Pirates & Privateers Read online

  Pirates

  &

  Privateers

  The Intelligencers 1 Book One

  By

  Jane Glatt

  Other books by Jane Glatt:

  The Conjurers Series:

  The Bookbinder’s Daughter

  The Shaman’s Son

  The Mage Guild Series:

  Unguilded

  Unmagic

  The Unmage

  The Intelligencers Series:

  Pirates & Privateers

  Traits & Traitors (January 2019)

  Pirates & Privateers

  Copyright © 2018 Jane Glatt

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage & retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright holder, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third party websites or their content.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this story are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to persons living or dead would be really cool, but is purely coincidental.

  Published by Tyche Books Ltd.

  Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  www.TycheBooks.com

  Cover Art & Design by Indigo Chick Designs

  Interior Layout by Ryah Deines

  Editorial by Karley Hauser

  First Tyche Books Ltd Edition 2018

  Print ISBN: 978-1-928025-97-9

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-928025-98-6

  Author photograph: Eugene Choi

  Echo1 Photography

  This book was funded in part by a grant from the Alberta Media Fund.

  For Mirella and Elizabeth, the girls next door who inspired me to write about twins and the many ways they are - and are not – alike.

  Chapter 1

  “DEBRIEF, MY OFFICE.”

  Dagrun turned to see Joosep Sepp, her boss, standing in the corridor.

  “I’ll be there in a moment,” Dagrun said. “I just need to let Inger know I’m back.” Dag’s first assignment as an Intelligencer had meant she’d been away for almost a month. She and Inger, her twin, had never been separated for so long.

  “Now, Dagrun!” Joosep’s normally expressionless features twisted into a scowl, and Dag suppressed a frown.

  Something wasn’t right; she itched between her shoulder blades as though her Trait had been triggered. Had Joosep done something that he didn’t want her to know about? She resisted the urge to roll her shoulders—Joosep would know what that meant.

  “Sure,” Dag said. She turned away from the hallway that led to her and Inger’s suite of rooms and fell in step beside Joosep.

  Silently, he shepherded her to his office, a space she always thought of as the centre of the spider web: partly because of the way the corridors that led to it circled around, but mostly because it was the office of the spymaster for the Fair Seas Treaty Alliance.

  She stepped into his office and sat down while he settled into his familiar chair behind the desk. Dag plucked at the rough fabric of the domestic servant disguise she still wore, the light grey fabric washing out her pale skin. This was her first debrief, but didn’t Joosep usually allow Intelligencers a chance to clean up and change first? Why was he making her debrief immediately after returning to the Hall? Especially since her news was so inconsequential she doubted anyone other than Joosep would hear it.

  “Report,” Joosep said. He centred a sheaf of paper in front of him and picked up a quill and dipped it into a bottle of ink.

  “I can confirm that Clan Freeholder Timonis believes that he will become the next Grand Freeholder,” Dag said.

  Joosep wrote a few things down before looking up at her. “Did your Trait uncover any opposition?”

  “No one I came into contact with believed differently,” she replied. “They all expect Timonis to win. But I was only a maid. I did take the coats of a few people who were hiding something from Timonis, but it wasn’t about his election to Grand Freeholder.”

  “And you know what they were hiding?”

  “Of course.” Dagrun’s Trait—Unseen—meant that anything being hidden was soon exposed to her. Most of the time she didn’t have to do anything other than note the clues. Like Joosep stopping her from seeing Inger. “One woman was having an affair with Timonis’ brother, and a couple of his business partners are cheating him.”

  “Very good,” Joosep said. He dipped the quill into the ink again and wrote a few more sentences. He looked up. “You can include their names when you write your report. It’s due by the end of the day tomorrow. You can go.”

  Dagrun didn’t move. Something was going on and she wasn’t leaving until Joosep told her what it was. Eventually he looked up at her, and she could feel the defeat coming off of him.

  “Something’s happened to Inger,” Dag said. “What.”

  “I can’t hide anything from you,” Joosep said and sighed.

  “Why would you need to?” She was shocked: because he knew how strong her Trait was, Joosep had never before tried to hide anything from her. “What about Inger?”

  “She’s gone,” Joosep said. “She’s left the Hall and she didn’t go home. I’ve had people out looking all over North Tarklee, but no one knows where she went.”

  “When!?” Her sister wouldn’t go home, even Joosep knew that. Their mother had remarried and moved to her new husband’s farm near Falkis. Dagrun didn’t bother hiding her anger just as she didn’t bother asking why her sister had left. Her Trait meant she’d learn why. She already knew Joosep was somehow behind her sister’s disappearance.

  “A week ago.”

  Dagrun’s heart sank and her anger rose. “You’re saying that my sister has been missing for a week and no one bothered to inform me?” She stood up, her hands balled into fists at her side. “And it wasn’t the first thing you mentioned to me when I got home.” She wasn’t sure why Joosep had done that. What was he hoping to gain? And Inger!

  “You know how vulnerable she is!” Dag continued. “And that I’m the best person to find her.” As twins, she and Inger had opposite Traits. Just as Dagrun was Unseen and nothing could hide from her, Inger was Seen. Not only was she always noticed, but she took people at face value. She wasn’t stupid, not by any stretch, but she couldn’t see underlying motives. That made her susceptible to believing every lie she was told.

