The magic to fuel the illusionment spell would come at a price. I braced for it as I released my magic and let it flow into my scarf. The soft feel of the fibers vanished. All traces of my scarf had vanished. Only a small touch of magic remained, calling to any magic users who were savvy enough to detect it.
Assuming someone aboard the ship had ill intentions, and assuming they were familiar with magic, this spell should be enough to throw them onto the wrong track. At least for now.
Now, I was faced with an even harder task—to find somewhere safe to store the real bloom, which on a ship of this size, wouldn’t be easy.
Chapter 20
I exited the sleeping quarters with the orb hidden in my bag. Shutting the door behind me, I left the princess to rest and followed the hallway, searching for anywhere to hide the bloom. In all honesty, nowhere was safe. Although the ship was quite large, there were still only a limited number of places for a person to search. Maybe I was being too paranoid by hiding the bloom, but I only trusted a few people on the ship, and I didn’t want to take chances. Not with Faythander’s fate involved.
I had made it to the bottom level of the ship when Kull found me. His roguish grin caught me off guard. He grabbed me in a tight hug, then brushed a kiss on my forehead. His familiar scent of sandalwood, coupled with the warmth of his arms, made my previous insecurities vanish.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.
“You have? I thought you were busy with your sister and what’s-her-name.”
“Ah, yes. So I was.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Nothing of consequence. Heidel worries too much. She feels this trip will be perilous and begged us to reconsider making the journey. It’s nothing new. She’s been trying from the beginning to keep us off this boat.”
“She wanted you to leave the ship?” This was news to me.
“No, she wanted us all to leave.”
“Me included?”
He nodded.
I scrutinized him. “Don’t you find it odd that she would try such a thing? Kull, I know it’s hard for you to see, but she may still be helping Geth. She still carries that goblin blade around, and she’s trying to keep me from making the journey. She may still be under Geth’s influence.”
“No, it’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because she is my sister. I grew up with her. We’ve always been close. I know her motives better than I know anyone else’s. She has had the goblin’s blade since she was a young teenager and found it by accident while on a hunting expedition. It means a great deal to her, and I would not ask a warrior to part with her weapon.
“Also, she feels it is her duty to protect those around her, and she will do what she can to make sure that happens. That is why she wished us to stay on the mainland. I can assure you, she is no threat to anyone.”
“You really think you know her that well?”
He gave me his half grin. “Yes. You needn’t worry about my sister. As I have said, I know her better than anyone else, which is why I was able to escape my previous conversation with her.”
“How did you accomplish that?”
“I was able to leave with the excuse that I’d caught the sailor’s squirts—that the frequent intestinal evacuations were afflicting my bowels. After that, I came down here to hide. Why are you down here?” Kull asked.
“You told her you had diarrhea?”
“Yes, well, it worked out quite well—one of the best excuses I’ve come up with in many years. She didn’t even argue with me.” He paused. “Of course, a bit of acting was involved.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You worry me sometimes.”
“It is well that I do. Your life would be a complete bore without me.”
“In that case, I’m glad I keep you around. Where else would I go to hear of one’s digesting woes?”
“Of course! You understand me exactly,” he said, hugging me.
I fingered my pack’s strap, deciding I’d heard enough, and thought it best to change the subject. “I need to find a safe place for the orb. Even though I don’t have a clue where to put it.”
“Let me help,” he said.
“You know where to hide it?”
“I may have an idea. Several days ago, I helped the crewmen load supplies. I noticed something odd whilst loading stacks of oilskin tarps in the storage compartment. If you’ll follow me, I shall show you what I found.”
We wandered the hallway until we discovered a large room at the hallway’s end. After entering through a narrow door, we weaved through stacks of wooden crates and barrels. Mounds of burlap bags filled the empty spaces between the stacks. Dust particles flitted through the air, highlighted by rays of light that shone through the cracks in the ceiling.
We stopped when we reached the back wall. Kull had to shove a crate out of the way, making its wooden bottom scrape the floor. I glanced back at the door that was barely visible through the stacks of crates, hoping the noise hadn’t caught anyone’s attention.
After Kull had exposed the wall, he pointed out a square of wood that didn’t match the rest of the paneling. “This is what I found, though I’m not sure what it’s hiding—or if it’s hiding anything at all.”
I stepped closer to the board to get a better look. With the cobwebs clinging to everything, it looked as if no one had been back here in quite some time. “Can you remove it?” I asked.
Kull stuck his fingers between the boards. It took him a couple of tries, but the panel finally came off with a crack, leaving him with two pieces of broken wood.
“Well, that’s one way to do it,” I said.
“Can you fix it?”
“I think so.
