Rory had slept through much of the day, but a little past noon, he awoke to find a cloudy sky and a lush delta spread out in greens and golds ahead of them. Waterbirds of all types yelled, scrambled, and flew as they neared.
"There is a path straight in," Mantinique noted with a nod toward the clearing that led into the mass of plants and mangrove stands.
"It is a trap, of course," Rory replied.
"Of course."
That didn't mean they were not going to go in by that path, but it seemed wise not to spring the trap without at least letting those watching -- and they were -- know we were aware of the problem.
We had other problems as well, though. We'd seen sails coming up behind us, and we didn't want to get caught by anyone from that area, whether locals or not. Jamison and Keltrina were too well known, and it wouldn't take long for Kellic to send hunters after them. Never mind an Eket priest who shouldn't be in the area.
"Head in," Rory said, pointing to a smaller opening. "Let's try to get out of sight, and I'll handle a breeze."
"Can I hire you?" Mantinique asked.
"You would have to pry me away from my queen," Rory replied with a grin. "That's not going to happen."
"I suppose it would make life too easy," he admitted. "I better wake up the others. It would be a shame if we ran into the pirates, and they missed it."
Rory made an amused sound as Manti hurried away. He was already starting to check the current breeze against the sails. The Tiffany had an engine but not much fuel -- and besides, it would be rather loud and noticeable. Rory knew they had little chance of sneaking through the delta, but they didn't have to alert those following them. His hope was to get them far enough into the growth that the mast would not be noticeable if they took down the sails. A few trees had found rooting spots in mounds closer to the land, and this little path seemed to head that way.
Jamison arrived. His clothing was wrinkled, and the stubble of what might become a beard showed on his face. He still looked half asleep as he stared at the rushes, cattails, and cypress trees.
Rory heard an odd sound and looked back at the rest of the small craft. Keltrina had begun pulling up rushes and tossed them up to Manti, who was placing them around the higher part of the deck. They moved quickly and with little sound.
"Did you get any sleep?" Jamison asked.
"Some. It was a quiet night out there, except for some big cat that did a bit of hunting. His presence pointed out there was nothing else to worry about, though. Should I go help them?"
"Keltrina needs to work off some anxiety," Jamison replied with a slight smile. "And besides, this is something she can do."
"I thought she'd managed to do quite a bit already," Rory replied with a quick glance around the area.
"I said the same thing," Jamison answered. He sounded pleased, and then his attitude changed just slightly. "Get Manti. We have company."
Rory didn't look. He stood, walked over as though to help out, and climbed up to where Manti frowned.
"Company."
"Well, about time," Manti said and scrambled down. "Keep at the work. We have real enemies out there looking for us."
That seemed an odd line. More trouble than the pirates? He looked at Jamison, who crossed to him and seemed equally perplexed.
Manti put down the gangplank. An older man standing in the weeds hurried up and greeted the captain with a slap on the shoulder that became a mutual bear hug. He and Jamison ignored the soft-spoken meeting and went to work camouflaging the ship.
A few minutes later, the two men approached them and signaled Kiltrina down where she had taken over placing the covering. They gathered on the deck, the two men looking serious but not upset.
"Andro and his people will lead the three of you through the delta and to the inland trails. We don't want to go out by ship right now. The coast has a patrol of at least six ships, and we wouldn't get far, even if we dared head straight out to sea."
"What do you intend to do?" Jamison demanded.
"I'll be here with my friends, collecting more information for my father. You did realize that was a lot of my job, right?"
"I suspected it, but not your contact with the pirates."
"Not as surprised as I am to see you have a spy of your own. I told some of my people to work with him and see where it went. Kel has already told me he saved your life."
"He is not my spy," Jamison replied.
Andros's hand went to a wicked-looking long-bladed dagger. Rory wished Jami had said nothing, but it was perhaps wiser not to lie to these people.
"I work for Queen Calladona," Rory explained. Andros didn't look assured. "I have papers, if I may?"
Andros gave a tentative nod. Rory pulled off his left boot and unhooked a line of stitching near the top. He slid the paper out with some care and handed it to Jamison first, who looked it over with a nod and passed it on to Manti. Andros almost looked annoyed, but the papers passed correctly from Rory's hand to his friend's fingers and from there to Jamison's friend, and finally to the person only Mani knew. It was a rule in Rory's field that you never passed papers straight to a possibly hostile stranger. First, it put you both too close to each other. Second, it was assumed that someone would not poison a friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment