Ebba-Viva Fairisles: Stolen Princess (Pirates of Felicity Book 2)

by Kelly St Clare

  “What be happenin’?” Peg-leg called from the back.

  “The outer half of the stairs are gone here,” Stubby said, clutching his chest. “I near fell off the bloody edge.”

  Nikora squeezed past Locks and hauled her up, leaving Stubby. Afterward, he grabbed the torch and coaxed it back to full strength, surveying the area. “The ground is level ahead, but there’s only a small ledge jutting out from the wall. We will have to edge along.” He gestured to the cavern wall, where a flat shelf extended about two hand spans out.

  Ebba squinted into the dark and, picking up a rock, tossed it off to the left. It didn’t connect with a wall. After ten seconds, they heard a clatter of the rock below.

  “I don’t think we should fall,” Grubby said shrewdly.

  Plank snorted. “Nay.” He glanced at Peg-leg’s leg, and the cook scowled back at him.

  “Don’t ye be fussin’ about me, matey.” Peg-leg looked down at his stomach. “If anythin’, ye should worry that my gut hangs farther over the edge than the rest of my body will be standin’ on it. It’ll be unbalancin’ me something fierce.”

  Ebba forgot herself and laughed. The three warriors exchanged curious glances.

  “At least I’ll be leadin’ with my good eye,” Locks said as Stubby moved to take first spot. He added, “Also my only eye.”

  Conversation dwindled as they began shuffling across the small ledge, inching with their backs pressed firmly against the wall. Before long, the last of the glowworms disappeared, and instead of the small echo within the tight confines of the walls, the sounds of their breathing stretched far in front, signifying they’d entered a larger space. How big, she couldn’t tell.

  The three warriors spoke in hushed voices, as though afraid of stirring monsters in the dark.

  “The shelf is widenin’ up here,” Stubby whispered up ahead. “Looks like the ground there be slopin’ down again. We’re back to stairs like afore.”

  She wasn’t sure why he whispered or why the warriors hushed, but she felt the same urge to do so, as though something might leap out at them at any second, or the slimy tentacles of a cave monster might wrap around her ankles and yank her into the abyss. By now, she’d learned not to discount the possibility of magic, especially after seeing a certain eerily accurate painting of herself on a wall.

  Stubby was right; the stairs, once they safely made it off the narrow shelf, continued the sharp descent as before.

  “What’s that sound, m’hearties?” Grubby asked. “Makes me want to pee.”

  Ebba grinned in the dark.

  “Running water,” Nikora stated.

  “Explains it.” Grubby nodded, rearranging his belt.

  The trickling sound grew louder as the stairs flattened, and they walked across a large slab of dark rock to the edge of a black pool of water. She couldn’t see the other side, but two Felicitys could fit bow to stern across the pool’s edge where they stood.

  “There be a lake here,” she called.

  “Not a lake. Our river runs through the cave, most of it much deeper than this cavern, but the water must rise up in this spot,” Nikora said. The light was just bright enough to show his deep frown.

  Stubby held the torch high. “Can’t see the other side.”

  Ebba took the torch from him and walked the length of the slab, holding the firelight high and scanning the sheer walls bordering them to the left and right. “I can’t be seein’ any way to get across. The rocks be sheer and slippery-like.”

  “We swim, then?” Plank said. “That seem trap-ish to the rest o’ ye?”

  A chorus of ‘Aye’s’ rang out in answer.

  “Chuck one of the tribe boys in,” Peg-leg said, jerking his head. Nikora and the two others, who appeared to be a couple of years younger than him, raised their spears.

  Ebba snorted and knocked Nikora’s spear aside. “He’s just tearin’ yer sails.” Picking up a rock, Ebba skimmed it across the water. The stone didn’t hit anything on the way over, not even the other side.

  Locks studied the black water. “Peg-leg?”

  The cook grumbled but limped over to the water. “I don’t see why ye always stab at me dignity like this.” Bending his good knee, Peg-leg dipped his peg in the water.

  Ripples disturbed the surface, and, in a dripping roar, water poured off a shadowed mass rising from the depths. A hissing filled the cavern, bouncing off the sheer rock.

  The three warriors let out startled yells and spread out along the water’s edge.

