Heavy Lies The Crown (The Scalussen Chronicles Book 2)

by Ben Galley

  Lerel stared instead, counting stars she had spent a childhood staring up at. Evernia. Thron. The First Dragon. South of Emaneska, others shapes crept into the sky. Other gods and heroes of Paraian tales. There were too many she had forgotten; minor gods of beasts, hearth, whirlwinds, and the dunes. There were a thousand, each with a dozen different names. She remembered the famous and brightest ones, however: the Bane of Orestus, a scorpion spread across the sky. Bezarish the Holy. And Neringaë the sun goddess.

  Aside from the constant air of salt and the hot tar caulking of the ships, Lerel could take a deep breath and smell the heat of the deserts wafting from further inland. Or the night flowers that bloomed in the shadows of dunes. Yelps from foxes and wolves chased them along the clifftops. The gryphon snored quietly behind her. It was peaceful. She took a deep shuddering breath. She ignored her aching body, and the flashing, visceral images of leviathan’s jaws every time she allowed her mind to wander, and let herself lean against the wheel.

  It wasn’t long before Lerel heard the footsteps on the stairs. Bored, heavy steps. She knew it was Bull without turning to look.

  ‘Warm night,’ she said to him as he lumbered up.

  ‘Strangely warm.’

  Bull liked to stand at the wheel beside her as if he was steering. He wore the same morose face as he had since Scalussen. Half his day he stared east, as if Mithrid and Farden would come winging their way over the horizon on Fleetstar’s back. He must have been the only body aboard the ships that was not exhausted with worry over the leviathans. Lerel stood back from her post.

  ‘You take it. The wheel.’

  Bull’s eyes widened. ‘Really?’

  ‘Just keep her straight.’

  Bull took the wheel with a reverence that suggested it was crafted from solid gold. He gripped the worn handles with his big mitts and stood as tall as he could. Lerel looked up at him and found herself smiling.

  ‘There’s nothing like sailing. Usually, that is.’

  Bull murmured in concentration.

  ‘You don’t have a lot of fear in you, do you, Bull? Not a lot seems to scare you.’

  The lad thought for a while. ‘I’m scared of not seeing Mithrid again.’

  Lerel smiled again. She had guessed. Both he and Hereni had taken a shine to the fire-haired girl.

  ‘You ever lost somebody?’ he asked her.

  Lerel hadn’t expected that. ‘Plenty in all the wars we fought. Farden’s uncle was one of the first that really hurt. He raised me like a father, see. Gave me a chance at the life I always wanted. Free. I grew up in chains like a lot of the Paraian people.’ Lerel shrugged. ‘Mithrid’s not lost, though, Bull. And she’s with Farden. There’s nobody else better to have at your side than a Written mage. Or a minotaur, I imagine.’

  Bull looked at her. ‘You talk about Farden the way I talk about Mithrid.’

  The chap had an annoying knack of noticing the simplest things.

  ‘Perhaps I did, long ago. Our lives drifted apart.’

  ‘Not too late.’

  Lerel chuckled. Bull’s powers failed him. It was a little too simple from the outside. She and Farden had loved each other once, maybe. They had never said it. They had never needed to. Unfortunately, not saying it had driven a wedge between them.

  ‘What of Mithrid? You have feelings for her.’

  Bull worked his gums, awkward. ‘No. I mean… I don’t know. I know I care more than I would for a friend.’ He shifted attention back to her.

  ‘Is that why you want to find Farden like Elessi does? Not that I’m complainin’. I’m all for it. I just hear some people saying it’s the wrong idea. That we should be going ashore. Staying put.’

  ‘First and foremost I keep this armada afloat. Beyond that I follow Elessi. This part of Paraia is dry desert and bandits anyway. There’s no water here or supplies here. Running is the right choice. For now, at least.’

  A flash of silver ahead of the Autumn’s Vanguard brought all that worry crashing back. It was just a dolphin, bursting from the water and spinning like a top.

  ‘Fuck me, that got my heart racing.’

  ‘How are we going to kill those monsters?’

  Lerel patted the lad on the back as she took back the wheel. She needed to feel the ship’s rudder, as if for comfort. ‘Dragonfire. Magick. Every arrow and bolt we’ve got. Maybe you’ll get lucky with that bloody great bow you’ve taken a liking to. Shoot one right in the eye.’

