Thrice Bound Page 25

  Mentally, Hekate sighed but continued to speak to Medea in what she hoped was a reasonable tone. "Medea, if I don't leave Colchis, you will have to . . . one way or another. Soon there won't be room in this city for both of us. Remember, you said yourself that coupling creates a special bond. Are you sure that you want me for a mother-by-marriage? Are you sure who would win the contest of wills in a coupling beween your father and me?"

  Medea actually paled. "Very well. Very well. But it cannot be today."

  *She wants time to arrange for your assassination,* Kabeiros said.

  *I guessed,* Hekate replied mentally with utmost calm, and then said aloud, "You know it must be today. After what passed between you and your father last night, he will insist on settling matters between us at once . . . so he will know how to deal with you. I need to be well away from Colchis before the time that I usually go to your father in the evening. And I tell you plainly, if I am still here, I will agree to marry him and tell him everything. Now, will you help me escape from Colchis this very day?"

  "And how would I explain that to my father?"

  "Why explain anything? Why should you know anything about my leaving?" Hekate smiled. "In any case, you would have a much harder time explaining my death. After last night, do you think Aietes will believe you innocent?"

  Medea stared at her, lips thinned to an ugly line, but then they softened and she began to look more thoughtful than angry. "You will never be able to return to Colchis," she said.

  Hekate nodded. "I know, and I am sorry for it. I like the city and the people and I am truly fond of Aietes. But I have other, more driving needs. I will not return."

  "You must not be seen going down to the dock, the one at the foot of Sorcerers Road. You must allow me to bespell you to invisibility. And you must leave the dog here. Everyone knows the dog."

  Laughing, Hekate shook her head. "Send a message to the market or to the Black Genie with the name of the ship and when it sails and leave all else to me. And do not think I will be unaware that you will instruct the captain to be rid of me. When he tries, I will teach him a lesson that will make him your enemy forever."

  Medea shrugged. "You will not listen to me, so I will not be responsible for what befalls you. There is no need for a messenger, which might betray me to my father. The Sea Foam will start down the river at dawn. Tell the captain, if you wish, that it is by my order that you leave Colchis."

  CHAPTER 17

  Wearing the look-by-me spell, Hekate came aboard the Sea Foam in the late afternoon, during a busy period of loading. There were guards to prevent thieving, clerks to write down what was brought aboard, examiners to see that what was listed on the bill of lading was actually in the packages, as well as the slaves who carried the goods. In the crowded conditions, the danger of touching someone was greater; however, there were so many people and things to distract the eye from her, that even if she did bump someone she only needed to step aside and she would never be noticed.

  Weaving this way and that, she made her way below the decked-over area and found a place that seemed fully loaded. There she crammed her bundles into the spaces left by the curve of a number of barrels and squeezed herself behind bales of what she thought was cloth. Having sat down to wait until the loading was complete, she had time to think. The ease of her escape thus far was surprising.

  Had Medea accepted her arguments? Certainly she seemed relieved when Hekate agreed that she would never return to Colchis. Perhaps Medea had decided it was better to be rid of a hated rival than to garner an empty satisfaction in Hekate's death, which would make more trouble for her. Perhaps . . . Still, when Hekate had left Ming Hao's house, the watcher had not touched her again. Had Medea blocked the scrying? Was it necessary? The watcher could have been Medea's, not Aietes', all along.

  Not that Hekate had done anything either Medea or Aietes would have found suspicious. She saw a few clients at the market, then she had gone to the Black Genie to eat dinner. There she had followed Batshira into the kitchen, a thing she had done many times before. This time, however, she cast a no-see-no-hear spell and told the innkeeper she was leaving Colchis. She gave her the key to her rooms and another moon's rent. Over that time, little by little, Hekate said, Batshira should give to Yehoraz the herbs and amulets from the rooms and take the other contents for herself.

  That done, she went back to her apartment, gathered up her three bundles, and cast the look-by-me spell. Kabeiros had not followed her from the inn; he had gone off on his own toward the market. From there, he had told her, he would take a long and winding path, not infrequently stopping to consort with other dogs in the city, down to the dock area, where he would find Sea Foam and conceal himself near the ship until she called for him.

