"The physician is with him now," the crewman said.

  Danetha heard the unspoken message. Her aunt would not be welcome in the room with the man.

  Avora took the news calmly. "Then we shall wait here," she said. She made for the nearest bench and sat down. Danetha followed her aunt and plonked down beside her. "He might be dying," she protested.

  Avora turned and studied her. Danetha noticed that the lines on her aunt's face had increased since her last visit, but her white hair was just as luxuriant as ever. Avora had turned white at an unusually young age, and it had proved a useful weapon to discourage unwanted male attention. Danetha wondered how soon she could adopt a Crone persona and be ignored.

  "How is Okrene?" Avora asked.

  "My mother is as insistent as ever that I must leave Iceforged. I fear she has plans to Present me this next Season."

  Avora's lips twitched. "I am thinking you would not be in favour of such a move?"

  "Your thought is right."

  Avora gave her a searching stare. "Danetha, the time for pleasantries is past. We both know your father is not long for this world. You must give serious thought to what you will do when he is gone."

  "I am the eldest. I will inherit Iceforged, and sail the oceans."

  "That is what should happen." Avora's words were cautious. "But Okrene is a devious one. I advise you to have other plans if things do not work out that way."

  CHAPTER THREE

  DANETHA STARED AT HER aunt. She had never even considered the idea that Iceforged would not come to her. Her eldest brother Thatnog was no sailor. He had only been aboard the lizardship a handful of times, and even on that short acquaintance he had upset the crew.

  "Ice would never allow that," she said.

  Avora gave her another of those looks which made Danetha want to fidget. Her aunt's deep blue eyes seemed to see right into her soul. "Just heed my words," she said.

  Danetha wanted to question her more, but at that moment Thonar Bonehealer emerged from Kiboth's rooms. He saw Avora, gave her a scowl, and departed.

  "And now he is gone, perhaps I can do some good," her Aunt said, and stood up.

  Danetha followed her into Kiboth's rooms. Her father lay on the bed, looking out to the ocean. Danetha had not noticed before how shrunken he had become. He was wasting away.

  But most distressing was his constant coughing. The fits lasted long minutes, and left Kiboth lying weakly against his pillows when they passed.

  Avora took her bag into the small cooking area beyond the archway, and heated a kettle of water. While it boiled she took a jar of golden liquid from her pack and retrieved a spoon from a drawer. "This is pure honey," she told Kiboth. "It will ease the roughness of your throat. It has the healing power of the wildflowers of Elain."

  Kiboth made the effort to sit up, and Avora got the honey into him. "That is good," she said when he had not coughed for some minutes. She went to tend the kettle, returning with a mariner's mug of liquid. "Drink this as often as the seizures come," she said, and put it down on the chest beside him.

  Kiboth made no response to her, but his hand reached out to grasp the mug. He took several long sips from it. "That is better," Avora said. "My prescription now is sleep. All ship crews are impoverished in that regard by the time they reach port."

  Kiboth's eyes drooped, and Avora gestured to Danetha to leave the room. They came out into the hallway, and Avora steered Danetha along it, away from the crewman's listening ears.

  "I believe your father will pull through this time," she said. "But when you return to winter in northern climes that good may be undone. Think hard on what I told you, Danetha. You are far too clever to be trapped as the wife of a wealthy Merchant. Have other plans for your life."

  Avora tended Kiboth for several days before he was strong enough to return to Iceforged. Danetha spent that time running between the ship and the Resthouse, and the last two days helping to find a suitable cargo for the ship.

  She accompanied Umutt to the Guildhouse, and was treated to the worst discourtesy she had ever encountered.

  Their cargo was unexciting. Farming implements sat alongside cooking pots and eating utensils in the holds. Umutt had wanted to transport some of the southern isles' beautiful goldwork fabrics, but no Merchant would entrust them with their passage. By the time Iceforged was ready to sail Danetha's spirits were thoroughly depressed.

