by Jon F. Merz
Eventually, the two swimmers exited the outcropping and floundered their way back to the dock, where two more men hauled them from the water. Ran surfaced and watched. As they stood there shivering, Malkyr stormed up and demanded to know if they’d found anything.
“There was nothing, my lord.”
Malkyr backhanded the first man. “You are fools. How can one man disappear like that? He’s not a wizard. He must be here somewhere.”
The second man cleared his throat. “Perhaps, my lord, he swam out of the harbor and made it to open sea?”
Malkyr stopped and ran a hand over his jaw. “Perhaps. It would be a difficult swim, though. And the danger from sharks is great.”
“They may have already devoured him, sir.”
Malkyr nodded once. “It’s worth investigating. You two get some warm clothes on and then take a skiff out of the harbor. See if you can find any signs that he passed that way. Better yet, see if you can find any sign that the sharks took him.”
The two men rushed away, and Ran allowed himself to float in the gentle swells. The rest of the docks seemed to be quieting down now that Malkyr had assumed Ran was gone. But sailors still rushed around putting supplies on the transport vessels. Ran wondered when the army from the north might be due to arrive, but he guessed they were still some time away. The supplies being loaded were all dry goods and nonperishables. That meant the army was likely not due to arrive for a while yet.
Ran hoped that was the case, anyway.
Eventually, he heard a bell ring somewhere farther away from the docks. The sailors all stopped working and filed off through a tunnel leading away from the docks. Ran pulled himself out of the water, aware of how chilled he was. He squatted in the shadows of the remaining crates and used deep breathing techniques to rapidly flush heat into his body. The practice of doing so was an ancient one. The training for doing so consisted of sitting naked in a snow drift while cloth that had been soaked in icy water was draped over you. You then had to meditate and through deep breathing be able to generate enough heat to dry the cloth.
It had been so cold when Ran had undergone the training that he made a vow to himself that he would get it done the first time so he didn’t have to suffer through it again.
He’d been the only one in his class to get it right the first time.
Now, as he dried himself, Ran felt his thundering heart inside of his chest and smiled. If Malkyr truly believed he was gone, that afforded Ran more opportunities. The first thing he had to do was get back to the tunnel and see if Kancho and the others were still there somewhere. So, after drying off, Ran stole out from the concealment of the crates and headed up the slope toward the tunnel entrance.
The torch still burned brightly. Ran was surprised there were no guards at the entrance, but then again, they were probably part of a search party following the tunnel back to the now-blocked entrance where they had entered. As Ran re-entered the tunnel, the first thing he saw was a small pile of stones that had been arranged in a peculiar way. Ran recognized it immediately as a Murai signpost meant to direct other Murai. Kancho had left it off to one side, and Ran read the direction as heading east, so he backtracked down the tunnel until he felt a shift in the air.
A branch? Ran let his hands trace their way over the rocks of a shadow recess and found the opening. It was barely large enough to squeeze through, but once he did, Ran was able to stand up and continue on. Twenty steps ahead, the new tunnel sloped downward and meandered left and right before widening out into a new cavern. Ran saw the faint blue light and smiled.
Ran came to an abrupt stop as bare steel hovered inches from his face.
“So this is where you all went.”
Kancho’s face popped out of the dim light as he lowered his sword. “He’s back!”
Ran smiled. They had each whispered, but even so their voices sounded loud in the confines of the cave.
Kancho rushed over. “We thought you were dead. When we saw Malkyr emerging from the ship, we knew he must have done something to you. But then we saw you escape the boat and vanish completely.”
Ran frowned. “You saw my escape?”
“We saw you drop off the back of the ship.”
“I escaped by sliding down a privy shaft.”
Neviah approached him and gave a sniff. “You don’t smell any worse for having been down the shaft of a toilet. I’m surprised.”
“Try spending a few hours in the sea after doing that, and you’ll be surprised how clean you can feel.”
“That must have been fairly awful,” said Neviah.
“It was either that or stand there and wait for Malkyr to come for me.”
“You could have killed him,” said Kancho. “Surely that wouldn’t have presented you with a problem.”
“It wouldn’t have been a problem,” said Ran. “But I had good reasons for not doing that. At least, not yet.”
“What reasons?” asked Jysal.
Ran eyed Kancho. “I heard two men talking about a hostage. They referred to her as the daughter of a Murai.”
Kancho balled up his fists. “So they have her?”
Ran shook his head. “I do not know where they may have her. I came across Malkyr shortly afterward, and that’s when he betrayed me.”
“He’s betrayed us all,” said Neviah. “And he will surely pay for that with his life.”
“I won’t argue with you on that,” said Ran. “But the priority has to be finding Kancho’s daughter. The problem is, we do not have a lot of time. Kan-Gul is set to arrive tonight, and he intends to take Jysal with him. Malkyr deliberately wrecked the Aqaria so he could sell Jysal to him.”
The look on Neviah’s face reminded Ran of death. He had no doubt that she would find a way to kill Malkyr regardless of how many Chekhal stood in front of her. The thought that Jysal had been targeted like that no doubt made her blood boil.
