Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft

by Stas Borodin

  When I woke up, my whole side was itching something fierce. I opened my travelling bag and took out a small vial filled with ointment. Biting on my lower lip, I hesitantly poked the throbbing wound through the bandage.

  Overhead, black shadows slid across the canopy. Seagulls’ cries sounded shrill and quarrelsome.

  “Pator!” a sailor yelled from above. “I see Pator!”

  The captain peeked under the awning. Seeing that I was busy with my wound, he sat down quietly, picked up the book and began to read.

  “Will we stop at Pator?” I asked, carefully tying the last knot.

  “Yes, we should stop for the night,” the captain nodded. “The local waters are pretty tricky; I don’t want to stay afloat after dark. Moreover, Pator may be small, but it can offer us some decent lodging.”

  “And how far is Porsk?”

  “Four days with a tailwind.” The captain closed the book. “But in these parts winds are rarely favourable for that long.”

  Together we went to the main deck. It turned out that I had slept most of the day. The sun was a hair’s breadth from the horizon, and the air had freshened considerably, making it easier to breathe.

  “Damn, you have a mighty snore!” Ice approached us. “I could hear you from the prow.”

  “Nowadays I get tired real quick,” I said defensively. “Blame it on my injury.”

  “Don’t strain yourself without need, Master Wizard.” The captain patted my shoulder. “We still have time.”

  Soon a small dot on the horizon turned into a giant rock, obscuring half the sky. The Punisher skirted the island from the south and we saw a tall ancient-looking lighthouse and a small neat town.

  We moored our vessel beside half a dozen trader ships and next to another Paarian war galley.

  Right away Captain Gormant sent someone onto the galley to invite his fellow captain to dinner. The crew of The Punisher disembarked quickly and hurried towards the town.

  “If you choose to stay on board,” said Bevid, “I’ll get an amphora of my best wine and order some pot roast from the inn.”

  “Thanks,” Ice shook his head. “But I prefer to spend this night on solid ground.”

  The inn appeared to be pretty decent for such a small island. It easily accommodated our whole crew and still had some free space left. The food was simple but tasty, and the wine, though much diluted, was also not half bad.

  “I think I like the navy,” said Ice. “I thought it would be a much tougher affair.”

  “Well, that’s because you’re not doing anything,” I said. “Care to try the oars?”

  “Good joke!” Ice chuckled. “But the navy still rules! Take a horseman, for example. The poor sod has to spend the whole day getting his arse sore in the saddle. The infantryman has to lag all day far behind, swallowing dust and dragging all his stuff on his own back. The oarsmen could consider themselves lucky compared to these two. Today, for example, they had less than an hour of rowing, counting the shallows and turn around the island.”

  Ice winked at a sweaty exhausted maid.

  “We gonna travel the world and meet pretty girls, pal. I like this kind of life very much!”

  The next day Ice regretted his words.

  ✽✽✽

  The storm hit us shortly after dawn. A small cloud on the horizon turned into a monstrous swirling mountain, moving fast in our direction. The wind grew stronger with each moment, bringing more and more clouds turning the towering mountain into an apocalyptic mountain range. Ice-cold rain drummed on the flapping awning and dozens of dazzling lightning bolts snaked down, illuminating foam-crested waves.

  “This is the ‘Breath of Mistar’!” Only the captain’s voice could cut through the howling wind. “As if it was waiting for us!”

  Damn good luck! I clutched the railing with all my might, staring at the hissing water swirling underfoot.

  The sailors looked unintimidated by the elements. First they lowered the mast and fastened it to the deck. Then they sealed all the entrances to the hold, tied the spare rigging to bulwarks, and calmly went to their stations.

  The holds were boiling with activity too. Oar ports were tightly sealed with wooden shutters, the oars tied and secured to the floor in the narrow passage between the benches. Dozens of wooden hammers and heaps of tarred canvas were prepared, ready to seal any possible leak or breach alike. Every few feet emergency lights were installed and fire extinguishers prepared.

  The captain and his first mate took their stations at the rudder; a team of twenty sailors stood ready to execute any order.

