The Warrior's Tale (46 page)

I stripped off the brandy-soaked tunic and began to wash up, mentally upgrading my intended dress to something more fitting to greet a princess.

'One other thing, Captain,' Corais said. 'Cholla Yi's flagman has been flapping away like a constipated gull all morning. The admiral wants a meeting. Ur
gently
.'

'And he shall have it,' I said. 'Send him my compliments, and say I'd be pleased if he would attend me within the hour.'

Corais hurried off. I paused in my washing to examine myself in the mirror. It had been a long time since I had consulted it. Our adventures thus far might have been hard on my nerves, but they'd done nothing to injure my looks. My skin glowed with dark health, my hair was bleached nearly white by the sun, but was softer and more manageable than at any time in my life, and my figure was as tight as hard exercise could make it. My cheekbones seemed set higher, the cheeks themselves pinched deeper into shadow, and the whole effect was one that made even my lips appear fuller than before. My eyes were clear blue, with small tight lines of authority fanning out that I had to admit were not unattractive, and only added seasoning.

If you think it was vanity that made me take stock, Scribe, you're mistaken. Ever since I'd accepted Gamelan's tutelage, I'd remembered with some dread my brother's description of the effect the intense practice of magic had on Janos Greycloak. Amalric said Janos's body had been ravaged by it and he'd visibly aged many years. To be certain, Amalric had been speaking of Greycloak's obsession with black magic, but that had done little to allay my fears. So it was with more relief than satisfaction that I took inventory.

Very well, I'll admit one bit of vanity - my skin, which I've always thought my best feature. As I said, it positively glowed, which pleased me to no end. And I thought: Nothing like a little power to put a blush in a woman's cheeks.

I daubed myself with my favourite orange blossom perfume and donned my best dress uniform. I strapped on my sword, pinned on a gold brooch of rank and hooked my spear-and-torch earrings into my lobes. I gave the mirror one last look, feeling a bit like a child playing dressing-up.

'They'll never know, Rali,' I assured myself, and went off to meet the princess.

The ship's carpenter - a miracle-worker in his own right - had conjured enough space next to Gamelan's cabin to create comfortable, if minuscule, quarters for her. At the door I raised my hand to knock, but paused when I heard voices.

The first cackled like an old, scolding hen: 'Come, come, my lady. I know you despise the taste of spirits, but you really must drink this. That old wizard may be blind, bless his soul, but he knows how to brew a nice restorer. My dear departed granny couldn't have done better herself, and she was a favourite of all the great ladies in her time when they felt frail.'

The answering voice was young, and remarkably sweet: 'Oh, very well, Aztarte. Not that I need it. I'm only a little tired. But you'll nag me without mercy if I don't.'

There was a rustling, sounds of dainty gulping, and then a gasp. 'Oh, dear. That's strong enough to take one's breath away. But not
so awful as I feared.' More rustl
ing and gulping as she drank more. 'Mmm. That's almost quite good. The taste improves the more you take. And I must say, the day looks cheerier already. I believe I'll change my view of spirited drink. It's obvious I've only been offered brandy of lesser quality before.'

'You see, Princess Xia,' the crone admonished, 'you should listen to your poor Aztarte. I only want what's best for you. And hasn't that always been the case since the day your dear mother, bless her bones, had me brought from the village to nurse you?'

The princess giggled. It had a marvellous tone, like a lyre. 'And to this day you still think I'm that infant you cuddled,' she said. 'Did you say that wizard prescribed two tumblers of his elixir? I'm quite looking forward to the other.'

Sounds of liquid pouring and drinking. Then: 'Tell me, Aztarte, whom do I have to thank for our good fortune? We'd be at the bottom of the sea with the others - poor things - if these very brave people hadn't risked their lives.'

'It was Captain Antero who ordered the rescue,' the crone said. 'And it was Captain Antero who personally saved you.'

