Adversaries Together (25 page)

“
Ya dropped to one knee,
son.” An elder sailor said.

“
We saw you drop down as
your men finished boarding.” Said another holding a cord of
rope.

“
What?”

“
You blanked out, son. No
worries, it happens to those unfamiliar to the sea. You’re just a
bit queasy.”

“
What? No. I don’t get
seasick. Not that fast.”

“
Well, it comes and it goes
doesn’t it.” A third sailor seemed indifferent but grabbed
Carrick’s arm and helped pull him to his feet.

“
No shame in it, son, and
we won’t haze ya ‘bout it.” The old man said good-naturedly and
slapped him on the back.

“
At least, none of your men
saw.” The one with the rope said.

“
I was passed
out?”

“
For only a moment.” The
one that helped him to his feet said offhandedly and then went back
to his work. The other sailor with the rope drifted back to his own
work as well. The old man stood looking him over.

“
I fell.”

“
Head below, son, we’ll
tell the First Mate you’re ready then.”

“
I, yes, alright.” Carrick
felt dazed, what had he been doing? He couldn’t recall, he realized
he needed to rest. Hopefully, Kerr wouldn’t hammer at him once he
got below.

Preparations were coming along well, and
with the arrival of the marines, they were nearly ready to depart.
The sergeant was your standard military dolt, insecure yet
arrogant, and Riv truly hoped he came down with severe seasickness.
Maybe he would have the cook slip some ipecac into the man’s stew.
Petty, but definitely entertaining. Hopefully, once they unloaded
these passengers Asa would be completely over the Essian slight.
Although he wouldn’t admit it, Riv was bored with the Novostos. A
new challenge or, rather, a change of scenery and a break from all
the petty drama of the region was what he wanted. He was fairly
certain he could get Asa to spend a few months in the Avostos, now
that they had the supplies. Maybe even a trip around the southern
horn to the Ashka Sea once his business in Wick was done. Now that
would be an adventure. Few, if any, bothered to make that trip,
likewise few bothered to sail The Deep—too lonely, too empty, and
too unknown. Riv was eager for it and fairly certain that he could
bring Asa around.

Mulling this over as he made his way to the
stern, he would pause to give instructions to crew, critique their
work, and double-check the tasks he had commanded done. It was
always an arduous walk from bow to stern and he regularly found
himself waylaid; this was his second pass since the marines had
come aboard. Fortunately, this afternoon most of the crew was
focused. His attention was divided, between thinking of how to
convince Asa of a new campaign and with dressing down a new
deckhand for the poor rigging, when he noticed one of the marines
ahead of him on the sterncastle.

“
Do it again, tight, Mason
or else I’m going to come back here and let into you. Ya hear?” The
boy nodded, but Riv had already turned away.

“
Hey, there, soldier.” He
went up the stairs with a brisk step just in time to see the door
close to the map room. Already he was composing the tirade he was
going to level at the sergeant for letting his men wander about, a
good scolding on lack of discipline would get under the
mouth-breather’s skin.

Opening the door Riv spoke, “Marine, you
aren’t supposed to be…” The soldier spun around to face him, but in
a chokehold with a dagger at his face was Asa, face reddening as
his lips spurted for air.

“
Close the damn door.” The
soldier barked, and Riv obeyed raising his hands.

“
Now, I don’t know what
this is about soldier…”

“
Oh, I’m rather certain you
do. Or, at least, can imagine.” Riv realized that this wasn’t a
Spire grunt, too confident and his speech was odd. Moving backwards
towards the long window, his grip on Asa tightened and the blade
pressed his captain’s flesh enough to send a thin trickle of blood
down his cheek.

“
I don’t know what your
plan is here but you need…”

The pseudo-soldier locked eyes with Riv, “You
need to tell me where the girl is.”

“
The girl?” Riv was
astonished, “I don’t…what do you…”

“
The girl I was with before
you threw me into the sea,” he spoke with the measured cadence of
an impatient schoolmaster.

