章節 26: The Mast
"I'm healthy. Believe me. Please."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Serenica said, grabbing John Longlines firmly, lifting his other arm and examining his weak muscles. The city watch had outdone their own policies. To give a gun to a man like this, it was sheer madness. Serenica didn't believe he could have killed Herderg with a cannon.
"It's just that we need our informant not to die, you know? You haven't convinced me you're not dying."
The man struggled free from her grasp. "I eat my porridge. I am healthy. You healers, always thinking about the worst. No offense. It's real bad luck that you found me in a storm, you know that, right?"
"That's superstition," Serenica said. "Nothing happened. The ship is still its lovely old self. And you, son, you need to start eating something besides porridge."
"Everything else comes back up again."
"Perhaps it wouldn't be so if you had accustomed yourself to eating like a normal person."
"What did you tell Spade about Kinley?"
"I told him what I know. She's a terribly vain woman."
"I know that. I've met her."
"You're still alive."
"It wasn't my achievement, really. I feel like she would have killed me if…"
Serenica lost her train of thought. They would need so much more than a few men if they were about to kill Kinley. Serenica was certain of it. Then she realized there was little John Longlines could do about her problems.
Perhaps she had sighed in a particularly desperate manner. Nonetheless the boy placed a hand on her shoulder, carefully, as if avoiding to offend her with a physical intrusion to her space, and said with a solemn expression:"I have faith in your people. You've survived her once."
"I don't feel like they're my people. Not yet," Serenica said, astonished at the level of honesty in her own voice.
It felt good and natural to open up to this dim-witted yet somehow specifically bright young man.
"So…"
She needed to get the conversation back to practical matters. Pity she didn't know much about those, though. It was hard enough for her to arrange herself a firearm, let alone a way through Kinley's defenses.
"How many guards are there at nighttime?"
John looked a bit disappointed. He didn't seem practical, either. Serenica guessed he'd rather have heard something about her sense of belonging or the lack of it.
"I don't know for sure. But there sure as hell are more at night."
Serenica thought this sounded unusual. It was a smart move on Kinley's part.
"Do you think there could be a way to attack her in broad daylight?"
"She's often out, doing gods know what. Probably fancy stuff like dining with other rich folks."
"We'll need to find out her schedules."
"I agree, Miss."
"How come are you not fond of her at all?" Serenica laughed. "You're rooting for a group of pirates to kill your old boss!"
"She was bad," John said and shook his head. "The things she wanted us to do to people…"
"Don't get me wrong, I do understand, but it appears you people go through some brainwashing. Everyone knows the city watch is full of absolute sacks of filth."
"That's why I quit."
Serenica was called to a council and she had to leave Longlines to his own devices.
"Our informant has holes in his knowledge of Kinley's whereabouts," Spade said, walking in a small circle in the packed cabin. He was pouring everyone more wine than they could possibly drink, but not having any himself, and the Admiral had to physically push him into a chair.
It was a good thing, for the room got a little less busy, but then the first mate himself started to walk around and talk with a goblet in his hand.
"We can't do without that crucial information. We need someone else. Someone Neulian. Someone who frequents the same places. Preferably a servant."
"Can you people learn to sit still for a minute?" Serenica asked. "My head is spinning."
Looking supremely annoyed, the Admiral sat down. Serenica realized he sat in strange positions, folding his legs this way or that way, as if trying to take back all the years of rigid posturing in the navy.
"We could utilize Swordly," Serenica said. "He plays on both sides."
"Or played, until you scarred him for life and took my shirts," the captain said.
"You're still bitter about that?"
"Not bitter, merely realistic. Swordly will come to his senses. It will only take a little torture."
"You don't sound very sorry about that." Serenica laughed.
"That's because I'm not sorry at all. The snake can choke."
At this point Myorka laughed as well. "You're upset about that time he called you fat, am I right?"
"There's no point in getting upset about facts. The point is, Swordly will talk, but I don't know if he's of much use anymore. Kinley has heard about Serenica robbing him already and will not place any truly valuable information in his hands."
"Is she truly that paranoid or are you projecting?" the bookkeeper asked.
"She has all the reason to be. She has angered every other witch in Neul, including our dainty little healer."
"You're being ironic, aren't you," the first mate said.
"She is scary, you'll have to admit that. One moment she'll be perfectly fine and the next thing you know, she's robbing a grown man at gunpoint."
Serenica laughed at the thought of someone fearing her.
"In any case, we must get the men first. If we have enough power…" Spade nodded and began to write something down.
Serenica knew there was still a long voyage ahead until Aja Vana, but she was already growing increasingly worried about the details of taking Kinley down. The woman had a small army for herself. It would take both manpower and blood-stained cunning to even get within an arm's reach.
Serenica cleaned her pistol, putting all of her attention towards keeping the gun in good shape. It was now one of the most important things she owned. Not only was it a memory from Helen, it was the peak of modern technology and a most useful thing. She had a bad feeling that she would have to use it many times before this was over.
She nearly shot herself into her thigh when she heard an enraged scream from the deck. It sounded like Gadfly, but she couldn't tell for sure.
She went to check it out.
The boatswain was indeed raging at the captain and pointing towards the mast.
"We'll sail for a day and it'll fall! How do you imagine we sail without a darned mast? Shouldn't you stick to your corpses and let the wind do its own thing?"
"Calm your restless mouth," Spade snarled. "Without my jars we'd still be west of Aja."
"Excuse me," Serenica said to Myorka who was standing nearby. "What are they arguing about and since when did Gadfly have the gall to yell at him?"
"The mast needs repairing. Gadfly thinks it's the fault of the storm. Spade knows he is terrible at weather magic."
"What can we possibly do? We're in the middle of nowhere."
"Not exactly, there's an island nearby. We need to go there and meet its inhabitants. Pity no one wants to see them again after last time."
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