Chapter 4
Carolina threw back the rest of her ale and slammed the empty tankard on the bar top. Berkeley was struggling to finish his own, so she set her finger under his tankard and tipped it up to help him, but it made ale spill out the sides and down his chin, which made him laugh, which only made more spill until he had to stop drinking or he’d choke.
“Damn you,” he laughed, setting his almost empty tankard on the counter and wiping his face with his other arm. “I could’ve done it if not for your helping.”
She patted him consolingly on the back and gestured to the barkeep for two more. They’d been on Harcam for a week, and this was the first night they’d been able to leave Nadine’s side. The doctors had done a wonderful job, but Nadine had been exhausted and in severe pain, and needed them around to help her with anything and everything. They tended to her willingly, and still wouldn’t have left if not for her insisting that they have some fun before they resent her neediness so much that they strangled her in her sleep. So, there they were, standing at a tavern bar and each two tankards in, enjoying the night out more than they thought they would.
“Alright,” Berkeley said, holding his tankard in one hand as he turned to lean back with his elbows propped on the bar. “Who are we chatting up to get some free drinks?”
Carolina turned to imitate his relaxed stance as she scanned the rest of the tavern. It was a usual crowd — merchants, soldiers, local business owners, and the one or two indentured with an unfortunate addiction. None of them looked like potential targets for a hustle, especially when they were on a Sovereign island and supposed to be keeping a low profile, but Carolina’s eyes made another pass anyway .
“That’s her,” she spat, all but freezing in place except for the slapping of her hand against Berkeley’s shoulder. There, at the back of the tavern, almost hidden behind the crowds, was the girl from the clinic. She was sitting at a table with several other people in matching uniforms, and perhaps she felt that she was being looked at, because she glanced up at that moment and looked directly at Carolina.
“Where?” Berkeley asked, leaning in front of Carolina’s face and briefly cutting off her eye contact.
She shoved his head aside, and she knew that she had a dumbfounded stare and that her mouth was probably hanging open, but she couldn’t help it. Devina was laughing when they locked eyes again, but she also wiggled her fingers in an encouraging greeting, and Carolina couldn’t help but grin as she lifted her hand to wave back.
Berkeley followed the gesture, finally discovering where Devina was sitting. “ The Phoenix?” he hissed, grabbing Carolina’s shoulder and swinging her back around to face the bar. “You mean the war witch sitting at a table full of other war witches? Have you lost your damn mind?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” she said absently, craning her chin back over her shoulder to find Devina again.
“NO.”
The rest of her body followed, so that she had her back to the bar. “I thought I did,” she murmured. “I’m going to say hello.”
“Carolina,” he protested as she took a step forward. “ Carolina .”
She ignored him, leaving him behind as she crossed the tavern and made her way to the table, Devina’s eyes following her the whole way. When she reached it, she stopped and smiled around at the rest of the witches politely before turning that smile on Devina.
“Nurse,” she greeted.
Devina’s eyes sparkled playfully. “Merchant.”
“Are you alright this evening?”
“Very well,” Devina said. “And you? Oh! How is your friend?”
“Recovering,” Carolina answered. “Tonight’s the first night we’ve been able to leave her alone, but she’s almost through the worst of it, I think.”
“That’s great,” Devina said. “I expect she’ll make a full recovery in no time, then.”
Carolina nodded, and since she’d run through the formalities, she wasn’t sure what to say. The other witches had stopped their conversation to watch, and Carolina was hesitant to continue in case any of them were as intuitive as Devina, and started to think maybe Berkeley’s caution was wise.
“Is that your other friend from the clinic?” Devina asked, leaning to glance toward Berkeley.
“Yes.” She took the prompt, and asked, “I was wondering if you might join us for a drink?”
Devina smiled and stood, stepping around the table to hook her arm through Carolina’s. “I’d love to.”
And Carolina did her best not to blush or grin too much as she led the way back to the bar. “Berkeley, this is Devina.”
