by J. W. Webb
Dream Shallan wanted to enquire more, but at that point a noise woke her and she opened her eyes. Her father stood there.
“I heard voices,” Tomais said, his tired face troubled.
“I was dreaming, father. I cried out, that’s all.”
“It’s more than that, there was someone here. I saw a shadow under the trees.”
“It was the Horned Man. He was in my dream again. He wants to help us.”
“The Horned Man doesn’t exist!” The duke’s face was angry. He looked guilty too, Shallan couldn’t help noting.
“You’d best stop this dreaming and moping, daughter. We’ve a long tough road ahead.” The duke turned and made his way toward where the beasts were tethered.
“He said we should make for Silon’s villa, father, somewhere in Raleen.” Shallan didn’t mention the other thing the Horned Man had said. Not that that mattered. The duke wasn’t listening.
Father and daughter said little throughout that day or the evening that followed. Tomais’s face was haunted by guilt and failure, Shallan’s confused and dreamy. Nothing seemed real to her at present.
Shallan wondered whether her father was right, that the Horned Man was some crazy creation of her imagination. If so, what did they mean, all these dreams? She envied her brothers and their swords, no matter how stacked the odds against them. For all Shallan knew, they might be dead. She still envied them, though. At least they were striking back. What could she do aside ride and mope beside her father?
Her brothers were warriors, not like Shallan and her father. They were just shadows fleeing shadows. That night Shallan dreamt of nothing and was oddly relieved it was so.
Duke Tomais didn’t sleep at all. His mind was a whirl of contradictions, and now his daughter was dreaming of the Horned Man. The Duke recalled the conversation he’d had with the duchess the day he’d found her in the glade, the Horned Man lying naked beside her. Elenia had been so distraught he could still picture her face, pale and weeping. Because he loved her he’d let her keep the child.
Our daughter must never know.
And now the horned one had returned to haunt Shallan’s dreams.
“You cannot have her. She is my daughter, not yours, Cornelius.”
A rustle in the trees, the duke turned, glimpsed eyes watching in the murk. They winked twice then disappeared. Tomais groaned and rolled over. Doubtless just a trick of the light.
That following morning Shallan and her father crossed the border into Kelthaine. Behind them the hills of Morwella were ringed with fires. The barbarian army was on the move. Soon the whole country would be reduced to ashes.
They didn’t look back. Father and daughter rode hard, skirted the dark forest, and continued ranging south for three days without event. Then on the fourth morning just before breakfast, the Groil decided come visit.
Chapter 32: A New Dance
The head was the first part to break surface, if a triangular, slant-eyed, scaly, slippery, fishy-stained, teeth-gleaming acre of ugliness could be described as a head. Then came the neck—long, sleek and metallic blue-green. After that appeared the snaky, oily body, over a mile in length showing as isolated loops above the water.
Behind them, the Crenise had begun turning their craft, but it was too late for the brigantine.
Thud! Boom and scrape!
The Starlight Wanderer slammed alongside the nearest coil. The violent jolt sent a shudder the whole length of the ship. Barin raged and wrestled the wheel, Fassof shrieked orders and obscenities from aloft, Cogga gaped at the monster, whilst Corin nearly lost his footing as the fleshy loop battered them again.
Ariane emerged from below, Cale gulping beside her. Together Queen and boy watched the sea monster bear down on them.
For the first time in his life Barin was unsure what to do. They stood no chance against this leviathan. Desperate, he yelled Cogga seek out Zallerak, who hadn’t returned from below decks.
Corin followed the stocky sailor down the hatch. He grabbed Clouter and returned above. Bleyne and Galed followed him, but there was no sign of the bard.
The kraken’s monstrous head lowered toward the aft deck, allowing those snaggled teeth crunch timbers and snap boards. Meanwhile the tale lashed out, striking the furthest pirate ship and breaking it in two.
Barin seized Wyrmfang from Cogga, who had just surfaced with a bleary eyed Zallerak. The Northman commenced hacking into the scaly neck of the monster. At last the head withdrew. Barin paused to take a breath, but then the monster reared up again, all teeth and dripping maw.
Snap! K-plunk! The second fleeing pirate craft was broken by that tail. That left just one, beating a fast retreat north to where Rael’s fleet showed black on the horizon.
