Read Online From Whence You Came by Laura Anne Gilman - Free Book Online

she could not let it go.
    The crewsman bobbed his head, as though apologizing for bringing ill news. “None to be seen, lady.”
    She sighed and followed the Captain out the door. A merchantship encounter would have to suffice, for now.
    By the time they reached the observancy, the other ship had come clear on the horizon. It looked to be smaller than theirs, but clearly built for cargo, riding low on the waters.
    â€œIajan, by the colors. And the banner above? Someone with better eyes pick it out for me.”
    There was silence, and then one of the younger crew shouted out, “Solid blue, captain!”
    â€œSolid blue, and no design?” Harini was puzzled, but the Captain laughed. “Not one a merchantman’s daughter would know, but familiar to me, no fear. They run under the Shipsmaster Guild’s banner itself. Whoever’s on that ship is worth knowing, for sure.”
    â€œSend a signal, Jak,” he said to his matesman. “Request a passby, that we might give our greetings, out here in this wide, wild sea."
    o0o
    The flag was raised, a long narrow banner of bright red silk, brighter than the dark red the heirs of Zatim Sin-Washer draped themselves in: the red of flame, not wine. Every ship carried one, as well as the yellow of aid-request, and the white-and-black of plague. 
    There was hesitation, then a flurry of activity, and the other ship unfurled a matching banner. But even as the ships began to match speed, the waters between them darkened, as though some great shadow moved underneath.
    â€œThere!” Rini left off watching the approaching ship, and ran to the railing, her skirts tangling around her legs as she moved too swiftly for decorum or safety. “A serpent!” Her hair, teased by the wind, escaped from the high-crown braid she’d put it in that morning, and she brushed the strands away from her eyes impatiently. “There it is!”
    She could see the long sleek form moving in the waters below, and her breath caught at its magnificence. Far larger than she had thought and moving so fast! No wonder they had not been able to catch up with one; it slid past them and was gone – and then another shadow came at cross-angles, sliding beneath the ship’s own shadow, and her breath caught again for a different reason. If the beast should think to rise up, underneath them – would it be enough to damage the hull? Might it capsize them?
    The moment passed: of course it would not. It had ignored them until now, and the ship in no way resembled anything the serpent might eat. She resisted the urge to dash to the other side of the ship: by the time she got there, the beast would have moved on. It was best to wait for the creatures to return. Or not. But patience netted her greater results, over time.
    There was a shiver through the hull, as though something had brushed up against it, and then the shiver spread to the water off to port. The serpent was rising! She had left her sketchbook on the bench when they had spotted the other ship, and she cursed that fact now, trying to remember every detail of what was happening. When the great head broke through the water, a sleek, wedge-shape covered with scales that glinted and glittered in the morning sunlight, she heard noises and shouting behind her but did not recognize what they meant to do until the ship began to move away.
    â€œNo!” she cried, not daring to take her eyes off the beast. “Stay!” But she knew they would not: this was too close for them. She could not order them otherwise; she did not have that authority, and if she insisted, they might well revolt. She would have to be content with observing from that distance, and be thankful for what was given.
    Then the ship shuddered again, slanting sharply, but not from any impact of beast. A blast of wind came from nowhere, despite the clouds hanging lazily overhead, and hit them full-on, catching the sails unprepared. The ship