by William King
“What else did you do? Did you find out anything about the Kraken?”
“He is having his ship made ready for a long voyage even though he’s only just returned. His crew are a tight-lipped bunch but from what my sources have heard it looks like they won’t be heading back towards the mainland.”
“No more raiding then.”
“Apparently so—it looks like he’s preparing to head westwards out into the wild ocean over the Sunken Kingdoms. As he did last year. Have you come to any decisions yourself?”
“The Kraken is in his place of power. He has a crew of warriors, a sea filled with squid-demons and other defences in place. Our options appear to be to either catch him here or wait until he goes to sea again and overhaul him there. You will remember how that went last time.”
“So you are determined to make the attempt on his life here.”
“It seems like the best place.”
“And you do feel this merwoman, Rhiana, can help you?”
“She can survive well enough in a sea full of Quan to scout his palace. She has some of the sorcerous gifts of her people.”
“And you trust her?”
“I will work with her if our goals are the same.”
“My people have had dealings with her for many years. Her information has always been first rate.”
“Did you pick up any more nuggets of intelligence?”
“The Kraken is not liked here. He has many enemies but all are afraid of him. If he puts a curse on a man’s ship, that ship does not return.”
“I think we both understand how that works.”
“His crew are a loyal and closed mouthed lot. Most of them seem to be old family retainers. Those who are not have served many years under his command.”
“Old family retainers? Of the mother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“No one knows. No one even knows whether she is alive or dead. She would be an old woman if she were alive today.”
“We’d best go. I arranged to meet your ally down by the docks.”
Rhiana waited in the harbourside tavern. Around her lounged a group of tough looking men. “My crew,” she said as Kormak walked over to the table.
“My associate, Jonas,” Kormak said, just in case Rhiana did not want her crew to know of the connection or in case any outsider was listening in.
“He does not look like a warrior,” said a large villainous looking sailor.
“He’s a scholar,” Kormak said. “His head is full of interesting lore.”
“Good,” said Rhiana. “We shall have something to talk about once this night’s work is done.”
“This night?” Jonas said.
Rhiana moved closer to Kormak and spoke very softly. “The tides are right. Clouds cover the moon. We can get close enough to the Kraken’s palace without being spotted.”
Kormak tilted his head to one side and studied the merwoman. “This is all a bit sudden,” he said.
“I’ve been planning it for weeks,” she said. “You don’t have to come if you are afraid.”
A taunting note sounded in her voice. Well-acquainted with the ways people could be manipulated by questioning their courage, he said, “I am not afraid.”
Suspicions flickered through his mind. Did he really want to get on a ship on the harbour with this band of cutthroats? Did he really want to get into the water with a merwoman where the advantages would all be with her? Still, if it worked, this would be his best chance to get into the palace of the Kraken.
“Good,” said Rhiana. She swigged back her drink, turned to her crew and said, “Let’s be off.”
The dark water rippled in their wake. The sailors sculled the small craft. Frater Jonas stood in Kormak’s shadow, hand toying with the Elder Sign at his throat, clearly wondering about the wisdom of being here. Rhiana kept her gaze fixed on the Kraken’s distant palace. She licked her lips. Perhaps she was more nervous than she appeared. There were two ships tied up by the island’s docks. One of them was the Ocean’s Blade. The other was a much larger, sailing ship, closer in design to the Sea Dragon but even more rugged looking.
He pointed it out.
“The Kraken’s Reach,” Rhiana said. “His flagship. His pride and joy. If I get the chance I am going to send it to the bottom of the ocean.”
Her head moved from side to side and he realised that she was not studying the palace so much as the surrounding waters. Her strange eyes reflected the smallest fragments of light. Kormak realised that she could see better than he in the darkness.
“The Quan stay clear of the palace for a few hours during the dark of the moon,” she said. “They go somewhere, perhaps to perform their own strange rites.”
“You have been studying this place,” Kormak said.
