‘What about taking off on a broad reach, then coming about and cutting her off?’
Amos smiled. ‘This isn’t a boat race in the harbor, Nicky. There’s a lot of ocean out there, and by the time we’d come back to where we expect her to be, her captain could have changed course and be miles away. No, it’s stern chase all the way.’
‘And a stern chase is a long chase,’ Nicholas said, repeating an old seaman’s axiom.
Amos laughed. ‘Where did you hear that?’
Nicholas grinned. ‘You only say it every time you tell that story about helping Mother and Father escape Krondor, when Jocko Radburn tried to overhaul you.’
Amos returned the grin. ‘Damn me! You paid attention to those stories.’ Throwing an arm around Nicholas and giving him a playful punch to the stomach with his free hand, Amos said, ‘You’re now my favorite grandchild-to-be.’ Pushing him away, he said, ‘Now get off my quarterdeck and don’t come up here again without asking permission, Your Highness.’
‘Aye, Captain,’ said Nicholas with a laugh. He left the quarterdeck, glad for the momentary respite from the tension.
He returned to the bow and found everyone still there, eyes fixed on the black speck before them. Calis and Marcus were both as still as statues, while Harry hummed a nameless tune. Brisa kept one hand on Marcus’s shoulder, and he didn’t seem to notice. Ghuda had his sword out and was polishing it with a cloth he always carried. Nakor and Anthony simply watched.
Nicholas studied Anthony’s face. The magician’s expression was focused, as if he was trying to see something in the distance.
Margaret shivered. Abigail stood up from her seat on the divan and crossed to sit next to her friend on one of the beds. She said, ‘Are they …’
Margaret nodded. ‘Anthony,’ she whispered. Her eyes grew shining with tears.
Abigail reached out and took her hand. ‘What is it?’
Fighting back tears, Margaret said, ‘I don’t know, but it’s a feeling …’ She shook her head and smiled. ‘I can’t describe it. It’s just the way Anthony reached out to me, that’s all.’
Abigail’s expression showed she didn’t understand. She rose and went over to the window, peering out across the ocean. ‘They’re back there somewhere.’
Margaret came and stood next to her. ‘Yes.’ Then her eyes narrowed. ‘There!’ she said, trying to rein in her excitement. ‘That small black speck!’
Abigail looked for a long time before she whispered, ‘I see it. It’s them!’
The girls stood watching, silently willing the pursuing ship to move faster. For an hour they stood there, trying to see more detail, a sail or a banner, until they heard the approach of footsteps outside. Margaret closed the window, and they were sitting when the door opened and Arjuna entered, Saji following. ‘Good day, ladies,’ Arjuna said coolly.
He sat upon the divan, while Saji remained standing. Arjuna said, ‘Now, Lady Margaret, what do you know of the city of Sethanon?’
For three days they kept vigil on the ship ahead. Each morning Nicholas and the others would hurry to the bow to see how much distance they had made up. Now they could clearly see the outline of sails and hull. It was a huge ship and moved through the ocean like a stately queen, but for those on the Raptor, there was nothing lovely in it.
Near midmorning, the lookout called, ‘She’s changing course, Captain!’
Amos asked, ‘On what quarter?’
‘She’s moving to port!’
Amos said, ‘Bring her a bit to port, Mr Rhodes.’
Nicholas shouted from the bow, ‘What’s she doing?’
Amos shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. Then he called to the lookout, ‘Keep a sharp eye out for reefs!’ Turning to his first mate, he said, ‘Extra lookouts aloft and in the bow, Mr Rhodes.’
Within minutes, sailors were stationed in the bow and on the yards, peering down at the water, looking for changes in color that would indicate reefs. Amos said, ‘See if we can get back on her line, Mr Rhodes. If she’s moving through shoals, I want her to show us the way.’
‘Water’s changing color, Captain!’ shouted a man in the bow.
Amos hurried to the bow and hung out far enough for Nicholas to feel compelled to hold his belt. ‘It’s getting shallow,’ said Amos as he pulled himself back on deck, ‘but it’s not that shallow.’
