I made Naji go skulk off in the shadows – which he did without question, no surprise there – while I wandered up and down the docks, looking for the right sort of boat to take us out to the Isles of the Sky. Which ain't any kind of boat at all, when you get down to it.
I'd tried to make myself look as much like a boy as possible, though my breasts don't exactly bind easy. For one, the Hariri clan would be looking for a girl, but also it's usually easier to talk your way on a ship if you're at least trying to pass as a boy. Most people ain't that observant. I made my way through the docks as quick as I could, keeping my eyes on the ships' colors. I'd already decided against trying any Confederation ships since I didn't want word to get back to the Hariris, so my tattoo wasn't gonna do much good. As it turned out there weren't any Confederation ships at port anyway, but I did spot a couple of boats that obviously weren't entirely on the up-and-up.
The whole time I was looking I was thinking about whether or not I really wanted to go through with it – it couldn't be that hard to tell Naji no one was willing to take us aboard. Maybe we could just spend out our days in Port Iskassaya, swapping stories with the sailors down in the drinkhouses. Given our last trip in search of a cure, taking to port might prove more fruitful than sailing out to the Isles. At least that way there wasn't no chance of the curse turning out worse than before. I mean, we were heading for the source of magic. That's not something you can just trust.
But I patrolled the docks anyway, partly cause I promised Naji and partly cause I wanted my life to go back to normal. And after about twenty minutes I had two possibilities lined up: a busted-up old sloop that looked about a million years old, and a nice-looking brigantine with a crew that seemed to hail mainly from Jokja and Najare and the like in the south, all those strings of countries not bound by the Empire. I decided to try my luck with the Free Country ship, the Ayel's Revenge. Pirate's intuition, assuming it hadn't rusted out with disuse and bad decisions.
A few of the crew were sitting on the dock next to the ship, drinking rum and playing cards. I strolled up, acting casual, and one of 'em, a guy with a mean squint I could tell was mostly faked, jerked his chin up at me.
"You ain't a boy," he said.
"Leave her alone, Shan." It was the one woman at the table, and the one who looked like she had all the brains besides which. She lay down her cards and looked up at me. She had dark brown skin and wore her hair in locks that she tied back with a piece of silk ribbon. There was something calm and intelligent about her expression, and I liked her immediately. "Ignore him," she said to me. "I assume any girl dressed like a boy either needs all the help she can get, or none at all. Which is it for you?"
"I need passage," I said. "So probably the first."
"Passage? To where?"
"Wherever you're going."
She gazed at me appraisingly. The guys at the table shuffled their feet and exchanged glances with one another. I could tell they didn't want me around, but I knew their opinions weren't the ones that mattered.
"We're headed to Qilar," she said. "I suppose it's as good a place as any, for someone who doesn't know what they want."
One of 'em, not the squint-eyed one, muttered something about always playing captain. The woman ignored him.
"What can you do?" she said.
"My parents had a boat a bit like this." I nodded at the ship sloshing in the water. "Not quite as big, but I spent my whole life on her, and I know the rigging ain't that different." I squinted up at the ship's sails. "I know a bit of navigation, too, and I can hold my own in a fight, if the need arises."
"I hope the need won't arise." The woman smiled.
"One more thing," I said, trying to figure out the best way to say this. "It ain't just me. I got a…" I didn't know what to call Naji, exactly. I couldn't say assassin. "A ward, with me."
"A ward?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "Where is she?"
"He," I said. "He's back at the inn. He won't be no trouble, though. Keeps to himself."
"I take it he's not as knowledgeable as you?"
No point in lying. I shook my head.
The woman sat for a minute, nodding a little to herself. Then she stood up and held out her hand. "I'm Marjani," she said. "Come back here in three hours. Bring your, ah, ward. I'll talk to the captain."
"Ananna," I said, touching my chest. "And thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." But she gave me a smile and I had a feeling it was going to work.
I left the docks and ducked into the alley where I'd left Naji. He materialized right away. Funny to think that trick once scared me witless.
"I think I found something," I said.
"Really?" His brow wrinkled up. "They agreed to go to the Isles of the Sky? That seems too simple…"
I kept my mouth shut.
"Midnight's claws, Ananna. We can't simply wander from ship to ship–"
"Sure we can," I said. "That's exactly how you do it."
"I don't think–"
"You don't know," I said. "Cause this ain't your world. It's mine. They're heading to Qilar, probably to Port Idai, and if there's anywhere in the high seas you'll find someone crazy enough to sail to the Isles of the Sky, it'll be in Port Idai." I glared at him. "I ain't just delaying the inevitable, you know."
Naji's eyes were black as coals and hard as diamonds, but he didn't protest further.
I decided to kill those remaining three hours down in the Port Iskassaya shopping district, where you'd find the few respectable types who lived out here. I ain't too fond of pickpocketing, but I figured some money was better than none.
Naji wasn't too happy about us splitting up again, but I yanked back the collar of my shirt and showed him the charm he'd made me.
"I'll be close by," he said.
I rolled my eyes at that. "You let me go to the docks without any fuss."
"And I could barely move from the headache it gave me."
I looked down at my hands. There were a million ways to respond to that, but I didn't want to say none of 'em.