She stumbled with her spoken sylph, as if she had little opportunity to practice her native language. Not to mention mangling every second or third word almost beyond recognition.
"I am Neptarik," he replied and turned back to survey the port.
Not so easily diverted, Cloudy moved around with him. "I can show you around my decks, if you like."
"Your decks?" He blinked at the infertile. "Does the ship belong to you?"
Cloudy giggled. "No, silly! Other way round. I am the ship's sylph and she lives inside me." She looked curiously into the other sylph's eyes and her expression grew more solemn, the mischievous glint fading. "You do not believe. No matter. I did not, either, until it happened to me."
"It is a strange idea. I might get used to it."
The infertile's smile returned. "Sure you will. Let me show you around."
***
Balnus and Tahena returned from the city to find Neptarik and the ship's sylph sat on the floor in the stateroom. As the sylphs stood, the humans stared at Cloudy, who bowed politely.
"Apologies for not welcoming you aboard earlier, so I welcome you now. One is missing?"
"Pleased to meet you," said Tahena. "Kelanus is yet to return. I am sure we're in for a good passage."
Cloudy's earpoints twitched and then wilted as she stared the southern woman. "One or two storms maybe, but nothing too bad. I must attend to something. Please excuse me."
Neptarik was surprised by the speed at which the ship sylph excused herself and wondered if she had suddenly turned shy. Why had she fled?
"Well?" demanded Tahena, the moment the door was shut. "What do you think of the ship's sylph?"
Neptarik, who had heard plenty about pirates infesting the seas south of the Imperial Republic, and a miraculous dolphin piloting ships into some harbor or other, considered. "She talks a lot," he replied, eventually. "She says it is because she speaks for two – the ship and herself."
"Did she show you around?" asked Balnus.
Neptarik nodded. "The ship is very impressive. She knows a lot about the Flying Cloud."
"So she should." Tahena smiled. "She's been aboard the ship ever since her launch."
"You're dining with her tonight," Balnus reminded him.
Neptarik nodded. "Sylphs do not forget what they are told. We pay attention. Where is Kelanus-ya?"
"Here," the General replied from the doorway.
"Where've you been?" demanded Tahena. "Sallis –"
Kelanus held up a hand. "I know, Sallis ti Ath could be here any moment. You told me he can follow my trail."
Tahena nodded irritably.
"I've left it all through this city. It should take him some time to follow us to the dockside."
The southern woman was not impressed. "Don't you think ti Ath knows we've come here to take a ship?" Her dark eyes sparkled. "He worked out we were headed here in the first place; he'll guess why."
Kelanus shrugged. "Perhaps. But he'll find few allies, Marka does not bear sway here. He has no authority."
Tahena returned the shrug. "Perhaps not. But the Trading Council might listen to him. They always hold a favorable opinion of Marka, even in the worst of times."
"I think it's time to be getting ready for this meal," interrupted Balnus. "It can't be too much longer before we eat."
***
Tahena looked around at her dining companions. Balnus puffed contentedly on a freshly lit pipe. Captain Liffen drew on his own pipe, face wreathed in gray-blue bacca smoke. Three of the four mates were present: First Mate Sedaro, who had first sent them aboard, Second Mate Steffin and Third Mate Raldtu. The Sailing Master, a middle-aged man named Tefric, also dined. Tahena understood this ship's officer – the only one not a part owner – had responsibility for the ship's sylph. Her care and welfare fell to him. The Fourth Mate and the Master's Mate were on watch.
"So Captain," said Kelanus lazily, "how long before we reach the south?"
"Five weeks."
"That soon?" Kelanus looked genuinely surprised. He had speculated that it would take them at least half a year – if not longer – to walk to their destination. And three months to sail there. "Flying Cloud is that fast?"
"She's a good ship," put in the Sailing Master, forcefully. "And fast. Just overhauled and has a clean bottom."
