All the food Bridget had prepared that morning was quickly devoured that night by the hungry firefighters. No one stayed late. They were all too tired, and there was much to do in the morning. Aylesworthy treated Lucy and Ulin to free baths in his small bathhouse, then bid them both a good night.
Ulin was waiting for Lucy when she came in, still drying her hair. He pointed at a small pile of drawstring bags left propped on their bed.
Lucy cocked an eye at the pile. “Where did those come from?”
“Kethril left it.”
“He didn’t find the treasury, did he?” she asked sharply.
“No. Notwen hid it in his laboratory. No one else but Challie knows where it is. He probably took this while we were moving the cache from the dragon’s den.”
She hefted a heavy bag. “I wonder how much more he took for himself.”
Ulin handed her a scrap of paper. “This was with it.”
She fingered the paper a minute before she read aloud, “ ‘I believe the council promised you twenty-five percent of my estate. It won’t make up for ten years, but maybe it will help you now. You made me proud, Lucy. You’re the one good thing I’ve done in this life.’ ”
She tucked the note away, more for her mother’s sake than its sentimental value. Its words were already burned into her memory. He loved her-as much as he could love anything that didn’t spend-and he was proud of her. Nothing else he might have given her could ever equal that. Her hate and bitterness were gone, replaced by a deep gratitude for the few days she’d had with him. Now she could go home and tell her mother, in all honesty, that Kethril Torkay was gone.
Two days later, a Khurish caravan came into Flotsam and injected a new spirit into the marketplace. The townspeople were exhausted, grieving, and trying to adjust to the changes. The arrival of the Khurs with their goods and money and desire to wash away the dust of endless miles was like a breath of fresh air. The entire town snatched at the excuse and threw a huge party. That same night the citizens elected Innkeeper Aylesworthy the new mayor and Bridget, the blacksmith, and Challie the new city council.
The position of sheriff would soon be available, too, but no one wanted to take the job until Lucy left.
“We’ll find someone,” Challie said. “We take what we can get when we can get it.”
The next day Ulin bought a small traveling wagon for the bay horse to pull and made arrangements with the caravan master for the journey back to Sanction. Their job was done in Flotsam, and he felt a strong urge to go home.
The day before they were due to leave, Lucy resigned as sheriff and turned her office over to the new city council. She tried to return the turban to Notwen, but he would have none of it.
“You are and always will be the Sorceress in my mind,” he said, screwing up enough courage to kiss her hand. “The creature is yours now.”
Mayor Aylesworthy tried to give her payment in full. She smiled and gave it back, explaining that her father had already given her part of his “estate.”
“Just be sure and keep that treasure of yours safe, and if my father turns up dead again, don’t come get me. Just bury him.”
The city council laughed.
Lucy and Ulin left Flotsam early the next morning amidst the raucous confusion of the Khur caravan. Almost the entire town turned out to see them go. They waved and said good-bye to everyone, especially Challie, Aylesworthy, Bridget, and Lysandros. All too soon the whips cracked, the horses neighed, and Lucy and Ulin had to climb into their wagon and join the caravan.
Lysandros and some of his men escorted the caravan out of town. The Silver Fox saluted them both before he turned his troop aside and rode back to Flotsam.
On the hill where they had seen Flotsam for the first time, Lucy turned around and waved one last time.
“Wreck upon the water
Washed up on the sand
Make a town of sea wrack
We’ll call it Flotsam.”
Ulin snorted. “Where did you hear that?”
“Pease taught me.” Lucy hesitated then kissed Ulin’s cheek. “Thank you for coming with me.”
Ulin glanced at the woman beside him and thought how incredibly beautiful she was. “It was an honor,” he told her.