The backs of his shoulders rose with a deep inhale, and when he turned it was with a forced smile and a tankard in his hand. “Nice to meet y-” But he turned so fast that ale splashed down the front of his shirt and trousers. “Shit,” he groaned, glancing down his front, “aw, damn, it looks like I pissed myself.” Devina snorted. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, “I’m going back to the, uh-” He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. “The place we’re staying.”
“You coming back after?” Carolina asked.
“No, I got, hm,” he hesitated, “merchant stuff to do,” and he barely glanced back at them as he made his escape from the tavern.
“He doesn’t know that I know?” Devina asked.
“I think he’d actually piss himself,” Carolina answered, and Devina laughed. She grabbed the two fresh tankards that Berkeley hadn’t touched and handed one to Devina. “Can I ask you something?” she asked, and when Devina nodded, she motioned for her to follow as she headed toward the stairs. “Do the others know? And how did you know? Am I not being careful enough?”
“They don’t know,” Devina said as they climbed the stairs, “and they won’t find out from me, I promise you that.” They reached the tavern’s secluded balcony and sat across from each other at a small round table, where the music from downstairs was faint and they could hear each other easily. “I think me realizing you’re a pirate had less to do with my intelligence and more to do with your emotional state at the clinic.”
“I suppose it helps that you’re especially disarming,” Carolina admitted, and Devina smiled and gave a shy flick of her wrist. “I mean that sincerely,” she told her. “You were an unexpected comfort to me that day, and I’ve been hoping for a chance to say thank you.”
Devina’s smile softened. “You’re welcome,” she said. “And your friend really is recovering as expected? What’s her name? I’m quite familiar with the doctors at the clinic, so if she needs anything else, I’ll make sure she has it.”
“Nadine. And if you can’t provide her with a tranquil spirit, then there’s nothing she needs. I expect her to be losing her mind with boredom in a few days.”
Devina laughed, “Unfortunately there’s not a magic for that. There are sedatives though. You could sneak some into her tea.”
“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Carolina joked, and they both chuckled about it. “Really, though, recovery will be slow, but she’s doing well.”
“Good,” Devina said. “And how are you planning to fill your days while you’re here?”
Carolina let out a heavy sigh and shrugged. “Unless you know anyone who hires without a contract, I haven’t got a clue. I might have to start planning an elaborate con or I’ll lose my mind soon too.”
“Another restless spirit, I take it?” Devina asked amusedly, and Carolina nodded. “I wish I could help but, to be honest, though I’ve been here three years, the clinic is the only place apart from the sanctuary that I’ve gotten to know anyone.”
“Do you work there?” Carolina asked. “When you’re not training? That is why you’re here, right? At the sanctuary?”
“It is,” Devina confirmed. “But no. Sovereign will only supply me with a week’s dose of my medicine at a time, so I’m in the clinic frequently.”
Her brow furrowed with concern. “Are you ill?”
“No, uh…” She paused to take a few gulps from her tankard. “Much to my father’s disappointment, I, um, am not the son he thought I was.”
“Oh,” Carolina said in realization. “Oh, I… I apologize, Devina, if you weren’t ready to share that with me. I shouldn’t have pried.”
“It’s alright,” Devina told her, and gave a small laugh. “You hardly pressed, and apparently I didn’t need to be nervous about sharing it.”
Carolina shook her head in agreement. “It’s common among pirates.”
“Is it?”
She hummed an affirmative. “Sovereign tries to use access to the medicine as enticement to join ranks, so for a lot of people who were already considering piracy, it tips the scales. Is that why you joined?”
“No, I- ” Devina paused as she squinted at Carolina. “We don’t… get a choice, Carolina…”
“You’re drafted?” she asked, and Devina nodded. “I didn’t know that.” She pursed her lips for a thoughtful moment, and she supposed it made sense that Sovereign wanted to control everyone with magic before they could be hired by pirates. A lot of crews did have Alters, however, without Sovereign, most were poorly trained. “If that’s the case, then, why stay?”
