Pirate's Promise Read online

  "Yes. It's lovely." She tore herself away from the view and turned to the food. "What's for dinner?"

  "Curried mystery meat on flatbread, with enough pepper sauce to kill the taste of being stored in a barrel for the better part of a year." He dropped onto a pillow, picked up his plate and sniffed dubiously, then tasted the fluorescent yellow mass. He stifled a cough, reached for the wine and twisted the cork free. "Maybe I should have brought Soursop along."

  She sampled the food, savoring the strong spices. "If you'd brought Soursop, you would have had to bring Stargazer's entire galley."

  "You know, I actually wondered if it would be possible to hire a wizard to fly the entire ship here." Torius filled the tin cups, and shakily held one out for her. "Talk about expensive."

  "There once were whole cities that flew, you know." Celeste gripped the cup with her magic and floated it to her lips, thankful that they had been able to pack a few luxuries. Between the camels and the wagon, they had enough food for a very long stay. Water would be their limiting factor.

  "I know." Torius ate another bite of the peppery dish and chased it with more wine. "It'd be a hell of a thing to have a flying corsair, wouldn't it?" His eyes took on a faraway look.

  "Stick to the sea, my captain." She nudged him with her tail and grinned. "Fall overboard at sea and all you get is wet. If you're a thousand feet off the ground ..."

  "Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. Maybe we could figure out a way to—"

  "Captain?" Grogul's usual bosun's tone and volume shivered the tent walls.

  "Yes, Grogul. Come in."

  The tent flap parted, and the half-orc ducked through. "That twitchy little twit Hashi's here. He says Lord Astrus will see you now."

  "Tell Lord Astrus that we're eating. We'll join him in half an hour."

  Celeste pursed her lips. She knew Torius was touchy, his temper probably worsened by his withdrawals, but she couldn't let him ruin their opportunity to use the Observatory. Lord Astrus had the largest group here. If Torius angered him, he might make things difficult for them.

  "Torius." She nudged him with her magic. "Let's just go talk to him. We don't want trouble."

  "I don't like being ordered around, Celeste. Astrus doesn't own the Observatory, and he's not my lord!"

  "No, but until we meet him, we don't know what his agenda is, do we? Perhaps he is just trying to make it easier for everyone by keeping things organized and peaceful." When that didn't seem to sway him, she tried another tack. "Please, Torius. For me?"

  His features softened. "You're right. We don't know anything about Lord Astrus yet." He downed his cup of wine and stood. "Tell Hashi we'll be right there, Grogul."

  "Aye, sir."

  Celeste slithered over to her trunk and flicked it open. "So, what do you think?"

  "Transformation, I think. He may want to shake hands or something, and your illusion won't ..." He noticed her frown. "What?"

  "I know that! I mean, what should I wear to meet a lord?" She began rifling through her chest.

  "Probably clothes," Torius said with a laugh.

  "Oh, I don't know. We might get more consideration if I show up without them." Smiling, she realized that Torius was looking at her as if she were serious. "No sense of humor!" Celeste rolled her eyes and turned back to continue rooting through the tightly packed clothing. Simple dresses and kaftans flew through the air. She had nothing pretty like her gowns back on the ship, only sturdy outfits suited for travel.

  "That's another thing. This ‘Lord' business irritates me." Torius was pacing now, never a good sign.

  A gleaming white kaftan with gold trim caught her eye. She knew it shouldn't matter what any human besides Torius thought of how she dressed, but she was eager to make a good first impression. Who knew what she might learn from someone familiar with the Observatory? She floated the kaftan into Torius's arms. "Hold this, please."

  Celeste closed her eyes and concentrated on the form she wanted to take, then cast her spell.

  "Celeste!" Torius thrust the kaftan at her, averting his eyes.

  "What? You've seen me nude many times!"

  "You look like Windy Kate, that's what! And I really don't want to know what she looks like naked!"

  "You know we decided that my own features were too distinctive and might attract undue attention. Besides, it's just her head on my body." Celeste pulled the kaftan over her head, and tied the sash around her waist. She still didn't understand waists, why women's torsos were constricted more than men's. There were many things she didn't understand, like why she felt so strange sometimes when in human form. She enjoyed wearing pretty clothes, fixing her hair in attractive braids and coifs, even wearing makeup for special occasions. Oddly, she didn't feel that way when she cast an illusion to mask her nature. She sometimes wondered if she was a different person when in human form.