  They left Sang on a bright morn, and soon picked up the Southern Island Current. The wind and ocean ran true, and took them in swift time past the Irani and Elain Isles.

  The ship lost the current at First Watch. The seas were rough where the Island Current met the Marisol Current. The combination of a black night without the illumination of the moon Palemon, and the unpredictable swells, made for some very hard sailing. It was Morning Watch before the Marisol Current took them swiftly northwards and away from the chaos of clashing winds and waves. The watch system had long ago been thoroughly disrupted, and Danetha was tired enough to sleep on her feet.

  Iceforged made his way steadily northwards, and the days passed in the usual routines of raising, furling, and trimming sail. Danetha did not miss the fact that her father rarely completed an entire watch on deck. The ship and her crew could manage perfectly well without him.

  As they approached the coast of the Northern Alliance Danetha had a rare slack moment. After the chaos of the all-crew-on-deck periods, Sammol had found himself rostered to the opposite watch. But now, today, he was on her watch again.

  Sammol understood exactly how she felt. He had saved her from the attentions of many males, often to his own detriment. The vilest had uttered obscenities about the contamination of her body from his flesh.

  No person should have to suffer that, Danetha thought. She had plans to challenge many such things when she was captain of Iceforged.

  When, not if. Her talks with Aunt Avora had finally got her to accept that Kiboth would not live much longer. Her aunt had urged her to pay close attention to her mother's doings.

  "For when Kiboth is gone there will no longer be any checks on her actions," Avora had said. It had sounded like a prophecy of doom to Danetha.

  She was thinking of such things as she came up on deck for Forenoon Watch. They had left the tropics behind many days ago, and the weather was noticeably cooler. They were in the northern climes now, and autumn was calling.

  Danetha could sense the subtle changes of climate. Years of sailing the oceans had attuned her to the touch of the winds on her face, the smell of the ocean in its different guises. Her face and her nose told her that winter would not be long in coming in these parts.

  As she came up on deck she saw Sammol there, and her father was absent again. She was about to take up her position by the mainmast when the figurehead turned towards them. "I desire a word, Danetha, Sammol," he said. "Come close."

  Danetha hesitated, but Umutt was in command this watch, and said, "Go and talk to Iceforged. When a figurehead calls you, you obey."

  That was an unfamiliar perspective. As a young woman she had gone to talk to him whenever she wanted. She had slowly learned when her attentions were unwanted, but the idea of being summoned by him had never occurred to her.

  She had been taught, as every lizardship sailor was, that she must never touch the figurehead. They were trapped creatures, and breaking the boundaries of their space could result in death if the ship decided to roll and kill you as a result.

  When she reached the figurehead Iceforged looked down at her. Then he did something he had never done before. He extended his hand towards her. Hesitantly, she reached forward and grasped the ship's hand. The flesh felt like smoothly-planed wood warmed in the sun. The lizardship's fingers curled around hers.

  "It is time for warnings," Iceforged said. "My captain plans to put you and Sammol ashore when we return to Dimiel. Your father has finally given in to your mother's demands to have you Presented."

  "I will not be Matched!" Danetha snarled as Sammol came up beside her.

  "He also plans to terminate Sammol's 'prenticeship," the figurehead said.

  "That has been feared for some time," Danetha replied.

  "This last piece of information I now give you must be kept to you and Sammol alone. As we round Oslen Headland you will see a deep, shadowed cave entrance. It is home to the lizardship Seashimmer."

  "Why has no-one ever discovered it?" she asked.

  "Her. She has beached well into the cave. She used her magic to ask the ocean to carry her in, out of view of the greedy and voracious who would see owning a lizardship as the way to their fortune."

  Danetha barked a bitter laugh. "A look at the way we are treated should disabuse them of that."

  "You two-legs do find fine ways to hate each other."

  The grip of his hand tightened, and Danetha became alarmed. "I wish you for my Captain. But if you are denied my Captainship, remember Seashimmer. Beware of your mother, Danetha. And next time you are in Sang, ask Avora who she really is."

