Read Scarlet and the White Wolf [02] - Mariner's Luck for Free Online

to the lookout stationed above and calling for the sails to be hauled, but it was too late. Nearly half an hour passed before they were able to pull Faal from the icy sea, and he was dead.
    Liall spat and cursed as they stood at the rail, Faal's sodden body at his feet, but Qixa only shook his head sagely.
    "A quicker death than I would have given him," Qixa said. He nodded to the mariners. "Throw him back for the fish," he commanded.
    Liall watched Oleksei as the order was given, waiting to see if the man would make any objection, but Oleksei's eyes were flat and emotionless. "Where did he go in Khet?" Liall asked.
    Oleksei shook his head. "A woman, he said. I knew it was a lie, but I didn't much care. He was the one after me, not the other way around." Oleksei's mouth curved coyly.
    "And then?"
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    Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]
    by Kirby Crow
    "I found him talking to a man in Volkovoi, one of those stinking half-bloods who guard the port. He wouldn't tell me what it was about. Then you came aboard, and I knew."
    "I see." Liall lifted his chin, scrutinizing the young mariner.
    "So. You are loyal, are you?"
    Oleksei bowed his head. "Ap kyning, I am. Humbly."
    "Leave," Liall said. Oleksei looked up in surprise. "Your loyalty is noted. Now get out of my sight."
    Oleksei backed away before turning and hurrying to the bow. Faal's body made barely a splash as it went back into the sea.
    "I wish we could have questioned him," Qixa said, echoing Liall's thoughts.
    "It makes little difference," Liall sighed. "The damage was already done. Now we must prepare."
    Qixa nodded in the direction Oleksei had gone. "Was that wise?"
    "I do not know," Liall admitted. "He came forward with the truth, but he waited too long. That alone is cause for worry."
    "Do you think he knows anything more?"
    Liall thought carefully before he spoke, knowing his answer could get a man tortured. "No. If he had known anything, he would have spoken before Faal did, and taken the credit."
    Qixa snorted. "You've got him pegged, all right. I know; I've sailed with him for three years. He's always the loudest when it comes to claiming the glory. Well, what of him, then?
    Shall I have him watched?"
    "Not yet," Liall said, his eyes on the horizon, where a thin crimson line separated heaving waters from aureate sky. "He 37
    Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]
    by Kirby Crow
    is too clever for that." Liall realized he had not thanked Qixa, and he put his hand on the captain's shoulder. "You are a good man, Qixa."
    Qixa's hard smile was filled with pride. "I'm no such thing, but I know my duty." He bowed again. "Ap kyning," he said, dismissing himself. Liall went back into the cabin.
    Inside, Liall found Scarlet fast asleep. Liall knelt to feel the pedlar's brow anxiously, and was both surprised and immeasurably relieved to find that the fever had broken.
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    Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]
    by Kirby Crow
    2.
    The Mariners
    On the sixth afternoon, Scarlet was able to walk out onto the main deck unaided. He breathed in the salty air and stretched carefully in the dim sun, painfully aware that his muscles were as weak as water and that his hands trembled.
    "I was beginning to worry," Liall said. The atya stood quietly at the rail, a landscape of lazy blue swells at his back.
    The sky was pale and almost colorless.
    "Surely not," Scarlet replied wanly. "I'm a redbird, remember? Tough as shoe leather."
    "Oh, I never forgot."
    As they made their way back to the cabin, Scarlet spied a handsome young mariner waving at Liall from the rigging high above. Scarlet recognized him as the lookout who always seemed to have his eyes on Liall. "What is that man's name?"
    Scarlet asked, trying to appear indifferent. "The young one who looks at you so often."
    "Oleksei," Liall said, and gave the mariner a casual nod.
    Scarlet nearly nodded at him, too, but then he saw Oleksei pinning him with an idle stare of contempt. The man turned