Liffen smiled. "We could make it in three weeks, but the brandy we're carrying now will be traded for rum at Beshar; the rum for manufactured goods and clothing in the Imperial Republic; that cargo for tea in Emplar; the tea for bacca in the far south. It's the bacca we bring back that pays for the entire voyage, this time around. The next will be exotic fruit. People pay a fortune. We'll be slowed a little by Cloudy." He sighed. "She insists on waiting for the High Festival in Hejiller. Says the ship enjoys it as much as anyone else."
"And you're practiced at finding the best winds," added Kelanus.
The Sailing Master nodded. "That and the ship now knows where we can cut corners."
"The ship now knows?"
Tahena placed a calming hand on the Kelanus's sleeve.
"She's seventeen years old," put in Liffen, "and has plied these waters all that time, together with myself and Tefric. Being the last two original members of the ship's company, we know every inca of the way."
"And the ship sylph, of course," remarked Balnus.
"Cloudy is very useful," agreed Tefric. "We bought her even before the ship's launch. With the help of one of the Gifted and another ship's sylph, of course. No way of telling if ship and sylph will work together or even like each other else."
"One of the Gifted. Of course." Balnus hid his smile behind a wreath of pipe smoke.
Tahena gritted her teeth. Were these soldiers determined to get themselves thrown off before they had even sailed? Unfortunately, Balnus sat too far away to get his shins kicked.
Liffen's smile was polite. "Without a sylph for the ship, long distance sailing would be all but impossible. As it is, most ships still hug the coast and find somewhere to shelter at night. Flying Cloud is one of the few to venture further out and sail through the night."
"Morning Dawn is another," added the Sailing Master. "Scudder sometimes. Matreya does it all the time."
"It's thanks to the ship and sylph working so well together that it's possible at all. Cloudy is indispensable."
"I wonder how she's getting along with Neptarik." Kelanus stroked his chin thoughtfully and grinned. "I'm sure I heard a bump, earlier."
***
Neptarik smiled around the splinter he used to clean between his teeth and patted his stomach with his free hand. The two sylphs had enjoyed their meal of fish and vegetables, though Cloudy left most of the fish for him.
She broke the silence first.
"The ship says that you would make an excellent ship's sylph. Most sylphs do, of course, but very few are happy about it. Humans only bother looking for infertiles... Why do you stare at me like that?"
"What did you say?" Neptarik's voice squeaked.
"You would make an excellent ship's sylph."
"But you said that the ship says."
"She does."
The scout decided this sylph was insane.
Cloudy giggled. "Let me try something," she said, her eyes alight. "If I put my hand on your forehead and you put your hand –"
Neptarik moved instinctively, landing with a loud thud on the far side of the stateroom.
A small frown furrowed the other sylph's brow and she glanced at the palm of her hand, puzzled. She looked up. "Have I frightened you?"
The two sylphs stared at each other from opposite sides of the cabin. One sylph's earpoints twitched in amusement, and the other's were laid as far back as possible.
"What were you going to do?" demanded the male sylph, suspicion thickening his tone.
"Just let the ship into you. It does not hurt. She would tell me things I could not possibly know, then she could tell you things about me. It will help me prove I am not making this up. Or that I
am mad." A small smile twisted her mouth; she must have guessed his thoughts. "She is not too intrusive."
"Are you a sorceress?" His earpoints had still not recovered.
Cloudy laughed. "That is a human ability. How many sylphs do you know who can conjure?"
"I never knew any who claimed to have a ship living inside them, either!"
"You have never been near the sea; there are lots of us."
"All right," muttered Neptarik, earpoints finally coming upright. "Try it again."
The two sylphs moved closer to each other.
"You may find it easier to show her things, perhaps from when you were younger. It is better than having her rummage through." Cloudy gave a villainous smile. "You never know what she might uncover. Secrets you prefer to keep that way perhaps?"
As she pressed a palm to his forehead, he pressed his hand against her head. His awareness of the other sylph grew, he felt the heat from her hand. He...
...felt another presence.
He glanced fearfully to one side, almost dislodging the other's hand. Cloudy gave a small squeak of protest and shifted.
"Do not break the link."
The other presence entered his mind again.
