Night Study (Soulfinders #2) - Maria V. Snyder Page 0,82
the ones in the security office again tonight, and tomorrow I’ll see what the locals have to say about the islands.”
“You think they’ll strike tomorrow night?” Endre asked him.
“If not tomorrow, then during the next storm. The Stormers need to have all their supplies before the fishing season starts in twelve days. We need to be in position regardless.”
Valek spent another late night in the security office’s conference room. With his theory in mind, he scanned the incident reports looking for anything that would dispute his logic. Finding nothing, he returned to the inn for a few hours’ sleep before reporting to the dock to join the repair crew.
The waves no longer lined up like rolling pins. Instead, they titled to the right.
“The worst part of the storm’s gonna miss us,” Joey said.
“Heading north, right?” Valek asked, tying a knot. Disappointment slowed his movements. More time spent away from Yelena.
“Yup. But the one right behind it might blow over us.”
Valek paused. “Two close together? Is that usual?”
Joey cracked his knuckles. “Yup. They’re called twins. We get them from time to time. They either follow the same path, hitting the same place one right after the other—those we call identical—or they diverge and go separate ways.”
“Let me guess, those are called fraternal.”
“You catch on quick.”
Pug snorted. “Nothing quick about that, old man. Let’s see if he can guess what we call them when they hit the coast at the same time?”
“Conjoined?” Valek guessed.
“Nope. We call them double trouble, and you hope that your boat don’t sink and your house don’t blow away during one of those nasty buggers.” Pug shuddered. “Good thing they’re rare.”
“I’ve seen two in my lifetime,” Joey said. “That’s more than enough.”
“Can you tell where the second twin will strike?” Valek asked Joey.
“Not yet.”
Valek contained his impatience. He listened to their banter, their mild teasing and fish tales.
“...kid sunk like a stone, I had to fish him out with a net.”
“...caught them hiding under the sails, lazy buggers.”
“I spotted the wreckage in the water and I thought Smelly drowned, but we found ’im on Hook Island, sunnin’ hisself on the beach. He was pissed we got to ’im so fast. Old Smelly thought he’d get a vacation.” Joey coughed a chuckle.
“Could he have lived on the island?” Valek asked.
“For a couple days, sure, but he’d run through the food right quick. Nothing grows on them except berries, and you have to be real quick to catch one of them seabirds.”
“Do ships wreck on those islands often?”
“Sometimes in a storm, but the fleet avoids them in bad weather. We’ll check ’em when a ship’s been reported missing, but it’s rare we find anyone. Smelly’s an exception.”
“Yeah, he’s an exceptional stinker. The man eats nothing but raw fish,” Pug said.
Valek kept a comment about Pug’s briny odor to himself. “Do you check them all?”
“Nah. Just the ones in the fishing grounds,” Joey said.
“Does anyone use those islands?”
“Are you planning on building a vacation home?” Pug laughed. “If so, I’ve a deed I can sell you for ten golds.”
Valek shrugged, playing down his interest. “Just making conversation.”
“Ignore Pug,” Joey said. “Those islands are only good for a rest or when you have to make repairs. A few have fresh water, but no one stays for long. Even a mild hot-season storm can swamp ’em and you’re swimming.”
“Or clinging to the treetops. Remember we found Fawlon tied to a branch?” Pug asked.
“Oh, yeah. Smart fellow, Fawlon. Too bad he died of thirst.”
As they traded stories of other poor fellows, Valek mulled over the information. It seemed the Storm Thieves could live on an island as long as they had a magician to keep their settlement from being swamped. A Stormdancer would have to be back in Sitia by the heating season or the dancer would be missed. Was it another magician from Sitia or someone new? Joey said the crew of the Starfish was young.
What if one of those teens developed magic? Magic wasn’t tolerated in Ixia, so the person had one of two options: escape to Sitia, or hide his or her power from everyone. But then there was the chance the person would grab too much magic and flame out. According to Irys, only those with amazing self-control could prevent that without any training.
If nothing happened during the storms, Valek planned to investigate all the crew members. It was a tiresome, tedious chore, but it might uncover a clue to the Storm Thieves’ whereabouts.