by R A Browell
Zoytail Attack
‘Once again, we owe you our debt of gratitude,’ Silky whispered softly into the epona’s ear. Temore’s huge chest was heaving, the flexible skin, expanding like a black umbrella before closing and shrinking back again.
‘I am only sorry that we cannot take you further,’ he replied, ‘but Kelpasia has her feet firmly in the ocean. We await news of the daughter of Vebbia. If you need us again, you need only ask.’
Aegle waited quietly as Hari and Ziggy dismounted, he had listened to news of Lily’s disappearance with sadness. The epona had heard of the Seleni and their unconventional means of executing justice but he remained silent as the boys dismounted, then he joined Temore as they headed back towards the mountains. Silky, Hari and Ziggy watched them disappear in a cloud of dust and then turned and walked resolutely along the isolated jetty. Reaching the end, they stood staring across the lagoon at a city that rose up like a cliff face from the dark water.
‘We could swim, but given the circumstances, I think a more formal entrance to Serenisa is called for. Ziggy, would you mind calling the boatman?’ Silky paused, looking around. ‘I see our friends aren’t here yet!’ she added frostily, her gaze settling on Hari.
Ziggy was already negotiating an antiquated enclosure within which was housed a large weathered horn. It was easily the size of two grown men and although part-covered in algae and remnants of ancient seaweed, Hari could see that it had been carved out of some kind of huge shell, its once shiny surface now covered in small pock-marks which exposed the soft chalky material beneath; the battle scars of time and tide. Ziggy picked up the narrow mouthpiece of the horn and raised it to his lips, blowing gently so that a lone, low note carried wide across the water.
‘Silky, I keep telling you, it was nothing to do with Ziggy or me,’ sighed Hari. ‘We told them not to go. We said you’d not be happy about us splitting up, but at the end of the day we couldn’t stop them. You know they don’t like riding the epona. They don’t get the horse thing, like the rest of us.’ Silky looked back out across the lagoon, her mouth pursed tight as she listened to Hari’s excuses. ‘Look, they said they’d get here!’ he said, flinging his arms in the air in exasperation. ‘You’ve just got to trust them.’
‘And if they don’t?’ she replied tersely. The mist was settling like a soft blanket over the surface of the water.
‘If they don’t, then we go on without them. But they’ll be here, James and Charlie care as much about Lily as you do. They won’t let her down. I know they won’t.’
‘And you’re sure about that?’ she asked, continuing to stare out across the open water. ‘They left you here too.’
‘More than sure,’ Hari replied, standing his ground. ‘I give you my promise that they won’t let us down. They will meet us in Serenisa, I promise they will.’
‘We’ve sent Valens out there alone,’ Silky sighed, ‘travelling to an island to ensure that three bloodthirsty creatures don’t get what they want. I hope he doesn’t try and do anything rash.’ She paused, rubbing her temples with her two forefingers again. ‘I can’t believe that they just went off like that, and with Galdo of all people, he’s all but useless. The valetti aren’t adventurers and warriors,’ she said, shaking her head, ‘and then there’s Lily, so young and…’ She sighed again, this time more deeply. ‘It’s such a dangerous world out there. Maybe I’m just getting too old for this,’ she murmured, her voice trailing off.
‘Come on Silky, you’re talking about a trained member of the Protectorate and two strong and formidable sanguins. They can easily look after themselves as well as an additional valetti and as for Lily; we all know she’s special. She may be young, but there’s something about her. She takes everything in her stride. I’m not saying that she doesn’t get freaked sometimes and like all girls, she seems to cry at a moment’s notice, but when it really matters, she instinctively knows how to handle a situation. Remember our hunting expedition? She’s got some kind of sixth sense. She’ll make the right choices. We all will. That’s why we’ve been recruited. That’s why the gatekeepers let us through.’ He paused for a second. ‘I think you should just try and trust us. Let us handle the situations in which we find ourselves. We’ll be fine and we’ll be back together really soon, I know we will.’
Hari moved closer to the nymph, towering over her slight frame, and placed his arm around her shoulder. Silky forced a smile and reached up to pat his hand gently. Over on the horizon a small skiff was approaching. It was moving quickly so that its outline became clearer and clearer until finally it was upon them. It slowed, lifting its oars, drifting silently alongside the wooden jetty and came to a stop directly below Silky’s feet.