  He released her hand and beckoned Sammol forwards. Her friend stepped to the figurehead, and to Danetha's surprise, Ice took his hand too. She felt pride – and jealousy – for that. She made her way back to the foremast, letting the figurehead talk to her friend in private.

  Umutt stood by the mast. His face held a thoughtful expression. "Iceforged has never touched the Captain," he said quietly. "You are honoured."

  "Even so, our continuance on board is in doubt," she said.

  Umutt's eyes took on a sad expression. "You must realise that Kiboth has not much longer in this world. I should not say this, but I wish you to escape your mother's clutches. You deserve more than a dreary Match to a rich Trader. Plan your future well, Danetha."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  DANETHA HAD NEVER EXPECTED the gruff First Mate to speak so freely or so honestly. She wanted him to say more about his thoughts, but before she could ask, Skylar roared a command to furl sail, and she scrambled to her position.

  The next hours were full of furling, raising, and trimming sail. The ocean was rough where the Northern Current broke on the headland, its waters clashing with those of the Petros Current moving in from the east. Danetha had known days when the clash was so severe that they had dropped anchor a way off the headland, to sit and wait out a dangerous blow.

  Today it was not so dangerous, and after furling sail her watch was stood down, and she went gratefully to her bunk to sleep.

  While she slept Iceforged sailed steadily closer to the headland of the Northern Alliance, and when Danetha came back on watch it was close. The land dropped away here in sheer white-stone cliffs, which no mariner could miss as a landmark.

  At great distance, the white face of the rocks appeared as a smooth slab. But as the lizardship sailed closer the mass of angles and fissures and jagged planes became visible. Danetha knew some daredevils had climbed that face, but she did not wish to.

  As the lizardship neared the headland she took position on the starboard side of the mainmast. When Iceforged turned north-west onto the Petros Current she would be well-placed to see the cave where the Seashimmer supposedly lay.

  She found it hard to believe that such a precious treasure as a lizardship could lie hidden there. Surely some bold adventurer had explored all the caves along that, admittedly rough, coastline? Perhaps the lizardship had used her magic to raise the seas and the mists to drive the curious away. She would not find it easy to reach it – if she needed to.

  It would not come to that. Iceforged was hers by right. She could look forward to putting in place all the changes she had wanted to make for years when she came aboard as Captain.

  It was twilight by the time they had negotiated the last course change to bring the lizardship onto the Petros Current. As they passed the Seashimmer's supposed resting place all Danetha could see was a black hole leading into the cliff. It was certainly large enough to accommodate a lizardship, but Danetha could see no sign of her. She would have to discover whether there was some way down to the cave from the clifftop.

  She was certain now that Kiboth would not sail another voyage. He was still in his cabin when he would normally be on deck, fussing over Gundur. Danetha thought the old Navigator would be relieved at the absence of his captain.

  Men and their egos! Iceforged would be very different with her in command.

  She had no more time for rumination as the Petros Current slacked and the crew began the process of re-setting the sails. She lost herself in the rhythms of tending the ship. She was trying not to think about what awaited her at the end of this voyage. She was always reluctant to go ashore and face her Mother these days. Most often their meetings ended in disagreement.

  Iceforged rounded the breakwater, and took her usual berth by the quay. In the frenzy of managing sails and anchors, Danetha did not notice that her father was still absent. He never missed being on deck when the lizardship approached her home port. It deepened her feeling that he would not sail again.

  Umutt detailed Berovar to take the manifest to the Mariner's Guild to arrange for the unloading of their cargo. Most of it was heavy, being made of metals, and the farming implements were bulky and of awkward shapes. Stowing them had been tedious enough, but hauling them out of the holds would be worse.

  Berovar returned in short order, accompanied by six stevedores wearing an unfamiliar uniform. No doubt they were employed by the Merchant who had paid for transport, who wished to ensure that he received all his goods.

  She stepped back out of the way at the first creak of the loading arm on the dock. It swung over Iceforged's deck as Orik Hallandor removed the hold's hatch cover. The white-complexioned human Cargomaster was tall and solid, and stevedores did not argue with him. He had served on Iceforged for many years.