He almost pulled away as the connection hit him. He sensed every inca of the ship, felt wind playing through the rigging, almost tasted the water under her hull. Somehow he knew how many people were aboard the ship, vaguely knowing everything the crew had ever shared with the ship and her sylph.
Show me.
The voice whispered in his mind and he almost replied aloud.
Show me, or I will see for myself.
Neptarik floundered for memories, remembering that some things he must not show.
As quickly as it had come, the presence retreated, leaving a sense of loss. Realization of what inhabited Cloudy flickered and was lost. The moment of knowledge ached, like a forgotten yet familiar word on the tip of his tongue. He relaxed and sagged to the deck, staring at Cloudy with increased respect. The other sylph was possessed, yet still independent.
Cloudy spoke. "She tells me you scout for an army and you were among the first to pass all the tests. But you have not always been honestly employed and this shames you, even though it should not. You were wounded the last time you were involved in a battle and received a commendation. You are proud of that, even if you try to hide it. You yearn for wives and children; having none weighs heavily with you and saddens your heart. The ship senses you feel incomplete."
"Enough," growled Neptarik, wondering how she could guess all of that. Was she a mind reader? He remembered the strange presence, its way of speaking directly into his mind, and grimaced. Perhaps the other sylph played a trick on him.
"Your turn." Again, she put her hand on his forehead.
It took her moons to get as far as you are now, a voice said, directly into his mind. He almost jerked back in surprise, but remembered in time not to break the link.
What?
It took her moons. Don't doubt me; I know you have fear, that is natural the first time. Feel me again. I do not harm, will not harm.
The sensations were all back: the ship, the people aboard her, Cloudy. It came more easily this time. Easier to accept as well as recognize these new feelings.
Do you like my Melnea? Many believe she is the ship, not me. Do not let her tease you too much. I terrified her in the early days, and it took her a long time to grow used to me.
"She says it took you a long time to get used to her," said Neptarik, aloud.
Cloudy grunted as though struck.
She hated being out of sight of land. Almost a year, she feared that above all else. A weakness of your race perhaps.
Neptarik repeated what the ship told him.
Ask her to tell you what I am. I know she wants to.
"She says you want to tell me what you are," he repeated. "She told me to ask you. Well, I ask."
Ship, will you tell me what you are?
Don't want to. I have secrets I do not wish to share. He thought he detected a hint of mockery. As do you. With that, the ship's presence left Neptarik alone in his body.
"Well?"
Cloudy shook herself. "Not tonight," she said, but looked as though she argued with herself. "It is time to sleep; a long day for me tomorrow."
"But the ship –"
"Says too much sometimes." The ship sylph looked angry.
You learn my secrets, yet are unhappy to share your own. Neptarik thought of the secrets he had held back from the ship, or whatever it really was, and relented.
"Tell you when we are at sea." Almost at the stateroom door, Cloudy paused. She looked as if the silent argument still raged. Perhaps she and the ship squabbled. But the ship's powers of persuasion had deserted her: the ship's sylph had made her decision.
"Where are you sleeping tonight?"
Cloudy paused and smiled, hand on the door. "At sea, I usually share the Sailing Master's cabin, or that of the Master's Mate. Sometimes, I sleep in one of the messdecks. But in harbor, my cabin is the sail locker. It is warmer there, not to mention being the traditional place for a ship sylph. Good night."
"Wait! I..." Neptarik's voice trailed off as the door closed softly behind Cloudy.
The scout stared resentfully at it, mind awhirl. So the ship sylph and the crew were not insane to believe in a ship somehow alive. Unless they played a very clever trick on him – and the Father knew how clever humans could be – something obviously lived in the other sylph. And a something that used Cloudy in some way In return, Cloudy enjoyed a much higher status than she would get anywhere else.
It worried him that Cloudy – through whatever lived in her – knew everything going on throughout the ship and everything about the crew. For a few moments, he had felt it. Worse, the ship somehow knew he had secrets to keep. How much had she seen, or worked out, for herself?
But he knew he wanted to learn more.
