Red Seas Under Red Skies: The Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Book Two (Gentleman Bastards 2)

‘No.’

Locke stood beside Drakasha at the taffrail, huddled close to her so they could converse privately. It was the seventh hour of the morning, more or less, and the sun was ascending into a cloudless bowl of blue sky. The wind was from the east, a touch abaft their starboard beam, and the waves were getting rowdy.

‘And you feel that—’

‘Yes, I do feel that I can speak for both of us,’ said Locke. ‘There’s no other choice. We won’t see Stragos again unless you do as he asks. And to be frank, if you do as he asks, I think our usefulness ends. We’ll have one more chance at physical access to him. It’s time to show this fucker how we used to do things in Camorr.’

‘I thought you specialized in dishonest finesse.’

‘I also do a brisk trade in putting knives to peoples’ throats and shouting at them,’ said Locke.

‘But if you request another meeting after we sink a few ships for him, don’t you think he’ll be prepared for treachery? Especially in a palace crowded with soldiers?’

‘All I have to do is get close to him,’ said Locke. ‘I’m not going to pretend I could fight my way through a wall of guards, but from six inches with a good stiletto, I’m the hand of Aza Guilla Herself.’

‘Hold him hostage, then?’

‘Simple. Direct. Hopefully effective. If I can’t trick an antidote out of him, or cut a deal with his alchemist, maybe I can frighten him half to death.’

‘And you honestly believe you’ve thought this through?’

‘Captain Drakasha, I could barely sleep these past few days for pondering it. Why do you think I wandered back here to find you?’

‘Well—’

‘Captain!’ The mainmast watch was hailing the deck. ‘Got action behind us!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Sail maybe three points off the larboard quarter, at the horizon. Just came around real sudden. Went from sort of westerly to pointed right at us.’

‘Good eyes,’ said Drakasha. ‘Keep me informed. Utgar!’

‘Aye, Captain?’

‘Double the watch on each mast. On deck there! Make ready for a course change! Stand by tacks and braces! Wait for my word!’

‘Real trouble, Captain?’

‘Probably not,’ said Drakasha. ‘Even if Stragos has changed his mind since yesterday and decided to hunt us down now, a Verrari warship wouldn’t be coming from that direction.’

‘Hopefully.’

‘Aye. So what we do is we change our own heading, nice and slow. If their course change was innocent, they’ll sail merrily past.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Helm, come around north-west by north, smartly! Utgar! Get the yards braced for a wind on the starboard quarter!’

‘Aye, Captain!’

The Poison Orchid slowly heeled even further to larboard, until she was headed almost due north-west. The stiff breeze now blew across the quarterdeck, nearly into Locke’s face. To the south he fancied that he could see tiny sails; from the deck the vessel was still hull-down.

A few minutes later came the shout: ‘Captain! She’s come five or six points to her larboard! She’s for us again!’

‘We’re off her starboard bow,’ said Drakasha. ‘She’s trying to close with us. But that doesn’t make sense.’ She snapped her fingers. ‘Wait. Might be a bounty-privateer.’

‘How could they know it’s us?’

‘Probably got a description of the Orchid from the crew of that ketch you visited. Look, we could only hope to disguise my girl for so long. These lovely witchwood planks of hers are too distinctive.’

‘So ... how much of a problem is this?’

‘Depends on who’s got the speed. If she’s a bounty-privateer, that’s a profitless fight. She’ll be carrying dangerous folk and no swag. So if we’re the faster, I mean to show her our arse and wave farewell.’

‘And if not?’

‘A profitless fight.’

‘Captain,’ hollered one of the top-eyes, ‘she’s a three-master!’

‘This just gets better and better,’ said Drakasha. ‘Go wake up Ezri and Jerome for me.’