Take the body and give me the rest Read online

  He called it with all of his will, silently speaking the words, ‘Take the bodies and give me the rest.’ The air in the room ripped silently from the roof to the floor, and on the other side was the dark night. The creature was through the rift and had ripped Josephine’s pale throat out with its razor teeth within less than a heartbeat. Seth felt the rush of elation and power as it tore into her and then Yend, turning his two captors into victims and starting the feast. He tasted the blood, the flesh, the sweetness of it. He felt the hunger recede as the power rushed through his body. Memories of Josephine’s life and Yend’s washing together in his mind. He felt a jolt of excitement at all he’d learned in this moment; things that had taken them a lifetime to accrue were now his in the blink of an eye.

  He sat in the chair; eyes open to the carnage but out of focus to all but the feeling of it. The pale snout and jaw of the creature were covered in fresh, red blood as it stood hunched over the bodies, crunching down onto leg bones, snout buried in their ripped chests and devouring their hearts and organs, finishing the meal of flesh. Having reduced them both to a half of a bloody ribcage and a crushed skull with a few strands of blonde hair, it turned to regard Seth.

  Its words hammered in his head, but not so painfully as the first time. ‘I felt you even as you intended to call me; even with no words, to come to you was easier than it’s ever been. Now, who were these two little people?’ it asked.

  ‘People intending to sell me back to the General’s kin,’ Seth said.

  ‘You’d better flee then’ it said simply

  ‘As you can see I’m tied up’ Seth said back

  The creature just laughed ‘Can ropes hold you, after all the gifts I give’

  The ropes used to tie him were strong and he knew that he’d not been able to break them when they first tied him down. Now he stood up and with a mighty effort pushing his arms out smashed the chair that held him, the chair’s broken arms and the still tied rope falling to the floor.

  The creature laughed again ‘see all I give to you?’

  . ‘Now, I can feel them coming for you. You don’t have long, but plan your movements more carefully this time. You’re no longer an impulsive boy; you’re also a General, a lifelong thief and his companion in deceiving people. Plan your next move and make sure it leads you out of Cravoss,’ it said. It walked slowly back through the rift and into the still night on the other side. The rip in the room closed behind the creature, leaving Seth alone with what he’d done.

  Chapter 7

  The memories and instincts of Yend washed through his mind. Disguise, equip and escape. He looked around the room, knowing the location of every useful object and thinking of all the different people Yend and Josephine had robbed, tricked and even killed in this room. The room was a treasure trove of stolen clothing, weapons, bags and trinkets. Looking into a far corner, Seth spotted a solid wooden chest, expensive looking, made of dark oak with a broken brass lock. He walked to it and with his hand still slightly shaking from the residue of the violence, he carefully opened the lid. Inside were clothes neatly laid out, consisting of a pair of black pants, black shirt and a long and very well made cloak. There were even polished boots, a leather belt with a steel buckle accompanied by a long rapier and dagger in a handsome sheath. The sheath, dagger and rapier were a fine set, clearly worth money, but he knew Yend was waiting a few months to sell them. In his mind, he could see the young and wealthy merchant’s boy who had worn them with such pride. He knew that the shirt had two dagger holes in the back of it as well, but that they had been neatly sewn shut, the blood washed out.

  Standing in the cold room with the silence after the storm, Seth took off his dirty abused clothes and, donning the black outfit in the chest, became a different person. He saw in the mind of Yend the man who had worn the clothes before him. Young, confident, assured. He was the rich son of a wealthy trader family. Not nobles but close enough. Well born and certain of his place in life. He’d walked through life with a strut, until some men hired by Yend had sent cold steel blades into his back.

  Seth took a few coins off the card table and then, using a back door known only to Yend, he slipped out into an alley behind the tavern. He was going to head to Pellos via ship, today if he could. No more thoughts of going home for him; he would follow the creature’s advice and run as far and fast as he could.

