Chapter V. The Trouble With Maids #2
“‘As it please.’ Joaquin heaved a world-weary sigh. ‘I’ll head downstairs and find a bedpost to tie myself to, then. Jacko can help, he’s good with knots.’
“The houndboy winked at one of the other Unbound; a tall seaman whose cheeks had flushed almost as red as his beard with all this ribald talk. Dior’s other guardians looked equally abashed—each was a full-grown man, hardened by battle and trial, but the Holy Grail of San Michon was a streetwalker’s daughter after all, her manner apparently crude enough to make even sailors blush.
“‘Jacko’s good,’ she nodded. ‘But I hear Callum is better.’
“‘Which Callum?’ Joaquin frowned. ‘We’ve got two.’
“‘We’ve got three.’ Dior counted on her fingers. ‘Callum á Sadhbh. Callum á Cuinn. Callum á Fas. Four if you count Snots, he’s a Callum, too. Snots is just a nickname. A rather unfortunate one, now I come to think of it.’
“‘I didn’t know that.’
“‘Well, he’s not sworn a holy oath to die for you, so I don’t s’pose you need t—’
“‘Might I speak with you?’
“Elaina’s ears pinned back as she barked aloud.
Dior rose to her feet, found us stood behind her, pale frockcoat whipping in the wind as the hound barked again.
The Grail’s eyes narrowed, her merriment with Joaquin forgot.
She and we had not spoken much since we set out to sea weeks back.
Truth told, we’d not really spoken much during her captivity in Dún Maergenn either; limited as we were to words we could spell out on her hand with our moth.
But we sensed a divide between us now, grown wider since we’d clashed with Gabriel in the tomb beneath Dún Maergenn. If we did nothing to close it …
“Dior shrugged. ‘Speak.’
“We glanced to the houndboy, to Jacko and the other Unbound, and after a moment, Dior gave a nod. Joaquin took hold of Elaina’s collar, and he and his fellows retreated—out of earshot perhaps, but certainly not sight.
The Grail was watching us, eyes narrowed against the plumes of grey billowing off her lips.
“‘You seem … agitated of late,’ we began.
“‘Nothing a long ice bath won’t fix.’
“‘We think that untrue, chérie. You put up a brave front, but you bear a weight no one aboard this vessel can truly understand. We can help you alleviate it.’
“‘That a fact?’
“‘We are your servants, Dior. All of us.’
“The Grail sucked her lip, blue eyes roaming our body, boots to brow. Her gaze was a puzzle, but as ever, I could not read her thoughts, nor grasp her pieces. And with a final drag upon her cigarelle, Dior flicked it overboard, breathing grey as she stepped closer.
“‘First time for everything, I s’pose. But no biting, oui?’
“We blinked, eyes drifting toward her lips. ‘I … we…’
“‘You mind taking bottom bunk?’ Clever fingers twisted the buttons of our coat open, one after another. ‘I don’t share the top.’
“‘Dior…’
“Her hands slipped inside our coat now, over our hips to cup our backside. We were drenched in panic, thinking she’d mistaken our offer as some kind of overture, frantically trying to ponder some way to beg off without giving offense.
“But Dior frowned, squeezing the seat of our britches.
“‘Wait … what’s this?’
“And withdrawing her good hand, holding it up before our widening eyes, we realized she was flipping us the Fathers.
“‘Oh, thank the holy Redeemer…’
“‘I wish you cast a reflection, Castia. Just so you could see the look on your fucking face right now.’
“We scoffed at that, awash with relief. Dior was clearly delighted to see us so off-balance, and caught up in her smile, we found ourselves chuckling, one hand to our ruined mouth to smother the mirth.
The Grail burst into laughter then, and I felt some dam within me break; a dark flood unleashed.
For the first time in as long as I could remember, those voices inside fell utterly still as I stood with Dior and simply laughed, each of us bending double as her bodyguards looked on with baffled expressions.
“It was a strange thing, but amid all the blood and miles and trials, I’d not really taken time to consider it.
Yet I realized in that moment I truly liked this girl.
Not we, mind you. Me. Celene Castia. Dior Lachance was bawdy and she was brave.
She cared little for others’ opinions, but deeply for others’ lives.
She knew the names of every man who served her.
She knew their stories. Yet in the end, she wrote her own.
She reminded me of the girl I’d once been—that girl who dreamed of escaping her tiny life in Lorson, of traveling to places far and flung, no care for amorrow. And in that moment, I knew it true.
“Dior Lachance and Celene Castia would’ve been friends.
“‘You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh.’ Dior wiped a tear away, grinning wide. ‘It’s good for the soul. I should make you do it more often.’
“‘If anyone aboard this ship could, I think it would be you.’
“‘Ah, flattery. You must want something important.’
“‘Only to help.’ We cleared our throat, murmuring now. ‘We know you are … frustrated with the Princess. We propose another way to spend your energies. And time.’
“‘You do want bottom bunk then.’
“‘I think not,’ we smiled. ‘But during your captivity, we noticed a … strangeness with your blood. As we’re sure did you.’
