Fable (Fable #1)(21)

West took the lines behind Willa and helped pull us in as two men came running down the dock. They put their hands out, waiting for the Marigold to come closer, and when she made it to the edge, they pushed to keep her from scraping.

The crew dropped another anchor and then the loading ramp as Hamish talked to the dock workers below. A rogue wind swept into the cove, and I turned to face it, pulling the damp air deep into my lungs.

The current in the air sent a chill up my spine as I watched the sky turn. Slowly. That was the way of storms in the Narrows—they were clever. It was what made sailing these waters so dangerous. Nearly every ship that lay at the bottom of this sea had been put there by a storm.

Willa and Auster came up out of the passageway with their satchels and coats, and Paj pulled a knitted cap over his head before swinging up and over the railing to climb down the ladder. I lifted myself up to follow, but a hand jerked me back down to the deck.

West stood behind me, one hand hooked into the back of my belt. “You’re not leaving the ship.”

“What?” I gaped at him, instinctively trying to pull away from his grip. But his hand only tightened, making me hold my breath.

“We’ll be back in the morning, then we’ll set out for Ceros.”

I looked over his shoulder to the village. I needed off the ship if I was going to figure out a way to trade for more coin. “I’m not a prisoner.”

“You’re cargo. And the only cargo that gets off the ship at this port is the cargo that’s staying here.” He stared at me, daring me to argue. But we both knew he couldn’t make me stay on the ship. Not without tying me to the rafters in the hull. “I don’t think you have enough coin left to pay another trader for passage. So, if you don’t want to be left on this dock tomorrow, you’ll stay put.”

When he pushed past me, I caught hold of his sleeve, pulling him back. He bristled, looking down at my hand wrapped around his arm, as if stung.

“What’s down there?” I didn’t care what mess the Marigold had gotten itself into, but if it was going to keep me from getting to Ceros, it was my problem.

His jaw worked, moving beneath his sun-darkened skin. “Get off this ship, and you won’t get back on,” he said again.

He yanked free of my grip, putting the cold air between us and I finally breathed, the taste of his scent on my tongue. He pulled a cap on over his unruly gold hair before he climbed down, and I watched him press a few coins into the hands of the two men on the dock. They were probably hired to watch the ship. Or me. Maybe both. The crew wouldn’t leave the Marigold without having eyes on her.

West didn’t look back as he followed the others in a single line down the weathered wood planks leading up the dock to the village. I watched them, my hands wound so tight around the railing that my bones felt like they might crack. I needed to turn my six coppers into at least twelve before we set out from Dern, and if I didn’t get off the ship, I’d have no way to do it.

I cursed, the smell of him still thick in my throat.

Getting kicked off the Marigold was a risk I would have to take.





ELEVEN



I still had an hour or two until nightfall, and that was plenty of time.

West was either stupid for leaving me on his ship alone, or he had no choice. Judging by the tension that filled the Marigold’s crew as we drifted into the harbor, I guessed it was the latter. Whatever West was up to in Dern, he needed his entire crew for it, and he didn’t want a Jevali dredger as a witness.

I climbed the mainmast and watched the five of them weave through the narrow streets of the village below, walking in a single file line with Auster leading and West taking up the tail. They were headed to the tavern, where three tilting chimneys rose up from a long, rectangular building that also served as an inn.

It was usually the first stop for traders when they made port, and even as a child, I’d known what happened behind those doors. I’d seen enough of my father’s crew disappear into taverns with purses full of coin and leave with empty ones. There were only two things strictly forbidden on a ship because both could get you or your shipmates killed: love and drunkenness. Only on dry land could you find someone to warm your bed or empty a bottle of rye into your belly.

The brilliant glow of firelight spilled onto the street as the door opened and the crew disappeared inside. A long breath hissed out between my lips as I raked the hair back from my face, thinking. They probably wouldn’t reemerge until morning, when the merchant’s house opened, which meant I had a good ten hours to get in and out of Dern without being noticed.

I climbed down to the deck, finding each cold rung with my bare feet. As soon as night fell, I’d slip into the village and get what I needed. Until then, I would use the time to find out what the Marigold was up to in the hopes I’d end up with something even more powerful than coin. There was no currency more valuable in the Narrows than information.

I followed the steps into the passageway and stopped in front of the door to the cargo hold, sliding the smallest of my iron picks from my belt. The lock sprung easily, and I pushed the door open, ducking low beneath the rafters with the lantern out before me.

Hamish’s words echoed in my mind.

You put one finger on anything that doesn’t belong to you on this ship, and I will know.

I’d have to take my chances.