Those few going ashore left the docks without a problem. The palace guards remained. Kendra mused, “Who are they here for?”
Flier held up his thumb and forefinger, making a small circle. “Do you have a silver coin this size?”
I nodded.
He glanced at the sky. “I will take it and a few small coins, all copper, and go ashore to get the things we need. You will ready yourselves and be on deck at midnight. Do not leave the ship for any reason.”
Kendra said, “You believe they are here for us? The military?”
“Or your princess. Or both. I’ve watched everyone carefully since arriving on board, and there is nobody else on the ship who is powerful. A few are wealthy, most sail for business, but only your princess is important. You should send word to her that she must also remain on the ship. Not even the palace guards will board a free ship. But the pier belongs to Trager.”
Kendra said, “I think she suspects the same thing. Here she comes, but she is wearing soft slippers, not shoes suitable for cobblestones.”
“Then what is she doing?” Flier asked.
“Watch.”
She strode, with five servants and attendants behind, directly to the gangplank, where she paused to speak with the purser as if departing the ship. Flier said, “Stop her.”
Kendra remained relaxed, and we watched Elizabeth. Her eyes remained on the purser and never strayed to the palace guards who began to edge forward on the pier until they were spread all the way across, and the only way into the city was to pierce their line.
“You’re sure she is not leaving? Because it looks like she is, and I’ll have to stop her,” I said to Kendra.
As if hearing my words, the Princess Elizabeth of Dire spun on her heel and stormed away from the gangplank and the ship’s purser as if he’d insulted her. She disappeared into the passageway where her cabin was located.
“A feint,” Flier said, obviously impressed as the men fell back and tried to blend in again.
I answered, “A successful one, too. We now know they are waiting for her to enter the city.”
Kendra said, “We could attempt the same trick, but that would give the palace guards the information that we’re on to them. I believe it is a fair assumption they are also after us. Now that Elizabeth is out of sight, all their eyes are on us, if you notice. They look away when I turn to them, a sure indication of deception.”
Flier said, “Even if they are not after you when you purchase travel items, word will spread that you have money. Gangs will fight each other to follow you, hide to intercept you, and ambushes will be everywhere.”
“What do you suggest?” Kendra asked.
“I have your money and will spend it well. At midnight, on the dark side of the ship away from the pier, a rowboat will approach. There is a coiled rope ladder stored near the bow. Untie it and let it roll down, then climb down quietly and quickly. Take only what you wear or carry.”
“You have a friend with a boat?” I asked.
“I do.”
“What if they arrest you when you leave the ship?” Kendra asked.
He shrugged as if there was no option. He said, “I’ll die.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
I n our cabin, we watched Flier transform himself into a familiar, tired beggar again, one with a limp worse than before. He used the tar that sealed between the planks to make his hair thick and greasy. A few scrapes of the edge of my knife provided wood chips that stuck to it. He smeared tar on his cheeks and clothing and ripped one arm off his shirt, as well as a long tear from the neck to his waist. The last should be explained. It was my shirt he tore the arms off and ruined—my only spare. He rubbed black over his clothing.
“You look worse than when we met, all but the limp,” I told him. “And you owe me a good shirt.”
He laughed as he hid the small coin purse that contained far more than he requested on a string that allowed it to hang from his waist to his inner thigh. His ragged boot came off, and he rolled a strip of material and stuffed it inside the toe, so the boot fit too tightly.
“To make sure you don’t forget to limp.” My comment drew a nod.
He smiled at my evaluation. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the man in my cabin was a social step below the one we’d brought aboard. He said as he placed his crutch under his armpit, “Will you give the purser a copper coin and ask him to publicly order me off the ship?”
“As if you snuck aboard. A show for those on the pier. Are you sure you want to do this?”
He stood. “I’m sure I don’t want to sail into that storm the mages have waiting for us.”
I went to the main deck and found the purser standing at his station. In a few words, I explained what I wanted, and he readily agreed—after the coin changed hands. It appeared pursers were aptly named. I left him and went back to my regular seat on the hatch cover and waited, eyes averted.
Flier emerged, looking forlorn, filthy, and dejected. He slowly limped, with the use of his crutch, to the gangplank where the purser shouted a few epitaphs at him and pointed the way off the ship. My eyes went to the small crowd still on the pier, smaller than it had been, and it now consisted mostly of palace guards.
They paid no attention to the familiar beggar. He didn’t hurry, not even when he reached the pier. He used the crutch for every-other step, his eyes lowered, his pace so slow I wanted to leap to my feet and shout at him to hurry up.
Instead, I sat and watched him navigate the pier as if he was invisible. Not a head turned in interest, not one person offered to help. He was invisible. He moved across the cobblestone street to the nearest alley, where he paused long enough to give a quick wave of encouragement to the ship.
Kendra said, “That is one brave man.”
I nudged her playfully in the ribs. “We’re really taking Anna and Emma?”
She didn’t laugh. “There is no choice. Hey, look up above. See who’s checking up on us?”
The dragon flew high above, so high she looked the size of a small bird. That reminded me that there were supposed to be Wyverns here, at least some that were migrating south. I hadn’t seen a single one.
As often happened when you make a statement like that, it happened. A single wyvern flew from the north, at a height low enough to endanger the main mast on the Gallant. It flew with long, lazy strokes of its wings, the serpentine neck and head turned left, then right as if searching for something.
A scream made the hairs on my neck stand. I’d believed that to be a myth, but it penetrated on a primeval mental level. The dragon had already folded its wings to her side when my eyes found her again. She was diving at the wyvern from above and behind.
The wyvern sensed the danger and twisted its head to look for the dragon and speeded its wings, but before it gained enough speed, the dragon extended its hind claws and raked the wyvern as it flew past. The dragon beat its wings frantically to prevent it from hitting the water, but the blow had sent the wyvern straight down.
The water where it splashed turned red with blood from the numerous gashes from the talons, then churned white as the wyvern attempted to take off. Meanwhile, the true dragon gained height and attacked again before the smaller, faster wyvern managed to reach the safety of the air.
The dragon dived again. It grabbed the wyvern by the neck and beat its wings until it managed to lift the wyvern out of the water, the claws wrapped so tight, the wyvern couldn’t defend itself—or breathe.
The dragon roared again after reaching high into the air, released the lifeless Wyvern, and flew higher and to the south until it disappeared. A hushed crowd of everyone on deck, the pier, and near the water in the city had watched the lifeless wyvern fall and splash into the bay. There was no cheering, no applause. There was only a stunned silence. In my entire life, I’d never seen such a vicious killing. It left me as stunned and speechless as the rest.