by Mel Odom
Morning tinted the eastern sky a rosy pink peering through wheat-colored clouds. Sabyna Truesail stood in the middle of it on the forecastle deck, peering east, in the direction Azure Dagger was headed.
Jherek gazed at her with longing. Though the rising sun behind her reduced her to a silhouette, he could picture every line and even,' rounded curve of her. No matter what happened from this moment on, he knew he'd never forgot that sight.
He crossed the deck hurriedly and went up the steps to the forecastle.
"Lady, I'm sorry I kept you waiting."
She turned at his voice, and surprise lighted her eyes.
"So it would appear well worth the wait," she said. "Had I known, I'd have dressed accordingly."
She wore dark green breeches and a white shirt with her sleeves rolled to mid-forearm. She'd bathed and combed her hair, and the scent of lilacs was gentle around her. Jherek thought he'd never seen a lovelier woman in all his life.
"It's the shirt," he said lamely. "Glawinn loaned it to me."
"He has good taste."
"I'll tell him you thought so." Jherek paused, wondering how to continue. How did you tell someone you cared about that your father killed her brother?
"Jherek, about last night," Sabyna said, "I was perhaps out of line."
"Does that mean you've changed your mind about talking."
Instead of feeling relieved, Jherek was anxious, wanting to be done with the secret he kept. It was confusing.
"No, we're going to talk," she said adamantly. "I meant it when I said I can't go on like this, but I think perhaps I could have waited for a better time or spoken somewhat less harshly."
"You did what you had to do, lady. I claim no foul there."
"Good, because I'm not leaving here without knowing your heart."
Jherek took a deep breath and said, "You know my heart, lady. It's my past you're unaware of." He paused, uncertain of where to begin.
"You said you were wanted," Sabyna said. "For what?"
"For things I never did, lady. I'm innocent of any crime, but I had the misfortune to be born the son of a bad man."
"No man is responsible for the mistakes his father has made."
"You may not feel that way after you hear the whole story." With a trembling hand, Jherek unfastened his sleeve, his eyes on Sabyna. "When I was twelve, I ran away from my father, from all the things that he did."
"That was a very brave thing to do."
Jherek forced himself to roll the sleeve up. "But I found running away didn't rescue me from my fathers heritage." Rolling over his arm, he showed her the tattoo of the flaming skull masked in chains.
Sabyna's face drained of color and her eyes filled with cold, hard tears. She wrapped her arms across her breasts and glared at him. "That's the mark of Bloody Falkane," she whispered.
Jherek nodded slowly and said, "Bloody Falkane-the man who killed your brother-is my father, lady."
Sabyna turned from him and walked woodenly to the prow railing.
Not knowing what else to do, Jherek followed after her. He stayed back, wishing he could comfort her. Why did it have to be her brother? But he knew that wasn't a fair question. There were a number of families who'd lost-brothers and fathers, and other family to the notorious crew of Bunyip and Bloody Falkane. It was only his ill luck that numbered Sabyna's family among their victims.
He stood quietly waiting. He had no words. All he could do was try to figure out how a day that was starting so beautifully could be so bad already.
"Anything," Sabyna croaked hoarsely as she turned around to face him with a face wet with tears and wracked with pain.*T was prepared for anything but that."
Jherek nodded but couldn't get a word past the lump in his throat. He looked at the deck between his feet and tried to think. Even if he could speak, what would he say?
Sabyna's startled scream ripped through the morning.
Looking up, Jherek saw two pallid gray arms seize the pretty ship's mage from behind. They wrapped around Sabyna's body and yanked her from the deck. The young sailor caught a glimpse of the gray corpse that had climbed up the ship's prow as it fell back into the water. Two more corpses pulled themselves up the ship's prow as well, throwing their arms over the railing.
"Boarders!" Jherek yelled as loudly as he could.
He ripped the sword from his sash, knowing he was in danger of losing Sabyna. Azure Dagger had all sails out and was running with the wind. He sprinted toward the port railing and threw himself over.
