Captain Mafuone leaned back in her chair and regarded the group assembled in her cabin.
Nazafareen sat next to Megaera, who was still grumbling under her breath at being left behind in the harbor. Darius leaned against the door, one knee bent. Herodotus had found a dark corner for himself, where he surreptitiously scribbled on a bit of parchment, determined to record the proceedings for posterity. Captain Kasaika sat directly across from Mafuone, tattooed arms gripping the sides of her chair.
Word had been sent to all the Marakai ships that a Selk girl was missing and they should watch for her. Mafuone also dispatched her own crew to keep an eye on the palace gates. No one would leave Tjanjin without them knowing about it.
“You should have told the Five,” Kasaika said for the third time.
“There was no time,” Mafuone replied. “If we’d waited, the Vatra and Meb would already be gone.”
“And you think he can use her to break the Gale?” Kasaika ran a hand over her gleaming scalp. “By the Mer, this is some crazy shit.”
“How are we going to get her back?” Nazafareen burst out. “That’s what we need to be talking about.”
“Quiet, girl,” Kasaika growled. “I’m thinking.”
“How many Marakai are in the harbor?” Nazafareen persisted. “Two hundred? More? If you call them together and march on the palace, I can’t imagine the emperor’s guards will stop you!”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Kasaika snapped. “Think for a moment. If this man is truly a Vatra, he’s holding Meb hostage. And I will not mount an invasion of Tjanjin without the explicit consent of the Five!”
“You’re both right,” Darius said quietly. “We can’t afford to wait, but we can’t risk Meb either.”
“I still can’t believe Sakhet-ra-katme is dead,” Kasaika muttered. “She asked me look after Meb when her parents disappeared. Sakhet said she had a disability, but she never mentioned a word about talismans. That Meb is one of them…. The girl can’t work a drop of water!”
“It’s one of the signs.” Herodotus’s mild voice drifted over from the corner. “A weakness in the element of their own clan.”
“But why?” Kasaika demanded.
“We don’t know,” Darius admitted.
“And Nicodemus had Sakhet’s knife?”
“I saw it myself,” Nazafareen said. “At the Mer on Selk. But if that’s not proof enough for you, he tried to work fire right in front of me.”
“How do you know he didn’t use spell dust?” the captain of the Asperta asked with an edge of skepticism.
“He wove the flows directly. I saw them.”
Kasaika gave her a hard stare. “You can see elemental flows?”
“And break them.”
Her brown eyes slitted. “Show me.”
Kasaika’s gaze turned to the cup of wine braced in Megaera’s lap. An instant later, a crimson globule of liquid floated in the air. Megaera’s mouth fell open as it quivered in the air before her face, forming a perfect sphere. Nazafareen smiled. She slashed at the web of power and it splashed onto Megaera’s boots. The Maenad swore under her breath.
Kasaika stared, shock on her face. “How…?”
“She killed two chimeras on my vessel,” Mafuone put in. “She is a Breaker of magic.”
“Huo mofa?” Kasaika muttered warily. “I’ve heard of this. Very dangerous.”
“I’ve learned to control it,” Nazafareen lied. “If you send your people to the palace, they wouldn’t be in danger from the Vatra.”
Kasaika’s jaw worked for a long moment. “I still can’t approve an attack on the palace.” She held up a hand. “But neither will I abandon Meb, whether or not this man is truly a Vatra.”
“You don’t believe,” Mafuone said flatly.
“I know all about the Sheut prophecy,” Kasaika replied. “That the time of Isfet will return. But it’s a belief of the Shadow Marakai, not the Selk. I don’t rule it out, but I need more proof than the word of a mortal.”
“I have daēva blood,” Nazafareen said heatedly.
“Whatever.” Kasaika turned to Mafuone, ignoring the others. “We must demand an audience with the emperor first. Tell him his emissary lured one of our girls inside and we want her back. He’s always been our staunchest ally among the mortals. Delphi has declared us enemies, and who knows what will happen to Samarqand? We must tread carefully. You know I’m right, Mafuone.”
The captain of the Chione gave a reluctant nod.
“I want to go too,” Nazafareen said, her head swinging back and forth between them.
Kasaika laughed. “Not a chance. This is a Marakai matter. And you squawk like a drunken gull.”
Nazafareen opened her mouth, then shut it with a snap. She remained silent, but gripped her sword hilt with white fingers.
