The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3)

by Michael Foster

  ‘Can you not stop this thing?’ Merryweather asked urgently.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ the magician replied, looking about the deck with consternation.

  ‘Then what can we do?’ Leopold asked.

  ‘Quiet,’ Samuel said and closed his eyes.

  They followed his advice, all too fearful to talk, while the Farstride continue to lean. They proceeded along their spiralling course to the centre of the whirlpool. Crewmen wailed and more were lost, unable to hold on any longer. Some were trapped where they were and could not reach any rope, washed away by the surging waters that spewed across the deck.

  ‘What’s he doing?’ Kali cried. ‘This is no time for prayers!’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Leopold responded. ‘I only hope it is magic.’

  The ship was now broaching forty-five degrees, with more of the maelstrom’s wall now above them than below. They needed hope and when a shuddering ran through their feet, Leopold thought a spell was taking form. When nothing wondrous happened and the shuddering only intensified, it became obvious that something unfortunate was happening deep in the bowels of the ship.

  ‘What is it?’ Leopold asked.

  Captain Merryweather’s face was as white as a ghost. ‘The ballast has shifted. We’re done for.’

  Indeed, following his words there was a mighty jolt as all the stones in the lowest hold of the ship slammed into the downside hull. With all the weight on one side, the Farstride rolled. Men screamed and fell away as the deck became a vertical wall. Timber groaned. Planks snapped. The last sight they were going to witness before plunging underwater was the massive void in the sea beside them. Only the magician remained upright and without support, stuck out from the deck sideways like a human nail.

  ‘Leopold!’ a woman screamed, but the voice was lost in the deafening chaos as the ship completed her roll, tumbling upside down.

  Then, a flash of light and everything changed. The Farstride flickered from existence and reappeared in the same instant, far away and the right side up.

  Leopold’s stomach rose up into his throat as a sense of rising vertigo overtook him. In a moment of panic he swivelled his head and saw the whirlpool and the great clouds of spray above it in the distance, below a shattered sky of dark clouds and rain.

  There was an unusual sensation of weightlessness, and then Leopold realised he was falling. Indeed, they all were, along with the whole ship.

  ‘Hold tight!’ he shouted, but there was little need, for anyone not tied firmly had already been lost.

  The airborne ship slammed into the sea, and Leopold collided into the deck, feeling as if his bones had all been smashed. The nose of the Farstride buried itself deep and it looked as though the vessel was going to continue its path straight to the sea floor, until she levelled out and rose again, clawing her way to the surface. Tonnes of seawater spread as waves across the deck, covering them all and filling their mouths and eyes, spilling over the edges of the deck.

  Like almost everyone still alive, Leopold could not bring himself to move. He shuddered, gasping, petrified with horror, expecting some other catastrophe to appear and steal him away.

  As the moments passed, people coughed and stammered. Hatches were kicked open and crewmen appeared like startled vagrants venturing into daylight.

  The forward masts were gone altogether and half the ship was a wreck. Of all the people on deck, only thirty still remained.

  Leopold turned over his shoulder to check on Kali. She and her sisters were gone.

  ‘What in blazes is happening?’ Rei shouted, sopping wet as everyone.

  People realised they were safe and alive, and they cut themselves free from their ropes. Many had grazes and burns from their bindings, many broken limbs. Some were limp, still tied in place, fainted or dead—Leopold had no way to tell.

  Captain Orrell hurried over, saturated with water and with blood running from the side of his face, hurrying to check on Jessicah and looking furious.

  ‘What happened, Magician?’ he demanded.

  ‘We survived,’ was Samuel’s reply. ‘You best get her back to her cabin,’ he said, referring to Rei. ‘We don’t want her making any further trouble while she has the opportunity.’

  ‘You are doing a fine job of killing everyone yourself!’ she scoffed.

  Captain Orrell took that as a signal to throw her over his shoulder and he started off to put her back in her room ... whatever remained of it. She did not resist, cackling and laughing all the way.