The others had gathered nearby and he said, ‘I think we’re about to come into sight of land. Islands, or perhaps that continent on the map.’ He called to the lookout, ‘Keep your eyes on the stern of that ship. If she trims sails or changes course, sing out!’
‘Aye, Captain.’
Amos motioned for Nicholas and his companions to gather around him. ‘Ghuda here has the most experience as a soldier, so I advise you all to stay close to him.’ Looking at Nicholas, Marcus, and Harry, he said, ‘Don’t get excited and try to win this thing by yourself. That’s one hell of a big ship, and she could be carrying as many as a hundred armed men besides her normal crew.’ Looking over his shoulder at the crew busy on deck, he added, ‘My lads are as tough as they are good, so they’ll take care of themselves.’ He glanced at the distant ship. ‘This sort of thing can change unexpectedly. If they are forced to a different reach before the wind, we might suddenly be on top of them, so the fight could start at any moment. Good luck.’
He turned and left; Nicholas faced Ghuda. The old mercenary said, ‘I’ve served marine duty before.’ He stared over Harry’s shoulder at the distant ship as he said, ‘She’s a large bitch, riding higher in the water than we are. That’s bad. We can either swing down out of the rigging or climb ropes on grappling hooks. Swinging’s faster. But those that swing over are going to have to hold the rail so the others can climb up without getting their heads split. Stay close and watch each other’s backs, because there’s no line of battle. The man behind you might be one of them.’ To Nakor and Anthony he said, ‘Probably best if you two stay here for a while, then come after to tend the wounded.’
Nakor said, ‘I have a trick or two that might help.’
‘No doubt,’ said Anthony dryly, but he nodded agreement to Ghuda’s suggestion.
Ghuda now addressed Calis and Marcus. ‘You two can help the most by getting into the rigging and using your bows. Pick your targets, because if that ship is carrying guards, they’ll surely have crossbowmen in the rigging.’
Calis said, ‘Our longbows can reach much farther than any cross-bow.’
Marcus nodded. ‘If they have crossbowmen, they’ll all be dead before we’ve closed.’
Ghuda said to them all, ‘I know it will be difficult, but try to rest as much as you can now. When the battle starts, you’re going to have to be as sharp as you can be, and a tired soldier is one who makes mistakes.’ So saying, he hunkered down next to the bulkhead, wrapped his coat around himself, and proceeded to doze off.
Harry and Nicholas moved away from the mercenary and Harry said, ‘How can he do that?’
Marcus nodded with approval. ‘He’s done this before, so there’s little mystery or surprise in store for him.’
‘Maybe,’ answered Harry, ‘but I don’t think I could ever just drop off to sleep like that.’
Nicholas said, ‘I saw you do it at Crydee.’
Harry was forced to nod agreement. Mentioning the exhausted state they had endured – seemingly without end – while working to help those left alive after the raid put them all in a somber mood. Even Brisa, standing quietly off to one side, was without a joke or comment.
Nicholas looked at the distant ship and wondered what they would find once they got aboard. He put away unpleasant thoughts and returned to his cabin, to attempt some rest.
Margaret opened the window. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and pulled back before the occupant of the next cabin could see her. She held up a finger, warning Abigail to silence, and listened.
The voice she heard was Arjuna’s and it spoke the same language the lizard creature spoke, a
lternating guttural and hissing sounds. It was answered by the creature, who obviously wasn’t pleased by the tone of his voice, if Margaret could judge something that alien.
Abigail came and looked out the window. The pursuing ship could be clearly seen now, and even with her small knowledge of such things, she could see it was a Kingdom ship. Whispering, she said, ‘When shall we try to escape?’
Margaret shook her head and reached out to close the window. Whispering in return, she said, ‘I think they may be close enough early in the morning. We’ll try then if they keep coming at the same rate. That’ll put them less than a mile behind us and we can swim to meet them easily.’
Abigail didn’t look convinced, but she nodded.
