Ocean Of Fear (Book 6) Page 8
“We don’t know anything. We’re guessing,” said Kormak.
“He has something within his power that would make him a prince among sorcerers once he masters it,” said Jonas. “It will take him some time to do so. He will want to be in a place of safety while he tries.”
“That is your considered opinion, is it?” Zamara asked.
“It is.”
“Very well then, we shall head west towards the Pirate Islands.” He seemed glad to be able to push the responsibility off onto somebody else. If they failed, there would be someone else to share in the blame. The way politics and personal ambition had intruded here disgusted Kormak.
“Get a man aloft,” said Zamara to Captain Dominic. “I want someone scanning the horizon every minute of every hour until we catch sight of the Ocean’s Blade or until we make landfall.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Captain Dominic. The expression on his face told Kormak that Dominic was uneasy. He had reason to be. The Pirate Isles were not a place where the King of Siderea’s sailors were likely to be welcomed.
The land receded behind them. Sailing on the Marlin was a very different experience from being on the canoe or the Ocean’s Blade. The great cog relied on her sails for propulsion. Such was her size that the sweeps in her side were useful only for warping her into harbour. Zamara had assured him that on the high seas, when the wind was with them, it should be at least as fast as the war-galley.
The Marlin stood much higher in the water than a galley. The view over the figurehead on the prow allowed Kormak to see much further. Not that there was much to view. Ahead of them lay endless leagues of ocean. Only the ripple of the waves and the sight of the gulls broke the monotony. He began to understand the fear many sailors had, that once out of sight of land they would be lost. There were no landmarks, nothing except the horizon and the clouds.
“Not so,” said Jonas when he expressed his misgivings. “The captain can navigate by the position of the sun and by the stars. He keeps logs of his journeys and descriptions of the currents. He has a magnetic stone to set our bearings by. We will be able to return, the Holy Sun willing.”
Kormak understood the basic principles of navigation but that seemed optimistic. Jonas smiled, “As long as the captain can find east we can always go back the way we came and eventually we will find land. It would be hard to miss an entire continent and that is what lies to our rear.”
“And what lies ahead?” Kormak asked.
“The whole vast ocean,” said the priest. “The Sunken Kingdoms, the lost lands of the Solari, archipelagos of thousands of islands, stretching all the way to the Seven Duchies in Terra Nova. Men have sailed these seas before. Men have crossed this ocean before. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
“Then why do you sound as if you are speaking as much to reassure yourself as to reassure me?”
Jonas laughed. “Perhaps because I am. We have not set ourselves an easy task. If we do not overhaul the Kraken before he reaches the waters of the Pirate Islands then our mission will fail. Two warships will not be enough to let us storm into the harbour and take the Kraken.”
“I know,” said Kormak. “I have been there before.”
“You are a well-travelled man,” said Jonas.
“I go where the Holy Sun sends me.”
“Why did he send you to Port Blood?”
“To hunt down a servant of the Old Ones who had fled there.”
“You succeeded, of course. Or you would not be here now.”
“I killed it,” he said. He did not like the memories that flooded back into his mind. “Port Blood is not a pleasant place.”
“I doubt a city full of pirates could be.”
Kormak’s eyes narrowed. “Pirates are like other men. I’ve seen unpaid soldiers plunder. It takes less than you think to make an armed man become a bandit.”
“Is that the voice of experience talking?”
Kormak looked sidelong at the priest. The menace in his glance made Frater Jonas look away.
“If, by experience, you mean that I have met such men, the answer is yes. If you mean have I been one, the answer is no.”
“I never meant to suggest you had performed any criminal act,” said Jonas. “But we were talking of Port Blood. How did you get there?”
“Certain merchant ships sailing out of Solarea and Siderea go there.”
“This I know. Even the King-Emperor of Siderea deals with the pirates when it suits him.”