***
Sallis ti Ath stared resentfully at the city gates, locked and barred for the night. Pointless to hammer on them; he had no authority here. Not that any city where he had authority would open its gates after curfew. Annoying to know his target sheltered somewhere in the city; he would much prefer snaring Kelanus today rather than tomorrow. The trail leading to the city would be two days old in the morning and anything might have happened by then. He worried in case the fugitive had already left Cadister.
Finding a good place to spend the night, ti Ath curried and fed his horse, the animal fresh today. He had not been ridden quite as hard as the eight or nine horses he had used – run nearly to death in a couple of cases – to help him gain on Kelanus. He suspected the Gifted one riding with the fugitive used Sandev's network to supply fresh horses. He doubted if sorcerers were aware of the network. He had no idea who the agents were: his training had ended long before he learned such things. Which in turn forced him to consider who really was helping Kelanus. Sorcerers seemed less and less likely, and that raised awkward questions.
He glanced at Cadister's city walls. Hardly an insignificant city, it might be difficult to locate Kelanus. There might be lots more attempts to deceive him. Sallis believed the man had come here to take ship to the Father-knew-where, so he hoped to catch the renegade before he sailed. Unless he found tracks fresher than the rest, meaning Kelanus had entered by one gate and fled through another, Sallis would head directly for the port itself.
He ran a very real and unacceptable risk of losing his prey. Returning to Marka without Kelanus would be shaming to say the least, and might even adversely affect his future employment prospects. Fortunately, he had not used all his letters-of-right to buy fresh horses. If he must, he could take a ship as well. If only he could discover where his targets were heading. Obviously south, but that covered a lot of potential countries and even more potential ports.
He had no wish to be a tourist, he would make more money in Marka.
He looked up at the stars. "Father, grant me Kelanus Butros," h
e whispered.
***
Neptarik was impressed. The ship hummed with organized activity: everybody knew his place and exactly what to do. The long wooden oars were ready, just in case the light wind failed them. More sailors stood beside halyards and sheets. Although the foremost and aftermost sails were already up and flapping in the wind, they were not sheeted in, these ropes flapping as uselessly as the sails for the moment. More men waited by the lines that secured the Flying Cloud, ready to haul them in as the quay workers let them go. As the sylph watched, dockside workers drew the platform supporting the gangplank away, and singled up the lines securing the ship alongside, ready to be slipped at a moment's notice. He hummed snatches from 'Will I Ever See Home Again?'.
The gentle wind blew across the quayside and towards the sea. According to the Captain, this meant they had no need to "spring off", whatever he meant by that. Neptarik must ask Cloudy later.
Captain Liffen stood behind the helmsmen, watching everything. Each mate had his own station: the First had command of the oarsmen, the Second looked after the middle, or main, mast. Third Mate Raldtu commanded the foremast and headrope, while young Fourth Mate Naltor had the smallest of the masts – the mizzen – and sternrope to contend with. The Sailing Master strode up and down the sterncastle, checking everything from the sails to the direction and strength of the wind, while his mate stood beside the wheel.
Neptarik felt a twinge of envy when he saw who stood the other side of that wheel. Long hair tied back, bare feet planted apart, Cloudy looked fully capable at her station. Thick cotton blue trousers and shirt – both garments a little ragged with black patches in places – replaced the land clothes she wore yesterday. The silvery collar was the same and her eyes were alight with the thrill of leaving the land again.
The scout's attention turned to his companions. Tahena looked nervously at the dockside, but Kelanus and Balnus seemed more interested in the ship. Neptarik's eyes met Tahena's.
"He is here?" No need to ask who "he" was.
Tahena nodded unhappily. "In the city and getting closer every second. Kelanus's trick hasn't worked."
Cloudy and Tefric exchanged a nod.
"Let go for'ard!" called the Sailing Master. "Back the fores'l!"
The headrope splashed into the water as dockworkers freed it from its bollard. Two men on board pulled it in hand-over-hand, coiling it down and away. Men on the sheets forced the foresail against the wind, which helped push the bow away from the quay.