“Is the prince safe?”
“It’s unfortunate Saxthor was born into the same kingdom and at the same time as Witch Earwig. Her obsession with him, as a powerful contender for the throne, could draw her mentor’s attention; that’s a greater threat. She discovered he has a unique power before he matured enough to defend himself, but I think Tournak can get him to safety.”
“Where you hiding him?”
“He’s heading for a secure refuge.”
“Not going to tell me where, huh?”
“We can’t afford a slip of the tongue, Aleman. Don’t be offended.”
“Then I don’t wants to know, but you take care of him.”
“I shall.”
With the instability of the subsurface plates off the west coast of Tixos on his mind, Memlatec had traveled north to the burned-out cellars of Wizards’ Hall. By moonlight, he’d drawn on the timeless power still entombed in the earth below. The sorcerer drew up a veil of mist off the rocky cliffs of western Tixos. He’d focused the wizards’ might to shake the tectonic plates on the seafloor.
The ocean had trembled as magma broke through a cracked plate and spewed upward from the seabed as two volcanoes. Bubbling and hissing in clouds of steam, the isle of Helshia burst from the sea.
Tidal waves thrown out by the undersea eruptions washed the life-supporting soil from the western Tixosian coast, leaving the land barren and uninhabitable. The new island was isolated and magnificent in contrast.
As the memory renewed in his mind, the old wizard was young once more. Then a chill washed over him.
It scares me when I think of the forces I disturbed in creating that refuge, he thought. I won’t disturb the seafloor again.
“Is he safe now?” Aleman asked.
“Yes, I think so, for the time being.”
Memlatec returned to his reminiscence. I cast the permanent Veil of Mists and hid Helshia from the world. I drew on the power at The Hall to blow the sea winds so cooling rains would shower the volcanic region. Not having eons for the island’s natural development, I blew soil from Tixos to blanket Helshia. I sent plants and animals to populate the landmass, making Helshia habitable. Thus, the island evolved fast, rested, and awaited its purpose as a place of secure exile.
Fedra gave a simple caw, spread his wings, and drifted up and away on the breeze with the sun’s last rays zooming over Tixos. As night’s mantle of darkness unfurled, Memlatec beheld the preening owl.
“Saxthor can’t come back?” Aleman asked. “He’s such a cute little fellow.”
“It’s too dangerous to allow the boy to return to Neuyokkasinian. As long as Earwig and the Dark Lord think Saxthor is lost far away, they wouldn’t expend their animosity to destroy him. Earwig suspects the prince survives somewhere but must be too weak and distant to seem a threat. Still, it’s dangerous to leave them on Tixos. I must hide the exiles for their protection while Saxthor develops his powers.”
“Far away.”
“Yes.”
At dawn, Memlatec dispatched Fedra with all haste to Tixumemnese to intercept the exiles and convey his instructions to Tournak. The three had to sail from Tixos unobserved, so the dark forces would assume Saxthor remained lost on the island.
* * *
Armon frowned, having spent the passage price on the Prince Oikin when Saxthor approached.
“Armon, why not send your wife dressed as a man with your two sons on the voyage for a holiday?” Saxthor said. “Spies will report a man, and two boys sailed from Tixos to the Powterosian port. A lady and sons disembarking will end the trail, yet get a vacation. While the ruse lures the watchers away, Tournak, Bodrin, and I can escape unnoticed from Tixos in a local vessel.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Tournak said. “Armon, you’ll need to buy a craft large enough for an ocean voyage, yet unobtrusive as only a fishing boat.”
They all agreed.
“After the attention I stirred when I booked ye passage on the Prince Oikin, I’m afeared any further activity on my part might jeopardize yer plan. If ye think involving another conspirator is worth the risk, I’ll ask me clerk, Pakwic, to help. He can be trusted. Still, I’ll tell him no more than he needs to know.”
“Agreed,” Tournak said.
Armon went downstairs to the shop and his clerk.
“Pakwic, the family will be leaving on holiday to the continent this very afternoon,” Armon said. “I haven’t mentioned the trip because I want to surprise them with a vacation and a splendid vessel, not too grand mind ye when they return. I’m going to trust ye to go to the docks and buy the fishing boat large enough to impress me neighbors. You think ye can carry out such a tall order?”
“Yes, sir.”
Saxthor chuckled at Pakwic’s alert, wide-eyed enthusiasm.
“Here be enough money to negotiate a favorable deal. Don’t ye be showing excitement. Frown on the price and hesitate before ye makes a lower offer. Ye’ve seen me make deals enough before. Inspect the boat, careful like. She must be sturdy, one as can sail the open sea for good fishing. Do ye follow me meaning? Be sure ye return with a bill of sale and the change.”
“And the change,” Bodrin said.
Pakwic snatched the money, and glad to escape the shop’s monotony bounded out the door on his mission. Watching him, all but one failed to detect the tall, thin man who observed him leaving from across the street. Sharp-eyed Tournak brought Saxthor’s attention to the watcher.
In midafternoon, the merchant bundled his surprised and thrilled family off on the Prince Oikin for an excursion to Powteros.
“Darling’,” Armon said to his wife. “Ye must travel in disguise, so the king’s tax collectors won’t be thinking I’m rich and raise me taxes.”
“Yes, dear, but do ye think wearing a man’s clothes and false beard is quite necessary?”
“Just ‘till ye gets on board and sails, ma darling. Then ye can toss the beard and man’s outfit overboard, but be ye discrete about it.”
“Oh, the children will like the game.”
The boys giggled, hearing the plan of deception until Tournak frowned at them. Saxthor noted the edge of a smile on Tournak’s face as he turned away. He monitored the family at the window as they left for the Prince Oikin and saw the watcher trail them to the ship.