  “Why do the bad magic creatures always hiss, do ye think?” Ebba asked Plank, who shrugged.

  The water overflowed, pushed toward them by whatever moved closer. They were forced back as it spilled up onto the rock slab.

  Ebba swallowed as they saw just what was in the water. Though she had no name for such a monster.

  “Taniwha,” Nikora gasped.

  Tunny-far didn’t seem an apt description for the red serpent unfurling high above them. Head of a lizard, body of an eel, its tail lashed behind it, and its fiery eyes lit the cavern in a way their measly torch hadn’t. The monster carvings above the tribespeople’s doorways didn’t do justice to such a creature. The serpent was huge and rose far overhead, appearing to fill the cavern.

  Despite all of its terrible features, the creature’s expression was quite mild.

  “Welcome, mortals,” it said. The burning slits it had as eyes shifted, scanning their party with interest. “It has been centuries since someone has disturbed my pool.”

  “Don’t talk to it,” Nikora said frantically, clutching at his spear.

  The taniwha grinned, showing two rows of yellowed razor-sharp teeth. “But how else will you cross to the other side?”

  “Kill ye,” Grubby offered. The taniwha lowered his head in front of Grubby and widened its eyes.

  Grubby probably didn’t need to pee anymore. They all held their breath, but the monster rose again without striking, its message clear.

  Ebba studied the creature. The taniwha could clearly move about, and it was easily fifteen times longer than any one of them. Shooting it would be about as successful as shooting a fish. She wouldn’t be surprised if their bullets embedded in the flesh and the serpent didn’t notice them at all. That left the cutlass, and with twenty or so hacks, she might be able to cut off the monster’s head. But the taniwha was in its element, and while Ebba could swim, she didn’t hope to compete against it off land.

  She shifted her eyes to Grubby, along with the rest of her fathers. He had the best chance of any of them. He blinked back at them, smiling uncertainly.

  The taniwha’s eyes snapped to Ebba and lingered. “I will allow you to pass, but I would take the trinket you carry as payment.”

  “My belt?” She played dumb.

  “I believe he’s referrin’ to the dynami,” Barrels answered.

  Of course he was referring to the bloody dynami. “Ah,” she said, eyes narrowing. “No can do. Grubby’s meant to guard it, and he feels right strong about it all.” The taniwha ripped his gaze from Ebba, but it was kind of like how Jagger had avoided looking at Cosmo a while back. Like the taniwha really wanted to look at the dynami, but didn’t want them to know how much he wanted to look. Ebba highly doubted the serpent’s desire for an object that gave the bearer remarkable power was innocent. That the creature recognized the magical cylinder was enough warning for her.

  “We be in a hurry,” she said, stomach clenching at the thought of Cosmo. “Kindly state yer terms.”

  The taniwha laughed and Ebba thought that if Grubby hadn’t lost his bladder from the water or the staring contest, he might at that malicious sound.

  “I offer you knowledge, young mortal.” The taniwha blew in her face. She wondered if her breath had been that bad the day she ate fish and garlic.

  “Don’t take it,” one of the warriors cried. “Words from a taniwha’s mouth are always curse and never gift.”

  The monster looked bored by the warrior’s exclamat
ion. He paid no attention to their spears at all. “I take many forms, son of my tribe, as you know. I am a guardian, a prisoner, and a tyrant. Hear my knowledge, mortals.”

  “Oh, go on then,” Stubby said with a huff.

  “No,” Nikora cried, but the taniwha writhed grotesquely in the water, rising before the pirates.

  “As we speak, a force of one hundred villains who mean my tribe harm crawl up the waterfalls around the northern river bend.”

  The three warriors gasped and the taniwha’s eyes blazed red.

  They already knew that . . . didn’t they?

  “Your chief does not expect them from this direction. He has positioned his warriors to the forests. He will not see the attack. Soon, the villains will reach the top. The women will die; the children will be taken into slavery and pass into a darkness worse than the hottest pits of hell. They will reach the tribe in one hour.”

  Shite. That changed things. “How do we know ye’re tellin’ the truth?” Ebba said.

  The monster brought its tail down on the surface, sending another wave up onto the rock slab.