“I took a ship there and I remained behind when it left. Port Blood is a lawless enough place. They do not keep track of strangers. Most end up with their throats cut. A man with no crew or no friends has a short life in the pirate city unless he is good with a blade.”
“And you are very good with a blade. You are thinking that you might have to visit Port Blood again, if we do not overhaul the Kraken, are you not?”
“If need be, I can be dropped off in a small boat and make landfall on the island. There are places where you can do that, if you know what you are about.”
“If worst comes to worst, I may join you.”
“I do not think I can guarantee your safety,” said Kormak.
“I can look after myself, if I must,” said the priest.
“Why are you so desperate to catch the Kraken?” Kormak asked.
“I am loyal to King Aemon and his brother. And I fear what this madman is up to.”
“That would seem wise.”
Jonas paused for a moment then said, “I have been studying those books we found in the Kraken’s cabin.”
“I wondered what you were doing in your berth all day.”
“They are mostly spell books but there were some entries that were more in the nature of a journal. The Kraken was very keen to get his hands on the Teardrop.”
“I think we both know why.”
“Do we? I am not so sure. There are other entries in some form of code.”
“It is a pity we cannot read his notes then.” Kormak let the words hang in the air. He had his suspicions about Frater Jonas.
The priest gave him a slow smile. “I have some skill in cyphering. My Order uses its own codes and in the past I have broken others. Given time I may be able to work out the contents of his journals.”
“That might be useful.”
The distant sky was darkening.
“It will be night soon,” said Frater Jonas. “We may be able to see the running lights of the Ocean’s Blade.”
“If she is showing any.”
“We are a long way out over the sea. Why would the Kraken suspect pursuit now? As far as he knows we are still stuck at Triturek.”
“He is a cautious man. I think we have already established that,” said Kormak.
“And mayhap he has supernatural sources of information.” Frater Jonas turned away. “I will return to the books,” he said. “If I find out anything I will let you know.”
“Be sure you do,” said Kormak. He watched the smaller man shuffle away, shoulders bowed and wondered whether Jonas would pass on any information he found.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“SAIL HO!” THE cry rang out from the crow’s nest of the Marlin. Zamara raced towards the mainmast and swarmed up it. Once he reached the lookout post, he produced his telescope and looked off into the distance. His figure became rigid with tension, a hunting dog scenting prey. After five days at sea, he had all but given up hope but now...
Moments later he slid down the rope. As he swept past Kormak to the command deck, he said, “It’s the Ocean’s Blade. I would know her lines anywhere. If the wind stays with us, we will overhaul her before the day is out. Best ready your blade, Master Guardian. We will have need of it.”
Slowly, the sail of the Ocean Blade rose above the horizon. From the Marlin’s prow, Kormak made out the distant outline of the ship on the horizon. The waves were bigger now. The sea and sky were greyer. The wind was stronger. The oars could not drive the pirate craft through the swells as effici
ently as the cog’s great sails. Its smaller spread of canvas could not make up the difference.
Frater Jonas joined Kormak on the foredeck. They had become quite companionable over the past few days; the only men aboard who did not have crew duties. Jonas claimed to have made some progress on the Kraken’s cypher but not to have broken it. He gave a very good impression of a man frustrated by his own slow progress. Contemplating the enemy ship, he looked thoughtful.
The priest said, “As soon as he realises he cannot outrun us, he will turn at bay. The Ocean’s Blade’s ram could easily hole and sink us.”
“I don’t think our captain is going to allow that.”
Zamara shouted orders to the engineers. They winched the catapults at stern and forecastles to tautness and stacked firepots near them. The same thing was occurring on the Sea Dragon. In order to close with her pursuers, the Ocean’s Blade would have to run the gauntlet of intense missile fire. It would be a race to see whether she could be sunk before she made contact.
“If he gets that close we can board,” said Kormak. “Even if he sinks the Marlin we can take back the Ocean’s Blade or swim to the Sea Dragon.”