The Sea of Fallen Stars sparkled blue-green for an instant, and he heard other sailors aboard Azure Dagger take up the warning cry.
"Boarders! Boarders!*'
"Boarders my arse! Them are sea zombies straight from Umberlee's."
Jherek hit the water cleanly, following the line of the cutlass. Foam churned white around him as he dived. Turning in the water, he floated, using his empty hand to turn himself around.
Dozens of bodies floated in the sea, all of them pallid gray and bloated from drowning. A hundred and more walked the sea floor, followed by schools of fish and crabs that feasted on their dead flesh.
An eerie, haunting melody suddenly filled the water. Jherek felt a tingle run through his whole body and a warm lassitude started to creep in on him. He pushed the music away, remembering that Sabyna was down there somewhere.
A heartbeat later, the young sailor spotted her, still pulled along by the drowned one that held her less than forty feet away. Jherek kicked his feet and took off after her. Even with the cutlass in one hand and wearing boots, he overtook the sea zombie in seconds. His muscles screamed silent protests after the beating they'd taken the night before.
Other sea zombies noticed the young sailor and swam for him. Two of them were male, but the third had been a little girl no more than ten.
Sabyna struggled against her captor who held her with its arm locked under her throat.
Jherek's optimism flagged. Zombies of any type could prove incredibly hard to kill. They had to be chopped literally to pieces or have the necromancer's spell that created them broken.
Sabyna's eyes widened when she saw him.
Fisting the drowned one's chin with his free hand from behind, Jherek twisted with all his strength. The drowned one's spine cracked as the head came fully halfway around. Still, the creature didn't release its hold on Sabyna.
The young sailor shoved the cutlass forward, preparing to cut the thing's water-rotted arm from it. As soon as the sword touched the drowned one, electricity sparked the length of the blade. The zombie convulsed, its limbs flaring out and the seaweed-tangled hair on its head standing straight up. Great boils erupted on the dead flesh, causing a sudden eruption of blue-purple cuttle worms three inches long and as thick as a man's finger.
Jherek waved the worms from his face, knowing he was safe because they didn't like live flesh. He glanced up, seeing Sabyna swimming for the surface. Before she made it, long vines from a kelp bed snaked out for her, curling around her and pulling her in.
For the first time Jherek realized the hypnotic melody came from the purple-leafed kelp beds. He swam toward her, watching as other zombies closed in on her.
What felt like iron bars wrapped around his ankles and dragged him down. He plummeted toward the ocean floor like he'd been tied to an anchor. Glancing down, he saw that a large man with eye sockets picked clean by a hermit crab still curled up inside one of them had grabbed him.
The roan's waterlogged weight was enough to drag them both to the bottom.
Jherek shoved his cutlass into the man's face, hoping whatever made filled the blade hadn't exhausted itself.
The zombie's limbs and hair popped straight out and the flesh boiled. Lungs near to bursting, the young sailor swam after Sabyna.
A pair of drowned ones reached her first, digging into the kelp bed with her. Sabyna fought against them, but their teeth dug into her right thigh and left side. Blood stained the water.
"No!" Jherek shouted,
causing an eruption of air bubbles from his mouth.
He shoved the cutlass into the creature biting on Sabyna's thigh. Jherek watched as the magic in the blade destroyed the undead thing, then he attacked the one worrying at Sabyna's side, destroying it as well. Sabyna's movements showed definite weakness.
Jherek sawed at the vines holding her to the kelp, cutting her free. Her wounds bled freely. He hooked an arm around her waist and swam for the surface, knowing even if he made it there was no way they could reach Azure Dagger or out-swim the rest of the drowned ones.
Another zombie swam at them from above, giving Jherek no time to dodge away. With no warning, a rush of golden scales intercepted the drowned one, snatching it up in a huge mouth and crunching it to pieces.
Even with only that brief glance, Jherek knew it was the sea wyrm that he'd first seen when they'd salvaged Black Champion. The creature had followed Steadfast all the way to Aglarond and back, but he thought it had been left on the other side of the island with Steadfast. Somehow it had known where he was and made its way to him.