  “All right, all right,” she said with a frown. “No need to get pissy.”

  Barrels wrapped a hand over her mouth.

  “There is a waterfall,” one of the warriors said, talking fast. That, apparently, was enough to make the warriors believe the taniwha’s words, after their prior urgent warnings not to heed a word the creature said.

  Peg-leg tilted his head to the warriors without taking his eyes off the serpent. “We need to be warnin’ the tribe. The chief expects them to attack when the cylinder ain’t delivered, but he won’t be expectin’ them from the opposite direction. Can ye lads get back to the top in time? The serpent said ye have one hour until Malice reaches the tribe. It took less than that to get down here.”

  Nikora stared at her father. “Our duty is to protect the princess.”

  “Yer duty be to yer family,” the pirate countered.

  Stubby made a grunt of agreement. “One of ye needs to run back and tell them, or it won’t be matterin’ if we get the purgium.”

  “It takes three to get the door open,” Barrels interrupted. “All three need to go.”

  The taniwha had been following their interactions with interest, but at these words, he showed all of his teeth once more. “Here is the rest of my gift to you. To succeed in obtaining the purgium, you need eight. I have seen it.”

  Ebba counted their party, shook her head, and began to count again before giving up. “How many of us are there, Barrels?”

  “Ten,” he said in a grim voice. “If three go to open the door, then we’ll only have seven. One short.”

  Nikora stared at the ground before lifting his head. “I’ll go and come back.”

  “Ah, son of my tribe, but how will you cross the water once you return? There is not enough time for the rest to wait for you.” The taniwha laughed, sliding through the water alongside the slab of rock.

  Her fathers shared a glance before Plank sighed. “Ye three need to be off. Don’t return. Ye need to get to the tribe now.”

  “Why are you telling us to leave?” Nikora asked suspiciously, drawing closer to Ebba.

  Plank’s eyes saddened. “Because once we wronged yer tribe, and this be a chance to redeem our honor.”

  “. . . Your mana,” the warrior said, nodding. “I understand this.” He gestured to the other two, but stopped in his tracks, seeing Ebba. “I do not like to leave you. . . .”

  She bit back on a groan. “Ye be wastin’ time, neck-aura. Get away with ye.”

  Plank waited until the warriors were inching back up the stairs behind them before whispering, “Cosmo won’t stand a chance if Malice overruns the tribe before we’re back. Best to make sure the tribe has a fightin’ chance in case we ain’t back before that happens.”

  Sound pirate logic. Ebba couldn’t argue with it.

  “Aye,” Stubby said with a low cackle. “Two fish, one hook that was.”

  “Thank ye,” Plank replied.

  “You would make a reasonable taniwha,” the serpent said, regarding Plank with a tilted head.

  Plank’s cheeks pinkened. He appeared quite flattered at the thought.

  “Sink me, imagine what his flamin’ stories would be like if he were a tunny-far too,” Locks muttered.

  “We’ve heard your knowledge,” Barrels stated loudly. “Now, I assume we can pass.”

  “Assumptions are the food of the witless.” The taniwha unfurled high.

  Ebba’s mouth dropped in outrage. “Ye said—”

  “I made no deal.” The deep bellow froze her in her tracks.

  She heard Peg-leg grumble about slimy eels.

  “I would eat you all here and now, but for the power that demands I give all who cross my waters a . . . chance.”

  “Here be our offer,” Stubby said with a firm set to his mouth. “Ye let three o’ us swim and try to reach the other side. If one o’ us gets there, ye let the others cross without harm.”

  The taniwha hissed, swaying side to side. “One person.”

  “Two.”

  “One.”

  Stubby threw his hands in the air. “One person and a five-second head start. Not taniwha seconds, either. Five normal seconds as counted by the esteemed Locks.”

  The taniwha rolled in the water without submerging his great head. He studied Stubby, then the others in turn, as though inspecting a ship from all sides.

  Grinning ferally again, the creature blew a breath over them. The stink made her gag.

  “I accept your deal,” the taniwha said, falling still. “It will be as a second on this world is, though. I will not be tricked on this point.”

  Stubby held a hand against his heart. “‘Course not, matey. On my pirate honor.”

