Deceived by Magic (The Baine Chronicles Book 6) Page 15

  We traveled the rest of the day along the river, and thanks to the swiftly flowing currents and favorable winds, soon found ourselves approaching the South Garaian Sea—another part of what we Northians called the Western Sea. I spent the night in beast form, draped along the main mast so I could watch for any danger and keep an eye out for our destination. Part of me would rather have been snuggled up inside with Iannis, but there was something both peaceful and breathtaking about being alone so high up in the night sky, with only the salty breeze and the cold blaze of the stars for company. The wind whispered sweet nothings into my furry ears and gently caressed my flanks, lulling me into a catnap.

  It was only as dawn crested the horizon once more that the muddy yellow river merged with the salty seawater. The latter was a deep blue-green that lightened where the ground was sandy. Henning turned the boat south, following the shoreline at a distance. Soon after that, I caught sight of sailing masts sheltering in a blue bay with an inviting beach.

  I frowned as I noticed there were far fewer ships than I would have expected from a big port like Leniang. Had we missed our destination? The port nestled in a sheltered area at the back of a large island facing a peninsula jutting off the mainland. Steep hills covered with dense vegetation rose right behind the shore, and only a few houses dotted the landscape—a sign that there were not many permanent residents. Most of the houses were wooden, except for one further up the hill that was much bigger and made of stone.

  “Iannis,” I called via mindspeak. I felt his consciousness stir, and waited a moment before continuing. “I can see Leniang Port from here, I think, but it’s much smaller than I thought. We’re only an hour or so out.”

  I climbed down from the mast and changed back to human form. Leaning against the port beam, I waited for the others to come up from below decks. When Director Chen came up, her face tightened as she spotted the port.

  “This is not Leniang Port,” she said, gripping the railing. “I forget the name, but this is a much smaller port that serves as a backdoor to Leniang City on the other side of the island. It’s where smugglers unload their goods to avoid the scrutiny of port officials.”

  “Smuggling?” Garrett asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you telling me we’re about to sail into a pirate’s cove?”

  “I’m afraid that’s exactly what she means,” Iannis said. “We’d best be on our guard when we arrive.”

  By the time we arrived in the smuggling port, the atmosphere on deck was tense. I wasn’t sure if I should be excited or alarmed that we were about to walk into a pirate’s den. After all, these pirates were no match for our magic, and something about the place beckoned to my sense of adventure. But on the other hand, I really hoped that we wouldn’t have to kill them to get out of here. I was getting a little sick of all the bloodshed.

  We glided up alongside one of the two piers, where a gangly youth in a white linen shirt and trousers waited with a clipboard in hand, ready to collect our names and docking fee. Apparently, Director Chen’s information was out of date, and the port officials were now in business on this side, too. We dropped anchor, and his eyes grew round as he watched us disembark, no doubt surprised at the fact that foreigners were sailing on a Garaian junk.

  “Your name and business?” the youth asked in heavily accented Northian, addressing Iannis.

  “Trade,” Iannis said, pressing a coin into the young man’s hand. “Is that good enough for a name?”

  Greed entered the youth’s eyes as he stared down at the money, then looked back up at Iannis. “A name is worth two coins.”

  “Why you—” Garrett hissed, but Iannis held up a hand.

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” he said, and gave the youth another coin.

  The boy grinned, then pocketed the money and took his clipboard elsewhere. “It is not worth haggling over what amounts to small change for us,” Iannis said quietly to Garrett as we made our way up the pier.

  “We’re going to need every coin we have,” Garrett argued under his breath. “We lost all our supplies when the aircraft sank, and, on top of that, we have no transportation.”

  “We have the ship,” I pointed out, glancing back at the junk over my shoulder.

  “With no crew to guard it, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was stolen by nightfall,” Garrett snapped. “This place is crawling with thieves and pirates.”

  “I should think Henning can hold his own against mere pirates,” Iannis said mildly. We’d left the pilot and Liu aboard the ship, as they weren’t really needed for the rest of the journey, and we did need someone to look after the junk anyway.