An ancient mariner, bent double with time, with skin like the bottom of a worn leather boot and long, thin, patchy hair looked up and acknowledged them with one silent nod. His rheumy old eyes stared up from the deck of the tired, shabby looking vessel as he clutched the frayed algae-coated rope in his skeletal hands. Hari thought he looked like someone newly escaped from Davy Jones’ locker. Without warning the mariner straightened and with the vigour of a man sixty years younger, he jumped onto the boardwalk and started to tie the rope to one of the weathered wooden posts. Hari started with a jump at the unexpected life from such a worn-out body.
‘Ya call’d?’ the mariner asked, his voice rattling like a old fence post. ‘Ya munt me tak ye cross t’ watter?’
‘What did he say?’ Hari whispered, furrowing his brow as he struggled to understand what the strange sailor was saying. He glanced at Ziggy who looked equally uncertain.
Silky ignored Hari, smiled at the old man and nodded, gracefully.
‘Ya’ ave me munny?’ he asked, holding out his leathery hand and grinning to expose a set of blackened stumps where his teeth had once been. Hari tried to ignore the stink and overall aura of putrefaction that seemed to surround the old mariner and his boat.
‘Does everyone here smell of decay?’ he whispered to Ziggy.
‘Not everyone. I don’t!’ grinned the young alchemist.
‘Three obols. One forn each of ya!’ the mariner announced, watching closely as Silky took three silver coins from a small silken purse hidden within her skirt pocket and dropped them into his outstretched hand. He quickly snapped shut his silver-crossed palm, then gallantly offered Silky the other, as the ancient sea-dog helped her down into the boat. Ziggy followed with Hari jumping down after them, landing effortlessly onto the scrubbed deck.
Hari was dumbstruck.
Now he’d boarded the vessel, everything had changed. Just like at Dodona, when they’d passed through the waterfall curtain, Hari opened his eyes and saw the world from a new perspective. The ancient mariner was no longer a repulsive old man dressed in rags but was young and with richly appointed clothing and his body was so very different to that which Hari had observed just a few moments earlier. Turning to unfasten the boat, he could see the strong broad shoulders and legs of an athlete; the powerful musculature of an Olympic rower and as the sailor turned back towards them, his broad smile exposed a clean, white smile rather than the pegs of decay they’d first encountered and it was the same with the boat. From the boardwalk, it had looked alarmingly worm-eaten and weather-worn and Hari had feared that it may be completely un-seaworthy, but now they found themselves on board a finely appointed craft. It was painted in rich, bright colours and over the be-gilded deck was a huge white silk sail that doubled as an arbour to protect passengers from the burning sun by day and allow them to admire the bright moon by night. Around the deck were deep, velvet-lined chairs with plumped cushions, oriental day beds, each lined with rich, colourful silks and ornate tassels and then there was the excess of gilded tables, each one stocked high with refreshments that included bowls of exotic fruits, the like of which Hari had never seen in all his travelled life. The colours and scents were so strong; so vivid and so alien to Hari’s own experience, that he felt dizzy and found himself slumping onto the nearest chair
where he lay back, staring at the patterns in the shimmering silk sail and the blue sky beyond and wondering if anything in these worlds was as it first appeared. Ziggy leaned over the side of the boat and looked across the wide lagoon towards a city that seemed to glitter in the golden rays of the sun.
‘See that?’ he said, pointing over towards Serenisa. ‘The Serenisians cap the tops of all the towers and pinnacles with gold leaf, like your ancient Egyptians used to do with their obelisks. It means that Serenisa stands out for miles and miles as a shining beacon; guiding ships and welcoming visitors into its streets, which are said to be paved with pure gold…’
‘Don’t listen to him,’ Silky smiled. ‘Ziggy likes to exaggerate. He knows full well that the Serenisian streets are not paved with gold. It is true, however, that you will find Serenisa, above all places in your world and ours, to be a place of great culture and beauty.’
Ziggy turned, leaning against the side of the sumptuous vessel as the athletic mariner reset the horn on the jetty and readied the boat.
