Sea of Sighs (Empath Book 2) (14 page)

Port Kahnel was absolute chaos, and Quinn
never more glad that she had her powers in check. She had thought
that the city streets of Everfell were terrible, but they were
nothing compared to the traders leading carts full of wares,
merchants trying to coax people to their stalls—or just generally
shouting—and the droves of bawdy sailors that seemed to be just
about everywhere. As it was, she felt like putting her hands over
her ears just to block out the noise. Maertn looked very much the
same. For his part, Ross had his arms crossed across his chest, and
was openly beaming. A chamberlain no more, the mercenary was
clearly in his element, and didn’t look at all out of place with
his twin swords, leading their captive on a rope as they wound
their way through the crowded streets.

They hadn’t been able to get any information
out of him yet, but Quinn had felt like she was making progress on
his emotions, and hadn’t wanted the man executed. He, like her, had
just been operating under Baron Sammah’s orders. She hadn’t been
executed for that, so why should this man? Ross and Maertn had
disagreed with her logic, but had allowed her to keep him alive
anyway, whilst she still thought she could get information out of
him. Now, they were here at Port Kahnel, looking for a ship to take
them to the Sha’sek island of Farn. Quinn was nervous, tangled
excitement spreading through her stomach and making her limbs feel
weak. She’d never been on a ship before. How would it feel? Would
she be sick? She’d heard so many stories of people being seasick.
Ross said she shouldn’t be, but how did he know? But, she did have
Maertn. No matter how sick she got, he’d be able to help.

“You to wait here, I need to pay an old
friend a visit.”

Quinn was a little shocked when Ross
nonchalantly tossed the rope for the mercenary over to Maertn, who
nearly dropped it in shock. This produced another laugh from Ross,
who clearly wasn’t worried about the mercenary trying to escape.
Quinn tentatively reached out her powers, and couldn’t feel
anything like hope coming from the mercenary. It was likely,
therefore, that he wasn’t going to plan an escape. Anything
bordering on excitement or hope would have made Quinn a lot more
cautious, though all she could feel was despair. “What do you want
me to do with him?”

Ross shrugged, “Whatever you want. Just
don’t lose him.”

Maertn and Quinn both gawked, huddling
closer together as he sauntered off into the crowd. Quinn sent out
another trickle to the mercenary, and though she sensed some
amusement, the man was still mainly petrified of his situation. She
would have been too, if Ross had been her keeper. The man was a
giant, with a solid reputation to match. Quinn was indebted to Eden
for convincing Ross to come with them, and had already decided that
she didn’t know where they’d be without him. Dead, most likely,
though Ross had already thanked more than once for the part she
played in keeping them alive during the mercenary attack.

“Shall we…go to explore?”

Quinn was surprised that Maertn had
suggested something so bold, and despite Ross's warning, she was
curious about the port. She heard about it from so many other
people in Everfell, and after spending most of her life within
Everfell’s dank confines, she thought she should at least see one
more city before departing for the islands of Sha’sek. Preferably,
she’d have seen Eden’s home seat of Sevenspells, but that wasn’t
going to be.

The further Quinn got away from Everfell,
the more she was worried that Eden was slipping from her mind,
despite what they had experienced together. She made a difficult
choice to leave him behind. It still hurt deep in her gut when she
thought about his handsome face and his soulful blue eyes. She had
to keep her resolve, though, about her decision. What other choice
did she have? Death? No, she wasn’t going to hang around Everfell
just to die at the end of a noose.

Quinn snapped out of herself, relenting. She
was in the middle of Port Kahnel, and she was daydreaming. People
were skirting around them, mainly because of the mercenary they led
at the end of a rope. She didn’t think they’d get into any trouble
in the marketplace, so she nodded and agreed with Maertn’s
suggestion that they go for a jaunt. Maertn wound the rope around
his wrist, giving a wave to show the man that he didn’t intend to
let it go.

“Don’t even think of running. I know we’re
not much to look at, but remember, Ross will be coming back. We
know you’re scared of him.”

