The Eyes of Sarsis

by Andrew J Offutt

  “You — you changed.”

  “Only an illusion, lord King. Sometimes, during a Summoning, the inner nature, the soul … becomes visible.”

  Bjaine tried to rise and was too weak. At least he could move his lips: “Wizard … what did you summon?”

  “Why, look at that so-muscular belly of yours, and see.”

  The Norther was just able to raise his head and look down. On his stomach a pentagram had been drawn, in black ink. Within it had been painted, in blood and only gods knew what else, a demonic face. A fanged red thing whose eyes were filled with an avid hunger. For a moment Bjaine thought his sanity had fled. The eyes of the painted image moved to stare back at him — and its lips parted in an evil grin.

  “You … have painted a … a devil on my stomach!”

  “In a way. It is a real enough demon. When you bring us Jiltha and the little box I require, I shall remove the demon. Serve us and you will live to be a king. Otherwise … before very long, time and wear will do away with part of the pentagram that holds the devil there, and it will be freed. And hungry. I don’t believe that you will enjoy feeding it. Your ship awaits, loyal Bjaine.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tiana’s sleep was sundered by a scream of anguish. She was full awake, out of her bunk and armed with her rapier, all in seconds. Ready for anything, she found nothing. Her cabin was lighted by a single suspended oil-lamp whose shadows concealed no enemy. What had awakened her? Another scream, close by and filled with pain. Somewhere on her ship there was a catfight — and she knew that made no sense. The ship’s only cat was her redoubtable tom, Rarn. While it was not impossible that another cat had chased a rat aboard while Vixen lay in port, two weeks had passed since their departure from Reme. Rarn would surely have met and attacked an intruder long before now. Nor had he ever made any noise killing rats: Rarn was a silent efficient killer. Could one of those verminous soldiers be baiting my cat? Last year a fool tried that and paid with his eyes. A long eerie howl undulated on the night. One thing was clear: Rarn was in trouble. Tiana would learn nothing by remaining in her cabin.

  She hurried out on deck. The night was all salt and cold black iron, so that her crew and the Ilani soldiers were sleeping below decks. Fog was a noiseless wet coverlet. Of course, a ship’s deck was never completely deserted.

  “Helmsman! Where’s that catfight?”

  The only answer was the sound of the sea and wind in the sails. Tiana raced to the helm and was horrified to find it deserted. Her ship was adrift. She grabbed the rudder-oar and dragged it, hard. Cording creaked.

  “Bardon!” she yelled, “get up here on the double!”

  Her second appeared in moments, looking amazingly alert. Tiana demanded to know who’d been assigned to the helm.

  “Garnis, Captain. What happened to him?”

  “I don’t know. Take the helm and get this ship back on course. I’ll relieve you after breakfast.”

  Tiana searched for the missing helmsman. Of him she found no trace; in the forescastle she found Rarn. He had fought his last battle. His wounds had clearly been inflicted by another cat. Judging by the spacing between scratches, that opponent had been smaller than Rarn. Tiana carefully examined the dead cat’s paws. Much of the blood there was not his. Good, then; he had done some damage. Tiana considered. While Rarn’s coat was coarse and black, clinging to one paw was a tuft of soft white fur. It was not the hair of an ordinary wharf cat, but of a purebred. A pet. Tiana swore under her breath. Another cursed mystery! A reliable sailor gone from his post; a tough ship’s cat apparently slain by a pampered little pet.

  Tiana remained squatting beside the dead animal staring at the dark waters ahead. Dawn was not long off. Had she used the past two weeks wisely? Caranga’s wounds were healing well, but he was still weak. She had put her own pirates and the guardsmen through endless drills and mock battles, chiding them for their mistakes: “The idea is to do the job without getting killed!” She had maintained an even-handed discipline, never favoring her own men over the soldiers. She had practiced her surgery, sewing up the victims of personal fights and accidents.

  All these were good in themselves and served a second purpose: she was winning the loyalty of the guardsmen away from Kathis. Since he ruled by force, displaying not the slightest concern for his men’s well-being, it was an easy thing to do. After the battle, Kathis might wish to court the Princess Jiltha — and discover that none of his men would support him.

