07.17.08
23: Cold Pursuit
Jace had long since lost track of just how long they’d been running, though he remained quite sure that it was not, as Sheiral kept insisting, long enough.
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04.29.08
22: Head For The Hills
Apart from all the bits that had come before and everything that would come after, landing the boat was the most dangerous part of the escape.
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04.08.08
21: A Row Between Friends
They made it to a boat and, with a little difficulty, figured out how to lower it to the water.
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04.03.08
20: On Deck
Jace crawled out from under the bed, pushing aside the prone form of the sailor who’d collapsed alongside it. He got to his feet and looked at the princess, who now had one leg freed.
“What did you do?” he asked. He could hear his own voice in his head, but it sounded muffled, like a sound underwater. He saw the girl’s jaw moving behind the cloth, but he couldn’t begin to catch the sounds.
He stuck a finger in his ear and began to dig out the still-soft wax. Sound returned to the world midway through her speech.
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03.18.08
19: Men Down
“You must put out the candle and use the wax to seal your ears,” the girl said. Jace started to reach for the lantern. “Wait,” she said. “Not yet. If somebody notices the candle is out, they might come to replace it, or to investigate. You must hear the whole plan first, and be ready to move. You’ll have to be quick. Do you understand?”
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03.16.08
18: Jace Unbound
With the miraculous knife in hand, Jace struggled to get it angled so he could cut through the ropes. It was a difficult task, as he could not see what he was doing and had limited mobility, but the ropes were old and the knife was remarkably sharp.
Before long, he’d freed his hands, and then it was a simple matter of getting his feet loose. He gave a low whistle, impressed with how well he’d acquitted himself. The hard part was over.
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03.13.08
17: Fickle Friends
Tarnach dragged Jace none-too-gently back up on deck and into a cabin at the rear of the ship, with the governor’s men in tow. The cabin was tiny but the small furnishings looked to be well-made and in good condition. The feathered princess was bound in chains that were securely fastened to the posts of a small bed. A white cloth served as a gag.
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03.11.08
16: The Last Favor
A moment after Jace cried out, he realized he’d blown whatever slim chance he might have had for his tumble below decks to go undetected.
His scream and fall were both cut short by the cloaked figure which swooped out of the shadow, catching him in surprisingly springy arms.
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02.28.08
15: Hands On Deck
The forecastle was deserted. Jace slipped over the railing and crept up to look out over the deck of the ship. The coast seemed to be as clear as it was going to get. He could see two men, and he assumed they were the ones he’d heard. They weren’t looking his way, though, but leaning on the railing and looking out over the port side of the ship.
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02.26.08
14: Out On A Limb
Getting aboard the ship required some thinking. The only obvious approach was the ship’s anchor chains, though that might be too obvious. Either one might leave him visible to somebody on the deck of another ship.
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02.10.08
13: Night Water
Jace kept finding himself looking over his shoulder at Tarnach as he made his way past the end of the harbor master’s office, where he hoped to slip into the water out of sight of anybody on the ships. The strange man simply stood there, as still as a statue, until the final time Jace looked back and he was simply gone.
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02.07.08
12: Tarnach’s Tip
“The girl, I mean,” Tarnach said. “The fine feathered female. You won’t find her locked up in the harbor master’s office.”
The man was suspended upside down from the overhanging eaves, his legs tucked up beneath—or rather, above—him and his feet hooked under a rafter. Somehow, his floppy brimmed hat remained in place. Jace wondered if it was all of a piece with his mask.
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