Page 80 of Minor Works of Meda

The small sail would allow me to keep control of the ship. Our only other option at this point was to lose the sails entirely and let the storm take us where it pleased.

I almost slid off the deck, but I managed to get the jib up. Then I crawled back to Kalcedon, wind howling in my face, to take the tiller. I had him grab onto it, too, so I could borrow his strength. Together we herded the boat over the next swell, and the next.

Chapter 35

“For one thing, we need to get off the sea,” Oraik said. “For another, it’s Koraica.”

“That’s not an argument,” Kalcedon muttered under his breath. “It’s barely even a statement.”

The large city in front of us could only be Koraica, capital of Temor. It glittered along the northeast coast of the island. Well, of the two islands: Temor was split by a wide, deep gorge, through which a tidal river raged. From the wolf-boat we could see the series of pale bridges arching over the fissure, connecting the city’s banks.

“It’s the home of the Masqued Corridor,” Oraik said. “We can get costumes. Nobody will know who we are.” Oraik sat on one of the benches, his legs crossed to keep his feet out of the ever-present puddle of sea water.

“How in horns do you think we can buy the costumes?” Kalcedon’s voice cut through the air like a knife. He was wedged into a narrower part of the wolf, with one foot braced against the hull and the other submerged in the slosh of trapped water. The neck of his damp shirt was stretched from the storm. It clung half-heartedly to his gray skin.

“The normal way: with money.” Oraik’s normally smiling mouth was flat, his eyes like iron.

Kalcedon scoffed and turned to me.

“I should’ve let him sink with the rest of the ship.”

“Enough,” I answered. Oraik’s steely expression was starting to look uncertain, and I feared another slew of cruel words from Kalcedon might crack it open entirely. “We shouldn’t waste our energy fighting over this.”

Not that they were likely to listen. They’d done nothing but bicker since we’d gotten free of the storm. I would have thought almost dying together would make the men closer, but Oraik kept acting like Kalcedon wasn’t there, and Kalcedon kept acting like Oraik was something foul stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Every time the Prince so much as brushed against me or smiled in my direction, Kalcedon’s power crackled angrily.

It was hard for me to care, just then, where we ended up. I was exhausted and starving, and ready to go to shore. The damned rain had left me without any dry clothes without even having the courtesy of washing the gore out of the bag’s canvas, or Kalcedon’s long-ago bloodstains from the awkward wooden bird.

“If I might get sacrificially murdered, I’d at least like to see Koraica first,” Oraik muttered moodily. He crossed his arms, tucked his hands into his pits, and stared out at the city.

“We’re restocking at a village, a small one, and we’re going to Rovileis.”

“Please, Kalcedon,” I warned.

“Fine. You decide. How would you like to be murdered today, Meda?” Kalcedon snapped.

“It’s my money we’re spending,” muttered Oraik, who’d inexplicably pulled two more gold rings from his shoes. “I should get to choose.”

I pursed my lips at him and didn’t say anything. Kalcedon scowled and turned away, to stare at the city just like Oraik was doing. I took a deep breath and weighed our options.

“We’ll be easy for them to scry, if any of them survived,” I said at last, thinking uncomfortably that at least one faerie had gotten away. I didn’t know whether they’d gotten any of Oraik’s blood from the ship before it sank, but between the prince’s gory clothes and Kalcedon’s inhuman looks… “We’ll stand out anywhere we go.”

“The more people notice us, the easier the spell will find us,” Kalcedon reminded me. I shook my head.

“I know that,” I told him gently. “But unless we hold a concealment the rest of our days, it’s only a matter of time. Our best bet at survival is getting to Rovileis quickly, which means we ought to get food now instead of searching for somewhere else to land. And actually, I think we’ll attract less notice in Koraica.”

“A hundred thousand people must live here!” Kalcedon exploded, like pressure had built up inside him and needed to get out.

“Yes, and they have travelers every day. Maybe not gray ones, but I guarantee we’ll make a bigger impression if we’re somewhere small, where people actually notice strangers.”

“Absolutely, you’re so right,” Oraik said. He clapped his hands together with a cheerful nod. I think he was less impressed with my feat of logic than he was simply jumping on any chance at an ally who would help him win. Kalcedon threw up his hands in defeat.

I brought our boat into the harbor.

“The Masqued Corridor is actually below the city, on the east isle,” Oraik said excitedly, looking only at me and not Kalcedon. “Whole shops and everything, beneath the hill. I’d like to go through the Grand Hollow, which is the most famous entrance, but there are, in total, eleven ways to reach the corridor. We’ll be able to get all manner of disguises. I saw illustrations of some of the popular styles. The masks are mostly made of wood or paper, but they’re painted. Over the years…”

A low, quiet groan escaped Kalcedon’s lips as Oraik kept regurgitating knowledge. The half-faerie buried his face in his hands. When I moored the boat at one of the western docks, Kalcedon elected to accompany us instead of staying behind. In his words, we’d ‘probably die in seconds without him if something went wrong.’ Oraik had muttered a response under his breath, but I hadn’t caught it.

If only Kalcedon could transform, our problems would be lessened. But I didn’t dare suggest it with him still burning cool. I never wanted to feel him so low again.

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