Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
She heard them before she reached the galley. Thrain’s low humming of a dwarf drinking song blended with the chittering of a raccoon and the scrape of a spoon along the bottom of a pot.
The door to the ship’s kitchen was propped open with a wedge of wood, and Cali leaned against the frame to take in the scene.
Bramble stood on the worktable with a small wooden spoon, his bushy tail curled behind him, peering into a simmering pot.
Thrain stood behind the stove, curls of cinnamon bark bunched in one fist. Who she didn’t see was the cook.
“Does Marvella know you’re in here using up her supplies?” Cali asked.
Thrain startled, almost dumping his fistful of cinnamon into the pot. “Hells and cinders, don’t creep up on us like that.”
“I didn’t creep.” Cali crossed to the pot and bent over it. The aroma was warm and spicy and sweet—just like Lira’s chai—but it was missing something. She grabbed the spoon from Bramble, stirred the liquid, and took a small taste. “Lira’s version has more spice.”
Bramble turned to Thrain and shook one small black finger at him.
The dwarf had the grace to look sheepish. “Aye, all right. You knew best.” He held up the cinnamon and looked at it as if asking it a question. “More of this, then?” Thrain crumbled more cinnamon into the pot while Bramble stirred. “There. That ought to do it.”
Cali took a seat on the short stool Marvella used when she needed to reach the higher shelves. “I didn’t know you were a fan of chai. I thought ale was more your style.”
He set the cinnamon down and wiped his hands on the front of his shirt, which already bore evidence of other spices.
Then he pulled out the small bottle of green potion and took a swig before tucking it back into his pants pocket.
“I suppose I miss the tavern and wanted to recreate a taste of Wayside.”
Cali breathed in and could almost hear the sounds of The Tusk & Tail. “Chai is a good way to do it, but I thought you were enjoying our adventure here.”
“I am.” He stared into the simmering pot. “Marvella’s a fine cook and a fine dwarf. More like a sister than anything else, though.” He breathed a sigh. “I’ve no complaints about any of it, but a pirate’s life isn’t for me, Cal.”
Bramble bobbed his small head, as if agreeing with this.
“I wouldn’t mind visiting the ship again, as long as I had plenty of seasickness potion.
” He patted the pocket that held the bottle of potion.
“But I miss Sass giving me grief over my boots tracking mud onto her clean floors. I miss Vaskel topping off my ale. I miss Rog’s tall tales and the way he laughs at mine.
” He released a sigh that fluttered his beard. “I even miss that greedy ostrich.”
Cali laughed, her eyes watering. “I know how you feel.”
“Do you?”
She looked at the pot bubbling quietly on the stove and thought about Wayside. “More than I expected.”
“But?”
“But I’m going to miss this, too.” She gestured vaguely, but she suspected he understood what she meant.
Thrain eyed her. “One pirate in particular?”
Cali shrugged with one shoulder. “Bonnie’s place is on this ship. It’s her family’s legacy.” She picked at a loose thread on her cuff. “Sometimes the timing doesn’t work out for people. That’s just how it is.”
Thrain harrumphed. Cali had told her friend everything about Adelaide, and it had felt good to share her story with him as they’d swayed together in their hammocks, her on the top and him on the bottom with Bramble.
He’d proven his worth as a friend by not asking too many questions, and it was to his credit that he didn’t comment on the selkie now.
“Maybe so,” he finally said. “Even if the timing isn’t right, destiny eventually steps in.”
Cali cocked her head at him. “You believe in destiny?”
“Sure, I do.” He held up a finger. “But destiny is all about the choices we make and the chances we take. Fate might shuffle the runes, but we play them.”
She shook her head, startled by the dwarf’s philosophical take on life. “You think this adventure is all part of fate’s larger plan?”
Thrain winked at her. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Cali inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the chai. “One thing I’ve definitely learned is that this adventure has been as thrilling as any of the pirate books I’ve read.”
Thrain snorted. “Could have told you that.” He pointed the spoon at her. “I’ve seen you writing in that notebook of yours, and I’ve heard tales about your quests with the wraiths and the troll queen. With all the books you’ve read, you could probably write a book as good as any on the shelves.”
Cali fluttered a hand at him, but she couldn’t contain her grin. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
But she was still smiling when he poured her a mug of chai and extended it to her. She sipped it slowly, letting the spices roll over her tongue and the milky tea slide down her throat and warm her belly.
“Tastes like Wayside,” she sighed.
Thrain looked deeply pleased, and she was certain that Bramble smiled.
“Thanks for this.” She raised the mug as she slipped from the galley and headed for their room.
Since her dwarf roommate was busy perfecting chai, she had the place to herself.
She hoisted herself into the upper hammock, dangling her legs over one side, and placed the cup of chai on the flat ledge below the porthole.
She pulled out her journal, the pages worn from handling and the ink faded. Between the scuffed leather covers were tales of quests all over the Known Lands, including the journey to Claw Island.
She thought about the shelves in the captain’s quarters. The Travels and Travails of Peg-Leg Willie. The Unabridged Journals of Captain Blackheart. She thought about what Thrain had said.
You could probably write a book as good as any on the shelves.
Maybe her old adventures could be the start of her new one. Maybe the archer who’d been looking for somewhere to aim her bow had been holding the answer all along. She picked up her quill and started to write.