  “Get ready, boys!” the captain’s voice thundered. “And help us, gods!”

  Ice and I took our belongings under the deck. After that we helped to secure the furniture under the awning and to roll hammocks. With a length of thick rope Bevid tied us to the storm rings hanging side by side on the stern.

  “Hold on tight, wizards,” he roared. “If you go overboard, you’ll go straight to Annuvir!”

  I gripped the railing, peering anxiously into the gathering darkness.

  A terrible clap of thunder made the ship’s deck shudder. Then an angry hissing lightning bolt pierced the wave mere feet away from the prow. I was blinded for a few seconds, blinking at bright spots dancing before my eyes.

  When my vision returned, I looked at Ice. My friend kept a stiff upper lip, though his entire jacket was smeared with vomit.

  The next giant wave threw us like a chip of wood, and an endless fall into a black abyss, illuminated only by white lightning bolts and filled by rolling thunder, began once again.

  Trying not to cry, I gritted my teeth and turned to check on my friend. I saw his mouth wide open in a silent scream. Then I cried too. I felt a brief relief, but a second later we were almost choked by another icy wave.

  I blinked the water away, and through the chilling white flashes I saw the bow-backed figures of the captain and his first mate standing knee-deep in foaming eddies by the rudders.

  It was an amazing sight! From time to time they disappeared completely, mercilessly buffeted by the angry waves. However, they seemed to be rooted to the deck, like some creatures of myth – made of wood and iron instead of flesh and bone.

  They guided the ship through the raging elements and kept us alive only by the sheer force of their will.

  “I’ll be damned,” I whispered, choking on salt water. “They are demigods!”

  The sailors’ clothes were aglow. The deck, mast and even the corpse of a sailor with his head stuck in the rigging were glowing too.

  Sometimes the ship plunged so deep into the abyss that I could have sworn that I saw the sea bottom. Castle-sized cliffs, covered with shells and seaweed, towered menacingly on both sides. I shut my eyes tight and started to pray, and then the sea snapped its maw shut behind us and spat us to the surface once again.

  The storm was playing with us as if testing our limits. Numb and deaf, shaking from the cold, I started to wonder who would fail first – our helmsmen or their beloved warship.

  However, the captain and his first mate seemed hewn from stone. From time to time, they would shout something, perhaps encouraging each other, or maybe just making fun of the raging elements.

  Once again, our ship plunged into a black abyss so deep it seemed to me it might touch the seabed with her keel. Suddenly, directly above us, a giant unblinking eye appeared, glaring at us through the shifting water wall. An unknown sea creature was looking at us, filling our hearts with fear and turning our bones to jelly.

  Even Bevid couldn’t stand such a sight. The sailor’s body went slack, and he hung from the tiller limp like a broken doll. Captain Gormant just squared his shoulders and spread his legs wider apart, knee-deep in the foaming swirls.

  A giant writhing tentacle emerged from the water. It grabbed the corpse of the sailor and yanked it free from a bunch of tangled ropes. The dead man’s head snapped in an instant, rolled across the deck and disappeared overboard.

  Right away
, new tentacles, much longer and scarier than the previous one, shot out of the water. Sliding across the deck, they grabbed everything they touched, sails, rigging, broken oars and helpless shouting sailors. A terrifying muzzle, covered with warts and topped by a monstrous beak, hung overhead, stuffing its gaping maw with wriggling bodies.

  Ice, white as a sheet, looked at the creature. His mouth was agape in a silent scream, his eyes bulged, and his teeth were bared in a terrible grin.

  And then it hit me! I took a deep breath and shouted, trying to pierce the monstrous thunder. I knew he couldn’t hear a sound, but he must have felt something. He raised his head, and looked at me.

  “Fire, Ice!” I yelled, hoping that he would be able to read my lips. “Fire!”

  I clasped my hands in front of my mouth making a small funnel, the way Master Keandr did, and pointed it towards the monster. Ice’s face froze for a moment, and then he smiled.

