He was thinking of Silo. The black spectre of loss hovered over him. It wasn’t only the thought that Silo himself might die - Frey had already been surprised by the depth of feeling he had for the taciturn foreigner - but the idea that one of his crew would be lost. With each new peril they survived, he’d thought of them more and more as one indivisible whole. Whereas he’d often dreamed in the past of ditching his crew and flying off alone, now he couldn’t stand the thought of it. They’d become a miniature society, the denizens of the Ketty Jay, and they needed one another to survive. Somehow they’d achieved a balance that satisfied them all, and when they were in balance they’d been able to achieve extraordinary things. Frey feared losing any of them now, in case that balance would be upset. He feared a return to the way things were.
All this time he’d armoured himself against loss by refusing to care for anyone. Now, somehow, he’d been blindsided. He tried to be angry for allowing himself to become so vulnerable, but he couldn’t muster the feeling. It had all been part of a greater change, one that had seen him gain a level of self-respect he’d never had before the destruction of the Ace of Skulls. He wouldn’t trade the days between that moment and this. Not for anything.
But now Silo lay on the edge of death, left in the hands of an alcoholic doctor and an untrained assistant. Silo, who had taken a bullet so Frey wouldn’t have to. Frey didn’t want to live with that responsibility.
What’s taking them so long? Aren’t they done yet?
As if in response, he heard the infirmary door slide open. He hunched his shoulders as if expecting a blow. Footsteps came up the passageway, boots rapping on metal. They were too light to be Malvery, so it had to be Crake. Frey turned in his seat to be sure, and saw the daemonist arrive in the doorway. His hands were gloved with blood, and he was still wearing his filter mask. He pointed to it and said something quizzical which nobody understood.
‘You can take it off now,’ Jez said, guessing his meaning.
Crake pulled off the mask and took a few deep breaths. ‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘Those things are so stuffy.’
‘Mmm,’ said Jez in mild agreement.
‘Everything alright?’ Crake enquired.
‘Will you bloody well tell me what’s going on back there?!’ Frey exploded, unable to bear the tension any more.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Crake. He grinned. ‘The doc stopped the bleeding and got the bullet out. He says the patient is going to be alright.’
Jez gasped and gave a little clap, a surprisingly girlish reaction from someone Frey had come to think of as rather unfeminine. Frey slumped back into his seat with a sigh, and a huge sense of relaxation spread through his body. Exhaustion and relief piled in together. At last, it was over. A broad smile spread across his face. Crake laughed and slapped him on the shoulder, leaving a grotesque handprint there.
‘Good work, boys,’ Frey said. ‘Bloody good work.’
‘Well, I’ve got to go and help Malvery finish up,’ said Crake. ‘Just thought I’d let you know.’ He disappeared down the passageway again and into the infirmary.
‘We’re here, Cap’n,’ said Jez. ‘All stop. You can start ascending now.’
Frey brought the Ketty Jay to a halt and set her rising through the fog. The haze gradually thinned and the darkness brightened by degrees. The flanks of the mountains became discernible again as forbidding slabs of shadow.
Frey looked up. A smile was still on his lips. Up there was light and freedom. Up there was the prospect of a new life, a luxurious life, one financed with the chest full of Awakener gold they’d stolen from Orkmund. Up there was a second chance for all of them.
‘Never seen you smiling like that, Cap’n,’ Jez said.
‘It’s just, for once, I really feel that everything’s going to be okay.’
Then they broke free of the mist, and a shattering explosion hammered the Ketty Jay, filling the cockpit with dazzling light, shaking them about like rag dolls.
When no further explosion came, Frey blinked away the shock and pulled himself back into his seat.
A swarm of Norbury Equalisers surrounded them. Looming ahead of them, with all of its considerable arsenal trained on the Ketty Jay, was the Delirium Trigger.
Frey blew out his cheeks and huffed a sigh of resignation. ‘Bollocks!’
Thirty-Nine
‘This Is Where Mercy Gets You’ - Dracken’s Choice - Conclusions
A cold wind chased puffs of grey ash across the Blackendraft plains. Frey’s coat flapped restlessly. Bleak horizons encircled them. Overhead, the sky was the colour of an anvil. The Delirium Trigger hung at anchor a short distance away, its hard, cruel lines stark against the emptiness.
The crew of the Ketty Jay stood in a row at the bottom of the cargo ramp. Pinn and Harkins had grounded their craft and been rounded up. Silo, Bess and Slag were missing. Silo was still in the infirmary. Crake had put Bess to sleep to prevent her going berserk and getting them all killed. Slag had vanished into the vents and airways, on some mysterious errand of his own. Nothing would ever separate him from his aircraft.
