“Lick?” I asked again.
Aiko nodded.
“The town of Lick is at the end of Niallan’s Spit?”
Roran raised his hand. “I feel I need to mention that it was not called Niallan’s Spit when I was young.”
Aiko and I looked at him. “What was it called?”
Rilen answered. “Devil’s Tongue.”
Belshazzar laughed. “Wasn’t much better.”
“Do you remember what it was called originally, brother?” Dorian asked.
Belshazzar ran a hand down his face. “Please don’t remind me if it was the Devil’s Anus.”
Dorian shook his head. “Osirdan’s Finger.”
“These are all just absolutelyawful,” I said. “Can we just…” I looked between Dorian and his brother, and the look on the king’s face was the shock of a memory. “Are you all right, Belshazzar?”
“I…” He turned slowly and looked at me. “I’ll be fine.” He seemed to shake off whatever had possessed him. “Fine. Only… those names. They really are terrible.”
“I didn’t know there were other names before Niallan’s Spit,” Aiko said.
“Everything in this godforsaken place had different names,” Belshazzar said.
Everyone was agreeable to helping me, no matter what their differences were. I could handle a small xebec by myself, but having other hands to help, and not just magic ones, was a relief.
“Will we be able to reach Lick by the time the tide ebbs again?” Roran asked in the darkness.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I don’t know these waters. At some point, the tide won’t matter because the water from the river will push back, and we’ll slow.”
“Can we risk a sail?”
“If you don’t mind being seen,” I answered.
Roran took a deep breath. “Will we be seen?”
“A giant, white, triangular sail in the light of the half moon high in the sky? May as well start screaming.”
“Are we sure that Niniane’s fanatics are this far away?” he asked. “I’d imagine they wouldn’t be far from the Stronghold.”
“Do you know the mind of a madwoman?” I asked.
“Ilati, I don’t even fully know the mind of a sane woman.” He chuckled and kissed my forehead.
I took a deep breath. “Do you know why Niniane was driven mad?”
“A lot of older vampires can—”
“No, that’sgoneinsane. This isdrivenmad. She was forced to it, by Savion.”
“What’s the difference?”
“He made it happen. She might not be as crazy as she is if it weren’t for him. He murdered her soul mate, married, and then denied her a child. He denied her any sort of affection, probably. He had dozens of mistresses, and if any of them fell pregnant, he murdered them.”
I glanced over to Roran, who had his hand on the wheel with me. “Aiko’s sister Kumi was among them.”