  Captain Merryweather had recovered from his initial shock and he and Mister Chapman were making calls to search for the dead and injured, to set to work checking for damage. The deck was noticeably tilted, but that could not be righted until the ballast had been evened out and the bilges pumped dry. Remarkably, those men that survived dragged themselves to the tasks immediately.

  ‘Come on, Turians!’ Chapman bellowed. ‘We can mourn the dead once we join them in the afterworld! Now there’s work to be done! Get to it! Haul your sorry arses!’

  Those on deck had suffered the worst, and from below more men came to help. Toby scampered into the sunshine, baffled by the scene, but it took him only moments to begin dancing on the watery deck, splashing in the puddles and slapping at the water with his hands.

  There was no sign of Kali, Phoenix or Destiny. Leopold hoped they had freed themselves and were helping the wounded, but he could find them nowhere; none of the men had seen them. Leopold asked man after man, but the response was always the same. He ran from deck to deck, checking in doorways and looking in cabins, in every room without result ... Kali was nowhere upon the ship.

  The terrible truth dawned on him that she had been lost, washed overboard with so many others. He searched for tears, but his heart felt empty. He was too exhausted for grief.

  He returned to the aft deck and looked behind them. The ship was floating, barely moving without her sails, pushed along by the softening breeze against her hull. The trail of floating debris and bodies in the water showed the short distance they had drifted since Samuel had cast his spell and saved them.

  ‘Samuel!’ Leopold cried, having found the magician in his cabin, checking his casket. The room was a wreck, like so many others, filled with water up to the ankles, but the sturdy coffin appeared unmoved. ‘Help me! I think Kali and her sisters are lost. Please, help me find them.’

  The magician paused. Leopold feared he was going to refuse or say something confounding, but he simply pointed to the rearmost wall.

  ‘What?’ Leopold asked, confused.

  ‘She’s there. Not far,’ Samuel told him. ‘I can feel her. Kali is hurt, but alive. Of Phoenix and Destiny, I do not know. Check behind the ship.’

  ‘I’ve been there. There’s nothing.’

  ‘Check behind the ship,’ the magician repeated sternly.

  Leopold was away like the wind, as fast as his legs would carry him, filled with renewed hope. Of the bodies he had seen floating, all were men. Perhaps Kali was amongst them, unconscious or treading water.

  He arrived and grabbed onto the railing, leaning out as far as he could over the sea, peering into the distance for any sign of her. His eyes were drawn down. A rope near his wrist was tangled and knotted around some wreckage, hanging over the edge. He followed its length, and there, hanging halfway to the water was a shape, hanging upside down, snagged by the leg.

  ‘Kali!’ he yelled, but she was motionless. He grabbed hold of the rope, careful not to dislodge it and drop her down, and he began to haul her up. ‘Help me!’ he called over his shoulder, and two bedraggled soldiers came to their Emperor’s aid.

  For a lean woman, she was remarkably difficult to lift, but finally Leopold reached her leg and then her middle and then they were carefully bringing her over the side and placing her on the deck. Her eyes were closed. Blood was streaming out from beneath her hair, pouring over her forehead in alarming volumes.

  ‘Bandages!’ Leopold told the men.

  One scoo
ted away as quickly as he could with a dutiful, ‘Yes, Your Majesty!’

  Leopold pressed his hand on the wound. ‘Kali, can you hear me? Kali. You’re alive!’

  His heart leapt with joy when she moaned. She blinked and opened her eyes.

  ‘Don’t move,’ he told her. ‘You’re hurt.’

  She rolled her head, searching either side. ‘Where are my sisters?’

  ‘I do not know.’

  She looked at him intensely, thoughts running through her mind.

  ‘Stay still,’ he told her as she tried to stand, but she would not listen to him.

  She climbed to her feet and observed the wreck of the Farstride with a blank face. She looked to Leopold, went to say something, and stopped. Taking him by surprise, she hugged onto him tightly and sobbed. He held her as tightly as he could in return. She said nothing and he said nothing. At any other time, it would have been a dream come true, but Leopold felt so wretched, yet so glad to be alive, that all he could do was onto hold her and let all his fears fall away.

