted. “What if you get caught cheating—again? What then?”
He took a step toward her. “Fine, then let Brot’an do it,” he said. “Let him procure what we need ... his way.”
Her expression collapsed, and he hated himself for having caused it.
“I won’t cheat unless I have to, and if I do, I won’t get caught.” He crossed his arms and ran his gaze over everyone in the room. “Then it’s settled. I’ll go out tonight and have the coin by morning.”
No one answered, but no one argued, either.
And even then Leesil noticed that Chap sat to one side of the room while Wayfarer remained on the bed’s edge. And the two still didn’t look at each other.
Dänvârfij met Rhysís in the same cutway where they had parted ways. He led her into the city to a one-story inn. They did not speak during the walk, as Dänvârfij had much to report and wished to say it only once. Rhysís had never been one for talking, so possibly he did not even notice her silence.
Upon arriving at the inn and the acquired room, he unlocked a door with a key and led her inside. The room was small but neatly organized with a large bed and several chairs. Fréthfâre sat in a chair by the window. Without a cloak now, she looked so odd in her human clothing—a red gown with wide sleeves. Én’nish lay resting on the bed, but she swung her legs over and sat up with a pained effort.
“What have you learned?” Fréthfâre asked without a greeting.
Dänvârfij expected nothing else. She quickly and succinctly related that she had verified that the Cloud Queen had sailed without its extra passengers and that she had spotted Leanâlhâm and the majay-hì seeking out the Suman vessel.
Én’nish nearly smiled at the news, but with vicious hunger in her eyes. She was motivated only by revenge against Léshil for the loss of her beloved. Fréthfâre appeared equally pleased in a colder way, though she did not turn her gaze from outside.
“If the tainted quarter-blood girl and the majay-hì are here, then the others are close,” she said. “We must learn their location and set a trap by which Rhysís can first kill the traitor with an arrow. Once Brot’ân’duivé is dead, taking the others should not be so difficult.”
Dänvârfij drew a long breath, bracing herself. “We cannot.”
She paused, and Fréthfâre finally turned her head.
“I have reported to Most Aged Father,” Dänvârfij went on, “and he has counseled that we gain passage to il’Dha’ab Najuum and set our trap there. He has given me a possible plan in which we—”
“No!” shrieked Fréthfâre, her normal pallor flushing with rage. “I will not board another filthy human vessel when our quarry is right here!”
Dänvârfij fell silent. She had expected some opposition at first, though few would so foolishly disobey Father. But now the ex-Covârleasa sounded utterly bereft of reason.
Glancing at Én’nish and then Rhysís, Dänvârfij realized she had miscalculated the effect of Most Aged Father’s orders. Én’nish’s fingers had bit into the bedding, and Rhysís’s expression darkened.
“Most Aged Father is not here,” Én’nish nearly hissed, though her spite was all for Dänvârfij. “He knows only what you report ... because you have our only word-wood. Give it to me! We will see what Father counsels after he hears my report.”