Corin almost laughed at the irony of the situation. He leveled Clouter, poised to have a go at that neck. Beside him, Barin braced his legs, Wyrmfang square in front of him.
One, two…three—whack!
But then the monster changed tact. Its nearest loop slid under the hull, then came a flop as another coil wrapped around the mid deck. Following that, an atrocious racket came when planks, oars, and rails snapped like twigs as the kraken squeezed tight.
“Do something!” Corin yelled at Zallerak, who still stared, as startled as the rest.
“I can’t. I wish I could, but I’m bloody knackered already, and quite frankly this is beyond me.” Corin glanced at Barin. Both looked lost. Even Bleyne looked defeated, without his arrows. The hull splintered as the coils squeezed tight. Within minutes they would break apart.
Then the sea beast’s head turned toward them again. The dinner-plate, wet eyes were almost mocking. Corin readied for the final blow. At least he’d take a few teeth.
Come on, you ugly…
***
Ariane had not been idle. She knew there was only one course of action left to them. She knelt on the foredeck, forgotten and forlorn. Elanion would aid them if she could, but even She had little sway over one of Her brother’s creatures. Ariane uttered the words Dazaleon had taught her. That Summoning could only be used in direst need, and for help against a foe such as this.
Nothing happened. Ariane spoke the words again. Still nothing.
Goddess, save us! We’ve little time!
Ariane turned, saw Vervandi standing behind her.
“The Goddess cannot help you directly. This is not Her domain. But Elanion’s brother might if the mood takes Him. But then, you never know with Sensuata.” Vervandi wasn’t smiling. She appeared edgy and annoyed.
“The Sea God?”
Vervandi nodded slowly. “Of course the Sea God, and my Uncle will demand a price.”
“I will pay it!” Ariane yelled at the woman. “Just beg Him save us before it’s too fucking late.”
“He is coming,” answered Vervandi, her beautiful face fading from view. Ariane staggered to her feet. Close by, the kraken’s coils were biting hard into the hull. They had minutes, maybe only seconds. She heard Corin curse and the sound of steel on something hard. Then the vessel rocked and shuddered and she was thrown sprawling to the deck.
***
“Hoist me up!” Corin yelled at Barin, who after a blank look, seized his friend’s legs and shoved him up onto his shoulders. Corin braced himself and readied Clouter as the monster’s brutish mouth lowered toward him.
The mouth slammed shut but not before Corin had rammed Clouter up hard into the nearest eye—a huge lidless disc of jelly at least a foot in diameter. The monster’s head jerked back, pitching man and longsword onto the deck and knocking Barin over.
The coils loosened their hold around the ship as the kraken shuddered in pain. Its tail lashed out in violent jerks and crashed down upon the last fleeing shark. That too sunk beneath the waves.
Corin would have laughed had there been time, but the kraken was rearing its head again with jaws wide enough to take them in one single gulp.
Corin knew they were on borrowed time. Weary, he scooped up Clouter for one last sw
ing at the beastie. But then a Giant’s head broke free of the waves and Corin dropped the longsword again.
***
Ariane chanted the words of protection as she watched the Sea God surface. Terrible Sensuata come to save them for a price, a price that only she could pay. Ariane stared wild eyed beside Galed and Cale. She hadn’t even known they were close by.
The Sea God turned His gaze upon her and Ariane almost lost her footing. The face was a ravished mess of scaly scars, the hair tangled, long and unkempt, its color the blue-green-grey of churning waters.
Sensuata’s arms and torso were a corded knot of muscle and scales. His skin was green and slimy beneath all that sinew. He reared before them, naked and terrible.
“Lord Sensuata, save us, You who rule the nine oceans!” Ariane yelled up at the god’s face.
“WILL YOU PAY MY PRICE?” The Sea God’s voice surged above them like an ocean gale. Sensuata’s huge arms were folded across His barrel chest and that bewildering, mercurial green-grey gaze fell full upon the Queen, tiny and scared. Close by, Corin gripped the rail and tried to come to terms with what was happening.
“Price?” Corin yelled. “What price? What does He mean, Ariane? Don’t do this! I love you!” She didn’t hear him.
