Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers

by Philip Caveney

  He glanced desperately around for Cal but the warrior seemed to have disappeared. He had left Sebastian to his fate!

  Galt's head began to descend and Sebastian steeled himself for the impact of those terrible teeth . . . but then there was a flash of light, more pure, more intense than Aaron's explosion – and a shaft of sunlight hit Galt in the face. He threw back his head and bellowed as though he had been run through with a sword. Releasing his grip, he lifted his hands to cover his eyes.

  Sebastian stared around in amazement. The light was returning!

  Galt scrambled away and ran screaming for cover. Sebastian sat up. A wash of brilliant sunlight was now moving along the riverbank and the Night Runners were retreating before it, covering their eyes and throwing themselves into the densest vegetation. Smoke was rising from their bare skin, and as he watched, one of them blackened like a tree branch and burst into flames.

  Sebastian risked a quick glimpse up at the sun and saw that the strange black disc was moving on again; sunlight was now streaming like fire from a crescent-shape beside it. Grinning delightedly, he turned to look for Cornelius. His friend was still standing at the foot of the gangplank, sword dripping with green gore. His expression was grim and he was gazing at something further down the riverbank. Sebastian turned his head to look.

  Cal stood near the water's edge, one hand resting against the hull of the ark as if he was too weak to stand. He turned to face Sebastian, who was shocked to see how pale he looked. The warrior motioned to him.

  'Get aboard,' he shouted, and his voice sounded hoarse. 'I'll cut through the supports.'

  'But, Cal, we can still—' Sebastian's words died on his lips as he saw the bite mark on Cal's muscular shoulder; there was a trail of fresh blood. Crimson blood. Sebastian felt as if someone had punched him in the chest. 'No . . . wait,' he gasped. 'Maybe we can—'

  Cal shook his head impatiently. 'Get aboard,' he said again. 'Quickly. I can't stand this light much longer.'

  Sebastian looked helplessly at Cornelius. 'There must be something we can do,' he said.

  'There is,' the little warrior murmured. 'We must do as he says. Come on.' And he turned and walked up the gangplank.

  Sebastian got to his feet. He looked at Cal and searched desperately for the right words. 'I'm so sorry,' he said. It sounded weak and pathetic, but it was all he could think of.

  'Me too,' growled Cal. 'Now I won't have the chance to settle things with you as I promised.' Sebastian could see that Cal's eyes were streaming with tears. It clearly required all his effort to keep them open. 'Now,' he croaked, 'for the last time, get into the ark before it's too late.'

  There was nothing more Sebastian could say. He turned, climbed the gangplank and stepped aboard. He found all the others waiting for him. Keera came forward, a look of concern on her pretty face.

  'What's wrong?' she whispered.

  Sebastian sighed. 'It's Cal,' he said. 'He's been bitten.'

  She stepped up to the rail and stared down at Cal. He gazed back up at her in silence for a moment; tears spilled down his dirty face. The sound of the rippling water seemed loud in the silence that followed. Then Cal turned to look at Sebastian.

  'Look after her!' he said; and he stepped towards the prow, his sword clasped in one huge hand. He studied the haphazard assembly of struts that held the ark in position and looked up, his face contorted in agony.

  'May Okrin go with you!' he cried; and raising the sword, he swung it down hard against the wood, slicing clean through the main support. He stepped back quickly. The struts fell away and went rolling down the bank towards the river. For a long time nothing happened.

  'So much for that idea,' said Max bleakly.

  Everyone looked at each other. Then something occurred to Sebastian: they were all still grouped together in the stern.

  'Move to the prow!' he shouted, and everyone ran to obey him – everyone except Max. Sebastian glanced back at him. 'Come on!' he yelled. 'We need you!'

  'Oh, it's nice to be wanted for a change,' said Max haughtily. 'Let's face it, this is another thinly veiled comment about my weight, isn't it?'

  Cornelius glared at him. 'Just move, you great bag of wind!' he bellowed.

  'Charming.' Max took a step forward. Then another. The ark began to creak alarmingly.

  'Keep going,' said Sebastian. 'I think . . . I think it's working!'

  Max snorted, but kept on going until he reached the prow. He stood there, looking around. 'Any more bright ideas?' he asked.

  And suddenly there was a grinding sound and the prow dropped towards the riverbank. The ark thudded down with a force that threatened to smash it in two. For a moment it just sat there, prow pointing hopelessly towards the water, seemingly stuck fast . . . but then it began to slide – slowly at first but with increasing speed – towards the river. The bows ploughed into the water, throwing up a great wave, and Sebastian gripped the rail, fearing that it would just keep going down into the lair of the water dragons . . . But no, thankfully the prow rose and levelled out. The ark slid silently across the surface of the water, heading for midstream.