  Odd, Tiana mused, that the very handsome fellow completely failed to attract her! Indeed — and far more inexplicable — she didn’t seem to attract him! Well, let that rest; she’d other more important concerns.

  The preparations she’d made satisfied her but what had she left undone? She rubbed poor old Rarn’s fur while she reflected. In Reme an unseen enemy had tried to kill her. She had sailed away, confident of leaving that danger behind. It did not seem possible that even a supernatural being could hide on her ship. Yet a white cat was somewhere aboard.

  My deadly enemy a small white pussycat?

  The thought was absurd. Still … She hastened to Ca-ranga’s cabin. Nigh invisible in darkness, he was awake in his bunk, sitting up.

  “Daughter, what in the name of Susha’s sweet paps are you excited about?”

  “Father … when the duke tried to poison us — wasn’t there a white cat in the room?”

  “Why yes.” He scratched the hairy mat of his chest. “A beautiful animal. I remember thinking it was a coincidence, seeing two white cats in one evening.”

  “What? Where did you see the other?”

  “Sitting in the window of the Wayfarer Tavern, watching the room.”

  “You mean twice in one night a white cat watched an attempt to murder us!”

  “You make a coincidence sound mighty sinister, Tiana.”

  “Three times is no coincidence.” Rapidly Tiana told of the missing helmsman, and Rarn.

  “Daughter, you’re making a blanket out of a few cobwebs. The world is full of cats. Too many cats. Twice during a night when we were in constant peril, we saw a white cat. Now we have a cat on this ship. It has some white fur — and may or may not be white.”

  Tiana sighed. “That’s logical, but I can’t quite believe it.”

  “If our enemy is on board, why hasn’t he attacked?”

  “I don’t know, Father. Perhaps you’re right — but I’ll feel better after we find that cat.”

  Dawn had arrived in pink and gold, and Tiana insisted on putting her hair to rights before she left Caranga’s cabin. He sat in the bunk he had not left, shaking his head.

  “Vanity,” he muttered. “Your vanity will be the death of you yet!”

  “My vanity! Who is it traded the price of a good horse for this fine Stigilatan mirror I’m borrowing!” And she gave herself a last appraising look, also flashing her foster father a mirrored wink. “It’s light now, father. You look amazingly good naked, for a man of your years.”

  Emerging into pearly light and the pleasant savors wafting from the galley, Tiana mustered crew and soldiery.

  “There will be no drill today, for tonight you fight in earnest. By noon we should sight the Kroll Isles. We shall drop anchor and wait for darkness. At full dark we must sail through a maze of reefs and shallow passages without being spotted by any of the lookouts. Up until now any man who spoke during our silence drills got extra duty. Tonight he could get all of us killed. If we are spotted, there is some small hope of killing the coast-watch before he can light a signal fire. You’ve been through those drills. All of you know the dangers we face. If we succeed, each of you will be a hero, savior of the princess. 1 make this promise to you King’s Own: you shall receive equal shares of the treasure with my own men. You will be rich heroes.”

  This brought roars of approval from the men, and Tiana posed smiling. Then they fell to for breakfast. Tiana ate hastily and went to relieve her second, a youngish fellow, well born.

  “Bardon, I want you to tak
e five good men and make a thorough search of this ship.”

  “What do we seek, Captain?”

  “Anything out of the ordinary. Any sign of Garnis. Above all, you are looking for a cat. If you find one, kill it and bring me the body.”

  Bardon could not conceal his puzzlement, but the rather morose second mate left without question. The water through which Vixen moved was gilded blue crystal, her wake an endless stream of pearls. Farther back Tiana saw a triangular fin knifing through the blue. A shark — no, a whole pack of sharks was following Vixen .

  Tiana pushed that thought into a corner of her mind while she saw to the normal cares of running a ship. She was thus busy while crew and soldiers ate breakfast, in shifts. At last she was able to pace hungrily to the galley where the cook had hot porridge and sausage waiting for her. Despite her attempt to relax while she ate, the stored-away observation returned to nag.

  “Virakoka … how much food have you been throwing overboard?”