  Seth walked down the cobblestone alley toward the docks. He felt safe that no one would be able to recognise him. He wouldn’t even have recognised himself. The memories and thoughts of Yend and Josephine slowly kept settling in his mind. Instead of feeling strange in someone else’s clothes, he felt relaxed and bold, like he was an actor on a stage. He strutted down to the docks and noticed how, for the first time in his life, people moved out of his way. They stepped quickly aside as he strode past, taking in his outfit and arms with looks of respect. It was something he wasn’t at all used to, but it made him feel a burst of pride; he, a lowly hunter’s second-born son, could not only read and write but also fight with the rapier and dagger like a noble born.

  Seraphina stood in the dank little room under the tavern looking at more bodies destroyed by the creature and the slave boy. The old woman had come to get them from the house in a hired wagon, saying her master had the runaway boy under guard and would gladly give him up for double the price they were asking, they had spend way too many long minutes haggling on the price. She said her master was the one that sent him to the debt prison in the first place so they know it was him through and through.

  The two bodies were little more than a few bones, some skin, ripped boots and bloody clothes. The small enclosed room was already starting to stink of blood and death.

  ‘Vicious little bastard, this one,’ said Dirst.

  ‘They shouldn’t have cornered him, big mistake,’ Seraphina said, pulling the gold-rimmed glasses from her pocket and viewed the room. She took a rolled piece of parchment from Dirst and the stick of charcoal he handed her and, with a very clever hand, drew a picture of Seth, complete in his new clothes and rapier set.

  ‘He’s changed his outfit; he’ll be looking to leave the city,’ she said.

  ‘We have the entire city guard on look out. They will let us know when they sight him.’ Dirst said.

  ‘Let’s get out of here and give this to the Captain of the guard,’ she said, gladly leaving the dank room and its horrible contents to rot.

  The docks were as large and impressive as Seth remembered from when he had first arrived in the city, but now he saw them with very different eyes. The General had himself spent a good deal of time in Pelloss, and Seth knew he could speak and write that tongue as well. As he walked along the large dock area and looked at all the different ships, instead of just seeing a jumble of impressive masts and vast hulls, he could see the different types of ships and their purpose. He could see many massed warships with their hardened wooden beaks at the prow, tall platforms along the front and sides like wooden battlements of a castle to protect and house a small army of archery men.

  Many of the other ships were different trade vessels, small fishing boats and the like. Seth spent an hour or more walking along the dock area, looking at the different ships and asking about them. He found that there were three that were leaving for Pelloss that morning with the tide.

  One was a slave ship that had the smell of dead bodies issuing from it and the voyage had not even begun. There was no way he would travel on that one, even with feeling such confidence in his disguise. From what he’d experienced in the debtors’ prison, he had no desire to travel on a floating one for a voyage of two months or more. It would be hell on earth. Of the two remaining ships, one was a small trader vessel called The Fleet and the other was a monstrous ship called The Opulent. Looking at it, Seth could not imagine its true purpose; it was so big that it surely carried cargo but also people with the look of well-heeled travellers—people who were mingling on the deck and in front of the ship. This kind of passenger vessel was one he c
ould certainly not afford with his handful of stolen coins, if a berth could be found with such a short time til it departed.

  Without another thought Seth started walking towards the sleek little trader—The Fleet. At the wooden ramp, he could see well-ordered chaos: sailors in neat white shirts and vests and hair in the typical pulled back horsetail were loading on various crates and barrels of cargo. They moved quickly in twos up the gangway, often swearing or grunting with exertion but moving at a quick pace. At the entrance of the gangway was a man, clearly the Captain, ticking off the supplies as they came aboard and occasionally checking the contents. A good Captain was always sure of the quality of his boiled beef and supplies before a long sea voyage, unless he wanted to find himself on the menu of starving, mutinous sailors. Seth smiled that he now knew that.

  The man was dressed simply but in well-tailored clothes with a rapier and dagger hanging neatly from his waist. He spoke with the easy air of someone who is used to people following his directions. He also had the sailors’ horsetail but streaked with grey. He had a short, steel-coloured beard and a strong, weathered face, from a life of looking out into the sea.

