Jalia Prevails (Book 5) (30 page)

“When you get as old as us. boy,” Tred said in a confidential tone. “You will learn that kings and queens are the least trustworthy of people.”

Daniel walked into a room that dripped water from every wall. Jalia was standing in the center of the room with a smirk on her very dirty face.

“I take it you have made this invisible ink revealer?” he asked.

“Of course, I was the best alchemist the guild never knew it had.”

“Since you are in a category of one; I cannot challenge the truth of that.”

Jalia held up the scent bottle, it was almost full of a clear liquid.

“I had to dilute it with water once I distilled it. I didn’t want to burn a hole in the paper,” she said, grinning.

“The evening meal is about to start. Why don’t you explain what the messages said during the meal?”

“But Daniel, I said I would wait until you got back before I read them,” Jalia said, presenting a picture of hurt innocence.

“I take it that you have memorized the messages, so you can leave the evidence here?”

“Naturally. Well, I had to test the solution didn’t I? And while I was testing the messages it seemed a waste not to read them as well.”

Daniel awoke with a start and tried to work out what had disturbed his sleep. Daniel had developed the ability to sleep through a thunderstorm, but wake at the sound a stealthy boot makes when it touches the ground. It wasn’t something threatening he heard because if it had been, he would have been out of the bunk as he woke.

He heard the sound again and recognized it for what it was. Hala was sobbing quietly into her pillow on the bunk above his own.

“It isn’t too late to change your mind,” Daniel said softly. “Nin will still be waiting if you do.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel,” Hala said miserably. “I didn’t mean to wake you, but when I woke up on my own I felt so alone.”

“Are you willing to tell me what happened?” Daniel asked. Hala had turned up at the dining room the previous night, but left almost immediately. All they managed to get from her before she left for their cabin was that she and Nin had broken up.

“Did Nin do something to you? Did he hurt you?” Daniel asked when he received no response to his question.

“No,” Hala said quickly, worried that Daniel might do something to Nin. “It’s just that I was so looking forward to joining the boat.”

“Do you want me to speak to Captain Toren?” Daniel suggested, “I’m sure he could find some way for you to stay.”

Hala sobbed into her pillow more loudly than she had before.

“Typical of a man to open up his mouth and put his foot right in it,” Jalia said from her own bunk. She slid to the floor and stepped to the washbasin. “Hala is upset because there is no future for her on this boat; she has none of the required skills.”

Hala looked up from her pillow in astonishment. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Because I am brilliant, intuitive and I am a woman,” Jalia said smugly. She stuck her tongue out at Daniel, who shook his head in disbelief. “And also because I asked Cara, who was feeling more than a little guilty over what she told you earlier in the day.”

“It was true though,” Hala said gloomily. “I’m glad she pointed it out to me before I committed my life. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life washing dishes and clearing tables.”

“There are worse places the crew have to clean,” Daniel pointed out.

“Every time he opens his mouth, something worse comes out,” Jalia said in disgust as Hala burst into tears yet again. “Daniel, could you stay out of this for a little while?”

Daniel shrugged and started to get dressed. Jalia walked over to their bunks and Daniel got out of her way as she used his bed to step up to Hala’s bunk.

“I’ll bet the thought of finding you something decent to do onboard never occurred to him?” Jalia asked as she put an arm over Hala’s shoulders.

Hala nodded between sobs.

“He’s just a male, Hala. None of them have any brains to speak of and they tend to use that little thing dangling between their legs in place of them.”

Hala giggled between sobs and Daniel snorted in disgust from the other side of the room.

“But there are lots of trades you can take up onboard a boat like this. The Captain of the Speedy Star is a woman, for instance. I don’t suppose she came onboard fully trained, do you? I doubt she even dreamed of becoming a captain when she was your age.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Hala said, sitting up. “I expect you have to buy an apprenticeship, and I don’t have any money.”

“Why don’t you go and talk to the Bosun, Hal Patin?” Jalia suggested. “Ask him what trades the Boat Company trains people in and how you go about signing up for one. Don’t worry about money. Money is easy to win from small brained men who think they are good at fade. I do it all the time.”

Hala’s face brightened at the prospect of doing something positive.

“Do you think it is too early to go now?” she asked.

“They work strange hours on boats, so he may well be up and about. Why don’t you go up to the bridge and enquire.”

Hala was opening the cabin door before she remembered she was naked. “I’d better get dressed first,” she said and stepped about the cabin at a great pace. She ran out of the door less than five minutes later.

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell her to go naked,” Daniel said as the door slammed closed. “To give her an edge with men who can only think with their dangly bits.”

“I had to get her out of the room somehow,” Jalia said sternly. “We still haven’t come up with a plan to solve the Gally Sorn problem.”

Daniel’s mouth dropped open. He probably knew Jalia better than anyone alive and he couldn’t have told anyone whether Jalia had just been nice to Hala for Hala’s sake or simply wanted her out of the room. Jalia was an enigma wrapped up in a mystery.

“We all agreed last night,” Jalia said impatiently. “If Hala’s knows what is going to happen she might tell Nin, regardless of whether she is upset with him or not. Nin is a member of the crew and he would have to tell the Captain.”

