Some fiddling with the dials, and the Three Moons ” radio operator’s voice came squeaking through the static—she was one of the Hain girls, Lawler wasn’t sure which one—and then a moment later the deep, steady voice of Martin Yanez, saying, “There’s nothing to report, doc, we’ve got a clean bill of health over here today.”
“This isn’t the regular medical call,” Lawler said.
“What then? You didn’t hear something from the Golden Sun, did you?” There was sudden excitement in Yanez” voice, eagerness, hope.
“Nothing like that, no,” Lawler said quietly.
“Ah.”
“I wanted to find out what you think about our change in course.”
“What change in course do you mean?”
“Don’t give me that shit, Martin. Please.”
“Since when do navigational matters concern the doctor?”
“I said don’t give me that shit.”
“Are you the navigator now, doc?”
“I’m an interested party. We all are. It’s my life too. What’s going on, Martin? Or are you so deep in Delagard’s pocket that you won’t tell me?”
“You sound awfully worked up,” Yanez said. “We’ve made a detour to the south. What of it?”
“Why have we done it?”
“You ought to ask Delagard that.”
“Have you?”
“I don’t need to. I’m simply following his lead. He turns south, I turn south too.”
“Bamber said more or less the same thing. Are you guys all such puppets that you let him jerk your strings any way he likes? Jesus, Martin, why aren’t we heading for Grayvard any longer?”
“I told you. Ask Delagard.”
“I mean to. First I wanted to find out how the other captains feel about sailing into the Empty Sea.”
“Is that what we’re doing?” Yanez asked, his voice as calm as ever. “I thought we were simply making a short-term detour to the south, for some reason that Delagard isn’t talking about. So far as I know Grayvard’s still our ultimate destination.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“If I said I did, would you believe me?”
“I’d like to.”
“It’s the truth, doc. As I loved my brother, it’s God’s own truth. Delagard hasn’t said a word about the change, and I haven’t asked, and neither have Bamber or Poilin. I assume the Sisters aren’t even aware that we’re off course.”
“You’ve talked about it with Cadrell and Stayvol, though?”
“Sure.”
“Stayvol’s very thick with Delagard. I don’t trust him much. What has he said?”
“He’s as puzzled as the rest of us.”
“You think he really is?”
“Yes. But what difference does it make? We’re all following Delagard. You want to know what’s going on, you ask him. And if he tells you, you tell me, doc.”
“That’s a promise.”
“You want me to call Stayvol next?” Dag Tharp asked.
“No. I think I’ll skip him just now.”
Tharp tugged at the wattles of his throat. “Holy shit,” he said. “Holy, holy, holy shit. You think it’s a conspiracy? All the captains up to something weird and not telling?”
“I believe Martin Yanez. Whatever’s happening, Delagard may have let Stayvol in on it, but most likely not the other two.”
“And Damis Sawtelle?”
“What about him?”
“Suppose that when he noticed this change of course he radioed Delagard and asked him what was what, and Delagard said it was none of his fucking business, and Damis got so annoyed that he just turned his ship around in the middle of the night and went shooting off toward Grayvard by himself. Damis has a pretty hot temper, you know. So there he is, a thousand kilometres north of us by now, and when we send out scanning calls trying to find him he simply ignores us, because he’s seceded from the fleet.”
“That’s a nice theory. But does Delagard understand how to operate this radio equipment?”
“No,” Tharp said. “Not that I know of.”
“Then how would Damis have talked with him unless you had taken the call?”
“You’ve got a point there.”
“Sawtelle didn’t just take off and sail away by himself. I’d bet on it, Dag. The Golden Sun’s at the bottom of the sea, with Damis Sawtelle and everybody else that was on board it. Something that lives in this ocean came along in the night and quickly and quietly sank it, something very cute and full of tricks, and if we’re lucky we’ve never going to find out what it was. There’s no sense thinking about the Golden Sun right now. What we need to know is why we’re heading south instead of north.”
“You going to talk to Delagard, doc?”
“I think I ought to,” Lawler said.
8
Delagard had just come off watch. He looked tired. His burly shoulders were slumped forward, his head was thrust forward wearily on his thick neck. As he started to descend the hatch that led to his quarters Lawler called to him to wait.
“What is it, doc?”
“Can we talk?”
Delagard’s eyelids slid downward for a moment. “Right this minute?”
“I think so, yes.”
“All right. Come on. Come on down with me.”
Delagard’s cabin, more than twice as spacious as Lawler’s was littered with discarded clothes, empty brandy bottles, odds and ends of ship’s equipment, even a few books. Books were such rarities on Hydros that it amazed Lawler to see them scattered so casually about.
“You want a drink?” Delagard asked.
“Not just yet. Go on, help yourself.” Lawler hesitated a moment. “A little problem has turned up, Nid. We seem to have accidentally gone off course.”
“Have we?” Delagard didn’t sound surprised.
“It appears that we’re on the wrong side of the equator. We’re heading south-southwest instead of north-northwest. It’s a pretty considerable variation from the plan.”
“That far off course?” Delagard said. It was mock wonder, very heavy-handed. “Going in the wrong direction entirely?” He toyed with his brandy cup, rubbed his right collarbone as though it ached, rearranged some of the intricate clutter on the table in front of him. “That’s one hell of a navigational error, if it’s true. Somebody must have sneaked up to the binnacle and turned the compass clean upside down with intent to deceive. But are you sure about all this, doc?”
“Don’t fuck around with me. It’s too late for that. What are you up to, Nid?”
“You don’t know shit about open-sea navigation. How can you tell which direction we’re going in?”
“I consulted some experts.”
“Onyos Felk? That foolish old fart?”
“Yes, I talked to him. Among others. Onyos isn’t always all that reliable, I agree, but the others are. Believe me.”
Delagard gave Lawler a deadly look, slitted eyes, clamped jaws. Then he calmed; he drank again, and topped up his brandy cup; he disappeared into a contemplative silence.
“All right,” Delagard said finally. “Here’s where I let you in on it. Felk happens to be right for once. We aren’t going to Grayvard.”
Delagard’s casual self-assurance hit Lawler hard, a sharp jolt.
“Jesus Christ, Nid. Why not?”
“Grayvard doesn’t want us. It never did. They gave me the same bullshit story the other islands did, that they had room for maybe a dozen refugees tops, certainly not the whole bunch of us. I pulled all the strings I could. They stuck to their position. We were out in the cold, flat on our asses, nowhere to go.”
“So you were lying right from the start of the voyage? You were planning to take us to the Empty Sea all along? What the hell were you up to? Why did you bring us here, of all places?” Lawler shook his head wonderingly. “You’ve really got balls, Nid.”