'A captain?' the princess aske
d, sounding puzzled. 'I distinctl
y recall that it was a woman who fished me out! I thought it odd at the time, but I was drowning, you see, so I didn't question her too closely.' Her voice dropped a note, sounding disappointed.

'Oh, well. I can see now that such a thing is not possible. Perhaps I dreamed her. It was such a wondrous dream, Aztarte. She was simply the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her arms and legs so shapely, but muscular as well. Her hair streaming behind her like the mane of a golden horse fairly flying through the seas. A most remarkable vision, you must admit. But, alas, it seems it was only that
...
a dream. What a world it would be if women such as us could aspire to such brave actions.'

'But, my lady,' the crone broke in. 'That was no—' I knocked, cutting her off.

Silence, then Xia said: 'You may enter.'

I did, bowing low as I cleared the door. 'Captain Antero, Your Highness,' I said. 'At your service.'

Princess Xia was agog, staring up at me from her pillows quite speechless. I was stricken dumb for a moment myself. She was exquisite - dark as Corais and as slender, but even in bed I could see she was nearly as tall as me. She wore a borrowed rough white robe, but with her regal bearing it seemed a much richer garment. Her hair fell in long black waves that glistened where the light struck the brightest. Her eyes were wide pools of blackness, bubbling with all the energy and youth of someone eighteen summers old. Dark brows arched over those eyes, setting off high cheekbones and a patrician nose. Her lips were naturally rose-coloured, and perhaps a bit too full if you prefer the ice-maiden look over ripe sensuality.

Xia flushed prettily at my too-close inspection. Then she recovered and clapped her hands with glee. 'You see, Aztarte, I wasn't dreaming. It
was
a woman who rescued me.'

The grey-head who was her servant shook her head at this, setting many dowager's chins in motion. 'But I've been trying to tell you, Your Highness
...
Captain Antero
is
a woman. A woman soldier, bless her heart. Thank the gods she came along when she did, instead of those pirates I see in this crew. Why our virtue wouldn't last a second with the likes of them.'

The princess leaped to her feet and in her excitement her robe fell open and I was treated to a glimpse of high full breasts with nipples like fresh berries, and the pink tender lips of her sex, which was plucked as smooth as a young girl's. I thought for a moment she was going to hug me, then she blushed again when she saw my hungry look, and pulled the robe closed. But not
that
tight, I noted.

Then she said, quite formally: 'I owe you my life, Ca
ptain Antero. And more importantl
y I owe you the lives of twelve of my countrymen, including Aztarte, who is dearer to me than any other - except for my father, of course.'

Aztarte smacked her gums loudly in pleasure at this. 'You're too kind, Princess.' Then she looked at me, her brown eyes startlingly young in such an old face. 'But I must tell you, Captain, I thought I was done for when that big soldier of yours - Polillo, I think her name be - grabbed me by the hair and hoisted me up like I was a flounder that just took the bait.'

I bowed low again. 'We did nothing more than any civilized person would do,' I said. 'If we had been in such a fix, your people would have done the same.'

'I'm not so certai
n of that, Captain,' Xia said. ‘
We are a suspicious people and you appear to be strangers.'

'That we are, my lady,' I said. 'Our leaders sent us on a vital mission, which we accomplished, but in the process we became lost. When we met, I was sailing to your land to beg for assistance in finding our way home.'

Princess Xia laughed. It was a most delightful sound. 'And you shall have it,' she said. 'I'll speak to my father - Lord Kanara. I promise you he'll be happy to use his influence. After all, you've just rescued his only child.'

I was about to thank her, when a knock came on the door. It was Corais.

'Excuse me, Captain,' she said. 'The admiral's boat is on the way.' As she spoke, her eyes were moving to the princess, then to me, then back to the princess again.

'I'll be with you in a minute, Legate,' I said, and Corais shot me a salute - it was quite crisp, and meant, I'm sure, to impress Xia with my importance. Then she ducked out again.

'If you'll forgive me, Princess,' I said. 'Duty calls.'

