“It’s tea, Constable.” Chena didn’t try to get to her feet. It was better to look as vulnerable as possible when dealing with the constables. “I’ve got a permit.” She gestured tentatively to her bag. You idiot, she thought. You think they care for you any more than they care for the rest of us? She felt Vonne’s gaze on her. The woman was hugging her arm to her belly as if she thought the constable would haul them both off for evidence. She didn’t look sick anymore, she looked angry.
Great. I probably just saved your life, and now you’re pissed off at me.
“I’m sure you have all kinds of permits.” The constable stoppered the bottle. “You people usually do.”
“And I don’t think there’s anything illegal about bandages,” Chena went on, as if he hadn’t said anything.
The people around them were murmuring now, and Chena realized, with growing wonder, the sound was agreement.
“I think we will find that that salve contains several illegal items,” said the constable, ignoring the voices.
“What salve?” Chena spread her hands. “I didn’t see any salve.” She looked at Vonne. “Was there a salve?”
“No,” said Vonne steadily. “She washed my arm with water and wrapped a bandage around it. That’s all.”
Warmth spread through Chena. The hothousers couldn’t stop her. What made this idiot think he could?
The constable smirked. “I think you’ll find that not everyone in this boat is interested in losing their body rights if I catch them lying to me.”
You’d do it too, wouldn’t you, you bastard? Anger flushed Chena’s cheeks. You’d turn a whole boatload of people over to them.
“Just sit down, Nathani,” shouted someone from the rear of the boat. “What did she do that hurt you?”
The rumbling on all sides grew louder, peppered with sniggers. Vonne hung her head to hide a smile. “He’s a little… selective,” she murmured to Chena.
Nathani’s face tightened. “You think this is my idea?” the constable asked. “This is the law. The first one of us that doesn’t cooperate gets hauled in for spare parts. You know how things are right now. They’re taking people on a whim.”
Taking them because you’re turning them in. Chena stood. She moved as close to Nathani as she could get. They were almost of a height, and she had no trouble looking him right in the eye.
She spoke in the lightest whisper. “They’ll be taken in only if you live long enough.”
“Threats, now?” His smile was condescending.
The smile Chena returned was pleasant. “You say you saw me use an illegal salve. Where do you think I got it?” She leaned even closer. “Who do you think I am?”
“I think you’re a little girl who wants to play healer and you’re about to find there’s no room left for that game.”
“Is that all I am?” asked Chena. “Be sure. Be very, very sure.”
Slowly the condescending smile bled away from Nathani’s face. He knew. Everyone knew what a Pharmakeus could do to you, if they wanted to. That old, grand, paranoid name could come in very handy.
“I think you want to sit down, Constable. I don’t think you want to wonder whether you will be dead in five seconds or five years.”
His eyes searched her face. She let him stare as long as he chose. When she didn’t blink or back down, his broad face fell, one muscle at a time.
Then the constable nodded. “I see,” he said, stepping backward. “I did make a mistake. I’m sorry.” He turned and picked his way between the murmuring people and returned to his seat. Conversation picked up all around the cabin, as if nothing had happened. Chena noticed that no one looked at her anymore, except Vonne.
Chena bent over to tie up her pack. “Get yourself down to Peristeria,” she whispered to Vonne as she straightened up again and retrieved her bottle with the remains of the tea. “Ask for a woman named Savicka. She’ll be able to help if you need anything else.” Vonne nodded and Chena read, Thank you, in her eyes.
Chena searched the benches once more for Nathani. He was sitting at the stern, staring out the window, and fingering the hollow at his throat. She smiled and sat down, raising the bottle in his direction and swigging down the last of its contents.
She had the hothousers and their servants in their place now. They would never rule her, never make her do anything she didn’t want to, ever again.
She tried not to notice that Farin didn’t emerge from belowdecks until after they had docked.
It took four days to get home from Peristeria. When Chena’s boots hit Offshoot’s dock, she felt her chest swell with pride. Wait until Nan Elle heard what she did. Even Farin, with all his worries, had not been able to stay distant. He’d hugged her when he left her at Stem and whispered in her ear that she had done well.