‘The Kelphs are a beautiful race,’ continued Silky. ‘They are naturally graceful and refined, with a matchless elegance found nowhere else on the planet. Some of your human myths about faeries and elf-folk find their origins with the Kelphs. In our worlds, all those with artistic abilities; the musicians, the sculptors, the singers, the painters, eventually find a home for their expressive talents here in Serenisa. You will find it very different from the dark heavy stone walls of Pergamont.’ Silky picked up an exotic looking green spiky fruit and taking a tiny delicate bite, chewed it carefully before she continued. ‘Serenisa believes itself to be the most sophisticated city on Earth,’ she smiled, ‘but of course, a world where pleasure is the main preoccupation has its issues, for a place where everything is judged on its outward beauty often hides an underbelly of corruption,’ she warned. ‘You will see why the Magisterie has found it convenient to give safe house to the Seleni. Their mere presence acts as a deterrent against those who may appear as angels, yet who choose the path of demons.’
Hari glanced at Ziggy, then steadied himself as the boatman pushed the vessel away from the wooden jetty and took his position at the stern, plunging two heavy golden oars into the dark water.
‘Keep away from the edge,’ the mariner warned, calling towards the bow, ‘these currents attract trouble.’
‘Why should we keep away from the edge of the boat?’ asked Hari. ‘It looks perfectly calm out there and what’s happened to him? He’s speaking properly now; none of that mad accent!’
Silky smiled. ‘If he says that you should keep your hands in the boat because the waters are trouble, I should do as he suggests. He’s spent all his life on this stretch of water, he knows it better than anyone.’
‘I wonder what exactly he means by trouble?’ asked Hari, peering over the side of the boat, imagining the prospect of a little action.
‘Just wait,’ replied Silky shrewdly, ‘but see that dark flat area just ahead, where there appears to be very little movement?’ She pointed to the surface of the water just ahead of them. ‘Well, watch out when we sail into it. All I will say is you should hold on tight and preferably with two hands!’
The prow of the boat ploughed through the gentle waves as Hari watched the dark flat area of water rapidly approach and then, just as they were about to sail directly into it, they heard the mariner’s voice from the stern.
‘There she goes!’ he shouted as the whole vessel was suddenly turned ninety degrees on its side. All of them felt the deep underwater current catch the boat, throwing it forward as though it were being tossed and turned in a gale force wind, and yet the sails remained slack and steady, the whole of the tumultuous motion stemming from deep below the hull of the ornamented vessel.
Ziggy lost his grip and was tossed across the deck. He just managed to catch hold of the side of the boat to steady himself when he felt a slimy hand reach up and grab hold of his wrist, followed by a tightening sensation as six, long, rubbery, multi-jointed fingers attached themselves to his skin. Each finger was coated with hundreds of minute suckers, like on the tentacles of an octopus, and they now had fast hold of Ziggy’s wrist and were pulling hard.
Ziggy screamed and tried to pull his hand away, but the grasp was too firm and the pull too strong as, whatever it was, started to exert a downward pressure, pulling Ziggy’s hand, dragging it slowly and inevitably towards the surface of the water. Ziggy screamed again.
‘My hand, something’s got my hand!’ he yelled.
Both Silky and Hari threw themselves towards Ziggy as the boat continued to rise and fall with the swift action of the treacherous current.
‘Hold onto his waist, I’ll see what’s happening,’ shouted Hari, leaving Silky to grapple with Ziggy’s long cloak. He grasped Ziggy’s arm and peered over the side. The boat was now starting to keel over as one of the mariner’s golden oars lifted clear out of the water, hampering his ability to row the boat through the current.
‘Steady on!’ the mariner shouted. ‘Steady now or you’ll have us over!’
‘I’m trying!’ Hari yelled as he pulled Ziggy’s arm, like one end of rope in a game of tug of war. Ziggy screamed out in pain as the long-fingered, suckered hand dragged him relentlessly towards the water with Hari exerting an equal amount of pressure in pulling him back. Hari moved his hand slowly down Ziggy’s arm, creeping towards the blue rubbery fingers that were wrapped around Ziggy’s wrist. He tried to pry each suckered finger off Ziggy’s flesh but it was useless; each one was attached, as though it had been individually glued with superglue onto the alchemist’s skin.
‘What is it? What’s got hold of you?’ Hari shouted as Ziggy closed his eyes and tried not to think about the pain and then they all heard it; a snap followed by Ziggy’s bloodcurdling scream as his wrist finally succumbed and broke clean in two.