“If we’re unsuccessful, I’m willing to consider other proposals,” Kasaika said. “By the Mer, that’s my final word.”
Nazafareen grumbled something unintelligible. She reached into a pocket of her cloak.
“I also found this. I think the Vatra dropped it.”
She held out the globe. Captain Mafuone took it in her hands and studied it for a moment. Then she passed it to Kasaika.
“A talisman,” Kasaika murmured. “Any idea what it does?”
“None. Can’t you tell?”
“Reading talismans is not a Marakai talent.” She shrugged. “It’s a curious object.” She peered at the clouds speeding past in the globe’s depths, as though driven by hurricane winds. “Perhaps something to do with the weather?”
A little flicker of lightning from inside the globe lit her features.
“I’ll keep it,” Nazafareen said. “Maybe we can learn something.”
She held out her hand for the globe just as a shadow passed the square porthole. She turned to see Katsu staring into the cabin, his gray eyes fixed intently on the globe. Then he gave a start and smiled, raising his hand in a wave. She watched him amble down the gangplank and vanish into the crowds. He didn’t look back.
“Why is he still on board?” she asked. “We’ve been docked for hours.”
Mafuone raised an eyebrow. “Saying goodbye to Nefertnesu, I imagine. They’ve been down below together. She always did have a weakness for Stygians.”
The two captains rose to their feet. Mafuone stood more than a head taller, but Kasaika exuded a brute authority that wasn’t in the least undercut by the angelically smiling cat inked on her cheek. The globe emitted another flicker of lightning and for an instant, Darius could have sworn he saw the massive wave on Kasaika’s forearm curl and foam. He blinked. Hadn’t the sinking ship been on her other bicep before?
“Stay here,” Mafuone ordered, eyeing them all sternly. “There’s no danger they’ll leave the port. And there’s a good chance we can handle this diplomatically. If you do anything to foul it up—”
“We won’t,” Darius said quickly. “Good luck.”
When they were gone, Herodotus rose to his feet. “I think I’ll retire to my cabin for a spell. Unless you need me?”
Darius waved a hand. “No, we should all get some rest.”
Megaera downed the dregs of her wine and followed Herodotus to the door.
“Wake me as soon as they return,” she said with a warning edge. “The very minute!”
Darius assured her he would and Megaera stomped off, her boots leaving a faint trail of wine on the floor.
“Rest?” Nazafareen muttered with a hint of outrage after the door closed. “While Meb is in the clutches of that Vatra?”
“You can’t do everything,” Darius pointed out reasonably. “Give the captains a chance.”
She opened her mouth.
“We promised.”
“You promised.”
“For both of us.”
She gave a noncommittal grunt.
“If they fail, I promise to storm the castle with you,” he said with a wry grin. “But you’ll be no use if you’re exhausted.”
She suppressed a yawn. “I’m fine.”
Darius shrugged. “All right then.” He lay down and closed his eyes. “Ah, so comfortable.”
Nazafareen grumbled. After a minute or so, she curled up next to him.
“Darius?”
“Mmmm?”
“I’m worried.”
He sighed and rolled over to face her. “I know.”
“I have a feeling.” She paused. How to explain? “I know you told me everything about our past. But it’s not the same as knowing for myself.”
He smoothed her hair back. “I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s all right. I suppose I’ve accepted it. I might never remember. But you do.” She lay her hand on his. “And that helps.” She paused. “The thing is, all I have is my instinct. That’s all I can trust.”
He nodded slowly. “I think I understand.”
“I was right about the Vatra before. And now my instinct is telling me Meb is in terrible danger. It’s telling me I ought to be doing something.”
Darius was silent for a moment. “When you joined the Water Dogs, you did it for your sister. To avenge her death. But you didn’t trust me. You used to hold onto my power when we both needed it. It took a long time for you to learn to let go.”
She frowned. “Are you asking me to trust you again?”
He searched her face. “No. I think you already do.”
Nazafareen smiled. “I love you, Darius.”
“And I love you, North Star.”
He kissed her temple and closed his eyes.
Her thoughts still whirled on for a while, but using the negatory magic must have tired her more than she thought because the gentle rocking of the ship and the weight of his arms around her finally lulled Nazafareen into sleep.