  “You were on assignment,” Joosep said calmly. Too calmly. What was he still trying to hide? “And Inger isn’t my responsibility. You and the rest of the Intelligencers are.”

  “Who was the last person to see her?” Dag asked. Responsible for Inger or not, her Trait was telling her that Joosep had played a part in her disappearance. The way he was acting made her suspect that he might even be the cause. For him to be so calm meant that he either didn’t think Dagrun would figure out what part he’d played, or he thought she wouldn’t act on the knowledge of his involvement.

  He was wrong on both accounts. She would do anything for Inger, including making an enemy of the Master Intelligencer. And if Inger was hurt—or worse—then no one even partly responsible for her disappearance would be safe from her anger.

  “She was last seen in the Hall by one of the younger students,” Joosep said. “As soon as I heard that you were back, I sent word for him to meet you outside your rooms.”

  “All right.” It was unusual for Joosep to have her speak to a student from a different training group; the students were usually kept separate so that only Joos
ep knew them all. And what their Traits were.

  Except Dagrun already knew them all because of her Trait. She kept her anger in check as she left Joosep’s office, but as soon as the door was closed, she broke into a run.

  The younger student, Vilis, a boy of about sixteen, was waiting outside of her door, and Dagrun practically pushed him into the apartment’s main living area.

  “Tell me everything,” Dag said as she rushed into her bedroom. She rummaged through her clothes, pulling out a pair of dark trousers and matching dark shirt. “I can’t hear you!” she called out as she changed. “How do you know it was Inger?”

  “I’ve seen her before,” he replied, and Dag grunted. Inger’s Trait made her hard to miss.

  “When did you see her? I need details.”

  “She was crying,” Vilis said. “But she didn’t want help, when I asked her.”

  “Where was this?” Dag asked. She grabbed her pack from the hook beside the door and shoved a few things in it: a coin purse, a change of clothes, and some fresh socks. She pulled on her boots and headed back into the main room. Vilis was staring at the floor, and Dag stopped.

  “Where was this?” Dag asked again, quietly.

  Vilis looked up and met her gaze.

  “And I want the truth, not whatever lie you were told to tell me.” Dag crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the itch between her shoulders. Her Trait had been triggered; most likely because Joosep had asked Vilis to lie to her. She didn’t know why. Not yet.

  “What do you mean?” Vilis asked but he flushed, and Dag didn’t think it was from anger . . . it seemed like it was more from embarrassment at being caught out so easily.

  “You won’t get past my Trait,” Dag said. “So, don’t bother trying. My Trait is as strong as any can be.” Only a triplet could have a stronger Trait than a twin, and even then, it was only if both of the other siblings had the opposite Trait.

  “I already know Joosep told you to tell me a lie,” she continued, “although I don’t understand why he’d ever think you could fool me. Unless . . .” Unless he wants me to believe the second thing that Vilis tells me. “Where did you see my sister; when she was crying, where was she?” What was Vilis’s Trait? Joosep would only have sent the boy if his Trait meant that even she should believe him.

  “She was coming out of your training team’s dining hall,” Vilis said. “At least that’s what Joosep asked me to tell you.”

  Dag sighed. Even without her Trait she would have known this was false. Inger wasn’t an Intelligencer; she would never feel comfortable eating in the dining hall without Dag. “And the truth?”

  “She was coming from the hallway that leads to where one of the older training teams live,” Vilis said, hanging his head. “Older than mine, I mean. I think she must have had a fight with one of them.”

  “How do you know who lives there?” she asked. Students knew there were other students, but for the most part they didn’t actually know each other. Unless their Trait revealed them the way hers had.

  “I’ve seen a few of them,” Vilis said. “In Joosep’s office.”

  Dag stared at the boy. It sounded reasonable: Joosep obviously trusted Vilis for some things, perhaps he had been in his office.

  Vilis looked up and met Dag’s eyes, looking a little defeated, a little like he’d known that somehow this would get him into trouble but that he felt compelled to tell Dag the truth.

  “Who was it?” Dag asked. “Which student was she fighting with?” She could feel that there was some truth to this, a truth that Vilis didn’t even realize he was telling her.

  Someone had upset her sister, but she didn’t think it was a student. She also didn’t think Vilis was lying about everything. He really had seen Inger; Joosep knew she would have immediately recognized that as a lie.

  “She didn’t say,” Vilis said.

  Dag stared at him. A student’s Trait was their secret to tell or not tell, even to their training team. Only Joosep knew everyone’s trait, or so he thought—so they all thought. But Dag’s Trait meant that she’d figured them all out ages ago.

  And now she remembered what Vilis’s Trait was: Trust.

  “Right,” Dag said. “Now tell me where she really was.” She crossed the floor until she stood eye to eye with the youth. “I know you’re lying.”

  Vilis looked up in confusion.

  “I know you’re lying,” Dag repeated. “Despite your Trustworthiness.” She wanted—needed—to get going so she could find Inger, but looking in the wrong place would consume even more time than she was spending on this. “Where was she really?” And why doesn’t Joosep want me to know?

