Well, in any event, overall she was good for the group…so far. And she had proved her worth and then some. Actually he was pretty pleased with himself for being smart enough to see her potential. Sure she came with a few problems, but didn’t they all? Kilon was a prime example of a member of the group who could easily turn out to be more trouble than he was worth.
“Just stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure. When you come back we’ll play some dice.”
She snorted with laughter when he shot her a look. He turned and ducked out of the door.
Then he shut the door and waited.
And waited.
And just when he was going to give up, the door creaked open and she peeked out. When she saw him standing there she growled in frustration, letting the door hang open as she kicked the wall.
“Are you going to stand out here the whole time?”
“I was thinking about it.”
“Fine! Do whatever your little heart desires. I am going to the captain to see if he has anything to read.”
“You can read?” he asked with surprise.
“And write and cipher. Don’t look so surprised.”
“You’re the only one besides me in the group who can. Well…Kilon, Dru, and Doisy can cipher.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me? But what does surprise me is that Doisy can’t read. He seemed a little more…literate.”
“He has a good memory. Can remember the words to any song he’s heard once. Can recite poetry. But that’s just to get the women.”
“Of course.”
“Dru is young. I’ve been trying to teach him a little, but he gets frustrated easily.”
“Well, so would I if I was failing at something in front of someone I admired. I should try to teach him a little. See if that works.”
“You would do that?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“It seems so…not you.”
“You mean unselfish.”
“I didn’t say that,” he said quickly.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, poking at a splinter in the doorframe. “I am a selfish person. Aren’t we all? We’re all trying to take care of ourselves the best way we know how. How about you go find Dru and send him in here? I’ve got some paper in my saddlebags. We can work on the basics since I’m going to be stuck here and there’s not much else to do.”
“All right. But no more dice. I don’t need you cheating one of my men. That’ll cause far more of a headache than you’ll be worth. Besides, I plan on telling them all about your dice.”
“That is not fair!”
“Be happy I’m not telling the boat crew.”
She tightened her lips and turned back into the room, slamming the door shut hard.
The group was dining in the galley—save for Kyno—shortly before sunset. Kyno wasn’t even in the room, claiming the smell and sight of the food was enough to make him sick. The storm had stopped several hours earlier, but the seas remained rough and rolling. It had slowed their progress toward Calandria significantly. Before they had come down to eat they had been able to make out the dot that was the coastal city on the horizon.
Now the sun was about to set and they were finishing their supper. Maxum, who looked incredibly on edge, rapped the table for attention.
“Listen, I have to leave the ship,” he said.
“We all have to leave the ship. We’ll be at Calandria in a few—”
“No. I have to leave the ship now.”
“Now?” Airi was aghast. “What are you going to do, just jump in the water?”
“Yes.”
“But…why would you do that? That’s crazy!” she ejected. She looked around at the mildly interested faces of the rest of the group. “Am I the only one having problems with this?”
Kilon shrugged. “I don’t ask questions unless it concerns me. If he dies I’ll just take my share and go. Makes no difference to me.”
“It should make a difference to you! He’s your source of revenue at the very least! Without him you don’t make good money.”
“Like I said, I’ll just take my share and go find another way of making coin.”
Airi growled in frustration. “What about you?” she demanded of Doisy.
“I’ve learned that very little can harm our great leader. It’s not really my concern what he chooses to do with his time at sunset every evening.”
“It is every evening, isn’t it,” she said, understanding dawning. “Sunset to…to juquil’s hour or shortly after. Why? Where do you go? Why do you do it?”
“I’m only going to say this once, so make certain you are listening very closely,” Maxum said softly. She leaned in, ready for an explanation. “It is no business of yours what I choose to do with my time.”
“That isn’t good enough. You’re just going to jump overboard and…do what? Swim to shore? That’s ridiculous! We’d go much faster on the ship. Those seas are outrageous. You’d never surv—”
She cut herself off. Maybe he would survive. After all, he had that talisman. But nothing was certain. The talisman could be lost in those wild seas. Why would he take such a risk?
Whatever the reason, he wasn’t willing to share. He got up and walked out of the galley. Airi was hot on his heels.
“This is insane!” she shouted as she followed him above deck. He didn’t hesitate as he walked to the rear of the vessel. “Stop it!” He reached the railing and threw his leg over. She grabbed his arm with all of her strength and shouted, “If you do this I’m coming with you!”
That made him hesitate, a dark storm of anger sweeping over his face. He reached out and grabbed her by the ruffles on her shirt and jerked her close so they were nose to nose.
“That has to be the stupidest thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth, and you are not a woman prone to stupidity. What does it matter to you where I go and why? You’ll get your cut. Doisy will see to that.”
“You think that’s what concerns me? My cut?”
He glanced up, looking toward the setting sun. “What else is it?” he wanted to know.
Airi bit her lip. What else indeed? Why did it matter so much to her what happened to him? She barely knew the man.