Jherek watched the sea wyrm constrict in the water, flipping its body around so that its fins caught the currents in such a way that it turned back around on itself like a corkscrew. The fins on its head flared out as it regarded Jherek. Then another zombie seized its attention 1‹ than ten feet away. The sea wyrm streaked there and bit the dead woman in half. Both halves remained active for a time, arms and legs moving desperately but without an ability to control their direction as they dropped slowly to the sea floor.
A moment later, Jherek brought Sabyria to the surface. She looked into his eyes, coughing and gasping. He glanced down at the wounds in her side and leg, knowing he had to put pressure on them to stop the bleeding. Furthermore, if there were any sharks in the water, the blood scent was sure to bring them.
"Go," she gasped hoarsely. "I'm getting cold, Jherek. I don't think I can swim."
"I'm not going to leave you," he said.
"By yourself you might have a chance."
"No, lady." The young sailor gazed down at the sea wyrm still darting through the water below. It struck like lightning, destroying zombie after zombie that swam toward Jherek and Sabyna. He locked eyes with the creature and said, "Help me."
The sea wyrm curled in on itself, then exploded into motion. It streaked through the water like an arrow, surfacing almost casually beside Jherek. Cautiously, it folded the fins down around its head and stretched its muzzle forward.
Not daring to believe, yet knowing it was somehow true, Jherek placed his hand on the sea wyrm's broad head. The scales felt slippery' and solid and a buzzing filled his palm. After a moment, the sea wyrm wrapped its coils around Jherek and Sabyna. The young sailor moved quickly, aware of the sea zombie heads that broke the surface around them.
He pushed Sabyna onto the sea wyrm's neck behind its head where the dorsal fin was missing. He slid on behind her, wrapping his arms around her and his legs around the creature's thick torso.
The sea wyrm lifted its head clear of the ocean, gazing back at Jherek expectantly.
"The ship," the young sailor said, hoping he wasn't wrong.
The sea wyrm's body undulated and sent them speeding through the water. Jherek held Sabyna tightly. The creature easily avoided the bobbing zombie heads that gnashed their jaws in frustration and reached for them as they passed. The sea wyrm swam unerringly for Azure Dagger, overtaking it with ease.
As he got closer, Sabyna became dead weight in Jherek's arms. Spray from the sea wyrm staying so close to the surface blew back over them. It was cold and salty and stung his nose and eyes. The young sailor watched a vein throb slowly on the side of the ship's mage's neck and took heart in that. As long as she lived, there was hope.
Azure. Dagger's crew pointed at the sea wyrm as it swam along the port side. Two men hung from the prow, cutting away the net the drowned ones had used to set their trap and catch the fast-moving caravel. Once it had caught onto the prow, they'd climbed it to attempt boarding the ship.
Glawinn and Azla stood at the port side railing. The pirate queen ordered a longboat put over the side. It was a dangerous move. If it got too low and hit the water, it could be pushed back to smash a hole in the hull. Glawinn and two other sailors manned the boat as it swayed unsteadily down from the cargo arm.
The sea wyrm swam for the longboat, getting alongside it as if it was an everyday thing. It lifted its neck from the water and put Jherek and Sabyna closer to the longboat. Holding Sabyna in his arms, Jherek passed her up to the paladin.
"I've got her, young warrior," the paladin said. "Climb on up."
Glawinn sat cautiously, holding Sabyna tenderly. He inspected her wounds.
Jherek caught hold of the longboat and pulled himself inside. He gazed back down at the sea wyrm, still not believing what had happened. The creature looked back up at him and flared its head fins again.
Thank you," the young sailor said.
The sea wyrm gave a trumpeting call, then dived beneath the waves.
Jherek turned his attention to Sabyna.
Pacys swam across the Dukar Quarter in Myth Nantar as fast as he could. His heart still pounded from the dream that had awakened him. He'd slept in the Dukar Academy room Qos had offered him. The seaweed bed had proven surprisingly comfortable and, despite his excitement, when he'd lain down, he'd had no problem sleeping. Until this morning.
