Текст книги "Regent"

Автор книги: Brian Rathbone

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Chapter 16

Some of the most beautiful things in this world will kill you quick as death.

– Farsy, sailor

Black sands rose from the sea, and the Firstland looked much different to Catrin. The land had healed itself from the devastation of the tsunami, and now Catrin could see the lush forests in their true glory. Chillingly beautiful was this unforgiving land of her ancestors, with the blacks and browns of the shoreline opposite fertile greenery that blanketed the land like moss on a giant stone.

All on board kept their gazes skyward, watching for ferals, and in Catrin's case, for Kyrien. She knew he lived, knew he had helped get them airborne, yet she had not seen him, and until she saw him, the reality of his survival would not be assured to her.

The fact that the Firstland looked like a beatific and idyllic setting and all around them was still and peaceful only served to unnerve the crew further. All of them knew they had come here for a reason and they might never leave. The placid beauty seemed almost inappropriate and garish in the face of their impending doom.

It didn't help that Kenward was not speaking to Catrin. At first she'd thought him simply angry, but he had attempted to speak to her and had failed. Each time he had opened his mouth, nothing came out. Eventually he raised his arms in defeat and walked away, mumbling to himself about flying through Catrin's nightmares and holes in his deck. Catrin knew she couldn't control her dreams, especially when she was beyond exhaustion, but still she felt guilty for having traumatized Kenward and the crew. The thought of flying the ship while sleeping haunted her.

"I'm amazed you could do it at all," Pelivor had said. "How did you do it? No, wait. Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

Perhaps it was best that Catrin could not have explained it if she had tried. Somehow she had transitioned from waking to sleep without letting go of the power. She'd done it once before, in Pinook Harbor, but that was nothing as complex as keeping a ship in the air. And that seemed to be the rub. In her altered state, Catrin's mind had somehow overlaid reality with her dreams, and as she had been dodging monsters and attacks of power and fire, the Slippery Eelhad been under her command. Kenward had insisted that Catrin and Pelivor sleep for at least two full nights before they attempted to fly the ship again, and even now they moved through the waves under the power of the wind alone.

Catrin knew she would need her strength for the battle ahead. Kyrien had brought her here for a reason. He'd shown her visions of pain and death, and she knew the calm would not remain. Not knowing when the darkness would come made Catrin want to climb out of her own skin, and not knowing Kyrien's true fate gnawed at her.

"You need to eat something," Pelivor insisted.

The acid in Catrin's stomach stole what appetite she had, and she shook her head. Even the smell of Grubb's fish stew did little to attract her. Kenward stood behind Pelivor, and though he still said nothing, she knew he was coming around. With his arms folded over his chest, he raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot.

Sighing, Catrin accepted the mug, thinking she would just sip it to satisfy Kenward. After a few tastes, though, her appetite returned enough to finish the mug.

"You know I love you," Kenward finally said. "But I have to admit that I'll be glad when you're off my ship. You're nothing but the worst kind of trouble, and you seem determined to kill me and sink my ship."

"It took you all this time to come up with that? You're no poet, Kenward, but I can understand you feeling that way. Still, I think you're just jealous because I've managed to endanger your crew more than you have."

Those words drove Kenward back into silence that was finally broken by Grubb's laughter. "I say we keep her on board just to shut him up!"

A look from Kenward silenced him, but his shoulders shook as he walked back to the galley.

Kenward just shook his head. "I suppose you'll want me to take you up the river toward Ri? You know, the place where the Gholgi nearly sank us the last time we were here?"

The memory was burned into Catrin's mind. She could recall every sight, smell, and sensation of that day. It was also the first time she'd been rescued by dragons.

"Yes. I suppose that is what I want. I had hoped for guidance from Kyrien, some sign as to what he needed from me, but no matter how I try, he will not respond. He's alive-I know it-but I think he is waiting for a reason, and until he's ready, we're on our own."

"It seems we face the same dilemma once again," Kenward said. "I don't have enough men to send with you and still be able to defend the ship."

"This time will be different," Catrin said. "This time I will go alone."

"But you could be facing dangers far worse than those in the past."

"True," Catrin said. "I am not as well prepared as I would have liked, but I have done everything within my power to get ready for this, and now I must simply let the bones fall where they may." Instantly Catrin regretted her choice of words. No one else seemed willing to speak in the silence that followed. "Please. Just take me to the place where you dropped me last time. I'll either be fine or I won't, but staying aboard this ship will not accomplish whatever it is I'm here to do. Now I just need to get on with it."