  Bull hummed deeply as if he relished the idea.

  ‘If only we got some of those big bows you’ve got below, and put them across the top deck. We could turn them, shoot better than waiting for them to attack from the sides.’

  Lerel blinked at Bull. ‘Look who’s been paying attention. A fine idea, Bull. If I was Eyrum or Hereni I’d be giving you a rank. If he doesn’t, then I’ll make you part of my crew. I’ll be damned if I let Roiks pinch you for his crew,’

  For the first time, Bull broke his dour marathon and showed off a grin.

  ‘Go tell your idea to General Eyrum. Wake him if he’s asleep. We’ll have one on deck by dawn.’

  Lerel watched the lad march off, faster than he’d come up the stairs. It was a fine idea. Likely not to make a difference for the speed the leviathans moved, but she’d take every edge she could get.

  Ilios stirred behind her, and Lerel turned to find Elessi standing in a long cloak. ‘Growing up fast, ain’t they? He and Hereni. Mithrid, too, no doubt.’

  ‘Hopefully not too fast. You’re late tonight.’

  ‘Wanted to let you two talk,’ she said around a yawn. Elessi had deep bruises beneath her eyes. ‘Good idea.’

  ‘The ballistae?’

  ‘That, and givin’ him a rank. Captain, maybe. He’s like Eyrum. Just does what’s needed without thinkin’.’

  ‘Any sign of the bastards?’

  ‘Not a peep. For now.’

  ‘I wish you’d stop sayin’ it like that.’

  ‘Any news?’ asked the admiral.

  ‘Farden’s been quiet today. Yesterday they spoke of a tournament to the death. Somewhere in a place called Vensk. I checked your maps and some of the old books in the libraries.’ Elessi removed a scroll from her cloak and let it fall open. She poked at a land by a sea Lerel had never sailed. Roiks, maybe. But not her. The distance between them was considerable. Across the Silent Sea, famed for hurricanes and pirates, around a long continent called Easterealm, and to the far north once more. It would take months. To add insult to insult, some idiot had sketched a bloody leviathan right in the middle of the Silent Sea, too. Lerel forced a disarming smile and kept quiet.

  ‘At least we know where they are. And that they’re safe.’

  Elessi was peering at her. ‘You can’t pretend with me. I know you better than that, you sly old hag.’

  ‘Still younger than you.’ Lerel scowled back for a moment before spluttering into a laugh. ‘Fuck, if Durnus didn’t take them as far as he possibly could.’

  Elessi sighed. ‘We don’t have a choice.’

  ‘Towerdawn was right,’ Lerel said, shifting the bookship further from the shore to avoid a spur of pillar-like rocks. ‘We have to think of the cargo we carry. The survivors of Scalussen, the dragon eggs, and the spellbooks beneath us.’

  ‘Spellbooks…’ Elessi whispered.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Farden once told me that certain things, monsters, trolls, wild wyrms and the like, hunt magick. It draws them like the scent of blood. Maybe that’s why the leviathans follow us.’

  Lerel and Elessi both turned to look before the lookout high above screamed his warning.

  ‘Leviathans to stern!’

  In the distance, they saw them: near a headland they had passed hours ago. Merely a crash of water and a glimpse of a dark finned tail disappearing beneath the waves, but enough to put the fear of the gods in the armada. The lookout’s cry shattered the peace of the night’s sea. Sailors sleeping between shifts upon the main deck flew fro
m their cots and hammocks.

  Lerel bellowed orders without hesitation. ‘All mages on deck! I want those sails full and this big bitch of a ship at top speed! Check that sail there!’ She saw Eyrum on deck, wiping sleep from his scaled eyes. Bull was beside him, looking somewhat like the Siren’s bastard son. ‘get working. Lerel pointed at them. ‘Get those ballistae on deck!’

  Elessi clutched her arm as the Vanguard bucked with the increase in speed. ‘What’s in your mind, Lerel?’

  Lerel shook her head to clear her tiredness. ‘What I’ve been planning with the other admirals and captains. A trap. For now we keep up our pace. See if we can bore them.’

  Elessi blew an uneasy breath. ‘Here’s hoping!’

  Admiral Lerel gripped the wheel with her rough hands, and prayed to the old Paraian gods she was right.

