“The Margravina wants me in Akhaia, not squandering precious hours in this dirty little town,” he said. “Your terms are acceptable. If you deliver the crate to the dock inspector in Valonikos, your father will be a free man. For the time being, he shall remain here in the harbor master’s custody.”
The harbor master finished scribbling out the contract and blew on the ink to dry it. He offered the sheet of parchment to me. I dragged it across the table.
“Can you write your name?” The commander pressed a pen into my hand.
I glared at him. “Of course I can. I might not be a commander in a very fine coat, but I’m not stupid.”
From the sharp look he gave me, I knew I had annoyed him. He must have been eager indeed to be rid of me though, because he said nothing.
Pa says you should read every word of a contract at least twice, but the language was flowery and included many clauses that went off on endless tangents. I exhaled. Calm. Like the river. I tried to visualize water flowing peacefully among rocks and reeds, but my emotions were as riotous as ocean breakers. The words swam before me like black spiders on the parchment. I gave up and signed “Caroline Oresteia” next to the X at the bottom.
And then it was done.
CHAPTER
THREE
A wherryman, Pa says, follows no man but the river. A wherryman is free.
As I stepped onto the harbor master’s porch, I knew it wasn’t true. The scroll I held clutched in my hand told me that. It weighed me down.
“I shall escort you to the docks, of course,” the commander said. He didn’t look as if he wished to escort me any more than I wished to be escorted by him. I reckon he was itching to be off already with his company, going to their important duties in Akhaia.
“I’m not likely to get far, even if I leave now. The wind was all but dead when we put into Hespera’s Watch.”
He frowned. “Was it?”
A fresh easterly breeze cooled the sweat on my forehead. “That’s funny,” I said. “The wind’s changed. This wind is blowing out of the east, from the sea.”
For a moment I thought I could smell the salt on the air. But that couldn’t be. Hespera’s Watch was far inland.
I lifted my head to look squarely up at the commander. “I’m not leaving without saying good-bye.”
I was sure he would deny me, but he did not. “Your father is in the brig. I’ll expect you to return in five minutes.”
I found Fee outside the brig, squatting with her webbed toes spread in the grass. Her eyes glowed dimly in the dark, two glassy orbs.
“I’m going to Valonikos.” I hardly believed the words myself. “You’ll come with me? Please?”
In the riverlands it’s considered good luck if a frogman takes a fancy to your wherry. Fee was loyal to Cormorant, having sailed with us for many years, but her contract was with Pa, not me. I honestly didn’t know what I would do if she said no. Wherries can be sailed single-handed, but they are designed for a crew of at least two.
She hopped up and nudged me with her shoulder, touching me just above my elbow. The frogmen aren’t a tall people.
“Help,” she said.
“Thanks, Fee,” I told her. “I can’t do it without you.”
The brig was a dank low-ceilinged shanty. I almost bumped my head on the lantern that hung from a beam. The place reeked of sweat and mold, and I doubted the packed straw on the floor was clean. Rusted iron bars split the right side of the room into two cells. The first one was empty. Pa sat on a three-legged stool in the second cell, his coat unbuttoned and trailing around him.
At the sound of the door swinging shut, he looked up. One eye was reddened, but other than that he seemed perfectly at his leisure. Relief rushed through me. I ran to kneel beside his cell, not caring if the damp rotted straw stained my trousers.
“Pa, don’t be mad at me.” The words tumbled out. “I told the commander I’d do it.”
His fists gripped the bars. “Caro, no. No.”
Tears burned my eyes and throat. “They were going to send you to a prison ship. And take Cormorant away …” I explained what had happened. As I finished, my voice trailed off into the silence of the dark room.
Pa rubbed his chin, his face unusually still. I steeled myself for a scolding. I’d been reckless. I was gambling with both our lives, and with Cormorant. But he said nothing.
“You don’t think I’m ready.” I dared to whisper my doubts aloud. “You said when my fate came for me, I’d know.” I lifted my chin. “What if this is it?”
He exchanged glances with Fee. “Oh, Caro. Of course you’re ready.” He looked down at his hands. “Perhaps it’s me that’s not ready.”
“That cutter doesn’t know the riverlands. But I do.” I sniffed. “I reckon almost as well as you do. I know you were trying to protect me, when you told him you wouldn’t run the cargo.” I touched my pocket, where I’d tucked the letter of marque. “But I can do this.”
“It ain’t exactly the easiest run.” Pa sighed. “But I suppose it’s too late now. You already signed the contract?”
I nodded.
“You read it from front to back, I hope?”
I rolled my eyes. “Pa.”
The commander rapped sharply on the door. My five minutes were almost up. I scrubbed my eyes with my sweater, so he wouldn’t see I’d been crying.
Pa glared at the door. “Ayah, let him barge in! I’d like to give him a piece of my mind, I would.” His glance flickered toward Fee then back to me. “Caro, listen. The thing you got to know about gods is, they can be tricksy. Don’t be in a rush for your fate to come a-visiting. It might not be what you expect, is all.”
“What do you mean?”
“A god will do what—” He hesitated. “What he wants. A god won’t be forced, nor hurried.” He sounded as if he wanted to say more, but he just shook his head. “Well, what’s done is done.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of his words.
“No more tears, girlie. You’re an Oresteia.” Pa grabbed my hand through the bars, giving it a shake. The clenched feeling in my chest lightened. “Deliver that crate. Take the river route north, past Doukas. Don’t mess with Iantiporos or the channel. That part of the coast is full of pirates. And don’t tie up in any towns. If you need help,” he added grudgingly, “send to your mother’s people.”
I raised my eyebrows. Pa didn’t always get along with them.
“Well, as a last resort anyhow,” he said. “Listen, that letter of marque? You’re not to use it unless it’s an emergency. Draw as little attention to yourself as possible. Flashing that letter about ain’t going to do nothing but get you dead, no matter what that commander says.”
I kept nodding, though his words streamed over me like rain. Doukas. Hide the letter. No towns. Overcome by the shock of this evening, I could barely take it in.
“You can do it, Caro,” Pa said firmly. “You mark this: I’d rather have Cormorant in your hands than any one of them wherrymen in the Spar and Splice.”
“Even Captain Krantor?”
“Ayah, even him. He ain’t an Oresteia. You are.”