raw fish fillets in the same manner, then laid down to rest on a pallet of bedding that felt soggy. Despite the discomfort of the bed.
He felt like he’d only just closed his eyes when the Blue Lady called to him.
“Wake, manling. You don’t get to sleep all the time.”
Equal parts angry and fearful, Shang-Li opened his eyes. He felt for his fighting sticks but they were gone. He stood before the Blue Lady unarmed. Swallow, his father, and his friends were nowhere in sight. He was dreaming, he realized and he relaxed a little at that. Even though he was certain he wasn’t safe, his father and friends would be.
He hoped.
The Blue Lady stood in front of a ruined stone building that had once been multiple stories. Several sections had collapsed, but part of the building stood and would have offered shelter if it had been on land.
“What do you want?”
Amused, the Blue Lady smiled and cocked an eyebrow. “Such insolence, manling. Haven’t you discovered that you live now only at my whim?”
“Do I?”
“Yes.” She walked toward him, totally unafraid. “More than that, your father and your friends live through my generosity as well. Perhaps I should kill one of them to show you how much power I wield here.”
Shang-Li backed down immediately. “That isn’t necessary.”
The Blue Lady shrugged. “I don’t mind killing. I’m actually quite good at it. You should know that from all the ships you’ve seen that I’ve brought down over the years.”
“Why do you target the ships?”
“To gather wealth, of course. Walk with me.”
At first, Shang-Li was going to resist the command, but a trio of sharks swam close to him and got him moving. He fell into step behind her and thought of how her turned back might give him an edge, if only he’d held a weapon. If only he weren’t dreaming.
“Honor will only get you killed.” The Blue Lady walked up a flight of stairs that followed the outside of the building.
“You seek revenge and to expand your power. That will get you killed quicker.”
“Only if I fail, manling. And I don’t plan to fail.”
“You’re here, which means you’ve already failed once.”
The Blue Lady halted at the top of the steps. Her dark eyes blazed silver fire, and for the first time Shang-Li wondered if she had taken on some aspect of the Spellplague after her long exposure as well.
“I didn’t fail, manling.” Her voice was as cold as the gales that swept the far north. “I was betrayed by someone I was foolish enough to love. I should have crushed him as I’d set out to do. Instead, I spared him and let him get close to me. I don’t make mistakes like that anymore.”
“Who threw you out of the Feywild?”
“People who feared me. People who feared my passion and my vision.”
“Your vision for what?”
“My father held a kingdom in the Feywild. I intend to get it back. And you are going to help me. You might find the secrets in Liou Chang’s books. If you can translate the information I need about the portals that General Han used, I will let you live.”
Shang-Li said nothing.
“If you don’t, I’ll keep killing everyone on that ship until you agree to help me. And if you don’t, I will kill you and find someone else from the Standing Tree Monastery. Now that the monks know the books are hereand I’m sure you or your father has let them knowthey will send someone else if you’re not heard from again. And you won’t be.” The blaze in her eyes faded. “Think about my offer, manling. If you do as I ask, I will let you and the others live.”
“If the creatures in the forest don’t kill us?”
The Blue Lady smiled maliciously. “Think of them as the sands in an hourglass, manling. More of them will catch your scents. As soon as enough of them gather at your ship, they won’t wait to hunt you singly anymore. They’ll come for you in force. By then, it will be too late to save everyone.”
“I have to choose between dying and living under your subjugation? That’s not much of a choice.”
“It’s still a choice, manling. And I can be more generous.” The Blue Lady waved at the room below them. The roof had been ripped away and the interior lay exposed. Inside the room, gold ingots, coins, and gems lay in disarray.
“My treasury.” The Blue Lady folded her arms. “Do as I ask, if you’re able, and I can make you wealthy as well.”
Shang-Li looked at all the treasure and knew that Iados wouldn’t believe it when he told him the tale later. The tiefling would be disgusted that he’d missed out on the tour. But wealth had never left much of an impression on Shang-Li. Poverty was another matter and he couldn’t help think about the good that could be done if the treasure could be reclaimed and put into the right hands.
“Think about what I have said, manling.” The Blue Lady leaped into the ocean and swam away. A large shadow lifted from behind the building’s rampartsan enormous squid that trailed her like an undulating shadow.
“Now go.”
Shang-Li woke with a start and shoved at the hand on his shoulder.
“Easy.” Amree looked down at him with concern. “Another bad dream? Or a visit?”
“A visit.” Head swimming, Shang-Li sat up and felt chilled to the bone. “A bad one.”
“Did she tell you why she’s stayed away? Was she weakened?”
Shang-Li shook his head. “It was her choice. She’s giving us time to think.”
“You mean she’s giving you time to think. She hasn’t been in contact with anyone else.”
Shang-Li nodded. “She wants me to translate Liou Chang’s books.”
“Can you?”
“I don’t know. Possibly. I’m good at what I do.”
“I thought you were a monk with ranger training.”
“I’m also good with translations. My father trained me to work in the monastery library. I’m nearly as good as he is.”
Amree smiled. “I’ve seen the two of you fight. That isn’t all he’s trained you in.” “No, I suppose not.”
Her smile faded. “Translating those books is going to endanger a large portion of the Sea of Fallen Stars.”
“If not all of it.” Shang-Li took a deep breath to clear his mind and let it out. “So doing that isn’t an option. I don’t trust the Blue Lady.”
“Good. If you did, I’d be tempted to tie an anchor around your neck and leave you here.” “Thanks.” Shang-Li smiled.
“Why don’t you try to get back to sleep? I can keep watch for a while. If you look like you’re starting to dream again, I’ll wake you.”
Shang-Li closed his eyes and tried to think of good thoughts, but they seemed really far away at the moment. Finally, he slipped over into the darkness of true sleep.
After he woke, the salvage started in earnest. Iados, Thava, Shang-Li, and Swallow’s quartermaster and ship’s pilot had pieced together a map of the terrain drawn it onto the interior of the cargo hold. They had also marked sites they could retreat to if the Blue Lady came calling.
Back at Swallow, Shang-Li swam through the hold and found the area better organized and better lighted. Chunks of glowing coral in short lengths of fishing nets hung from the hold. The combined light made the submerged cargo hold more navigable.
“Put it here,” a sailor instructed Shang-Li, Thava, and Iados as they carried in a stretch of canvas holding salvaged goods. Thankfully the load of casks, barrels, and crates resting on the canvas remained buoyant in the sea, and they were easy to manage.