  “How do you know about my Trait?” Vilis asked. He was pale now and looked worried.

  “I know everyone’s Trait,” Dag replied, “the same way I know most things. Because of my Trait. Now tell me where she was!”

  Dag thought she might have to resort to force—never the best way to get information—but she would do it for Inger. After a moment, Vilis swallowed and looked away.

  “I was running an errand for Joosep,” he said. “I did see her and she was upset and she was in a hallway.” He turned to face her. “But she was coming out of Tarmo Holt’s office.”

  “Holt!” Dag shut her mouth. She didn’t want Vilis to tell Joosep how shocked she was by this, but Holt? He was the head of Nordmere’s Freeholders and currently the Grand Freeholder for the three Fair Seas Treaty countries. And Joosep’s boss. What was Inger doing there?

  “Yes, Holt,” Vilis said. “Can I go now?”

  “Sure, go ahead and report to Joosep.” Concern flitted across Vilis’s face. “Don’t worry,” Dag continued. “I won’t tell him you told me the actual truth. And it will be a good chance to put your Trait to the test, don’t you think? To see if your Trustworthiness convinces the Master Intelligencer?”

  Vilis’s eyes narrowed, but he turned and left the room. The door closed quietly behind him.

  Tarmo Holt. What did he want from Inger?

  Dag spun on her heels and headed to her sister’s room. She’d check to see if Inger had left a clue to where she’d gone, but Dag didn’t hold out much hope. Her sister didn’t have the ability to leave a subtle clue, so anything overtly out of place would have already been seen by anyone Joosep had sent after her.

  The bed was neatly made and her sister’s clothes were stacked and hung in the cupboards and closets. Nothing looked like it didn’t belong.

  It didn’t seem like Inger had left in a rush, at least not from here, which made Dag believe she’d left on her own and with a plan.

  She sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. Ok, Inger had a plan and because of her Trait, it would be an obvious one. Obvious to Dag if she knew why she’d gone.

  But she did know it involved both Tarmo Holt and Joosep. Holt wanted something from Inger, and Joosep had tried to help him get it.

  But what? Sex? That seemed too obvious. Inger was always being approached by men—and a few women—because they thought she was beautiful, which always made Dag shake her head. They were twins, identical twins, so if Inger was beautiful, then so was she. But because of her Trait, Inger was noticed. Always. It also meant that she’d had plenty of practice turning down unwanted advances. So maybe Tarmo Holt didn’t want to take no for an answer. What part did Joosep play?

  Skit! Joosep was her boss: he had power over her. He must have threatened to do something to her if Inger didn’t do what Holt wanted. And because of her Trait, Inger would never be able to pretend to cooperate long enough for Dag to return.

  Inger’s choice—the most obvious choice—would be to leave. She would also know that Dag would follow her.

  Dag scanned the room. What was missing? What had Inger taken with her?

  She opened a closet. Her sister’s weatherproof gear was gone, as were her boots, trousers, and plain shirts. She flipped through the dresses: every single dress was here.

  She slammed the cupboard door shut and
headed out to the living area. She knew where to start, at least: the docks. Inger had taken clothing suitable for wearing at sea.

  JOOSEP EYED VILIS as he stood in front of his desk.

  “She believed that you saw her sister outside a student’s room,” he said. Vilis nodded. “Good.” He didn’t want Dagrun to be angry with him: she and her Trait were far too valuable. Especially now that she’d finally reached the end of her ten-year training period. He sighed and waved Vilis away, and the boy quietly left his office.

  He rubbed a hand over his close-cropped hair. Dagrun’s value was the reason for this mess in the first place. He never should have told Tarmo Holt about Dagrun’s Trait and how strong it was. All he’d wanted was for Holt to have confidence in his ability to find out more about the Freeholder Swyford would choose as the next Grand Freeholder. He’d told himself that Holt’s position meant he deserved to know a few secrets. Not only was Holt Nordmere’s Clan Freeholder, he was also the Grand Freeholder. At least until the election in the fall.

  But once the man had learned of Dagrun’s Trait, Holt had been trying to convince Joosep that Dagrun should report directly to him. That could not be allowed: Intelligencers could not become the personal spies for any single Freeholder, no matter how powerful they might be.

  Joosep had finally persuaded Holt that Dagrun would see through him anyway; that it wouldn’t take her more than a few days to uncover all of his secrets. That’s when the man had started to focus on Inger. Not that he wanted her specific skills: he’d ridiculously spoken about having her bear children with useful Traits. Even Joosep’s weak Unseen Trait could see that Holt was hoping for children with Traits that he would control.

  Joosep had finally agreed to help him: to have Inger talk to him, but only because any children with Traits would be his to train no matter who fathered them.

  Apparently, he’d made a terrible miscalculation. Inger had run away, and worse, Holt had finally admitted to him that he’d threatened to have Dagrun sent on dangerous missions if Inger didn’t do what he wanted. Holt didn’t have the power to do that, but Inger wouldn’t realize that. Because of her Trait, she couldn’t realize it.