  “I don’t understand, Cap’n.” He gnawed his droopy chestnut mustache.

  “Table scraps, spoiled food, leftovers, Koka. How much have you been chucking overboard?”

  “Practically none, Captain,” the high-voiced Nevinian told her. “There’s been no spoilage yet and the men eat everything I cook. At least they did until today.”

  Odd; a pack of sharks was following the ship. A few was normal, but the cook had done nothing extra to attract them. “Today? This blood sausage is good, Koka. I appreciate the basil. Adds a little sweetness. What was the matter with appetites this morning?”

  “Thank you, Captain. Oh, they all seemed to eat hearty; no battle nerves, but there’s a lot of food left. I must have misjudged and fixed too much.”

  Bardon interrupted. In shining leather mailcoat, he looked tired and worse than nervous. Though he was hardly ugly, her second mate’s perpetually morose expression served to guide the eyes of others from him. The lean man with the lank tawny hair always looked as if he’d just lost his best friend.

  “Captain: the results of our search. We found no trace of Garnis on board, or of a cat either. Captain … we also found no trace of five others of the crew, and fifteen guardsmen.”

  Tiana was profoundly glad that she could pretend to be chewing. The news was a jolting shock. Its enormity made any reaction inadequate. Twenty men — gone? She swallowed, otherwise showing nothing. When confronted with circumstances frightening or worse, she tended toward a superhuman calm — else she’d have been dead years ago. Besides, she was ship’s master. If she showed anything approaching panic, so would the crew. Or Bardon, who appeared to be poised on the edge, right now.

  “Oh yes,” she said in a natural tone. “Did you find any sign of struggle?”

  “No, none.” Bardon showed his puzzlement at her bland reaction, and even so she saw him relax a bit.

  “Right,” she said, and dissembled further. “Well, mention that five men are sick. That way no one will wonder about someone he doesn’t see — and I’ll keep them busy! Sorry, Virakoka. Maybe it was breakfast.” Inside, she seethed: Twenty men! No wonder poor Koka has leftovers! “Why don’t you each quietly have a measure of wine. Sit down and have some breakfast, Bardon. You’ll need your strength this night.” If not before , she thought, and hoped not.

  She returned on deck, trying to think through the problem of the white cat. Just as the facts seemed promising to fit together, the lookout bellowed “Land Ho!” That drove away all other thought. Tiana mounted the rigging for a better view. Land? She saw three ugly jagged rocks rearing out of the water. If Voomundo’s chart was accurate, those things were outlying portions of the Kroll Isles.

  “Rat dung!” Considerably off course, she descended to turn Vixen eastward. That required some fairly tricky sailing; the Kroll Isles as landmarks, Vixen out of sight of the several lookout points. The sun was low by the time she reached her goal. Tiana gazed toward those dim rocky points and the full green sleeve of her shirt rustled as she gestured.

  “Drop anchor. Into the rigging and be quick about it. We have less than an hour to lower sail and raise the black ones.”

  She moved to the rail. There, occasionally calling an order to hasten the raising of black canvas, she directed her mind back to the mystery of the white cat.

  It’s on this ship, but it can’t be found. All right then, it’s not a natural creature . It’s a — Something Else that takes the form of a cat . Though events hardly made sense, they had begun to form a pattern. The blind beggar Arond: striding through the Wayfarer as if he were again a pirate going to battle. Duke Holonbad, drinking his own poisoned wine as if it was an excellent vintage. Uldrood and his mad vision — and Captain Despan faithfully obeying orders that had never been given.

  They’re all in the same pattern, Tiana mused. The cat never attacked directly. Its power was that of illusion, which it used to trick others into doing its will. After each use of that power, a bloodless corpse was found. This accursed cat is a king vampire! It needs to drink blood each time it uses its power — and it must want either Princess Jiltha or the Jewels … ! Fate had made her the cat’s rival for both, she realized now, and it had naturally tried to kill her. Failing in that, it had found a way to join her expedition.

  By the Cud — it hadn’t attacked during the voyage because I am taking it where it wants to go!

  Tiana trembled, practically dancing in excitement. She was solving the riddle! Another few minutes and she would have the pieces together — and her thoughts were interrupted. It was the handsome and thoroughly competent Kathis of Reme. Strange that the man failed to attract her; there was something … cold about him.