  Lerel’s hopes were dashed by dawn. Every half an hour, the lookouts howled and pointed to a surfacing fin or flash of teal scales. Every time, the sea monsters had closed the gap between them and the Rogue’s Armada. Wind magick and sails couldn’t beat scales and fins.

  Elessi had stayed by her side the entire night, watching the stars to keep from staring behind them for hours on end. The general had said nothing, letting Lerel lead the armada as she saw fit.

  The twin islands of Phora and Kaleus now sat on their port. They were glorified sandbars, flat sprawls of grit and desert. A smattering of palms grew by the ocean’s edge. Lerel ran the Vanguard close to them in the vain hope shallow waters might hamper the leviathans. It did nothing but make them show more of themselves. They thrashed the waters instead, sensing their prey was close. They were a mile away at most now. The fear was palpable across the ship. Their first encounter had scarred the crews deeply. Seasoned sailors hurled their guts in anticipation of the battle. White faced ballista crews hammered recklessly at their machines to get them ready.

  Bull’s idea had come to fruition within hours. Cranes lifted three ballistae from belowdecks onto the forecastle, midships, and aftcastle. Even now, behind Lerel, ship’s engineers greased the mounts they had hastily crafted so the weapons could turn. Long iron bolts were being brought up in their dozens. Bull was getting to grips with the firing of the giant crossbows. He silently nodded to the instructions, though he stared at the machine like a page of foreign writing. Lerel bit her lip, but trusted him.

  ‘Where’s this trap of yours, Lerel?’ Elessi finally said, when the leviathans were too close to bear. One had reared out of the ocean to unleash a blood-curdling screech. Lerel felt the Vanguard push even faster as the mage’s tensed their spells. The vortex of wind they created around the bookship had begun to howl.

  ‘No better time than now!’ yelled Lerel. ‘Halve sail! Ready, water mages! Prepare to turn!’

  Bells tolled around her as the Vanguard signalled the rest of the armada. The line of ships, spread either side of her, began to turn hard. The smaller warships could tack sharper without mages, and they did so in unison. The ships’ masts leaned half way to flat on the ocean, spars gently grazing the neighbouring vessels.

  The bookships had water mages, however. Lerel felt the wind of the magick surging from the bookship’s bow. The flat sea ahead of them churned in three separate whirlpools. Lerel and the other admirals drove their ships into them.

  ‘Brace!’ she cried.

  The vortex caught the iron keel of the Autumn’s Vanguard and bucked her sharply to port.

  ‘Ready, battle mages!’ Hereni could be heard ordering from the crow’s nest.

  Lerel heard Roiks crowing with laughter as he managed to turn the Winter’s Revenge faster than she or Sturmsson. She and the latter shared a dry look as the mages halted their spells, lining the bookships bow to stern like a citadel wall, every hatch and port open, spells whining as the magick crescendoed.

  The manoeuvre came not a moment too soon: the ocean was rent in two as a pair of leviathans broke the surface.

  ‘FIRE!’ Lerel roared.

  Colossal jaws wide and screeching, they caught the full brunt of the barrage. Lerel cheered as she watched a fireball burst inside one of the leviathan’s mouths. Scores of ballistae bolts struck their marks. Scales cracked. Blue blood stained the thrashing waters.

  While one leviathan choked on smoke and its own blood, the other was so enraged it tried to attack the Vanguard. Hereni stood upon a platform, fire pouring from her hands. The leviathan recoiled at the blast of heat. Just in time for the other warships to complete their turns, closing an arc around the monsters and bringing their own broadsides to bear. Fire and lightning spells streaked across the waves-tops. Seawater raged into steam as the monsters dove back into the water.

  Elessi yelled from her cover. Ilios stood by her, wings flared. ‘Where is the third one of the fuckers?’ she asked.

  The admiral wished she hadn’t opened her mouth. A great tremor shook the Autumn’s Vanguard as it was struck from beneath. A blue tail surfaced to rear above the ship. Before the deck could be cleared, the tail fell with the weight of a tower. The ballistae they had placed on deck was crushed immediately. Spars and rigging were obliterated. The top deck splintered under the force. Displaced water surged back to drown the lowest ports as the leviathan withdrew its tail. The Vanguard and all aboard reeled. When Lerel had picked herself from the planks, there was a hole in her bookship two decks deep. The tail dragged rigging and a bloody smear behind it as it withdrew into the waters.