The door opened and Arjuna entered. ‘Ladies,’ he said, bowing in his strange fashion, now familiar to them both. ‘No doubt you have noticed we are being pursued by a ship. While it may not fly the King’s banner, we think it from your homeland. Were we certain it was your King’s navy behind us, we would throw a prisoner over the side as a warning.’ He seemed to regret the lack of certainty. ‘But as it may be a pirate from Freeport, we must resort to other measures. I wish to assure you that while rescue seems a possibility, it is not. But against your attempting some foolishness, I’m afraid we must take measures.’ He motioned and two crewmen entered the cabin. Pushing past the girls, they removed hammers from their belts and drove large nails into the window frame.
‘Once we are free of those who follow, we will allow you to open the window again.’ The sailors left the cabin and Arjuna closed the door, leaving the girls alone.
Abigail said, ‘What do we do?’
Margaret inspected the nails and attempted to pull one free with her fingers. She tried to get a hold on the large nailheads, but couldn’t. In exasperation she swore, and then, glancing around the room, she moved to inspect the small table. It was heavy, so it wouldn’t slide around in rough seas, but it was attached to the deck by nothing more than pegs through holes in the base of the legs. Margaret knelt on her bed and motioned for Abigail to pick up the other side and, experimentally, the girls lifted. With reluctance the table rose, and Margaret said, ‘Put it down.’
Once the table was back in place, Margaret said, ‘I think we throw the table into the window.’
‘Will it work?’
Margaret inspected the window. ‘If we take off these gowns first, then smash the window with the table, we should break out enough of the glass and wood to crawl through … We may get some cuts and bruises, but we should be able to manage it before they can get in to stop us.’
Abigail didn’t look convinced, but she nodded.
‘Now we wait until morning.’
Margaret sat and brooded, trying to ignore the memory of the fin cutting the water behind the ship.
Calis stood on the port forechannel, hand gripping a fine to the bowsprit, staring ahead. The sun was still below the horizon behind, and before him the night was giving way to murk. His eyes were keenest of all and he had been in the bow when Nicholas rose, seeking signs of the black ship.
Nicholas said, ‘Are they still ahead?’
‘They’re still there,’ answered the elfling. ‘They doused all lights at midnight, and changed course to shake us, but Anthony has been giving the captain corrections each hour.’
Nicholas peered ahead but could see nothing. Minutes dragged past and Nicholas turned to find Marcus beside him. Harry stood off to one side next to Brisa, who hugged herself against the morning chill. Abruptly she leaned against Harry, who put his arm around her, an expression of surprise and pleasure on his face.
The weather had been growing progressively hotter as they passed southward. Amos had judged that they had passed below the equator and were now sailing into late spring. He had heard of the backward seasons in the distant states of the Keshian Confederacy, but had never been that far south before.
As the sun brightened the eastern sky, Calis pointed. ‘There!’
Nicholas peered and then he could see the ship, black against dark grey, now clearly seen for what she was, a huge thing with high aftercastle, and a rear lateen spanker sail. The ship had all sails out, and heeled over against the wind.
Amos came to the bow and observed a minute. ‘She’s a wallowing bucket, isn’t she?’
Marcus said, ‘How soon?’
Amos judged the distance and speed and said, ‘We’ll be on her before noon.’
‘Land ho!’ cried the lookout aloft.
‘Where away?’ asked Amos.
‘Dead ahead.’
As they all stared ahead, the dark gloom behind the ship began to resolve itself. The morning mists burned off as the sun brightened the day, and visibility increased by the minute. As if a veil was lifted, the air cleared, and those on the bow of the ship could see what the lookout had discerned a minute earlier. Amos swore. ‘Gods! Look at that.’
A gigantic escarpment rose above a rocky beach. Easily a hundred feet high at the lowest point, possibly three times that at its highest, it reared before them like a distant wall. It shone pink and orange in the sunlight of dawn, yellow at the crest.
Amos turned and shouted, ‘Lookouts aloft! We’re shoaling!’ Instantly a half-dozen sailors scrambled aloft and began looking for signs of sandbars and other shallow-water hazards.
Amos said, ‘Look!’ and pointed to rocks to the right of the ship, only a hundred feet off. The faint sound of breakers carried over the water. ‘Damn. We could have run up on a sandbar a dozen times last night. Ruthia must love us.’
Nicholas said, ‘Are they trying to wreck us?’