  A great cheer went up from the children and arms were raised defiantly in the air.

  'Yes!' gasped Cornelius. 'Aaron, you were a ruddy genius!' He hurried back towards the wheelhouse, beckoning to the children to follow him.

  Sebastian went back to the stern and saw the riverbank slipping quickly past. Cal stood staring hopelessly after them. As Sebastian watched, he lifted one hand to wave. Then he started wading into the shallows.

  Sebastian gasped. The water dragons! He was about to shout a warning but then he realized that Cal knew exactly what he was doing. He did not want to face an eternity of roaming the streets of that awful city. He wanted the water dragons to take him. Sebastian turned away, unable to look; when he finally glanced back, there was no sign of Cal. Sebastian shook his head, trying to dispel the horror of what had just happened.

  He turned to see Keera coming back to stand beside him. She looked enquiringly at their launching place.

  'What happened to Cal?' she asked him.

  Sebastian could not look at her. 'He went back into the jungle,' he told her.

  She nodded. 'Perhaps he'll be all right,' she reasoned. 'Perhaps the bite wasn't too serious. Most likely he'll make his way back to the village and Danthus will be able to take care of him.'

  'Most likely,' he said; but he knew that she didn't believe what she was saying any more than he did. It was just something to make her feel better and he wasn't going to deny her that comfort.

  They didn't say anything for quite some time after that. The ark was now heading downstream and began to pick up speed as the current took it.

  Cornelius and Max came back to join them.

  'Phelan's taken over at the wheel,' said Cornelius. 'And we're staying afloat. That's as much as we can hope for at this point.'

  'Frankly, I'm amazed,' said Max. 'I thought this thing would go down like a barrel of stones.'

  Cornelius smiled. 'Perhaps Aaron was not such a fool after all,' he said.

  Max gave him a withering look. 'We've still got a good distance to go to Veltan,' he reminded them. 'Don't be jinxing us by saying rash things.'

  'We'll just have to stay optimistic,' Sebastian said; but he was thinking of Aaron – the man who had spent much of his life devising this escape plan but had not lived to see the moment when his great project finally came to fruition.

  Sebastian hoped that wherever he was now he knew that all his work had finally paid off.

  CHAPTER 28

  THE VOYAGE

  Darkness fell around them and still the ark drifted on, its prow pointing stubbornly down river. The younger children got themselves settled on the animal skins and woven blankets that had been placed in the wheelhouse.

  Cornelius fetched his backpack and carefully took out the Lantern of Krelt.

  'Thank goodness it wasn't damaged,' he said.

  All eyes turned towards it,
and suddenly, magically, it lit up, flooding the wheelhouse with a clear bright light.

  'Amazing,' whispered Sebastian.

  'Incredible,' added Cornelius.

  'What's the big deal?' asked Max. 'It's only an old lamp.'

  Sebastian glared at him. 'A lamp that never needs refuelling,' he said. 'A lamp that has burned every night for thousands of years.'

  'All right, keep your hair on! I just think you humans are easily impressed, that's all. A magical barrel of pommers that keeps replenishing itself – now that would be something worth having.'

  'It's funny how your idea of something wonderful always involves food,' observed Sebastian.

  He felt a tug at his sleeve and, looking down, saw the little blonde girl he had carried to safety. She was gazing up at him, her face serious.

  'Hello, Chosen One,' she said. 'I'm Ellan.'

  'Hello, Ellan,' he said. 'You can call me Sebastian if you like.'

  She nodded. 'Thank you for saving my life,' she said.

  Sebastian's heart seemed to melt within him. He crouched down to the same level as her. 'You are more than welcome,' he told her. She put her arms around him and gave him a fierce hug, then went off to find herself a place to sleep. Sebastian stood up again. 'Isn't that cute?' he said.

  Max was unimpressed. 'I carried two of them and neither have been round to thank me,' he muttered.

  'I'm sure they're both very grateful,' said Cornelius. 'I'd better take the lantern and have a look in the hold – make sure we aren't springing any leaks.'

  'Isn't there a hurricane lamp down there?' asked Sebastian.

  'There is, but I'm nervous crawling around in the hold with something that could start a fire at any moment.' 'Good point,' said Sebastian. 'Be careful with the Lantern of Krelt, though. Whatever you do, don't drop it. It's probably the only one like it in the known world.'

  Cornelius went down the steps, taking the light with him.

  'Don't worry about us!' Max called after him. 'We're quite happy to stand around in the dark.'

  Cornelius's voice drifted up from below. 'Well, I could skip this inspection,' he said. 'But if we sink in the middle of the night, don't blame me.'

  'No, you carry on,' said Max hastily. 'Have a really good look.'

  Sebastian felt another tug at his sleeve and turned, thinking that the little girl had come back. But it was Keera; her face was very grave.

