The Automaton's Treasure (5 page)
Read The Automaton's Treasure Online
Authors: Cassandra Rose Clarke
But the captain didn't shoot me. He stalked up to Talia and yanked Safin off her shoulder by the tail. Safin shrieked in protest and swung his tiny clawed hands at the captain's face. Talia shouted something in a language I didn’t recognize, and the captain doubled over, dropping Safin to the floor. Safin landed on his feet and scrambled back to Talia.
The captain peered up at Talia. His face was pale and drawn. “So you’re telling me you have the gold and the jewels to create that
thing
but there's no treasure in your home?”
“I used it all up.” Talia smiled. “And besides, I said no treasure for
you
. I'm not in the habit of helping monsters.”
“I'm not a monster.” The captain straightened, although his steps were wobbling and uncertain. “I was cursed away from sunlight because I once helped you people. I'm never allowed back home. Don't talk to me about monsters.”
Talia didn't seem like she believed him. I was still weeping, tears streaming silently over my face. Hafsa was the only one who noticed.
“If you want treasure so badly,” Talia taunted, “you could always take Safin.”
The captain glared at her. Safin coiled around her feet, but he didn’t seem frightened. If the thought of absconding with Safin had crossed the captain’s mind earlier, I doubted he would attempt it now, not with Talia’s magic moving so thick and clammy though the little room.
“So that's it, then,” the captain said. “You've got nothing.” He turned to me. “Nothing,” he spat. He pointed his pistol at me again.
I didn't want to die. Not yet.
“Wait!” I shouted through my tears. Everyone looked at me, and my thoughts churned to keep up. “What about—what about a reward?”
“Excuse me?” Talia said.
I rubbed my sleeve over my face to dry my eyes. I drew myself up like I was still my father's daughter. “A reward. For bringing back Safin.”
The captain lowered his pistol.
“He clearly wanted to come back. I'm not sure why he was on the
Ocean's Rose—
”
“He was stolen.” Talia lifted her chin. “By pirates like you.”
“The
Ocean's Rose
was a passenger liner,” I said. “It was overtaken by pirates later. Whoever stole him wasn't a pirate.”
Talia didn't say anything.
“So, yes, he was stolen.” I took a deep breath, trying to steady my heartbeat. “But not by us. We brought him back to you. How many people, pirate or otherwise, would have done that? It would have been easy to sail on to Lisirra and have him smashed to pieces for the gold.”
Safin blinked up at me.
“But we didn't. We returned him.”
“Because you thought there was a real treasure.”
“We still returned him.”
I was desperate, but Talia looked at me for a long time, like she was sizing me up. Then Safin slid up her skirts and whispered something in her ear. She looked at him, looked back to me.
“Fine,” she finally said. “Pick something off the shelves. Bottom ones only.”
I felt dizzy. Maybe I wouldn't die today after all.
I crouched down in front of the bottom shelves. It was crowded with charms and spells and potions. Magic. I didn't recognize what sort, whether earth magic or water magic or wind magic, because I'd never really had the capacity for enchantment. But I did recognize that these charms were simple. Basic. The touched crewman could put them together without even trying.
I glanced over at the captain. His gun was still out, and he was glaring at me through his stringy hair.
I decided to take a chance.
“These are worth nothing.” I rose to my feet. “We sailed three months to bring Safin back to you, and he's not even injured. Not missing a single scale. Surely you can part with something a little more powerful than a half-day protection charm.”
Talia grinned. “So you aren't as stupid as you look. Fine. Choose from any shelf.”
I turned back to the shelves. Most of the other items were too advanced for me, so I gestured Hafsa over.
“Those bags there,” she said. “They're excellent for navigation and evading enemies. Most of this wouldn't do us any good, but those—those will do nicely.”
I grabbed the bags off the shelf. They were sewn out of worn velvet and felt empty.
Talia scoffed at our choice. “Sailors,” she muttered. “
Pirates
.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “For the reward.”
I didn't expect her to respond, but instead she spoke in Qilari: “You watch out for that captain. He's not human.”
I didn't know what to say to that. Rafi and Hafsa and the captain had already stepped outside. A few more days and I'd be in Idai City. Maybe the captain wasn't human. I don't think it mattered to his crew, not one bit.
“Goodbye, Safin,” I said, “I'm glad you found your great treasure.”
And then I stepped back out into the thick night. The boats were waiting.
Jokja was gone.
She
was gone. But I was ready to find my way to a new home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cassandra Clarke is a speculative fiction writer and occasional teacher living amongst the beige stucco of Houston, Texas.
She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.
During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.
Unlike many authors, Cassandra does not have a resume of peculiar careers. She worked at a Barnes and Noble once – that’s about as exciting as it gets. In her spare time she enjoys drawing, painting, crocheting, cooking, and quilting, because she is secretly an old lady. She will see literally any movie as long as it’s in a theatre. She watches television. She doesn’t play many video games, though.
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A Strange Chemistry paperback original 2013
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Copyright © Cassandra Rose Clarke 2013
Cassandra Rose Clarke asserts the moral right to be
identified as the author of this work.
Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely
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eBook ISBN: 978 1 90884 485 9
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