  Immediately, she chided herself for the notion. Skin or scales, I'm still Celeste.

  Hashi met them at the edge of their camp, and they followed him to meet Lord Astrus. The sunset had already faded to deep indigo shot through with faint streaks of crimson. Night was fast approaching. Celeste shivered in anticipation as they approached the Observatory. A figure stood beside one of the crumbling pillars, looking rather like one of them: slim, tall, and dark, clad in a black kaftan. His face was angular and pale, his eyes framed by the wrinkles of middle age.

  "Lord Astrus." Hashi stopped about three strides from his master, bowed, and waved an arm toward them. "Captain Torius Vin and his navigator, Celeste."

  "Captain Vin." Astrus nodded. "Miss Celeste, you're both welcome." His voice was deep but smooth.

  "We've come a long way." Torius's tone was civil, at least, but he wasn't being particularly polite.

  "We were surprised to find so many others here, Lord Astrus." Celeste suppressed her eagerness to examine the Observatory. After so long anticipating this moment, to be delayed by pleasantries was maddening, but she couldn't be rude. "The Observatory seems to have drawn quite a number of astronomers."

  "We are of many disciplines." Astrus smiled, but his expression remained cool. "While I'm an astronomer, two of the visitors are clerics of Desna. I'm sure you know that the Observatory is actually a shrine of the Goddess of Stars. They wish to seek Her message, as well as make astronomical observations. The other is a deluded Pathfinder who thinks the Observatory could be used to travel to the stars."

  Celeste knew about Pathfinders, though she'd never met one. Relentless seekers of knowledge, sometimes called despoilers or grave robbers, but she didn't believe those tales. There was a Pathfinder lodge in Katapesh, in fact, and Torius had told her he'd even worked for them in the past, providing protection during an examination of a deep-sea ruin somewhere. She had never heard anyone describe them as deluded, however.

  "Why is that deluded?" Celeste asked. Something about the man bothered her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. By the stars, I'm even thinking like a human now—I have no fingers! "It's my understanding that more is unknown about the Observatory than is known."

  He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Many have analyzed the structure and its associated magic, Miss Celeste, and none have discovered evidence to suggest that the Observatory is anything but a means to view the cosmos. A theory unsupported by facts is nothing but someone's misguided fancy."

  "Until they discover something that no one else considered." Celeste smiled disarmingly to conceal her distaste. How could any seeker of knowledge so thoughtlessly dismiss another's pursuit?

  "So, you've assumed the position of the Observatory's caretaker?" Torius's opinion of Astrus had obviously not improved. His tone was still civil, but edged. "How did you manage that?"

  "I've assumed nothing, Captain Vin. I'm simply keeping things organized and peaceful." He waved a hand at the encampment. "I've been here the longest, and feel it's my duty to introduce new arrivals to the Observatory, both to enrich their experience, and to let them know that they are not the only ones
here to use it."

  "How long have you been here?" Celeste asked.

  "Several months now."

  "That's quite a long time out here in the middle of nowhere." Torius raised a questioning eyebrow. "What do you do for water?"

  "One of my people is a Desnan cleric, Captain. The goddess grants her a few minor boons, one of which is the ability to conjure water for our needs."

  Celeste grimaced with chagrin. "I should have thought of that! We could have hired an acolyte from Gozreh's temple to come along! Then our stay wouldn't be limited by our water supply." She looked hopefully toward Astrus.

  "I would offer to share, but my own contingent is so large that the water is barely sufficient."

  Celeste's tail twitched. Something in Astrus's denial told her that the answer would have been no even if he had a well overflowing with water.

  Torius nodded toward the Observatory. "So, is there an appointment book, or do we just take turns?"

  "There are few enough of us that we simply take turns, Captain. Most find conducting lengthy observations to be taxing on both the eyes and mind, so there are usually no hard feelings. We gather at sunset to arrange the evening's schedule. Tonight, because you are newly arrived, we've agreed to give you the entire night to yourselves." He smiled and waved toward the raised platform.

