A knock sounded on the door to Butcher’s cabin.
“Come.”
Vermit bobbed his head. He twisted his cap in his hands. “She’s settled and sleeping, Captain,” Vermit said.
Butcher rubbed his throat and nodded. “You did well, Vermit. How’d you know what to say to her?”
Vermit shrugged. “Just knew Kor called her little miss. Knew he would scold her if she acted out. Knew she loved him. I just tried to sound enough like him to get her attention.”
Butcher eyed Vermit. “Scold her?”
Vermit shrugged again. “She’s the only person I know to find a soft spot in that hell hound.”
Butcher shook his head. “Don’t want one of your stories right now. What about the Des’Tras?”
“Please don’t call me that,” Cousin said from the doorway.
Vermit turned and shook a finger at her. “You should be resting. I’ll not have Kor after my head if you faint from exhaustion when it matters. Shoo. Go back to bed.”
Cousin came forward and kissed Vermit on his scarred, balding head. “I’m better now. Thanks.”
“Don’t hand me that. And it’s rude to come into the Captain’s -”
“Enough, Vermit,” Butcher said. “Go see about some food for our guest and myself.”
“Aye, Captain,” Vermit said with a bob of his head. He looked at Cousin. “Mind your manners, missy.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
“Can you tell me what happened to your crew?” Butcher asked after the door was shut.
Cousin closed her eyes and told the story.
Butcher listened, and waited for Cousin to finish. “How many days have you been walking? We are nowhere near where you were.”
“I’m not sure. All I know is that my family is in no mortal danger and Haven is sound. Yours is the first ship I’ve seen.”
“And you’re sure the Masters took them to Al’Ri?”
“Yes.”
Butcher went to his collection of carts and pulled out several. He motioned for Cousin to join him at a table under a swaying chandler. Unrolling a cart, he weighted the corners. The large chart showed half the charted world. Butcher put a finger on a spot marked “shrouded in Myst, Al’Ri”.
Cousin leaned over the table and focused on the spot.
“Slaughter Fish is a month out from the Myst. No one really knows how many or what kind of islands lay in the Myst. We could take you close, but not in.”
Cousin looked at the chart. She guessed at Slaughter Fish’s current location. “A month is too long.”
“Any spell work will give us away.”
Cousin nodded. “I’ll move faster on my own.”
Butcher stood straight and looked Cousin over. She was girlishly small. Her skin glowed, her neck and fingers were too long. Her eyes were more than large, her ears were pointed. She didn’t look mortal to Butcher. She didn’t even look like Al’Ri. A chill slid over his skin. Butcher rubbed his throat.
Cousin stared at the chart. “They know I’ll come. They know only what they want to believe.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come,” Butcher said.
Vermit came in followed by two others. They put the food and drink on another table and left.
The smell of food snapped Cousin from her thoughts. Her stomach growled a long rolling grumble.
Butcher laughed a sharp, short bark. “You’re mortal after all.”
Cousin looked at Butcher and smiled a Death Smile. “Smells passable. Nothing compares to Jak’s grub.”
“I’ll take that wager,” Butcher said.
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