‘I’ll warn Maud and Wargall,’ Jurgis said.
Within ten minutes, the four of them were ready to board the little ship’s boat alongside.
‘We’ll row it ourselves,’ Jurgis said. ‘Let’s use those hours you had us circling the Magonaut, o cruel Captain.’
‘Those few hours won’t make you oarsmen. Still, it’s less ’n a mile, so I suppose you’ll manage.’ Yarwan looked at the deep blue sky. ‘Don’t stay away too long. I’m not sure about the weather; it could chance.’
‘Storm, you mean?’ Maud frowned. ‘How much time do we have?’
‘To be honest, I’m not sure what it is,’ Yarwan said. ‘I’ve never been this far from my home stretch. Make it three hours, just to be safe.’
The sea was calm and the jolly boat flew over the waters. The mouth of the cave was like a large sea creature, about to swallow them up.
Don’t be silly, Jurgis thought. It’s just a cave. Yet he had goosebumps on his arms as they rowed inside. The air was dank and smelled of rotting seaweed. Every stroke brought them deeper into the darkness. Basil muttered something, and a tiny light emerged from the dragon on his staff. It showed they were in a high, narrow tunnel, dripping water on all sides. He shivered.
Beside him, Wargall gasped. ‘Those walls! Are they bleeding?’
‘They’re not,’ Basil said. ‘There’s iron in the rock; all that red is rust.’
The tunnel narrowed, until it was barely wide enough for their little boat to pass. A bump shocked them all, and they came to a stop close to a small, sandy beach.
Jurgis stared at the scene. ‘The magic is getting stronger now.’
He slipped overboard. The water came halfway up his shins as he waded to the beach.
‘There’s a chest here,’ he said for the benefit of the others. ‘A brass chest, wedged into a cavity in the rock.’ He pulled at the handle, but nothing moved. ‘Won’t go anywhere. It’s unlocked; someone has forced the lock open with a crowbar. A pity; it was a beautiful mechanism; self-locking. Let’s see what’s inside.’ He lifted the lid, and yelled. ‘Shi-it! Sorry; there’s a dead body inside.’
‘A dead body?’ Maud sounded worried. ‘Recently dead?’
‘Ah, no. I should’ve said skeleton instead of body. It is dead, though. And the chest’s filled to the brim with water.’
‘You need help?’
Jurgis snorted. ‘No, there isn’t enough room here. I’m all right.’ With his long knife, he pushed the bones away. ‘Looks like a mage or some such,’ he said aloud. ‘He’s dressed in a rotting blue robe. I hear the signal loud and clear now.’
He stared at the water, made transparent by Basil’s light. ‘There! An amulet among the bones. I hope I can reach it.’ Steeling himself, he ducked his head under water and reached out till he could just grab the chain. A hard object touched his arm, but it bobbed away from his grasp. He lifted his head and took a deep breath. ‘Got it! There’s something else; a green bottle.’
After a few tries, using the chain to move the drifting bottle his way, he had it. ‘A wine bottle,’ he said. ‘Looks old.’ He closed the chest again. Then he waded back to the boat and threw the bottle onto Basil’s lap. ‘Keep it; a memento.’ He put his hands on the gunwale and heaved himself up. He swung a leg inside. ‘That’s it, I ...’
He broke off as a mighty clap came from the tunnel entrance. The water rose with great speed, pushing the boat up. Jurgis clung to the mount of the boat’s mast, while the waves pulled at his left leg, still dangling overboard. He cried out, and then felt Maud’s strong hands grabbing his arms. She dragged him into the rocking jolly boat a heartbeat before masses of cold, dark water slammed them against the side of the cave. Just as Jurgis thought they’d all be crushed, the water pushed the jolly upward along the rocks and stuffed it into a too narrow corridor leading deeper into the mountain.
Above him, Maud spat water. ‘Gods! Are we still here?’
Three voices answered, and she sighed in audible relief. ‘Blessings for that, at least.’
‘We’re in a tunnel, I think.’ Basil’s voice sounded muffled. ‘There is some crawling space between the boat’s gunwale and the roof. Let’s try it.’
