Dragonfang by Paul Collins Page B

lad can get a bit of a reputation in society, ah, it is a little hard to put discreetly, er, as –’
    ‘A bit of a whoopsie?’
    ‘ No .’ His voice was indignant.
    ‘Well, I’ve been there, endured that. It’s the small hands and refined accent. Four or five dozen fights, a rackish scar or two, and you’ll have the respect of the crew, though, and the girls will be all over you every time you step ashore. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother and sisters.’
    ‘I – I see. Ah, so you like it – I mean, life at sea?’
    ‘Well, yes and no. I could have been a market scribe, or even an enchantment healer, but I decided to go to sea to forget. The trouble is that I can’t quite remember … that’s a joke, boy, get it?’ Jelindel thumped Hargav on the back, causing him to nearly choke on his mouthful of plum cake and to drop the rest over the rail.
    ‘Oh, sorry about that. Have the rest of mine,’ said Jelindel.
    They watched the officers stagger aboard, followed by several dripping wet, glowering sailors. A booking agent hurried down the pier with three passengers, followed by half a dozen labourers carrying their bags.
    ‘Passengers,’ said Jelindel. ‘Good. The officers behave better when we have landlubbers aboard. You know about setting tables, and how to wait on noble folk?’
    ‘Oh, yes. Several of my sisters are maidservants, and they practise all the manners and etiquette of the high-born at home.’
    ‘Indeed? Excellent. The captain likes a show of refinement. An old friend of mine used to say that perfection is measured in tiny details, Hargav. Remember that at sea and you’ll go far.’
    In two hours, the ship was at sea. Hargav was vomiting over the side, and Jelindel was studying a map of the northern coast of D’loom in the chart room, while the navigator was snoring under the table.
    Oddly enough, Jelindel really had gone to sea to forget. She had betrayed close friends, and that did not sit well with her. She liked to think of herself as loyal. But, on the other hand, Daretor and Zimak probably had it coming.
    Hargav was something else, though. He would depend on her, because having a mentor among the lower ranks of the ship’s officers was vastly preferable to being at the mercy of the sailors of the lower deck. He was younger and smaller than she, and had spent most of his short life in fairly refined female company. Jelindel suspected that he had never even been in a fight. Why, he had probably even changed his name to something rather more masculine sounding than his given name, thought Jelindel. Yes, he would be company for her, and perhaps they would even become friends.
    That night Jelindel had a dream. She was speaking to a figure hidden by shadow. Whenever Jelindel tried to catch a glimpse of the silent figure, a swirl of black, eddying smoke wafted from the floor and the figure fragmented, becoming whole again further away. Jelindel kept walking after it, telling the apparition her thoughts and worries, as though under a spell.
    ‘Yesterday I survived an attempt on my life,’ she said in a monotone. ‘I strongly suspect my assailants were bounty hunters. There is, after all, three hundred gold oriels on my capture. My only solace is that they need me alive. Another possibility is that the Preceptor’s spies have found me. Either way, I begged my way aboard the Dark Empress, and in all modesty, I believe Captain Porterby was only too pleased to have me sail with him again.’
    The wraith dissipated, then became whole again at a distance. Now it seemed vaguely familiar.
    ‘I have decided to take a young man under my wing. He strikes me much the same as I was when I fled home,’ Jelindelcontinued. ‘My introduction was more brutal than his, of course. Although well educated, my life’s experiences came from books. And nothing, I have learnt, compares to actually doing things instead of reading about them. I knew about swords, but had never had to use one for