  Seth approached him directly. Speaking with a confidence he thought his new self would employ.

  ‘Good morning, Captain. Is there any chance I may secure a berth with you to Pelloss?’ he said, cutting straight to the business at hand.

  The Captain stopped scribing in his ledger and looked at Seth, smiling. He showed two gold teeth on the left side, which made him appear more relaxed and like a smuggler.

  ‘I like a man who can be straight to the point, you seem like a decent sort, but I fear I have no need for another landsman, even a big lad like you; you’ll eat too much and by the time you can tie a decent knot we’ll have landed in Pelloss.’

  Seth replied, ‘It’s true I’m no sailor; as you can see, I am a travelling scribe. I can also speak Pellosi, if that can be any service to you, Captain.’

  The Captain opened his eyes wide, showing the blue of them. He replied, ‘While your tale is surely an interesting one, and if we were in a tavern I’d like to hear more of how someone with the look of a boy but the air of a man has learned so much, still I can’t carry you. I run a lean ship and have all that I need. Sorry friend.’

  Seth felt a burst of disappointment inside of him. The Captain seemed a good man and had spoken it fairly but it helped him not at all. Seth fought through the feeling and offered up a winning smile to the Captain. ‘You’ve spoken it fair and I thank-you for your time; the wind be at your back.’ He knew enough sailing lore that this was considered a good farewell for seafaring types. Seth turned away and began to walk away from The Fleet, keeping his head up.

  The Captain yelled, ‘Wait!’ and Seth turned back to face him.

  The Captain spoke while continuing his tally of the passing supplies. ‘If you need berth today, then your ticket is over yonder on that wallowing whale called The Opulent. You say you’re a scribe and learned man, so that’s what you will travel on. The Captain, I know him by his reputation; extremely wealthy now, but from the humblest of beginnings. It’s said he’ll pay any price for the best tutors for his son.’

  ‘If you approach him as a tutor for his little princeling, I’m sure they’ll see you to Pelloss.’ With that, he went back to his tallying in earnest.

  ‘Thanks for the advice,’ Seth said, turning towards the vast ship—The Opulent.

  The Opulent was three times bigger than any of the other ship in the harbour, even the long-distance trading vessels. The gangway was wide enough for four people to walk easily side by side, and it had a rolled out carpet along the wooden walkway. While Seth’s clothes and arms had set him apart as he’d strolled through the city, here they were just making him one of the mass of well-dressed and mannered people milling around in front of the ship as it prepared to depart.

  Seth walked to the gangway and addressed himself to a ship’s boy of around fourteen years of age. He was smartly dressed with a miniature horsetail and even had leather shoes with little brass buckles. Seth addressed him directly. ‘Good morning, young sir, I’d like admission to the Captain, if I can.’

  ‘Right you are, sir, but were just quite close to pushing off. What’s it regarding?’ he said.

  ‘I’m a tutor and travelling scribe. I’m interested in a gaining a berth to Pelloss and heard your Captain might be looking for a tutor for his son,’ Seth said. It appeared that the boy almost rolled his eyes at that, but answered smartly,

  ‘Right you are, Master, come aboard. I’ll see you to the Captain directly.’

  With no more than that, Seth was walking up the carpeted gangway and onto the ship. It was nothing like he had seen and nothing he had even a flickering memory of. The amount of empty space alone was incredible. The deck that would be normally filled with cargo boxes and bales of produce was left clear and the railings were free of any arms or even men-at-arms. The deck was filled instead with people and couples wandering around and enjoying the sunshine casting down from the sky.

  It didn’t really seem like a ship at all except that in the middle of the deck rose five mighty masts and that standing amongst the passengers stood some well-dressed sailors with a serious look about them. The boy walked briskly across the deck, weaving in and out of the passengers with Seth striding quickly to keep up. Walking to the rear of the ship and into a tall wooden corridor they passed ornate doors to various rooms and passed other corridors, lastly coming to a set of large white double doors at which point the boy stopped.