Devina glanced around nervously even though they were the only ones on the balcony, and at confirming they were alone, relaxed again. “I don’t know,” she said thoughtfully, and shrugged after another brief pause. “I never really thought about leaving. Too many reasons to stay.”
“Like what?”
“Like making my father proud,” she said. “All he ever wanted was a son to share his passion for naval warfare with, and because of my gender and my magic, I couldn’t be who he wanted. Or because I need to learn to control my magic and Sovereign is teaching me. Or because, if I ever did leave, they’d never stop hunting me. Given my father’s title, that would mean never seeing them again.”
“Is your father proud?” Carolina asked.
“I think so…” Devina answered, and she considered it for a few moments before letting out a sigh. “As much as he can be at the moment, anyway. I was ten when I presented for magic, and he came to terms with the fact that I’d never be a strategist or a commander. I imagine he’ll eventually come to terms with my identity too.”
“Did you only tell him recently?”
Devina nodded. “Only a few months ago. My mother took it much better, but I’ve been nervous about writing them again since, so I don’t know if anything’s changed.” She paused and then let out a dry laugh. “They don’t even know my name.”
Carolina’s brow furrowed deeply. “You didn’t tell them with your first letter?”
“I hadn’t chosen one yet,” she answered, and at the confused look on Carolina’s face, explained, “I was too nervous about telling them to decide on one, and Sovereign wouldn’t give me time. They picked for me.”
“What?” Carolina said, sitting straighter in her seat. “That’s not fair. Will they let you change it?” Devina shrugged, but the look on her face said ‘no.’ “Tell you what, when you decide on one, I’ll call you it. And Berkeley will too.”
“Thank you, Carolina,” she said with a smile, and Carolina nodded. “Well, now that you’ve learned my life story in ten minutes, let’s hear it from you.”
Carolina laughed, “That was hardly a complete story.”
“All things in time,” she said. “Come on, then. How old were you when you became a pirate? ”
“Sixteen,” Carolina answered. “I left home and stowed away on a merchant ship to an island where I met Nadine, and I’ve trained at her side ever since.”
“It sounds like you have great respect for her.”
Carolina nodded. “She taught me everything I know.”
“Do you have family somewhere?”
“A mother and sister.”
“Don’t you miss them?” Devina asked, and Carolina gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded again. “Why did you leave home? Why did you leave them?”
She sighed, leaning back in her seat and reaching forward to busy herself with picking at the handle of her tankard. “How familiar are you with indentured life?”
Devina winced. “I’m ashamed to admit that I’m not at all.”
“Born rich,” she mused teasingly, “how embarrassing.” Devina chuckled, but she continued to explain, “It takes a decade to pay off your debt, and almost all of your wages go to your employer to pay it off, so you aren’t able to save much more than that. Maybe you have kids, and no money, no food, nowhere to stay. So, what do you do when you earn your freedom? You go back to an employer, and for table scraps and a shack with enough pillows if you’re lucky, you take another ten-year contract and start the cycle over.”
“Why not save for twice as long, so there’s money left once your debt is paid?” Devina asked.
“Because the contract ends as soon as the debt’s paid,” Carolina said with her upper lip curled, “and employers don’t hire people who won’t take a contract. Why would they pay a fair wage to a free person when they can offer loans for indenture and pay a fraction of a dominion after they’ve taken their share?” She resisted the urge to spit with disgust and shook her head. “I was sixteen when my mother paid off our debts. I knew we’d have to go back, but since I was of age, employers could finally add a working debt for me too. I couldn’t watch her do it again, and I wouldn’t let it be me. Not ever.”
“I suppose your mother never considered piracy?” Devina asked.
“No,” Carolina laughed. “And Rue was too young even if my mother did want to.”
“Well, you write to them at least,” Devina said, “right?”