“
Wait,” Riv’s eyes widen as
he scrutinized the man, “You were the one from the
marsh?”

Asa was a hard red but this news seemed to
enrage him, he tried to throw his weight around to escape Roth’s
grip.

“
No, my friend,” Roth
looked askance at the Asa, “that is unwise, you might get yourself
skewered.” He raised his blade to Asa’s eye and pressed it flat;
the tip dug into his forehead and raised a bauble of blood. Asa
stiffened, ceasing for the moment to struggle.

“
Though perhaps taking your
eye would give you an excuse for an eye-patch, fill out this
adolescent farce your living. Eh, mate. Eh, pirate.” Roth looked up
at Riv, “Where is the girl?”

“
We turned her over to the
Rikonenese.”

“
How did you break the
blockade?”

“
We tender to the pier,
stay behind the chain. We unload some extra supplies and the guards
there don’t ask questions about who goes where.”

“
Where in the city did you
take her?”

“
About eight blocks in
along the main road, west side, there’s a courthouse, remnants of
the city government are there. We brought the girl to
them.”

“
Tell me how much you’re
lying to me.”

“
I’m not lying.”

Roth pressed the knife to Asa’s face,
“Again.”

“
I’m not lying.”

Roth nodded slightly, “Alright then. That’s
all I need to know,” never taking his eyes off Riv he began to
whisper to Asa, “You know, I owe you for throwing me into the
sea.”

“
Killing him only
guarantees your own death.” Riv spoke with icy certitude, “There’s
no way you’re getting by me and off this ship alive.”

“
No, you’re right,” Roth’s
features softened then he suddenly tossed the dagger at Riv,
wrapped the now free arm around Asa, and threw himself backwards,
shattering the window and sending them both out into the
blue.

Riv bolted toward them, leapt up on the sill
and leaned out. He saw a huge white ring of bubbles marking where
the two men had entered the water. He spun around and ran out to
the sterncastle, bellowing to his crew.

Rikonen,
17
^th
of Mabon

Kira was alone in the courtyard. The
seemingly impossibly high walls of the compound allowed light to
pour in but kept the stench of the city, its ashen air, at bay. It
was unnerving being in Rikonen, being treated well by such horrible
people. That wasn’t fair, she thought. They weren’t horrible. They
had been nothing but kind to her, desired to be nothing but kind.
At times, it was unnerving.

She still had terrifying dreams. They always
started with seeing Roth’s face as he was thrown overboard. She
would scream but no sound would come out. It would turn into a
grotesque gargle as she thrashed in thick black water. She’d feel
her throat tighten, she was beyond panic, and then she was Goshen.
Riddled with arrows, her screams became new wounds as she was
dragged through the marsh by Roth while seeing herself following,
screaming and whining like a child. And just before she woke, it
was all darkness. Voices, men’s voices, all around her, hot breath
that reeked of lemon and yeast pressed on her face like a boot, she
was pinned, she couldn’t move, struggling in absolute silence to
keep the cutting pain a mere blunt hateful ache.

Her eyes would open and she would be nearly
hyperventilating, drenched in sweat and feeling nauseated. They had
granted her a private room but it always took her a few moments to
believe she was actually alone. Every morning she’d collect her
clothes, change, and sprint out to the open garden. She felt an
absolute need to get out into the open. The courtyard was easy to
be in, the mass of hedges and the huge weeping willows, the white
pebble pathways enclosed by lattices thickly laden with morning
glory vines. And the quiet. She felt the silence around her and it
settled her, made her feel like herself.

Every morning, she’d wake from her terrors
and come out here. She could never catch the sunlight on her body
but it was enough and she would pray hemmed in by the silent life
awakening. Always just before noon, Fery would find her. She’d
never call out or seem rushed; she’d simply wander the courtyard
until she stumbled upon Kira. Fery was always looking for her, she
knew, but she never made it seem like she was; she always seemed
genuinely surprised to find Kira. At first, Kira had felt that they
had shuffled her off to Fery to be groomed and taken care of.
However, it became clear that Fery wasn’t there to be her maid;
Fery was her equal, and something more.