A muffled oath roused her some time later. Nazafareen sat up to find Darius grappling with Katsu on the floor of her cabin. He sat astride the Stygian’s chest, pinning his limbs down. But Darius only had one good arm, and Katsu twisted and bucked with inhuman strength. She leapt out of bed and put the edge of her sword against his throat. Katsu immediately ceased struggling, but cold fury burned in his eyes.
“I caught him trying to steal the globe,” Darius said, leaning forward so the weight of his knees dug deeper against the Stygian’s arms. “Mafuone said he was a thief catcher. More like a thief, I’d say.”
“You are the thieves!” Katsu burst out.
Nazafareen pressed the tip of her sword deeper and a bead of blood welled around the point. “You’re in league with the Vatra, aren’t you? I bloody knew it!”
The thief regarded her with icy disdain, heedless of the blade. “You stole that talisman from the emperor. I’ve been hunting it for nearly a year. I’m surprised you would return to the scene of the crime, but—”
“What’s he yammering on about?” Nazafareen asked Darius, who shrugged. “The globe belonged to a daēva who kidnapped a young girl. We just took it from him today. Or yesterday. Whatever day it is.”
Katsu blinked in confusion. He appeared about to reply when Megaera came bursting through the door, Herodotus blinking owlishly at her heels. She took in the scene and stepped forward, staff raised to crack skulls. “We heard fighting. What’s the Stygian doing here?”
“He tried to steal the globe,” Nazafareen said.
“Steal it back,” Katsu said tightly. “Did you know there is a bounty of thirty thousand yi on that talisman?”
Herodotus’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead. “Thirty thousand yi?” he repeated faintly. Ink-stained fingers tugged at his beard. “Why, that would be fifty-two thousand drachmas, or eighty thousand siglos, if one were in Samarqand. That is to say, a fortune!”
The commotion drew the Chione’s watch, who poked his head in.
“Trouble?” he asked.
Nazafareen hesitated, then shook her head. She wasn’t ready to reveal what they’d found to the crew. “A minor disagreement. Let him up,” she told Darius, who eased his knees from Katsu’s arms and backed away, though he looked wary.
The Marakai shrugged and withdrew.
“Talk,” she said to the Stygian. “And no evasions this time. What is this bounty?”
Katsu wiped the smear of blood from his throat and sat heavily on the bunk. They listened in silence as he related how he’d gone to Delphi in search of the talisman and been arrested outside the palace of the Archon Basileus, when he fought off a rival who thought Katsu had found the globe and hoped to seize it for himself. How he spent months in the Polemarch’s dungeons, with no hope of release. He told the story without a shred of self-pity. That more than anything made Nazafareen believe he spoke the truth.
“Someone bought my way out,” Katsu said finally. “I’ve no idea who. When I find out, I will have to repay the debt.” His gaze fell on the talisman. “I returned to Tjanjin intending to start the search anew. Perhaps there was a clue I overlooked the first time. The bounty still stands. If I won it….” He trailed off. “Well, there it is. You have it all now. And you say you took it from a Vatra?” White teeth flashed. “Really, where did you find it?”
“Do you know of a man named Nicodemus?” Nazafareen asked.
“Of course. He’s an advisor to the emperor.” Katsu’s eyes widened. His hand curled into a fist and thumped the bunk. “It makes sense. The talisman vanished the day before the Greek ambassador left for Delphi, so he was the obvious culprit. But Nicodemus must have framed him and taken it for himself.”
“What else do you know about him?” Darius asked.
“The courtiers call him the Traveler. No one knows where he came from—some say Delphi, some Samarqand, others the lands across the White Sea—but he supposedly has great skill at deciphering talismans and he’s helped the emperor identify the uses of many in his collection that were previously unknown.”
“He’s a Vatra,” Nazafareen said grimly. “This we know for certain.”
“The Vatras forged all the talismans in the world,” Herodotus put in. “When they were vanquished, the art was lost. But Nicodemus might have an innate understanding of them.”
“The emperor is obsessed with talismans,” Katsu said. “Collecting them is his passion. Some can be used by mortals, but others require power to work. He buys anything and everything. To be honest, I think half the objects down there are clever fakes. Until Nicodemus came along, he had no one to curate his collection. The emperor values him highly.”
“So the emperor wouldn’t hand him over?” Megaera asked. “For any reason?”
