Chapter Twenty-Three The Acadia #2
I guess we’re getting right to the point then.
After a moment of shocked silence, a grin bloomed on Kalúe’s lips. “I see. And what is it you want with the blood of the King of the Deep?”
“A few things,” Caelan said.
“Okay, I’ll play,” she said with a laugh. “Why would I help you?”
“A share of the yield,” Caelan said. “Half.”
“Hmm,” Kalúe hummed, making a grand show of considering. “A lofty incentive. But how am I to cash in such a reward once my father’s ship is lying at the bottom of the Kasmore Deep, and we are all churning in the belly of the beast?”
“Your father’s ship?” Reya interrupted, tone laced with challenge. “Not yours?”
Kalúe turned a knavish gaze on Reya. “He has four ships. This one belongs to our family. When I am named its heir, it will be mine.”
“So where is he? Your father.” Reya glanced around the office deliberately.
The sea serpent inked in dark brown along Kalúe’s neck and collarbone, all the way to her chin, seemed to slither as she angled her head at Reya, quick eyes bright with suspicion, and purred, “Away.”
Caelan was quick to bring them back to task. “We would not have approached you if we did not have a way to kill it without killing ourselves.”
Kalúe’s bracelets clanked as she gestured to Caelan. “Your powers may be legend, Caelan Halcyon, but even they will not be enough for this.”
“I will not be alone,” Caelan said after a beat.
“Oh dear,” Kalúe lilted. “I hope you’re not referring to me. What do you expect me to do—drown it?”
They had debated at length the risks of informing Kalúe of what Reya was.
Trusting a pirate was not at the top of anyone’s to-do list. Caelan had made it clear that Kalúe would never put herself and her crew at risk without proof of a viable path to victory.
But ultimately, it had been Reya’s call.
She knew right then, by the captain’s mocking smile, that Caelan had been correct.
When Reya and Caelan retained their stony, serious expressions, the captain’s smile fell.
“You’re serious,” Kalúe said at last. “I thought you were in the business of hunting Guardians, Caelan, not Krakens.”
“I accomplished my task.”
“You found him?” Kalúe started. “You found the next Guardian of Alethia?”
“I’m surprised that you of all people would assume it’s a him,” Reya said.
Kalúe looked Reya up and down twice. “You?”
When Caelan gave Kalúe a confirming nod, she laid both hands on the desk in front of her and said, testing the weight of each word, “A demi-Sage female is Una’s chosen.
” A snort. “I might not be as old as you, Caelan, but even I know that’s never happened before.
Did you think you could play me for a fool?
Get the hell off my ship.” When they didn’t move, she gestured to the door, adding, “Unless you’re prepared to kill us all. ”
“That would be counterproductive,” Reya said casually.
The captain smiled seemingly despite herself, but it was calculating, almost cruel in its sharpness. “I don’t believe you.” Reya didn’t miss how Kalúe glanced between them, noting how Caelan inched closer, bracing for the conflict. “But let’s find out. Just to be certain.”
Kalúe’s dagger flew, and time slowed. Reya watched the candlelight flicker off the steel as it spun. And not for her.
For Caelan.
Reya waited for him to catch the dagger, as he had weeks ago when she had been the one tossing steel, but he didn’t move. He was still looking at the captain—smirking.
A spear of light shot across the room, and the blade disintegrated in mid-air little more than a thumb’s length from Caelan’s face.
Reya blinked, looking from her outstretched palm to the black dust brushing against his cheeks, still not quite believing what she’d done.
Caelan hadn’t even flinched. He turned to Reya with a look of such pride that she swelled.
Her power had always been explosive. Never had she wielded it with such precision.
Perhaps it’s time to try another emotion.
Beneath Reya’s cloak, her violet Ire was bright against her skin. Hand still extended, she twisted toward Kalúe with bared teeth. Zantae jerked the captain behind him, protecting her with a fierceness that went beyond loyalty.
“Try that again,” Reya challenged, fingers fluttering up and down in waves from right to left.
It was a total bluff. She had no idea what had just happened or how and was almost certainly not going to be able to do it again.
But if there was one thing she could do, it was lie.