  "That's very kind of you," Torius said grudgingly.

  As they turned toward the stone platform, however, Hashi stepped in front of them, one hand raised.

  "It's traditional to remove one's shoes before walking on the platform." Lord Astrus's voice was calm, but insistent. "A thousand thousand sandy boots will eventually abrade the carved image down to nothing, and we can't guess the damage that might cause to the inherent magic."

  Without another word, Torius sat on the edge of the stone slab and started pulling off his boots. Celeste moved to join him, then felt the telltale itch of her transformation spell ending. She turned toward the nearest pillar as if to examine it and whispered the incantation to renew the spell. Louder, she recited a simple spell to discern magical auras. She didn't care if Astrus or Hashi knew that she used magic, but she preferred they didn't know she was transformed.

  "These pillars, Lord Astrus. I see no magical enchantments on them. Do they serve a purpose?" Glancing over her shoulder, she was surprised to see a faint aura surrounding the lord. She blinked rapidly, assuming that the overwhelming glow of the Observatory's enchantment was playing a trick on her eyes. By the time she had turned toward him for a better view, Astrus had slipped off his sandals and stepped up onto the platform. Any aura Celeste may have thought she observed was now masked by the overpowering magic of the Observatory.

  "You're a wizard?" Astrus asked.

  "A sorcerer." Celeste dismissed her spell to see his face more clearly. "Is that a problem?"

  "Not at all. I was simply unaware. I understood only that you were Captain Vin's navigator."

  "Celeste is many things, navigator and sorcerer among them," Torius said. "In fact, her spells ran off a pack of hyenafolk last night. Slavers looking for new inventory."

  "Yes, Hashi told me that you'd been attacked. You're sure they were slavers?"

  "Oh yes. I recognize a slaver when I see one. We think they were Duenas. We've had ...problems with them before. Have they attacked the encampment here?"

  "No. We have, however, been plagued by a priestess of the Rough Beast, a woman named Brigid Zelegan." Astrus's lip curled in derision. "She's quite insane, as most of the devotees of Rovagug are. They all seek only destruction and death. Though she's a half-orc, her followers include hyenafolk. I'd heard that some of the Carrion Tribe had turned their backs on Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters, to follow Rovagug. They've gone from bad to worse, or mad to utterly insane, in my opinion, but it's not unheard of for fanatics to change devotion to serve under such a ...charismatic leader."

  "Insane and charismatic?" Torius flashed a worried look to Celeste. The followers of Rovagug were indeed insane, seeking only the destruction of the world. "That sounds like a dangerous combination."

  "It is." Astrus stared out into the night. "Zelegan is convinced that by desecrating the Observatory, she can bring about the destruction of the sun, thereby ending the world and freeing Rovagug from his prison."

  "Can she?" Celeste's question drew an amused look from the lord.

  "I seriously doubt it."

  "How are you handling security?" Torius looked around the encampment, undoubtedly thinking about battle tactics.

  "Each camp handles its own security. I assume the others post watches during the day, as do I, and I usually put one night watch on that escarpment of rock over there." He pointed to a low rocky outcrop about a quarter mile from the Observatory.

  "No coordinated defense?" Celeste exchanged a glance with Torius. "Why not?"

  "I wouldn't deign to issue orders to those outside my purview, and wouldn't expect my people to follow the orders of others. Coordination wouldn't work."

  "But—"

  Celeste nudged Torius, hoping to avoid an argument. "Why is she targeting the Observatory? It's a shrine to Desna, goddess of the stars, not the sun."

  "What is the sun but a nearby star? Zelegan has approached several times to threaten us. She hasn't attacked yet, but each time, her followers grow more numerous."

  As Celeste listened with half an ear to Torius and Astrus discussing the optimal location of sentries, she sat on the edge of the stone and removed her sandals.

  Finally, Torius brushed the sand from his feet and stood up on the stone platform. Holding out a hand to Celeste, he asked, "Shall we?"

  Eagerly, she grasped his hand and stood, shivering with anticipation. She was here, finally here. "Can more than one person use the Observatory at the same time?"