Her look was not quite as bright as
before. 'Of course,' she said, ‘
you must attend to your admiral.'

I laughed. 'Actually, my lady,' I said, 'he's attending to me. In this fleet the admiral takes
my
orders.'

Xia glowed. 'Fancy that,' she said. 'A woman in command! We must speak again soon, Captain.'

She extended her hand. I bowed over it, brushing her soft flesh with my lips. She shivered. I rose, troubled by the heat rising in mei and made a stiff farewell.

Cholla Yi was pacing my cabin. I'd had my bunkmates clear away their gear and ordered a table and chairs brought in along with a few refreshments. Besides his angry pacing, the first thing I noted was he was alone. Which meant he didn't want witnesses to our conversation.

He whirled to confront me. 'You've landed us into a mess of trouble, Captain Antero,' he snapped. 'And if we don't act fast we're all doomed for a flaying, or worse.'

I was rocked by his accusation. 'What have I done?'

'Saved those Konyan bastards is what you've done.' he said. 'I'll be the first to admit it was a brave act, but it was also a damned foolish one.'

'Since when has rescuing people been foolish?' I asked. 'I thought it was one of the unwritten laws of the sea to come to the aid of your fellow mariner.'

'Your seas, maybe,' he said. 'Not mine. And especially not these waters.'

I had no immediate reply -
I
had an inkling of what was troubling him. Cholla Yi looked at me, then he let his anger whoosh out in a long breath and got himself under control.

'Look, Captain, we've been through a lot together. I still don't like you much - I'm honest enough to admit that. And I expect the feeling's mutual. But I've got a lot of respect for you now that I've seen you in action. However, we've got a big problem here, and me pointing fingers is no help and I'm sorry for that. We haven't had time to talk since that Sarzana business, and that's the root of our trouble.'

The germ of worry that I'd had since Corais had awakened me became a full-blown plague. As full understanding hit me, I sank into a chair and poured us both tu
mblers of strong wine. Cholla Y
i nodded when he saw my look of realization and sat across from me. We both emptied the tumblers and refilled them.

'The way I see it,' Cholla Yi finally said, 'is everything The Sarzana told us was a lie. Not only that, the opposite of everything he said was the real truth. He was a right bastard, he was, and the Konyans hated him for it. They couldn't kill him - because of the curse.
That
was truth. Any Konyan who kills the leader is doomed. So they did the next best thing, which was to stick him on an island. Then they gathered up every wizard and witch in the kingdom and cast a spell on that island so strong that he could never escape.'

'And then we came along,' I said, 'and freed him. But it wasn't our fault! With Gamelan out of action, how were we to know The Sarzana pulled the magical fleece over our eyes?'

'You think the old wizard would've picked up on it?' Cholla Yi asked.

'Of course he would,' I said. 'That may have been one mountain of a blissfulness spell The Sarzana smothered us with, but it would have been no
thing to Lord Gamelan before he
was hurt. As Captain Stryker commented before, I belatedly sensed it myself, but my talents are too new to stand up to an experienced wizard like The Sarzana. Regardless, that's past. We were fooled, but by powerful magic. There's no shame in that.'

'I don't give a pisshole about shame,' Cholla Yi said. 'Getting rich and dying old is all I care about. And right now, you can keep the coin, because I don't see much hope of growing a grey beard if word ofwhat happened leaks out to the wrong people.'

'Which brings us back to the Konyans we rescued,' I said.

'Which brings us back to the Konyans, Cholla Yi agreed. 'Before they came along, we were going to bluff it out. Slip into a port in a hurry, boast about how important we were in Orissa, then cozen some help out of them and get the blazes out before they learned we were the ones who set that devil loose. But the plan - weak as it was - is wrecked now that you rescued those people.

'You can't keep secrets in a fleet. We all live too close. The Konyans will find out and soon as we drop anchor at one of their ports, they'll let the rat out of the barrel. And then we're done for. Looking at it from their lights, we deserve the worst that can be handed out.'