Carolina gave a sad smile. “I have a few times, but…” She shrugged. “I suppose my mother hasn’t forgiven me yet. She’s yet to write back. ”
“I’m sorry,” Devina said as her eyes fell, and Carolina gave a pursed-lip smile. After a few quiet seconds, Devina looked up again and asked, “What about your father? Is he alive?”
She shrugged again, and at the confused look on Devina’s face, explained, “His debt was sold when I was four. His new employer wouldn’t buy mine and my mother’s, and he lived on a different island. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Wha- I- Wait. I don’t understand,” Devina sputtered, “gone, just like that?” Carolina nodded, and Devina leaned forward and set a closed fist on the table. “But you can’t sell people. You can’t force them away from their homes and their families. People aren’t property.”
“But they’re not selling people, are they?” Carolina asked rhetorically. “They’re selling debts, and noncompliance is met with fines that indentured can’t pay, and when you can’t pay those fines, there’s imprisonment. Have you ever seen the prisons that indentured get sent to? It’s a death sentence.” She watched Devina’s jaw clench as she stared at the table with narrowed eyes. “You’re angry,” she observed, “but it happens all the time, and I’ve never met a pirate who hasn’t seen it happen or experienced it themselves.”
“That’s bullshit,” Devina muttered under her breath.
Carolina hummed her agreement, and took a drink of ale before saying, “It is, but I’ve never felt freer than when I’m in the sky. And I’m saving up everything I earn so I can free my mother and sister, and buy them a little house on a pirate island. Or maybe a tavern… My mother can make the best stew you’ve had in your life out of damn near anything.”
Devina inhaled deeply, and when she exhaled, her anger appeared gone. “She sounds wonderful,” she said, and Carolina nodded. “How old is your sister?”
“She’s seven years younger than me, so she’ll be…” Carolina counted in her head. “Almost thirteen, now.”
“You said your father left when you were four?”
Carolina nodded, and realized a moment later what Devina was asking. “Half-sister by blood.”
“Was her father’s story similar to yours?”
“No, she um,” Carolina gave an awkward smile, “she never knew her father.” And Devina’s lips pursed sympathetically as she stayed quiet to listen. “The first time my mother paid off her debts, I was six. We were only on the streets for three days before she gave in and signed a new contract, but being on the streets even that long… I got sick.” Carolina paused, and Devina’s eyebrows lifted with an already dawning realization of what had happened. “I was young, all I knew then was that she went out one night and came home with medicine, and nine months later, we had Rue.”
“She did what she had to,” Devina said softly, and Carolina hummed her agreement. “How long do you think it’ll take you to save up enough for them?”
“I’m not sure,” Carolina answered. “Being here will add to the time, but I owe Nadine as long as it’ll take for her to recover.”
“Then I hope for her quick recovery,” Devina said, and Carolina smiled gratefully. She sat back again and stared at the table for a few moments before saying, “I can see why so many pirates hate us.”
“Who’s us?” Carolina asked.
“Us,” Devina repeated. “Alters, Summoners, Casters.” She shrugged. “You know, Sovereign. Soldiers.”
“Sovereign and soldiers aren’t the same,” Carolina told her, and she tilted her head. “A lot of soldiers are just indentured who thought Sovereign would give them freedom. If you ask me, most pirates don’t care enough about soldiers to hate them, and it’s only in a fight that that indifference looks like hate. And you,” she gestured toward Devina, “I believe you’re mistaking a fear of witches as hate.”
Devina’s eyes looked her over for several long seconds, and then she asked, “Do you fear me?”
“The only fear I have in life is that my freedom will be taken from me,” Carolina answered. “And you promised not to turn us in.”
“I meant it.”
“I believe you,” she said, and then asked, “What’s a Caster?”
“You’ve never heard of Casters?” Devina asked. She shook her head. “Right… um, well, I suppose the easiest way to explain it is that all our magic is about energy. Alters can manipulate it, giving them control over the element they choose to train.”
