Back to the Vara

by John Kerry

  “Narok! Calven!” Hami shouted. He lit up his staff. “Take hold of the rope …”

  Then Eggie slowed, bumped, and lurched upward, tipping Sammy into Hami, Leiss and the railing.

  “We’ve hit the sandbank!” Mehrak yelled from the front.

  Golden Egg Cottage rose from the water as Louis staggered upright.

  Narok and Calven came up behind on Indomit.

  Sammy lit her staff and shone it down into the water.

  The sandbank wasn’t visible through the stirred-up silt and shimmering staff light, but it couldn’t have been far below the surface as Indomit’s belly remained above the water.

  “Are you okay, Calven?” Eva called out.

  Calven managed a shaky smile. His face was pallid and waxen in the staff light. His sopping turban had partially unravelled, sagging at the side.

  “Can it get us here?” Mehrak asked as he walked out onto the back balcony.

  “No,” Hami replied. “It’s too heavy. It wouldn’t be able to lift its body from the water.”

  “Stalemate then?” Narok said.

  “Not necessarily. It depends on how long the sandbar is and how close it takes us to the island. If there’s any significant stretch of water to cross, we might be in trouble. You and Calven should come aboard Eggie in that event.”

  Narok held Hami’s gaze. “I’m not sacrificing Indomit. I can keep him calm.”

  “As you wish,” Hami replied. “Lights off, Sammy. The leviathan will be tracking our movement through the shallows but let’s not make it too easy for him. Let’s hope this sandbar takes us the rest of the way to the islands.”

  On the way back from luncheon with his old department, Baxter called in on the minister in his office.

  “We need to delay the council,” the minister said, by way of greeting.

  Good afternoon to you too, Baxter thought. “And why is that, minister?”

  “Aegis’s men have lost Hami.”

  Baxter found himself at a loss for words. “How exactly did they manage that?” he asked after a moment. “They’re on greenbucks. Hami is in a gastrosaur caravan. It’s not as if he can outrun them. They’re on the plains of Al-Biruni, there isn’t anywhere to hide.”

  “Their tracks end at the shore of the Kuchak Sea.”

  “End?”

  “It appears that they entered the water and swam for it.”

  “That makes no sense. Hami wouldn’t risk their lives crossing Leviathan Lake.”

  “Apparently he would. Judging by their point of entry, they’ll have been hoping to reach Jonubi Island. It’s not a long stretch of water, but as you know it’s a perilous one. Aegis didn’t allow his magi to go in after them so they’re heading back to Piruzan.”

  “If Hami survives the crossing, he can use the bridges between the islands to island-hop all the way to the other side.”

  “Correct.”

  “So we’ve lost them?”

  “Aegis has an old friend in Archipelago City. Ex-magus I think. He’ll keep a look out. There are also magi heading from the garrison towards Ameretat that are passing by the northern shore of the lake, so there’s still an opportunity to apprehend them.”

  “If they survive.”

  “Aegis seems to think they will. He doesn’t say so, but he has a certain admiration for Principal Hootan. I, on the other hand, think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility Hami gets the girl killed, and formulate a plan for how we’re going to deal with the Ahriman without her.”

  –THIRTY-NINE–

  THE SHALLOWS

  The sandbar took them a significant way towards reaching the archipelago, yet not far enough, and there remained a sizable expanse of open water between Eggie and the closest island. Too great a distance to outswim a streamlined killing machine in its own back yard.

  They were so close. Close enough to distinguish beach huts and campfires on the shore. People, too. Indistinct but there, milling around, doing whatever it was archipelago islanders do.

  The disappointment aboard Eggie was palpable.

  “This can’t be as far as it goes,” Leiss said. “There must be another sandbank branching off this one somewhere, maybe further back … or a rock or something.”

  Louis lowered his head into the water, moved it in a slow arc from left to right, then lifted his head and signed to Mehrak.

  “There’s another sandbank between here and the island,” Mehrak said. “A bigger one. But it’s a way off.”