  “Yes, Kathis,” she snapped coldly, “what is it?”

  “It is the eve of battle. There are many details we need to discuss, Captain. First though I want to thank you. I understand the king’s original plan meant that I and my men would be fighting for no more than our regular wage as soldiers. Your generous decision to share the treasure means I shall be a wealthy man.”

  Tiana looked narrowly at the warrior. Was this ever-armored stick really so naive that he failed to see the larger stakes in this game? “No thanks are necessary, Kathis. I wanted to avoid setting our men against each other.” And can’t you see that I have also robbed you of your command ?

  “I have known many great and noble lords, but none with such a fine sense of noblesse oblige as you.” He lifted his head to jut his chin in that odd way of his; if the gorget bothered his neck, why did he persist in wearing it?

  Though Tiana loved flattery the way a cat loves cream, there was something uncomfortable about this conversation. She changed the subject. “Do you really plan to wear all that heavy armor into a sea battle?”

  “Oh Captain, I can easily swim in this bit of weight. I’m practically stripped. Only helmet and body armor left, with my arms and legs quite bare.”

  “Hardly,” she corrected, giving him another narrow look. “Your arms are not bare at all. I’d think a long-sleeved woolen shirt like that would be … uncomfortable, Kathis.”

  He shrugged. “Really, there are more important things for us to discuss. First of all … ”

  Kathis proceeded to ask Tiana about a host of unimportant but seemingly necessary details. When at last he had finished, Bardon appeared. Tiana was kept busy and found no chance to think. And then it was time to sail.

  The sun was setting behind the Kroll Isles, painting the waters and land a red gold. Now was the ideal time to approach the Isles. Vixen would be invisible coming out of darkness, while her crew could see where they were going. Even the breeze was strong and favorable. Tiana pored over Voomundo’s chart.

  The first lookout point they were able to pass at some distance. It was low on the horizon, nearly invisible in the dusk. Tiana was certain the watchmen could not have seen her ship. The second watch had to be passed at closer range, but the channel was wide and clear. By now twilight was a faint glow in the west and purple shadows had gone blac
k. Tiana signaled for total silence and Vixen stole forward. Her black sails were full and did not flap. Every man sat motionless and silent through many tense minutes — until Tiana signaled normal running. No signal fire had appeared.

  The third lookout point was some distance away and now it was a race against moonrise. Voomundo’s chart showed every current. Tiana used them and every inch of sail to best advantage, but the moon won the race. This watch point was built on a cliff above two navigable channels. One was the normal channel, in plain view of the watch tower. With the moon up, even an aged scribe could see Vixen pass. The second channel flowed narrowly between a reef and great rocks, directly beneath the lookout cliff. Tiana steered into that track of danger and signaled silence. Bardon had taken his position in the ship’s prow. Signal ropes had been rigged. Men held their breaths and hearts pounded. It was like sailing through a great mouth of gnashing teeth … and then they were clear.

  The fourth shore-watch point would require the least skill and the most luck. The lookout was manned by a single watcher. If he were not keeping close watch, all would be well. Just when it seemed the plan was working perfectly, a man ran from the base of the watch tower, bearing a blazing torch. He raced toward a large pile of wood. Kathis’s long bow sang and the man pitched over. His torch fell to the ground and died. In silence, Tiana squeezed Kathis’s arm. He seemed to wince, but his teeth flashed in a smile.

  They did not plan to sneak past the last lookout. This post must be surprised and stormed. It had been Tiana’s intent to lead the attack party; now Kathis logically insisted that the task belonged to him. He picked six of his men, all that would fit in the small boat, and departed. Even for a small boat the path among the rocks was treacherous.

  They managed.

  Tiana wanted to stand and stare after those men going into the foggy dusk, crowded in mail into the little boat, bent on murder; ever-necessary murder. Instead she went to her cabin. Peeling off belt and blouse, she wriggled and strained into the breast-bracer she wore on Business. Sometimes it wasn’t easy being a woman, she mused — and didn’t the small-chested ones have it easier!