Kancho wanted to leave immediately. “We must find her and then get out of here. I don’t care about Kan-Gul. I just want to get my daughter back to the safety of her home. She is the only family I have left. My wife died three winters ago, and Yuki is my world.”
“We have two priorities,” said Ran. “Finding Kancho’s daughter and then finding a way to get out of here.”
“What about killing Malkyr and Kan-Gul?” asked Neviah.
Ran shook his head. “As much as I understand wanting to do both, the priorities are what I just mentioned. Killing those two is a luxury. And you still have to get Jysal to the temple.”
Neviah frowned. “I dislike the idea that Malkyr will live to see more sunrises.”
“And I hate the thought of Kan-Gul being able to cast more magic,” said Ran. “But we need to get out of here. Only then can we reassess the situation. If it warrants coming back and killing them both, then we certainly will. But only after Kancho and his daughter are headed home to warn Nehon of the invasion, and Jysal is safely tucked away in the temple. I’m assuming that place would be pretty much unassailable?”
Jysal nodded. “The mages would never allow any invader to get close to it.”
“If they could even see it,” said Neviah. “The temple is cloaked in many spells, and only those who know how to find it will ever be able to see it. An invading army from the north would have no chance and would most likely wander right past it.”
“Good,” said Ran. “So, let’s split up then.” He looked at Kancho. “You and I will go after your daughter.” He eyed Neviah. “Can you and Jysal take Malkyr’s boat down without too much trouble?”
Jysal smirked. “Only if Neviah lets me use some magic.”
Neviah shook her head. “There’s no need to use magic, Jysal. We can do it with cunning and force if need be. I don’t want you casting spells. It’s simply too dangerous.”
Jysal sighed. “Fine.”
Ran pointed. “Have you scouted ahead farther to see where this new tunnel leads?”
Kancho nodded. “It leads to the main ventilation shaft o
f a very large galley. Luckily, it’s not in use, but we were able to steal some hardtack.” He reached into his tunic and brought out a piece. “Would you like some?”
Ran took it and bit into it, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could. It was only some very dry stale biscuits, but he was ravenous. When he was done, Kancho offered him some water, and Ran drank deep. “Thanks.”
“Thank you,” said Kancho. “You’ve given me real hope that my daughter might be able to be saved.”
“We don’t have her yet,” said Ran. “And we need to find her first.”
Neviah took a breath. “How long should we wait after you leave before heading down to the boat? And how soon do you want it ready for sailing?”
“Malkyr said he could get the boat ready in quick time, that he would only need a few bodies for the oars. Each of us can take an oar if one grabs the tiller. So concentrate on getting the ropes undone from the docks and making sure the oars are fit into their locks. I’m sure you’ll hear some commotion once we find Kancho’s daughter. That will be your cue to start casting off.”
“We are likely to be running very hard when we grab my girl,” said Kancho. “Make sure you have the gangway ready to drop so others can’t scramble aboard once we do.”
Neviah nodded. “We’ll be ready. Just go and find her quickly. The thought of Kan-Gul coming here is already making my skin crawl. I want to be far away by the time he arrives.”
Ran nodded to Kancho. “Let’s go. You lead the way as far up as you can. If they’ve got a galley down there, odds are good they must also have some sort of holding cell. My bet is we will find your daughter there.”
“I agree it seems to be the most likely place for her to be held.” He glanced at Neviah and Jysal. “Good luck to you both. I hope to see you again very soon.”
Jysal smiled and then winked at Ran. Ran turned and followed after Kancho. The older warrior led them down a twisting path of dirt and loose stones that skittered and plopped away, bouncing against the walls. As quiet as Ran was able to be, Kancho simply could not help himself and continued to make noise.
Finally, Ran laid a hand on his shoulder. “Let me go first.”
“Why?”
Ran smiled. “Because I’m quieter than you. And if they hear us coming, we will have no chance of getting your daughter back safely. They will simply kill her or use her to get us to surrender. Neither one of those options is acceptable to me.”
“Nor I,” said Kancho. “But it’ll be fine until we get to the ventilation shaft. It’s just a crack in the ceiling, but the hoods for the stoves are but a short drop.”
Ran nodded, and they moved off again. As they rounded another turn in the tunnel, Ran spotted a lot more light up ahead. It came from a long crack in the floor.
This is where it would get tricky, he decided. Up until this point, Ran had maintained the element of surprise. But they were about to go deep into enemy territory, and there was no telling what they might find.
Ran knew Kancho’s daughter was still alive, but he had no idea what condition she might be in. Had they beaten her? Raped her? Ran hoped they had not done anything to her. If they had, then Kancho’s rage would be severe, and all hope of a stealthy recovery would be gone. Kancho would most likely go insane with fury and kill anyone in the nearby area. The entire dock would be alive with enemies, and the girls would have to abandon them to Malkyr’s men if they had any hope of escape.
No, decided Ran, it would not be a good thing if Malkyr had done anything to Kancho’s daughter. Ran almost felt sorry for Malkyr. If he had roughed up Kancho’s daughter, Kancho would not stop until the birds were pecking at the remnants of Malkyr’s corpse.