The mercenary smirked, and looked pointedly
at Quinn. Maertn looked blank in response, but Quinn was pretty
sure the man was saying that Quinn was the one that he had to fear.
She didn’t recognise him from any of the interrogations Sammah had
made her do, but that didn’t mean that he hadn’t been at any of
them. She’d done so many of them for the baron at such a young age
that she couldn’t remember all the men who had guarded her. The
mute men who had served under Sammah had been few and far between.
Quinn felt that, if he’d been there, she should know him. He might
have been one from one of the other cities, and the thought that
there were other men out there potentially able to hunt her down,
sent a cold chill down Quinn’s spine.

She knew then, she needed to go and see this
marketplace; she needed to distract herself from all of the
horrible things happening to her right now. Her life had been an
intense whirlwind, constantly serving other people and being scared
of not just herself but everyone else. Maertn had helped her
survive through that, and Eden had shown her how to thrive, but
now, she could potentially lose both of the men that had shown her
the way. Quinn needed start learning to live for herself.

Quinn had never been out in a city whilst in
control of her empathic abilities; she didn’t consider the
depressed haze in which she’d left Everfell under the king’s ruling
of exile as counting. For the first time in her life, she tried to
look
at what was around her.
Once she got past the odorous stench of fish guts and the clamoring
people around her, Port Kahnel was absolutely mesmerising. The
colours were gorgeous, and the people were completely different
from the restrained personalities she had become accustomed to
meeting in the back halls of the castle at Everfell. Because
Everfell was the seat of the king, it was mainly full of posturing
nobles, looking to wheedle their way up higher in the echelons of
court. Kahnel was a completely different coin, and the place seemed
to be full of many types she hadn’t met before. There were men that
obviously looked like sailors, their neat uniforms in the deep blue
colours of Kahnel. Then, there were men that looked like they’d
hang their own mother for their next drink, and these men, too,
were heading onto ships, laughing and joking with each other. In
amongst the traditional merchants were women dressed in high
skirts, thick kohl on their face and pleading looks in their eyes.
When Quinn tried to feel what they were experiencing, she pulled
back with a blush. She naively hadn’t managed to guess what those
women were selling.

Quinn couldn’t help herself, and Maertn gave
her free rein to wander around and gawp as she pleased. They didn’t
have the spare money for her to buy anything at one of the stalls,
though she was desperate to join in the galvanised haggling taking
place all around her. The market was alive, and Quinn already felt
like such a part of it, that she didn’t think that anyone would
take notice of them. When a meaty fist landed on Maertn’s shoulder,
they both jumped in shock.

“Here, what are you two looking at? And
what’s he about?”

Maertn stalled in his response. The man was
tall, almost as tall as Ross, but far more mean-looking. He had a
vicious scar running from his temple down across his cheek to the
side of his lips, and that split a beard that was wiry with grease.
Some of his teeth were missing, and his nasty black eyes looked
like they haven’t seen a smile in decades.

“Sorry sir, we just looking around…we’ve
never been here before.”

Quinn wished she’d spoken first—Maertn would
get them in trouble. They were both young and new to the road, but
even she knew that was the wrong thing to say.

“Travellers are you? Innocent, I suppose?
I’ve heard that before, and for my money, that man you’re
pretending to haul around doesn’t look very new. It looks like
you’ve seen quite a few places like this. Port Kahnel’s got some
interesting things to see, when you look the right way, and there
are folks as would pay highly for that information.”

“He won’t be talking to anyone, sir,” Quinn
stammered.

“Aye? And why is that, missy? Are you
speaking for
both
the men here? A noble lady, are you?”

“No, but when it comes to our
friend
,
he doesn’t really have a
choice when it comes to talking.” Quinn waved at the mercenary, who
obliged by opening his mouth and jabbing out the black stump, which
was all that was left of his tongue. He made a wheezing noise,
which was more for effect that anything else, but it worked. The
stranger took a stunned step back.

