Ani had been living in the vent system just as Avery had imagined, coming out at night only to steal scraps of food, and once to use the head, then ducking back again. Going to the bathroom without an actual bathroom had been a big problem for her, and with grim delight she told Avery and Layanna how she’d managed it in excruciating detail. She said she’d tried to bring Hildebrand with her at first into the vents, but the monkey proved too rambunctious, and she’d let him go in the cargo holds where the ship’s men and women had been held prisoner. Alternately sobbing and laughing, she told her story in the privacy of their cabin. A pirate had been living in it for several days, and it stank of unwashed fish-man but was otherwise unmarred (thank the gods) save for some dirty sheets. Avery quickly ordered these burnt. Janx and Hildra used the excuse of looking for Hildebrand to give Avery and Layanna some time alone with the girl.
Ani didn’t describe the horrors she must have witnessed during her time in the vents, only briefly alluded to them before moving on to more adventurous elements, but she was shaken and pale, and Avery was troubled: what had she seen and heard? It must have been awful. She’d heard the pirates’ screams when Layanna had come aboard, but she didn’t know until Layanna told her exactly what had happened, and when she found out she threw herself at Layanna and hugged her fiercely. “They deserved it,” the girl whispered, tears in her eyes. “They deserved it.” Avery felt tears in his own eyes.
Janx and Hildra returned with the monkey scampering excitedly up and down Hildra’s arms and with Janx’s large hands loaded with breads and meats; if nothing else, the pirates had restocked the larder. Hildra looked happy to see Hildebrand again, and she stroked him furiously.
“Thought you guys could use some grub,” Janx said.
“Oh boy!” Ani said. “I’m starved.”
Avery was, too, and they all dug into the victuals gratefully, even Layanna, who, it must be said, had already eaten. As they wolfed down the food, they talked. Avery feared revealing everything to Ani at first, but he decided she would find out in time anyway, and thinking about bigger things might take her mind away from more personal troubles.
“Dozens?” she said, face paling. “There are dozens of those starfish things?”
“It’s something Davic said,” Avery said.
“They’ll destroy Urslin and Consur,” Hildra said. “Then the rest of the world. Win the war in the R’loth’s favor. And there’s fuck-all we can do about it.”
Instead of rebuking her for her language, Avery said, “There is. The plan remains the same. We arrive home, get access to a laboratory and use the Starfish samples to devise some sort of poison or other weapon to kill the creatures—all of them.”
“What about Sheridan?” Janx said. “I don’t know what she was doin’ there, but she and Davic were talking.”
“Bitch,” said Hildra. “That’s why she must have done all this. She wanted to meet that bastard. That’s why she summoned Segrul.”
Avery frowned, remembering. “I heard them speaking ...”
Layanna glanced at him. “Yes?”
“I didn’t hear it all, but it sounded like Davic was sending Sheridan to take that box to someone. It had something to do with the Starfish.”
Janx ran a hand across his bald, stubbly pate. “I heard ‘em, too. He mentioned Ghenisa.”
“This changes things,” Avery said. “Our main priority had been analyzing the tissue samples. Now we must also find Sheridan.”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Hildra said.
Avery arched his eyebrows. “Would I?”
“Enough,” said Layanna. “I agree with Francis. We must assume the box is a threat. If Sheridan has been entrusted with delivering the item to someone in Ghenisa, we must intercept it first.”
“Tall order,” Janx said. “She’s got a dirigible; Davic said so. She’ll get there first by a wide stretch.”
“Whatever was in that box must have been pretty damned important,” Hildra said. Leveling a glare at Avery, she said, “If saving that bitch has cost us the war, bones ...”
Avery stood.
“Where are you going?” Layanna said.
“I need to see the captain about our manner of arrival in Ghenisa. Janx, would you come with me? He seems to listen to you more than he does me.”
They made their way through the halls, sailors hailing them and thanking them as they went. Already the men and women of the ship were removing the signs of the pirates’ presence, wiping off blood stains, pools of vomit, and dragging the dismembered bodies outside or to the furnace. Some consoled crying women, and a few men, finding them clothes, unchaining them, or leading them to the medical bay for attention.
When Captain Greggory appeared marching to a buffer chamber, Janx stopped him. Seeing the big man, the captain, who bore a few new bruises, said, “Good! I wanted to thank you. All of you. You saved my ship. My crew.”
“We wanted to talk about comin’ home,” Janx said.
“Yes, of course. I meant to discuss it with you. I’d planned to deliver you to the authorities when we arrived at Hissig, but you’ve earned better than that from me. I’ll drop you off at the port of your choosing along the way. Just name the place.”
“Tempting,” Janx said.
“Remember,” Avery said. “Dozens. They’ll be coming soon. We have to prepare Ghenisa. The world.”
“Dozens?” said Greggory.
“Never mind. Thank you for your offer, Captain, but we’re going home.”
Greggory studied Janx, as if to confirm this, then, receiving a nod, said, “If you do that, I won’t be able to protect you. I’ll be under obligation to deliver you to the authorities. You’re wanted fugitives. Enemies of the state.”
“All we ask is to be turned over to the police, not the Navy,” Avery said. “Sheridan has a great deal of influence in the Navy.”
“It’s the Navy that’s lookin’ for you,” Greggory said, frowning. “But ... sure. You’ve earned at least that much.”
Avery found Layanna later that night on the deck, staring at the stars twinkling like diamonds against the blackness. She wore no environment suit, and her hair streamed in the wind. She looked beautiful.
She turned her head when he approached, her eyes misty. “I wondered when you’d find me.”
“You had children,” he said. “With Davic. You never told me.”
She smiled wistfully. “I’ve never told you many things.”