Ran eased himself down in the shaft and onto the hood above a large stove. There were no torches or lanterns in the galley—all the light came through window squares cut into the double swinging doors of the galley. Ran eased himself to the floor and silently crept to the doors.
He drew in deep breaths to feed his body plenty of air as he lowered his jaw to allow himself a greater range of hearing.
He heard the muffled sound of many voices and the occasional loud clatter of dishes. The noises were quiet enough that Ran knew they weren’t directly on the other side of the door, but rather off to his left.
Ran slowly leaned his head just far enough for one eye to see.
Directly across from him was a set of double doors much like the ones for the galley, but no light came from the squares cut into the doors. It was probably the main mess hall for expected army.
To his left there was a single door on the other side of the hall, and all the noise came from there. It was probably intended to be the officer’s mess once the army arrived, but the sailors and raiders had availed themselves of the better digs in the meantime.
And between Ran and the officer’s mess hall stood a huge man armed with a battle axe.
The guard was enormous. His muscles looked at least three times the size of Ran’s, and the guard had almost no neck sitting atop his shoulders.
Luckily, his attention was on the entrance to the hallway, beyond the officer’s mess.
Ran quietly eased open the door and prepared to take the guard out.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Ran carefully avoided looking directly at the sentry while his steps brought him up behind the guard. His instructors back in Gakur had stressed the fact that people often sensed the approach if you stared at them while you were moving in. The preferred technique was to use peripheral vision and then at the last minute make your strike hard and fast.
Ran lowered himself as he drew closer. As he closed to within six feet, he knew he’d entered the guard’s area of lethality. If the guard turned now, he would see Ran and be able to take him down fast.
Ran struck first.
As he came up behind the guard, he kicked out the back of one the man’s knees, buckling the leg. As the guard grunted and fell back, Ran reached under the man’s chin and jerked his head to the side sharply. He heard the dull crick of breaking bones, and the man slumped over.
Kancho was there immediately, grabbing the massive axe before it had a chance to strike the ground and make noise. Together, Ran and Kancho dragged the guard back into the empty galley and laid him out. It would be impossible to conceal his absence for long, so they now had a time limit.
“Where are the barracks?” Ran asked.
“There?” Kancho replied, pointing to doors on the left side of the hall, closer to the open-end of the hall.
“And that door at this end? The one with a heavy lock.”
Kancho shook his head. “No idea.”
Ran nodded. “Head for that one.”
They moved quickly, not running, but not walking, either. Ran kept his body level, his sword held low in front of him. Kancho, more used to the frontal attacking style that the Murai favored, nonetheless adopted a more stealthy approach like Ran. As they moved through the area, they could hear the sounds of diners, pots, dishes, and tankards of liquor being slammed on tables.
Ran eyed their surroundings. In the corridor they were in, if anyone spotted them, they’d have a whole lot of people to deal with. The best thing to do was get to the door and hopefully release Kancho’s daughter before anyone was the wiser. If they could get her and get out without anyone seeing them, so much the better.
Ran doubted they would be so lucky. Things never went to plan, no matter how much you planned.
They approached the door, and Ran noted it had metal bars set into the wood. Just like the cell he’d been in on the ship. If this one was protected with another padlock, there might not be enough time to pick it.
Sure enough, as they came to the door, Ran clearly made out the heavy-duty padlock. He glanced at Kancho. “It’s locked. I can pick it.”
Kancho shook his head. “There’s no time. I don’t doubt you could do it, but if they come out and we’re not through it, then we’ll lose the chance to free her.” Kancho looked through the bars and
then back at Ran. “She’s in there.”
Ran nodded. Kancho’s nonchalance was typical Murai mentality. He’d been missing his daughter for weeks, and yet the first time he saw her, he merely accepted it as fact. There was nothing emotional in it. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps when they were safely aboard the raider ship and heading out to the open sea there would be time for a warmer reunion.
Not now.
“I’ll break it,” said Kancho.
Ran frowned. “That’s quality metal.”
Kancho smirked. “Shadow warriors aren’t the only ones with tricks up their sleeve.” He stepped back and aimed a single kick at the lock. His heel slammed into the assembly and the lock sprang open, but did so like a clap of thunder. The entire frame shook.
Ran winced. He wished Kancho could have done that a lot more quietly than he had.
Kancho ripped the door open. “Yuki.”
His daughter rushed into his arms. She looked all of sixteen. While she was covered in dirt and here clothes were tattered, there was beauty beneath all that filth. Ran stowed his assessment though when he heard a gap in the ambient noise of the diners close by. He tugged on Kancho’s arm. “They know something is going on. We need to leave. Now.”
Kancho nodded and pushed Yuki ahead of him. Ran took the lead, and they fled down toward the docks. Ran hoped that Neviah and Jysal were already in command of the raider ship and were getting ready to cast off.
The door to the officer’s mess slammed open behind them and the first sailors came streaming out. As soon as they saw Ran and Kancho, they started drawing weapons. Ran didn’t hesitate and bolted for the docks. Kancho followed behind, a bit slower than Ran and Yuki.
“Hurry!” shouted Ran. He wondered where Malkyr was; the captain hadn’t been in the galley as far as he could see.