The Gathering Storm (Crown of Stars 5)

“Of course, my lady. We’ll all sail together, just as we marched together.”

“No. I mean the men-fish. They want to know where we’re going. They’re following us. But I don’t think they can follow us up onto land.”

Anna shuddered, but although she peered at their wake, she saw no merfolk.

For seven days they sailed north and east along the sea, always in sight of land and mostly in good weather, disturbed by one bracing squall out of the north. They often saw other ships sailing southeast, and three times the ship-master caught sight of a sail that looked like a skulking privateer, but no lone pirate wished to attack a fleet and so they continued on their way unmolested. On the eighth day they put into the port of Sordaia.

At least five hundred Arethousan soldiers stood in tidy ranks along the waterfront, alerted by the number of ships, and it quickly became obvious that any attempt to disembark would be met with force. The governor of the town, an Arethousan potentate from the imperial capital, had sent a representative to speak to the arrivals. The Most Honorable Lord High Chamberlain in Charge of the Governor’s Treasure, Basil, had no beard but was not a priest. He was, Brother Breschius explained, a eunuch.

“He’s had his balls cut off?” exclaimed Matto, horrified. He glanced at Anna and blushed.

“Like Brother Zacharias,” said Thiemo, “but this one doesn’t look the same. He looks softer.”

“What was done to Brother Zacharias was nothing like this,” said Breschius gently. “That was mutilation. No doubt the operation on this man—if we can call him such—was carried out when he was a boy. It’s considered a great honor.”

Thiemo laughed nervously, and Matto was too embarrassed and appalled to speak. After lengthy introductions and some kind of tedious speech on the part of the eunuch, Sanglant sent Brother Heribert, who spoke Arethousan, to the palace with an assortment of gifts—a cloak trimmed with marten fur, a gold treasure box, delicately carved ivory spoons, and an altar cloth embroidered with gold thread. The negotiations took the rest of the day, ending in the late afternoon after Prince Sanglant agreed to go with a small party to the palace the next day as a hostage for the good behavior of his troops.

“The Most Honorable Lord High Chamberlain Basil informs me that we are allowed to set up camp in an abandoned fort built by the former Jinna overlords outside the town walls,” said Heribert, still flushed and sweating from traveling back and forth between harbor and palace in the hot summer sun.

“There won’t be time to disembark many before it gets dark,” said the ship-master, examining the sun. “Maybe it’s better done tomorrow.”

“Or we could send a smaller force tonight to begin setting up,” said Fulk. “That’s what I recommend.”

“Is it safe?” asked Hathui. “The few who disembark tonight will be easy to kill, if these Arethousans intend treachery.”

“It seems a foolish way to provoke our anger,” said Sanglant. “We can disembark fighting, if need be. How would it benefit them to anger us in such a petty way?”

“They are Arethousans, my lord prince,” remarked Lady Bertha, who had been rowed over from another ship. “They imbibe treachery with their mother’s milk. You can’t trust them.”

“Nor do I. Nevertheless, Captain Fulk has the right of it. Captain, send one hundred men tonight. Not Wichman or any of his company. There should be time for them to reach the fort and reconnoiter before it’s too dark to see.”

“I want to go! I want to go!” cried Blessing.

“No.” Sanglant beckoned to Breschius. “I need Heribert to attend me at the palace and you to remain here with the ships until everyone is off. You are the only ones who can speak Arethousan. There must be no misunderstandings.”

“Yes, my lord prince.”

“I want to go see the palace tomorrow with you, Papa!”

“No. You’ll stay with the army.”

“I don’t want to stay! I want to go!” The girl grabbed the railing ready to fling herself over the side and swim for shore.

“No.”

The confinement of a sea voyage had not improved Sanglant’s temper, nor had a day cooling his heels in the harbor made him patient. When he grabbed his daughter’s arm, the girl whimpered.

“I will.” Her mouth quivered, but her gaze remained defiant.

“You will not.” The prince turned to Anna. “You’ll go, Anna, to set up camp for your mistress. And take—” his gaze flicked to Matto and Thiemo, pushed to the back during the day’s negotiations. “Lord Thiemo, you’ll go as well.”

“I want to go!” Blessing tried to wriggle out of her father’s unforgiving grasp.

“If you give me any trouble tonight, Blessing,” her father added softly, “you won’t even be allowed off this ship tomorrow when the troops disembark. You’ll stay here locked in the cabin until we leave this port. Is that understood?”

Fighting back tears, she nodded but did not resist when Sanglant thrust her into Matto’s care. Yet Matto’s furious expression could have wilted flowers as he watched Anna. She felt his gaze like the prick of an arrow on her back as she descended the gangplank. Although she stood on solid earth, the ground still moved and it was difficult to keep her feet under her. With Matto and Blessing both so angry, she dared not look back as they marched away. The unsteady ground made her a little nauseated, and the flap of canvas from the rolled-up tent she was carrying that got loose from the ropes and flipped over her eyes only made the dizziness worse. She staggered as they ascended a broad avenue through the town. With the canvas obscuring her vision she could only see her feet, garbage, and an occasional pile of dog shit. The town stank in a way the ship had not; there wasn’t enough wind to chase out the smell. Voices rang all around her—the streets were crowded—but she heard not a single recognizable word.

How had she ever come so far from Gent? What if she died here in this land of barbarians and foreigners? Was this God’s punishment upon her for her sins? Tears welled in her eyes, but she bit her lip hard until the pain calmed her down. Crying never did any good.