Instead she responded to the god, “I shall. I promise!” Ariane’s little shout was almost lost by wave and echo.
“THEN SO BE IT.”
Before he knew it, Corin’s feet had brought him level with the Queen.
“What fucking price?” Ariane turned toward him then as one waking from a trance.
“Corin, I…we had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
“Not for such as us. And besides, it is already too late.”
All watched then as the huge figure raised his left hand slowly and the kraken slunk submissive from the ship. The Starlight Wanderer pitched and tossed violently but somehow stayed upright as those great coils slid back across the deck. Timbers groaned and creaked, but miraculously the two masts held erect and the hull remained intact.
Then the Sea God uttered one long dreadful ululation bidding the kraken submerge beneath the waves. Within minutes the sea beast had gone, and only eddies and whirls showed where it had been.
Sensuata’s gaze fell on Ariane once more.
“REMEMBER MY PRICE, LITTLE MORTAL. I SHALL CALL ON YOU TO PAY IT ONE DAY.”
“I will remember.” Ariane felt the tears glisten her cheek as the huge figure loomed over the ship.
“I LEAVE YOU SAFE. THE FOG WILL PROTECT YOU FOR A SHORT WHILE AND CONFUSE YOUR ENEMY.”
As Sensuata boomed those last words, Ariane felt a damp chill brush her face. She turned and gazed behind to see misty columns rising like vapor out of the water. The fret was forming fast, congealing, blotting out the horizon. It gathered and swirled toward them, embracing the ship’s timbers, sucking them into its damp, dewy mantle.
Nobody spoke. Corin chewed his lip and looked like he wanted to skewer someone. Beside him Barin sat hunched and aching. Bleyne stared at the giant figure of the Sea God. The devout archer was clearly terrified, as were Barin’s crew. Even Fassof looked wan. Ariane stood alone. Cale, weeping at the Queen’s words to Corin, and Galed had just vanished below again. And in a far corner by the wheel house, Zallerak fumbled at his harp, his long face troubled and forlorn.
The mist thickened to deep fog, swallowing the ship. Its chilling touch felt almost tangible, a massive spider web clinging to their faces like a dead lover’s embrace.
Behind them the giant’s bulk was slipping to stern, His face indiscernible and His body shrouded by the fog. The air hung silent and heavy. Zallerak plucked a chord, but the brave sound was swallowed by the murk. Ariane still watched. Within minutes the Sea God had vanished from view.
Ariane heard a soft tread behind her. She turned to see Corin standing there.
“I’ll ask you one last time. What price? What did the giant mean?” His eyes were angry and confused.
Ariane smiled sadly up at him. She reached out with a hand, brushed dark locks away from his eyes.
“My soul belongs to the Sea God, Corin.”
“That’s bloody ridiculous.”
“One day Sensuata will call on me to join Him. And when that happens I must depart.”
“Why must you?” Behind him Corin half noticed the shadow of Cale reemerging to listen.
“Because we struck a bargain that not only saved us today but will keep Sensuata on our side in the future. He’s a formidable ally, Corin.”
“I don’t give a toss about that. All I know is that I love you and I’m not letting you go. No man, monster, or even god can come between us, Ariane. Nor can those three meddling women change the way I feel.”
“Ariane turned away. “I love you, too.” Cale gulped. “But this isn’t about you and me. We are part of something much bigger, Corin. And I am a Queen and have my people to protect.”
“How can you protect them if that giant steals you away?”
“Because then I will be Sensuata’s consort, with more influence to do good than any common mortal.”
“More like His plaything.”
“No. He is not as He appears, Corin. Sensuata is terrible, yes, but only because He suffers the eternal ache of loneliness.”
“I don’t understand, Ariane.” Corin felt he was losing grip on reality. His body hurt and his mind raced. Everything was wrong. The woman he loved was slipping away from him. And for what? A vain promise to a being without a soul. That giant might be god of the sea but He was no friend to mankind.
“Do you know the story of Miriel and the giant?” Corin didn’t. “She was a mortal maiden who for a time loved the Sea God. But she was lost to Him, taken by one of His own storms.”
“So?” Corin was barely listening.