Facing them was Trinica Dracken and a dozen men from the Delirium Trigger. The men covered Frey and his crew with their pistols while Trinica looked down into the red-lacquered chest that sat at her feet. She stared at the wealth within for a long time, but her ghost-white face and unnatural black eyes revealed nothing of what she was thinking. Finally, she looked up.
‘You did well, Darian,’ she said. ‘Kind of you to carry this all the way from Orkmund’s stronghold, just for me.’
Pinn muttered something unsavoury under his breath. Malvery clipped him round the ear.
‘I should have killed you when I had the chance,’ said Frey. There was no rancour in it; it was simply an observation. ‘I suppose this is where mercy gets you.’
Trinica gave him a dry smile. ‘Consider this the price of a lesson well learned.’
Frey and Trinica gazed at each other across the dusty gap that separated them. The huge silence of the Blackendraft filled the moment.
He couldn’t feel hate for her. He couldn’t manage to feel much more than a distant disappointment. This felt right, somehow. It had been greed that made him jump at Quail’s too-good-to-be-true offer. And while he didn’t blame himself for the many deaths aboard the Ace of Skulls - they were doomed with or without him - he’d played a part in it. He might have saved the Archduke and done a great service to his country, but he did it by initiating a massacre at Retribution Falls. It didn’t seem fair that he should profit from his own stupidity, at the expense of all those lives.
Maybe he owed the world something. For the crew he’d taken into Samarla and left to die. For every Trinica Dracken and Amalicia Thade whom he’d discarded and forgotten as soon as they showed signs of wanting more than he was prepared to give.
For his baby, that died for its parents’ cowardice.
He’d condemned them all when he agreed to take on the Ace of Skulls. But since then, he’d clawed back all he’d lost, and more besides. He’d forged a crew, and he’d reclaimed himself. Perhaps that was all that was needed, in the end.
‘What happens now, Trinica?’ he asked her.
‘I expect Grephen will hang,’ she said. ‘The Awakeners . . . well, they’re too powerful to be brought down, even by this. But I think the Archduke will redouble his efforts to cripple them from now on.’
‘I mean, what happens to us?’
Trinica gave him a bewildered look. ‘How would I know? I expect you’ll get your pardons, even if you’re not there to collect them.’
‘You’re letting us go?’
‘Of course I am,’ she said. ‘Everyone who put a bounty on your head has either withdrawn it or is in no position to pay any more. Why would I want you?’
His crew visibly relaxed. Frey brushed away a lock of hair that was blowing across his forehead.
‘And you?’ he asked.
‘I’ll be heading off somewhere,’ she replied,
nonchalant. ‘I suppose I’ll have to keep out of the Navy’s way from now on, but I’ll survive.’
She motioned to her bosun, who filled a leather bag with coins from the chest. He tied it with a thin piece of rope and gave it to her. It was almost too big to hold in one hand. She weighed it thoughtfully, then hefted it towards Frey, who barely caught it.
‘Finder’s fee,’ she said. ‘That, and you can keep your craft.’
‘That’s uncommonly merciful of you, Trinica.’
She smiled, and this time it wasn’t the chilly, guarded smile he’d come to know. It was the smile of the old Trinica, from a time before her world had become full of horrors, and it flooded him with a bittersweet warmth.
‘I’m feeling sentimental,’ she said. ‘Goodbye, Captain.’
She turned her back on them then, and walked towards the shuttle that sat a short way distant. Her men closed the chest and gathered it up. Frey and his crew watched as they disappeared inside the craft, and it lifted off from the ground, taking them back to the Delirium Trigger.
‘Well,’ said Malvery, squinting against the dust as he watched them dwindle into the distance. ‘That’s just about our luck.’
‘Cheer up!’ said Frey. ‘We’ve got three aircraft, enough ducats to keep us in the sky for a year, and the world at our feet. I’d say we’re the luckiest crew in Vardia right now.’
‘I’d feel a damn sight luckier if that witch hadn’t buggered off with our loot,’ Malvery griped.
Frey slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Look on the bright side. She might have killed us.’
‘There is that,’ Malvery conceded.
‘Is . . . um . . . I was wondering, is anyone else hungry?’ Harkins enquired.
‘We should probably take Silo to a hospital,’ Jez suggested. ‘Get him a good bed and some nurses.’
Frey looked at Malvery. ‘How long before Silo’s capable of getting back to work? In your expert opinion?’
‘Three weeks, I’d say,’ Malvery said. ‘Maybe four.’
Frey scratched the back of his neck. ‘Well, what with all we’ve been through we probably deserve a little port time.’
Pinn’s eyes lit up at the prospect of booze and whores. Frey held up the bag of coins. ‘Drinks are on me tonight!’
There was a cheer from the men.
‘Jez!’ he barked.
‘Cap’n!’