  ****

  It took seven days to fix enough of the ship to have them on their way again. Samuel spent the first three of those in his cabin, struggling to contain his demons after the battle with Lomar. After that, he emerged only hesitantly to check on the work, looking out at their progress with eyes dazzled from the sun.

  In one way, it was fortunate they had lost so many men, for they were light on provisions due to Samuel’s hurry. Much of their supplies had also been ruined. As it was, and with their significant delay, strict rationing was needed to last out the journey.

  The work went slowly, and when they were ready to depart, the Farstride limped away, barely a shadow of her former self. Captain Orrell’s Turian soldiers were now needed to help the crew with their day-to-day tasks, and they went at the task with vigour; no complaints or mutterings from them. They worked side by side with the sailors as if born to it.

  Kali was quiet during that time. Leopold sought her out frequently for she was suffering from her loneliness—the only Koian and only woman on the ship. Jessicah did not count, tied and bound as she was. Possessed by the witch she was not particularly good company.

  Leopold rapped softly on Samuel’s door when they first hauled sails, announcing their readiness to depart.

  ‘Come,’ sounded the ragged voice from inside.

  Leopold let himself in. Samuel was sitting in a chair opposite the door, with his palms laid flat on the armrests, as if he had been watching the doorway all morning.

  ‘I feel we are underway,’ he said before Leopold could grant him the news. He looked gaunt. His cheekbones were sticking out. His hood was drawn up around his head, as if its shadows were comforting.

  ‘How are you?’ Leopold asked.

  The magician nodded slowly, thoughtfully. ‘I am alive, Leopold. My guests are now resting.’ He placed his palm on his chest to illustrate. ‘I sense we lost many. Phoenix and Destiny are gone, but Kali at least remains.’

  ‘Yes,’ Leopold replied solemnly.

  ‘The ship is moving. At what capacity?’

  ‘Captain Merryweather said we can return to sixty percent capacity by nightfall. The ship was prepared well. There were spares for nearly everything that was broken. What he did not have, he made or improvised.’

  ‘Ah. That is well.’

  ‘But the wind is not so favourable, so he does not expect us to track well.’

  ‘There is not much I can do about that at the moment. We will just have to make do. The Great Spell took quite a lot out of me. I was already tired after chasing after Lomar ... but I did not see much choice if I was to save you.’

  ‘Believe me, everyone is very thankful, Lord Samuel.’

  ‘Leopold,’ the magician said, looking up from within his hood. ‘We have been through much together. I wanted to teach you many things, but I am tired now and just want to have this over with. Do not call me Lord any more. I really don’t like it. Only pompous Turians call me that—and Lady Wind, because she is a woman of habit.’

  ‘So why have you insisted I use it all this time?’

  ‘You know very well why, Leopold. For the same reason I set you to so many pointless and arduous tasks. I wanted you to be better ... and you are better. In fact, I do not doubt you would be so even without my pointless tampering. You are not my student or servant or any of those things. You are a grown man, and I count you as my friend. Leopold, I am sorry for breaking your heart. I am sorry for bringing you here. It was necessary and I never had any choice, but still, I am sorry.’

  ‘I understand,’ Leopold replied. ‘I have forgiven you already.’

  ‘You did a fine job of saving the ship. If not for you, I would have been too late and nothing I could have done would have saved anyone.’

  ‘I did what I had to do.’

  ‘You did, and it was excellent.’

  ‘So you were there the whole time?’ Leopold asked Samuel. ‘While Lomar and I were talking?’

  ‘I was.’

  ‘Then you heard everything. I hope you realise I was not fooled by him.’

  ‘I do, Leopold.’

  ‘And you learned everything you needed to.’

  ‘I did. He crafts an elegant spell, our elusive friend Lomar, I grant him that.’

  ‘What happened? Why did the island fall?’