‘Zoytail!’ Ziggy screamed as the pain tore up his arm.
‘You’re going to have to let your man go,’ shouted the mariner, ‘I told you to stay away from the sides. He’ll have us over…’
‘Zoytail?’ Hari asked, looking back at Silky who was still clinging desperately to Ziggy’s waist, as they, and the zoytail, continued to play tug of war, with Ziggy as the rope. Chairs, tables and exotic fruits were rolling around the once immaculate deck.
‘Sea-monkey,’ cried Silky, ‘it has a suckered hand at the end of its tail. That’s what’s got hold of Ziggy now, its tail!’ she explained, pulling Ziggy back with all her strength.
‘Do they hunt alone or in shoals?’ asked Hari, trying to stay focused as he battled with the creature. He looked down again at the thin rubbery fingers. Ziggy was the zoytail’s next meal and it didn’t intend to give him up easily.
Silky shook her head. ‘I’ve got no idea,’ she replied, her face paler than usual as the boat keeled even further over. It was now lifted clear out of the water at one side. Hari could feel the cool spray of the salty water against his face as he clung to Ziggy’s arm.
‘We can’t wait!’ he shouted, ‘Even if I could hold on for much longer, I doubt whether Ziggy’s arm would last. Ziggy, you’re okay in the water, aren’t you?’ he called as Ziggy nodded; the pain too intense for any words. ‘Take a deep breath and trust me,’ said Hari, looking into the alchemist’s terrified eyes, ‘and Silky, only let go when I say.’ Both Hari and Ziggy took a deep breath. ‘Now!’ Hari shouted as Silky released her hold on the alchemist’s waist and Hari simultaneously relaxed his resistance against the pull of the zoytail. The two teenagers slipped over the side and into the dark turbulent waters as Silky fell back on the deck and the partly keeled boat slammed back down onto the water’s surface with a crack. The mariner was still fighting to resume control; his rippling muscles strained, his face pouring with sweat as he battled against the current and weight of the distressed vessel which was now rocking back and forth like a possessed cradle.
Silky scrambled back across the deck and ran to look over the edge of the boat jus
t in time to see two rings of dissipating foam floating on the flat black sea. Her heart was pounding like the epona’s hooves; beneath her calm exterior the panic was fighting to escape. There was no sign of either of them. She called for the mariner to bring the boat back round, peering hopefully into the dark ocean as the seconds dragged into minutes and the minutes seemed like infinity.
Hari was holding Ziggy’s waist tightly as they hit the turbulent sea. Through the curtain of blinding bubbles, he could just make out the faint outline of the zoytail with its long tail and suckered fingers still wrapped around Ziggy’s arm. It was pulling them down as it powered through the water; diving deeper and deeper. Finally, the visibility cleared as the zoytail slowed and the remaining bubbles raced to the surface. Hari could now see what he was up against. The zoytail looked almost humanoid; like a silver ape with four powerful limbs, each designed to plough effortlessly through the water and each limb ending in a webbed claw; four deadly sets of flippers, ready to slice open its prey at a moment’s notice.
‘Don’t let go,’ frequenced a terrified Ziggy as the zoytail slowed even further and its long tail started to shorten, reeling him in like an expert angler, towards the creature’s smooth, streamlined body and the four razor-sharp claws.
‘I’ll wait until we’re closer, then I’m going to have to let go of you if we’ve got any chance of getting away. The current’s pretty strong down here. You okay for air?’
‘Just don’t leave it too long,’ Ziggy frequenced, his pain partly masked by his terror as the zoytail reeled him relentlessly towards its claws.
The creature had stopped diving and was now suspended in the water. Shafts of light filtered down from the surface of the ocean, catching the zoytail’s scaly silver skin and making it glitter like a shoal of patrolling barracuda. Hari waited, watching the length of tail grow shorter as the distance between the two boys and the four claws narrowed. The zoytail turned its head, its rheumy, red fish-eyes peering at them through the murky ocean as Ziggy started to struggle again, pulling against the grip of the creature. He felt the suckered fingers tighten until he couldn’t feel his hand anymore. It was strangled, starved of blood by the pressure the zoytail was now applying. He twisted his body as he tried to escape.