“Doisy can’t take on Kyno and Kilon. Dru would play fair, but the other two I’m not so sure. Yeah, this is about my cut.”
A brief glimmer of disappointment flickered in his eyes.
“I’ve told the others. We’ll meet in the Calandria town square at noontide tomorrow. I’ll be there and so will your cut. Doisy will be trading in the gems and such for gold so it can be split. You’ll have your cut tomorrow as long as you show up.”
She bit her lip. “Just make sure you show up,” she said.
He gave her a smile, a brief charming expression. “I always turn up, one way or another. You’ll not be rid of me this easily.”
And with that, he threw himself over the back of the boat. With a cry she leaned over the rail and searched for him in the churning ocean waves…but he never surfaced as far as she could see. For some reason tears stung in her eyes and she angrily rubbed them away.
What did she care if he chose to gamble with his life? It was his life. He could do whatever he wanted with it. This was about her getting her cut. That was all that should matter.
But somehow…it wasn’t.
—
Airi was pacing the Calandria town square anxiously. She had been there since midmorning, searching the crowded square constantly, looking for a man who stood head and shoulders above the rest. She had tried to think of other things. Had tried to take it in stride the way the others were, but she’d had very little success. She found it impossible that he would have made it there, and yet she kept hoping for the impossible.
She saw Doisy first. He came up to her hefting a large sack in his hands. She could only assume it was the gold from their earnings. He had gone around the city exchanging everything for gold that could be easily separated among them. T
hey had a room at an inn—three rooms. One for her and two split between the rest. Kilon had made noises about her getting preferential treatment, but if he thought she was going to share with any of them he was out of his mind.
The men had partied hard the night before. So hard she was almost surprised to see them walking straight. Doisy had disappeared with a young barmaid from the inn about halfway through the night and he looked as though he were much better rested than the others who were filtering in from different directions. Soon the entire group was standing together. All except Maxum. They waited. Kilon took to throwing stones at the feet of passersby, chuckling whenever he caught someone on the ankle and earned a dirty look for his trouble. Doisy was stretched out on a grassy patch of the square and Kyno was seated beside him plucking out blades of grass one at a time. Dru was keeping even with her as she paced back and forth.
“Don’t worry, he’ll be here,” he reassured her.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.
“Me too,” Kilon said. “Come on, we all know the fool’s dead and drowned out there in the ocean. I say we each take twenty percent and then go on our way.”
“You’re a real cold bastard you know that?” she spat at him.
“Come to think of it,” he sneered at her, “why divide it five ways? I say we cut the whore out altogether. It’s not like she was doing anything for us to earn it.”
“Hey, without her we’d have never gotten past that lock,” Doisy said.
“We would have found a way,” Kilon said with an indolent shrug. “Anyone could have forced that lock. I could have.”
“And you would have gotten a body full of spikes for your trouble,” she hissed.
“So you say.”
“If not for her I never would have thought to do what I did,” Dru defended her quickly.
“We would have figured it out. I could have fought that dragon. A few arrows in the brainpan will kill just about anything.”
“Kilon, we’re not cutting her out,” Doisy said. “I’ve got the gold and I say it gets split the way it’s supposed to get split.”
“Seems like I could take that gold right off you,” Kilon said threateningly as he swung his crossbow off his back and into his hands. “An arrow in your brainpan would definitely do the trick, cleric.”
Doisy shouldered the sack and pulled his staff from its place across his back.
“You can try.”
“I can succeed. A staff won’t even get near me. I’ll just sit back here at a distance and fill your handsome face with arrows. Staff won’t do you much good, even if you could move around with the weight of all that gold on you.”
“How about I relieve myself of the weight of all this gold by dumping it out in the middle of the square? Let’s see how much gold you end up with then.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Kilon said, taking aim at Doisy’s head.
Doisy pulled the cord on the bag and hefted it as though he were going to dump it. “Wouldn’t I?”
“Enough.”
The command was hard and succinct. With a gasp Airi spun around. She could hardly believe she was seeing him. He was in a new set of clothes, his hair slicked back into a tail held by a leather thong. He needed a shave but other than that he looked freshly bathed and in perfect health.
Airi pulled back her fist and punched him in the face. The blow landed squarely, but it looked like she hurt her fist far more than she hurt his face. She shook out her hand as he turned his head slowly back to her and smiled.
“I missed you too, my little firebrand.”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your little anything. What I am is furious that you would leave me here thinking…thinking…thinking the worst had happened to you!”
“I told you I would be here.”
“You jumped into the ocean miles away from shore!”
“It was a nice swim that’s for sure.”
“Oh!” she ejected furiously, clenching her fist and struggling not to punch him again. It was clear she couldn’t hurt him, so why bother? Still, it was hard to curb the impulse.
“Come on. Take me to where we are staying and we’ll count out our shares,” he said.
