Colin spread his hands, raising his eyebrows and looking innocent. 'I tried, Dark Mistress, really I did. I just wasn't inspired. I couldn't fly with you left behind—my heart wasn't in it.'
'That is the same tone of voice you used to use on Dr. Fell when you hadn't done your assignments.'
'It's my paradigm…'
'The making-up-excuses paradigm! You are going to get us all killed if you don't learn to obey orders!
We are going to have a court-martial, and you are going to be punished for this. Don't tell me I can't punish you; I can have Quentin turn you into a newt!'
Vanity said, 'It's my fault. My powers just came back on. I felt…'
'If it's your fault, then you will be punished, too! We can't survive if the group doesn't follow orders!'
Vanity looked shocked, and her lower lip trembled a bit.
Colin stiffened into a proper beefeater's attention and snapped out a salute. 'Leader! Ma'am, yes, ma'am! We thought you were dead! We thought you were committing suicide to let us get away! You forgot to appoint a second-in-command! Ma'am! There was no way to vote in a new leader, ma'am! It was a two-to-two tie! Ma'am! So actually, it's your fault, ma'am, if you don't mind my saying so, ma'am!
Private First Class Fair reports that someone is watching us now! We may be under attack!'
I said to Vanity, 'What's going on?'
I could see that she really didn't want to talk to me, because she thought I was being unreasonable and cruel, but she straightened her spine and stiffened her trembling lip and spat out in a voice as calm and controlled as anything Victor could do: 'The moment you were killed—we thought you were killed—something far away turned and looked at us. Like an alarm bell ringing. I thought it might be Mavors. Ma'am.'
I opened my mouth to say she didn't have to call me 'ma'am,' but then I closed it again. Maybe she did have to. It might be good for her. Build character.
Vanity forgot about being angry with me in the very next second. 'Oh my God! There she is! It's my ship!
Yoo-hoo! Hullo!' And she pointed toward the waters behind me.
There was a flash of lightning at that moment, and all the sea was lit up.
In that single, suspended split-instant of dazzle, I saw the fleet surrounding us.
These were warships of ancient make, like Vanity's ship, but black as night.
The gods of Olympos had come.
Here Ends
