The Merchant of Dreams (Night's Masque, #2)(64)

"Do not be afraid," Erishen murmured in his ear. "The wound is not so bad."

He dragged Gabriel into the shelter of the awning and ran back out onto deck. The cannon fire had ceased, and both sides were watching one another warily. Edging around the mast, Erishen caught sight of the girl, Hendricks, on the fo'c's'le. She had both pistols drawn and pointed at Captain Hennaq, and was shouting to the captain of the other ship in a strange tongue. As he watched, the other ship lowered its boat and the girl began to back away, never taking her eyes – or weapons – off Hennaq.

Erishen took a lantern from the mast and ducked back under the awning. Gabriel lay on the matting, pale and unmoving. Erishen took a closer look at his leg wound. Lamplight glinted on slivers of curved glass protruding from his flesh. Ulhantjaarr. Unless Gabriel was treated quickly, he would die.

Coby edged down the stairs to the weather deck, one pistol still aimed behind her in the captain's general direction, one sweeping back and forth across the crew. Her arms were starting to tremble from the unaccustomed weight; if she didn't finish this soon, her plan – such as it was – would fall apart.
As she reached the bottom step, Sandy emerged from the awning carrying an unconscious Gabriel. He shouted something to the skraylings, and she thought she heard the name "Gaoh" amongst his words.

"What happened?" she said over her shoulder as she backed towards them.

"An exploding shell. He is poisoned."

Coby waved a pistol at the nearest skrayling.

"You! Get here Elder Gaoh, now!"

The sailor bowed and scurried off. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Hayreddin's jolly-boat setting out across the gap between the two vessels. A few moments later the old physician appeared, clutching his medicine bag to his chest like a frightened girl-child with a doll. She jerked her head towards Gabriel.

"He die, you die," she told him. Tradetalk could be gratifyingly unsubtle at times.

Sandy lowered the unconscious actor to the deck, and Gaoh began fussing over him. After peeling back his patient's eyelids and feeling his pulse, Gaoh put his mouth over the young actor's and breathed into his lungs. He did this several times, then turned his attention to the wound, calling for a lantern.

Coby stood guard, arms crossed tight against her chest to stop them from shaking and pistols pointing in opposite directions. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the old skrayling pulling pieces of glass out of the wound. Gabriel never even flinched or cried out, which was worrying in itself. She turned back to the skrayling crew, scanning their features for any sign that they were about to attack. Her sudden appearance on deck had placed them at an impasse. If they tried to stop her, it would only confirm her story and spur on her rescuers, and if they did not, she would get away for certain. Captain Hennaq appeared to have opted for selfpreservation over revenge. Very wise.

The splash of oars grew louder, and she heard someone shouting out to let down the rope ladder. After a moment's hesitation the skrayling sailors complied.

"Hurry," she told Gaoh. "We go. Now."

Gaoh chittered to himself and finished fastening a bandage around Gabriel's calf, then returned to his strange ritual of breathing into Gabriel's mouth. He paused and looked up at Coby.

"You do," the skrayling said. "I show."

"Very well, if you think it will help." She handed Sandy one of her pistols. "Try to look as though you know how to use this."

Gaoh showed her how to pinch Gabriel's nose and breathe into his mouth so that his lungs inflated like a bellows.

"Five times and then wait, then repeat," she said, as he explained as best he could in a mixture of Tradetalk and gestures.

The old skrayling rose and bowed. Coby got to her feet and took the pistol back off Sandy.

"Come on, time to go."

Sandy bent and lifted Gabriel's inert form once more. They backed towards the rail, just as a dark-skinned sailor's head popped up. He helped to manhandle Gabriel over the side, then Sandy followed with their baggage, leaving Coby alone on the deck. She waited for the skraylings to rush her, but they remained motionless and silent. With a prayer that the pistols would not go off, she thrust them through her belt and scrambled over the side of the ship and down to the waiting boat.

Coby sat on a stool next to the captain's bunk, watching Gabriel for any sign of improvement. She had blown into his mouth again and again until she was dizzy, and to her relief he appeared to be breathing on his own once more, but he was still as pale as a marble statue and almost as cold. She tucked the blanket in around him and brushed back the hair from his clammy brow, swallowing against the lump in her throat. If only she had waited until they were all safely above decks before alerting Youssef to their plight, this wouldn't have happened. The irony of losing one of the last surviving members of Suffolk's Men to another cannon, and through her own carelessness at that, was not lost on her. She wrapped her arms around her knees and blinked back tears.
She was roused from her misery a few minutes later by the cabin door opening. After wiping her eyes on her cuff, she looked up to see Sandy ducking through the doorway, carrying a wide-bottomed jug and a wad of damp linen. His face was flushed and his dark hair was damp and curling around his temples, like Mal's after a sparring match. He set the jug down on the floor next to the bunk, shook out the cloth and folded it neatly, then draped it over the top of the jug.