Amalicia took his lack of reply as an affirmative. ‘She must be quite a woman, this pirate queen of yours.’
He heard the poison in her voice. She’d never help him now. And without her, he didn’t know how he could save Trinica. It was only in that moment that he realised how much had relied on this one woman, how slim his chances had been from the start.
‘I should go,’ he said, defeated. He needed to get out of her sight and never be seen by her again, to bury this incident in his memory and not tell another living soul.
‘Wait,’ she said, as he headed for the doorway. He stopped and looked back at her, crushed in on himself like a beaten dog. ‘Ebenward Plome, you said?’
He just stared at her dumbly.
She combed her fingers through her hair and threw it back over her shoulders. She was staring into the pool. ‘I hear he’s staying at the Tarlocks’ summer home in the Splinters right now. Such a disloyal, treacherous enemy of the Allsoul. He won’t be there for long. Only a few days, perhaps.’ She met his eyes briefly. ‘It might be our only chance to turn him over to the side of the Awakeners.’
He could hardly credit what he was hearing. After everything he’d done to her, after this new humiliation, he’d never have expected the maturity necessary to choose politics over her emotions. She’d always been a spoilt child at heart, full of pique and rage. He felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude, and didn’t know what to do with it.
‘Thank you, Amalicia,’ he said, his gaze on the floor. ‘You’re doing the right thing. If the Awakeners ever seize power, who knows what they’ll do to the aristocracy.’
‘Oh,’ she said. ‘No, that’s not why I’m doing this.’
‘So why?’ he asked quietly.
‘Hate,’ she said, ‘Pure and simple.’ She gave him a small, vicious smile. ‘I suppose I am a vengeful person after all.’
Twenty-Seven
‘Hey!’
Marinda froze. She looked slowly over her shoulder, like a child dreading the monster they imagine stands behind them.
‘Wait up!’ Pinn called, as he hurried across the clearing towards her.
He had to dodge his way through. This part of the Awakener camp was busy in the hot afternoon. Groups of sweltering men were loading cargo into aircraft. Cassocked figures hurried here and there, locked in agitated conversation. Teams of mercenaries carried out weapons checks while the mangroves stirred restlessly in the hot breeze from the south.
She must not have seen him, because she was walking away at some speed when he caught up with her.
‘Hey! It’s me!’
She turned around, brushed her hair back behind her ear self-consciously, levered an unconvincing smile onto her face. ‘Artis,’ she said. ‘What a surprise.’
‘Ta da!’ he sang, spreading his arms wide. He wagged a finger at her. ‘You are a hard woman to find.’
‘Oh,’ she said. ‘It’s the preparations, you see.’
Pinn looked about. Now that she mentioned it, he’d noticed a certain increase in activity over the last couple of days. He hadn’t thought much of it, to be honest. He’d been preoccupied with his quest to find Marinda. The Awakener camp was a big place.
‘What are we preparing for?’ he asked.
‘Leaving,’ she said. ‘Soon it will be time for the great assault, and we. . What are you wearing?’
Pinn struck a pose, the better to show off his shabby, dirt-smeared beige cassock, an ill-fitting imitation of hers. He still had the Cipher painted on his head, though sweat had reduced it to a blue smear. ‘You like it?’ he asked. ‘I’m a Speaker, like you!’
‘Artis,’ she said patiently. ‘That’s actually quite offensive.’
‘Just thought I’d get into the spirit of things,’ he said, unfazed by her disapproval. ‘Can’t blame me for being keen!’
She glanced about as if searching for escape. ‘Well, it’s very nice to see you again, but I really must be-’
‘You weren’t at the meeting place,’ he said. ‘Not yesterday or the day before! What about my lessons?’
‘I, er, I understood that your crew had left. There was quite a stir about it. A lot of people were very angry, as I recall.’
‘Not me!’ said Pinn. ‘I stayed. I’m a follower of the Allsoul, through and through.’
‘I see,’ she said. ‘And a Prognosticator knows about this?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ he said. ‘I’ve talked to three of them now. They said I was alright, ’cause I chose the Allsoul. Not like the others. That lot are traitors.’
She regarded him sceptically. Pinn wasn’t quite sure if he was telling the truth or not. His memory always was a bit fuzzy that way. He remembered running away into the swamp while everyone was occupied with shooting at the Ketty Jay. He remembered the flak exploding in the sky. After that, there was a lot of wandering about. It was easy to get lost in a camp this size. He’d slept rough one night; later on he’d just walked into a tent and taken a bunk and no one had disturbed him. He queued up and ate at mess tents. He got drunk at a makeshift bar that had set up its own still. A few people remarked on the fake Cipher on his forehead, but whatever he’d said had convinced them he was harmless. He thought he might have talked to a few of the higher-up Awakeners at some point, but that could have been his imagination. Well, anyway, they’d understand. After all, he’d stayed behind: how could they doubt his loyalty?
And all the time he’d been searching. Searching for Marinda. Those sweet, understanding eyes. That youthful, pretty smile. Those round, firm-
She caught him looking. His gaze flicked back up to her face. ‘So how about my lesson?’ he said, without missing a beat.
‘Oh, I really couldn’t. It’s the preparations, you see. I have so much to do.’
‘ ‘‘Teach those who would be taught’’,’ Pinn said, frowning and speaking in a deep voice to imitate the Prognosticator that had ordered her to give him lessons. He hadn’t learned a thing in the time since, but he’d enjoyed staring at her a lot. ‘Listen, I’ll tell you what. You don’t even need to give me a lesson today. I’m gonna give one to you. I’m gonna read the future!’
‘You’re, er. . Pardon?’
‘I’ll show you!’ he said. ‘Come on! Where’s that bowl of yours?’
He took her by the hand and dragged her off in the direction of a nearby tent. She protested weakly, but soon gave up. It was usually easier just to do what Pinn wanted. Reasoning with him was too exhausting.
There were a dozen or so crates in the tent, but it was mostly empty. Most of the supplies had been loaded into nearby aircraft. Part of the preparations Marinda kept talking about, Pinn guessed. He didn’t care. He just wanted her to himself for a bit.
She had the bowl with her, of course; she always did. It was in a bag along with a flask of milk and her long, sharp needle, its tip blunted by cork. He had her hold the bowl and poured some milk into it, then he took the needle from her, pulled off the cork and held it up.
‘Now I’m just going to prick your finger-’ he began.
‘No! Noooo, no, no,’ she said, backing off. ‘Dangerous. You shouldn’t be doing that.’
‘Come on, it can’t be that hard.’
‘There’s a technique to it,’ Marinda protested.
‘Yeah, I saw your technique on that old lady you stabbed through the hand.’
Her face hardened. Pinn detected a bad move on his part. ‘Er,’ he said. ‘What I mean is-’
‘Wait!’ she said. A slow smile spread across her lips. ‘I have an idea. You want to read the future, you can read your own. I’ll pierce you.’
Pinn suddenly felt a whole lot less enthusiastic about his grand plan to impress her. ‘Erm,’ he said.
‘Come on, give me your hand,’ Marinda said briskly. ‘Here, hold the bowl and give me that needle. Now your finger. Come on!’
Before he knew quite how it had happened, Pinn found himself holding out his finger over the bowl of milk. He wished he’d thought faster, found some reason to argue. But she certainly seemed a lot more eager now.