“So that’s a magic boat, then?” the watchman said when presented with the Horizon Chaser, sitting at anchor in the shade of a dock. “It doesn’t look very magical.”
“It sails itself,” Jace said.
“It can’t need much of a crew, then, can it?”
“I’m not much of a crew,” Jace said.
The man chuckled at this, which Jace took to be a good sign in the face of his otherwise unrelenting suspicion. He didn’t like the gleam that appeared in the man’s eye when the laughter subsided.
“Call for your captain, boy,” the man said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this very swiftly, I expect.”
Jace was a little hesitant to holler for Katryn. He’d never hollered for her before. He wasn’t sure how she’d take it. He had a feeling she wasn’t used to be hollered for, considering she’d captained her own ship with no one around but Loki, who seemed to be obedient to her if not actually very deferential.
But the constable was looking at him expectantly, and Jace figured there was an even chance the man was expecting him to fess up or try to bolt.
“Katryn!” he yelled. “Hey, Kat!” There was no immediate response so he shouted, “There’s a man here who wants to see you!”
He left it at that, as he had a pretty solid idea that specifying the profession of the man would not be conducive to eliciting an appearance from her. There was a muffled thump from within the hull of the ship, and a response he couldn’t quite make out, but within a minute she had clambered into view on the deck below them.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” she asked when she saw who was with Jace.
“Coming aboard, ma’am,” the guard said, hoisting Jace up by the scruff of his neck and then making the short leap down onto the planking of the deck. Still holding onto Jace, he held out the book. “I wonder if you recognize this book.”
“What? No,” Katryn said. “I’ve never seen that in my life.”
“Oh, now that’s interesting,” the man said. “He led me to believe it was yours.”
“No, it’s… yes,” Katryn said suddenly. “Oh, yes, it is.”
“Ma’am, if you’re lying to protect the boy, you’re more likely to get yourself into trouble than him out of it,” the guard said.
“It’s the new binding that’s thrown me off,” Katryn said. She grabbed for the book. “See, you can plainly tell the cover is brand new. That’s why I didn’t recognize it.”
The man dropped Jace so that he could handle the book more easily. He flipped it open… Katryn wincing at how carelessly he handled it… and said, “Hmm, well, yes. I suppose I can see that. But there’s something not right here. The boy was running like all the hordes of hell were after him.”
“Well, naturally, seeing as I had no idea he’d taken the book for rebinding… I’ve been saying it needed it for ages, and I guess he took it into his head to surprise me… he must have realized I would have called out the guard on him if I realized it was missing,” Katryn said. “He’s always been very enthusiastic that way, our Jace. Means well, but doesn’t think before he acts.”
“It’s a cunning story, but something still isn’t sitting right,” the constable said.
“Look, I have the companion volume down below in my cabin,” Katryn said. “He probably would have taken them both, only I’ve been reading from it all day. Just wait right here… I’ll pop down and get it.”
“Alright, but no tricks.”
Katryn leapt down the hatch, skipping the ladder entirely. Jace heard her door opening and the shuffling of papers, and then she came all but flying back up, her own book in hand.
“See,” she said. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to read this, but you can plainly see the titles match.” She flipped it open and started showing the guard random pages. “The parchment is also the same age and condition, the lettering is the same, it’s written in the same hand… the old covers on that one also matched this one, except for being in considerably worse condition.”
“What’s so special about these books, then?” the guard asked,
“Nothing at all,” Katryn said. “Just bits of obscure history… their only real value is because they’re old, and only a few collectors like myself would appreciate that.”
“Well, then, I suppose I’ll let you have this,” the guard said, handing her the newly-rebound book. “But mind your boy watches where he’s going… if he keeps running through the streets like a hooligan, he’ll keep being mistaken for one.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Katryn said. “I expect we’ll be shoving off soon, anyway.”
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