Page 35 of Minor Works of Meda

I didn’t have time to react before Kalcedon stepped in front of me and grabbed the spear’s pole in one gray hand. The Nameless flinched back at the sight of him, evidently too startled to stab him, as he pushed the weapon down and away.

“Don’t point that at her again,” Kalcedon ordered.

He’d gotten everyone’s attention. The councilor turned as her other guard stepped forward. The Nameless behind us advanced closer.

“Stand down. That’s the seer’s faerie,” the councilor said. “Aren’t you?” her eyes met with Kalcedon’s. He jerked his head once in a nod, without correcting her.

“I have a message for Adaya Ozeri,” I announced, as the Colynes soldier studied Kalcedon with narrowed eyes. The Nameless remained on guard, weapons at the ready.

“What is it?” the Colynes soldier asked.

“Oraik gave me a message for her.”

He squinted at me, then held up a hand. Another of the Colynes sailors trotted down the pier, then listened with his head bowed as the first gave instructions in a low voice. The newcomer nodded sharply, turned, and retreated to the ship. A moment later he reappeared at the rim and raised a hand.

“Proceed,” the first sailor told us.

“Make her talk to us here,” Kalcedon said.

“She is not permitted on our soil,” the councilor informed him.

“It’s not soil. It’s dead wood,” Kalcedon pointed out.

“Stop worrying,” I told him. “This isn’t going to take long.”

I headed for the gangplank. Kalcedon followed, muttering under his breath.

There was magic on the deck of the Colynes warship. I knew Kalcedon felt it, too.

The sources were easy to spot. Most of the sailors seemed soldierly, with swords at their belts and leather helms. The two witches lounged on a bench, unarmed and unarmored in green robes, talking while the rest of the boat bustled with activity. Though I could feel it, they held their heat close to themselves, guarding against thieves.

The Colynes casters stopped their conversation long enough to watch us board. Rather, to stare at Kalcedon. Even from a distance I could tell they were powerful, but they were powerful in ordinary terms.

Not like Kalcedon, whose heat absolutely blazed. I stayed close to him, feeling ill at ease surrounded by the Colynes. His burn was a comfort.

High overhead, two extremely large ravens fluttered down to perch on the mast, cutting dark shapes against the clear-blue sky. One of them peered down at me.

The captain waited beside the sailor who’d beckoned us aboard. I recognized her vaguely from the vision we’d called up in the workroom. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and a hard face, leathery once-pale skin that had been tanned and weather beaten by life at sea. She was dressed more formally than the sailors, her tasseled coat knee-length, her boots just as tall.

“Captain Ozeri?” I asked. She was as lean as a wildcat and looked about as mean. Ozeri regarded me coolly, thumbs hooked into her belt.

“Who in horns are you, and what are you doing on my ship?”

“Oraik sent me. He asked me to tell you that he’ll meet you there.” I fished the dolphin ring out of my pocket and offered it to her. Ozeri regarded it with a frown for a moment, eyes narrowed. At last she jerked a chin to the soldier, who reached out to take it from me instead.

Ozeri smiled a little, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Maybe she’s not so bad, I thought.

Then she spoke.

“Tiffa,” Ozeri said. “If you’re lying, I’ll strip your entrails into ropes so fast the priests will have a seventh mystery to add to their lists.”

Kalcedon stepped forward.

“Try it, you pi—”

I grabbed him by the arm, touching clothing instead of skin. I doubted Kalcedon was thinking quite as hard as I was about exactly whose ship we were on and where that ship might have been. One of the Colynes witches stood up and slowly moved behind Ozeri, her eyes trained on us.

“I’m being honest,” I said firmly. “He’s sailing back by himself. He gave me your name and asked me to let you know.”

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