Chapter 14

If Zack hadn’t told me the Sipadan was a century old, my nose would have done the job for him. The air was filled with the mingled scents of oil, wood, rusted metal, and salt. There were sailors everywhere I looked, doing the dozens of final checks that a vessel needs before setting sale. The sailors, who I thought looked like Malays, spared us quick glances, but they went back to work without so much as a hello.

Well, all but one, a rough looking man with a full, black beard. If you gave him a tricorner hat and a parrot, he’d have fit right in on the cover of Treasure Island. His pressed shirt and cap seemed unnatural, like seeing a wolf on a leash.

“So, you must be the ones who hijacked my ship!” He came forward, his dark, brown eyes boring into us. “Captain Zhang An, at your service.”

He shot out his hand, which Zack took. “Leftenan Muda Zakariah bin Ibrahim. Thank you for having us aboard.”

“Yes, thank you, Captain An,” I added.

“That’ll be Captain Zhang, if you please,” he said. “You don’t have to thank me; it wasn’t like I had a choice.” He cocked his head, an almost birdlike motion. “God above, don’t tell me you’re the asset.”

“As a matter of fact, she is,” said O’Connor, brushing past me. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Captain Zhang shrugged. “That’s up to her, isn’t it? I was told you’ll keep the storms off us while we go on that wild goose chase. They didn’t tell me it’d be a child, or a woman.”

“Excuse me?” I said, feeling my cheeks flush hot with anger.

“What of it?” said O’Connor. “If you’ve got a problem with her, you’ve got a problem with me, and one with the Wizard Corps.”

“It’s just bad luck to have a woman aboard, is what it is,” replied Captain Zhang.

The wind whipped around me, but I didn’t care one bit. “I thought that old superstition died out ages ago! What kind of sexist nonsense is that?”

I wanted to smack his condescending smirk off his face. “Y’know what else I was always told was superstition? Sea monsters and devils, and they’re real as can be.” He patted the metal hull behind him in a loving way. “I’ve got thirty-nine men on board, and a heck of a loan on my baby here. I take all the precautions I can.” Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out some hidden necklaces. There were two crosses, a Star of David, a crescent with a star, and other religious symbols I didn’t recognize.

“That seems excessive and contradictory,” said Zack.

“I’m not sure whose devils they are, so I cast a wide net. I don’t like tempting fate; she’s a two-faced whore.”

Seeing red, I jabbed my finger into his chest. “Now you listen—”

O’Connor’s hand settled on my shoulder. “Settle down,” he whispered. “We don’t need a weather incident. Don’t make him right.” He straightened up. “I’ll repeat myself, Captain. If you’ve got a problem with Cadet Cooper, you’ve got a problem with the Wizard Corps.” He glanced around, looking thoughtful. “I’m sure if I really went at it, Zakariah here could find some code violations that could keep you docked for months. Trying paying off y our loan then.”

“I’ve spotted two minor infractions already, and I haven’t even stowed my bags yet,” said Zack. “Nothing too dangerous, but regulations are regulations.”

Captain Zhang held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll drop it. Look, as long as I get my fee and the Sipadan comes back in one piece, I’ll be happy.” He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, summoning one of the sailors. “Go see ‘em to their quarters. We’ll be underway in an hour, two tops. Get yourselves comfortable.”

I fumed all the way as we went belowdecks. The smell of the Sipadan’s ‘history’ was almost overwhelming, despite the best efforts of large fans. The halls were claustrophobic, just wide enough for two people to go either way.

“Do you speak Japanese?” asked Zack in that language. When the sailor gave no response, he looked over his shoulder at O’Connor and I. “I can’t believe they picked that blasphemous idiot for this job!”

“Probably not a lot of choices,” said O’Connor in kind. “There aren’t a lot of private vessels with the right gear for underwater exploration in this part of the world.”

“Why a… not government ship?” The word for private had escaped me. The school’s translation magic was nice, but I felt terribly rusty. “I would expect them to have more standards!”

“I botched that part,” said O’Connor, grunting with discomfort. The American seemed to suffer the most in the tight space, since he was the tallest and broadest of us all. “Still, one thing I’ve found about people who are… eccentric, to put it nicely, is that they’re usually competent enough. If they weren’t, who’d put up with their crap?”

“Eccentric? I can’t believe they still make creeps like him!” The stale air grew a bit fresher as Stormbringer fed on my annoyance, blowing my hair all around.

“Keep it under control,” said Zack, looking over his shoulder. “Don’t make him right, yeah?”

I nodded, forcing myself to think happy thoughts. “How minor were those infractions? Should I be worried?”

Zack chuckled. “Oh, I made them up. The Sipadan’s ship shape. No need to worry there.”

“A bluff, then?” asked O’Connor. “You were seamless back there. Have you considered a career in intelligence?”

“Can’t say that I have, sir,” he replied. “Honestly, I’d rather get back into regular service. Flying around to meetings with big-wigs isn’t what I signed on for.”

“Either way, remind me not to play cards with you,” said O’Connor with a grin.

“Zakariah did seem to win an awful lot when we were… up growing,” I added, my lost words ruining the joke.

“That’s because you’ve got an anti-poker face, Rose,” he replied.

“We’re here,” said the sailor disinterestedly, pointing at a pair of doors near the end of the hallway. “The young lady goes on the left, and you two go on the right.”

“Thank you,” said Zack, switching back to English.

“Douitashimashite,” replied the crewman without missing a beat, before vanishing up another set of stairs.

“Was that…” I trailed off, wanting to be wrong.

“His accent sucks, but that was definitely you’re welcome,” said O’Connor.

“Meaning that he just heard everything we said about Captain Zhang,” I said, my stomach churning.

“It’s one of the big trade languages these days,” said Zack. “That was my fault for thinking a sailor wouldn’t speak any.”

“Oh, I knew he could understand you the whole time,” said O’Connor.

“What?” I said, my voice rising. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

O’Connor’s feral grin had me taking a step back. “I just didn’t care what he thought of us. You already blew up at him, so you can’t make friends now. Instead, be tough. Consider it part of your lessons, Rose. You’re going to work with people that hate your guts all the time, especially when you’re dealing with civilian contractors.”

“I hope that isn’t what you meant when you said you’d be giving me an education!” I said.

“No, you’ll get the main lesson soon enough.”