Jurgis heard him wriggle and curse, and then grunt in satisfaction. ‘I’m standing in the tunnel. The floor is wet, and ...’ Basil’s voice broke off as another giant wave slammed into the jolly boat. Jurgis crouched, clinging to the thwarts, while an avalanche of water roared over him. As the wave pulled back, the whole wooden frame of the boat cracked wide open, and he fell, with Wargall on top of him. The Kell boy yelled as the receding water carried him with it. In desperation, Jurgis clasped one arm around the solidly wedged prow of the jolly and with his other he dragged Wargall to him, away from the edge and the raging sea below. Maud, caught behind the boat’s remains, was screaming curses, unable to come to their aid.
With the wave gone, Jurgis dared to use both arms and pulled Wargall close. With his hands on the prow, the Kell boy came to his feet. His face was exulted.
‘Woohee!’ he shouted. ‘I’m free!’
‘Later, idiot!’ Jurgis yelled in his face. ‘Go to Maud.’
Wargall obeyed, and Jurgis scrambled after him over the wreckage.
‘Away from here!’ With one arm around Jurgis and the other on Wargall’s shoulder, Maud raced them further up the tunnel, toward the light.
‘Basil!’ Jurgis called. ‘You there?’
‘Yes. Battered, but I’m here.’ The Spellwarden’s shadow rose up from the floor. His voice sounded slurred.
When they joined him, Jurgis saw the big purple bruise on the side of his twin’s mouth. ‘Did you hit something?’
Basil cursed. ‘Something hit me.’ He shook his staff with the prancing dragon on top, and sounded aggrieved. ‘I fell, and that damned dragon slapped me right in the face.’
‘Be sorry for yourself later,’ Maud snapped. ‘We must get out of reach of those waves first.’
The sound of rushing water underscored her words. Wargall turned and spread his arms to the rollers coming at him.
‘Woohee!’ he cried again. ‘You won’t catch me, waves.’
‘Come on, idiot.’ Jurgis grabbed the boy’s upper arm and dragged him along.
Wargall gave him an ecstatic grin. ‘I’m free! Don’t you see? I’m not scared anymore.’
‘No? Well, I am,’ Jurgis said. ‘Run!’
‘You can be scared; you’re not a Kell. I am M’Arrangh, and I’m free of fear!’
‘You can tell me later,’ Jurgis growled. ‘Now move!’
They hurried on. The tunnel curved and led them to a second cave mouth, opening onto a vista of raging clouds in an angry sky. Some two manlengths before the end, Maud halted. It was cold here and even where he stood, Jurgis could feel the wind tugging at him, wanting to sweep him away as much as the water had.
‘That’s Yarwan’s storm. We haven’t been away three hours, have we?’
‘No. It must’ve come much faster,’ Basil said, fingering the bruise on his cheek. ‘I’ll go and have a look.’
‘Don’t! That’s a gale outside,’ Maud said. ‘You’ll be blown away.’
‘Not I,’ Basil said with confidence. ‘My shield will hold the wind at bay.’ He waved a hand and a vague shimmer covered his whole body. Then he limped out into the storm.
Basil stood on a narrow ledge, no more than a manlength deep. Outside his protective spell, the storm raged. Below him was the sea cave through which they’d come in, now buried under a mass of churning water. Beyond that, the ocean. Row upon enormous row of angry waves, frothing in their madness as they moved. There was no sign of the Magonaut.
Nor could he see any hope of escape. ‘Gods,’ he muttered as he stared at the raging sea that within hours would receive him and his three friends. For a few heartbeats he fought with the urge to get it over with now. Jump and let the waves have you. He shivered and turned his back to the ocean. His eyes scanned the mountainside, inacces
sible for all life but some spriggy bushes clinging to the back of the ledge. Then he limped back inside and unspoke his protective spell.
‘Trouble?’ Jurgis asked, staring up at him.
Basil brought his mind back and looked at his brother.
‘No ship,’ he said. ‘We’re stuck here. For a while. The tide’s rising.’ His mouth worked. ‘The entrance below is already submerged.’ He looked at the others.
Maud’s face betrayed no surprise. She would’ve seen the stains of dead algae and salt on walls and floor and knew what was going to happen. ‘We’ll be washed away.’
‘Yes.’
‘Could the tide get this far?’ Jurgis said.
Basil nodded grimly. ‘It will. At high water, the storm will push the sea all the way into the lower cave. The water will follow the same way as we did, and the cave will spit us out like bits of spoiled food. We’ll either drown, or crack open on the rocks and that will be it.’
‘That protective spell of yours? Wouldn’t that work?’
‘For a little while, twin. But never long enough. With four of us, we’ll run out of air fast.’
