James Maxey - Greatshadow

“There are simpler ways to get back to the boat,” said Infidel, looking out over the water. “But simple isn’t always entertaining.”

Without warning, she grabbed Aurora by the hips and hefted her up, holding the oversized woman directly over her head. Aurora let out a yelp as Infidel leapt, flying out over the topsy-turvy pilings, lighting down every third or fourth post before skipping on again. They reached the mangroves in under a minute and practically flew the last dozen yards to the boat. The old boards creaked as Infidel landed and planted the ogress on the deck feet first.

“Don’t do that again!” Aurora growled as Infidel giggled.

“What?” said Infidel. “You don’t like short cuts?”

Aurora sighed. “I’m not as invulnerable as you. One misstep on your part could have broken my neck, for no reason other than you wanting to show off. You’re reckless, princess. Perhaps this was charming when you were fifteen, but it’s not a quality I want in an ally when we face Greatshadow.”

“I was just having a little fun.”

“Children have fun. A warrior needs discipline.”

“I’m living backwards. I was disciplined as a child so I’m having fun as an adult.”

Aurora didn’t look persuaded by the reasoning. Before she could argue, someone cleared his throat from inside the tilted doorway to the cabin. Both women turned to see Relic squeezing from the opening, a large canvas bag slung over his shoulder.

“I told you to wait for me,” he grumbled. “Speed is of the essence. Ivory Blade has contacted the Three Goons. We need to prepare your disguise, and the dye takes several hours to set properly.”

He dropped the sack to the deck. Things within it clattered loudly, as metal hit metal.

“There’s dye involved?” said Infidel, squatting down over the sack. “I like my hair blonde.”

“It’s not your hair we’ll be dying,” said Relic.

Infidel opened the sack and pulled out various objects. She paused to study what looked like two shoulder caps for a suit of plate armor. They were formed of half-inch steel and polished to almost a mirror finish. Only, as shoulder plates, they weren’t very practical; the two halves were joined together by a single link of chain. And, the plates were too rounded. No one had shoulders this circular. Infidel looked puzzled as she turned the metal cups over and over in her hand.

“What the hell is this?” she asked.

Aurora chuckled. “It looks like a plate-steel bra.”

Relic was very quiet.

Both women stared at him.

He stared back.

“No freakin’ way,” said Infidel.

“This would be easier if you’d wear a helmet,” said Relic. “If not, we must choose attire that ensures none of the king’s men will be staring at your face.”

I expected Infidel to fling the armored lingerie into the bay. To my surprise, she shrugged. “What the hell,” she said. “It’s about time I had an outfit that doesn’t get ripped to shreds every five minutes. But if there are chain mail panties in here, I’m drawing a line.”

It turned out that there weren’t any chain mail panties, which provoked a mixed reaction within me. As unfair as it was for me to have such thoughts, I would have been relieved to see a full-blown, padlocked, cast-iron chastity belt. Infidel might have shrugged off the talk of pregnancy, but I was a little worried. My poor mortal frame might not have been up to the task of fathering a child with Infidel, but the king’s men were more than mere mortals. Lord Tower could fly, Father Ver can change reality with his voice, and Ivory Blade supposedly can move faster than the human eye can follow. Who knew who else might along for the trip? What if someone among the heroes matched Infidel in strength and stamina? What if what the Black Swan said about an impending pregnancy was true?

The sun was directly overhead as we rode the churning waves toward the pirate cave. Was it only coincidence that Tower’s party had set up camp in the very place where all this had begun with the discovery of the map? I hadn’t told Bigsby the truth of where I acquired it, so he hadn’t passed on the information. Perhaps Ivory Blade had researched the map further and other sources had led him here.

The cave was located on the western side of the Isle of Fire, a stark landscape of steep, rocky cliffs scoured by ceaseless wind. The waters here are turbulent but deep; a ship can sail within inches of the cliffs if her captain is crazy enough to risk the swirling currents. The cave we aimed for wasn’t the only one along this coastline. The area was riddled with old lava tubes exposed by the churning sea.

Most of the caves hold nothing but bird nests; indeed, the sky above was full of feathered creatures in every hue of the rainbow, from tiny finches no larger than my thumb to albatrosses with wingspans longer than my bar tab. The pirate cave was right at sea level; the tides here can rise and fall twenty feet, and when the tide is low the opening of the cave is a long, narrow slash amid jagged stones, just wide enough to sail a good-sized schooner through. Within lies an underground lagoon nearly a mile across, ringed by a pebble beach polished smooth by the waves. It was a safe, sheltered haven, assuming the captain was skilled enough to thread the needle.

Fortunately, Infidel, Aurora, and Relic were in a small rowboat that could navigate the gap with ease, even with the rising tide. Infidel manned both oars, and her iron muscles were more than a match for the swirling currents. She aimed the boat for the gap and rowed confidently over the waves, shooting into the cavern swiftly enough to leave a wake. Gulls cried as they dove at the churned up water.

The last time I’d been here, the room had been full of torches and lanterns. Now, the shore was lined with bright glorystones, rare gems purported to be fragments of the sun itself. Glorystones were far more expensive than diamonds, and there were more in this cave than I could count. Reflected on the dark water of the lagoon, they looked like stars. We’d definitely arrived at a camp outfitted by a king.

As my eyes searched the shadows beyond the shore, I was surprised at how empty the cave looked. When we’d come here to fight pirates, the noise in this place had been deafening, as the voices of a hundred rowdy men echoed through the chamber. The air had been foul with the smoke of fires fueled by dried guano, not to mention the stink left from using the lagoon as a toilet. Today, the air was clean and cool; everything was quiet. Off in the distance I spotted a few modest canvas tents, shelter enough for a dozen men perhaps, if they were friendly.

The only boat was a single-mast skiff that I recognized as belonging to the Black Swan. No-Face was standing near the boat, his arms crossed, his feet planted wide, looking ready to smite anyone who came too close. Reeker was in the boat, stretched out on the folded sail, snoozing, using a backpack as a pillow. Menagerie sat beneath a glorystone lantern, reading a book. The faded letters on the leather-bound tome could barely be made out: The Vanished Kingdom, by Judicious Merchant. My grandfather had published his discoveries years before I was born. With it, I had retraced his steps on the island, or at least attempted to. Sadly, I found most of his directions convoluted and his cartography rather cryptic. Some of the most interesting places he claimed to have explored I’ve never found. I can’t say if he embellished his adventures, or was simply rotten at drawing maps.

Menagerie had beaten us here even though he’d remained behind the other Goons to assist Infidel with her disguise. He’d requested an eye-popping sum of money for his services as an artist; in what he claimed was pure coincidence, it was equal to the value of the dragon skull once my bar debt was paid. Infidel hadn’t haggled. Menagerie had sent the other Goons on their way, promising he’d catch up to them. What might take No-Face a full day to row Menagerie could cover in mere hours as an eagle. As for whether the tattooed man’s artistry had produced a passable disguise, I wasn’t the best judge. I’d spent enough time staring at Infidel’s face to know its subtle lines no matter what color it was dyed. And I still didn’t understand how any amount of coloring and cleavage was going to hide her identity from Father Ver.