Members of the crew approached her one at a time, each in his or her own way and only when ready. Catrin had known them since she was a teenager; she loved them like family, and to many of them, she was an adopted daughter. To have their love and respect meant the world to Catrin, and their words bolstered her confidence. If these brave and talented men and women believed in her, then surely she could believe in herself, even if she did face an impossible task: win a battle that would take place at a time and place beyond her knowing. Her only choice was to surrender to fate and hope that her knowledge and power would sustain her. It must have shown in her eyes, given the respect she got from the crew. Even those who had nearly died for her cause in the past looked at her with new eyes, as if they only now saw her true potential and sacrifice.

It was good that these things propped up Catrin's confidence as the next moment brought pure chaos.

Like a flock of birds launched from a shaken tree, dragons appeared all at once and, within moments, filled the air around the ship. Battle centered on the Slippery Eel.Ferals dived in to attack, and regents flew in defense. It was impossible to believe the ferocity and power of their attacks; even one strike would likely kill the entire crew of the Slippery Eel.If not for the regent dragons, their greenish scales glinting in the sunlight, the Eelwould have been lost.

Kyrien was nowhere to be seen. Catrin would have been able to pick him out of the chaos with her eyes closed, and she longed to find him and communicate with him, but her calls remained unanswered.

Crouching and shying away from another monstrous collision, Catrin thought the sound of dragons fighting might be the most frightening part of all. Not only did their growls make the air tremble and their screams inflict physical pain, the sound of their armored bodies slamming together was something Catrin thought no creature should ever have to hear.

"Full sail!" Kenward shouted. "Get this ship out of the water! We need to get out of here."

No one hesitated or questioned Kenward's words. His command gave them purpose and something to distract them from the horror that was taking place around them.

"Look out!" was all the warning anyone got before a pair of twined dragons struck the ship. Locked in a battle to the death, the two flailed and rolled, taking part of the rigging into the sea with them before disappearing under the waves. Had it not been a glancing blow, they'd already be sunk. Kenward was right; they needed to move.

Raising her arms to the sky, Catrin reached for the comets, and to her absolute shock, they felt a thousand years away, as if they had suddenly been flung back into the darkness. One look at Pelivor showed that he was experiencing a similar horror. Looking up, Catrin saw an unnaturally dark cloud blocking their views of the heavens. Like a stain on the sky, it roiled above them, sometimes lit from within by webs of lightning. The hair on Catrin's neck stood as she realized there was a filament of energy extending from her head and the ship and reaching up to the clouds above. Time was running out.

Denied direct access to the comets, Catrin reached to the air around her. Pelivor did the same and was soon trying to generate enough lift to get them out of the water. Catrin did her best to focus on providing thrust. Farsy watched from nearby with a glint in his eye, and Catrin smiled at him despite their peril. Under her direction, he had modified the tube of wood, changing the shape of the inner surface so it opened more at the entrance and remained more constricted midway along its length. The changes reduced the strength and stability of the wood, and Catrin could now feel it trembling as she forced air through. A low whistle began, and as they moved faster, it grew in volume and pitch. Over a steeper wave, the hull left the water, lurching suddenly to one side as a feral came at them unblocked until the very last moment.

The whistling continued to grow louder, and Catrin applied as much energy as she thought was safe. Again the crew had to trim the sails as their speed increased. Before they were even finished, the rigging began to vibrate, and the wind tore at the crew. Staying low to the water, they skimmed along as fast as they were able. Above, the skies were far too dangerous, and the Slippery Eel,even with Catrin and Pelivor in control, was no match for a feral dragon in open air.

"At least the water makes it hurt really bad when they miss," Kenward said. "We need to get through the harbor and into the river valley. Then there won't be room for many of these beasts in the air above us."

"Sails ahead, sir– What the-? Sir!"

It didn't take long for Catrin to see what the lookout had seen or for Kenward to start cursing. Thorakis's sailors seemed to be learning new things at an alarming rate. Hovering above the water came a formation of ships linked together by blood red lightning. The ships appeared equidistant from one another and flew as a single unit. Standing at the prow of the lead ship was a tall man in long robes, his arms cast out to the sides, lightning flowing from his hands and into the deck itself. Dark paint made him look like the demons that wandered his decks. Again these Gholgi-like abominations would haunt Catrin, and she watched in horror as similarly dressed men emerged on the prow of every ship in the array. When they raised their hands, a new web of power sprang into the air, joining over the lead ship, focusing, and splitting the air toward the Slippery Eel.

Catrin banked the ship to the right, accelerated, then slowed. White heat seared the air but went wide.

"Higher!" Kenward ordered.