  'Can we talk?' she asked him. She nodded towards the doorway. 'Outside,' she added.

  'Of course.' Puzzled, he followed her back to the stern. It was a calm, still evening and exotic jungle fragrances drifted on the air. A full moon rode serenely in the sky, reflected in the gently rippling water. Sebastian looked at Keera and was alarmed to see that her eyes were wet with tears. 'What's the matter?' he asked her.

  'It's Cal,' she said. 'I can't stop thinking about him.'

  He nodded. 'It was awful, what happened,' he admitted. 'But there was nothing else we could have done. We couldn't bring him with us. The bite, he—'

  'I know that,' she said. 'But I feel guilty. He cared so much for me, Sebastian. He wouldn't have been bitten at all if he hadn't got in the way of the creature that was attacking me. And yet I treated him horribly because I was blinded by my feelings for you.'

  Sebastian frowned. He realized that this was all true enough, but he just said, 'People can't help the way they feel.'

  She nodded. 'I've been thinking about this very carefully,' she told him. 'And . . . well, I'm sorry to tell you that I cannot be your mate any more.'

  He stared at her and then realized that she was using the word in the Jilith sense. For a moment he nearly punched the air in relief, but stopped himself just in time. 'Umm . . . oh,' he said. 'I see. Why . . .?'

  'Because I cannot betray Cal's memory,' she told him. 'He gave his life for me. He made the ultimate sacrifice. Now he rests in the arms of Okrin and I must honour him as a true warrior.' She gazed up at Sebastian; her face was enchanting in the moonlight. 'I understand how disappointed you must be . . .'

  'Oh yes, I should say so! But, I'll . . . I'll try and live with it, obviously.'

  'If you want me to go away, I will jump off this boat right now,' Keera offered. 'I will swim to shore and make my way back to my village . . .' She made for the rail but Sebastian grabbed her arm.

  'NO!' he said. 'Er . . . no, I don't want that. This thing about mates . . .well . . . where I come from, it has a different meaning.'

  'It does?' She turned back to look at him.

  'Yes. In my world a mate is somebody you just like. You know – you talk with them, hang around with them, maybe eat or drink together. You . . . you tell each other jokes. Maybe . . . maybe we could have that kind of friendship?'

  She considered for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. 'This would be enough for you?' she asked.

  'Oh, yes, I think so. And I'm sure it would be more agreeable to Jenna.'

  'Ah, the captain woman! Your wife.'

  'She's not my wife,' said Sebastian hastily. 'But we're . . .

  close.'

  Keera smiled sadly. 'So now I won't have to fight her for you?'

  'No,' said Sebastian. 'I think it's all for the best.'

  She nodded. 'I'm glad we settled this,' she said. 'And I think Cal will rest happier too.' She reached up and gave Sebastian a kiss on the cheek. 'This is permitted between your kind of mates?' she asked him.

  'Oh yes,' he said, smiling. 'That's no problem.'

  The wheelhouse suddenly filled with light and the lamp came bobbing out of the doorway. Cornelius made his way towards them, his face unusually anxious.

  'Everything all right?' Sebastian asked him.

  'Not exactly,' said Cornelius. 'I've just finished inspecting the hold. I'm afraid we're taking on water.'

  CHAPTER 29

  THE PORT OF VELTAN

  Four days later, the ark, listing dramatically to starboard but still just about staying afloat, rounded the final bend in the river. Sebastian, standing in the prow, was delighted and relieved to see the bustling port of Veltan waiting up ahead of them. Beyond it, the river mouth opened out into the vastness of the open sea.

  'Cornelius!' he yelled, and the little warrior came scrambling out of the wheelhouse to join him, followed by a small crowd of cheering children. Everybody started to hug each other in delight.

  'Now there's a sight for sore eyes,' cried Cornelius. 'I was beginning to think we might not make it.'

  It had been a nightmarish four days and three nights, during which everyone had had to work in shifts, baling out with whatever came to hand – buckets, goblets, ladles, all had been put to use and everybody pushed to the very edge of exhaustion. But now it looked as though their worries were finally over and they could celebrate their amazing escape from the city of Chagwalla.

  Ships of various sizes rode at anchor alongside a huge wooden jetty. They ranged from humble fishing boats to great three-masted schooners, their mighty sails furled. On and around them, legions of men and women moved to and fro, packing or unpacking their cargoes. As the ark drew nearer, Sebastian saw that many small dwellings were clustered along the harbour front. Beyond them, a mighty city rose up on a steep hillside – scores of whitewashed buildings, huddled together as if for safety. Here and there were more opulent palaces with great golden domes, marble spires and turquoise minarets. There was clearly much wealth in Veltan and, Sebastian mused, there would be a good deal more once the contents of the ark's hold was unloaded.