Keeper of the Grail tyt-1
Page 19
As we sailed along, the captain muttered to himself about “the ugly head” over and over. I thought he might be crazy, so I asked one of the crewmen what he was referring to. There was a tale, the crewman said, of an ancient god who cut off the head of his enemy, tossing it into the sea where it drifted for eternity. As it floated in the sea, the head would rise and fall with the waves. The legend said that if the head faced down, the waters would be calm, but when it showed its ugly face skyward, then a horrible storm would follow. The crew feared that somewhere on the sea, the ugly head now faced toward the sky.
Robard snorted when he heard this, cursing me for hiring a captain who was both drunk and insane.
“The only ugly head here is his,” Robard said, pointing at the captain.
A few hours before dusk, the winds died down and the waves settled somewhat, but it was only the calm before the real storm. As dusk approached, the sky went almost completely black without warning. Lightning crackled overhead. Rain fell hard and sudden, and we were soaked through in minutes. The wind roared from the east, and the ship tossed in the waves that crashed over the bow of the boat.
Captain Denby and a crewman lowered the sail, giving each of us a length of rope.
“You’d better tie yourself to the railing. You don’t want to get washed over,” he shouted over the wind.
With no argument from us, we looped the rope over the railing and around our waists, tying it fast. The dog began whimpering. There was no way to secure her to anything, so I scooped her up in my arms, and she quieted as I held her.
The thunder and lightning came again and the rain fell harder. The captain yelled orders to the crew, but it seemed no one was listening, and indeed there was little they could do. The ship was at the mercy of the storm.
Up and down we went, splashing and crashing through the waves. It was a good thing we were lashed to the railing or we’d most certainly have been washed overboard. The dog began fidgeting in my arms, so I loosened my tunic, stuffing her down inside; she lay against my chest with just her face peering out.
I checked my ropes and held fast to the railing. The satchel was secure on my shoulder, but I felt it again to be sure. Robard was shrieking at the top of his lungs, curses and requests for the storm to do things to itself that were most likely impossible. Maryam said nothing, but I saw the worry on her face. She had had no choice but to come with us, since Sir Hugh would have had no qualms about killing her, I’m sure, and she was miles away from her home and her people, very likely to drown in the ocean.
There was a mighty thunderclap and the wind gusted hard against my back. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The air around us went bright white. In that instant a loud crack shook the ship, and I looked up to see that lightning had struck the crossbar. It had snapped, and now hung in place by only a few splinters. The wind whipped it back and forth until it finally gave way, crashing down toward us.
“Look out!” I shouted over the noise and wind.
Shoving Maryam as far to the left as her rope would allow, I pushed myself against Robard in the other direction. The crossbar splintered on the railing between Maryam and me. Pieces of it flew in every direction, and I howled as a large splinter pierced my calf. The dog wiggled, thrashing inside my tunic, and I clutched my chest with one arm, trying to calm it.
The railing was smashed and only Robard remained tied to it. Just then the ship pitched wildly in the waves and I saw the bow cut into a huge swell. The front of the ship rose until it was pointing almost straight up in the air. I heard shouts from the crew, but the wind was so strong and the rain so hard in my eyes that I couldn’t see them anywhere.
I heard a screech from behind me and turned in time to see Maryam plunge into the water. Then the ship dipped again, righting itself. The wind punched me to my knees and I slid along the deck in the same direction. As I tried to stand, the ship suddenly pitched below me and the deck rose up again, slamming me onto it backfirst. I felt with my arm for the dog, who was quivering and scared but still tucked safely inside my tunic.
“Tristan-Maryam! She went over!” Robard shouted.
“Help!” Maryam’s voice was barely audible over the shriek of the wind.
I scrambled to my hands and knees, looking aft to find Maryam holding on to a piece of the anchor rope that was still secured to the deck.
“Hang on!” I yelled to her.
Staggering over to Robard, I handed him the dog. He took her in his arms, then tucked her safely inside his tunic. I tried to crawl back to Maryam, but the tossing of the ship made it nearly impossible. Inching closer, I saw that she couldn’t hold on much longer.
Finally, with the wind howling around me and the rain pelting my face I made it to the rear of the ship. Maryam was just out of my grasp. I shouted at her to climb the rope hand over hand until I could reach her, but she was being dragged through the water, too terrified to loosen her grip on the rope for even a second.
I looked back at Robard, who was too far away to help, and I still couldn’t see or hear the captain or the crew. Perhaps they were lost already.
“Maryam! You need to climb up the rope! Climb closer!” I shouted.
She just screamed and gripped the rope more tightly. The ship pitched upward again, and she disappeared beneath the water.
Then a strange thing happened. Over the noise of the wind and rain, I could hear a new but familiar sound. It was a faint humming that I had heard twice before, both times when I was in mortal danger. It was the sound of the Grail.
Time slowed. The bow of the ship came back down, and Maryam rose up out of the water. I grabbed for her but she was still too far away. I would never have believed what happened next had I not seen it with my own eyes. The Grail saved her.
The strap of the satchel flew off my shoulder, moving down my arm until I could grip it in my hand. As I held the strap firmly, the satchel, as if under its own power, slid outward until it was near enough for Maryam to clutch it to her. She released the rope, taking hold of the satchel with both hands while I pulled with all my might. The next thing I knew she was on the deck beside me, sputtering and spitting up water.
The strap to the satchel was twisted firmly around my wrist. I had no time to think about what I had just seen. The humming sound had stopped, but the storm had picked up intensity.
“Get back here! Hurry! You need to tie yourselves off!” Robard shouted from where he remained tied to the deck railing.
Maryam and I staggered to our feet but were knocked aside again as the ship dropped violently in the trough of a wave. We hit the deck, sliding along the slippery wet surface, and would have gone over again, but Robard reached out an arm to catch us as we slithered by.
He had enough of a length of rope left to bind Maryam about the waist. There was nothing for me to tie myself with. The wind howled and the water crashed over the ship as we bobbed up and down in the waves. Robard and Maryam were secure, and I held fast to the last broken piece of railing as we huddled together, praying for the storm to end. I feared the captain and crew had been lost. Or they were cowering in the hold, hoping to ride out the storm. Either way they were of no use to us.
For a few minutes, as the ship thrashed about, I thought we might survive, until a particularly large wave washed over the side and I lost my grip. Tumbling across the deck I slammed into the mast. The ship teetered in the opposite direction, and I tried to grab on to the mast but missed, sliding across the deck away from Maryam and Robard.
“Tristan!” I heard them shout in unison. I didn’t hear anything else, for the ship dove into another wave and I flew over the side, hitting the water with a jolt. It was cold, and I struggled to ride the waves and keep my head above water. The ship cantered away from me, but I heard another loud crack and watched the mast itself give way. There was a loud groaning sound as it tilted over, heading right for me. I kicked, lunging to get out of the way, but as it fell, the deck of the ship rose up and the mast hit it on the edge, snapping in two. The
impact shattered the mast, and pieces of it went flying like arrows shot from a thousand bows.
The last thing I remember was a large piece of wood from the mast catapulting through the air, headed directly for me. I tried to dive below the water, but I felt it slam against my head and shoulders. After that I remember almost nothing. Nothing except a faint humming sound coming from somewhere I could not determine. I only knew it was familiar and comforting.
As the water closed over me, I remember thinking to myself that I had tried. Please forgive me, Sir Thomas. Please forgive me, but I did try.
Then the sea welcomed me into its dark embrace.
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