“He’d have a wooden box with him,” I add, like that’s going to help jog their memories. They all shake their heads, clearly having been so mesmerised by the pretty lady they’re incapable of remembering anything else.
Dammit.
“Don’t remember who she was with, but wasn’t alone,” the orc adds. “Saw someone in my boat when she was making off with it. That could have been a fella with a box, I don’t know.”
He doesn’t seem to realise that this is the first half-decent bit of information we’ve heard all night.
“She took your boat?”
That earns me a frustrated grunt and it seems to take the ogre forever to answer. Glass shatters in the other room while he coolly sips his drink, wiping his mouth with his sleeve before responding, “Sure. That was the bet. Mine for hers. Thought I was getting a good deal as my old boat was a piece of shit, ate up magic like you wouldn’t believe.”
“You’re saying you saw them leave in your boat? Your magically assisted boat?” I ask.
He nods, staring morosely into his drink. “I have to say, she must be pretty powerful with that glamour on the go all the time and powering those engines.”
“I doubt it was all her own magic,”Aster says.
My mind fills with all the possibilities of where she might have come by that magic and my stomach gives an uneasy gurgle.
Torin grabs me by the waist, shifting me out of the way just in time for a chair to go sailing overhead. It smashes on the wall and there’s a low cheer. Things have certainly taken a turn in here. The air has shifted to a point of no return and I know from experience at Mag’s pub that this is where things turn messy. Dangerous.
“Time to go.”
Torin nods, unceremoniously hefting Jack up and over his shoulder, like he’s a sack of potatoes. Giving a little wave to the table, I excuse myself and we make a hasty retreat, heading for the exit right as another chair is smashed against the wall.
My ears are ringing as we stumble onto the magic lift again and I stumble as we step onto the dock once again. After the past few hours, I feel oddly hollowed out.
“Was that a success, do you think?” I murmur to Torin as the four of us pile into the rowing boat and he retakes the oars to take us back to the ship.
“Hard to say,” he grunts, nudging Jack onto his side where he’s collapsed and snoring at the bottom of the boat. “We know where Kit has been. We know he’s no longer flying around in a deathtrap. And we have a good idea that he’s with a woman that can glamour herself.”
“A sorceress,” I add quietly. “The same one that held Aster before he was able to escape.”
Torin hums under his breath, shirt clinging to his broad shoulders as he navigates the choppy waters with ease. “Other than that, we don’t know much. Not where he is, or where he’s headed.”
“At least they’re in a boat now,” I reply softly, eyeing Jack’s snoring form. “Jack’s lead panned out, after all.”
The ocean is pitch black as we make our way through the rolling waves, lit only by a lantern at the front of the little boat. I try not to let the darkness or vastness of the water around us get to me as I huddle deeper into my coat against the cold wind. Kit could be anywhere right now, speeding off in a boat powered by magic.
I rub at my chest, feeling three steady heartbeats pumping just slightly out of sync with each other and steady my resolve.
Even the sorceress’s magic will have to run out at some point. Plus, they’ll have to stop for fuel and food.
All we have to do is find any breadcrumbs and follow them.
And hope that when we do find Kit and Noush, we’re not too late.
Chapter 19
Jack
Idon’t know how I got back to the ship after our trip to the Dry Dock, but I woke up in the middle of the floor of my cabin in a puddle of drool.
It could be worse, though. I could have barely sobered up before being summoned to a meeting with the captain.
Oh wait...
My head’s still splitting open when Torin’s shaking me awake and throwing icy cold water on my face to rouse me.
