Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [38]
The boy had the run of the ship. The soldiers were starting to like him, had made a sort of pet of him. He would run about the deck on all fours and they would roar with laughter and give him food. They tried to give him coins, but he was terrified of the money, which was made of metal. The soldiers found that even more hilarious.
Wulfe could get close to Zahakis. The boy could move silently and stealthily as a stalking cat. The only problem was the boy’s fear of anything made of iron.
That afternoon, when Zahakis went down into the hold to check on the women, Skylan motioned for Wulfe. The boy crouched eagerly beside Skylan.
“Did you talk to your oceanaids today?” Skylan asked.
“Of course,” said Wulfe.
“They didn’t happen to mention how close we are to land, did they?” Skylan said.
“I can ask. Do you want me to?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Wulfe dashed off and was soon hanging over the rail, yelling at the waves. The soldiers watched him and chuckled. Skylan felt more than a little foolish as he waited to hear what Wulfe and his fae friends had to say.
“Two days,” Wulfe announced on his return. “So long as the wind doesn’t shift direction. And they don’t think it will.”
Two days. They could sail to land in two days. Skylan didn’t know whether he believed Wulfe or he simply wanted to believe. Either way, he decided, it didn’t matter. This was the only opportunity for escape they were likely to have. They would have to take it and trust to the gods.
He told Wulfe what he wanted him to do.
Wulfe shook his head violently and started to make a dash for it.
“Come back here,” Skylan said sharply.
Wulfe came back, dragging his feet.
“You want to get away from these soldiers, don’t you?” Skylan said softly, keeping an eye out for Zahakis.
Wulfe nodded slowly, still suspicious.
“You want to see Raegar dead, don’t you?”
Wulfe nodded again, this time emphatically.
“Then you have to get that key for me,” said Skylan. “You’re the only one who can do it.”
“But it’s made of iron. It will burn me,” said Wulfe plaintively.
Skylan might not have believed this, but he had seen Wulfe’s fingers the one time he’d forced the boy to clean his sword. His fingers looked like Wulfe had put his hand on a red-hot kettle.
Wulfe’s brow puckered. “Why do you need this key anyway?”
“Because it unlocks the manacles,” said Skylan. “You’ve seen a key work.”
Wulfe shook his head. “The druids never used locks or keys.”
After he thought about it, Skylan was not surprised. From what he had seen of their village, the druids had nothing of value to lock up.
Skylan pointed to the leg irons. “See the metal box that looks like a barrel? You put the key in there. The key touches a spring. The spring releases and the manacles pop open. I’ll need to keep the key for a long time, so Zahakis can’t wonder where it has gone or start looking for it.”
Wulfe grinned. “You want me to steal an iron key that I can’t touch off the Ugly’s thumb so he doesn’t notice it’s missing.”
Skylan gave a frustrated sigh. The boy was right. It seemed impossible.
“Wulfe,” he asked abruptly, “can you talk to Aylaen or Treia?”
“I won’t talk to Treia. Ever,” said Wulfe emphatically.
“Well, then, can you talk to Aylaen? Have you talked to her?”
“Yes,” said Wulfe. “I’ve been telling her stories about my mother and father. They cheer her up. Why?”
Skylan glanced around to make certain no one was near, then he said softly, “I was just wondering if she said anything about finding the spiritbone.”
Wulfe gave a nervous start and peered warily at Skylan from beneath shaggy bangs. “It was lost. It fell in the sea.”
“I know it fell in the sea,” Skylan said impatiently. “But that doesn’t mean it’s lost. The spiritbone will come back to the person the dragon chooses to keep it safe.”
Wulfe stared at him. “It does? It comes to the person the dragon chooses?”
“Yes,” said Skylan. “Why? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” Wulfe said. He cast a sidelong glance at the dragonhead prow.
“I’ll think about the key,” he said, and jumped up and ran off.
Skylan had been going