Among the Blessed

Serpent did not consider himself paranoid.  He considered himself practical.  The two gunships flanking the Pelican’s Piety was not paranoia – it was precautions.  Serpent had not made himself a pirate king by assuming things would work out how he thought they would.  Chances were, Deeah would be smart enough to know he wasn’t expendable quite yet and come quietly.  And if Serpent was wrong in his estimation and the Stormrider turned to fight, well, that was where the gunships came in.

But from what he could see from the deck of his own skimmer things seemed to be working out quite well.  Deeah’s men had put up no resistance to being boarded and even now Deeah was quietly disarming.  Serpent frowned.

“Search him as soon as he sets foot on my ship,” he ordered his first mate, “I don’t care how much a fight he puts up, make sure it’s done.”

He knew Stormriders.  He knew ‘mancers.

“Yes’sir.”

“Have my bodyguard bring him to my cabin when you’re done.”

And he turned and strolled off to wait.  It wasn’t too long before the sound of shouting erupted from the deck and Serpent sighed and found his flask of brandy.  A few minutes later and the door slammed open and a rather irate Deeah was flung across the floor.  He rolled when he hit and came up in a crouch, glaring around him as if daring anyone to come near.  The two bodyguards stayed near the door, pistols drawn and trained on the man.

“Enough,” Serpent said, waving them off.

They put their guns away and Deeah warily stood, dusting off his shirt and wiping away some blood from the corner of his lip.

“Nice greeting I got there,” he said wryly, “I didn’t even have any hidden weapons on me.”

“That surprises me.”

“I’m not interested in trying to kill you.”

“Yet?”

And Deeah shrugged.

“I keep my options open,” he admitted and Serpent chuckled.

“I’ll keep that in mind.  Now, Deeah, I summoned you because I believe we have something to discuss… specifically, how right about now you’re supposed to be handing over the skiridian boy.”

“I keep my options open,” he replied lazily, “and Stormrider loyalty was the better option.”

“Not the answer I wanted.”  He gestured and one of the guards stepped forwards, grabbing Deeah’s collar.  There was a brief struggle, ended when the guard’s fist buried itself into Deeah’s chest.  The crack of the rib breaking was audible and Deeah collapsed.

“I considered having you lashed,” Serpent said, walking over, “but you would rather die than submit to that, I imagine.”

“If you’re going to kill me just do it and stop posturing,” Deeah growled.

“I am not going to kill you.  Get up.”

After a moment the man complied, keeping one hand pressed against his ribs.  His jaw was set tightly and he glared at Serpent in resentment.  Good.  He was humiliated enough – it was time to get to business.

“While I must say I am disappointed that you failed to follow orders and bring the skiridian back to me, it is not an unrecoverable situation.  I anticipated that you might revise the plan on a whim.”

He paced over to the desk and pretended to shuffle through some papers before finding the one he wanted.  Deeah watched him intently.

“You see, while having the boy in our hands would have given rise to all sorts of interesting possibilities I can easily settle for having him out of the priest’s hands as well.  Here is your next destination for Pelican’s Piety.”

Deeah took the map and stared at it for a moment.

“No disrespect, but I just got done running from the skiridian navy.  Why would I want to go back to that wretched island?” he finally asked.

“Because that port there is controlled by a clan that is sitting the fence on the whole priesthood vs. Order of Truth issue.  They are also strong contenders for the throne when the king dies – which can be arranged to happen when we need it to.”

“I’m not following.”

“Of course not, Deeah.”  Serpent laughed.  “You’re a brilliant captain, ruthless, but sometimes you’re as dense as they come.”

He bristled.

“Now, pay attention.  You are going to be my agent among the clan that controls this port.  I’ve sent word that I’m sending you.  You know about the priesthood’s treachery and you have strong contacts within the Order of Truth.  Get a muzzle on the priests, get the Order to back you, and when everything is ready I’ll have the king disposed of and we’ll put that clan in power.  From there, I don’t care what happens, so long as they’re in control.”

“I still fail to see how you benefit.”

“Look at the map a bit closer.”

Deeah frowned and studied it again, this time paying special attention to the name of the port city marked with an ‘x’.

“Oh.  Oh!  That’s part of your network.”

“Precisely.  The clan already has a vested interest in seeing my organization continue and once they’re in control of the skiridian nation we’ll have an entire island for a safe port instead of just one city.”

Deeah chuckled and folded the map up.  “The Cadre will hate that.”

“Yet another reason I’m so fond of this plan.  Now…” Serpent frowned and scratched his beard, studying Deeah intently.  “This will never do.  You’re going to be rubbing shoulders with nobility – and you look like… a pirate.”

“I am a pirate.”

“I don’t suppose you have a tailor on your ship.  Well, you’ll just use mine.  And get a haircut while you’re at it…”

Serpent mused for a moment while Deeah panicked.  

“Wait, sir, I like my hair.  Can’t you give this job to someone else?  Someone who didn’t leave the noble lifestyle for a reason?”

“Stormriders are hardly noble.”

“Yes, but even then that was too much.”

The bodyguard advanced and each grabbed one of Deeah’s arms.  He floundered for a bit and looked helplessly up at Serpent.

“I’d rather be flogged,” he said plaintively.

“I know and I’m much amused by it,” Serpent replied, and waved.  “Take him away.”

And they did, Deeah protesting the entire way.  Serpent just chuckled.  This would work out well.  Deeah was far smarter in politics than he let onto – the ignorance was mostly an act to avoid this very situation.  Forcing him to have a veneer of civility and be land-bound for some time would hopefully mellow his temperament and remind him just who was in charge here.  

“Worked quite well,” he said softly, “all things considered.”

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