Page 108 of The Sea Witch
After a pause, he said carefully, “Another route is possible.”
“Show us.”
“We take this route, and stay clear of theJupiter.” He pointed to a narrow channel that ran between a series of islands.
All the women exchanged speaking glances.
“What don’t I know?” he asked.
“This.” Alys tapped her finger on the largest island, which formed a jagged, rocky coastline. “The cliffside location of the Redthorns’ monastery.”
Just saying their name caused a ripple of unease to travel around the table.
“Redthorns.” Ben shook his head.
“Mages of the deepest and most fanatical devotion,” Alys explained. “They hide themselves away from the world. Study the darkest magic. To them, the natural world’s theirs to exploit and defile.”
“Why call themselves Redthorns?” Stasia asked.
“I can only speculate,” Alys answered.
“For all their piety, they can be bought,” Polly added. “They act as mercenaries for whomever can afford them. In battle, they never leave survivors.”
“Not very holy.” Ben frowned. “They’re monks?”
“So it’s said,” Alys replied.
He muttered a curse. “I may have seen them.”
When he hesitated to speak, Alys waved toward him. “If there’s something you know, we need to hear it.”
“This must have been... three months ago? We were at sea, about a day from San Domingo. It was late, but I don’t know what hour. No one rang the ship’s bells. I remember thinking that was odd. I struggled to wake up, and when I left my quarters, everyone was asleep.Everyone. I managed to get myself on the top deck. Even the watches slept at their posts.”
He continued, “A schooner came alongside us. The ship seemed made of darkness. Instinct had me hide myself as a trio of men in monastic robes boarded. Huge men. Their hoods were up, so I couldn’t see their faces.”
“None of this is pleasant to know,” Stasia muttered.
“Warne and Lieutenant Oliver, they were awake. They met the monks and took them to the admiral’s quarters,”Ben continued. “They were sequestered for an hour, perhaps two, and when they came back on deck, they carried a small strongbox. They sailed away. The watches woke up, and I hurried back to my quarters. Neither Admiral Strickland, Oliver, nor Warne ever spoke of it.”
“Did you ask them about those men?” Polly asked.
“I suspected I wasn’t supposed to see or know about them, so I kept my silence.”
“They’re allies, then, to the navy,” Alys said bleakly.
“We face them,” Polly said, “or run right into theJupiter’s arms.”
“With its krakenandleviathan,” Luna added.
“And a hundred guns,” Ben noted.
“Magical monks, or sea creatures and a first-rate man-o’-war.” Alys exhaled in the grim silence. “Seems that the Redthorns are the slightly less horrible option.”
“The monastery has the high ground.” Stasia’s words were foreboding. “They will see our ship pass by their abbey and attack. Even with the number of witches aboard our vessel, we will be unable to defend ourselves against whatever magic and spells they aim at us.”
“Couldn’t you sail around them?” Ben asked. He pointed to the other islands near the Redthorns’ monastery.
“For a navigator,” Stasia said tartly, “you know precious little of this area.”
