"Get him," she said, jerking her head at Naji. "And come up on deck. And for Aje's sake, play along."
"You knew?" I said. "How long?"
She didn't answer, just made her way out of the crew's quarters, the water splashing up around her knees. I turned to Naji. He'd sat up some, and there was a bruise forming around his eye from where I hit him.
"You heard the lady," I said.
"We are… The islands? We're… here?"
"Shut up."
I grabbed him by his arm and jerked him up to standing. He slouched against me. Fine. I threw his arm around my shoulder, and together we waded through the ship's belly. I wasn't screwing around with this. We'd been caught, flat-out. Having Marjani on our side helped, but it wasn't just Marjani who'd caught us, it was everyone. The crew. The captain. If we were lucky we'd be thrown in the brig for the rest of the trip. I didn't think we'd be lucky.
It took us a while to get up on deck, cause I pretty much had to push Naji up the ladder. He pulled himself up through the hatchway, Kaol knows how, and then he slumped against the deck, wheezing and grasping for breath. The captain and Marjani were waiting for us, standing side by side with the rest of the crew fanned out behind 'em.
"This true, Ananna?" the captain asked me. Marjani had this right mean look on her face. Play along.
Naji coughed and pushed himself up on his hands. His hair pressed in thick clumps against his face.
"I did it," he said. "Don't blame her."
The captain looked like he wanted to whip out his sword and take care of the problem the old-fashioned way, but instead he just spat at Naji and turned to me.
"Wasn't asking him," he said.
I closed my eyes. All I could feel was my heartbeat, the blood rushing through my body.
"Well?" he said.
"Yeah, it's true." I forced myself to meet his eye. Any of that kindness I'd seen before had disappeared. "I didn't know he was gonna do it, though, or I'd have stop–"
The captain held up one hand, and I shut my mouth. I was shaking from the cold and from fear, wondering what he was going to do to us.
"Blood magic," the captain said, spitting the words out. "Can't believe you'd bring something like that on board. I trusted you, little girl."
I flushed with shame, but I didn't hang my head. Kaol, was I proud of that.
"Believed that whole damn story you told…" The captain shook his head.
"I'm sorry," I said, looking at the captain, looking at Marjani. She frowned, little lines appearing around her eyes.
"Throw 'em overboard," the captain said.
Marjani whipped her head toward him. "Captain, I don't think… In this water, that will kill them."
"Good," he said cheerfully.
I about started to cry. I've cried out of desperation twice in my life and both of those times were nothing compared to the mess I was in right now, about to get cast out in the icy northern sea cause of a blood magic assassin with no manner of patience.
Marjani gave me this look of full-up desperation, quick as a flash, and I knew whatever plan she'd made just fell through. I'd never felt so small and vulnerable and doomed.
And then Chari spoke up.
"Sir," he said, stepping forward out of the crowd. "I agree we shouldn't keep this pair of hijacking mutineers on board, but I did see the girl during the, ah, storm and she about near died trying to save this ship."
The captain stared at him. Chari held his gaze. He was the kind of old that commands respect.
"So what do you suggest?" the captain said.
"Give 'em a boat," Chari said. The crew didn't like that, and they all hissed and booed behind him. "Or a piece of plank board, captain. Enough to get 'em to the island."
I wanted to kiss the old son of a bitch, I really did.
"They'll be good as dead there anyway," Chari said. "It's what you'd do if we were down in the south."
Something flickered though my head. Ain't got nothing to lose.
"Confederation rules," I said. "Mutineers are always stranded. Not killed."
Everybody stopped talking and turned to me.
"We ain't part of the Confederation," the captain said.
"I am," I said. I pushed out my chest and took a deep breath. "My full name is Ananna of the Tanarau. My father is the captain of that same ship." Then I lifted up the hem of my shirt to show him my Confederation tattoo.
The captain's face got real dark.
"You drew that on," he said. "You're faking me."
"You want to risk it?" I said. I nudged Naji with my foot. "You have any idea what he's capable of this close to death? That's blood magic's nexus, captain, death. This close to the other side, he could send a message to my father so quick you'd be dead in a week."
The crew fell silent, so I figured I must have convinced most of 'em at least half-way. The captain didn't look too doubtful himself, either.
"I don't want no business with the Confederation," he said. "I could kill you right now and not worry about a thing."
And then Naji started chanting.
It gave me pause, ain't gonna lie. I thought maybe he was working some kind of darkness over there, maybe calling down demons to swoop in and save us. But when I glanced at him his eyes were dark as night, not glowing at all. And I realized he was faking for me.
"You hear that!" I shouted, getting into it. "Speaking straight to my father, he is. You can't kill me now. Neither one of us."
The captain's eyes went wide with fear. Marjani's didn't. She glanced back and forth between me and Naji but didn't say nothing. But the chanting got the crew into a tizzy, and they all backed up against the railing.
"Make him stop," the captain said.
"Can't," I said. "He don't listen to me. If that were the case, we'd still be on our way to Port Idai."
The captain took a few steps back from Naji. "Fine," he said. "You want me to treat you like some Confederation mutineer – Marjani, get them a boat."