“Those of us who can swim,” said Jonas. “Many sailors cannot. They believe that it merely prolongs the agony of a man before he drowns. They think that if Saa-Aquor, the Mistress of the Deeps, wants a man she will claim him.”
The Ocean’s Blade showed no sign of turning at bay. As the long day wore on the reason became clear. A low smudge on the horizon indicated the presence of land. Birds appeared in the sky. Bits of flotsam drifted in the sea nearby.
“The Pirate Islands,” said Jonas. “If we go much closer we will be sighted and corsair ships will come to meet us, then we will be the ones hunted.”
Kormak shaded his eyes with his hand. “I am more concerned with what the Kraken is up to on the sterncastle of his ship. Lend me your spyglass, please.”
He stretched out the telescope’s cylinders, rotating them until the rear of the Ocean’s Blade leapt into view. The Kraken stood alone on the command deck.
The man’s regal bearing was as unmistakable, as was the strange living armour wrapped around his torso. There had been one change. The Teardrop of Leviathan now blazed on the centre of his chest, as if set in the living armour.
The Kraken spread his arms wide and threw his head back. He seemed to be chanting.
Kormak’s hand went to the amulet beneath his armour. They were too far from the trireme for it to have grown warm with the eddy currents of magic but he did not doubt that, had they been closer, it would even now be becoming hot.
“What is it?” Frater Jonas asked.
“He’s working sorcery,” Kormak said.
The waves to the rear of the Ocean’s Blade seethed. A monstrous shape rose from the depths. Shouts from the sailors all around Kormak told him that they had noticed it too.
A huge head emerged, streams of water cascading down its side, running off gigantic slitted eyes that gazed up with a near worshipful air at the Kraken.
Greenish-black tentacles stretched skyward. They looked able to pull a ship the size of the Ocean’s Blade below the water without difficulty.
“Our sorcerer has called his namesake,” said Jonas. His tone attempted the ironic but fear lurked beneath.
“I wonder what he intends to do with it,” Kormak said.
“Come, Sir Kormak, you know just as well as I do what that maniac plans.”
As if to give emphasis to his words, the giant head disappeared below the water. The tentacles sank out of sight heartbeats later. A white line appeared beneath the waves and a trail of bubbles moved in the direction of the Marlin. Ahead of it, a massive wave rose as if something huge was displacing the water.
Sailors shrieked. At this speed, it would not take long for the great creature to cover the distance between the two ships.
Zamara shouted orders. The catapults rotated on their great circular platforms. Flasks of incendiary chemicals dropped into place. The enormous arms of the war-engines whipped forward, sending their missiles spinning out over the ocean to drop in the path of the onrushing giant squid.
The shots missed. The chief engineer shouted instructions, adjusting range and tension. Another shot arced out. This time it hit the onrushing mass but nothing happened. A yellow glow showed under the water but the monster kept coming closer.
“Alchemical fire,” said Frater Jonas. “I am not sure that even that will work.”
The glow vanished and the white wake faded out. A few of the crew raised a panicked cheer, relief evident in their voices.
“Or perhaps I was wrong,” said Jonas. He wiped his brow. They studied the empty sea for long minutes.
The ship shivered, as if it had encountered an obstruction beneath its waterline. A scraping sound rose from below.
Colour drained from the priest’s face. The ship vibrated again. Had it risen by more than the natural ebb and flow of the waves?
The Marlin shook as if in the grip of a storm. The scraping sounded much louder now. Out of the water, serpent-like, rose a tentacle as large as a ghost snake. Leech mouths covered it. They dilated and shut again with an odd sucking sound.
The hull gave a tortured shriek. Timbers splintered as the sea around the Marlin became alive with gigantic tentacles. They descended on the ship with irresistible force, smashing through the carved wooden handrails, tore lanyards, pulled down sails. Some of the tentacles were shrivelled like slugs exposed too long to the sun. Yellowish fluid dripped from them, traces of the alchemical fire sticking to the flesh that not even the waters of the deep could remove.