  ‘We can’t take any more hits like that!’ she yelled. Bells ordered the fleet to hold its circle. Ballistae cranked furiously across every warship.

  ‘Are you okay, Bull? Ready?’

  Even now, the lad had no fear in his face. Just the pink of a tongue clamped between his teeth for concentration. He swung the ballistae back and forth, arms swollen. ‘As ever!’

  Lerel screamed in her mind. Old Dragon! She needn’t have bothered: the dragons were swooping from the clifftops like crows to a carcass. They had seen the danger, and from above they could spy the monsters in the water.

  To your port, Lerel! cried Towerdawn in her mind.

  The words ripped from her instinctively. ‘Fire to port!’

  As the wounded leviathan reared once more inside their trap, the armada let loose. Its towering neck buckled while it uttered a pitiful screech. The dragons descended in force, blasting the monster with dragonfire. Hereni joined her fire spells until the smell of its burned flesh was heavy. When the steam and smoke were driven away by the dragons’ wings, they found a charred leviathan tumbling like a felled tree. Its crown of spines fins had been burned to the bone. Its eyes were milky. A bolt stood out from its forehead like a horn. The splash of its fall doused the bookships, rocking them side to side.

  The cheer from the armada and the dragons shook the air.

  Roiks stood high on the battlements of the aftcastle of the Winter’s Revenge. ‘Take that you blue-blooded cun—Njord’s balls!’

  The two leviathans exploded from the ocean on either sides of the circle. One broke the spine of the warship Thron’s Hammer in one blow. The other tore planks from the side of the Revenge as it reared up, painfully close.

  Lerel watched on, helpless, as the monster’s jaws plunged into the bridge of the bookship. Admiral Roiks and his officers disappeared in a storm of splinters. Those that escaped screamed as the caustic blue saliva burned to their bones. Again and again, the leviathan gorged itself on anything that moved before its weight could drag it into the water. When it was done with the bridge of the Revenge, blood and detritus pouring from its mouth, it turned with horrifying calmness to regard Lerel and the Vanguard.

  Ilios screeched as he took flight, hovering between the looming, colossal face of the leviathan and the bookship. The leviathan roared at the challenge.

  It was precisely the time Bull needed to aim his ballistae. The rib-shaking thump of the machine cut the noise. The bolt was too fast for her eyes to follow, but Lerel saw it strike: a direct hit to the centre of the leviathan’s eye. The mo
nster sank as violently as it had surfaced, thrashing the water in pain, and dealing the Vanguard a vicious parting blow amidships in its death throes.

  The last remaining leviathan disappeared simultaneously. The cheers were stilted but heartfelt, immediately chased by the cries of wounded sailors and passengers. A quiet fell from the rage of battle.

  Lerel hissed as she finally unpeeled herself from the deck. She hadn’t noticed the gob of blue saliva burning its way into her arm. She splashed some of the water lying on deck on it, then ripped a strip of cloth from her shirt and wrapped it around her arm. She cursed under her breath. Ilios’ beak tucked under her good arm, helping her up. She clasped the gryphon’s feathers.

  ‘You brave bastard. That thing could have swallowed you whole,’ she whispered at the old beast.

  Elessi was stumbling from the stairwell. She had a cut across her forehead. ‘Bull! You did it!’

  The lad rushed to help the general. ‘Lucky shot,’ was all he said.

  Lerel staggered to the splintered railing and stared upon the mess of the Revenge’s aftcastle. Bloody seawater poured from the decks. The crew was still quivering with shock to do anything but idly drag the survivors to safety. Healers roamed the ruined decks.

  ‘By the gods…’ Elessi breathed as she looked over Lerel’s shoulder. ‘Roiks.’

  ‘He’s gone.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Lerel. I—’

  Lerel was already leaving. ‘There’s no time for that shit, General!’ she snapped. ‘Damage report!’

  Shouts came from across the deck. ‘Thron’s Hammer’s nothing but driftwood, ma’am!’

  ‘Sprite’s busy sinking!’

  A man with map of braided locks was busy trying to negotiate the stairs while wiping blood from his eyes. ‘Got leaks aplenty belowdecks, Admiral! One of the libraries is flooding. We’re taking on water by the bucket and struggling to seal it. Most of the water mages are spent, Lerel. Main mast and its clockwork is shot, too!