“We’d never have time to hoist it properly. But if we could weaken the ropes, and if the deck was pitching …”

“Shit,” said Locke. “Once we hit the Cavendria, we’ll be steady as a cup of tea until we’re out the other side. How many of our friends do you figure we could handle at once?”

“How many could Ihandle at once? Let’s be pragmatic and say three. I’m pretty sure I could club the whole crew down one or two at a time if nobody raised an alarm, but you’ve seen their habits. They never work alone. I’m not sure the brute force approach will get us very far.”

“You know, it certainly would be nice to receive an unannounced visit from our benefactor Patience,” said Locke. “Or anyone associated with her. Right about now. Or … now!”

“I think we’re on our own,” said Jean. “I’m sure someone or some thingis watching us, but Sabetha put us here. It seems within the rules as Patience explained them.”

“I wonder if herBondsmagi would be so sporting.”

“Well, there is a bright side. We’re eating well enough. You’re not looking like such a wrenched-out noodle anymore.”

“That’s great, Jean. I’m not just exiled; I’m being plumped up for slaughter. Suppose there’s any chance we might run into Zamira if we reach the Sea of Brass?”

“What the hell would she be doing back up here so soon after everything that happened?” Jean yawned and stretched. “The Poison Orchid’sas likely to come over the horizon and save us as I am to give birth to a live albatross.”

“It was just an idle thought,” said Locke. “A damned pleasing idle thought. So, I suppose we pray for heavy weather.”

“And worry about cutting some ropes,” said Jean. “Ideas?”

“I could have a makeshift knife on an hour’s notice. So long as I knew it would be used before they turned our cabin over the next day.”

“Good. And what about our ankle manacles? You’ve always been better with that sort of thing than I have.”

“The mechanisms are delicate. I could come up with bone splinters small enough to fit, but those are brittle. One snap and they’d jam up the locks for good.”

“Then we might just have to bear them until we can hit land,” said Jean. “Well, first things first. We need to be within reasonable distance of a beach, and we need a rolling deck, and we need to not be tied up in the hold when our chance comes.”

3

THE SKY turned gray again that night, and ominous clouds boiled on the horizons, but the gentle rolling of the Amathel barely titled the deck of the Resolvein one direction or another. Locke spent several hours leaning against the main deck rails, feigning placidity, straining secretly for any glimpse of a bolt of lightning or an oncoming thunderhead. The only lights to be seen, however, were the ghostly flickerings from within the black depths of the lake, twinkling like constellations of fire.

Their progress was slow. The strange autumn winds were against them much of the time, and with no mages to shape the weather to their taste, they had to move by tack after long, slow tack to the southwest. Volantyne and his crew seemed to care not a whit. Whether they sailed half the world or half a mile, their pay would be the same.

On the night of their fourth day, Locke caught flashes of whitish yellow illuminating the southern horizon, but his excitement died when he realized that he was looking at Lashain.

On the fifth day they picked up speed, and the capricious winds grew stronger. The whole sky bruised over with promising clouds, and just after noon the first drops of cool rain began to fall. Locke and Jean retreated to their cabin, trying to look innocent. They buried themselves in books and idle conversation, glancing out the cabin window every few moments, watching in mutual satisfaction as the troughs between the waves deepened and the strands of foam thickened at their crests.

At the third hour of the afternoon, with the rain steady and the lake rolling at four or five feet, Adalric came to their door to receive instructions for dinner.

“Perhaps the soup of the veal, masters?”

“By all means,” said Locke. If any chance to escape was coming, he wanted to face it with at least one more of the Vadran prodigy’s feasts shoved down his gullet.

“And how about chicken?” said Jean.

“I’ll do one the murder right away.”

“Dessert too,” said Locke. “Let’s have a big one tonight. Storms make me hungry.”

“I have a cake of the honey and ginger,” said Adalric.

“Good man,” said Jean. “And let’s have some wine. Two bottles of sparkling apple, eh?”

“Two bottles,” said the cook. “I has it brung to you.”

“Decent fellow, for all that he tramples the language,” said Locke when the door had closed behind the cook. “I hate to take advantage of him.”

“He won’t miss us if we slip away,” said Jean. “He’s got the whole crew to appreciate him. You know what sort of slop they’d be gagging down if he wasn’t aboard.”

Locke went on deck a few minutes later, letting the rain soak him as he stood by the foremast, feigning indifference as the deck rolled slowly from side to side. It was a gentle motion as yet, but if the weather continued to pick up it was a very promising trend indeed.

“Master Lazari!” Solus Volantyne came down from the quarterdeck, oilcloak fluttering. “Surely you’d be more comfortable in your cabin?”

“Perhaps our mutual friend neglected to tell you, Captain Volantyne, that Master Callas and myself have been at sea. Compared to what we endured down in the Ghostwinds, this is invigorating.”

“I do know something of your history, Lazari, but I’m also charged with your safety.”

“Well, until someone takes these damned bracelets off my ankles I can’t exactly swim to land, can I?”

“And what if you catch cold?”

“With Adalric aboard? He must have possets that would drive back death itself.”

“Will you at least consent to an oilcloak, so you look like less of a crazy landsman?”

“That’d be fine.”

Volantyne summoned a sailor with a spare cloak, and Locke resumed talking as he fastened it over his shoulders. “Now, pardon my ignorance, but where the hell are we, anyway?”

“Forty miles due west of Lashain, give or take a hair in any direction.”

“Ah. I thought I spotted the city last night.”

“We’re not making good westward progress. If I had a schedule to keep I’d be in a black mood, but thanks to you, we’re in no hurry, are we?”

“Quite. Are those heavier storms to the south?”

“That shadow? That’s a lee shore, Master Lazari. A damned lee shore. We’re eight or nine miles off the southern coast of the Amathel, and fighting to get no closer. If we can punch through this mess and claw another twenty or thirty miles west-nor’west, we should be clear straight to the Cavendria, and from there it’s like a wading pond all the way to the Sea of Brass.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” said Locke. “Rest assured, I’ve got absolutely no interest in drowning.”

4

DINNER WAS excellent and productive. Four of Volantyne’s sailors watched from the corners of the cabin while Locke and Jean packed away soup, chicken, bread, cake, and sparkling apple wine. Just after opening the second bottle, however, Locke signaled Jean that he was about to have a clumsy moment.

Timing himself to the sway of the ship, Locke swept the new bottle off the table. It landed awkwardly and broke open, spilling cold frothing wine across his bare feet. Realizing that the bottle hadn’t shattered into the selection of knife-like shards he’d hoped for, he managed to drop his wineglass as well, with more satisfactory results.

“Ah, shit, that was good stuff,” he said loudly, slipping off his chair and crouching above the mess. He waved his hands over it, as though unsure of what to do, and in an instant a long, sturdy piece of glass was shifted from his palm to his tunic-sleeve. It was delicate work; a red stain beneath the cloth would surely draw attention.