  “Can we make it?” Leiss asked.

  “I don’t know,” Mehrak said. “The leviathan’s lying in wait. Louis thought it was another sandbar at first. Until it moved.”

  “We know it’s big,” Leiss said. “How does that help us? By reminding us how futile our chances of survival are?” He was rattled, twitchy. He was breathing hard, hyperventilating. He hadn’t snapped into elite Marzban mode like he’d done in the fire temple. Probably the thin figure had stripped him of his confidence or perhaps the leviathan seemed too vast and insurmountable. Whatever the cause, Leiss wasn’t coping.

  Hami reached out and put a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go downstairs?” he said. “Sit this one out.”

  “I can’t leave you guys to face the leviathan without me.” He spoke quietly. It was a weak objection without conviction.

  Hami let him off the hook. “We can’t fight the leviathan,” he said. “And you’re a fighter, Leiss. The only way to survive is by outmanoeuvring it. You can’t help with that. And, honestly, you’re only going to get in the way if you stay up here.”

  “I can’t sit around downstairs in the dark knowing that at any moment Golden Egg Cottage is about to get crushed around me and dragged to the bottom of the lake. I can’t deal with that.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Eva said. “I’m guessing you don’t need my fighting skills either?” she asked Hami. “As good as I am, even I’d struggle against the leviathan.” She smiled and took Leiss’s hand. Then she turned to Hami and her expression became grave. “You dragged us into this, and you killed my Bludget. You better get us out of this.”

  Hami met her gaze, nodded once.

  “Figure something out,” she said, then led Leiss away.

  He made no protest as he allowed himself to be taken inside.

  Hami gave them a moment, then went to the railing. “Louis, is the leviathan sounding underwater?”

  Louis’s ears flicked straight up, signing, yes.

  “Do you think it’s using those sounds to navigate? Like you’ve been doing?”

  Another yes.

  “Good,” Hami said. “That’s useful.”

  “Good in what way?” Mehrak asked. “Good that we have even less chance than we thought? Leiss was right. This is futile.”

  “Do you want to go downstairs too, Mehrak?”

  Mehrak clenched his teeth. “You need to start showing me some respect. You’re aboard my house. And we’re helping you clear up the mess you’ve caused.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Hami said. “It’s all my fault. The black skies, the demons, the legions of dead rising up. And now this situation. I know what I’ve done to the realm, Mehrak. I’m aware every moment of every day. But I’m trying to fix it. No one else is heading to the snow base to shut down the portal. We’re on our own. The fate of Perseopia in our hands. I know this crossing was a risk, but honestly, I believe there was no other choice.”

  Mehrak clenched his jaw but said nothing more.

  Hami coughed, retched, and took several long breaths to get his gag reflex under control before speaking. “Louis navigates using soundwaves to bounce off objects. He waits for the returning echo to tell him where objects in front of him are. If Louis can recreate similar sounds to those made by the leviathan, then we might be able to disorientate it. Or even bombard it with multiple signals. The effect would be similar to one of us having a bright light shined in our eyes
. The leviathan won’t be able to locate us and will be swimming blind. And that might give us enough time to make it to the next sandbar.”

  Hope rose in Sammy’s chest. She didn’t want to get too carried away but she needed something to cling on to. “Will that work?” she asked.

  Mehrak shrugged. “It’s a plan. I wouldn’t say I’m entirely happy about it, but it seems like our best shot. We can get Louis to transmit misinformation too, to send the leviathan in the wrong direction. But that’s assuming it can’t see or smell us.”

  “It couldn’t pick Louis out from the ships we were amongst earlier,” Hami said. “That leads me to believe that its sense of smell isn’t as well developed. Its eyes were white too, which would seem to suggest that it’s blind.”

  “It saw me,” Sammy said. “It looked right at me.”

  Hami shrugged. “Even if that’s the case, Perseopia is far darker now than it was a few days ago. I’m willing to bet the leviathan isn’t used to this level of darkness. It’ll be relying almost entirely on sound.”

