The sleeping spell with which Shamus had gifted her had worked perfectly. She felt wonderfully rested and refreshed. Looking out the window of her room, she saw that it was still dark outside. She quietly opened the bedroom door and walked into the front room.
The fire had gone out, and a package lay on the table next to her cloak. A parchment note pinned to the package read: "For the journey." She opened it to see a wedge of cheese, a generous amount of jerky, and a small package of purple calmatrass berries.
She tiptoed to the other bedroom door and opened it a crack. Beneath a great, patterned quilt, Evelyn and Shamus lay asleep in each other's arms. A tear formed in Satine's eyes and she quickly brushed it away.
She walked back into the front room, put on her cloak, picked up the package, and headed for the door. She was just about to leave when she had a thought. She walked back over to the table and put the package down.
She looked around for something to write with, but she couldn't find anything. Instead, she took a piece of warm charcoal from the hearth. She removed five gold coins worth twenty kisa each from her cloak and put them on the table. Using the charcoal, she wrote, "For your kindnesses" on the tablecloth. She took up the package again and left. Four hours later the Gray Fox found herself at a fork in the narrow country road. She was in disguise again, and she held the reins of her packhorse firmly in one hand. The Minions had dwindled to specks in the sky as they traveled west, following the branch of road that bore away to her left. The road to the right led east, toward the coast. The way behind her would take her back to Shamus and Evelyn's comfortable cottage, where she knew she would be welcome to stay for as long as she liked. She found it an oddly attractive prospect. Even though she had collected only half of her fee, she was already one of the wealthiest women in Eutracia. But Wulfgar's reach was long, and if she quit now, she knew that the specter of his wrath would haunt her forever.
Thinking to herself, she reached down into her boot and withdrew the precious piece of parchment. From here on, her sanctions would prove to be even more dangerous. If she were killed, she wanted no harm to come to Shamus and Evelyn as a result of her failures. Their names and address were at the bottom of the list.
Ripping their information from the page, she tore the small section into pieces then cast them to the wind.
Eager for his mistress to choose her path, the gelding danced beneath her. She looked at first one branch of the road, and then the other. She thought for a moment about Aeolus and Shamus. They were so alike, she realized. And yet also so different.
Finally she made up her mind. Her jaw set, the Gray Fox turned her horse and spurred him into a trot down the road leading west.
CHAPTER LXXI
From where he stood in the bow of his black ship, Wulfgar looked out over the moonlit sea. His fleet was making good time. The six other Black Ships traveled abreast in a broad line. The ebony vessels and their cargo of Earthshakers and demonslavers flew quickly and silently above the waves.
Miraculous, Wulfgar thought. They had traveled from the Citadel to the coast of Eutracia in only five days. The wizards of the Redoubt would rue the day that they created these mighty ships-he would make sure of that.
Suddenly Wulfgar stiffened. For the briefest moment he thought he sensed something, but then it was gone. Relaxing again, he returned to his previous thoughts. Suddenly the feeling returned. This time the sensation was unmistakable.
"What is it, my lord?" Captain Merriwhether asked. His eerie green eyes glowed brightly from within his dark skull. "Is something amiss?"
Wulfgar quickly raised his good hand, demanding silence.
"There is endowed blood out there," Wulfgar said after a time. "It lies to the west, not far off the coast. You will probably not be able to sense it, but I can. It is blood of a very high order. Its quality is slightly higher than my own, but not altogether perfect. That leads me to only one conclusion. It must belong to the Jin'Saiou. But the Jin'Sai is not traveling with her.
"I find that curious," he added with a smile. "After our first encounter, I would have thought him eager to meet me again. And someone is cloaking Shailiha's blood-either Wigg or Faegan, no doubt. They think that they can hide it from me, but they can't. The enemy fleet must be out there. They're coming fast."
He turned to look at Merriwhether. "Signal the other Black Ships," he ordered, "and alert them to the situation. For now, I want them to maintain this formation. Unless I miss my guess, the enemy will try to surround us. When I give the order, I want the other Black Ships to follow our actions to the letter. It is not my intent to crush the enemy fleet. Our primary goal remains to break through their lines and reach the coast intact. But if we can send a few of them to the bottom, so be it."
"Yes, my lord," Merriwhether answered. "But there is something that I don't understand. If you were unable to detect Shailiha's blood at the Citadel, how is it that you can sense it now-especially if it is cloaked as it was before?"
Wulfgar smiled. "Because I also sense lesser endowed blood out there," he answered. "The wizards are trying to cloak all of it at the same time, and it is taxing their meager gifts. That means that there are also Acolytes of the Redoubt aboard at least some of the enemy vessels. There are, without question, hosts of Minion warriors with them as well. I expected as much. They are throwing everything at us that they dare, while also keeping a suitable force in reserve at the palace. Even so, that will not be enough."
Wulfgar gave Merriwhether a hard glare. "Now stop questioning me and go and carry out your orders."
With a slight bow, the captain hurried away.
Wulfgar turned back to look westward. He would land his troops and Earthshakers on Eutracian soil this night, no matter the cost. And then he could begin the all-important journey to the Tolenkas, just as the Heretics had ordered him to do. As the northern half of her fleet sailed up the coast, Tyranny searched the sea with her spyglass. She could see nothing but empty ocean.
She stood in the stern, next to the ship's wheel. Scars manned the wheel and Shailiha stood by his side. Duvessa had gone off to assemble her female warriors, and Tyranny had ordered Adrian into the crow's nest to use her heightened senses to search for the Enseterat's fleet. The assembled Minion warriors aboard the Reprise were spoiling for a fight. K'jarr stood before them, ready to follow Tyranny's orders at a moment's notice.
Collapsing her spyglass, the privateer took a deep breath. The thirty-one vessels to her south were long gone by now, and they would soon be altering course to help intercept Wulfgar's Black Ships. At this point, she could only hope that she had done the right thing in dividing her fleet.
She was about to speak to the princess when another peal came from the warning bell in the crow's nest.
"I see them!" Adrian called down.
"Where away?" Tyranny shouted back.
Adrian pointed an arm out over the waves. "North by northeast and closing fast!" she answered. "Less than half a league away!"
Tyranny turned and raised her glass. At first she saw nothing. She twisted the cylinders to bring the image into better focus. Suddenly, there they were.
Seven huge moonlit forms flew eerily just above sea, closing in on her position with a speed that she couldn't match. Even at this distance their size was spectacular. She was glad to see that they were sailing in an arrowhead formation. They would be easier to surround, she thought. Perhaps her plan to stop Wulfgar here and now might work after all.
"Steer north by northeast!" she ordered Scars. As the giant spun the wheel, Tyranny called for K'jarr. He was by her side in a flash.