“Dior’s eyes grew wide, all jest vanished now. ‘It shied away from the knife when I cauterized my foot. Like it was alive. Like it could feel what I was thinking. And when I fought Lilidh, when I wanted it to move, I could almost…’
“We dug our fingernails into our palm then, willing it forth—a sluice of deep red, snaking into the air and forming itself into a long, thin blade.
“Dior’s lips parted. ‘You think I could … learn how to do that?’
“‘We know not. But the five bloodlines, their gifts, all of this stems from the curse of he whose legacy you bear. We have seen you move your blood aready. And we have seen kith burned to ashes at its touch. If you could wield it as a weapon…’
“She looked down at her good hand, whispering, ‘Fuck me.’
“‘No. Fuck him.’
“Dior blinked, understanding at last. ‘Voss.’
“‘We know not why he wants you. But we sail toward his legions, Dior. I think it best to arm you as well as I am able should ever you meet our Forever King upon the field.’
“‘Gabe always said it was foolish to risk your emperor in battle.’
“‘All due respect. But life is not a game of chess, chérie.’
“Her eyes sparkled with dark delight. ‘Intrigued, you may consider me.’
“‘We should keep this between us. Meet us at midnight, in the hold beneath the forecastle. If you think you can slip the gaze of your legion of loyal Callums?’
“‘They’re good men. But I’m better.’
“‘Dior? ’
“The fleshwitch was standing at the wheelhouse with the capitaine, calling now, suspicious eyes locked on us. The Grail answered, turning from us and walking away. Our smile was hidden by our scarf as we passed the pair by, slipping down the stair belowdecks. So the duskdancer sought to stand taller in Dior’s favor?
Well, two could play at that game, Marquis.
And machinations aside, I did think it best the Grail be prepared for the inevitable war ahead, no matter how Dúnnsair might try to shield her from it.
If I grew closer in Dior’s counsel as result? All the better to steer her true.
“This blackened veil shall be undone.
“So it was, I was feeling well pleased with myself as we slipped toward the forehold, intent to clear a space to practice that eve.
“It was as we passed a porthole that he struck us.
“A shadow moving at the corner of our eye, smashing against the glass with an audible thump. We flinched back, claws poised upon our palms. And it was then we saw him, just as in Maryn’s cabin.
A dark shape, pressing against the porthole glass, as if that warped mirror were some doorway through which he sought entry back into our world.
“But that was impossible.
“He was dead.
“Bonsoir, Petit Monstre.
“‘Wulfric,’ we breathed.
“He shook his head, a baritone growl slipping his lips. Ye mean Master.
“‘No,’ I hissed, fists clenched. ‘I am Master here.’
“He laughed then. And that choir, that cacophony, boiled up inside me; the voice of every victim, every soul I’d redeemed at his command, rising in unison and laughing with him. But I closed my eyes, knuckles to lashes, whispering once more.
“‘O Lord of Love, O God of Blood,
“‘O King of Wolf and Lamb,
“‘Thy will be done—’
“‘Ye aright?’
“I opened our eyes, looking up the corridor to find two figures staring at me. The first was a mere hound—sleek Elaina, teeth bared in a quiet but hateful snarl. But the second was Phoebe, golden eyes narrowed, talons curled. She’d blooded those claws to the armpits in the assault upon Dún Maergenn, leading her folk to a victory none could’ve hoped for.
I could see that strength in her still, the vow she’d made Dior never far from her surface.
“If by my blood or boon or breath might ye be kept safe …
“‘We are well, fleshwitch. Trouble yourself not on our account.’
“‘Nae trouble a’tall.’ Phoebe stooped to scratch Elaina’s chin. ‘Ye know, yer brother told me what ye did, maebh’lair. Betraying yer teacher. Butchering his father an’ all.’
“‘I am sure Gabriel told you all he knows about the matter. Absolutely nothing.’
“‘I know yer own kinsman trusts ye far as he can spit ye. I know it’s through yer deceits that Dior was slain by the Heartless. And I know I’ll be thrice damned if I let ye place her in danger again.’
“‘Shall I speak then of what I know, Phoebe á Dúnnsair?’ we asked. ‘I know despite your oath to keep Dior safe, you still found time in pursuit of her to dally with my brother. I know that you lay with another man while your own trothed husband languished in slavery to the Dyvok. And I know your sweet Connor would likely not be dead if you’d spent half as much time searching for him as you spent trying to get my brother into your bed.’
“Phoebe glowered, lips peeling back from her teeth as we spat.
“‘But most, I know I do not give a damn what you think of us, fleshwitch.’
“The duskdancer stared, long and hard. Hers was the strength of the Moonsthrone Mountains, claws drenched with kith and kin alike, and I knew not who between us might prove the stronger if it came to blows.
But finally, Phoebe hawked a mouthful of spit upon the boards, and with a whistle to the hound, stalked up the staircase into the light above.
“We were alone.
“It took a moment to understand. But we blinked, looking into that porthole and feeling the ice thaw in our belly. No shadow stared back from that reflection, no monster pressed against that glass. There was simply the grey of the waves, crashing against Dawnseeker’s skin with the steady cadence of my once but no more beating heart.
“Wulfric was gone.”