Chapter seventeen

Gorodnikov

 

Dom strode in and confronted Viola. He’d thought about the best strategy all of the way home and decided on the direct approach.

‘What is going on?’ he asked, quite calmly.

Viola was alone and she was writing some notes at her desk. She was completely bewildered.

‘What?’ she said, looking up.

‘You’re doing something odd and I want to know what it is’

Viola momentarily looked down at the sheets of paper in front of her, but she rapidly realised that it was nothing to do with them.

‘Umm – I really don’t know what you mean…’

Dom folded his arms and shook his head.

‘The maps and the nonsense story about imperial claims’

A look of phoney hurt flickered across Viola’s face, and then she pulled herself together. She was sure that Dom must have passed on his intelligence to Arbutus and so it seemed best to stonewall.

‘It’s nothing – just dull imperial business. Just a clerical tidying up job’

‘I’m sure there’s more to it than that, major’

‘Well, in any case, you’re not involved in any of it, Mr Shavosky, so…’

Dom smiled. He wasn’t that easily put off.

‘In which case you won’t want any help from me in the future when trying to arrange things in Gorodnikov…’

Viola was in a bind. She had learnt to rely on the young human –he was resourceful and knowledgeable – yet she knew that he was essentially a spy. Dom ploughed on regardless. It wasn’t going to be subtle, but it was all that he had.

‘Let me in on the secret’ he begged, as eager as a puppy, ‘please!’

Viola was astonished. She stood up and stared at him.

‘What?’

‘I’ve heard a lot of things that you and the Ethian have been saying – you’re really not very discreet…’

 ‘So, you are a spy’ growled Viola

Dom thought about this for a second.

‘I was’ he said, ‘but I’m willing to be turned…’

Viola was unconvinced. She squinted at him as if trying to ascertain exactly what sort of base creature he was – a snitch or a turncoat.

‘Have you been telling the Governor everything you’ve heard here?’ she asked

‘No’ said Dom, quite honestly, ‘I was going to but he’s not the slightest bit interested. I went to see him but he was more concerned about what was going on in Amansk’

Viola’s bubble was pricked by this revelation. In one way it was good news but, ‘not the slightest bit interested’’ was rather disappointing. 

‘Really?’ was all she could say.

It was Dom’s turn to look glum.

‘I did try, but he’s got lots of other concerns, I suppose’

There was a moment when they studied each other’s faces. It was time to find some common ground.

‘So’ Viola spoke carefully, ‘why should I tell you? What’s in it for me?’

Dom’s eyes lit up.

‘I’ll help you in any way that I can’

‘Well, if it is true as you say, that…’ said the elf, weighing Dom’s offer, ‘…no-one is interested in what we’re doing, then maybe we can turn that to our advantage’

‘So, will you tell me what’s going on and let me help you?’

‘Possibly – but you will have to give me your word that it will stay between us. You mustn’t tell anyone – not even Lieutenant Potentilla’

Dom looked surprised. 

‘And what about Dr Fielding?’ he asked

Viola laughed.

‘Oh Kath – no – she’s already in on it! Actually, it’s mostly her idea…’

‘But she’s an Ethian citizen…’ objected Dom

‘Needs must’ said Viola, ‘anyway, she’s my best friend; she’s completely trustworthy and very resourceful …’

Dom was almost bursting with expectation.

‘What is it, then? What are the fire snakes? What are they guarding? What are you planning to do?’

Viola lifted up her hands as if to fend off his swarm of questions.

‘So, do you promise…?’ she asked

‘Yes – I promise’ he said

Viola was not yet completely convinced.

‘Swear’ she said, ‘swear on something that you hold dear, Dominic’

 Dom thought for a moment.

‘I swear on my parents’ memory’ he said, vehemently

Viola immediately regretted having asked him to go so far.

‘Your parents are dead?’ she said softly, ‘I’m so sorry…’

Dom waved away the sympathy. Viola was at least partly convinced and so she told him everything except the full details of her Ophia dreams. She was still unsure of whether this was exactly the right thing to do, but without him the expedition would go nowhere: he was the only one of them who knew how to get anything done in the city.

 

***

It took a long time to calm Kath down. She threatened to abandon the whole quest, but Viola knew this was an empty threat. She had a major strop for a few hours and then she dragged Dom off to threaten him with the entire weight of the Ethian army if he revealed a single detail of what he he’d been told. He nodded patiently – now he had what he wanted he was happy to take whatever rubbish was thrown at him. Like his half-niece, Lily (although of course he didn’t know about the relationship) he found the lure of an adventure almost irresistible. They both came from eager, hardy, stock, and he, of course, was the hardiest of them all.

 

He found them a boat with a captain. This took longer than he had originally expected, as it had to be someone who could keep a secret and that meant finding out from his gods-father who might be the right person to ask among his more shady acquaintances. Castanus knew everyone, and everyone owed him a favour.

The captain’s name was Boris Kellavitch and he had a fishing vessel just large enough to carry them to Tamaranti. It would take two to three days and he was charging ten elfrounds per passenger.  This was expensive, but hardly made a hole in the treasure that Pallatian had given to Viola in his lazy attempt to keep her quiet and happy.  They walked down to the harbour in the early evening to look it over. It was small, smelly and cramped. In addition, only Dom had had any proper experience of sailing before.