  Too easy, Hekate wondered? Not if Medea was helping her to leave. Hekate had no doubt that Medea knew ways to blind or divert a watcher and, she suspected, was capable of fixing Aietes' attention, too. Had she approached her father with tearful apologies, with promises of amendment of her ways?

  Had she even needed to? Aietes was fond of Medea. Wouldn't he regret being so harsh to her? Hekate smiled. Likely enough it was Aietes who came to Medea with apologies. If so, that was the best luck that could befall her, Hekate thought. Aietes would not send for her that evening if he were trying to placate Medea, so he wouldn't know she had fled until the next day at least.

  Hekate sighed. She could hope for such good fortune, but there was no way to know anything for certain. She must watch and wait. Taking a polished circle of metal from her special bundle, Hekate scryed the upper deck at intervals, keeping her observation short so no minimally Talented person would "feel" the watching. As evening approached, the loading reached a peak of activity, then began to diminish.

  By dark, the clerks, examiners, and porters were gone and the captain and two officers went ashore. Bread, cheese, and wine were distributed to the crew who ate quickly, then rolled themselves in blankets and bedded down on the deck along the hull. Only one guard remained to watch the landing plank until the captain should return, when Hekate assumed the plank would be pulled in.

  Having waited until there was no more murmuring or movement from the blanket-covered crew, Hekate extracted herself from behind the bales, walked softly and carefully to just behind the guard, and threw one of her amulets, making sure it rolled noisily into concealment behind some casks. The guard's head turned to the sound. Hekate called silently to Kabeiros, who came out of the shadows beside one of the dockside buildings.

  The guard cast a look about the street to make sure no one was close enough to reach the ship and board it while his attention was distracted. Then he went to check on the noise behind the casks. He found the amulet, lifted it, and froze. Kabeiros dashed across the dock, leapt up the plank, and ran across the deck to slip into the dark underdeck where Hekate joined him.

  They were safely behind the bales, black Kabeiros invisible in the black shadow, Hekate shielded by the look-by-me spell, before the guard moved. He was unaware that he had lost some moments, and turned alertly to scan the dock again. It was empty. The guard returned to his post, looking curiously at the amulet and wondering from where it had come. It was possible that one of the crew had lost it and it had caught on a rope and simply fallen off. Nonetheless, the man tucked it carefully in his belt, resolved to tell the captain what had happened. Colchis was a strange place.

  A very dull two days followed for Hekate while the ship, which had left port after suffering only a cursory check for forbidden goods or pasengers, sailed down the river and turned southward along the coast and then almost due west. Hekate didn't mind at all. She had brought aboard sufficient food and water for several days, knowing that it might be possible for Aietes' ships to overtake them within that time. Afterward, she was reasonably sure they would be out of reach, unless the captain actually stopped and waited—and she knew how to deal with that.

  She needed no occupation either because as soon as she had shifted the bales to
make a fairly comfortable nest for herself and Kabeiros, she was overtaken by an irresistible urge to sleep. In her few wakeful periods, that puzzled her, until she remembered that she had slept away almost the whole of the first week in the caves of the dead. She needed to allow herself to unravel, she decided after thinking about it. She had slept in the caves of the dead to recover from the tensions and anxieties of living with Perses; now she slept to rest after the strain of so much healing magic and wariness in the presence of Aietes.

  As with all ships, except under unusual circumstances, Sea Foam beached each evening. The crew went ashore to hunt and cook and to sleep far more comfortably than they could on the deck. When it was dark, Kabeiros also went ashore to hunt and to empty his bladder and bowels, which he did again at dawn. Hekate was also able to take care of her needs, using a bailing vessel that she then washed out in the ocean.

  The result was so satisfactory that Hekate was seriously thinking about remaining in hiding for the whole trip, pilfering food and water or sharing Kabeiros' quarry, which she could cook by magic.