“Why is he…here, he’
s got
no tongue!
”

“Full marks for observation.” Quinn felt
bold, and feeling the confidence flood away from this man, she
realised that being bold by return would be the only way to survive
in this kind of environment. “That happens if you cross me. I’m
sure you don’t want to become one of them.”

Perhaps this was a step too far, and the
stranger recovered from his initial shock, throwing his head back
and laughing. “You? Did this to
him
? I’d love to see the
day.”

Quinn was about to open her mouth with a
response, when another hand clapped on the man’s shoulder. “I’m
sure we could show you, if you just like to come with me.”

Ross had arrived, just in the nick of time.
The man turned, and underneath the scars and gristle, he paled a
little when he saw the man who had approached him.

“Here now, I didn’t mean any harm, I was
just playing with them, that’s all. You know what street they’ve
wandered into. I’
m sure
no one wants
people seeing things that shouldn’t be seen. Compared to some of
the men around here, at least you got me, you see? Some others
would have already stuck a dagger in these youngling’s backs. They
looked like they needed directing to the main marketplace. No harm
done.”

Ross squinted, first at man, then at Quinn
and Maertn, who withered under his stare. “They are new around
here, and they don’t know what street they’re in, that’s for sure.
Don’t worry, they don’t know what they seen, and I will make sure
they don’t know what they’ve seen. Is anyone else going to pay us a
visit?”

“Are you hanging around in the ports?”

“No. We’re on a ship heading out to Farn as
soon as it leaves port.”

The man nodded. “I wouldn’t be expecting any
further troubles, if I were you.”

Ross pinched the man at the base of his neck
and shoulder, squeezing more than he should. Quinn saw the man wilt
slightly, buckling under the pressure. “Then tell those men at the
end of the street to put their daggers back in their belts and be
somewhere else.”

The man scuttled away, glad to get away from
both Ross and Quinn, though Ross was perhaps the primary antagonist
of the situation.

Ross wheeled on them both. “And what you
think you’re doing down here? I said look after the mercenary not
go for a little excursion. Get your asses back to the front of the
port now, before you get us all murdered!”

Bored and only half
listening to the conversations around him, Eden knew what he wanted
to do; it wasn’t sit here and listen to half the court drone on
about themselves. Many eyes right now were on the young and
eligible Lady Isabella of Yender, so Eden slipped out easily,
unnoticed. He headed down stairwells, walking on and on through the
bowels of the castle. The farther he went, the less adornment hung
on the walls. Eventually, the embellishment disappeared, and the
stone wall was left naked but for the occasional guttering torch in
a sconce, lighting the way. Such was the route to the gaols. It
wasn’t meant to be a pleasant walk.

Eden wanted to see his father. Shiver was
huddled in his cell, and the lord looked every inch as miserable as
he should. He was dirty, dishevelled, and hadn’t shaved for the
week that he’d been down there. Eden was surprised, though it made
sense that he wouldn’t be afforded all the luxuries of the nobles
that were staying in the quarters upstairs. Otherwise, what would
be the point?

“Hello father.”

Shiver shot up at seeing his youngest son
standing at the small window in the thick door that barred him in.
“Eden? You came to see me?”

“Of course I did father. Why wouldn’t
I?”

“It’
s
just
…
River
hasn
’t come to see me either; only Rowan has so far. I
thought…” Shiver’s voice cracked in his throat. “I thought that you
were both ashamed of me.”

Eden thought on this, wanting to word his
reply carefully. He was certain everything he said would get back
to Rowan at some point, so he wanted to make sure that he was still
firmly central and neutral in everyone’
s
plans.
“I can’t say that I approve of what’s happened
father, but I can perhaps understand why you’ve done what you’ve
done. I bore the brunt of Sammah’s manipulations myself, and he is
a very persuasive man. I’m sure the rest of the nobility will see
that when it comes to trial, that this wasn’t your fault, and that
perhaps even he used his powers against you. He must have them,
surely, he’s a Sha’sekian after all. Most of them do,
don
’t they?”