Chapter 41
The Tempest was never so lovely as when it loomed out of the mist. The Wraithcourier parked his vessel beside a rope ladder dropped by the crew, and I was only too eager to climb up with Ramaro in his pouch. Marc followed, and a great cheer went up when he landed on deck.
“Yer back, captain!”
“Praise to the seas!”
Fidel stepped up to his captain. “We saw the fog and knew you’d need to board, but what brought you here without a message?”
The crew quieted as Marc gave his explanation. “The man who brought Rose here tried to take her away again. Crestmoor by name.”
“The junk merchant?” one of the men wondered.
“He’s after more than just that if he’s after Rose,” Marc warned them as he swept his eyes over the crowd. “We’ll have to keep our ears to the ground when we land and see what we can learn about him.”
“Yes, captain!” came the shouts from the crew.
Marc looped an arm around my waist and nodded at my wounded arm. “I think it’s time we fixed that.”
He guided me into the cabin and pointedly shut the door behind Ramaro. The agama butted his head against the portal. “Hey! What gives?”
“I don’t need help with this,” Marc shouted as he helped me over to the bed. He retrieved bandages and alcohol and poured the drink over the wound.
I hissed at the sharp stinging even as Marc tied the wrap around the gash. “I’ll have to make sure we share a cell next time so you don’t go off getting hurt.”
I snorted. “I don’t think our hosts would have wanted that.” My eyes shot up. “Eldric! He doesn’t know we left! And our bags!”
“We can have them sent when I contact him with dreckle,” Marc pointed out as he finished the bandaging. He leaned back and met my gaze. “I’m sorry. I truly am. He almost caught you again.”
I snorted. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be trapped with him, and I don’t think I’d like that.”
Marc leaned back and grinned. “So I’m better than him.”
I nodded. “In a lot of ways.”
“I wouldn’t mind hearing them.”
“Well, for one, I think he eats a lot of garlic.”
“A common tactic to keep dravenkin away. Their sensitive noses can’t handle such a strong odor.”
“And I think he wears a toupee.”
“A tragedy for a man in business. Anything else?”
I grinned at my companion. “Well, I really doubt he kisses as well as you.”
Marc drew closer to me. “Would you like me to remind you how that is?”
He pressed our lips together, and heat ran up and down my body. Marc wrapped his arms around me and pressed me close against his chest.
A yawn interrupted our kiss, and I was reminded of the late hour. I reluctantly drew away with a sheepish smile on my face. “Sorry.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing to apologize for. We’ll celebrate with a long nap, and then later we’ll celebrate again.”
While we celebrated aboard the Tempest, our foes were busy licking their wounds. Crestmor stood on the beach where we had gone. His servants were busy behind him, pulling the carriage out of the deep sand.
The three Managers came up to him. Durand and Swinger were the worse for wear, their clothes soaking wet, and claw marks on their faces.
The man didn’t deign to look at them. “It seems you still owe me the completion of our contract.”
“We will find the girl,” Durand swore.
Crestmoor stroked his chin. “She has a very strong attachment to your friends.”
The corners of Durand’s mouth further turned toward. “What does that matter to us?”
“It matters that I don’t need you to capture her,” Crestmoor mused as he turned to ace the group. “She’ll come searching for us. You need only be the messenger.”
“Sir?”
“We’re going to the Sea of Erebus to pay our old friend Lady Blackbrew a visit.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“But Miss Larkin will. We just need to give her the right incentive and she’ll find her way to us.”
And I would. I wouldn’t have any choice, as I set out on my last and most dangerous adventure.