They turned to go and Airi marched along with them in sullen silence. Until she said, “They would have cheated me out of my share.”
“They would have tried. Some of them anyway.” He looked at Kilon.
“Why do you even have him here? He can’t be trusted.”
“Making changes in the group even though you’ve only been a member of it for a few days?” he asked archly.
“I’m just saying he’s a very hostile influence.”
“And he thinks you’re a whore with no right to be following us. We all have our opinions.” He shrugged. “He’s a deadeye. I’ve never met anyone who can shoot like he does as fast as he does.”
She frowned. “There have to be better choices out there.”
“And when I meet one I’ll replace him. He knows that. Yet he still doesn’t try to blend with the group. Doesn’t try to make friends. Doesn’t try to play nice.” Maxum shrugged. “I find him to be the most honest person I know. You always know what he’s thinking at least.”
“An honest person wouldn’t try to cheat someone of their proper earnings.”
“He thinks you have to fight for what you want. I can respect that.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Like I said. He thinks the same thing about you.”
“Only in his case it’s true.” She sighed. “Well, at least you’re willing to give me a fair chance. That’s something I guess.”
He laughed hard. “I’ll say that’s something. You’re lucky to be here.”
“Tell me about it,” she grumbled. “We all are. That dragon would have had us for lunch.”
“We could have beaten him.”
“Great. You’re delusional on top of everything else.”
“What else?” he asked, reaching out to run a finger down the back of her nape, left bare by her tightly bound braids on either side of her head. He would have to see her hair down one day, he thought.
“Stop that!” she scolded, swatting him away. But not before she shivered. “And you know what else. Everything else!”
“You’re just upset because you’re wildly attracted to me and you were worried you’d missed your chance to be with me.”
“Gah! That isn’t even remotely true!”
“That’s all right, you can protest and save face all you want. I know the truth anyway.”
“That’s it, I’m not walking with you.” She marched up to walk beside Doisy, the sound of his laughter echoing in the air.
When they got to the inn they went to the room the men had rented and Doisy dumped the bag of gold on the bed with a sigh of relief. Gold was heavy…and that much gold was even heavier.
“Oh my goodness,” Airi breathed with awe.
“And then there’s the coin we took off the dragon.” He went for a smaller sack Kyno had tied to his waist. The orc gave it to him and Doisy dumped it on the bed as well.
“How am I supposed to carry that much gold?” she whispered, still in awe.
“You don’t, ya twit. You bank it or hide it. I prefer to hide it. Don’t trust banks and a banknote can be taken off you,” Kilon said.
“I prefer to do both. The rest I carry. Come on, let’s get this separated and put aside so that we can go on to the next phase of our adventure,” Maxum urged.
“And what phase is that?”
“Follow me and you’ll find out,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
They sorted out the gold, Maxum’s fifty percent take enormous. But he took enough coin for expenses and more and tucked it into his saddlebags, which the boys had brought to the inn for him the night before. She was surprised Kilon hadn’t gone through them and picked over them like a carrion bird. Maybe he had thought about it, and probably he would have if Maxum had missed their noontid
e meeting.
Airi shuddered, trying not to think of it. If she thought of it then she had to think of him swimming all of that way for hours on end. What a cold and lonely business that must have been. There was nothing that said his talisman protected him from the cold. He must have been freezing in the cold deadfall waters. And winter was hot on deadfall’s heels. Soon camping out in the open would be unbearable. She was lucky her fortunes had turned.
And what a turn they had made! She had enough gold to retire in modest comfort—if she watched her coin closely. She could leave right then and never look back. Calandria was too big a city to suit her—she would prefer something more rustic—but she could leave from there and go anywhere on the Black Continent.
However, if she stayed she could perhaps find more fortune…enough to maybe take her all the way to the Green Continent, where she had always longed to go ever since she was a child. And now that she knew what it was like to travel on a boat—however brief it had been—she knew she could potentially make the voyage. But it was an expensive undertaking and required many modes of travel.
Still, the idea of it held an extraordinary amount of appeal. It was worth putting up with Kilon’s nastiness and Maxum’s arrogance and recklessness to achieve a dream like that.
They left the inn together, she and Maxum, each hoisting a hefty bag of gold. The first place they went to was the bank. Maxum traded a portion of his gold for a key to a lockbox. Then he followed a very burly man into the vault in order to retrieve the box from the wall of many steel boxes, each with its own number. He used the key in the box and dumped the entire sack of gold in the box under the watchful eye of the vault manager.
“Do not forget your number,” the man said in a nasally voice, “and do not lose your key. The amount you paid rents the vault lockbox for exactly one full turning. Today is the fourth day of letting. On the fourth day of letting an annum from now your box will be emptied and the contents confiscated unless you pay to rent it another full turning.”
“A full turning is more than enough time,” Maxum said. And it was. For who would let their money lie for more than a full turning of all the seasons unless they were settled in the area?