  “What about heat detection or movement?”

  “I’m not worried about heat as the leviathan couldn’t differentiate between us and the ships. Movement? I don’t know. We’ll just have to stop whenever it’s close.”

  Sammy’s earlier spark of hope was diminishing. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” she said.

  Louis raised his head and signed a brief sentence to Mehrak.

  “The leviathan has begun circling our sandbank,” Mehrak said. “We should set off immediately after it’s gone past in order to give us the maximum amount of time before it returns.”

  “Agreed,” Hami said. “Then once it comes back round, Louis can start blinding it with noise.”

  Louis added some further ear semaphore to the discussion.

  “We need Narok and Indomit to pull us backwards,” Mehrak said.

  “We can’t,” Hami said. “That will drastically reduce our progress.”

  “Louis needs to be facing the leviathan and sending sound waves when it rounds the sandbank. If there’s any gap in transmission, the leviathan will be able to see us.”

  “Does that matter? We only need enough of a head start to reach the next bank.”

  “Louis seems to think it will. He can’t swim and keep turning around to distract the leviathan. He needs concentration to reflect sound off the large rocks and underwater structures so they hit the leviathan right. You can’t aim noise directly at it, because it’ll be able to trace it back to us.”

  “If Louis can hear the leviathan’s noises then it must be able to hear ours too,” Sammy said. “So it will know we’re tracking it.”

  “Not necessarily,” Mehrak answered. “Louis says the leviathan is only using a narrow frequency band, which would imply that it can only hear in that range. Louis has been using a much lower frequency to monitor its movements. Which means it probably doesn’t know we’re watching it. It won’t be aware that we know it’s circling the sandbank. That gives us an advantage.”

  “Do you think it’s that easily fooled?” Sammy said. She’d been staring out across the oily water, attempting to locate the source of niggling doubt that she couldn’t quite pin down. “We connected. The leviathan and I. I experienced its thought processes, its intentions. This creature’s intelligent. Not as clever as Louis, but a lot smarter than Kimbo or the karkadann.”

  “We don’t have a better plan,” Hami said.

  “I can tell it’s biding its time, calculating …” she trailed off.

  “You know, there were once magi who practised the discipline of establishing sympathetic links with animals,” Hami said. “It took them years of study to learn what you’ve picked up in a matter of days.”

  “But I can’t control the leviathan. It’s too big and strong willed.”

  Hami watched her. “You’re capable of more than you know. I have faith in you. And if you’re not ready, be sure to keep your staff close.” He paused. “I doubt we’ll be able to hurt the leviathan, but we might be able to slow it down. Don’t light up until we have no other option. It may not have decent eyesight, but let’s not give it anything to aim at.”

  –FORTY–

  BACK IT UP

  Narok led Indomit into the shallows, guiding Louis backwards down the bank. The rope between Eggie and Indomit’s saddle had been doubled up with the surplus that had previously connected them to Bludget. A third line ran alongside the first two. A thin piece of twine linking Eggie’s back balcony railing with Calven’s wrist. This third line would be used for communication.

  The plan was for Sammy to man the rear balcony – which for the next segment of the journey would be travelling forwards – and to use the line to relay messages to the gents on the karkadann. If the leviathan was deemed to be getting too close, Louis would sign to Hami, who would communicate a halt command to Sammy over their special network. Sammy would then give a quick tug on Calven’s twine, Calven would squeeze Narok, and Narok would stop Indomit. It was convoluted, but hey, that was the plan.

  Sammy, Mehrak and Hami waited in silence as Louis waded further out and stopped. He sunk his head under the water and twisted round to scan the direction they were going to be heading in.

  After a time he raised an ear from the water and gave the signal. The leviathan had gone past and was on its way to performing another circuit of the sandbank. Sammy crept quietly through the bedroom to take up her position on the back balcony. She waved to Narok, and Narok took Indomit forward until the rope tightened. When the line tugged, Louis edged backwards, allowing Eggie to slip into the water.