  Danetha joined the crew to slip the ropes around the cargo and secure the knots for lifting. Then they retreated to the deck as the loading arm swung the awkwardly-shaped pieces over to the dock. The stevedores took charge of them then, loading the goods into wheeled carts which they pushed into the Bondhouse across the quay.

  As Danetha watched the first load disappear inside the Bondhouse Umutt approached her. "Your mother has summoned you," he said. "The Captain is already at home. She wishes to speak with you."

  Danetha sighed, and turned to Sammol. "I suppose it cannot be put off any longer."

  "I will wait at home for your news," he said.

  Reluctantly, Danetha left Iceforged and her friend behind, trying to ignore the looks of the crew as they watched her walk along the quay. She had never been sure how she felt about her father. He had always favoured Thatnog – spoiled him, if she was honest. She thought back to Kiboth's rebuke at the Marisol Isles, where he had called her a common sailor. Was that all she was to him? It filled her with fear for the future.

  She turned west and left the quay at her back, climbing the path to Truesilver View, the broad road where the first row of Trader's houses were situated. The most desirable properties faced the sea. All stood apart from each other, and were generations old. Some were constructed of black stone expensively shipped in from the far west coast of the Northern Alliance. Others were made of pale cream blocks, quarried locally.

  The Windhammer house was the last on the row facing the ocean. It was one of the pale stone buildings. The house was surrounded by substantial gardens. Danetha's mother spent much time there in the warmer months, tending her overblown loveflowers. The gardens had a sickly feminine feel with many pink flowers, which Danetha hated. If she were one day to inherit the house, her first act would be to rip up those loveflowers by their roots.

  Her mother was one of those stupid women who believed in romance. Danetha thought that was an idea invented by women to disguise the brutal fact that they were wombs on legs, their bodies existing merely for the satisfaction of male lust. That was a role Danetha never intended to accept.

  As she approached the elaborate wrought-iron gate to the front garden she saw a windcar parked outside the house, its sails idly flapping. Her misgivings rose. She had a good idea who the car belonged to. Her suspicions were confirmed when the portly form of Dalgion Truespeaker bustled down the garden path and into the road. She turned her back on the lawyer, and opened the gate. Kiboth must be bad if he had consented to spend good money on that man's services. He had a natural resistance to lawyers.

  She strode to the front door. She had never had a key to the house, being away on Iceforged most of the time. Now she wondered if that was another sign of her mother's power.

  The front door opened as she reached it, revealing her mother dressed in a black silk gown. Several emotions assaulted Danetha. Her father must be bad if Okrene had changed into her mourning gown. But the thing which bothered her most was the fine beadwork on the dress. Expensive black crystals winked and flashed in the light. They made intricate floral patterns on the bodice, sleeves, and hem of the gown. It must have cost a pretty amount of gold, and would have taken weeks to make. Was Okrene... relishing Kiboth's death?

  "Hurry, my daughter. Your father is waiting for you." There was a gleam of something unpleasant in her mother's eyes. Was it triumph? Had Okrene been waiting for Kiboth to die? There was certainly no sign that her mother would miss Kiboth when he had breathed his last.

  Those were unsettling thoughts, and Danetha thrust them aside and stepped into the handsome hallway, with its redwood-panelled walls and white marble floor. A new tapestry adorned the one long wall, an intricately-worked scene of The Marriage of Algion and Gilvora. Danetha wondered what message her mother wanted to send by that. Gilvora had never wanted that Match, and had hung herself a year later. Was the tapestry a warning?

  Feeling further unsettled, she followed her mother up the fine hardwood carved staircase. At the landing they did not turn into the large marital bedroom with its wide widows and fine view of the ocean, but went to the rear of the house.

  Kiboth had been settled into the best guest room, which overlooked the large garden. Its vegetation was drab at this season, dying back for winter. What cruelty was this to deny her father his last view of the ocean?

 

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