“The Sea God suspected she had a lover and in His rage mustered a gigantic storm which destroyed her village. Unknown to Him, Miriel had returned there recently, and the storm took her, too. Sensuata was driven to despair, for in |His way He loved the maiden. They say Sensuata searched for Miriel for years, but no trace of the girl did He find. Since that time Sensuata has sought another bride, trawling the nine oceans with His nets.”
“It’s just a story.”
Ariane smiled again, then on impulse turned, and reaching up, kissed Corin softly on the lips. Cale, watching, felt a tear trace his cheek. The boy felt a sadness he had never known. Even Roman’s dying hadn’t hit him this hard. Cale loved Ariane, but realized he loved Corin, too.
“And what of us?” Corin demanded.
“I will always love you, you fool,” Ariane told Corin. “But our paths lie in different directions. Perhaps we can be lovers in the next life.” Before Corin could respond Ariane had turned and faded into murk. Corin stared at the space where she had stood. He caught Cale’s look and turned away.
“I am sorry,” the boy said eventually.
Corin nodded. He gazed down at the murky water. No words could convey how he felt. Cale, on impulse, grasped Corin’s shoulder and squeezed. If Corin noticed the boy’s show of support he made no sign. Cale let go and, feeling awkward, departed gloomy below deck.
“She is not for you, smiling boy.” Corin wasn’t overly surprised to see Urdei perched on the broken rail behind him. The blonde girl’s tresses were neatly combed and her pretty blue dress immaculate. She was winking at him, her expression sly.
“What do you want, you and your sisters?” Stuff the child. Corin wanted to go find Ariane, grab hold of her, and kiss her until their lips bled. Instead he stood stiff and angry, staring at the blonde girl.
“We want the best for you, beloved.” Vervandi touched his left arm. Where had she come from?
“Or maybe the worst,” cackled Skolde, the blood still trickling from her emaciated arms. The three were watching him: child, woman, and hag.
“Why me?”
“Because you are the chosen one,” Vervandi said, her gold-green
eyes hypnotic as ever. “That little Queen is not for you, even without her recent vow, which she will have to honor one day. Your destiny is higher, Corin, and we mean to help you reach it.”
“Some of us might,” scoffed Skolde while Urdei giggled.
“We all love you, actually.” The girl-child pouted. “You’re very popular, you know. Scolde’s a miserable old hag, but she likes you really, smiling boy.” The crone cackled.
“Well, you know what? I don’t bloody well care. So why don’t the three of you just piss off.” Corin showed them his back. He groped through the fog, seeking the hatch. Bugger the lot of them: Sea God, Huntsman, Goddess, Assassin, Sorcerer, old Dog Face, the three jolly witches. He even doubted Vervandi now, suspecting she’d always had an agenda. And he wasn’t giving up on Ariane. Not yet.
For a long moment he stared into the mist then, mind made up, Corin ventured below for one last try. He soon realized he’d lost his chance. The Queen was deep in discussion with Zallerak and Barin. All three looked tired and worried. Corin joined them and looked at Ariane, but she didn’t return his gaze. It wasn’t going to happen. The odds were stacked too high against them. The Queen and the mercenary—just a dream.
Up on deck the three sisters smiled knowingly at each other. A new game had commenced, one in which they all would partake.
***
Barin had ordered Fassof get some lads to make repairs. Nothing vital was damaged, but they worked in somber silence.
They were drained, shattered. Even Barin was glum. Cale in particular was distraught. It was all too much for the boy. Galed comforted him in the master’s cabin. The two were fast friends now.
Ariane retired without another word to Corin. Bleyne and those crew not on carpentry duty were sleeping, whilst Zallerak fiddled despondently with his instrument. Time passed deathly slow in the swirling fog. Several hours passed—or a day. It was impossible to tell. Nobody spoke save in whispers, above deck or below.
***
Ariane gazed through the porthole from her chair by the desk in her cabin. She had had no choice calling on the Sea God, but now Ariane wondered what would become of her. Would the giant summon her from His legendary palace? Legend said its fathomless halls lay deep beneath the farthest oceans. It was there he had kept Miriel as His Queen, His prisoner, His lover, and wife. Or would He rise up terrible from the surface of Lake Wynais one day and drown her as she rode, dragging her soul back to His domain. There was no point dwelling on it. If Sensuata came for her, so be it.