  The taniwha disappeared briefly, reappearing off to the left and closer to the edge of the pool. “We have an accord, mortals. Who will be my first meal?”

  Grubby shrugged. The others stared at him. “What?” he exclaimed. “Me?”

  “I think ye be the best swimmer o’ us,” Peg-leg said, giving her part-selkie father a pointed look. Grubby’s eyes widened and he hurried to remove his shoes and tunic, passing his pistols to Stubby, but keeping his cutlass.

  “Ye swim straight across, mind, Grubs,” Locks said.

  “Hold on,” Plank called. He jerked his thumb to the taniwha. “He should cross where ol’ serpent has dropped anchor, in my opinion.”

  The taniwha didn’t make a sound, but his eyes flashed.

  “Aye, good eyes,” Stubby said. “We want him to cross where ye are; ye’ll need to shift.”

  The monster hissed and reappeared ten feet left of the same spot. The area closest to the right wall of the cavern was now clear. Hopefully, Plank had been right in calling the monster’s bluff, and this was the narrowest part.

  Grubby edged closer to the taniwha, nodding in greeting, and dipped a toe in the pool. “It be cold.” He turned saddened eyes on the rest of the crew.

  “He ain’t goin’ to heat it for ye,” exploded Locks. His temper beginning to peek out.

  Ebba’s stomach twisted. “Grubby, swim as fast as ye can. Straight to the other side.”

  “Don’t worry about me.” He gave her a wink. A blink, it turned out. Grubby couldn’t wink. With a toothy grin, he dove into the depths.

  Locks immediately began to count. “One pirate plunder, two pirates chunder, three. . . .”

  The taniwha’s eyes gleamed as he listened to the splashes in the water. His body coiled as the serpent prepared to give chase, head facing across the water in the pitch black. They all strained for sounds of Grubby’s progress.

  “. . . Four pirates slumber.”

  “Here!” Grubby’s voice trickled back to them.

  “What?” the taniwha roared. “Impossible.” The creature dove into the water, but didn’t stop its roar of outrage. The sound bubbled under the surface, a gargling shout. In the absence of his fiery eye
s, the cave was immersed in almost complete darkness, aside from the comparatively feeble torchlight.

  Ebba held her breath, waiting for her end to come in the guise of sharp teeth sunk into her innards.

  Splashes in the distance churned the waters in slow waves, showing Ebba just how deep the pool must be.

  “He’s checking,” whispered Barrels.

  A second bellowing roar of fury echoed back to them seconds later.

  Peg-leg grinned. “He be right angry at us, don’t he?”

  “You tricked me.” The monster burst from the water, snapping its teeth inches from Stubby’s face.

  He waved the creature away. “No more than ye tried to trick us, matey.”

  “What is he? Tell me.”

  Some people just didn’t know how to lose. “He be a bit selkie,” Ebba said.

  The serpent hissed. “A filthy seal in my waters.”

  That seemed hypocritical, considering the taniwha appeared partially eel.

  “A deal be a deal.” Peg-leg cut across the monster’s rant. “We ain’t to be harmed as we cross.”

  The remaining five of her fathers surrounded her, ushering her to the water’s edge.

  “Make sure that dynami be secure, lass,” Locks said.

  She tightened her belt another two loops and glared at the serpent, whose eyes rested on her. “Aye. It ain’t goin’ nowhere, or we’ll be havin’ eel for dinner.”

  After removing their boots, each of them got into the water with a torrent of cursing and teeth clattering.

  “Bloody hell, I’d be no use to my girlfriends right now,” Locks said.

  Her fathers sniggered. Ebba pretended not to hear.

  The moment they pushed off the edge of the slab, the waves began.

  “Real mature,” Plank spluttered, interrupting his doggy paddle to throw a murderous look at the serpent.

  The waves swelled, accompanied by a menacing hiss.

  “My gunpowder will be wet,” Stubby said.

  “I’ll catch my death.” Barrels adjusted his cravat as he surveyed the water.

  “It just be a scant bit o’ water,” Ebba replied, kicking her legs out.

  A weary sigh preempted Barrels’ reply. “Just wait until you get on the other side of forty. That’s when you discover your body has saved up every little wrong you’ve ever done it and begins to deal it out tenfold.”