  Holding my breath, I watched his broad chest heaving up like a pair of bellows. His nostrils flared, releasing long wisps of smoke. He glanced at me again, cupped his hands around his mouth and spat out a small jet of flame. The flame hissed, extinguished by the rolling wave.

  Ice closed his eyes, threw his head back, and, just like that night on the trakee field, breathed out the fire.

  This time the flames were of a different hue. A stream of blue light sliced the waves like a giant incandescent knife. The beast stared at us with its huge unblinking eyes. It opened its predatory beak and disappeared, swallowed by the fiery maelstrom.

  A powerful explosion shook the ship and we were showered with lumps of burning flesh. Cold blood boiled, tearing the sea monster apart.

  Captain Gormant raised his fist above his head in a silent salute. A moment later, we topped another titanic wave and once again began to descend into the black abyss.

  My friend was unconscious. Ice hung on the ropes, his head bobbing up and down. We were separated only by a couple of feet, and I could clearly see the burns on his blackened chin and his lips covered with bloody blisters.

  Once again, the sky was no more than a tiny speck illuminated by blinding lightning. The seething walls of water towered high, exposing sharp stone teeth. The Punisher hit the rock with her left side, the wood creaked, my head snapped back, and I fell into blessed oblivion.

  Chapter 8

  Again and again, I saw the monstrous tentacles closing around the ship and dragging it to the bottom of the sea. I saw huge, round, unblinking eyes that seemed to stare right into my soul, filling me with uncontrolled primal terror.

  I woke up screaming. Bevid was there right by me, pressing a piece of damp cloth to my forehead.

  “Thank gods, he’s awake!” he cried and hugged me. “Drink this, lad!”

  A cup filled with some foul-smelling liquid approached my lips. I held my breath and swallowed this quintessence of stench and bitterness in one big painful gulp.

  “Soon you will feel better.” Bevid wiped my chin carefully.

  I propped myself on one elbow and saw Ice lying next to me. “How is he?” My throat felt sore, and the sounds were reluctant to venture outside.

  “Delirious,” said the captain, his beard, jet-black in the morning, was white as snow now. “The sea-beast still has him in its clutches.”

  The sailors helped me to sit down; my head was still spinning, but the weakness was already retreating.

  I felt a burning sensation under my shirt and hurriedly pulled it open. Soothing hot waves came from a tiny stone lying on my bare chest. I closed my fist around it, absorbing its power like a plant might absorb the sunlight. After a few minutes I was able to rise to my feet, fresh and strong as ever.

  The sailors looked uneasy, witnessing my abrupt resurrection. Under their inquisitive glances, I put the amulet around Ice’s neck and held his hands. My friend’s palms were ice-cold, his burnt face twitched from time to time, cracked skin oozing colourless liquid.

  Pretty soon his fingers warmed a little, and I felt the life-giving currents emitted by the Tear of Heart flowing through his body. The burns on his face began to heal; the burnt skin flaked off, exposing healthy pink flesh. His breathing steadied and his eyelids fluttered. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and smiled. “Haven’t slept that well for a while,” he said.

  He pushed my hand aside and jumped to his feet. “What happened here?” he asked. “Did I miss something important?”

  I stretched my back with pleasure. The fresh bruises and scratches were already gone and the stab wound on my side had healed up completely.

  “Don’t you remember anything?” I asked, looking around.

  “Well, it’s all mixed up…” Ice frowned.

  From all sides we were surrounded by curious seamen trying to touch the resurrected wizards.

  “Hands off!” growled Bevid. “Hurrah to our saviours!”

  “Hurrah!” the sailors yelled.

  The ship was in terrible shape. It was littered with debris, broken planks and shreds of rigging. I saw black traces left by the magic fire and rust-coloured spots in places where the beast’s tentacles had touched the deck. Piles of wet seaweed loomed everywhere, dead fish and crabs squelched and crunched underfoot.

  On the prow the sailors piled up the dead.

  “These fellows are the lucky ones,” the captain said. “They got drowned down below. Easy death, if you ask me…”

  The captain’s beard was whiter than the snow now, but the hair on his head remained black.

  “Cheers to the wizard, cheers to the Monster Slayer!” The sailors looked at my friend with admiration.