Kormak dived to one side. A suckered limb thicker than his torso smashed into the deck beside him. His sword erupted from its scabbard. Dwarf-forged steel slashed the tentacle, carving through thick skin to reveal the slick white meat beneath.
More and more missiles arced from the Sea Dragon. Men fired their crossbows at the tentacles. The waters around the Marlin were slick and black. The stink of burning wood arose as the alchemical fires transferred from the flesh of the monster to the planking of the ship.
The deck shivered, as if the Marlin had been hit by an enormous hammer. From beneath came the sound of timbers smashing. A spurt of water bubbled up through the planks. Part of the deck gave way as another massive tentacle smashed through it. Looking into the gap yawning at his feet, Kormak could see the enormous eyes and hungry maw of the great squid. Agonised madness glittered in its gaze. It focused on him and the tentacle came smashing down.
Kormak leapt to one side as the deck splintered. Water filled the hold of the ship where the beast had broken through. The Marlin was doomed. All that was left for its crew was to dive into the water and hope to evade the creature’s thrashing limbs.
Wild rage flickered through Kormak’s mind. He sprang down into the hold. His booted legs smashed into the squid’s giant rubbery head. His razor sharp blade drove down through its eye and into its brain. A weird hissing shriek emerged from the squid’s beak. Its limbs thrashed. Kormak turned his sword in the jelly of the eye then pulled it free with a sucking sound. He sprang upwards to grab the torn edge of the deck with his free hand and hauled himself over.
Tentacles smashed against the Marlin like the flailing limbs of a dozen maddened drummers. Wood splintered, the hull shattered and the hungry sea poured in. Men jumped into the water, frantically trying to pull clear of the ship before the suction of its sinking dragged them under. Kormak sheathed his blade and dived. He was most likely doomed. The weight of his armour and blade would drown him just as easily as the undertow from the great cog going down.
There was no easy way to get the armour off and his every instinct protested letting go off his sword. He kicked out, trying to keep himself up in the water. He saw the small boat that had been attached to the rear of the Marlin, pulling closer. A soaking wet Frater Jonas was in it. He reached out with an oar. Kormak grabbed it and with the priest’s help scrambled aboard.
The enormous form of the Sea Dragon loomed over them. Men pulled themselves up the netting on its sides and into the ship.
Sailors dropped knotted ropes into the water.
Kormak dragged himself up. Frater Jonas did the same. The waterproof satchel containing the Kraken’s secrets was slung over his back. The priest seemed determined to hold onto them at all costs.
Zamara looked ever more haggard as he strode the quarterdeck. He had stripped off his soaking wet clothing and wore only britches and his Elder Sign. His dismay was understandable. He was going to have to go back and face his king and explain how he had lost two very expensive warships in pursuit of a pirate. If Zamara did not come back with the Kraken’s head he might as well not come back at all.
Frater Jonas looked gloomy.
“It was a demon of the deep,” Terves said. “It rose and damn near dragged us all down into a watery hell.”
Zamara rounded on him, as if he wanted to curse the man, but his self-control reasserted itself. He extended a hand to the captain of the Sea Dragon and took his spyglass, focusing it on the distant outline of the Ocean’s Blade. The trireme had taken advantage of the struggle to open the distance between it and its pursuers. Kormak was surprised. He had half-expected the Kraken to come back and try and finish them off.
Zamara let out a long seaman’s oath then ordered the crew to search for more survivors. He was not leaving any man of his to be marooned out here. It was a gesture calculated to endear him to his crew. It seemed he had already worked out that they could not overhaul the Ocean’s Blade before it reached Port Blood.
A sense of despondency settled on the ship. The whole crew knew that the long chase was over and that there would not be any prize money for them. Zamara slumped against the sternpost, deep in thought. Father Jonas called for his attention and he and Kormak were given permission to come onto the command deck.