Catrin and Pelivor did as he said. No sooner had they gained open air than a feral locked on to them. A pair of regents gave chase, but this feral was bigger and faster than most of the others. Closing the gap to the Slippery Eeland leaving the regents behind, the feral made it clear it wasn't going to give up easily. Dividing her attention, Catrin reached back out to the comets, and as the Eelmoved out from under the dread cloud, the comets answered, flooding her with energy. The ship whistled as she pushed for more speed, but she wasn't certain the Eelcould take much more. Instead she focused part of her mind on building up a charge and sending a finger of lightning back at the charging feral. The lightning connected, and in that instant, she felt small and insignificant. The will of the feral washed over her. None of what was going on around her seemed to exist; all that mattered was avoiding the wrath of the lord of the night.

Lost in his rapidly approaching eyes, Catrin watched, entranced.

"Why are we slowing?"

The voices were distant and meaningless. Nothing could be more important than what she was doing, of that she was certain.

"Catrin! Wake up!" Kenward shouted as he shook her.

It took Catrin a moment to realize where she was and what was happening, but then it all rushed back at once and nearly caused her to swoon. In the meantime the feral had drawn closer, and the sight of him sent Catrin scrambling to get them moving fast again. What lead they had was now lost, and the dragon would almost certainly catch them. The regents in pursuit flew in what looked like desperation as they climbed higher and higher. Watching as they disappeared into the clouds, Catrin's hope faded.

At the fastest speed she felt the ship could handle, the feral continued to gain on them. Twice more she attacked, and twice more it seemed only to infuriate the beast. Standing near the stern became a liability as the dragon overtook them. It came all at once, as if it had been holding back and only making them think it had been at maximum speed. The sudden attack caught Catrin off her guard, and she scrambled to cast out energy in hopes of warding off certain death. Behind the feral Catrin noticed two dark shapes diving toward the surface at unbelievable speed. Then those shapes extended their wings and pulled up to skim over the waves, sending spray circling in the roiling wind behind them. They hit the feral hard and fast, knocking him off course and away from the ship. It was a costly victory, though, and Catrin cried out when the feral struck like a snake and sent one of the regents into a lifeless spin until it crashed into the water with a series of sickening pops and snaps. Afraid of going much higher, again in the shadow of the unnatural cloud, Catrin guided them closer to the harbor. Approaching the tall ring of stone that surrounded much of the harbor, Catrin looked up almost expecting to see a Zjhon warship still nestled among the peaks, but it was gone, lost to the ravages of time and weather, she guessed.

When she lowered her gaze, she let out a gasp, which was immediately followed by shouts from the crew. Another formation of ships was leaving the harbor, just clearing the massive semicircle of stone peaks. The base of the passage was far wider than the top, and Kenward cursed when Catrin took them higher and turned sharply so the ship entered the narrow opening at an angle. In trying to match the angle of the rock face that would likely snap off the mainmast, Catrin pitched the ship onto its side, nearly losing Farsy. The wind whispered over the rocks as they passed, and an instant later, they emerged into the massive harbor. Instead of the giant sea and land creatures she'd been expecting, Catrin saw a waiting navy. A mass of ships clogged the waters, and enough land had been cleared to build fortifications. Smoke billowed from stacks on ships and from buildings.

The air above was no safer than that above the open seas. In fact, the rock faces made it even more dangerous to navigate. Bringing the ship down low, Catrin saw dark shapes in the water and knew that the large sea creatures may not be fully visible, but they were still there.

"If we set down," Kenward said, "they'll attack from underneath, just as they did the last time we were here. If we stay here, the dragons'll get us, and who knows what's waiting in that river valley. I don't recall it being a pleasant trip. And we had to turn back at those boiling statues."

"Do you have a better idea?" Catrin asked.

"No," he admitted.

"Then hold on."

"Get ready!" Kenward shouted to the crew. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride."

The whistle of the ship echoed off the canyon walls, and Catrin brought them higher, even as approaching formations of ships readied themselves to attack. These groups were smaller, some consisting of only three ships, but they moved with nimble grace and seemed capable of greater speed.

"This is insane!" Kenward shouted as they whisked over the first formation of ships, which remained just above the surface of the water. The air around them shimmered, and the smell of smoke polluted the air. "They're setting us on fire! Put us down! Put us down!"

Not wanting to lose speed, Catrin tried to only bounce the ship along the surface of the narrowing and shallow waters at the mouth of the approaching river. She'd envisioned the ship skipping like a stone, but the drag was far greater than she had anticipated. Everyone and everything aboard was thrown toward the prow. A jet of oily fire spewing black smoke struck the waves before them and set the water itself afire.

"Up! Up!" Kenward shouted.

Catrin would have obeyed his orders if she could, but it was simply too much to ask, and the ship struck the flames, which left the Eelcovered in burning pitch. The crew watched helplessly as smoke streamed up through the railing. Realizing that even the water would not extinguish this fire, Catrin concentrated on getting the ship back into the air. Though it seemed like the worst possible thing to do, Catrin had a plan. Pelivor cried out as he exerted himself, the cut of his muscles standing out as the wind plastered his silks against him.

