Page 68 of Suffer No Fools
"Please wake up!"
Stan shifted in his sleep with a disturbed groan.
Tovey lifted his head to see over Stan's shoulder and his pulse spiked. Hugo was gone. Stranger still, the room was dark. Tovey had set the light globes to low before they had fallen asleep, exhausted after the amazing sex.
Tovey wasn't sure he could reach Hugo. He didn't know how Hugo could speak to him in his head, nor if he could do the same.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on Hugo's panic. He swore he could feel it next to his own heartbeat in his chest, though Hugo was getting further away.
"Where are you?"he tried to ask.
"On a ship. I feel it rocking back and forth."
Tovey cursed and shoved at Stan's chest. "Wake up. Hugo's on a ship."
Stan mumbled something and tried to bury his head in Tovey's hair, but he jerked awake at Hugo's next cry for help inside their heads. He rolled over, his hand frantically tracing the blanket. "Still warm."
"We might have time to catch them at the docks," Tovey said. "Come on."
He rushed downstairs to his room and pulled on the pair of shabby breeches he wore fishing. They were still draped over the rocking chair in the corner of his room.
He met Stan at the door. Stan had also foregone a shirt, but he leaned against the wall at an awkward angle to tug on his boots. Tovey would have run outside with bare feet.
The night was cold and rainy, and Tovey was grateful for boots after he splashed through his first puddle. He hoped Hugo was warm and dry. Had they bothered to cover him up when they took him? He'd been lying naked beside Stan.
Tovey's thoughts continued to deeper, darker places when they rounded the corner of the burned-out barracks. The only ship docked in the chief port wasStarlight Specter.Tovey knewWildfirewas docked somewhere to the west, but he couldn't see her in the pouring rain.
"Look!" Stan pointed to the east. A shimmer of light caught their attention. Flames, as though a mast was on fire.
"They think rain will stop him," Tovey guessed. They'd made that mistake with their first experience with a fire weaver and lostStarlight Specter's main mast before Stan had the fire under control.
"They probably have a water weaver."
"We have a life boat." It fell into the water with a splash.
"No shirts, though." They often used their shirts as makeshift sails, though Tovey had to be careful not to put holes in them. Gulde would never forgive them if they damaged their brand new guard uniforms, but she'd probably understand if they used them to rescue Hugo. Too bad it was a moot point. Not a shirt to be had.
"Extra sails in the hold," he remembered.
"You grab one," Stan said. "I'll get the boat."
Tovey scrambled up the gangplank in the dark. Was she listing to the side? He had no time to consider it as he hurried down to the false hold and their sail beds. He unhooked the rings from their mooring posts and grabbed his sail. He ran back up to the main deck and leaped off, letting the air weave carry him to the small lifeboat he could feel to the east.
Well, not quite. He felt Stan, and Stan was in the boat.
"Neat trick," Stan said when Tovey landed. He'd steadied them with an earth weave, and Tovey was grateful. Going up was easy, but landing, especially on a small area prone to flipping, was tricky.
"You're welcome,"Stan said inside his head.
"You heard me?"Tovey asked.
"We work well as a team. Remember that the next time we're at each other's throats. Now get that sail up so we can start moving. The fire on the mast is out."
Tovey pointed his thumb atStarlight Specter. "Did they hurt her?"
"Fuck." Stan closed his eyes for a moment, and Tovey swore he could see what Stan saw, a gaping hole in the hold. "We'll need to drain her first."
Tovey grabbed Stan's hand. "We can move her together."