‘No more adventures, then.’ Wargall’s dark face was expressionless. ‘At least I shall die a Kell warrior.’ The boy balled his fists and stared outside, at the storm.
‘A broom,’ Jurgis muttered, and Basil turned to look at him.
‘Would be handy. What are you staring at?’
Jurgis cocked his head. ‘Why does your flying broom spell work with a broom and not, say, with a chair?’
‘Because a chair isn’t a stick, brother.’
Jurgis’ eyes lighted up. ‘But your staff is.’
Basil opened his mouth, but closed it again. ‘Yes.’ He lifted his staff. Would it work? The staff has no twigs. Damn, was there anything about twigs in the spell description? He spoke the words, and waited with bated breath.
Nothing happened.
Basil let out a disheartened sigh. ‘It’s not a broom, so the spell won’t work.’
‘A lousy bit of twigs makes the difference?’ Jurgis face fell. ‘You can’t conjure up some bush or anything?’
‘Never did much conjuring.’ I should have, Basil thought. If only it weren’t so dull. Then he stiffened. ‘A bush!’ Without a word, he donned his protective spell and hurried outside. He tore the bushes he’d seen earlier from the rock and ran back.
‘I just remembered,’ he said, panting. ‘The whole mountain is dotted with them, but these two were the only ones within reach. Would anyone have a rope?’
‘A spare bootlace.’ Maud opened her backpack. ‘Here y’are.’
Basil inspected his staff. There were two silver bands about a foot from the bottom, perfect for holding the twigs in place. He forced his hands to stop shaking, and tied the bushes to the staff. Gods, let it work! he prayed, and repeated the spell, pronouncing every word with care. The polished wood shuddered in his hands, and purred. Basil felt sweat breaking out as he stood holding the staff between his legs. It felt as it ought, and he took a deep breath. ‘Slow up.’ Obediently, the staff lifted him off the ground. ‘Yes!’ he shouted. ‘It bloody well works!’
Jurgis slapped his brother’s shoulder. ‘I knew you’d find a way, twin.’
‘Out of this cave and over the mountains,’ Basil said, and all at once he felt tired.
‘Over the mountains?’ Maud frowned. ‘What about the ship?’
For a moment, Basil’s face changed into a mask of despair. ‘She’s not there. The sea was empty, and so wild. Those waves so scarily high ...’ With an effort, he pulled himself together. ‘Even had the ship been within reach, she’d be popping all over the place. I doubt I would get you down. I will fly you out one by one, over the mountains inland. We’ll have to try and find the Magonaut later on.’ It felt like betrayal and his stomach lurched. Yarwan! I must go inland, love. The others count on me. ‘Jurgis first, he’s the lightest weight. Then Wargall and Maud last.’
The lioness gave him a quizzical look. ‘Why not first? I can better defend myself, should there be any danger.’
‘Because you’re the heaviest, m’dear. The carrying capacity of this spell isn’t infinite. In fact, I’d like you to give your sword and backpack to my featherboned brother, to lighten your load.’
Maud smiled. ‘I know what you’re not saying. Should your spell fail too soon, at least you three are safe. That’s sound Kell reasoning.’
‘Never!’ Basil wrestled with his composure. ‘If it comes to that, I will lift the two of us to a small crack above this cave and we’ll wait there while the spell recharges. No, I was thinking of speed, m’dear. Lighter loads should fly faster. We need to get away before the flood has filled both caves.’
‘Dammit, you’re right,’ Maud said and there was a small tremor in her voice. She hung her sword over Jurgis’ shoulder. ‘Don’t trip over it, love. It’s, ah, slightly taller ’n you.’
‘Yeah,’ Jurgis said with a half-smile. ‘I told the queen you girls are too large. Now hand me that backpack, and let’s go.’
‘You’ll sit before me.’ Basil patted his staff. ‘Nice and cuddly in my arms, dear. Ready?’ He cast his shield around the two of them and steered into the storm.
Basil felt his brother tremble as they dove over the edge toward the hungry ocean. ‘It works!’ he yelled in his ear and Jurgis, clasping Maud’s pack, nodded, unable to speak.
They sped on along the side of the mountains. Basil remembered having seen a gap between two peaks, and that’s what he steered for. Around them, the storm howled, but the protective spell was strong enough and the wind couldn’t touch them.
