Page 58 of Blood on the Tide

Again, that moment of hesitation where it’s clear that she’s considering lying to me. Again, she shows every evidence of telling the truth. “Glamour. Using his powers to charm the Cwn Annwn.”

Lizzie snorts. “Glamour magic is a dime a dozen. With all the magical people the Cwn Annwn keep on their ships, they must have the shields to combat that sort of thing. I don’t see why this requires a trial, no matter who this man is.”

I shake my head slowly. “We don’t have glamour magic, Lizzie. Not here. Not in Threshold.” It probably wasn’t always like that, but when the Council took over a very, very long time ago, they couldn’t risk that anyone in the realm might influence or overpower them. According to the whispers that have been passed along for generations, they wanted anyone with a drop of glamour magic removed. Permanently.

That flavor of magic is primarily held by humans, though. They had a hard time convincing the general population these people were monsters who deserved being hunted in order to promote safety for everyone. There was pushback. These days, the regular citizens wouldn’t dare, but back then, the Council was so new that they bowed to popular sentiment.

They didn’t hunt publicly, but when they were through, not a single bloodline that carried glamour magic remained. Or at least that’s how the story goes. I believe it, though. With all the travelers who’ve come through Viedna, I’ve never met someone who could use glamour magic.

“Is he a local?” I finally ask. What am I saying? He must be if he’s being carted back to Lyari to stand trial. More, he must be a noble. But if a noble held the power to glamour, we should’ve heard about it long before now. “Never mind. He obviously is. But I don’t understand. How has he kept it secret long enough to reach adulthood?”

“Glamour is Bastian’s secondary power. It’s not one that he’s ever been public about, but he’s invaluable to the rebellion because of it. I can’t let the Cwn Annwn take him to Lyari to stand before the Council. More than his life is at stake.”

If he’s close enough to Siobhan for the rebellion to utilize his glamour magic, he’s probably been privy to secrets that could get a large number of people killed. The thought makes me shiver. “If that’s the case, then we need to rally your allies. Nox has an entire ship. Surely they can—”

“No.” Siobhan shakes her head. “The Audacity is easily a week away, and while they are southwest of Drash, enlisting their help means Bastian will be a week closer to Lyari. We won’t have another opportunity to catch the Crimson Hag unawares. You’re here, and you have your murderous vampire with you, so it’s our best chance. His best chance.”

Lizzie motions with the hand holding her tin cup full of wine. “The murderous vampire in question is sitting right here. And all of this sounds like a whole lot of bullshit. If he’s really that powerful, how did he get taken in the first place? Or, more importantly, if he’s so vital, why didn’t you stop the kidnapping?”

“I wasn’t there.” Siobhan sounds downright agonized. “We were supposed to meet up at a particular location and time, but he never showed. When I finally realized what had happened, the Crimson Hag had reached open water.”

That doesn’t quite explain how she got to Drash before the Crimson Hag, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. “That ship is sailing with a pretty intense crew. It was one thing to potentially sneak in and steal back some jewels, but to steal an entire person who’s under guard? It will be a fight, and possibly one we can’t win. You’re asking a lot.”

“I don’t have another choice. Bastian cannot reach Lyari.”

Lizzie examines her fingernails. She’s put on an air of disinterest, but I can see her mind working behind the bored look in her deep brown eyes. There are a dozen ways we could attempt to do this, but no matter which angle I look at it from, the risk is astronomical. Three of us against an entire crew? There’s no way we’ll all survive.

“We have to sink the ship,” my vampire finally says.

I spin to face Lizzie. “We can’t sink the ship.”

“Sure we can. Between your power underwater and this one’s strength.” She motions at Siobhan. “It wouldn’t take much to rip a hole in the hull. The trick is to keep it open so they don’t have a chance to repair it. If they’re close enough to shore, they’ll abandon ship. That’s when we strike.”

“Or, more likely, they’ll realize we attacked them and just flat out murder us,” I snap.

She grins, flashing her sharp teeth at me. “That’s definitely a possibility.”

“The vampire has a point.” Siobhan toys with the string holding her cloak together. “If the crew is in the water, it will be easier to separate the guards holding Bastian and take him back. They won’t leave him to drown. He’s too important a captive.”

They’re jumping right over a very vital portion of this plan. “I’m strong, but I’m not strong enough to break a hole in the bottom of a ship. It’s far more likely that I’ll charge it, knock myself out, and drown.”

“I’ll soften it up for you.” That expression on Siobhan’s face makes me shiver. She’s contemplating death, and the longer I spend in her presence, the stranger I find it that I never questioned her coming and going in the past. How did I overlook the fact that she’s obviously a warrior—and a dangerous one at that?

I feel very naive right now. I clear my throat. “How are you going to ‘soften up’ a ship’s hull?”

She wiggles her fingers at me. Bones crack as they shift, forming into long, vicious claws before morphing back into mundane fingers. “I heal even faster than the vampire, and I can do a lot of damage in a very short time. I’ll tear the hole open, and then you charge it to make it bigger. Between the two of us, we can get it done.”

There’s a small possibility this may work. But I’ve listened to Bowen and Nox discuss the Crimson Hag. I know all about the various crew members and many of their powers. There’s plenty to worry about there, but the biggest threat is Lucky, a crew member who’s half mermaid. “If they send Lucky in the water, we’re both in trouble.”

“I’ll take care of Lucky.” Lizzie appears to relish the idea. It’s everything I can do not to remind her that she almost drowned less than a week ago. That the fight with the water horse scared her so badly, she ended up hurting me by accident. Saying as much now, let alone in front of Siobhan, would be unforgivable.

I keep my silence, but worry gnaws at my insides. The longer Siobhan and Lizzie talk, hammering out the details of the plan, the more I suspect the steps are deceptively simple and will fall apart the moment we put them into action. I don’t have a better idea. The only thing I can do is vow to myself to keep these two alive.

Even if it means I have to sacrifice Bastian in the process.

chapter 30

Lizzie

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