Just before they reached the next cluster of approaching ships, they left the water and banked to port, this time greeted by a series of thumps that slammed into the hull. No one knew how much damage they had taken, but crewmen were shouting from below, and some had to evacuate the deckhouse due to smoke.

"She's gonna burn up!" Kenward shouted.

Left with no other options, Catrin pushed the ship for more speed, even as the valley walls closed in on them. This time the carved figures that adorned the hillsides were even more intimidating simply because they might slam into one of them at any moment. Catrin soon found herself soaring through a narrow and twisting canyon, mere inches above the waterline and with far too much speed, yet the fires still burned.

No ships pursued them up the river, but a shadow passed over them and raced along the valley just ahead of them, as if the dragon were just biding its time, waiting for the best moment to strike its prey-prey that had nowhere to go and no place to hide. Feeling naked and exposed, Catrin tried to resist the fear that ferals seemed designed to create, but it was difficult to do. Crewmen wept on deck, and Kenward looked more frightened than Catrin had ever seen, but that may have had more to do with the way she was flying his ship. When he looked at her, he wore a looked of unabashed horror, as if she might truly be a monster.

It was no use. Catrin knew that almost every path would lead to their deaths, and even if her actions left them stranded on the Firstland, then it would be better than all of them perishing in the sea or the air above it. Staying low had its own dangers, proven by a protruding rock face that had remained hidden until the last moment, protected by a natural illusion. It smacked into the hull and sent them flying sideways. The dragon picked that moment to attack, and Catrin tried to split her attention between guiding the ship, providing thrust, and sending a defensive strike against the approaching dragon. She never got the chance to release that strike as Kyrien soared in between them and sent the much larger dragon careening away from the ship.

"No!" Catrin cried out, knowing that Kyrien was no match for a dragon more than twice his size.

Fly.

It was the only response she got from him before he collided again with the feral. Catrin could not watch, not only because it was too painful to see, but because the valley continued to narrow and every instant was critically dangerous to the ship.

"The fires are out, but there are holes in the hull, sir! Big ones! We're not seaworthy."

Kenward looked stricken but Catrin was not surprised. Still, it didn't matter to her; all it did was reinforce her decision. Ahead lay the Eternal Guardians, watching over the Valley of the Victors. The name seemed ironic to Catrin since all the images were of men, yet they had not ruled here for thousands of years.

"Catrin!"

"Hold on, Kenward!"

"Catrin!"

The panic in his voice made Catrin regret what she was about to do, but he said he had no better ideas, and she did what she could to save all of them, even if it pained her to do so. Though she'd seen them before, the Eternal Guardians formed a daunting barrier. Both figures crouched over waters that swirled around the stone they had sprung from. The one closest to them was worn to the extent that its visage was lost to time, which made it look all the more imposing. The other had only half its face remaining, but even that cast them a baleful glare. The feral grew larger in the skies before them and would pass above the Guardians about the same time they would reach the massive monument. No going over the monuments, then. "Hold on and stay clear of the masts!"

Splinters of wood filled the air along with a series of gut-wrenching snaps. The mainmast tore up the foredecks and slammed into the deckhouse before launching into the air behind them.

"Catrin!"

The word was now a high-pitched scream, like the sound of a man losing a limb. It was not a sound Catrin ever wanted to hear again, but fate had other ideas. Just beyond the Eternal Guardians, she urged the ship higher, scanning the landscape, looking for something she knew would be there but not really believing she would find it. With the feral gaining on them and Kyrien nowhere to be seen, Catrin urged the ship for more speed, the tube of wood singing a howling tune, vibrating and flexing as the pressurized air rushed through. The speed would not be enough, and Catrin forced more air in, but it was too much. With a suddenness that sent Catrin sprawling, the cylinder cracked, split, and exploded. Splinters dug into Catrin's flesh, a large chunk flying by and barely missing her face.

She turned back with tears of frustration and loss in her eyes. But then she saw a field of deep, rich grass strewn with megalithic granite boulders, as if they'd been tossed like dice by the gods. A smile came to Catrin's face, and she hoped that once again she would find solace in this idyllic location, despite the pure chaos that surrounded them.

The tops of trees slammed against the hull as they made their approach, and only the sound of Kenward's screams rose above the cacophony.

"Brace!" Catrin shouted and an instant later, she was vaulted forward, the ropes that held her digging into her flesh. The pain and sensation of being crushed was overwhelming, and she could not believe how hard they hit when they landed. The initial blow had jarred Catrin and Pelivor enough to make them both lose control over the power they wielded.

In the moments that followed, dragons unfolded themselves and Kenward wept.