  "Only one person can manipulate the view, but another can observe. The process is intuitive." Astrus waved them toward the middle of the stone slab, where the ornate image of a Desnan butterfly was engraved into the stone. "You should lie on your back to be most comfortable."

  Celeste lay down atop the butterfly image.

  Torius smiled down at her. "You look like you have wings." He lay down and clasped her hand, and her heart fluttered in her breast. She was sharing her dream with the man she loved. What more could she ask for?

  "Ready?" She squeezed his fingers.

  "Ready."

  Focusing on a well-known nebula in the constellation of the Twins, Celeste willed it closer. She gasped as the image swelled in her vision. The nebula shone like a huge eye in the sky, a bright point surrounded by an explosion of clouds dotted with brilliant motes of stars. She brought it so close, she felt as if they were inside, looking out.

  "By the stars ..."

  "What did you say?"

  Astrus's sharp tone startled her, and Celeste turned her head, the image of the expanded nebula vanishing from her sight. "A saying of my people. As astrologers, we—"

  "Astrologers?" Astrus scoffed. "Astrology is nothing but wishful thinking overriding wisdom."

  Celeste felt as if the man had slapped her. She started to sit up, but Torius squeezed her hand and propped himself up on one elbow.

  "I don't know about that, Astrus. Celeste has predicted a few things for me with a startling degree of accuracy. Her prophecies have saved my life more than once."

  "I find that difficult to believe, Captain."

  "Lord Astrus, I was once told by a worshiper of Desna that the mind is like the wings of a butterfly." Celeste deliberately kept her tone even as she turned her attention back to the wonder of the starry sky.

  "Really? How so?"

  "Both ascend to a higher place only if they're open."

  "A clever anecdote, Miss Celeste, but I find that facts serve the same purpose, and do not crumble as easily as conjecture and whimsy." He bowed deeply. "Enjoy your evening."

  Celeste and Torius watched Lord Astrus stroll toward the tents, his movements unhurried, Hashi trailing at his heels. When they
were out of hearing, Torius turned to her. "Infuriating fellow."

  "He's hiding something." Celeste turned back to the nebula.

  "What? How so?"

  "He's got a magical aura that surrounds him. I only caught a glimpse, but it's there. It could just be something like your kaftan, an enchantment to keep him cool, but it didn't seem the same."

  "Hmm. Well, we'll keep an eye on him." Torius reclined beside her and looked up at the sky. "I'll have Grogul ask around. Forget about Astrus. This is our time now." He leaned his head against hers and clasped her hand again. "What do we look at first?"

  "Follow me." With a pounding heart, Celeste took him into the heavens.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  "Mistress Jhafae! You honor us with your presence!" The hostess bustled forward and greeted Vreva with two kisses on her cheeks and a genuine smile.

  "It's always my pleasure to visit you, Kamalah." She glanced around the outdoor restaurant. Zarina had not yet arrived, but that wasn't surprising. Vreva had come early to give Saffron time to scout the area.

  "I've arranged everything as you requested. Please follow me." Kamalah led Vreva through the dining area to her usual table, her colorful sari billowing in the light breeze. "I have your favorite wine chilling."

  "You're a gift from the gods, Kamalah." Vreva took her seat, and the hostess poured ice water from a glistening silver pitcher into two goblets. "My guest has a taste for whiskey. Do you have any single malts in your collection?"

  "Of course, Mistress Jhafae!" Kamalah looked affronted. "May Abadar strike me dead if we fail to cater to our guests' every whim!"

  "My apologies. I meant no insult. I just want my guest to feel at home." She brushed the vase of blossoms on the table and breathed in the heady scent of jasmine. "You may have heard of Inquisitor Capoli."

  Kamalah's eyes widened. "Indeed! I will bring you the finest in our cellar."

  "Thank you." Vreva sat back and surveyed the area with satisfaction. This spot was one of her favorites for dinners with clients. The hillside location not only had a beautiful view of Okeno, but provided privacy as well. No casual passerby could see or hear the diners, as the elevated patio was surrounded by a thorny hedge of bougainvillea, impenetrable for any would-be eavesdropper. The corner table also provided her a view of the entire dining area, and she'd paid Kamalah to keep the three nearest tables empty for additional privacy.