Arvin set his pack at his feet and turned to Karrell. “I’m surprised to find you on the boat,” he said. “I didn’t, ah… see you come aboard.”
Karrell’s lips twitched. “I did not see you board, either.”
“I slipped into the hold this morning, just before dawn,” Arvin said. He lowered his voice so the sailors wouldn’t overhear. “I told the guard the truth—there was a woman, back at the Eelgrass Inn, who I’m trying to avoid. A woman with red hair and green scales that look like freckles. And a blue forked tongue. Did you notice her?”
“So that is why you left so hastily.” Karrell thought a moment. “She is yuan-ti?”
“Yes. But she can pass for human, at a distance.”
“I saw her. Twice. Last night, when I first arrived at the inn, and this morning, when she was talking to the innkeeper.”
Arvin leaned forward, tense. “You didn’t say anything about me, did you? Anything she might have overheard?”
“No.”
Arvin relaxed a little. “Did you hear what she said to the innkeeper?”
“That she would stay another night.”
Arvin nodded, thankful that Zelia hadn’t chosen to catch this morning’s riverboat. He’d been terrified by the prospect of being trapped in the cargo hold, unable to emerge on deck, and slowly freezing to death during the long voyage. Even if she did set out for Ormpetarr on the next riverboat, he would reach that city a full day ahead of her.
Karrell stared at him. “Why do you fear her?”
Arvin swallowed. Was it that obvious? He gave Karrell a weak grin. “She dislikes me. A lot. She wants me dead. Fortunately, she believes I am dead. I’d prefer to keep it that way.”
“Did you quicken her egg?” Karrell asked.
“Her what?”
“She is yuan-ti. The snake people lay eggs. And the captain said—”
“Oh,” Arvin said, understanding at last. He laughed at the absurdity of it and shook his head vehemently. “We didn’t have that kind of relationship. We were… close, for a time. But not that close. She’s a….” He paused, shuddering. He’d been about to tell Karrell that Zelia was a psion, but she probably wouldn’t know what that was.
He saw that Karrell’s lips were pressed together in displeasure and decided to change the subject. Like most humans, she was probably appalled at the thought of a yuan-ti and human mating. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked.
The displeased look vanished instantly from Karrell’s face. She leaned forward and placed her hand upon his arm. Her touch sent a thrill through him but nothing near the rush of desire he’d felt after she’d charmed him. “You never said whether you would introduce me to Dmetrio Extaminos.”
Ah. So it was that again, was it? He wondered why she wanted to meet him so badly. Was she an assassin, after all?
Karrell reached for her cloak, one hand curling as if she were about to draw it closed at her neck. Odd—she didn’t look cold. Suddenly Arvin remembered where he’d seen the gesture before. It was the same one she’d used yesterday when she’d charmed him. Even as her lips parted to whisper the spell, Arvin awoke the psionic energy at the base of his scalp and manifested a charm of his own. Karrell halted in mid-whisper, her eyes shifting to the side as if she’d heard something in the distance, over the creak of the riverboat’s rigging.
Arvin suppressed his smile. The shoe would be on the other foot, this time around.
Above them, the lookout shouted. “Disturbance in the water, one hand to port, three thousand paces ahead!”
The boat swung slightly to starboard and slowed.
Arvin glanced over the bow. The boat would soon be passing a small, rocky island near the center of the river; between this island and the boat was a circular patch of disturbed water about two paces wide. It looked as though a boulder had splashed into the river at that spot, sending out ripples. Arvin searched t he island, but didn’t see anything. The island was rocky and flat—devoid of vegetation that would offer concealment, and low enough that a ship wouldn’t be able to hide behind it, which ruled out a catapult.
“What’s causing it?” the captain called up at the lookout.
The young man at the top of the mast chewed his lip. “I don’t know. Maybe a dragon turtle?” he asked nervously.
“Do you see a dragon turtle?” the captain asked in a tense voice.
“No.”
The gray-haired guard snorted. “It was probably air escaping from a wreck. Or a fish fart.”
The lookout twisted around to glance down at him. “Do fish fart?”
The guard chuckled.
Red-faced, the young lookout went back to his duties.
Arvin turned back to Karrell. “I’ll introduce you to Ambassador Extaminos,” he told her. “But I’d like to know more about you, first.” He lowered his voice and caught her eye. “You can trust me. Is it Chondath you serve?”
Karrell gave a slight frown. “Who?”
Arvin was surprised by her response. Chondath, directly to the east of Sespech, was a country, not a person. Either she was playing dumb—really dumb—or she was what she claimed, a traveler from the Chultan Peninsula. “Tell me,” he urged. “What’s the real reason you’re going to Ormpetarr?”
Karrell’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m looking for—”
“Disturbance three hands to starboard, two thousand four hundred paces ahead!” the lookout shouted, interrupting her. This time, his high-pitched voice had an edge to it.
The riverboat turned a few degrees back to port, and slowed still more. Karrell glanced in the direction the lookout was pointing, a slight frown on her face.
Arvin touched her arm—and felt her move into his touch. “What are you looking for?” he prompted.
“Something that was entrusted to the people of Hlondeth many years ago. It—”
“Disturbance one hand to starboard, one thousand paces ahead!” the sailor shouted.
The riverboat slowed momentarily then picked up speed and turned sharply to port.
“Yes?” Arvin prompted.
Karrell opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted a third time.
“Disturbance dead ahead, four hundred paces!”
Arvin glanced up as the lookout repeated his cry, his voice breaking. “Disturbance dead ahead!” he shouted at the guards. “Something’s breaking the surface!”
Arvin glanced back at the guards. They stood tensely behind their crossbows, fingers on triggers as their eyes searched the river ahead. The merchant, the husband, and the wife milled uncertainly on the main deck. At the stern, the elf and barrel-chested sailor awaited the captain’s orders. The elf’s hands were raised, ready to redirect the wind. The captain glanced back and forth between the low island—much closer now—and the bubbling patch of water, his face twisted with indecision. At last he gave an order; the sailor responded instantly, leaning into the tiller.
The boat heeled sharply to port, causing Karrell to stumble. She blinked, gave Arvin a sharp d, and took a quick step back from him, withdrawing her arm from his hand. The charm Arvin had manifested on her seemed to have broken. “What is happening?” she asked, glancing warily around.
“I don’t know,” Arvin answered. “But I don’t think it’s goo—”
“Naga!” the teenaged lookout shrilled. “Gods save us, it’s a naga!”
“This far north?” the captain shouted. “Are you sure?”
The lookout mutely nodded, white-faced. Arvin stared at the spot he was pointing at—a frothing patch of water a few dozen paces to starboard. A serpent-like creature had risen from the center of it. The creature looked like an enormous green eel with blood-red spines running the length of its body. Its head was human-shaped, its face plastered with wet, kelp-green hair that hung dripping from its scalp. Its eyes were dark and malevolent as it stared at the riverboat.