  Mehrak came out onto the back balcony to join Sammy as the cottage and an inert Louis floated backwards out into the water. He stood close, his arm touching hers, no doubt showing solidarity against the perils ahead. Sammy tried to ignore it, as she stayed focused on the islands in the distance, their haven of light just out of reach.

  They travelled in silence, bar the intermittent slosh of water each time Louis raised his head from the lake to gulp down air. Indomit was working hard, pulling against the bulky mass of the cottage, dragging them towards their goal, but progress was slow, seemingly negligible, as if the islands themselves were swimming away from them. It created an almost paralysing dread that numbed Sammy’s senses. The islands were falling out of focus as she stared into their light, the darkness encroaching on all sides like the leviathan’s jaws closing over the top of her.

  Then she felt Hami’s mind reach out to her. Stop!

  Sammy snapped back to the present and gave Calven’s twine a tug.

  They floated to a stop.

  Mehrak flinched but held himself still. He was trying to remain calm. For her. A rock to cling to, but his petrified shivering shattered the illusion of stolid manliness and had the adverse effect of reminding Sammy of how tenuously their lives hung in the balance.

  What’s happening? Sammy asked Hami.

  The leviathan came round the sandbank, then dived to the bottom, he replied. It either knows or has a suspicion of what Louis’s capable of and is trying to catch him out by swimming under his detection. Louis’s struggling to track it against the lakebed terrain and keeps losing it.

  Should we swim for it? Sammy asked.

  No. Do nothing.

  Sammy waited for further instruction, but none came. Time passed. She had no idea how much.

  Fear was rolling off Mehrak in waves. He was struggling to keep his nerves under control and was practically spasming. Sammy put her hand on his to reassure him.

  Then Hami was back. Sorry for the gap in communication. Louis is signing incredibly slowly as he doesn’t want to create vibrations. The leviathan’s directly below us, about three stadia down and sending pulses in all directions. So far all have missed us. So we remain quiet and wait for it to pass.

  Mehrak was getting increasingly agitated beside her. “What’s going on?” he whispered.

  T
ell Mehrak to be quiet! Hami yelled in her head.

  Sammy raised her finger to her mouth, staring at Mehrak pointedly.

  Mehrak tightened his grip on the railing and turned his gaze to the islands while continuing to shake.

  They waited.

  Eventually Hami came back online. All clear, he communicated. The leviathan’s moved on around the sandbank.

  Sammy gave Calven’s twine a quick tug, waved to Narok, and Indomit pulled forward again. She let out a long breath and smiled to Mehrak. He tentatively smiled back. She returned a reassuring hand to his. Then Hami fired back the order, Stop!

  They’d barely begun moving again, yet Sammy tugged the rope.

  Indomit stopped.

  It’s back and searching the area again. It knows we’re making a run for the other sandbank.

  Mehrak took hold of her arm. He looked pale even in the orange fire light from the islands.

  Silence. Unbearable silence.

  It’s found us!

  Sammy wasn’t sure how to process that information. What now?

  Hami burst through the curtains. “Go!” he yelled to Narok. “Just keep going and don’t stop.”

  Indomit surged forward. Eggie shifted, but not by much. They were moving again. Slowly. Way too slowly, like they were swimming through treacle.

  “Come with me!” Hami dragged Sammy away through the dark bedroom to the front balcony. “I need your help to divert the leviathan.”

  “But it’s already seen us.”

  “Only for an instant. Indomit is dragging us away from our last known position and Louis’s filling the whole region beneath us with noise. The leviathan’s blind. It’ll have to surface if it wants to see where we are.” Hami leant over the railing. “Louis. Do you know where the leviathan will surface?”

  Louis pointed his ear out.

  “How far?”

  Louis signed.

  “That’s less than a stadion,” Hami said. “Sammy, I need you to splash the water way off over there.” He pointed. “Draw the leviathan to that point so that when it breaches I can go for its eyes, forcing it back underwater.”