Jalia had a great deal of fun the previous night recounting what was on the four sheets of paper. They turned out to be torrid love letters from Maximus to Gally. That fact alone had made them worth stealing as far as Jalia was concerned.

Maximus, it turned out, was one of those men who liked to spell out in graphic detail how he planned to pleasure his lover. Cara found herself choking on a vegetable when Jalia described one such promise.

“Yes, that exactly how Gally will sound doing it,” Jalia had told her as she patted Cara’s back. Unfortunately, her comment started Don choking and spluttering as well.

But the real prize she found was a description of the plan to get the swords off the boat. Jalia’s near perfect memory coupled with her amusing rendition of how she thought Maximus must talk, had been the highlight of the evening. It was lucky they were sitting far from anyone else in the dining room so no one could overhear them.

‘Gally-puss my love, I am going to set fire to the Boat Company buildings in Dalk harbor some days before your return. The opposition will suspect Oto of doing it, of course, but the Boat Company will have no choice but to move the docking of the Steam Dragon to Tallis.’

‘I expect that Jenver and Dalk will put together some plan to either surround or invade the harbor, which is exactly what I want them to do. Let all three of my enemies waste their time trying to own that worthless place.’

‘On the afternoon of the day of the Steam Dragon’s arrival, my men will torch the Boat Company buildings in Tallis Harbor. We have already brought quantities of oil and wood to the basements of the buildings, where they should burn most merrily.’

‘The Boat Company will have to signal to the Steam Dragon to tie up at one of the posts in the river while they decide what to do. I expect there will be chaos as all parties accuse each other of duplicity. I would like to be there to watch it, but I will be busy coming to you.’

‘I have secretly taken ownership of a barge called Slarn’s Pride, which will pull alongside the Steam Dragon on the starboard side in the early hours of the morning. We will transfer the swords to the barge and then you and I will sail into the sunset, the victors in this little affair. My men on the Steam Dragon will reveal themselves to you as the time approaches. Do not be surprised if someone disappears. It is best you not know anything further of that.’

‘Love, your big Maxi.’

The companions had discussed into the night what they might do to thwart Maximus’s plans, but apart from throwing the swords over the side, no one offered up any viable ideas.

“I saw that look in your eyes last night, Daniel al’Degar,” Jalia challenged Daniel in their cabin. “You have an idea, but you weren’t prepared to talk about it. Tell me now.”

It was clear that this was not in any way a request. Daniel grinned and sat on his bunk.

“The first question we have to answer is; what do we want to do with swords that will hurt Gally Sorn the most? As soon as I answered that question, the rest of the plan fell into place.” Daniel sat back, resting his head on his hands against the wall and grinned.

“Do I have to beat this plan out of you?” Jalia asked, her fingers tightening into fists as Daniel continued to grin at her.

“I got most of the idea when Don took me down to look at where they keep the ballast,” Daniel explained.

Jalia sat down and listened impatiently. Daniel was brilliant at creating plans, but he could be longwinded with his expositions.

Jak Venjer met Captain Toren at the pre-arranged time, close to the bridge. The men stared down at the fast moving waters as they leaned out on the railings.

“The Queen sends her regards, Captain,” Jak said quietly. Captain Toren said nothing and waited for anything that might be a question.

“Tonas Mallow will sell the swords to the Queen. She and King Gilan have come to an arrangement and they will jointly occupy the harbor at Tallis by the time we arrive.”

“This has nothing to do with me,” Captain Toren pointed out. “My job is simply to transport goods and passengers to Slarn.”

“It is likely that Gally Sorn will take exception to our plans and it is probable she will try to kill the traders and take the swords by force.”

“Then you must stop her, Jak,” Captain Toren said sharply. “I will not allow my crew to risk their lives to fulfill your dreams of glory.”

“You have taken the Queen’s money and you will defend her interests,” Jak said angrily, his hand straying to his sword.

“I have been paid to keep you informed about Gally Sorn’s activities and that I have done. I told you from the start that my loyalties remain with the Boat Company,” Captain Toren replied, equally as angrily.

“And all you have told me is how many times you have taken her, front, back and even across the damned table. How do I know you have told me all you know? How do I know that you aren’t part of Sorn’s plan to get the swords off the ship? A plan I must admit; I still do not know.”

“How can you be sure of anything?” Captain Toren said as he pushed away from the rail. “That is the risk all spies take. Do not blame me for your failings, for I have treated you and our contract honorably. I shall be glad when you are off my ship. This will be our last meeting, Jak. Do not bother coming to me again.”

“You just can’t walk away,” Jak shouted at Captain Toren’s retreating back.

“If I find you have been working for Sorn…,” Jak muttered as he walked back to his cabin.

Jalia mumbled under her breath in annoyance as she searched the boat. It was typical of Daniel to come up with a staggeringly brilliant plan that couldn’t be executed because they lacked one stupid thing. It was while in the process of breaking into a storage room that she encountered Nin.

“Jalia, I need your help,” Nin said before he noticed what she was doing. “What are you looking in there for?” he asked as Jalia guiltily shut the storage room door.

“I, err, thought it might be a quick way back to our cabin,” she said a little weakly. Jalia wondered if she was coming down with something. Nin usually made enough noise walking down a corridor to be heard fifty yards away. How had he managed to get so close?