‘Maybe,’ answered Amos. ‘But they draw far more water than we do, so there must be a safe channel here.’ He closed his eyes and said, ‘I’m trying to remember that damn map your father showed me. If my old mind hasn’t failed me, we’re looking at the continent of Novindus, and that’s the northeast coastline.’ Moving his hands as he spoke, he said, ‘Somewhere to the south of us, a week’s sailing or so, I think, there’s a peninsula, then once around it, it’s northward to some city.’
Nicholas had vague recollections of that map as well, but remembered fewer details than Amos.
‘She’s turning, Captain,’ said Calis.
Anthony had been silent since sighting the ship, but now he said, ‘And there’s something –’
A crack of energy exploded above them. A lookout screamed and fell from the yards, to land in the water beside the ship. To Nicholas there was a feeling of being a conduit for lightning, having a nameless power run from his head and down his body into his feet and through them to the ship. Brisa’s high pitched scream could be heard above the shouts of terror from the men, and when Nicholas looked around he saw Ghuda with his sword drawn and even the taciturn Calis looking for a nameless enemy.
Then the feeling of energy changed, and Nicholas felt his skin and hair tingle. He saw blue lightning, with a crackling discharge, dancing across the yards and saw his companions’ hair standing on end, spread about like fans around their heads.
Then silence.
Amos blinked and said, ‘What …’
The ship began to rock slowly from side to side. ‘Damn me!’ said Amos, hurrying to the side of the ship. Glancing over the rail, he said, ‘We’re becalmed.’
‘But how can we be?’ demanded Nicholas. ‘Look!’
Amos looked at the black ship, which was moving slowly away, sails full and heeling to port as she proceeded at top speed. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Magic,’ said Anthony.
‘A trick,’ grumbled Nakor. ‘They sucked the wind out of the air around us. Very nasty trick.’
Amos felt as if his eyes betrayed him. Around his ship for fifty yards in all directions the water was quiet, while beyond that the fresh breeze whipped whitecaps on the water. Amos struck the rail in frustration. ‘We were almost upon them.’ Taking a breath, he called, ‘I’ll have a longboat lowered, Mr Rhodes! Make ready a towline.’
�
��You’re going to tow us out of this magic?’ asked Marcus.
‘I’ve been becalmed before’ was all Amos said. ‘Sometimes it’s all you can do.’
Nicholas turned and looked at the others. Ghuda said, ‘Better get some rest.’
But Nicholas stayed where he was, watching the fleeing black ship as it grew slowly smaller and smaller.
‘They’ve stopped,’ said Margaret.
‘What?’ asked Abigail.
‘They’re falling behind.’
Abigail looked through the small panes of glass and said, ‘Oh, gods, no!’ Her eyes began to brim with tears, but she forced back her urge to cry. ‘What will we do?’
‘We go now!’ said Margaret as she hurried to unfasten her gown. Pulling at the laces up the front, she was about to let it fall from her shoulders when the door opened and Arjuna stepped into the cabin.
‘Ladies, I advise keeping your clothes on. Seeing you naked would distract my men.’
He signed and two large, black-clad sailors entered. Arjuna said, ‘They will watch you awhile, until even one as rash as you, Lady Margaret, wouldn’t risk swimming through such a distance of shark-infested water. Then they will remove the nails and you can once again have fresh air in this cabin.’
He smiled, turned, and left. Abigail sat down and looked at her friend. Margaret gave her a nod and smile, for she knew the girl was forcing herself to bear up and not give in to the urge to break down in tears. Slowly Margaret relaced the bodice of her gown, staring out the window at the rapidly diminishing ship.
Brisa let out a groan of aggravation. ‘Who called it becalmed!’ Glancing at her companions, she said, ‘The noise is making me crazy!’
Nicholas shared a sympathetic glance with Harry. They understood how the girl felt. Within minutes of the magic that stole their wind, they all became aware of the thousand sounds they’d never noticed before. In a brisk wind, the sound of the bow cutting the water, the hum of ropes, and the noise of men going about their business were the only noticeable sounds.
Prince of the Blood, the King's Buccaneer Page 70