Drawing himself out of the dream trance, Mirar opened his eyes. The sky beyond the entrance of the crevasse he had sheltered in was dark and close, promising bad weather. There was no sign of the Siyee. He stood up, surveyed the ominous clouds, and cursed.
He wouldn’t be travelling far today, but at least it would keep the Siyee out of the sky. For once he wouldn’t spend the day with the nagging sensation of Siyee minds watching him.
Emerging from below deck, Reivan saw that Imenja was standing at the stern. The Voice was leaning against the rail, her head bowed. Reivan had found her like this several times in the last two days. She moved to stand beside her mistress and wasn’t surprised to see that the woman was gazing down at the water.
“It’s amazing how quiet the ship is now that Imi has left us,” she said. “I think the crew miss her.”
“Yes,” Reivan agreed. “Or it might just be your moping.”
Imenja turned to regard Reivan. “Moping?”
“Yes. You’re always gazing off into the distance, or down at the water.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. I’m guessing you’re disappointed that we left without an alliance.”
“You’re guessing wrong,” Imenja told her, smiling. “This is not over yet, Reivan. The king may have sent us on our way, but his people haven’t seen the last of us.” She glanced down at the water. “We are being followed.”
Reivan felt a thrill of excitement and searched the waves, but could see no sign of Elai.
“Do they know you know they’re there?”
Imenja laughed. “That’s quite a mouthful. They suspect I have seen them, but they are not sure.”
“Is this why only the main sail is unfurled?”
“Yes. I don’t want us to outpace them.”
“And why is that?”
“Just hoping fate will favor us with an opportunity. Well, to be truthful, research has as much to do with my plans as fate. Before we left I read the minds of several Elai who’d seen raiders. I learned the most common places where trade ships are attacked.”
“And we’re headed for them?”
“We’re in one already. There is a raider ship to the south, beyond the horizon. I’ve caught the faint thoughts of its crew.”
“You’re hoping we’ll be attacked?”
“No. I doubt raiders would attack us. This isn’t a trading ship. Even if I ordered the sail changed to a plain one, raiders know how to recognize the shape of a hull.”
“So you intend to find and attack them? Is that wise? What if the White heard we had destroyed a ship? They might not learn or care that it was a raider ship.”
Imenja narrowed her eyes. “They would not hear of it, if there were no survivors.”
“But there will be witnesses, if the Elai are still with us.”
“I want them to be. I want to give them the opportunity to take part, if that is possible.” Imenja frowned. “But I’m not sure how. What would you do to harm a raider ship, if you were an Elai warrior?”
“I’m not sure. What advantages do they have over their enemies? They can hold their bream a long time, so they could easily drown their enemy.”
“If they can get to the raiders themselves. I want to know what they could do to harm a
Reivan shrugged. “Elai can easily reach a ship’s hull, and there’s nothing stopping them from trying to damage it. Could they break through it?”
“Not with their bare hands.”
“Nor with their spears, either. They need a weapon designed for the purpose. Or magic.”
“Neither of which we can give them.”
“Can’t we?” Reivan grinned. “There must be woodworking tools on board this ship.”
“Would they work fast enough, in a battle?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. It would depend how long the battle lasted, and how many tools were employed.”
“How else could they fight raiders?”
They had reached the prow of the boat now. “Luring them onto reefs, perhaps?” Reivan suggested. “But I doubt that would work. The raiders must know these waters well. I’m sure I could think of something better, given time and—”
Imenja abruptly lifted a hand to silence her. Eyes half closed, the Second Voice stared at the horizon.
“I think our raiders have found themselves a victim. Yes, a merchant ship sailing west. You had better come up with some ideas quickly, Reivan.”
“I thought you didn’t want the White to hear of this. Or are you planning to sink the merchant ship too.”
“No, I think it might be useful to us if a few merchants are grateful to have been rescued from their attackers by a Pentadrian ship.”
Reivan chuckled. “We can impress two peoples in one fight. But will it come to a fight? Once the raiders see we are approaching they’ll flee.”
“And we will give chase. I will make sure we catch them.”
A thrill of anticipation ran through Reivan.
“The White can read minds,” Imenja reminded her. “They’d soon learn the truth. Look.” She pointed to the south, where sails were just visible on the horizon. “The raiders.” Turning to the east she narrowed her eyes. “The merchant is ahead of us.”
She turned to the helmsman and ordered him to turn out of the wind. As he obeyed, the sails slumped and the ship slowed to a halt. Reivan looked at Imenja questioningly.
“The merchants haven’t noticed their pursuers yet,” Imenja explained. “And we don’t want to put the raiders off yet. The Elai need some time to prepare.”
“They do?”
“Yes. We’re going to show them how to use woodworking tools.”
“We are?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure they already know how. There are some impressive carvings among the gifts the king gave you.”
“Yes, but just because they have talented crafters doesn’t mean their warriors know how to use a mallet and chisel.”
Imenja called to the captain, telling him to be prepared for chase and a battle. At the stern she stopped and called out to the Elai by name. After several minutes two heads appeared several strides from the ship.
“How much do you hate raiders?” she asked them, her voice full of challenge.
The pair exchanged glances, but said nothing.
“There is a raider ship ahead, about to attack a merchant vessel. I intend to stop it. Will you help me?”
“How?” one of the warriors asked.
“Let me show you.” Imenja beckoned to one of the crew. “Bring us carpentry tools. Chisels and mallets. Anything that might be used to put a hole in the hull of a ship.”
“Is that wise, Second Voice?” he asked. “What if they decide to sink us as well?”
“They won’t,” she assured him.
As the man hurried away, Reivan looked at the Elai.
