Page 16 of The Dagger and the Flame
Pippin wriggled himself upside down in protest until she relented and set him back on his feet. She wrung her hands, not sure what to do with them. Val winked at her from the middle of the square. She was eating a caramel apple, and wearing a black hat with a feather in it. Bibi was perusing a stall near the entryway, the pockets of her plum coat bulging.
Remembering not to gawk, Sera turned to face the harbour, feigning interest in the nearest boat. It had a sleek wooden hull and white sails rolled at the mast.Mariner’s Dream.
Noticing the line of her attention, an old man in a flat cap sidled over. ‘More likeMariner’s Nightmare,’ he grunted. ‘I wouldn’t get too close, girl. The whole ruddy crew upped and disappeared. Thirty-odd sailors and not a trace to be found.’ He blew a smoke ring from his tobacco pipe, quickly chasing it with another. ‘Something stinks.’
Sera raised her eyebrows. This must be the ship Val mentioned the other morning. But thirty sailors… thirty marks in one night. Even for the Daggers, the number was obscene. ‘What was the vessel trading?’
‘Spices from the south. Every barrel left untouched.’
Sera frowned. Nothing taken. No bodies left behind. It didn’t make any sense. ‘Maybe the crew made a pact,’ she murmured. ‘Maybe they hated their patron or their captain, or the long, gruelling hours at sea and decided to hell with it all…’
The man snorted. ‘Ignorant little kelpie. The captain disappeared along with them. And that pretty little fairy tale don’t explain all the other disappearances, does it?’
Sera’s cheeks prickled. Just what the hell was Dufort up to?
‘Well, what’syourclever theory, then?’ she asked, with too much bite.
The old man blew another ring. ‘Badness is growing. There’s a wrongness in the wind. In the water.’
Sera hated those words, and the shiver they chased down her spine. ‘That’s not a theory.’
‘It’s a feeling,’ he said, wandering away. ‘Just a feeling.’
Swallow it, she wanted to call after him. She barely had the space to contemplate what had happened to Mama, without adding these strange happenings at the harbour.
She turned and walked along the shop fronts, to where the crowd was at its thinnest. She lingered outside the Rose and Crown, a bustling tavern already brimming with red-cheeked revellers, and wondered if she should pilfer something, too. What if this was all a test? Madame Mercure had warned Sera that she would summon her soon for her first job, but there had been no sign or word from the Head Cloak since that first night. What if Mercure had told the girls to take Sera down to the Rascalle today to test her nerve?
What ifthiswas the job? Or some sort of secret initiation rite?
Her mind reeled, a new panic setting in. Maybe she should take a peach from one of the fruit stalls. She winced at the thought. She had grown up around these farmers, probably run through their fields as a child. One cold wet spring when Sera was little and coin was scarce, she’d swiped a turnip from Farmer Perrin. By the time she got home she was crying so hard, she couldn’t speak. Mama spotted the turnip andwalked her all the way back to Perrin’s farm to apologize. The following morning, Perrin’s wife came by with a fresh pot of turnip soup, and a sack of potatoes for the pantry. Mama had cried then, too.
Sera saw no point whatsoever in stealing from good, honest people. Snatching a handful of peppermints or a jar of spice was not going to get her any closer to her goal of justice for Mama. Of freedom for herself. This was not the right way to take revenge. And yet, she feared if she didn’t do it, Madame Mercure would revoke her stipend and turn her out on the streets of the Hollows, to rot in the underbelly of Fantome.
Sera sighed, laying her forehead against the foggy window. She suddenly felt exhausted. Despite the high noon sun, the tavern was draped in shadows, the dimness feathered by candles flickering from each table. An idea bloomed in her mind.
She could swipe a candle easily enough. Trail her fingers along the table, and fold it into her coat before anyone noticed. Would anyone even care? It was hardly a silk scarf, but surely a candle would count for something.
It was a notice of intent, a commitment to the life Mercure had offered her, at least for a little while. She swept the stray hairs from her face and squared her shoulders, examining the determined glint of her gaze in the glass.
Something caught her eye. An odd shape reflected behind her. Not in the marketplace, but higher up, and further back. There was someone standing on top of the sweetshop across the square. She watched them sink into a crouch, and then go perfectly still, like a statue.
Adrenaline flooded her. She spun round, frantically scanning the rooftop, but the figure was gone, leaving the brown-and-white awning of Florian’s Emporium rippling in the breeze.
You’re seeing things.But Pippin was growling between her legs. Had he seen it too? Or was it the street magician prancing about on stilts that had spooked him?
Forget the stupid candle.She was getting the hell out of here. She scooped Pippin up and made her way back through the square. The crowd thickened, hemming her in. Overhead, seagulls screeched, looking for scraps. Sera kept her head down, weaving her way through a mass of bony elbows and broad shoulders, children playing hide-and-seek and yipping dogs with curly white faces, until at last she reached the entrance to the Rascalle.
She heaved a sigh, setting Pippin down again.
A nearby squeal sent Sera’s heart leaping into her throat. Bibi barrelled into her, pressing a wet kiss to her cheek. When she pulled back, her eyes were wild and bright. ‘Don’t you justlovethe Rascalle?’
‘Clearly not as much as you two,’ said Sera, noting Val’s arrival in her brand-new hat. ‘I can’t believe you’re just…wearingthat.’
Val twirled the feather. ‘The best thieves hide in plain sight.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ said Sera awkwardly. ‘I didn’t get a chance to take anything. Sorry.’
‘Don’t be sorry. It’s only your first week,’ said Bibi, linking arms with her. ‘And you’re not even a proper Cloak yet. Did you think this was some kind of test?’