  ‘This is the Captain’s dining room. He’s sharing breakfast with some guests. I’ll see you in now,’ the boy said.

  ‘Can I not see him privately?’ Seth asked.

  ‘The Captain doesn’t do private,’ the boy said, knocking loudly three times on the door.

  From inside the room came a refined piping voice—‘Enter’—and the doors swung open from the inside, opened by some unseen servants. Seth followed the boy into the room and surveyed the scene as the occupants of the room surveyed him in return.

  The man who was clearly the Captain was as outrageously dressed as his ship was designed. He wore a purple shirt with large flowing sleeves, an embroidered vest with gold embellishments and his bright white hair in a bold fashion that perfectly complemented his outfit. It was clearly a wig, but Seth had never seen such before. The General had seen some in the courts of Pellosi, but that had been a fashion from near to five years ago. At the table were at least ten people enjoying a lavish meal. Next to the Captain was a boy of around fourteen, an extremely attractive woman from Pelloss, an older, very bored-looking man and some well-dressed guests. Clearly the most important of the passengers.

  The Captain looked at Seth, placing down his fork, and regarded him with soft watery eyes. The man looked anything but a sailor but seemed friendly enough. The boy coughed and introduced Seth. ‘A young Master Tutor seeking a word with you, Captain,’ he said and then went to stand beside the doors.

  The Captain smiled at Seth with very straight teeth and, looking around his table, smiled at his guests. ‘Ah, of course, of course. Well how can I be of service to you, young Master Tutor?’ the Captain asked.

  The entire stateroom had stopped conversing and eating, with the exception of the bored older man, who was still tearing into his breakfast of a cooked slice of beef. The air was still with the anticipation of an audience at a play.

  Seth decided to let Yend have a free hand. He answered, ‘Many thanks, kind Captain, but the question is how can I help you?’ he replied.

  The Captain smiled and the audience as well. So far, so good.

  ‘Well, then, how can you be of service to me? You do seem very young to be a tutor,’ he replied casually.

  ‘It’s true I am young and younger in look than mind, but I am a scholar and tutor and have heard this ship is a haven for my like and that in your son is to be found a very promising pupil. I can teach Pellosi, Cravosi and Northern, both spoken a
nd written forms,’ he said.

  The Captain smiled again. ‘You use your words well so I believe your claim and would be happy to take you on. But, sadly, we set sail on the tide this very morning and thus have already engaged two tutors for my son.’ Here, the Captain indicated the attractive Pellosina woman sitting at the boy’s left and the old bored man at his right. ‘Jevos teaches Cravosi and the lovely Minsetta teaches Pellosi, its language, traditions and customs. He has no need of Northern. Had you been but a few days sooner, I may have been able to engage you, but three tutors is a little too opulent even for my tastes.’ The Captain and some of his guests giggled at his little joke.

  Around the table, people had again picked up their utensils to eat and begun conversing. Seth again felt a stab of disappointment but also fear; he needed to leave this city today and it was looking more and more like the slave ship was going to be his only option. One of the passengers had been looking at him quite intently since he had entered the room. She was a thin, elderly lady, but with a refined and dignified look. Her hair was silver but long and flowing to her shoulders. Wrinkles from year of wearing a happy countenance creased her face at sides of her eyes. Behind her stood a woman attending her. She looked him up and down with a sharp eye.

  The Captain started to dismiss him when the lady spoke up with a clear, strong voice. ‘Well-skilled with those weapons as well, are you young man?’ she asked.

  Seth turned and looked at her directly. Maybe this was his chance. ‘I am indeed, Madam. For many years I trained with my brothers and the men of the keep.’ It wasn’t his keep, but she didn’t need to know that.

  ‘And what’s your name, young man?’ she asked.

  ‘Seth,’ he answered.

  In Northern, she said, ‘Seth of the blood and snow?’ He was a Northern hero of sorts.