“Oh yes,” she said. “And tonight I intend to make that study pay off. You’d best strip.”
He did as she said. Soon he was wearing only his loincloth, his amulets and his weapons. Rhiana looked at him and said, “You have the tattoo, just as you are supposed to.”
Kormak strapped the blade back onto his back. One of the sailors handed him a pot of grease. To Kormak’s surprise Jonas took it, sniffed it then passed it on.
“It will keep out the cold,” said Rhiana. “We’re going to be in the water for some time.”
“Just so long as it does not draw sharks,” Kormak said.
“Is that what your friend was checking for?” Rhiana asked.
“Something like that,” Jonas replied.
“There’s so little trust in the world,” said Rhiana. She took off her cloak and jumped into the water. Her fingers splayed and the webs between them and her toes became visible. She disappeared below the waves and did not come up.
Jonas clapped Kormak on the back and said, “Good luck.” He seemed nervous about being left on the ship on his own. He was nervous about everything and yet he kept putting himself in the way of danger.
“And you,” said Kormak. He dived over the side. Cold dark water closed over his head.
It took moments for Kormak’s eyes to adjust. He was a strong swimmer and had been ever since his boyhood amid the lakes of Aquilea but this was nerve-wracking. It was dark and there were monsters in the water. On land, he would not have been troubled. He had spent his life fighting against the Old Ones and their creatures, but he was out of his element, slow, weighed down by his weapons and unable to breathe.
A figure flashed near him and his heart leapt. It was Rhiana, moving through the water with the ease of a fish, her webbed fingers and toes letting her move with a freedom that he would never be able to emulate. She tugged at his arm and pointed. He swam in that direction, wondering how much longer he would be able to hold his breath.
Her hand touched his shoulder, oddly warm in the cold water. She pushed him to one side. He resisted the impulse to struggle and saw where she was guiding him. Ahead a rock wall loomed. In it gaped a darker opening.
Rhiana produced a small pearl from within her tunic. It began to emit a faint greenish glow the colour of seaweed. The light revealed the mouth of a long dark tunnel.
The long slits in Rhiana’s neck pulsed. They were gills that allowed her to breathe under water. She looked at home in a way she had never seemed on land. It was the difference between a bird on a branch and a bird in flight.
She tapped him on the shoulder again and indicated the way they needed to go. Already his lungs hurt. If he did not breathe soon he would die. His heart hammered against his ribs. His chest felt tight. Faint streams of bubbles came from his nostrils.
Sleek as seal, Rhiana entered the tunnel and vanished ahead. He followed her into the murk, wondering what would happen if they encountered one of the Quan in these depths. Rhiana might have nothing to fear in such an encounter but he would be at a definite disadvantage.
The tunnel narrowed and he remembered that the Quan had seemed boneless. Their form was elastic and would have no difficulty compressing
into a narrow space. He did not have that luxury. He forced himself to swim on.
His hands grazed rock as he pulled himself through the water. The tunnel grew narrower.
It went dark. Had something happened to Rhiana? He banged into something and scrabbled against stone. He felt a wall. Was this a dead end? Had Rhiana fallen into a trap?
He could not orientate himself. He did not know which way led back and he could not find his way to the surface in the darkness. Pure stark terror filled his mind.
He was going to drown.
His heart hammered against his ribs. He felt nauseous. Vomiting here would be fatal. Be calm, he told himself. He fought down the urge to perform the breathing exercises his training in the warrior’s court on Mount Aethelas had made almost instinctive.
He tried to make his mind a blank while his fingers sought for a way out. He found another opening. The tunnel had twisted upwards.
His lungs were on fire. Faint silver stars sparkled in his field of vision. Why had Rhiana not warned him of this—did she just not realise that a normal man would struggle in the tunnel. He pushed himself round the bend, scrambling in the dark, ahead now he saw a light again.
