imagination if you must, but trust me, the Night Parade is in our hands.'
'Alden, they are going to know that someone in their organization helped us get this information,' Lucius said gravely. 'Before they may have suspected that we were getting help from the inside, but now they'll know.'
'That doesn't bother me. I'm above suspicion.'
'What makes you think that?' Lucius said.
Alden shrugged. 'Pieraccinni treats me like a son. I have his trust and the respect of all who serve him.'
'This isn't your war,' Lucius said. 'Have you thought of that, Alden?'
'But it is. This is humanity's war. Besides, where's the fun if there's no risk of being caught?'
The mage had no answers for the boy. Alden's words filled him, not with comfort, but with an all-consuming fear for the safety of them all.
Eleven
Night had arrived. Myrmeen and Lucius were stationed in a derelict vessel that had been left less than a mile from shore on the far side of the city, practically beyond the border. The area had proved to be a popular dumping ground for ship owners who did not wish to invest in repairing their unsafe vessels. If the information that Alden had gathered was correct, the darkness would bring a black ship that was owned by the Night Parade. According to the course Alden had laid out, the vessel would pass directly between the ship bearing Lucius and Myrmeen and another that sat a thousand yards across from them, where the remaining Harpers waited with Shandower.
Alden had supplied them with the names of the guards working the port where the ship would arrive. The guards had spotless records, primarily due to their absolute loyalty to one another. Before arriving at Calimport they were mercenaries who had never lost a single man in their twelve years together. No one suspected that they had become corrupted along the way.
The black ship was bearing a cargo of contraband weapons, firesticks that could kill at a distance. Despite, or perhaps because of, Calimport's strict ordinances against these weapons, Pieraccinni would be able to sell these weapons for an exorbitant profit. But the Night Parade's true gain would be in the terror these weapons would inspire.
The Harpers' plan had been simple enough: Capture the Night Parade's ship and pilot the vessel into less corrupt waters, with as many living, inhuman prisoners on board as possible. By the time the guardsmen from the shore could arrive, Myrmeen, Shandower and the Harpers would be safely away. They had taken rooms at a small inn nearby and would return to the safe house in the morning, when the sunlight would burn away any advantage the Night Parade would have tracking them.
In the derelict vessel, Myrmeen looked out to the choppy waters mournfully.
'Your daughter was not happy with your decision,' Lucius whispered in the darkness.
'My daughter's not happy about anything I do,' Myrmeen said. 'We had to leave her behind. It wasn't safe.'
'I know that, but I doubt she is convinced.'
Myrmeen was silent.
Lucius suddenly whispered, 'I have a daughter.'
A shudder passed through Myrmeen. 'What did you say?'
'She is not as old as Krystin, but she is approaching that age. I have a son also. He is much younger.'
Myrmeen stared into his perfectly set face. She wanted to ask him if he was having a joke at her expense, but she knew what an insult that would be if he were telling the truth. His modest reserve with her from the beginning suddenly made sense. 'Do any of the others know about this?'
'No. They have never asked,' he said.
Myrmeen looked out at the dark waters. The moon was resting far above the horizon; the evening was the brightest she had seen since she had arrived in Calimport. She was worried about the operation and did not want to become distracted. However, she knew that the others were in place, and that they could be trusted. Myrmeen turned back to Lucius. 'You understand, this is somewhat surprising. I mean, no offense, but you seem very solitary, not the type to raise a family'
'I suppose. Is something wrong?'
'It's nothing,' she said as she turned away. She did not want to deal with this now.
'Look at me,' he commanded in his rich, dulcet voice.
She did as he said. 'You have the most perfect brown eyes I've ever seen,' she said hoarsely.
Lucius blinked. Twice. The lines around his eyes crinkled and his brow furrowed slightly.
'I don't know where that came from,' Myrmeen said. She looked away, licked her dry lips, and wondered how she had suddenly become one long, raw nerve. 'I'm sorry.'
'Do not be.'
'Lucius,' she said slowly, angry with herself for the words that were tumbling out of her mouth, 'I had the feeling you were somewhat, um, interested in me.'
'Of course I am. I am interested in the welfare of all people.'
'That's not what I meant.'
'I know.'
She laughed. 'You're good. You're very good.'
'So I've been told.'
Her eyes flashed open in amazement. 'Was that an off-color remark? You can tell me. We're friends.'
Lucius rested his hand on her wrist. 'Myrmeen, I would like to think that we are friends.'
The warmth of his hand surprised her.
'We are,' she said, taking his hand in hers, holding it tightly. 'This is a frightening place.'
'It is.'
'In Arabel I'm in control. Here, in so many ways, I'm lost.' She stared directly into his brown eyes. 'When we're away from all this, can I ask you some questions about having a daughter?'
For the first time since they had met, Lucius smiled. 'We have a few minutes. Tell me what you're thinking.'
'It's hard to put into words. It's just that I had all these ideas about what it would be like to have a child. I thought it would solve all my problems, but I was wrong. Everything's more complicated. My time with Krystin seems unreal. I feel detached. There's a wall between us and I can't take it down, even though I put it there.'
Lucius squeezed her hand. 'It is hard to trust anyone.'
'You don't understand. There's this part of me that was relieved when Shandower said she might not be my daughter. Inside, I almost want that to be the case.'
'Perhaps you should try to see her not as your daughter, but simply as herself.'
'I suppose you're right, I-'
Lucius looked up sharply. 'They are here.'
Averting her gaze from his rich brown eyes, Myrmeen saw the black ship stealing close from the horizon. 'How long have they been on the approach?'
'For as long as you have been talking. I saw no need to raise the alarm prematurely.'
'Damn,' she whispered. 'We have to signal the others.'
'No. They can see the ship. Let us prepare ourselves. I am certain they are doing the same.'
Scowling at the mage, Myrmeen walked across the deck of the abandoned vessel and crouched near the guardrail. At her feet she found a child's toy, a doll. Angrily she kicked it from the deck and winced at the slight splash it made.
The group had been outfitted in dark clothing that would not weigh them down as they swam. Their weapons were sealed in bags that Lucius had made buoyant with his spells. Soon the black ship came within a thousand yards. Myrmeen nodded to Lucius, who lowered her into the waters, then joined her.
They swam toward the ship, Myrmeen afraid that her legs would suddenly cramp up, that she would drown alone and helpless in the dark waters. Then she heard the steady, comforting breath of the mage beside her and her fear slowly dissipated, replaced with a resolve to complete this mission as quickly as possible and try to make
