Lightning splits the sky. And in the flash?—
The harbor spreads below the platform, a crescent of dark water sheltered by cliff walls. At its mouth, iron chains stretch across the entrance, thick as my thigh, meant to keep out vessels that would otherwise threaten the fortress above.
Shapes crowd the chains.
Dozens of them. Pale. Luminous. Faces I almost recognize—Jorah’s sharp nose, the cook’s broad shoulders, features blurredby water and death but still somehow human. They press against the iron barrier, hands reaching, mouths open in silent screams.
The drowned. My crew. Whatever those frigid hands in the water made of them.
“They want the gold.” My voice sounds far away. “They’ve been following it for weeks.”
“They want what’s in the gold.” The orc grabs my arm—not gently—and hauls me toward the gap in the wall. “And they won’t stop until they get it. So move. Unless you’d rather discuss this while they take the harbor.”
I don’t resist. There’s no point. The shapes at the chains are pressing harder, their glow intensifying, and I can hear it now—faint beneath the storm, beneath the waves, beneath everything. Whispering. My name. Promises of rest, of peace, of finally stopping.
Just let go.
I shake my head, forcing the whispers back. The orc’s grip on my arm is bruising, painful, real. Real is good. Real keeps me anchored.
The gap leads to stairs—narrow and steep, carved directly into the cliff face. My twisted ankle screams with every step, but I climb anyway, the orc’s hand finding my waist when I stumble. His touch is impersonal, efficient. The touch of someone used to hauling dead weight up steep inclines.
You’re not dead yet.
The stairs open into a corridor—dark stone, low ceiling, walls weeping with moisture that smells of salt and something else. Something older. The orc doesn’t slow, dragging me through passages that twist and turn until I’ve lost all sense of direction.
We pass relics. I catch glimpses in the torchlight—rusted cutlasses hung on walls, broken figureheads with painted eyes that seem to follow movement, glass jars containing... I look away. Some things are better left unexamined.
“Where are you taking me?” I manage between gasps. The exertion is warming me, but my lungs still burn and my ankle is making concerning noises with every step.
“Somewhere the dead can’t reach. For now.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
Fair enough. I’d probably give the same response if our positions were reversed. Never tell a stranger more than necessary. Never give away information that could be used against you. Rules I’ve lived by since I was old enough to understand what living meant.
The corridor opens into a larger space—cavernous, with windows that frame nothing but darkness and rain. Lightning flickers through the gaps, illuminating stone floors stained with something I don’t want to identify. Braziers line the walls, their flames burning with a greenish tint that casts everything in underwater hues.
A great hall.
The orc releases me in front of one of the braziers. I nearly collapse, catching myself on the rough stone edge, letting the strange-colored heat seep into my frozen bones.
“Stay here.” He’s moving toward a side passage, shouting orders to people I can’t see. His voice carries even above the storm—commands about sealing halls, lighting ward fires, nobody approaching the water until dawn.
Ward fires. I store that detail. He knows what he’s dealing with. Knows what the dead are and how to fight them. Which means he’s encountered them before. Which means?—
Which means he knows what’s in your pouch, and he hasn’t taken it yet. Why?
TWO
AVIORA
Ipull the pouch from my belt, weighing it in my palm. Fifteen pieces. I counted them when I bought them from that gent in Saltmere. Fifteen pieces of gold that have killed more people than I can remember and are probably responsible for the drowned things pressing against the harbor chains.
“Show me.”
The orc has returned, silent as a shadow despite his massive frame. He stands between me and the passage, blocking any exit, his attention fixed on the pouch in my hand.