  ‘Lomar caused it. It was the only way he could escape. I was so close to catching him ... and he knew I could not resist saving you. The sight of that stone slipping away, and the sheer chaos it left behind was just beautiful. I was so busy watching it that I nearly failed to notice the Farstride disappearing down its throat.’

  ‘I thought it was monstrous.’

  ‘Monstrously beautiful, perhaps. I find all the most powerful and destructive forces to be creations of beauty. I cannot help but appreciate them. Such raw energy, such elegance, patterns of power so wonderfully aligned. It takes my breath away.’

  ‘I’m afraid I cannot share your opinion. I only saw something horrible.’

  ‘Because you don’t see how I see, Leopold. Don’t worry. I hope you never do. Once you start to fall in love with such things, it is the first step from humanity. Disasters, battles, massacres—I have seen men weep with joy at the sight of them, not in madness, but with marvel. I hope you never become like that, Leopold. It was a failing that overcame your father for many years, until his mind was changed.’

  ‘What changed it?’

  ‘Many things, but most of all, I think it was you.’

  Leopold smiled and with the magician now lowering his head and sighing, he knew it was time to leave. Quietly, he retreated from the room.

  ****

  It was evening of the sixth day after resuming their journey and Leopold met Kali upon the deck. He had convinced her to meet him each night at such a time and when possible he spent the daylight hours with her as well, as much to be in her company as to keep her mind from her losses.

  ‘We are nearly there,’ he told her. Toby was playing by their feet.

  ‘We are.’

  ‘Will you truly go back to Koia after this is over?’

  ‘Of course,’ she told him. ‘If it is possible. I do not know the plans of this ship, but if there is a way for me to return, I will find it. I will return to my home and continue my duties.’

  He bathed in her presence. He poured himself into the beauty of her feline features. ‘You could return to Amandia with us.’

  ‘That is kind of you to offer, but my path lies towards my home. I am a Koian warrior.’ She smiled, a sad but contented smile.

  He did not know what overcame him; he had not planned it and had worked furiously to keep such thoughts from his mind, but Leopold reached out and took her hands in his. She did not resist. He stepped in and closed his eyes and placed his lips to hers.

  Her mouth responded and she welcomed his kiss. Those few moments felt like precious centuries, but when he opened his eyes—just a crack to peek at her face—hi
s elation vanished.

  Disturbingly, he saw her eyes wide open all the while, her face hollow of emotion.

  He drew back.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ she asked him.

  ‘I would ask you the same thing.’

  ‘Not at all, Leopold. I am sorry if I did not act correctly. I thought you wanted me to kiss you. I did not want to offend you.’

  The flat, explanative tone of her voice was crushing. He dropped her hands and stepped away. Never had he felt so disappointed.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m sorry. I should have known.’

  ‘Known what?’ She was hopelessly ignorant to his feelings.

  ‘That you felt nothing for me. That you cannot possibly ever do so.’

  ‘I am sorry, Your Majesty. It is true. I am fond of you and I am glad for your company, but that is the extent of it. It can never be any more than that.’

  ‘Then why did you kiss me?’

  ‘I did not want you to be offended.’

  ‘So you said,’ he muttered back.

  ‘Have I upset you?’

  ‘No,’ he lied. ‘I was foolish to have wanted ... to have thought that ...’ He trailed away, realising it was futile to go on. ‘I’m sorry. We will arrive tomorrow. I am sure you must have preparations in mind. Forget what just happened. It was silly of me to make assumptions. It was wrong of me to expect any different.’

  ‘It is true—I have things to prepare. Then I shall take your leave,’ she said, unfazed.

  He nodded, unable to face her as she walked away. He felt like a fool. He knew he should never have raised his hopes, but he could not help it. He wanted to be with her with every part of his existence.

  ‘It hurts, doesn’t it?’ came the voice of the magician. Leopold whirled around and the man was not far away, leaning against the point where the two halves of the ship met in a pursed nip of railing.

  ‘Have you been there all the while?’ Leopold asked with annoyance. ‘Why does everyone spy on me?’