He forced himself to go on. His lungs screamed for air. He wanted more than anything just to take a deep breath. One more stroke he told himself. Just one more. He moved his arms. Another stroke. He swam up towards the light.
All thoughts except keeping going vanished from his mind.
One more stroke. Another. Don’t breathe.
His head broke the surface of the water. He took in a long gulp of air and fought off a wave of dizziness.
Rhiana turned back to look at him. Water dripped from her body where she had pulled herself from the water. She studied their surroundings by the light of the gem.
He was going to ask her why she had not waited then he realised that what had seemed like hours to him could not have been more than a minute. If it had been any more he would most likely have been dead.
She reached down and he took her hand. She pulled him out of the water without effort.
They stood in a cave. Water dripped from the ceiling into the pool about ten strides across. A faint luminescent slime clung to the walls. A familiar fishy scent hung in the air. “Quan,” Kormak said.
Rhiana nodded. “This is where he feeds them and comes to sport with them.”
“Let us be about our business,” Kormak said. He wanted to put distance between himself and that dark pool.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DRIPPING WET THEY made their way up a long winding corridor. The slimy walls held the smell of Quan. Manacles hung against the walls and ancient-looking mummies hung from the chains.
They followed a flight of steps leading up and stepped out. Lanterns threw their soft glow along the walkway. From ahead came the sound of men feasting and singing. The noise made it clear there was at least several score of them. Kormak padded away from the sounds of merrymaking and found another flight of stairs going up.
The banisters looked to be of the same sort found running round the decks of a man of war. The wood was antique oak, from ships timbers. He headed up the stairs while Rhiana padded along behind him.
A drunken man, head wrapped in a scarf, staggered down the stairs with a scantily clad woman on each arm.
“Been for a little swim, eh? And going for a little lie down! Got the right idea, matey,” he said with a wink and staggered past Rhiana. She looked up at Kormak and smiled. Kormak took a deep breath and calmed himself. He was just glad the man was too drunk to spot a stranger.
He climbed upstairs, coming out onto a landing. A number of men and women sprawled everywhere, writhing on the floor, humping their way across the balcony while others looked on and cheered.
The stairs continued on past the balcony. He followed them without anyone else noticing. They kept moving upwards until they reached the third floor of the mansion. It was quieter and better furnished. Kormak guessed they were entering the private area of the master of the house. No one else was here and given the number of drunks below that said something. Fear and respect kept them out of this area, the sort that a sorcerer or a cruel ship’s master might inspire.
Rhiana’s fingers touched his shoulder. She said, “We were very lucky down there.”
“Let’s not spit on the Sun’s blessings,” said Kormak.
She pushed on ahead of him down the corridor, listening at doors and then testing them as she went. The first two doors opened easily enough. The last door would not move even when she leaned her full weight against it. Kormak moved closer and his amulets began to warm against his chest. He could see the faint glow.
“Mage-locked,” he said. He pushed the amulet against the wood. Light flared and the stink of ozone filled the air as the spell dissipated.
“Useful,” Rhiana said. “I must get one of those some time.”
“It might interfere with your ability to breath under water,” Kormak said.
“Not a fair trade,” she murmured. She pushed the door open and produced the glowing pearl. Its light revealed a huge chamber dominated by a massive desk. On it lay many charts. They bore a resemblance to the ones Kormak had seen back on the pirate ship in Triturek. A compass, a set of navigational dividers and a measuring line lay near them. Rhiana moved over to the map and studied it.
“It’s a chart of the Quaneth Deep,” she said. Her finger traced a runic mark that looked recently added. “I’ve not seen anything like that before.”
She turned her head and noticed something else. Kormak followed her gaze. On a stand in the corner stood a strange suit of armour. All the pieces, from its bulging shoulder guards to its greaves, had a curved streamlined look. The breastplate, greaves and armlets were made of burnished orichalcum. Intricate runework spoke of powerful magic etched into the chestplate. The helmet looked as if it would cover the whole head. The visor was made from translucent crystal. The part that covered the mouth and jaw was made from metal and connected to the back part of the chestplate by flexible tubes. Rhiana gave a small gasp, and then smiled coldly.