“You’ve got five more blades on you. And none of them are made of Etellinian steel. ”
Zantae began speaking in a language Reya didn’t understand, but the warning in his tone needed no translation. Kalúe pushed her first mate aside, looking Reya over with a renewed interest that she quickly masked. “After the stories Caelan told me as a girl, I thought you’d be taller.”
“Sorry to disappoint.”
When Kalúe said nothing more, Reya lowered her hand and took a step forward.
The two pirates flinched. Oh, she could get used to this.
Was this how Caelan felt all the time? Drunk on power?
“It’s all very simple. You sail us into the Kasmore Deep and keep us afloat long enough for me to rip the beast apart.
One of us cuts off a tentacle, and we all go home, rich and happy. ”
Kalúe laughed then. “If you think it will be that easy, then you are a fool. Tell me, what do you know of the Deep?”
Reya didn’t have a worthy answer, so she said nothing.
Kalúe’s lips twitched. With a sweep of her hand, the captain sent a stack of books and papers flying off the desk to reveal a section of ocean southeast of Ianess—on the very edge of the map—and pointed a tattooed finger at the words carved there: Kasmore Deep.
A shiver coiled down Reya’s spine.
“Between us and the Fifth Sea stands a mammoth, surface-high coral shelf known as Shipbreaker Reef. There are only a few safe paths through that graveyard ridge, and even fewer people in this world who can navigate them. Thanks to my father, I am one of them. Beyond the reef, the waters are so deep they run black, and the dead winds make it nigh uncrossable, even for someone with my… abilities.”
That was twice now Kalúe had made a vague nod to her ancestry. Either she trusted Caelan more than he’d let on or she trusted her ability to see them both dead if this went south.
“I was twelve when my father taught me the paths and showed me the darker parts of the ocean we rely on. I spent the entire journey glued to the bow of this ship, peering down into that abyss.” Her voice lowered.
“The Kraken isn’t the only thing you’ll find in those waters, Guardian.
If this ship sinks, we will not make it out of that abyss in rowboats. All of us will die.”
“Then I’ll be sure to work quickly,” Reya said stiffly.
Kalúe sat back on her desk as she contemplated. “Why?” she said at last. “Why risk it? What does the Guardian need with Kraken blood?”
Telling Kalúe about Caelan’s curse would only hurt their case.
But if she refused to give a reason, that would do them no favors, either.
Coin was the obvious answer, but there were other, less deadly ways to acquire coin.
They needed Kalúe to believe in their ability and, moreover, Reya’s determination to do this.
“A curse was placed on someone I care for,” Reya hedged, telling herself it was just a lie to get what she needed and deliberately avoiding Caelan’s gaze.
Kalúe’s eyes slid to Zantae, who was still warily staring at Reya.
“I need that blood to break it. And every minute I stand here talking to you is a minute I could be using to find another pirate to help me.”
“I hope that’s not some attempt to move me,” Kalúe drawled.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Kalúe pursed her lips. “You are aware that the magical properties of Kraken blood are strictly legend and it may in fact prove useless.” When Reya nodded, she turned to Caelan. “You would let your Guardian sail into the Kasmore Deep and uncertain death?”
“You try telling her what to do some time, captain. Let me know how that goes.”
Reya tried and failed to ignore the warmth in her chest. “Do this, and you’ll never need to sink another ship or pillage another shipwreck.
Buy yourself a fleet of ships and go legal.
Hell, buy yourself an island and retire for all I care.
” Kalúe’s brown eyes practically glowed.
“Three Alethians, one water elemental, and one Guardian versus the might of the Kasmore Deep. That’s better odds than any of us will ever have again.
I’ll even let you take credit. Kalúe Kraken-slayer sounds like a legend to me. ”
The captain’s lips curved in a way that was nothing short of conspiratorial. “You’ve got some nerve.”
“Help me, and the world will know you have made an ally of Una’s chosen. Those bastard Pirate Lords won’t be able to touch you. Or stay here and enjoy all this lovely city has to offer.” Reya lifted her chin, eyes narrowing in challenge. “Do we have a deal?”
Kalúe looked at Zantae. Almost imperceptibly, he shook his head. The captain turned back to Reya, as if she might discover a definitive answer in her features. Whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her. Kalúe let go of the desk and extended her hand. They clasped forearms. “Aye. We have a deal.”