Blaze of Silver by K. M. Grant Page B

pages would be scattered. No danger, he decided. But that did not make him feel better. Now he had nothing physical to remind him of gentler times and was completely adrift from everything he knew and cared for. He tried reciting his children’s sentiments, for he knew them by heart, but felt himself barely a father anymore. Without his book he was just a cipher of the Old Man’s and his face, already shriveled, shrunk a little more.
    Marissa was also silent but her silence was nothing to do with her thieving. She was silent with genuine horror. Already she could feel the cloister closing about her, suffocating her in incense and candle smoke. She must tell Will at once, endure Elric’s scorn and Ellie’s contempt, but say she could not do it. She practiced the words in her head, but when Will was in front of her, his face grim with responsibility, she found herself unexpectedly nervous. He would hate her and she wasn’t sure if she could stand that. So Marissa said nothing, only held on to the ship’s rail and watched the captain set his course for the Scheldt estuary, the quickest way to Arnhem and then on to Richard and the imperial court. She would have prayed for a shipwreck but with Will and Hosanna on board, even she could not quite manage that.
    The others were too taken up with the effort of finding their sea legs to notice either Marissa’s or Amal’s preoccupations. Shihab, at last tied up and sweating in the hold, had refused to follow Hosanna’s steady lead over the ramp. Instead, she had cavorted and plunged about on the rickety planks until Ellie had to shut her eyes, certain that the mare would fall into the sea. Shihab refused to be fooled by the torches emitting a welcome brightness in the dark. She had been inside a ship once before and every fiber of her being was determined that she would never go in one again. In the end, it had been Amal who had persuaded her, taking her from Hal and muttering in Arabic as he slid an arm under her neck. Quite unexpectedly, the mare seemed to cling to him as a child clings to its mother. Kamil was impressed.
    The wagons full of silver were soon tied in, one at each end of the hold and one in the middle for balance. Banked with sacks of sand to stop them from rolling, they looked firm enough. Nevertheless Ellie, who went to Shihab’s head once all the horses were safely installed, prayed that the restraints would not be tested. It was the first time she had been on a ship and everything excited her, from the creak of the ropes to the swinging of the lanterns. She knew from Will and Gavin’s tales that the sea was a most unpredictable friend, yet when the ship finally left the shore, its sail billowing just as she had imagined it would, she could not help leaning over the rail with Elric and waving at the townsfolk who had gathered to watch.
    Looking even more threadbare than usual, Amal began the next, the most vital, stage of his work at once. As the ship crept down the coast and Will taught Ellie to play chess, the old Saracen sat with Kamil and mused aloud. What a good thing, he said, for King Richard to return home. Even Saladin had said that Richard was a great man and a worthy enemy. But, Amal sounded almost whimsical, what would the German emperor do with this huge ransom, all those silver marks and jewels? He shook his head and sighed. Perhaps the money would be used to build a fine palace or to give a feast for the poor. But, and he glanced sidelong at Kamil, he doubted it. In fact, he went on, it was rumored that the money had already been earmarked to finance another crusade, the biggest ever mounted, with siege machines that even the gates of Heaven could not withstand. When Richard was freed, he would return to the Holy Land and take his revenge for Saladin’s victories. Amalclicked his tongue and looked concerned. Then, so as not to overdo things, he left Kamil to himself.
    Much later, as the wind got up and the