It appeared there would be a standoff between two people who were masters in their individual environments. Captain was as much a ruler as any king while on his vessel. Princess Elizabeth was paying for the use of his expertise and boat. It was probably the reason Captain glanced at Will and said, “Can you take the tiller and hold our course?”
“I have some experience.” With that simple comment, he moved to the stern and exchanged places.
Captain moved to the shelter we’d rigged and untied a waterproof bag. Inside, also made of waterproof skin, he removed a tube. The end cap came off and he shook out several rolls of parchment. After rejecting two, he selected a third and pointed with a stubby finger at the chart. It was marked with obstructions, shallow water indications, tidal warnings, and fishing grounds.
Elizabeth pointed and said, “Between Dead Isle and the land north of Landor, there is a narrow straight. If I’m reading your chart correctly, from that little jut of land under my finger, the water is shallow almost to the other side, forcing water traffic along the shore to the east.”
“You are correct.”
She relaxed and placed a hand on his shoulder in a friendly fashion. “I am not doubting your seamanship skills. Please understand, there are powerful people who would prevent us from reaching Landor, if possible. If you were opposing us and knew our ultimate destination, where would you place your navy? A place where two or three ships could control who passes?”
His eyes flicked to the chart and back again.
She continued, “We know the one we refer to as the Young Mage is searching for us. His army nearly trapped us on the Pearl Lakes, but Coffin helped us escape into the desert. He knows the direction we went, and there are only two places we could go to. Dagger and the coast. I have no doubt he blockaded entry into Dagger.”
Captain picked up where she left off, “So, he would surmise you went to one of the fishing villages and sailed away. You might have gone north, to your home, and there is another natural funnel where the channel is narrow and only a few boats could prevent passage.”
She smiled. “You are correct, and he tried to stop us there, too. By now he knows we are not sailing north. Fairbanks has no army or navy.”
“Which means you are going to Landor. He will block the passage between Dead Isle and the mainland to the east. I’m sorry to have given you such poor advice, Princess.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Captain made his way back to the tiller. He relieved Will and sat on the stern bench, but I noticed it was on the other side, where he could turn the direction we sailed slightly to the west.
Elizabeth had sat again, her imperial attitude in check, but in all the years we’d grown up together, only those like young Lord Kent at Crestfallen held themselves up in that regal manner. She hadn’t raised her voice, threatened, or shown anger. What she had displayed was royal leadership. In a few words, she explained her decision—which was not necessary. She had also, in a subtle manner, transformed herself into a woman of power.
It was going to be very interesting working as her servant when we returned to Crestfallen. Things were going to change. A lot of them.
“Land up ahead,” Anna said.
As we sailed closer, a few barren mountain peaks came into view. The slopes were brown and tan, broken only by rifts. From our distance, we saw no water or greenery. No smoke rose from a fire. No docks, piers, houses, or huts for fishermen to use.
Anna popped into my mind, *Kendra is upset.*
I thanked her with a smile as I turned to my sister. She had moved to the bow and sat alone, knees pulled up to her chin. I moved and sat next to her.
In a sailboat, there is constant sound. The hiss of water passing the hull, the small spats as the bow cut into small waves, the rattle of hardware holding the sails in place, and the whisper of the breeze. All that provided the cover to talk softly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“My dragon is refusing to come with us.”
“Is it because it’s so far away? Maybe it can’t hear you.”
“She knows,” Kendra said.
The protection the dragon provided had always been a safety net for us. A backup. We’d used her five or six times in that manner. I suddenly felt naked. Exposed.
“No idea why?” I asked.
“She is eating again right now, a deer, and refusing to do anything I say. She is sitting high on a rocky peak where she can look out over a wide valley and watch for sheep, goats, deer, elk, anything that moves.”
“That’s not normal.”
“If she keeps eating like this, she’ll gain so much weight she can’t fly. That was a joke. I thought it might lighten the mood.”
“Maybe she does not want to fly over the sea again,” I ventured.
“No. It’s something else. She is shutting her mind to me.”
I quit talking. Sometimes it is better to let problems work out without trying to solve them. That was a hard-learned lesson from living with two women my entire life. I sat and listened to the hum of sound, felt the gentle rocking of the boat, and felt the warmth of the morning sun penetrating into my chilled body. I closed my eyes to enjoy the feelings.
When I woke, my head was cradled in Kendra’s lap. The warmth I’d craved had turned to heat and sweat soaked my body. My mouth felt like the sand in the desert we’d traveled. It tasted like it too.
I moved to the water keg and found the contents mercifully cool and refreshing. Four full mugs barely slaked my thirst. I wiped damp hair from my forehead and pulled the silly straw sock-hat back down into place. If nothing else, I knew the dangers of sunburn while on the water or in the desert. The burning rays of the sun were amplified, even for those with the dark skin of my sister and me.
For the first time, I realized that we were as dark as most from Kondor, as was Anna. Captain was from Kondor, and his skin was the darkest of all probably from being on the water almost every day. That left only Will and Elizabeth as a pair of white-skinned people from the north. They were now the oddities—like Kendra and I had been our whole lives when we lived up north. We fit in and it felt nice.
I suspected we could withstand far more sun than them. That difference aside, the change in Elizabeth’s attitude both worried and fascinated me. How she did it, was a mystery. Was it done on purpose or naturally?
I half-stood and looked over the side of the boat. To my left was the barren flatlands of what I assumed was Dead Isle. To my right were the barren Brownlands, looking almost exactly the same as Dead Isle. There were no mountains in sight, only flat brown sand broken here and there by taller brown rocks. Not a flash of green or the reflection of the sun off fresh water anywhere.
I was bored. The sail puffed and sluffed, indicating there was little wind to push us. The lack of a breeze made the air feel hotter, stifling. Captain napped with his arm draped over the tiller. If awake, he would probably tighten a few ropes and the boat would move faster but he was protective of his boat and of who was at the tiller. Even after Will had spelled him while he examined the chart with Elizabeth, he kept looking to make sure all about the sail was up to his standards.
Others were fitfully sleeping during the sweaty heat, tossing and turning to make themselves more comfortable. Under the canvas, the heat collected and built until even breathing was difficult. In midafternoon, the wind nearly died, and the heat increased.
Captain turned the boat and sailed to a small bay on Dead Isle. I only noticed the course change because of the shift in the shadows but was too drained to ask for an explanation or be concerned. The boat moved slower than worms burrow through thick dirt. Twice I looked over the side and the land grew no closer.