“
I’m so glad you’re not
hiding.”

Fery’s voice startled Kira; she turned around
and saw her standing smiling her guileless smile, “I’ve never
hidden from you. Not once.” Kira was trying to be jovial of
late.

“
Hardly,” Fery pursed her
lips in a faux pout, “Just the other day you wouldn’t answer any of
my calls when we were in the auditorium.”

“
I didn’t hear
you.”

Fery nearly snorted, “In an empty auditorium?
Are you serious?”

“
I was thinking of
something else.” Kira scrunched up her face in a playful
manner.

“
I’m always thinking of
something else. This place is dreadful; it’s driving me mad being
cooped up here.”

“
Is the city that
horrible?” Kira asked as they began to walk slowly side by side
through the courtyard.

“
I can’t imagine it’s
gotten any better.” Fery shook her head.

“
You’ve been out
there?”

“
I haven’t always been in
here.” She smiled.

Kira smiled back, “You know what I mean.
After you left your home…”

Fery cut her off, “I didn’t leave my home, I
was driven out.”

Kira paused unsure of what to say as it felt
that she had hit some nerve, “I didn’t realize. You fled? From
looters?”

“
Looters is too kind a
word.” Fery shook her head. “The mobs were just that at first but
soon changed…they were more violent and then more desperate.” She
shook her head as though she were trying to throw the memory from
her mind, and then continued, “My father was gone. He had been
trying to keep the ward hall together, trying to keep some order in
our ward. He’d leave at dusk and return during the small hours,
just before dawn.”

“
Why couldn’t he have
delegated that to someone else?”

Fery shook her head, “He created the civic
system, crafted the ward structure. He refused to let it fall to
panicked mobs.”

“
Were the gangs that
bad?”

“
They would move in swarms
through the wards. Tearing down fences, breaking through doors,
flood alleys and streets, and eventually even barricades looking
for food, fuel. They were desperate, wild. Some were more than
that…they were clearly…flesh hungry.”

“
And the civics were the
only thing holding them back?”

“
They kept the peace,
policed but mostly managed the issues that arose in each ward. Such
banal things but necessary for the city to work well. They weren’t
meant…they couldn’t stand up to the mobs. It was…it made no sense
how quickly everyone turned.” Fery’s voice stuttered.

“
I’m sorry,” Kira said, “I
didn’t mean dredge up…”

“
It’s okay.” Fery patted
Kira’s hand, “They came through our neighborhood, set fire to
homes. Burst into ours thinking because it was so large it must be
filled with food.” Fery gave a desperate sounding laugh, “You know,
I hadn’t eaten for days. Father and I were rationing what little we
had. Cheese mostly, and hard bread. But the mob didn’t know that.
They found nothing but destroyed everything. I ran out, hid, and
was able to wait them out.”

“
And your
father?”

“
I went to the ward hall
after they came through but the hall was burnt out, no one was
there. I was too scared to head back home. So I was on the
streets.”

“
For how long?”

“
Long enough.” Fery’s smile
was pained, “One of the remaining civics found me. Actually, I ran
into him. I was dirty, a skeleton really. They brought me
here.”

“
How many are here? I
hardly see anyone.”

“
Not nearly enough.” Fery
sighed, “But most of the ward leaders, the council has been trying
to figure out a course of action since the mobs arose. The city is
choked off, starving, and already turned against
itself.”

“
I didn’t realize the siege
was so…destructive. We’re told of it in Sulecin as though it were
merely a border being guarded.”

“
The Cathedral wouldn’t
want the Lake folk to know what’s happening here, it would cause
too many problems for the Patriarch.”

“
I don’t think it’s
malicious. We aren’t against you; we aren’t the ones maintaining
The Blockade.” Kira was half-hearted in her defense of her
nation.