Katsu laughed. “Without absolute proof, he’d never believe a word against Nicodemus. The whole court fears his influence.”
“We have a problem then,” Nazafareen said, rubbing her stump. “A big one.”
“Oh, for the Gods’ sake, just tell him,” Megaera burst out. “It can’t get any worse.”
So Darius and Herodotus quickly explained why they had come to Tjanjin. The Stygian gave a low whistle.
“What will you do now?” he asked.
“Find a way into the palace,” Nazafareen said, her jaw setting. “And get Meb back ourselves.”
Megaera gave a firm nod and poked Herodotus, who looked up from his scroll. “What? Oh yes, certainly. Get her back ourselves. That’s what Kallisto would want, I’m sure.”
“Agreed,” Darius said, blue eyes glittering. “The question is how.”
They all stared at Katsu. He scrubbed a hand through his wispy beard.
“I don’t know,” he said slowly. “It’s heavily guarded. And the soldiers are trained to use spell dust. Even with a Danai, you don’t stand a chance. Besides which, the palace is huge. The part you saw is the tip of the iceberg. Most of it lies underground, dug into the mountain. Even if you managed to get inside, a search could take days.”
“What if we offered to trade the globe for Meb?” Megaera asked.
“The emperor will simply take it from you, and likely have you arrested. He’s not an evil man—I’m certain he doesn’t know what Nicodemus truly is—but he is the emperor. In Tjanjin, that makes him a godlike figure. It would humiliate him to be forced to negotiate. His pride would not allow it.”
“What does the globe do?” Darius asked.
Katsu shook his head. “No idea.”
There was a long, despondent silence.
“May I see it?” Herodotus asked diffidently. “I have made a small study of talismans. Perhaps I can discover its purpose.”
Nazafareen gave him the globe. He turned it this way and that, eyes bright with curiosity, then examined the runes on the base for several long minutes.
“Ah,” he said at last. “It is the language of the Vatras.”
“Can you read it?” Nazafareen asked eagerly.
“Not all, but some.” He pointed to the runes. “This means summon or call, and the other means search. I don’t know that one, but this is air, and that water….and warm wind, I think.”
“Give it to me,” Darius said.
Nazafareen felt him seek the calm of the Nexus. Then he wove fine, probing strands of air and water into the globe. Nothing happened. Darius gave a long sigh and the runes glowed blue.
“Not warm wind,” Herodotus cried. “Breath! Oh, I should have seen that. Now look for something. Hold the image in your mind.”
Darius closed his eyes and the view inside the globe changed. It soared across the White Sea and entered a great, dark forest. Greenery blurred past, faster and faster. Finally, the view slowed and fixed on a clearing. Ranks of Danai filled it from edge to edge. Delilah stood on a spur of rock, flanked by Tethys and six other Danai women with ageless faces. She drew her sword and raised it into the air. Five hundred bows were raised in answer.
“The Matrium,” Darius murmured in wonder. “She’s reached them.”
They watched for a while more but couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. Darius released the flows and the runes faded, the view inside settling into clear blue skies this time.
“Use it to find Meb,” Megaera urged.
Darius activated the globe again but instead of a rapid transformation, the view changed sluggishly, almost reluctantly, settling on roiling fog. He made a noise of frustration.
“What’s wrong with it?” Nazafareen asked, poking at the glass until Darius lightly slapped her hand away.
“Kallisto could never see the girl’s face in her visions,” Herodotus said after a moment. “She might be warded. But perhaps we could try the Vatra?”
Darius nodded. This time, the change was instantaneous—perhaps because he was so close by. An elderly man sat on a throne. He had a very long mustache that reached nearly to his lap. Beside him stood Nicodemus. The view closed in on the Vatra’s face and Nazafareen saw him clearly for the first time. He was staring straight ahead with the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. The Vatra had a webbing of fine lines at the corners of his eyes, which were a blue so dark as to appear almost black. He looked somewhere in his middle years, healthy and strong. Yet there was something about the way the flesh sat on his bones—as though a different man lurked just beneath the surface and this vitality was recently acquired, like new boots that didn’t fit quite right.
The emperor appeared to be speaking to someone out of sight. He did not seem pleased.
“Do you think the captains are in there?” Megaera whispered.
Nazafareen realized they’d all fallen silent—eavesdroppers who feared getting caught.