  Once he removed the Tear of Heart from his neck, Ice remembered everything. His eyes were still wide and his face pale, but he joined the improvised celebration immediately. He puffed up his chest, and I could swear I saw wisps of smoke streaming from his ears.

  “That was one damn scary beast!” one of his new pals shouted. “Ten times bigger than our ship!”

  “Did you see its tentacles?” echoed another.

  “And its eyes?” shouted a third. “Like deep dark wells leading straight to Annuvir!”

  I looked at the dead, already wrapped in wet sailcloth. Their faces were blue and swollen, mouths dripping cold seawater.

  Suddenly I froze. The face of one of the dead looked familiar. I grabbed the sailor by the hand, stopping his needle, and squatted down. I wasn’t mistaken.

  It was Aspeni, who had testified against us in court not a week ago. What a terrible fate! I shivered, looking at his dead face, so empty and colourless now.

  Suddenly a terrible pain pierced my back. Without a sound, I fell face down on the dead student’s chest. His mouth opened from the impact and I was sprayed with a gush of salty water.

  Someone shouted behind my back. Another cursed. My hands and feet lost all feeling; there was only a blinding pain crawling down my back.

  “He stuck a needle in his spine!” a sailor shouted. “Kill the damn bastard!”

  “Get off me!” another voice came. “You dirty rat!”

  The fighting resumed once again. Someone yelped and gurgled as if being strangled.

  Ice leaned over me and saw Aspeni’s dead face. He recognized him right away.

  “Shit!” he said, squeezing my shoulder.

  “Don’t touch the fucking needle!” Bevid cried. “He could die if you pull it out!”

  “He’ll die for sure if I don’t!” Ice replied.

  The needle felt like a heavy incandescent spear pinning me down to the wet deck.

  “Are you ready?”

  I wasn’t, but nevertheless Ice pulled it out in one smooth motion. The pain blinded me for a moment, but the Tear of Heart set to work, dissolving the pain in its warm currents. Soon I was able to breathe once again.

  “Thank Orvad, he’s all right!” Ice cried.

  The sailors roared in unison and cheered. Together Bevid and Ice dragged me to my feet, to show the crew that I was still alive and kicking.

&nbs
p; My attacker was lying face down on the deck. A big brown stain was slowly spreading around his bloodied head.

  “I think I know who he is.” Ice gritted his teeth. “Sheer luck he missed your spine…”

  “But he didn’t,” said Bevid, fingering the bloody hole in my undershirt. “It went right between his shoulder blades.”

  The sailors shouted angrily and started to kick the would-be killer with renewed vigour.

  The captain’s thundering voice stopped them short. “Let him be, lads! We’ll do it the right way, according to sea law.”

  I shivered, wrapping myself tightly in a wet shirt.

  “It’s Hlir,” Ice whispered. “We were careless, brother, we underestimated him.”

  ✽✽✽

  Cleaning and repairs took the better part of the day. The ship froze motionless in the middle of an endless expanse without any sign of land stretching in all directions. The sea was like a mirror, smooth and still, reflecting bunches of curly clouds, hanging motionless in the sky. I looked overboard and saw a school of carefree dolphins frolicking nearby in sparkling turquoise water.

  “I still can’t believe it happened.” Ice sat down next to me. “And I thought that adventures are fun!”

  “But they are,” I said, patting his cold hand. “In a couple of days you will forget the bad things. You’ll see it all in a different light, laughing your ass off and cracking jokes.”

  “You’re probably right.” Ice smiled hesitatingly. “That is who I am.”

  The burial crew laid the dead bodies along the bulwarks, oarsmen and sailors in two groups, separated from each other.

  “Follow me, gentlemen,” said the first mate. “We are waiting just for you.”

  The crew lined up in rows on the deck. The sailors, marines and oarsmen were all present, their weathered sunburnt faces stern and sad.

  I noticed five rag dolls lying next to the dead, also prepared for burial.

  Captain Gormant’s ceremonial armour was shining, the plume on his steel helm hanging limp, and his left hand resting on a thick leather-bound tome.