He stopped at the coral in the courtyard near Maalim's Walk where he and Qos usually met. The storm giant was already there, or perhaps the Green Dukar Paragon had never left.
Pacys tried to keep his voice calm. "Grand Savant Qos."
The storm giant looked up.
"I have to go," the old bard said.
"No-there are things not yet done."
Pacys felt frantic. "You've got to understand, this is about the boy, Jherek."
"The one you believe to be the hero of your song?" Qos nodded. "I know."
"The girl he loves-"
"— lies dying," Qos said. "Truly, Master Pacys, I do know these things. I keep watch over a lot of currents at this time. I also know a huge army of drowned ones marches on Eadraal."
"I must go to the boy. He's on the verge of giving up."
"Your place is here," the storm giant said, his voice holding a note of warning. "There are parts that have to be played yet, and you need to be ready to play yours. You could be called upon to open the Great Barrier. When that time comes, we'll have little time."
"You can open the Great Barrier."
Qos's emerald eyes blazed with angry impatience and he said, "If I could open the Great Barrier, you wouldn't be here."
The revelation stunned Pacys into silence for a moment.
"You can't open the Great Barrier?"
"No," the giant said.
"Why?"
"Because it was my decision to close it," Qos answered. "I can allow others in, but I can't return Myth Nan tar to Seros. The prophecies about the Taker creating a reunion of the peoples of Seros must come to pass first. That's the price I paid for salvaging what was left of the City of Destinies. If events don't go as I hope, if you aren't able to open the Great Barrier, Myth Nantar may never rise again."
Pacys stood mute, feeling the pressure of the depths above him for the first time since he'd descended into Seros.
"That's why the boy must wait," Qos said patiently. "Everything must come in its own time."
"He may break before I reach him," Pacys said. "He's that close to hopelessness."
"Master Pacys, we all are. We must each hold to our individual strengths just a little longer."
"Is she going to be all right?" Jherek asked.
He stared at Sabyna's limp form lying on the bed in her private quarters aboard Azure Dagger. She looked so small and pale.
Sabyna's wounds had been cleaned and tended, but they were inflamed and leaked pus. Glawinn had attempted to cure them with his paladin's ability, and Arthoris had tried a healing potion. In both
instances some of Sabyna's strength and color had returned for a short time only to dwindle away again. She hadn't regained consciousness.
"I don't know, young warrior," Glawinn said. Kneeling by the bed, he took a compress from a small water pitcher, folded it, and tenderly laid it over her head. The bite of the undead can be toxic, carrying diseases even advanced healers know little of. Her fate is in stronger hands than we have aboard this ship."
"We'll find a priest when we put into Agenais," Jherek said. "Even-thing will be all right then, won't it?"
Glawinn hesitated, then said, "Mayhap." He took the compress from her head and wet it again. "The main thing is to keep her fever down, give her body a chance to heal itself. Even then, the battle she fights is a draining one."
Jherek felt so helpless and empty inside. "It's my fault," he said hoarsely "If I had not loved her, she would not have been cursed by my ill luck."
"No." Glawinn said gruffly. "I'll have none of that kind of talk in here. The girl may not be in her right mind now, but I've seen people like this come back and know every word that was spoken around them. If you're going to stay here with her, you're going to speak positively. Do you understand me?"
Jherek met the older man's gaze and said, "Help me. Glawinn, I can't be this strong."
Glawinn put the compress back on Sabyna's head. "Yes you can, young warrior," he said. "You'll be as strong as you need to be, whether to hang on or let go. You'll see it done because that's how you are. It's the only way you can be."
Jherek clenched his hands into fists, hating the helpless feeling that filled him. "What do I need to do? Tell me and I swear it will be done."
"Believe."
"In what?"
"I can't tell you."
Jherek looked at the small, pale form on the bed and begged, "Give me something to believe in."
"I can't. You'll have to find it within yourself."
Jherek knelt there beside the bed and searched his heart. He reached out to Ilmater the Crying God, the god he'd rejected months ago. He prayed the way he used to, but there was no comfort.