“Right,” Carolina agreed.
“Summoners can channel it,” Devina explained. “So, while they could control an element like Alters can, they don’t train in it. They rely more on the entities they summon with their own energy, or they can heal a person with theirs.”
“And Casters?” Carolina asked.
“Casters can-” She paused and shook her head. “Well, I suppose magic is a lot easier for us. Altering and summoning come naturally, and we can’t create energy, necessarily, but we can use our own energy to inflict our will onto other things. Like spells, or certain potions that require more than just herbs and minerals. Casters change energy into something different.”
“You said ‘we,’” Carolina pointed out, and it looked like Devina inhaled to counter that, but decided not to. Instead, she just offered a pursed-lip smile. “How come I’ve never heard of you?”
“We’re rare, I suppose,” Devina answered. “And it wouldn’t be usual for a pirate crew to encounter one.”
“What do Casters do?” she asked. “What are you training for?”
“Well, when a Caster presents and comes to the sanctuary, they train for whatever Sovereign needs at the time,” Devina said. “The Fortuna is young, it’ll be a long time before she needs to be replaced. And Sovereign has a master potion maker.”
Carolina hummed, and though Devina seemed to hope that’d be the end of her curiosity, she waited patiently for an answer to the second part of her question. Eventually, she had to prompt, “And you?”
Devina smiled, though her focus dropped to the table and her face fell just as quickly. “The emperor wants another Caster who… can shift political powers.”
Carolina’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand what that means.”
Devina hesitated for several long, sober seconds before she drew in a breath to say something else. But, before she could get it out, one of the other witches appeared at the stairs from the tavern down below. “Devina,” he called, “curfew.”
“I’ll be down in just a minute,” Devina told him. He disappeared down the stairs, and Devina turned her gaze on Carolina, staring for several more moments before saying, “I can’t believe it’s time already. I wish I could stay.”
“Will you meet me here again?” Carolina asked. “Perhaps we’ll stick to lighter subjects next time.”
“I’d like that,” Devina smiled. “Not tomorrow, but the night after?” When Carolina nodded, she stood and crossed the table, stopping beside where Carolina was still sitting and extending her hand. “It’s Parker, by the way. Devina Parker.”
“Carolina Trace,” she replied, and though Devina had offered her hand for a shake, Carolina brought it to her lips and pressed a parting kiss to the back. “Till next time, Miss Parker.”
Carolina stepped through the door of Setting Sun and stopped, Berkeley and Rue coming in right behind her while Ribbon was perched lightly on her shoulder. They’d arrived at a secluded port on Clerwood the day before and, while she’d stayed on the ship, Berkeley and Rue had gone into Breezeport to scout where Setting Sun was. It was one of the largest taverns she’d ever been in, with a bar on either side, crowded seating in the middle, and musicians in the back surrounded by people dancing. They were there to try and locate Henry Marsh, but she had no idea what he looked like, and there were far too many people to begin asking patrons. The only hope she could see was asking one of the bartenders, who might know him by name if he frequented the place as often as Ariane believed.
She moved away from the door, navigating through tables and patrons toward the bar, until she stepped up to it and waved for the man behind it. He nodded that he saw her, finished serving the drink he was holding, and then came over.
“Evening,” he greeted loudly over the music.
“Hello,” Carolina said, leaning halfway over the bar top to hear him better. “I’m looking for someone named Henry Marsh, do you know him?”
“Who?” he asked, and turned his ear toward her.
“Henry Marsh.”
He heard her that time, because he looked past them and scanned the tavern. After a handful of seconds, he looked back at her and said, “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him since last night.”
“And he’s usually here by now?” Carolina asked. He nodded. “Do you know where we might find him?”
The man shook his head, but pointed to a table near the middle of the tavern. “He usually sits there, with the fellow in the brown cloak. He might know.”
“Thank you.”