The ship sailed beneath a gray sky. The ocean stretched out like a rumpled black cloth, rising and falling with the whims of the wind. There was no luxury aboard the cargo vessel. Only the smell of wet wood, rope, sacks of spices, and the crew's sweat mingled together.
The ship was not large, but every corner was packed with goods. Wooden crates were stacked along the deck. Several barrels had been secured with rough rope so they would not shift when waves struck the hull. The mast rose high in the center, creaking every time the ship was battered by the waves.
Below deck, the air was even more stifling. Oil lamps swayed from the ceiling. Their shadows moved across the walls like thin hands groping for the passengers. Seawater seeped through the gaps between the planks, dripping slowly onto the floor. There was nowhere on the ship that was truly dry.
Lyiana stood at the end of the deck, dressed in simple dark clothing. The burqa covering her face fluttered in the wind. Though her appearance had been made to resemble that of an ordinary woman, her bearing still showed that she was not someone easily ordered around.
A man crouched near the mast. His body was thin, but both arms looked strong. His name was Rafiq, one of the sailors who had accepted secret work from Lyiana. His face was lowered, as though he feared looking at the woman for too long.
"Do you still remember Lazim's face?" Lyiana asked.
"I remember him, Miss. A middle-aged man. He lives in the forest with a dog named Subi."
"Don't just remember his face. Remember the way he walks, where he lights his fires, and where he goes after dawn. A man like Lazim won't leave tracks without a reason."
Rafiq nodded.
Lyiana turned toward the ocean. In the distance, Australia's coastline was beginning to disappear into the fog. The dense forest where Lazim had made his home lay far from the port. There was no easy way to get there. Only forest, swamps, cliffs, and the calls of animals unknown to the ears of Najd's people.
"When you reach Australia, you must not enter the forest immediately," Lyiana continued. "Find a place to stay far from any settlement. Don't wear clothes that make you look like someone from Najd. Don't use your real name."
"Then how am I supposed to watch him?"
"From close enough to see him, but far enough away that you won't be discovered."
Rafiq fell silent.
Lyiana pulled a small piece of cloth from the pocket of her dress. A simple emblem was painted on it: an eye surrounded by broken lines. She handed it to Rafiq.
"If you see Lazim leave the forest, follow him. If he meets someone, listen to their conversation. If he finds Jerome or Elys, do not approach them. Send word to me through whoever carries this emblem."
"And if Lazim realizes I'm following him?"
Lyiana smiled faintly behind her burqa.
"Then don't let him live long enough to tell anyone else what your face looks like."
The wind suddenly blew harder. The ship's sails billowed, the ropes pulled taut, and the entire vessel tilted to the left. Several crewmen shouted as they ran to save crates that were nearly toppling over. Wooden barrels slid into the wall with a loud crash.
Rafiq grabbed the mast to keep from falling. Lyiana did not move at all. She merely watched the waves pounding against the hull, as if the raging ocean were no more dangerous than a small animal in front of her.
"Will this ship arrive before nightfall?" she asked.
"If the wind holds, we'll reach the port tomorrow morning."
"I don't like waiting."
"Waiting is better than dying at sea."
Lyiana stared at the man. "Death has never been a problem for me. What bothers me is dying without accomplishing anything."
Rafiq lowered his head. He was only then beginning to understand why so many people called Lyiana a woman without fear. It was not because she was unfamiliar with danger, but because she regarded her own life as a tool she could use at any time.
Night descended slowly. Oil lamps were lit along the deck. Their yellow light trembled amid the salty fog. The crew spoke in low voices; some prayed, while others gulped liquor to drive away their fear. Aboard that ship, everyone kept secrets of their own.
Lyiana went down to the lower deck. Her footsteps carried her through a narrow passage that smelled of dampness. On one side, passengers slept packed together on thin mats. On the other, crates of goods filled the room and nearly blocked the passage. A child cried in its mother's arms. An old man muttered a prayer. From a dark corner came the sound of a cough that would not stop.
Lyiana stopped in front of a small window. From there, she could see the vast, dark sea. Lightning flashed far behind the clouds, revealing the surface of the water for an instant before it turned black again.
She remembered Ken Dangjeb Ol's message. The task was not merely to watch Lazim. There was something Ken wanted from the old man. Something connected to the forest, to Elys's ring, and perhaps to King as well.
Lyiana felt the hilt of the dagger hidden beneath her clothes.
"Lazim," she whispered, "what are you really hiding in that forest?"
Elsewhere, far from the sound of waves and creaking masts, Lazim was still asleep beneath a large tree with Subi. He did not know that someone had been sent to watch him. He did not know that his footprints had drawn the attention of people who lived on secrets and death.
But Subi suddenly lifted his head.
His ears twitched. His eyes fixed on the darkness of the forest.
From behind the trees came the sound of a breaking branch.
Once.
Then twice.
Lazim woke and reached for his bow. The campfire before him had been reduced to glowing red embers. The forest had fallen silent again, but the silence felt different from before.
Subi stood, growling softly.
Lazim studied the ground near them. There were fresh tracks he did not recognize. They stopped right at the edge of the firelight, as though their owner had deliberately wanted to show that they had come.
Lazim raised his face toward the trees.
"Whoever you are," he said, "don't hide for too long."
Behind the trunk of a large tree, a pair of eyes watched without blinking.
Meanwhile, the ship carrying Lyiana's orders continued cutting across the ocean toward the Aussie Continent. Waves battered its hull again and again, but the ship kept moving forward. As if all the secrets of Najd were being carried across the world in search of the darkest place where they could be revealed.