  “Speaking of thieves and pirates,” Chen said tightly. “I believe we are about to meet up with some.”

  I glanced up ahead, and my stomach tightened at the sight of five muscular Garaians headed our way. While they were all at least a head shorter than Iannis or Garrett, their swagger and confidence showed they considered themselves masters of all they surveyed. All but one were shaved bald, and they wore broad leather sashes over showy silk clothes. Gold rings and chains clanked from their necks and ear—a gaudy display of wealth. They were a lot better dressed than the pirates we’d killed, but the wickedly sharp swords and cutlasses swinging from their sides, and the dangerous gleam in their eyes, told me that they were probably going to be more trouble.

  The man in the middle, whose head was shaved though he sported a long, thin mustache, stepped forward and addressed us in Garaian. The smug tone in his voice got my back up, and my fingers drifted toward my chakram pouch. Who the hell did these bastards think they were?

  “These men work for Bao-Sung, the local pirate overlord. He says that Bao-Sung would like to meet with us,” Chen translated. “Immediately.”

  “That sounds more like an order than an invitation,” I said, my hands on my hips. And not one that I liked the sound of.

  “We could kill them,” Garrett mused, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “But that would cause a scene, and we do not want to draw the attention to the local authorities so quickly after our arrival.”

  “Indeed,” Iannis agreed. He showed absolutely no emotion on his face as he regarded the pirates. “Director Chen, tell these fine men that we are happy to meet with their boss.”

  Director Chen relayed the message, and the head thug grinned, nodding. The five immediately closed ranks around us, and my spine stiffened as several of the pirates raked me with lecherous stares. Not that I feared them, but it was pissing me off that I couldn’t just punch them in their pockmarked faces. Instead, I had to stay quiet and let these bastards herd us up the docks and into the big stone house that squatted a little higher up the hill, dominating the cove.

  Turning my head back at the picturesque beach and the colorful sails of the boats, I wondered why such a pretty place was so infested with criminals. We had to step over the lower rim of the door—a custom that was followed all over Garai, I had learned, to keep out evil spirits—and were conducted to a small open-air inner courtyard, where a middle-aged man was smoking a water pipe. He did not rise from his divan as he surveyed us with his dark eyes. The place was crawling with more servants and guards, who all regarded us with derision. Not a single woman was in sight, but my sharp ears picked out the sounds of childish laughter and soft female voices from deeper inside the building.

  “Play along,” Iannis told me as the thugs motioned for us to bow. “We’re not in any real danger. We can get out of this at any time.”

  I swallowed my retort as I shallowly bowed to the pirate lord, along with the others. From his scent, he was displeased that we were not prostrating ourselves at his feet, but then again, we were still dressed very plainly, and the pirates didn’t know what we were capable of. It made sense not to reveal our true nature until the last possible moment.

  The pirate boss himself wore a Garaian silk tunic and pants, and unlike many of his henchmen, had long hair braided down his back. He would have looked respectable if not for the gold
hoops in his left ear and the tattoos showing on his neck and his left forearm. His dark eyes gleamed with greed and curiosity as he looked us over, lingering on me much longer than the others. My nose twitched as I smelled his lust, and I forced myself not to react. He spoke to Director Chen briefly, and then turned to the rest of us and began speaking again.

  “He says to tell you that he is confiscating our ship, and that he is going to sell us as slaves,” Chen translated, “as punishment for coming to the port without his official leave.”

  “That’s preposterous!” Garrett said, taking a step toward the pirate leader. “This is a public port! You don’t own it, and you can’t control who comes and goes!”

  One of the pirates jabbed Garrett hard in the back with the butt of his spear. Garrett let out a startled yelp, and I grabbed the spear out of the pirate’s hand and pressed the blade against his throat before he could so much as blink. I kept my eyes trained on his, cold and hard, even as I heard the click of pistols being cocked from around the room.

