THE MERMAID STILL slept. Even her snoring was annoying. Any louder and Tabitha was going to grab hold of that slimy fish tail and drag her onto the flagstones.
She rubbed her tired eyes, hunched over the table and took another swig of velvetbean, the warmth of it seeping down her throat. The morning had dawned bright but cloudy, as if uncertain which way it would go. With any luck they’d be on a ship by noon, and Jeb the Snitch would be walking the plank. If he thought he could outwit them he was as crazy as a crate of crabs.
The door to the back rooms opened and Joseph emerged, frowning, dabbing at his ears with a threadbare towel. He looked clean but exhausted, as though he hadn’t slept either.
Tabitha watched him sit down opposite her and pour a mug of velvetbean. He was being so odd lately. Ever since they’d rescued Pallione. What was he doing, listening to the mermaid drone on about her father after dinner – then not even caring when she’d tried to talk to him in the night?
She wished he hadn’t seen her crying. Then again, considering the way he was acting right now, he probably hadn’t even noticed.
‘Sleep well?’ she asked. She’d meant to sound casual and friendly, but instead her voice was wooden.
Joseph blinked and looked up at her. ‘Hmm? Oh. Yes, thank you. Sort of.’ He stirred sugar into his velvetbean. ‘You?’
‘Not with that mermaid snoring all night. Didn’t she keep you up?’
He shrugged.
Tabitha swirled the last of the velvetbean around her mug, choosing her words carefully. ‘Don’t you find her a bit … you know … annoying?’
Joseph looked puzzled. ‘I think she’s nice.’
‘You think everyone’s nice,’ she snapped. Careful, Tabs. ‘Sorry. What I mean is, she keeps complaining and arguing about everything. And we’ve got a job to do, remember?’
‘I suppose.’ He cast a glance at the sleeping mermaid, then turned to check that the door to the back room was closed. Jeb was still in there with Mrs Bootle, looking for clothes. Joseph leaned in, a strange, pleading look in his eyes. ‘You know what the Snitch said last night? About my father … ?’
Tabitha blinked, thrown by the change of subject.
‘I’ve been thinking about it,’ he went on. ‘I never told him who my parents were, but he knew. And he knew my mother’s song. So he probably knows more. Even if my father isn’t—’
‘Joseph,’ said Tabitha. It was all she could do not to grab him and knock his head on the table. ‘Don’t be stupid, all right? He’s the Snitch. He knows a lot of things. And I already told you, he’s the biggest liar in Port Fayt.’
‘But what if it’s true? What if my father is alive? What if he wasn’t killed after all?’
His eyes were wide, and it was making her feel uncomfortable. She tried to make her voice stern and commanding, like Newt would have done.
‘Forget it, Joseph. Right now, all that matters is getting the princess back to that island. We’ve got more important things to worry about than—’
‘Well, I mean, I don’t— Look, you can’t believe a stinking goblin snitch like Jeb. He’d sell his own grandmother for a swig of grog.’
Joseph’s ears twitched. ‘What do you mean, “stinking goblin”?’
‘All right, sorry. That’s not what I meant. I was just—’
‘Look, what if it was your father? Imagine he was alive. Wouldn’t you—?’
She shot up, her stool scraping backwards across the flagstones.
‘He’s not. And you don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Joseph shrank back, instantly defeated. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
Tabitha felt her cheeks heating up.
‘I— No, that’s not … I—’
The door swung open with a bang and Jeb the Snitch swept in, scowling. His fancy clothes were gone, and in their place he wore a yellowing shirt and a dirty old coat several sizes too large for him. He was barely recognizable without all his finery. Mrs Bootle appeared behind him, one eyebrow raised at the outfit.
‘Is this supposed to be a joke?’ said Jeb. ‘’Cos it ain’t funny, and I ain’t wearing this.’
In all her life, Tabitha had never been so relieved to see the Snitch.
‘Yes you are,’ she told him. ‘And be grateful for it too. This way there’s a chance the Boy King’s men won’t recognize you. Anyway, it’s a lot more sensible than the stuff you normally wear. Thank you, Mrs Bootle.’
The old troll woman did her best to smile. Tabitha could tell she wasn’t happy about having the Snitch in her pie shop.
‘All right,’ she said hurriedly. ‘Let’s wake up the mermaid and get out of here.’
Joseph nodded, but said nothing.
