Under Fallen Stars - Mel Odom [75]
"We want more," Falkane said. "Your precious sea devils took things from Baldur's Gate as well. We want a share. They don't need all that they took."
Maliceprow glanced at the younger man in irritation, obviously unhappy at having his authority or decisions questioned.
"Perhaps," Iakhovas said smoothly, "it would be interesting to humble you."
"You speak as though it could be done," Falkane interrupted.
"But not today," Iakhovas went on. "There's still need of you." He reached under his cloak and took out a green velvet bag. "All of you will have your share." He loosened the drawstrings on the bag and poured.
Gold and silver coins spilled to the galley floor, bouncing and rolling when they hit. Gems and jewelry followed them. The bag was obviously magical because it continued to pour even though it had already emptied more than twenty times its own ability to hold.
The pirates scrambled forward, each searching through the treasures that cascaded across the floor. Only Malice-prow and Falkane didn't move.
Iakhovas tossed the bag to one of the nearest pirates. "Hire more pirates to take the places of those you've lost. Build, buy, or steal more ships to replace those sitting at the bottom of Baldur's Gate's harbor."
Disappointment marked the man's face when the bag appeared to have emptied at last. When he upended it again and more valuables tumbled out, he shouted out in glee, joined by others.
"I pay my debts," Iakhovas said, "but I also call in the favors that are owed me. Beware some of the items you find there. They're magical in nature." He smiled cruelly. "You wouldn't want to destroy your ship before you return home."
Laaqueel relaxed somewhat, surprised yet again by how easily Iakhovas manipulated those around him. Sekolah was surely watching over him, even though the Shark God had never watched over anyone.
Maliceprow watched the wealth spilling across his ship's floor and said, "I shall look forward to continued business with you, Alaric."
Iakhovas pushed himself up from the table and turned toward the door. "Of course you do, Portmaster. I knew there'd be no other answer."
As Iakhovas left the room, Laaqueel lingered. She told herself it was to guard Iakhovas's back, but she couldn't resist a final glance into Falkane's dark eyes. They haunted her, and she'd come to enjoy the slight shiver that look gave her.
Then she turned and went out the door as well. Despite Iakhovas's generosity, the malenti priestess knew no love was lost between Iakhovas and Bloody Falkane.
* * * * *
Jherek dreamed, trapped by fatigue and by the fever that gripped him off and on still. Part of him knew he lay in Breezerunner's hold and that Tynnel and most of the crew sat around him. They constantly moved and grumbled among themselves, ill at ease at being trapped in the ship's belly where no seafaring man would want to be. He felt sunlight across his legs where it streamed down from the bars overhead.
In the dream, he was five again, running across Bunyip's decks with a bucket of wet sand. The pirates had surprised a cargo ship that carried a surprise of its own hi the form of a passenger who was a mage of some renown. It was the first time Jherek had ever seen fireballs shoot through the air. Fear filled him again, but it was more than just the fear he'd known as a five-year-old. Even though everything seemed the same, he knew it was subtly different.
The voices and sounds blurred as they sometimes did in dreams, but the images were clear, full of color. His father stood on the stern castle, calling out orders to the men working to cut the flaming rigging free to save the sails and to the men he'd assembled for the boarding party.
Jherek ran as fast as he could. Despite all the activity taking place on both decks, his father would know how he performed. Flames hugged the deck near the port railing in front of him, already blistering the finish. He threw his bucket of brine-soaked sand over it, then raced back to the large crate amidships