  Bao-Sung let out a hearty laugh, and I saw him wave his hand out of the corner of my eye, ordering the others to stand down. “Feisty,” he said to me, speaking in Northian. “My captives are not usually so fearless.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s probably because you don’t usually capture mages,” I snarled, throwing a fireball at him. The pirate overlord’s eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet as he drew his sword. To my surprise, the steel blade glowed bright blue, and Bao-Sung batted the fireball back in my direction.

  Damn, I thought as I twisted away from the fiery missile. His weapon must be spelled to repel magical attacks!

  “I’ve had enough of this!” Garrett shouted, swinging toward the pirate nearest him. He sliced his hand through the air, and the pirate fell back, a huge gash opening up in his throat. Blood poured down the front of his shirt as he went down, and pandemonium broke out as the rest of the pirates charged us with swords and pistols. Iannis flung out a hand and turned three of them into ice, and Director Chen conjured a shield to stop the bullets as gunfire exploded through the air. The pirates cried out in surprise as she grabbed one of the brutes by his throat and lit his entire body on fire. Screams and burning flesh laced the air, and I jumped out of the way as two pirates rushed me, conjuring a shield to deflect their bullets as well. Spinning around, I kicked one in the back and sent him crashing into the other one.

  “Enough!” Bao-Sung roared in Northian, and the entire room froze. Dead pirates littered the floor, several struck by their own bullets. But plenty were still alive—the door to my right had swung open and more were pouring in, drawn by the shouts. Bao-Sung yelled at them in Garaian, and the surviving pirates grudgingly backed off, grumbling and shooting glares at us as they retreated to the edges of the room. Garrett looked like he wanted to pursue them, but Iannis shot him a warning look.

  “My apologies, honored lords,” Bao-Sung said, reverting to Northian. The devious gleam was gone from his eyes now, and his expression was grave. “I did not realize that I was dealing with mages. You do not dress like people of importance,” he added, his tone accusing now. “How was I to guess?”

  “We are trying not to draw attention,” Iannis said calmly, though his eyes glittered with cold fury as he held the pirate overlord’s stare. “And we would have succeeded, if your thugs had not intercepted us at the docks.”

  “May I ask what your business is?” Bao-Sung drawled, twirling the ends of his long beard around his forefinger. He was remarkably cool, considering that his reception room was littered with the dead bodies of his henchmen. “There must be great need of secrecy, if you would risk arriving here dressed little better than peasants. Your Garaian woman must know that anyone who comes to my port looking like prey… becomes prey.” His eyes flicked back toward me, and he grinned, revealing a gold tooth where one of his incisors should have been. “Though that one does rather look like a predator.”

  “That’s none of your business, pirate,” Iannis said. “And since we have the upper hand, I don’t see any reason to tell you.” He raised his left hand and the same ice-blue energy from earlier crackled around his fingers. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I tensed, wondering if he was going to smite Bao-Sung in his own home.

  “That might be true, but you could hardly keep a low profile if you wiped out my entire household,” Bao-Sung said, not the slightest bit ruffled. “You are strangers, presumably in need of local help. We might yet do business.”

  “Perhaps we might,” Iannis agreed to my surprise as he reached into his sleeve. He pulled out a fat brown leather purse, then tossed it from hand to hand. Bao-Sung’s eyes lit as it made a clinking sound with each toss. “Do you happen to have an airship and pilot on hand that we could hire for a long-distance journey in two or three days’ time?”

  Bao-Sung’s eyes were glued to the purse. “That might be arranged. Your ship is part of the deal?”

  “Indeed, and don’t pretend we are not overpaying. We require discretion, mind you.” He handed the purse to the pirate.

  “Hmm.” The pirate hefted the bag, then pulled out one of the gold coins and bit down on it. Satisfied, he nodded, then tied the pouch to his belt. “Yes, I do believe this is a fair exchange. But there is something else I want from you.”

  “Which is?”

