He lifted an eyebrow. “I doubt it since they’re following us.”
“Too eager to catch us,” Ramaro chimed in.
I popped open the cork. “Then I hope this works.”
The lizard’s eyes widened, and his voice came out an octave higher than usual. “What are you doing? We have no idea what those magics will do with each other!”
“We don’t have much of a choice!” I countered as I scooted toward the aft and tossed the contents at our driver.
Droplets flew out and splashed onto him. The magic swept over the dark cloak, changing him from a creepy phantom into a smiling man with impossibly dark eyes. He was attired in a sailor’s outfit, complete with a bandanna and loose leggings.
“They’re still going to find us in here!” Ramaro pointed out.
A smile curled onto Marc’s lips. “They can find us all they want. The old guards won’t like people who don’t pay their dues.”
His words became reality as the water behind us began to boil up. The Managers tried to turn their vessel, but the gurgling expanded across a wide line at our back. Shadowy figures shot up and latched onto their vessel. Swinger furiously paddled backward now as their boat began to violently rock.
The mist swallowed them, hiding the end of the story from our view. I had a depressing feeling that wouldn’t be the last we saw of them.
For now, though, we were free.
Chapter 41
The Tempest was never so lovely as when it loomed out of the mist. The Wraithcourier parked his vessel beside a rope ladder dropped by the crew, and I was only too eager to climb up with Ramaro in his pouch. Marc followed, and a great cheer went up when he landed on deck.
“Yer back, captain!”
“Praise to the seas!”
Fidel stepped up to his captain. “We saw the fog and knew you’d need to board, but what brought you here without a message?”
The crew quieted as Marc gave his explanation. “The man who brought Rose here tried to take her away again. Crestmoor by name.”
“The junk merchant?” one of the men wondered.
“He’s after more than just that if he’s after Rose,” Marc warned them as he swept his eyes over the crowd. “We’ll have to keep our ears to the ground when we land and see what we can learn about him.”
“Yes, captain!” came the shouts from the crew.
Marc looped an arm around my waist and nodded at my wounded arm. “I think it’s time we fixed that.”
He guided me into the cabin and pointedly shut the door behind Ramaro. The agama butted his head against the portal. “Hey! What gives?”
“I don’t need help with this,” Marc shouted as he helped me over to the bed. He retrieved bandages and alcohol and poured the drink over the wound.
I hissed at the sharp stinging even as Marc tied the wrap around the gash. “I’ll have to make sure we share a cell next time so you don’t go off getting hurt.”
I snorted. “I don’t think our hosts would have wanted that.” My eyes shot up. “Eldric! He doesn’t know we left! And our bags!”
“We can have them sent when I contact him with dreckle,” Marc pointed out as he finished the bandaging. He leaned back and met my gaze. “I’m sorry. I truly am. He almost caught you again.”
I snorted. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be trapped with him, and I don’t think I’d like that.”
Marc leaned back and grinned. “So I’m better than him.”
I nodded. “In a lot of ways.”
“I wouldn’t mind hearing them.”