There! The gap was closer than I thought. He ordered the staff into the gorge, and at a frightening speed, they zigzagged past several looming mountainsides. In the last valley, a waterfall came down into a small lake. From it, a young river rushed down and Basil followed its course as it ran away from the mountains. All at once, they flew over a storm-swept shadowland of drenched thickets and bushes. Here in the open, the wind pushed and pummeled their protective barrier, but the spell took all in its stride.
Basil peered around, looking for a spot he’d be able to find back to again.
A dark mass on the left bank caught his eye. Another warlock tower? How fitting. ‘Slow forward,’ he whispered, and then, hopping over the tall bushes surrounding it, they were at the foot of the broken tower, with some roofless, vine-covered outhouses. ‘Welcome home, brother.’
Jurgis heaved a shuddering sigh and wiped his face with a wet sleeve. ‘Gods, what a scary ride.’ He embraced Basil. ‘Thanks! You’re the greatest, brother. Home! I never thought I’d ever see Vanhaar.’
His twin patted his back. ‘And now you’re here. You’ll be all right? It’s a bit lonesome on the ground.’
‘Am I a coward?’ Jurgis said. ‘I’m not; I’m just scared to death. Don’t worry, I’ll manage.’ He patted Basil’s arm. ‘Hurry back and get Wargall. The kid wouldn’t miss a second of this adventure.’
‘Nor you him,’ Basil said with a cackle, and he shot away in the dark. Back to the cave, he thought on impulse, and the staff turned its nose. It cut corners narrower than Basil had done, but faster, and soon Basil was back on the ledge. The first thing he heard was the water breaking against the bend in the tunnel. It was rising faster than he’d thought.
‘All went well?’ Maud said, unperturbed.
‘Perfectly well. I left him in a clearing with a ruin near a river. Wargall, ready?’
‘Yes!’ Grinning irrepressibly, the boy sat down on the staff.
‘I have the backseat,’ Basil said. ‘I’m flying that thing.’
‘I can do it,’ the boy said.
‘We’re in a hurry. Move over.’
They exchanged places, and off they went.
‘Woohee!’ Wargall cried as they went down. He bumped up and down and the staff pitched.
‘Sit still, idiot!’ Basil shouted. ‘Or else I’ll freeze you!’
&
nbsp; The boy stiffened and stayed rigid till they were at the ruin.
Jurgis was nowhere to be seen, but at Wargall’s call he came out of the tower. ‘There you are!’ The relief was clear in his whisper.
‘Reinforcements, as requested.’ With a hurried wave, Basil went off again.
As he returned to the cave the second time, he saw Maud standing with her back pressed hard against the mountainside, her arms folded and her face unreadable in the dark. The tide was nearly full and with the weight of the storm behind it, the water already boiled past her knees to fall in a wide arch back to the sea.
‘Your transport, ma’am,’ he called, as he hovered above the water. ‘Sit before me. Don’t lean too far back, please; I need some breath to steer this thing.’
The lioness gave a tight smile and sat down. Her weight pressed the staff to their midriff into the water and Basil felt its pull trying to drag them away. The twigs! he thought with a shock and hurriedly cast his shield around them.
‘Hold tight!’ he shouted as the staff freed itself from the flow, and for the third time, went down into the abyss. Maud sat relaxed in Basil’s arms, her breathing easy.
The clouds overhead shifted, and for a moment, a slice of the moon lighted up the world below. The waves looked like curved teeth now and Basil shivered. Then rocks and crevasses passed underneath as they entered the gorge. To the left, the rain whipped the small stream that would become the river further on, and then they flew past a wood of bearded larches. The spell kept them at a manlength or two above the ground. That was low enough to land in case of emergency, and yet so high they wouldn’t bump into animals like that bear Basil saw fishing in the river. The beast didn’t even look up as they passed overhead. For a second, the staff stalled, and Basil’s heart missed a beat. Not now! he prayed. Not yet! But they flew on, and soon they left the wood behind. Below them was the rocky land with its trees and tall, thorny shrubs. A herd of deer bolted as they passed overhead. Again, the staff hiccupped.
‘On, boy!’ Basil cried. ‘Only a few more miles.’
But the staff was spent and dropped its dragon-tipped nose toward the ground. ‘We’re going down!’ In his arms, Maud nodded, and he felt her muscles tense. Without a sound, the broom spell dissolved, and they tumbled the last six, seven feet to the ground. The protective shield broke their fall, but not by much. Basil groaned as a large stone bruised his hip.
Lioness of Kell Page 27