  On the third day, she was much less sleepy and mentioned this notion to Kabeiros who cocked his head at her and asked, *Don't you think it strange that the captain didn't search for you or send a message to the palace to say you hadn't come aboard?*

  *Likely he told Medea or sent a message to her when he went ashore. Also, I suppose Medea told him I would come secretly, and you know how ship captains are. The tides are more important than the orders of a land-bound lord, even one such as Medea. Doubtless he will be at sea for some time, moons or even years, and he assumes her orders would be forgotten. If he's an honest man, he can always repay the passage money when he returns—if she paid him anything, which I doubt.*

  *Or repay the blood money if you aren't dead?*

  That dry comment brought a thoughtful expression to Hekate's face. After a moment she said, *Now that I think about it, it is strange that he didn't set a search for me. If I were a ship captain, I wouldn't like to have an unknown person aboard, specially a person with the character Medea must have given me.*

  *And I saw from where I was hidden that the captain took two officers with him. Would he bring witnesses to a meeting with Medea? Would she permit it?*

  *Not if she didn't want anyone to know she was involved in my departure—even less if she were going to bid the captain toss me overboard or be rid of me in some other way.*

  *Is it possible,* Kabeiros asked, *that he never saw Medea? Never received any orders from her at all?*

  Hekate stroked Kabeiros' silky fur and sighed. *It is not only possible but probable. Why should Medea bother to make arrangements with the captain. Not for my welfare. She could have known about the ship and sailing time because she was getting or sending something by the Sea Foam. She knew I wouldn't come aboard openly for fear of Aietes' spies, so I wouldn't have to confront the captain while ashore where I could be put off.*

  *Yes.* Kabeiros nodded like a man; Hekate saw his head move in the dim light that seeped under the deck from the open area in which the rowing benches stood. *And Medea would guess you would conceal yourself for as long as you could in case Aietes pursued the ship.*

  Suddenly Hekate stiffened. *Kabeiros, I think she's done something to the ship. I think she intended to sink this ship with all aboard. That way she would be sure of being rid of me and no one else would be alive to be questioned.*

  *How like Medea!* Kabeiros remarked. "Now what do we do?*

  *I think we have no choice but to go to the captain.*

  *I agree, but how are you going to tell him about the danger to his ship without being blamed for it?*

  Hekate laughed softly. *I'll tell him as little of the truth as possible and any lies that are necessary to get him to thoroughly inspect his ship.*

  Mentally, Kabeiros chuckled. *You are a wonderful liar. How did you learn the art so well?*

  Any amusement was missing from Hekate's mental aura when she said, *By living with Perses.*

  Kabeiros growled softly, then after a moment asked, *Do I stay here or go with you?*

  *Come with me. I don't think the captain will order me thrown overboard without question, but if we are wrong and he did speak to Medea, you might need to protect me until I can cast a spell. And I will go as the crone. An old woman is less threatening . . . and less likely to interest the crew if they are long away from women.*

  Kabeiros got to his feet and Hekate stood as soon as she had space to rise. Then, old and bent, but still wearing the look-by-me spell, she came out into the open belly of the ship, stepped on an unoccupied rowers' bench, and from there onto the broad plank that ran from prow to stern between the decked-over areas. Kabeiros leapt up after her, drawing exclamations of surprise and a few gasps. The crew watched the huge, black dog with open mouths and round eyes, which grew even rounder as Hekate drew near the captain and dismissed the spell that kept her from being noticed.

  "Who in Plutos are you?" the captain roared, stepping back a pace. "How did you get aboard my ship?"

  "I am called Hekate, and I came aboard your ship in the same way I walked from under the deck to here, bespelled so no one would see me. I am sorry that you are so surpised. I thought my passage with you had been arranged."

  "Arranged? By who?"

  "The Lady Medea, who cast upon me the spell that kept me hidden—"

  "Medea?" The captain's voice rose to a roar again. "So that was why she wanted to speak to me? I didn't go. That woman is poison."

  "You didn't go?" Hekate echoed. "When was this?"

  "When I made port, three . . . no, four days ago. Why didn't she tell you I hadn't agreed to take you?"

