Page 82 of Virelai's Hoard
“Sable?” she asked, ignoring the grumpy gunner. “Can we have a word? It’s important.” She wasn’t sure about that part,but the both of them were wound so tight it wouldn’t be smart to interrupt them without agoodreason.
Eryx looked uncertainly between her, Sable, and Ignatius, as if they were regretting this already.
With a searching look in their direction, Sable stood from the mouth of the cannon and folded her arms. “Leave us,” she told Ignatius.
Ignatius gaped at her. “This ismyspace.”
Sable’s lips twitched halfway to a snarl. “Careful there, gunner. My patience isfarthinner than Calla’s.”
Riley didn’t think it was possible for Ignatius’ skin to get a deeper shade of red, but it did. By the look on his face, if she were closer to him, she’d probably hear his teeth gnashing together. But he was wise enough to keep himself in check. He didn’t reply. He just glared at Sable, then glared at the two of them, then shoved past Eryx on his way out.
Rude.
“Well?” Sable asked.
Riley glanced at Eryx, who was looking anywhere but at Sable, their fingers twiddling with the edge of their shirt. She sighed. “Eryx here was wondering if they could take a look at that compass.”
Sable blinked at her.
“The one from the, uh, ghost ship?”
“You made me piss off Ignatius for that?” Sable asked, bemused.
Riley’s lips twitched. She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows at Sable. “You were well on the way to doing that all by yourself. I just sped up the process.”
A scoff broke out past Sable’s lips, releasing some of the tension from her shoulders. She dug through her pockets as she approached, fishing out the brass compass and holding it out to Eryx. “I don’t bite, you know?” she said as Eryx gingerly pickedup the compass. She snuck a glance at Riley when she said that, as if she wanted to add something, but thought better of it.
Riley smothered the smile that wanted to break out.
Eryx, on their part, ignored both of them as soon as they flipped open the compass. They frowned down at it for a moment, then they started walking around the gundeck. Riley and Sable both watched the young sailor in growing confusion as they did a round of the floor, turned on themselves several times, then stopped at a single point and announced, “It’s not broken.” Their voice was soft, but the tone didn’t hint at any shreds of self-doubt. A statement spoken so certainly as if they’d claimed the sky was blue.
“Why won’t it point north, then?” Sable asked, joining them and peering at the compass.
Riley joined them, too. The hand of the compass wasn’t swinging wildly anymore. Well, it was still swinging rapidly, but not in circles. Its efforts were concentrated in the direction Eryx was facing. They all looked at the wall now, as if they could stare through it and at the sea beyond.
“Because that’s not where the Heart is,” Eryx said simply.
The implication dropped like an anchor between them.
“It’s leading us to the treasure,” Sable said, letting out a soft breath in realization.
Eryx nodded. “It’s not far. I can take it to Merrow if you’d like. He can adjust the course to get us there.”
Sable looked from the compass to Eryx, then nodded.
Eryx closed the lid and dropped the compass into their pocket, but before they could leave the room, the ship lurched. They all froze on the spot.
“Did we… hit something?” Riley asked.
Slowly, Sable slid her machete out of its scabbard.
Riley’s blood froze in her veins as, from the corner of her eyes, she saw what Sable saw. The gunport through which the closestcannon faced the sea wasn’t showing water at all. Her gaze fully dragged to the hole. Instead of dark skies and water, the view portrayed… wood. The wood of another ship’s hull.
“We just got boarded,” Sable said, her voice hard as steel.
25. No One to Follow
Sable
