"Mister Drayko!" At Jeronnan's cry, a slim hawkfaced man in perfectly kept officer's garments turned and saluted. Drayko had not acted at all bitter when his master had declared that he would be taking commandof this voyage. Clearly Jeronnan's second had great respect and devotion for the innkeeper. "Lifeboat ahead!"

"Aye, captain!" Drayko immediately gave commands for the sailors to prepare for survivors. The crew of the King's Shield reacted in quick and orderly fashion, something Kara Nightshadow had already come to expect. Those who served Jeronnan served a man who had lived much of his life following the strict dictates of discipline. This did not mean that he ruled with an iron hand. Jeronnan also believed in the humanity of each of his men, a rare quality in any leader in these times.

The King's Shield came up to the lone craft, two sailors immediately preparing lines to draw her in. Jeronnan and Kara stepped down to watch them at work, the necromancer beginning to feel uneasy about this discovery. They followed the same general route that the Hawksfire would have used; could this be a boat from that vessel? Had Kara's quest ended so soon, her quarries at the bottom of the sea?

"There's one aboard her," Captain Jeronnan muttered.

True enough, one sailor did lie in the boat, but even as the crew worked to secure the life craft, Kara already noted telltale signs that, for this man, they had arrived too late.

Mister Drayko sent a pair of men down to investigate. Sliding down the ropes, they gingerly turned over the body, which had been lying face down.

Eyes that no longer saw stared up into the heavens.

"Been dead a day," called up one of the men. He grimaced. "Permission to send him to his rest, sir."

Kara did not have to ask what he meant. Out here, there were limitations to what they could do for a corpse. A ceremony… and then a watery burial.

Jeronnan nodded his permission, but Kara quickly puta hand on his arm. "I need to see the body… it may tell us something."

"You think it's from the Hawksfire?"

"Don't you, captain?"

He frowned. "Aye… but what do you plan to do?"

She dared not explain in full. "Find out what happened… if I can."

"Very well." Jeronnan signaled for the men to bring the body up. "I'll have a cabin set aside for you, milady! I don't want anyone else witnessing what you plan. They wouldn't understand."

It took but a short time to bring the body to the cabin Jeronnan had chosen. Kara had expected to work with the corpse by herself, but the captain refused to leave. Even when she gave him a rather cursory explanation of what she intended, the former innkeeper refused to depart.

"I've watched men torn apart in battle, seen creatures I doubt you've even heard of, viewed death in a thousand forms… and after what happened to my daughter, nothing can ever make me flee again. I'll watch and I'll even help, if it comes to that."

"In that case, please bolt the door. We will not want anyone else seeing this."

After he had obeyed, Kara knelt beside the body. The sailor had been a middle-aged man who had not lived a gentle life. Recalling what little she had learned of the Hawksfire, the dark mage grew more suspicious that the boat had been indeed from that desperate vessel.

The men who had brought the body had quickly closed the eyes, but Kara now opened them up again.

"What in the Sea Witch's name are you doing, lass?"

"What has to be done. You may still leave if you wish, captain. It is not necessary that you subject yourself to any of this."

He steeled himself. "I'll stay… it's just that a dead man's stare is said to be bad luck."

"He certainly had enough of that." She reached into her pouch, searching for components. Without the dagger, she could not readily summon a phantasm as she had done in Bartuc's tomb. Besides, attempting to do so might have even made Jeronnan change his mind about letting her continue. No, what she had in mind would work well enough, provided that in the process it did not turn the captain against her.

From one tiny pouch Kara pulled forth a pinch of white powder.

"What's that?"

"Ground bone and a mix of herbs." She reached toward the dead sailor's face.

"Human bone?"

"Yes." Captain Jeronnan made no noise, no protest, which relieved the necromancer. Kara held the powder over the eyes, then sprinkled both sightless orbs with the white substance.

To his credit, Jeronnan kept his tongue still. Only when she next retrieved a tiny black vial, then reached for the corpse's mouth, did he dare interrupt again. "You're not going to pour that down his gullet, are you, lass?"

She peered up at him. "I mean no desecration, captain. What I do, I do to find out why this man perished. He looks dehydrated, starved, almost as if he has had neither food nor water for more than a week. Avery curious state for him to be in if, indeed, he is from the ship we pursue. I would assume the captain there would keep his crew fed, would he not?"

"Casco's a mad, foreign devil, but, aye, he'd still see that his men were fed."

"As I thought. And if this poor soul is not from the Hawksfire, it behooves us to find out exactly which vessel he is from, too. Don't you agree?"

"Your point's made, lass… forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive." With the top of the vial now removed, she used one hand to open the jaws of the sailor. That accomplished, Kara immediately tipped the vial so that half the contents would quickly drain down into the throat. Satisfied with that, she stoppered the bottle again and leaned back.

"Maybe you could at least tell me how you hope to find out anything."

"You'll see." She would have explained, but Jeronnan did not realize how swiftly she now had to work. In conjunction with the powder, the liquid Kara had used would have an effect lasting but a very short time and the necromancer still had the final part of the spell to cast. Any interruption from here on might waste crucial seconds.

With her finger, Kara drew a circle over the sailor's chest, then extended a line from there along the length of the throat, up the jaw, and finally ending at the mouth. At the same time, she whispered the words of the spell. Once that had been done, Kara tapped the corpse on the chest, once, twice, thrice. All the while, the dark mage kept track of each passing second.

The dead mariner let out an audible gasp as his lungs sought to fill with air.

"Gods above!" blurted Jeronnan, taking a step back. "You've brought him back!"

"No," Kara curtly answered. She had known that the captain would mistake this for a resurrection. Outsiders never understood the many facets of a necromancer's work. The faithful of Rathma did not toy with death as some believed; that went against their teachings. "Now, please, Captain Jeronnan, let me proceed."

He grunted, but otherwise remained silent. Kara leaned over the sailor, looking into the dead eyes. A faint hint of gold radiated from them, a good sign.

She leaned back. "Tell me your name."

From the cold lips emerged a single word. "Kalkos."

"From what ship do you hail?"

Another gasp of air, then, "Hawksfirrrre."

"So, he is from the—"

"Please! No speaking!" To the corpse, she asked, "Did the ship sink?"

"Noooo…"

Curious. Then why would this man have abandoned it? "Were there pirates?"

Again a negative response. Kara estimated the time she had remaining and realized that she had better push to the point. "Did everyone abandon ship?"

"Noooo…"

"Who remained behind?" The necromancer tried to keep the anticipation out of her voice.

Once more, the corpse inhaled. "Casco… captain…" The mouth shut, something not at all normal. The mariner's body almost seemed reluctant to add more, but then it finally gasped, "Sssorcererrrr…"