  Hekate frowned. "I'm afraid it was because she was annoyed with us both," she said, but she was thinking that Medea already had a grudge against this ship and its captain.

  "Why should she be annoyed with me?" the captain protested. "I've traded in Colchis for years without trouble and often carried cargo for King Aietes."

  That was how Medea knew the Sea Foam was in port and when it would leave, Hekate thought, but she shrugged and said, "You didn't obey her summons. That would be enough."

  "And you?" the captain asked, but he sounded less angry, almost sympathetic.

  Hekate sighed. "I crossed her pet sorcerer, Ming Hao. She sent for me in the market and told me to leave Colchis that very day. I hadn't even time to tell my clients. She named this ship and the time it would sail."

  "From what I've heard about her, I'm surprised you're alive. But she had no cause to take a spite at me," the captain added indignantly. "I didn't refuse to obey her. I sent an excuse. I even asked for a new time to come to her."

  "After you planned to sail?" Hekate laughed. "You didn't fool her, though. She knew when you planned to leave port because she told me the Sea Foam would sail exactly when it did sail. Captain, I think within moments after you sent your excuses, Medea set some enchantment on your ship."

  "An enchantment on my ship?" The man's voice scaled up to a near screech. "Because of you?"

  "No, oh no! I had nothing to do with that. Your doom was decided before she spoke to me. I think she bid me take this ship so that I would drown with you and your crew."

  "Drown? You're mad! Even Medea can't reach me in the middle of the ocean."

  "No, she can't," Hekate said quickly before he began to think that she might be Medea's agent and she might be guilty of the damage, whatever it was. "But she could easily have set a spell on some cargo you loaded or something some slave brought aboard—"

  The captain was staring at her, eyes wide. "On an amulet?" he asked, starting to breathe quickly. "An amulet seemed to fall from the sky onto the ship. One of my crew who was acting as watchman brought it to me. It seemed harmless. It didn't do anything when he touched it or later when I touched it."

  "An amulet could easily carry Medea's spell," Hekate said gravely, blessing the Mother that she had used what was clearly a magical artifact instead of a pebble or twig
to carry the spell that froze the guard. "And I know the Lady Medea can make objects move through the air. I saw her do it with a globe of light. So the amulet could have been sent and dropped on your deck."

  "But it didn't do anything."

  "Are you sure, Captain? Won't you please look over your ship very carefully and make sure there is nothing wrong with it? If that amulet brought some kind of curse, it would fix itself to the ship at once so when your man touched it the magic was already gone from it and it was harmless. It is harmless now, I assure you. But the curse itself, that might act only slowly, like rotting the wood of your ship or . . . or . . . oh, I don't know anything about ships, but won't you please look to see the ship is sound?"

  "You're a witch yourself!"

  "Not really. I can only do small healing spells. I'm a healer. That's how I fell afoul of Ming Hao. I healed a client he had cursed. Perhaps if a curse was set on your ship, I could remove it or stop it from working."

  The captain's lips thinned. "How do I know you didn't bring the curse aboard yourself?"

  "Are you mad?" Hekate gasped. "If your ship sinks, I and my dog, Kabeiros, will drown with the rest of you. I cannot fly through the air nor swim well enough to save myself. You may be sure that I did nothing to harm your ship and that I will do all in my power to save it."

  That argument had the force of reason. The captain, because he had traded in Colchis for many years, had met and dealt with many sorcerers. He had seen them move small objects but never themselves or anything large or weighty. Logic also said that there would be little reason for a sorcerer to pay him to bring goods or carry them if he could move them at no cost himself. If she would drown, she wouldn't harm the ship. He nodded brusquely at Hekate and ordered a half dozen of the crew to do an inspection of the ship.

  At first nothing seemed wrong. The men walked along the hull, checking the caulking and prodding the boards to test their soundness, and no sign of weakness appeared. Even at the level of the rowers' benches, the men could find no sign of damage, although two hesitated over the lashings that held the planks of the hull together near the prow where the waves often splashed. However, as soon as a man descended below the waterline and pulled aside a rack of amphorae of oil, he set up a frightened shout.