Of Kings and Killers (Elder Empire Sea #3) - WIll Wight Page 0,20

for Calder and couldn’t wait for the day when he collapsed under the burden of his debt and fled the Navigator’s Guild. He was certain that she would take her duty to hunt him down with uncomfortable glee.

Whenever he met Varia, he tried to put on his best face. Today…wasn’t his best.

He was covered head-to-toe in a layer of black soot that no amount of ocean water had manage to dampen, let alone wipe away. A sentient ash cloud had chased The Testament across half the Aion after their last assignment, giggling like a giant baby all the way. After vomiting all over them, the cloud had laughed its way into the distance.

At first, they had been relieved to see the back of it. Until they realized that the layer of black grit all over them refused to leave their skin.

“Your pardon, Quartermaster, but you can see I am not quite presentable at the moment. My crew and I could use a bath or five. Maybe a few days under a waterfall with some sandpaper. Do you know of anyone who might be Soulbound to a bar of soap?”

Varia’s smile stretched a little further. “Regrettably, Captain Marten, this is a request of terrible urgency. I’ll have to insist.”

Calder’s eyes moved to Varia’s fingers, which were twitching inside their orange feather-covered gloves. She was a Soulbound herself, bound to a Vessel that let her do truly unexpected things with flames, and she would embrace any excuse to singe Calder’s backside and keep him moving.

He gave a sigh that turned into another volcanic cough. Cheska wouldn’t have sent her quartermaster to round him up unless she really needed him, as she knew Varia wouldn’t let him get away.

He was sure that she wouldn’t have sent the woman just to torment him. Cheska didn’t hate him. He thought.

“Andel,” Calder called, “round up the crew.”

Andel popped his head up from the deck of The Testament, his normally spotless suit stained a greasy gray-black. “Aye, Captain.”

Varia held up a hand as though admiring the bright plumage of her glove. “Just you, Captain. I wouldn’t want to keep the rest of your crew from the bathhouse.”

Andel’s sigh of relief was loud enough to represent Calder’s entire crew.

The Capital’s Navigator chapter house was a massive edifice that appeared to be made entirely from the wreckage of ancient ships. Polished wooden prows jutted from the buttresses of the building, the windows were portholes, and several masts rose from the roof bearing flags instead of sails.

The moon-in-sun emblem of the Empire stood tallest, the Navigator’s Wheel representing his Guild came next, and the pure black flag representing the Long Mourning after the Emperor’s death was mounted in the lowest position.

A giant golden ship’s wheel—five times life-size—had been posted over the entry doors to the chapter house. It stared down at him with a carved golden eye whose pupil was a dark sapphire. It managed to look regal and majestic instead of unsettling.

The doors were propped open, admitting a steady stream of traffic in both directions, and it seemed that every visitor from all over the world stopped to stare at the well-baked Navigator Captain walking among them.

Varia took her time, strolling through the doors as though she had all afternoon, letting everyone take a good long look at Calder. For his part, Calder felt as though he left a black footprint and a cloud of ash with every step, though that wasn’t actually true. Only a few specks of black dust fell behind him.

It was an annoying reminder of how supernaturally adhesive the soot was. If it didn’t start falling off on its own soon, he was going to have to allow Petal to try her solution. She assured him that, while it was acid, it should have only a minimal effect on most skin types.

Maybe he could scrape himself clean with a knife.

After a parade that seemed to last most of the year, Varia finally ushered him past a goggle-eyed secretary and into an office bigger than The Testament’s hold.

Cheska spent relatively little time in her office compared to most Guild Heads, as she preferred to stay on the water. Her office reflected that. It was stacked with treasures, collectibles, and memorabilia that she’d picked up all over the Aion Sea.

A golden idol of some chubby, humanoid Elder shared desk space with a stack of leather-bound books filled with bookmarks. An old, yellowed map of Vandenyas covered most of one wall, pinned in place by four unique daggers.