Given this, it was not surprising that once Kath saw the boat she began to have second thoughts. The two humans and Viola sat in cubicle in a tavern on the harbour side and discussed their plans, while Potentilla kept watch and supplied them with beers.  She was cheerfully relieved not to be involved in the planning.  She didn’t much care where they went as long as it was exciting and she was with her friends.  And Dom was going, so it really had to be worth tagging along.   

‘In that boat?’ whimpered Kath, ‘with someone we hardly know’

She gestured towards Dom as she spoke. She didn’t feel that this was the time to beat about the bush.

‘I trust him’ said Viola, ‘he’s an Imperial servant and I think this clearly counts as Imperial business…’

Dom smiled and shrugged. He really didn’t care how rude people were about him if they didn’t know him: all it could be then was a malicious guess.

‘But,’ continued Kath, ‘how are we going to explain the disappearance of the entire Deputy Governor’s staff?’  

Viola looked up at Dom.

‘I’m taking you on a tour’ he explained, ‘a tour of the province – I’ve sold it as a good way to get you all out of his hair’

Viola looked a little hurt.

‘I thought that he rather enjoyed our weekly chats’ she said

‘Of course he does’ insisted Dom, ‘I meant politically, not socially, He’s worried about you gaining influence’

Viola laughed hollowly, but she let the point pass.

Kath was vaguely annoyed that Viola and Dom seemed to be forming some sort of alliance, but she couldn’t think of anything more to say about Dom other than something like ‘well, I’m not sure that I trust him; he has a funny aura’ and she had no intention of saying that. She returned to her earlier point.

‘We’ll all drown. Have you seen that boat? It’s tiny’

 ‘No, it’s fine’ said Dom, calmly, ‘it’s just a quick sail across the bay: the wind is gentle and the currents are friendly. It’s nothing to worry about at all…’

Kath looked at Viola, completely unconvinced. Viola stared back at her, annoyed.

‘Can I remind you, Dr Fielding, that this was your idea?’

Kath frowned.

‘How was I meant to know it would involve dangerous trips in incredibly small boats?’

‘Well, you read the map, didn’t you…?’

‘That’s not the point…’

‘Well, I plan to go, with or without you’

Dom looked on astonished. This really wasn’t a very good start. He cleared his throat, rather loudly. Viola and Kath looked at him with even more irritation than they had been lavishing on each other.

‘I can tell the captain we don’t need him’ he said, ‘it will only take a few minutes…’

Kath shook her head.

‘I didn’t necessarily say that’ she muttered

‘Well, I assume that we can’t go without you, Dr Fielding – you are the only one with any formal qualifications in this area, after all. Without you we’ll have no idea what we’re looking for’

Kath stopped for a second – she was being buttered up. This wasn’t something that happened to her very commonly, so she was taken aback. Viola jumped in before she had a chance to refute his assertion.

‘You have no idea! She has not only formal but practical qualifications… I’m just astonished that she’s scared of a boat’

Kath was now backed into a corner. I was time to be truthful.

‘It’s not boats’ she said very softly, ‘it’s the ocean’

‘Well, I’d never see the sea before I arrived here, so I can understand that it’s an odd thing’ said Viola, ‘but I think it seems more uncanny than terrifying’

 ‘I’ve been on the sea before and I didn’t like it at all’

‘When were you on the sea?’ asked Viola, forgetting that Eth had sea on three sides.

‘My uncle’s in the navy – he’s captain of a sloop’

‘Really?’ said Viola, ‘that sounds rather exciting to me’

Kath shook her head

‘It’s not – it’s scary’

‘Why do you say that?’ asked Dom

  Kath was standing on the precipice of a terrifying memory.

‘Well… when I was nine… he took me out into the deep ocean to see the Grey Whales, but I hated it… I was petrified’

Dom stared at her, disbelieving.

‘I’ve never seen one but aren’t they meant to be amazingly large, majestic and really gentle…’

‘No – they’re not – they’re swimming too high’

Dom and Viola glanced at each other – it was obvious that neither of them knew what she meant. She continued, but with an ever increasing vibrato in her voice.

‘When they dive it’s as if they’re falling into nothingness. And they made me realise that if I fell out of the boat – it was miles and miles down… it would take hours to get to the bottom… and no-one would ever find me ’

Viola looked up at Kath, shocked. She touched her on the shoulder.

‘Oh dear’ she said, ‘that does sound frightening’ 

Dom sighed. Working with these two was not going to be easy.

‘We never come off the continental shelf’ he explained, ‘and there are no big whales. The worst you might see are some basking sharks or some dolphins’

Viola’s ears pricked up.

‘Dolphins?’ she whispered, knowing that this wasn’t in any way helpful.

‘How big are all those things?’ asked Kath.

‘Pretty small, on average’ said Dom, trying not to lie too blatantly. 

‘And how deep is the water?’    

 ‘Oh – shallow – in nautical terms’

Kath didn’t look convinced but she also knew that she was jeopardising the whole venture.

‘I could stay in the cabin for most of the time, I suppose’

Viola and Dom nodded.

‘Yes, of course’ they both muttered, ‘you’d hardly have to even see the sea…’

Kath gathered up all of her courage.

‘I’ll do it’ she said, ‘as long as you promise that there’ll be no whales…’

 Dom promised, of course – but all the time he had his fingers crossed tightly under the table.