‘Find us a nice, out-of-the-way port with a good hospital, lively nightlife and a place where a man can find a game of Rake.’
‘Skinner’s Gorge?’
‘Skinner’s Gorge sounds good to me.’
There was another cheer, and they slapped each other’s backs and shook hands in wild and vague congratulations. The chest full of ducats was forgotten already. They had all they needed. They were glad just to be alive.
Frey couldn’t keep down a grin. As he looked at the laughing faces of his crew, he was consumed by a surge of affection for these people, these men and women who shared his aircraft and his life. They were happy, and free, and the endless sky awaited them.
It was enough.
How to Play Rake
HISTORY
Rake is a variant of poker, in which the player must make the best five-card hand to win. The game has existed for centuries, since before the fall of the monarchy: the first recorded mention was as far back as 87/29 (UY3069). For most of that time it was confined to the peasantry, and was viewed as a rather vulgar pastime by the rich. It was popularised in Vardia during the First Aerium War, when the mingling of conscripted troops allowed the game to spread. Soon, even the aristocrats who commanded them had caught on, and Rake passed from the taverns and dens into the drawing-rooms of the wealthy. Since then it has become the most popular card game in Vardia.
THE DECK
Rake is played with a standard 52-card Vardic deck, comprising 13 cards of each of the four suits: Skulls, Wings, Fangs and Crosses. Each suit comprises (in order of value) the numbers 2-10, followed by the face cards: Priest, Lady, Duke, Ace. The Ace, the highest card, also functions as the number 1 for the purpose of runs.
SCORING
The object of a hand of Rake is to achieve to best possible combination of five cards. These combinations are scored below, in order of rank. Two pair beats three-of-a-kind, Suits Full beats a run, etc.
High Card
In this case, with no combination possible, only the highest card in the hand is counted. Therefore, a player whose highest card is an Ace beats one whose highest card is only a Priest.
Pair
Two cards of the same value. In the above example, the player has two tens. A higher pair, such as Ladies, will beat him. The remaining cards are disregarded, unless two players have identical pairs, in which case the one with the highest value remaining card wins.
Two Pair
Two pairs of the same value. If two players should have two pair, then the player with the highest pair wins. If both players have the same high pair, the player with the next highest pair wins. In the unlikely event that both have the same two pairs, the remaining card comes into play: again, the player with the highest card wins.
Three-of-a-kind
Three cards of the same value. If two or more players have three-of-a-kind, the highest triplet wins. The above hand would be referred to as Three Dukes.
Run
Five cards of sequential value, but different suits. An Ace in this case can count as either a one or an Ace. If two of more players have a Run, the one incorporating the highest card wins.
Suits Full
Five cards of the same suit. They are referred to as Wings Full, Crosses Full and so on. As in a Run, in the case of two players holding Suits Full, the one whose hand incorporates the highest card wins. If it is the same, they go to the next highest, etc, until the hand is resolved.
Full Pack
A Full Pack is three-of-a-kind of one value and a pair of another. In the case of two players holding it, the higher value three-of-a-kind wins.
Quads
Four cards of the same value. The last card is disregarded. The above hand would be referred to as Four Ladies, or Quad Ladies.
Rake
Five cards of the same suit in sequential order. This is the highest scoring hand in Rake. If two people should have it, the one incorporating the highest card wins.
RETRIBUTION FALLS
The Ace of Skulls
The Ace of Skulls is the most dangerous card in the game of Rake, both for the player who holds it and their opponents. A player who holds the Ace of Skulls must incorporate that card into a scoring hand of three-of-a-kind or higher, or they will automatically lose the hand. The Ace of Skulls must be part of the scoring combination (eg, one of the three cards that forms the three-of-a-kind) - it cannot be a redundant card in the hand, or the player loses. Similarly, if the player cannot manage better than High Card, Pair, or Two Pair - whether the Ace of Skulls is involved or not - the player loses. However, should the player manage to incorporate the Ace of Skulls into a scoring hand of three-of-a-kind or higher, they automatically win the hand, regardless of what their opponents are holding.
PROGRESSION OF PLAY
Rake is played with 2-8 players, though 6 at a table is considered optimum.
The Ante
Players make a minimum bet before the hand commences, the value of which is agreed and determined beforehand. This goes into the pot - the money available to be won - and will be taken by the victor of the hand.
The Deal
Each player is dealt three cards, face down. The player does not show these cards to anyone, but may look at them.
First round of betting
The players bet based on the cards in their hand. A player’s bet must be matched or raised by the players to their left, or they may fold, forfeit their ante and take no further part in the hand. Betting continues until all bets are even, at which point the money goes into the pot. There is no limit or restrictions to the betting in Rake. Players
can choose to bet nothing, as long as nobody around the table raises them.
The Middle Cards