I lifted an eyebrow. “What did you call me out here for?”
“To show you this,” the captain explained as he stepped to one side. “Welcome to Azur Bay.”
The crystal-clear blue waters of the bay were held tightly between two branching land masses that looked like thick arms. The land was covered in small fishing shacks, and docks of various shapes, sizes, and ages dotted the coastline. The arms met in front of us, where a large, hilly island stretched out of sight. The first mile inland was covered in a packed city of clapboard houses, all of which were different from their brethren. Some shared walls. Others stood alone on small plots of land with grass. Dirt streets wound through their number, never straight and never the same width. The roads bustled with activity as carts and pedestrians went on their way.
Larger docks stretched out from the city shoreline, and they were attached to the land by a huge wharf and warehouses. Smaller ships were anchored at the docks while the larger vessels like ours were moored within three hundred yards. Their away boats were docked on land.
The shoreline on the leftward arm was covered in dry-docks. The large berths were half-filled with vessels of various sizes, having their hulls scraped and repaired by half-naked men with huge muscles. Men alone manned the docks, as well, moving cargo on and off the ships.
All this I saw from our position some two hundred yards from shore. For me, it was like staring at a throwback to a foreign land.
“Does any of this look familiar to you?” the captain asked me.
My heart sank as I shook my head. “No.”
“Have you ever been ashore in such places?”
“I did live in a city.” My hand instinctively moved to my empty pocket. “And I usually had something on me to protect me.”
He cocked his head to one side and studied my hand. “And you no longer have that thing?”
My heart sank. “No.”
“Then stay close to me.”
I blinked at him. “Close to you? You’re taking me ashore?”
The corners of his lips twitched higher. “Shouldn’t I?”
“Should we?” I heard Ramaro grumble as his tail whipped my back. I lifted an eyebrow at the lizard.
Torvus frowned at our short companion. “Nothing a little bit of my charm won’t fix.”
Ramaro scoffed, but didn’t argue further. Instead, he scurried down my side and disappeared into the open hatch of the hold.
I cast my eyes to the unknown city and shrugged. “I don’t think I’d be of much use out there.”
“We’ll see about that,” he mused as he looked past me. I half turned and beheld Fidel standing a few yards away. “We’ll be leaving for a few hours. Aim the ship toward the dry-docks. Berth seven should be empty.”
Fidel nodded. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
The captain caught my eye and jerked his head toward an away boat that hung over the side of the ship. “This way.”
Chapter 19
We moved over to the small vessel, which was already occupied by two sailors. The captain climbed in before offering me his hand. I gingerly accepted it and, much to the amusement of the crew, I was pulled off my feet and into the boat, where I fell against his chest.
Torvus grasped my arms and grinned down at me. “You don’t need to be that eager to join me.”
The crewmen burst into laughter, and their amusement was still ringing in my ears as we were lowered to the calm waters of the bay. I sat at the bow with the captain at the stern, and two sailors at the oars between us. One of the ropes near me wriggled, and I looked up in time to see Ramaro scurry down the fibers.
He dropped onto the seat beside me and glared at the captain. “You could have waited for me!”
“I didn’t know we needed to wait,” the captain mused as he looked the lizard over with his sharp blue eye. “What made you change your mind?”
Ramaro turned his face away and lifted his chin. “Nothing that concerns you.”
The captain’s good humor didn’t fail him as he shouted at the sailors. “Away and row!”