  “Your shifter female.” The pirate nodded toward me, and I stiffened beneath his lecherous grin. “I am even willing to trade one of my own concubines for her. I love taming the feisty ones.”

  “You slimy bastard,” I spat, stalking forward before Iannis could reply. “I’m done with you treating me like a piece of meat. If you think you’re so much better than me, why don’t you get down here and fight me like a real man?”

  “Sunaya!” Iannis snapped, and, if looks could kill, I’d be dead. But I refused to look at him, instead holding the pirate lord’s glittering gaze. My blood was boiling now, and I really wanted to spill his.

  Bao-Sung arched his brows. “Are you challenging me to a duel?” he asked, sounding incredulous.

  “You bet your ass I am. No magic, just hands and weapons. Now get down here.” I stepped back a little, toeing one of the dead bodies away so that we could make enough space for a small arena. “If you win, you can have me for a night.”

  “Like hell!” Iannis snarled, surging forward, but he stopped as I pinned him with a glare of my own.

  “Do you seriously have such little faith in me that you think I’m going to lose to a human?”

  “No, but the fact that you would even make such an offer—”

  “Is tempting,” Bao-Sung finished for him, rising slowly from his seat. “Prepare yourself, then, Miss….”

  “None of your business.” I knew better than to give this sleaze ball my name, and I couldn’t be bothered to come up with a fake one. Instead, I drew my crescent knives and assumed a fighting stance. “Are you going to talk me to death, or are you going to fight?”

  Bao-Sung laughed again, and then the next thing I knew, he was in my face, his sword swinging straight down at me. I raised my right hand just in time to block him with my crescent knife and continued the arc, pushing his sword away and slashing out with my other knife. He dropped to the ground, avoiding my blade, then kicked out with his leg and swept my legs out from under me.

  “Oof!” I grunted as I crashed to the ground. I rapidly rolled out of the way as he stabbed at me, then bounced back up onto the balls of my feet. Our blades clashed again as he closed the distance, and I went on the offensive, slashing furiously. He parried each of my strikes with astonishing skill and force, and, for a moment, I regretted my promise not to use magic.

  But only for a moment.

  I slashed with my blades again, then pretended a moment of weakness, slowing my movements and allowing my eyelids to droop a little. Bao-Sung took immediate advantage of the opportunity, charging in with amazing speed for a human. But I was faster, and I stepped out of the way, then kicked him as hard as I coul
d in the back. Bone splintered beneath the heel of my boot as at least one rib gave way, and he cried out, stumbling forward.

  “You witch!” he hissed, whirling about, and I was impressed that he managed to keep the grip on his sword steady. His face was white now, beads of sweat trickling down into his mustache, and I knew he must be in incredible pain. He charged me again, but this time when I caught his sword with my crescent knife, I swung it around and used my curved blade to catch his sword and pull it from his weakening grip. The sword clattered to the ground, and the room fell dead silent as Bao-Sung looked down at it.

  “You stayed true to your promise, and yet you still beat me.” Bao-Sung bowed, and his body buckled beneath the pain. Two of his pirates rushed forward, each catching him by the underarm before his knees hit the ground. “A shame, as I was greatly looking forward to having you in my bed.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” But I couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corner of my lips at his determination, and at the playful note in his voice despite his broken ribs. “Now why don’t you have your men show us that dirigible?”

  19

  As it turned out, we didn’t leave right away. Iannis took pity on Bao-Sung, and not only healed his broken ribs, but also an old ankle injury that had been paining him for some time. The pirate offered to host a banquet in our honor as a show of gratitude, but we declined, claiming that we had to be on our way. We did take him up on his offer to care for Liu, though, leaving her with his own seven children until we could return for her. His principal concubine, a stunning Sandian woman with long, dark hair and coffee-colored skin, promised me that Liu would be well taken care of, and instantly took to fussing over her and dressing her like a doll in much prettier clothes. All but one of Bao-Sung’s children were boys, so I imagined she was thrilled to have another little girl to care for.