“Can they hear us?” she mouthed at Herodotus, who shrugged.
“I doubt it,” he replied in a normal tone that made them all jump. “If we can’t hear them, it stands to reason they can’t hear us.”
“I suppose,” she said. “Darius, can you make it so we see the whole room?”
“I’ll try,” he replied.
An instant later, the view jerked backwards as though tied to a string and hovered above the palace.
“Too far,” he muttered to himself. “Gently, now.”
It swooped in nauseating jerks back into the throne room, but this time he managed to hold it some distance away. Captain Mafuone and Captain Kasaika were indeed there, and both women scowled deeply.
“Told you,” Katsu murmured.
Nazafareen barely noticed the dozens of black-armored guards, the simpering courtiers and haughty purple-robed alchemists filling the chamber. She only had eyes for the emperor and the Vatra beside him, who leaned over every now and then to whisper in the emperor’s ear.
“That bastard,” she said. “Go closer to the Vatra. Maybe we can read his lips or something.”
Darius appeared to be gaining control of the talisman, for he managed it fairly smoothly. The view again closed on Nicodemus’s face. Suddenly, he turned and looked straight at the globe, eyes narrowing. Darius hastily pulled back again but the audience appeared to be at an end. The emperor gave a peremptory wave of his hand. Captain Mafuone and Captain Kasaika stalked out of the chamber with stiff backs.
Nicodemus turned away and gave the emperor a low bow. He made some sort of flowery speech. The emperor nodded and the Vatra withdrew through a door behind the throne. The globe pursed him along a corridor and down a long flight of steps that wound into the mountain. All of them leaned over it, hardly breathing, as he entered a series of dimly lit galleries with objects displayed on pedestals and inside glass cases, though he strode past too quickly to tell what they were. At last, Nicodemus reached a door standing partly ajar. He stared at it for a moment, then threw it open. The color drained from his face. A flash of rage contorted his features. The room beyond was empty.
Meb crouched behind one of the dusty glass cases. She was in a huge room with a high ceiling and every tiny sound seemed to echo and amplify itself. She breathed through her mouth, perfectly still, pretending she was just another one of the curious objects on display.
She could hear Nicodemus cursing nearby. It had been a very close thing. He’d left her in the room and said he had business to attend to, but would return shortly. Meb had played along. He was big and strong and she’d seen him work fire.
When he’d taken her knife away and locked the door behind him, she knew. Nicodemus was a liar. She couldn’t imagine what he really wanted her for and didn’t want to find out. She just wanted to go back to the Asperta. So she’d picked the lock with a fishbone. She always kept a few in her pocket. They were useful for all sorts of things. Digging dirt out from her toenails, for example, or scraps of kelp from her teeth.
But she’d never picked a lock before and it took a long time. Her hands were shaking so badly at the end she almost gave up. But she understood the basic idea of tumblers because Captain Kasaika kept a strongbox in her cabin and Meb had watched her open it a hundred times. So she’d kept at it and finally she heard a click and the door cracked open. She’d made it to the end of the corridor when she heard footsteps coming. So Meb ducked behind the glass case and saw him walk by, close enough to touch.
“Meb!”
She squeezed her eyes shut. The voice drew closer. He’d entered the gallery.
“Come on out! I won’t hurt you.”
She didn’t know what he was, but it wasn’t human and it couldn’t be daēva. Maybe he was one of them alchemists. The cook said they did magic with spell dust.
His footsteps grew closer. Then they stopped. “Your parents are waiting!”
The silence stretched out.
“I know you’re here somewhere.” His voice changed. It wasn’t so friendly-sounding anymore. “You’ll never find your way out, Meb. I know every inch of this place. It’s dangerous down here. And if I have to hunt you down, I’ll be angry.”
And then the footsteps passed. She counted to one hundred and crept out of her hiding place. Strange masks peered at her from the cases, alongside bits of jewelry and daggers and other queer relics. Meb dimly sensed power lurking inside some of them, but she had no idea what they did or how to use them.
She crept from shadow to shadow. He was lying again. There was a way out. The same way they’d come in, if she could find it.
You’re Meb the Shark, she thought, biting her lip hard to keep from crying. If he does catch you, he’ll regret it. And when Captain Kasaika finds out, she’ll chop him up for fish bait.
But in her heart Meb knew better.
She dropped to her knees again and started crawling.