There was no noise except for the trundling of the wheelbarrow on cobblestones as they strode down Mer Way towards the quayside. The street was as empty as the grey sky above, and it gave Tabitha the chills. Shop shutters were down, doors and windows bolted shut. There were no buskers, no beggars and no one trying to sell them things. Fayters were all either at sea fighting the League, or at home hoping for good news.
And it’s up to us to make the good news happen, she thought. Up to us to bring the merfolk into the war and beat the Duke of Garran. There was just the small matter of getting out of Port Fayt to deal with first. She felt for her knives, stowed in her bandolier under a big brown coat.
They probably shouldn’t be on Mer Way at all, but for some reason she’d insisted. Actually, she knew exactly why. Just before they’d set off, Joseph had suggested they keep to the back streets and Pallione had agreed. That was when she’d decided. It would be quicker and therefore better to go down Fayt’s biggest street. Now that they’d found Mer Way empty, Tabitha was ready to admit to herself that in truth she’d just wanted to do the opposite of what the tavern boy and the annoying mermaid had wanted.
She glanced sideways at Joseph. He looked like he was barely with them at all, just frowning into the distance as he tramped along. He’d hardly said a word since they’d left Bootles’. Still moping about his father probably, though Thalin knew why. He was dead, just like Tabitha’s parents. Simple as that. How Joseph could even consider believing Jeb the Snitch was beyond her.
The goblin was pushing the wheelbarrow on Tabitha’s right-hand side. He was sulking too; had been ever since he’d left his mad clothes behind at the pie shop. But they couldn’t take any chances with this. If they were recognized by one of the Boy King’s bully boys, it was all over.
The bundle in the wheelbarrow shifted, and Pallione’s voice floated out from under the sackcloth covering:
‘Aren’t we there yet?’
Tabitha rolled her eyes. ‘No. Just keep quiet.’
The mermaid’s head poked out from under the sackcloth, her hair in disarray, her eyes blazing. ‘It stinks under here. Everything stinks in this dump of a town. We should go faster.’
‘We’re trying not to draw attention to ourselves, remember? So stay down.’
Pallione groaned and disappeared again. For a moment Tabitha almost felt sorry for her, being forced to ride in a dirty old barrow that was barely big enough for her. But it was hard to sympathize with an ungrateful princess who kept trying to order you around.
‘Streets are empty,’ she said casually. No one answered. She was fed up with this. Fed up with having to be in charge all the time, and not getting a word of thanks for it. She had no idea how Newt did it. Please, Thalin, let him be safe, wherever he is. Let him not be in a battle … But the last thing she needed was to start worrying about him too.
They wheeled to a stop at the end of Mer Way, where the docks spread out in front of them and on either side. The harbour was even emptier than the rest of the town. Usually you could barely see the open sea for all the masts and sails. But today, Tabitha could count the number of vessels rocking at anchor on her fingers. In the distance, a huge white ship was sailing away from Fayt, and a little closer another vessel followed, black-hulled, still large by normal standards, flying the sea-green flag of Port Fayt. If Tabitha didn’t know better, she would have sworn that was the Wyvern.
Jeb gave her a nudge, bringing her attention back to the quayside. Nearby, a few off-duty sailors lounged on overturned crates, watching them. Tabitha felt very exposed.
‘You lot wait here,’ muttered Jeb. ‘Back in a brace of shakes.’
Before Tabitha could protest, he had darted over to the sailors and begun speaking to the biggest of them, a troll with a weather-beaten face and fists the size of cannonballs.
‘You can let me go now,’ said Pallione. ‘Into the sea.’
Her head was poking out again, and Tabitha quickly covered it.
‘You want to get us killed?’ she hissed. ‘Stay under, for Thalin’s sake.’
‘Tabs,’ said Joseph, grabbing hold of her sleeve. His face had come alive, and his eyes had lost their glassy look. He pointed along the docks.
Tabitha caught her breath. A gang of men with muskets was swaggering towards them. There were six of them and they walked side by side, spread out loosely between the sea and the store fronts so that no one could get past. They looked like scruffy reprobates. Definitely not blackcoats, and they weren’t wearing the sea-green band of the Fayt navy either.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Pallione. ‘Shh. Whatever you do, don’t move.’ Tabitha’s right hand fumbled inside her coat for a knife. ‘We won’t run,’ she murmured. ‘That way they’d definitely chase us. We’ll just walk away fast and take a side street. Clear?’
Jeb strode back towards them, rubbing his hands.
‘Well, that’s that. Got us a ship for tomorrow morning. Had to call in a little favour, but it’s—’
He froze, staring at something beyond them. Tabitha looked up and saw six more men approaching from the opposite direction.