I’m the first to admit I know little about boats in general and less about those that sail. The two boats in the water had tall masts, and I assumed the one upside down on the shore was the same. I also assumed they had not dug a hole deep enough to hold a mast while the boat was upside down, so masts must be detachable. If so, how did they manage to stand the strain of a stiff wind when upright?
Captain said, “A few words in private if you please?”
“Certainly,” I responded, having no idea of what the subject would be. He was shorter than me, but many are. Middle-aged with a few streaks of gray appearing in his brown hair and beard. His shoulders were wide, his bare arms rippled with muscles, and his eyes were blue and clear. A few wrinkles lined his eyes.
He said bluntly, “Is my family in danger because of you?”
It would be easy to lie. Harder to tell the truth. “Perhaps. I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?”
“Helping us shouldn’t make you or your family targets of the Council of Nine. We simply wish to hire you, not convert you to our political beliefs. You are just earning a few extra coins, something rare for a fisherman. But I wouldn’t go around bragging about us, either. And, to be fully honest, if I were you, I’d either refuse to help us or have my family be ready to flee in another boat.”
He spat over the side of the dock. It struck the water. A seagull swooped down to investigate. “Quite a speech. I made up my mind that if you lied to me, I’d turn you away. You just made it harder for me to do that.”
There were times when I knew to shut up.
He drew in a huge breath while making up his mind. “Coffin is kin. My brother. There were times when he helped me and my family when fishing was poor. Without that help, who knows what we’d have done.”
“You’ll help us?”
“Unless you talk me out of it. Coffin says you want to start a war and that isn’t something that’s appealing. Convince me to help.”
For the first time, the hint of a smile flickered on his lips. I tried to decide what would convince him. He just wanted to fish and provide for his family. I could tell him of the Young Mage and all the terrible things he’d done to others, or that the Council of Nine would one day change his life by coming to his village. Neither was compelling. The deaths of kings he’d never heard of, who ruled lands he’d never visit, was the same futile information.
It was my turn to draw in a breath and speak with emotion instead of conviction. “The time has come in my life to do something great, to fight against evil, to keep others from suffering. The truth is, the five of us could all go to our homes and probably live prosperous and happy lives for years to come. At home, three of us live in a grand palace, have only the best food, clothing, and we live with royalty. Most treat us as such.”
“Coffin said you are a mage.”
The statement took me by surprise again. Each of us sees ourselves in certain ways. The idea of me admitting to being a mage was only days old. I thought of myself as more of a trickster. “An untrained mage. Not even a novice, if you want the truth. There are a few talents, but believe me, the lack of training puts me in a different category from others who are mages.”
“Your sister is neither mage or sorceress, but she controls a dragon?”
“She does. For the purpose of our mission for the king, she has called herself a dragon queen, a dragon tamer, and a few other names. We don’t know what to call her.”
“You did not flinch when I mentioned a dragon. You actually believe in dragons—and that when your sister beckons, one magically appears in the sky spitting fire and killing people at her command?”
That statement was harder to face than admitting I might be a mage.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Captain waited for me to confirm or deny that Kendra controlled a dragon, a beast that like me not long ago, he considered a myth. Only a month ago I’d have sided with him and laughed at the absurd idea. Instead, I said, “She can do all that and more.”
He peered at me as if waiting for me to admit it was a joke. When that didn’t happen, he said in the same disbelieving tone, “And you can make water appear in the desert. It flows from your finger like a small spring?”
His attitude had turned sour, perhaps at hearing the preposterous words emerge from his mouth and that he’d actually asked about such impossible things. He suspected he was being made a fool. As I raised my forefinger, I said, “We’re sorry to bring all this down on you. I know what you’ve heard is hard to believe.”
His eyes fell to my pointing finger. I started with a tiny trickle, then increased the flow. With the sea nearly touching my feet below the dock we stood on, and the recent practice with making water to fill canteens, it came ease, almost without effort. I watched him watch my finger. I increased the flow until it became a stream squirting from the end.
He looked up and said in a soft, wondering voice, “It is all true?”
“Every word.”
He shook his head. Instead of arguing, which I expected, he abruptly changed the subject, “Our way of life here is already in danger. The Council of Nine in Dagger has raised taxes on goods delivered to the city . . . three times in the last year, alone. It’s as if they do not want our fish, or the vegetables the farmers grow. With no market to buy our fish, we will have all the catch to eat, but cannot afford to buy anything such as hooks, line for making nets, and even clothing. There is also talk of taxes for our houses and boats, which is money we do not have.”
My thoughts went back to the blackened husks and standing chimneys alongside the lake that had been productive farms a year or two ago. “I believe Will can explain all of the information better than me, but you’re right. In another year, unless something happens, this village will be deserted, the boats all sunk or on the shore rotting.”
He jutted his chin at me in a confrontational manner and snarled, “And you can change all that?”
“I don’t know. We’re at least trying.”
“So, you’re telling the truth? As wild and crazy as your story is, you expect me to believe it?” His voice rose near the end until it was almost a shout.
I increased the flow of water from my finger in response. It became a small fountain squirting straight up into the air. “No, honestly. I don’t know we can do any of what we set out to, but I do know we are going to try, with or without your help. There are other boats I see from here. One of them will take us or sell us a boat. If we have to walk, we can do that, too.”
He snorted. “Can you walk across the sea?”
I’d had enough questions. I stopped the water emerging from my fingertip and used the same tone as him, “If I understood you earlier, nobody can walk across the Brownlands either, but we did it. Remember? Do not think us fools or inept. That is a princess inside your home, and my sister and I are her servants. Will works directly for the King of Dire, and the girl, Anna, may be the most powerful sorceress in the world when she is grown.”
That didn’t faze him. He said, “And you believe all our troubles come from one mage up north? A boy?”
“In Kaon. Yes, we do. Now that I’ve taken time to explain things to you, and demonstrate at least part of them are true, you can either accept our offer or we will find another way.” I turned my back before he could answer and walked along the shore to the next house. Banging on the door brought no response, so I moved on to the next.
An old woman answered. As I introduced myself, Captain touched my shoulder. He said, “I was wrong to treat you that way and to doubt you.” He turned to the woman. “Mazie, I apologize, we’ve had a few angry words and I’ve accepted his offer to carry him and his friends south. We’d like to keep it private.”