“What is it?” Kormak asked.
“My property. The suit of armour from the Sunken Kingdoms I told you about.” She touched the runes on the chestplate and Kormak felt a brief surge of magic through his amulet. She glanced at Kormak then back at the armour again. “Put it on,” she said. “It works.”
“Why?” he asked.
“It will make getting out of here a lot easier.”
“In what way?”
“Trust me,” she said. “We don’t have time to wait around here discussing things.”
“No,” Kormak said. “My amulets will interfere with any magic in the suit and I am not taking them off. If you’re so keen to get your property out wear it yourself.”
“I don’t need it. You do.”
“Not here. Not now.”
She shrugged, tore down one of the curtains from the wall, tipped the suit from its stand and then wrapped it clinking in the cloth. “You’re not going to make things easy, are you?” she said.
“Not when I don’t understand what is happening.”
“No doubt such caution has kept you alive in the past,” she said, with a note of irony. “You are prepared to break into a fortified mansion to kill a man but you will not risk putting on a suit of armour which will aid you.”
“I do not play with magic unless I am forced to.”
“A wise choice,” said a voice Kormak had heard before. He glanced around. The Kraken stood in the doorway, the alien armour still grafted to his body. The Teardrop of Leviathan glittered on his chest. The ruby on the Kraken’s ring finger reflected its light. In his right hand he held a short metal rod. “I confess I had not expected to see you again, not here anyway. And certainly not so soon.”
“How did you know we were here?” Rhiana asked.
“You disrupted the warding spell on my chamber. I sensed it as I would sense the ending of any spell I had cast.”<
br />
Rhiana glared at him. “This is mine. You stole it from me and my sister.”
“I needed it. She refused to accept a more than fair price. I would not let her stubbornness stand in the way of my destiny. You may have it back now if you wish. It has served its purpose. I have something better.” His long hand, gloved in the same black chitin as his armour, indicated his chest.
There was something in the man’s unblinking stare that told Kormak that he really believed what he said. The Kraken was not sane as other men measured sanity.
“Just like that?” Rhiana said. “We can take the armour and go and you will just let us.”
“I’ll let you go. Why not? I am not your enemy. You had something I once needed. If your sister had been less stubborn she would not have died.”
He turned, looked at Kormak and said, “You, on the other hand, are a problem. I have no wish to fight with the Order of the Dawn but I suspect they won’t give me much choice in the matter. You do represent that rather fearsome bunch of fanatics, don’t you? The sword gives it away.”
Kormak nodded and took a slow step closer. “You have practised dark sorcery. You have consorted with demons.”
“The Quan are not demons.”
“They are as close to it as makes no difference.”
“I would expect someone like you to see things that way.”
Kormak edged closer. “Why did you need her artefact armour? Why did you kill her sister?”
The Kraken’s eyes followed Kormak’s gaze. The corners of his mouth turned up in the faintest hint of a mocking smile. “I needed it to find and make contact with the Quan in the deeps that they haunt. And to find certain objects long lost in the depths of the World Ocean.”
He gestured to the living breastplate enclosing his chest. “I do not need it any more. The Quan have provided me with this. It belonged to Dhagoth himself. It lets me communicate with them more effectively, among other things.”
He glanced towards Rhiana. “You should thank me. I have made that armour functional once more. I have increased its value by a factor of ten.”
His spoke in a reasonable tone, as if they had all met in an office to discuss polite business. The cold, unblinking eyes flickered back towards Kormak as he took another step closer. The predatory smile widened a little. Kormak wondered why the sorcerer had made no attempt to call his guards. Was he really so confident? Kormak could not help but feel he was falling into a trap.