“The watcher shadowed Armon’s family,” Saxthor said. “Twit’s fluttering above the watcher’s head, leaving his little calling cards all over the man’s hat. The bird is too bold. While the watcher is distracted, I’ll take Fedra outback and into the jungle growth. Out of sight, he can fly through the treetops and leave the island from some distance, carrying your letter to Memlatec.”
* * *
Tournak, Saxthor, and Bodrin again donned local clothing and slipped out the shop’s back door. They worked their way down to the harbor’s end, where Pakwic had hidden the fishing vessel, only saying it was a surprise for Armon’s family. Under the cover of darkness, the boat put out to sea, sailed south, and later turned west and up the far coast of Tixos.
*
They failed to recognize a new watcher in the wharf’s shadows. With no time to lose, the watcher searched for any unemployed wizard he could find wandering the streets of Tixumemnese. He engaged a boat but decided not to send word to Earwig until he could announce his capture or termination of the fleeing Neuyokkasinians. Ill-prepared, the watcher and wizard set sail to overtake Saxthor and his companions.
Earwig admonished the watcher who reported the three had sailed on the Prince Oikin for the mainland. Assassins met the ship when it docked at the Powterosian harbor. They saw only a joyous mother and sons disembark, clearly on holiday. The witch dubbed the watcher a fool and fired him. Finding no trace of Prince Saxthor, she assumed Saxthor was still lost on Tixos.
13: Voyage to Helshia
The early days of the voyage were pleasant with calm seas and a steady wind. The exiles sailed far enough out to sea to keep the coast in sight while remaining unrecognizable to anyo
ne onshore. They fished to reinforce the image and supplement their food supply.
Tournak passed the hours by instructing his charges on the art of sailing the open seas in a small craft. The wizard was an excellent sailor, and the boys gained their sea legs fast. Strangely green for a brown bird, Twit stayed in the cabin. He’d abandoned the swinging cage by the time they were out of the harbor, but sat on a beam and avoided looking at any movement around him.
Halfway up Tixos’ western coast, the seas worsened, and waves tossed the boat in treacherous, conflicting currents. Few, if any, boats sailed west of Tixos. The small craft bobbed in the churning sea and barely moved ahead for three days. By the morning of the sixth day, dark clouds of ominous fog and mist formed a swirling wall in front of them. Anyone else would have heeded the warning and turned back down the coast, but Tournak knew the source of the threatening weather. They sailed on north-northwest and headed straight into the menacing wall of water. The boys often glanced at the wizard’s intense and focused expression, yet dared not question him.
As Bodrin pulled in a seabass, the ocean bubbled up. From the upwelling’s center came a fish larger than the boat. Bodrin jumped back and dropped to the deck. He grabbed the boat side and peeked over the edge.
“Saxthor!”
Saxthor looked around from the cabin’s far side. “What?”
A disproportionably large tendril-edged mouth rimmed with countless, fang-like teeth bisected the oversized head. A sail-like dorsal fin with projected, leading spines rose out of the froth. Massive pectoral fins fanned out from the fish’s sides as wings might on a bird. Before Bodrin could react, the terrifying sight shot out of the water and sailed over the boat’s bow like a raptor inspecting the morsels onboard.
“Get below!” Bodrin said.
Startled at the sight of such a massive and ferocious flying fish, the boys hesitated. As soon as the denizen of the deep splashed back into the sea, they scurried into the nearby cabin. Tournak laughed.
“Don’t panic. Memlatec set the dragonfish to guard the approach to Helshia.”
Bodrin stood in the refuge’s entry, “Don’t panic, he says.”
Saxthor stepped up beside Bodrin, fingers on the doorframe. “It is fantastic.” Neither boy set foot outside the cabin.
The enormous fish had iridescent scales with black at the center, wafting out into emerald-green, then blue. Bright yellow edged each one. The oversized head was glossy black with glaring, ruby-red eyes. The white teeth shone in the ebony head, and a blood-red mouth displayed ferocity. The overall effect was intimidation and a warning. The finned brute leaped across the bow several times. The sight lured the boys out by the door, but they stood backed against their shelter.
Saxthor turned to ask Tournak to explain the spectacle and spotted a boat bobbing in the waves about a mile behind them. He pointed. “I was sure we’d slipped away unnoticed.”
“I see the boat,” Bodrin said. “The watcher must’ve caught sight of us near the wharf. With two sails, they’ll soon catch up with us.”
Swells grew larger. The choppy sea tossed both boats from wave crest to trough. The ocean spray chilled as the sky darkened. Still, the chasing boat strained under sail and surged closer.
“Even from here, I can make out the black leather coat and wide-bream hat of a watcher,” Saxthor said.
Bodrin pointed. “He’s the one on the bow. I bet the man coming up beside him is a wizard, too.”
Tournak drew a silver amulet with a marbled center jewel from beneath his tunic. “They’ll not catch up with us.”
“I’ve not noticed your trinket before,” Bodrin said. “How’s it going to stop a boat?”
“What keen observers you two are. The medallion has hung unnoticed around my neck since Fedra came to Tixumemnese.”
Again, the rainbow fish burst from the sea in a fountain of water. Glaring down with its oversized red eyes, the fanged monster sailed by the boat’s side. Tournak brandished the amulet at the scrutinizing fish. The talisman flashed silver rays, and the spiny-scaled predator slipped back into the churning water. Once more, he surfaced but glided beside the boat. He turned on his side, the cold eye verifying Tournak and the talisman. The sorcerer flourished the charm and pointed back to the fast-approaching boat. The fish closed its mouth, retracted the splayed fins, but this time plunged into the depths without even a ripple from his tail.
“Is the monster gone?” Saxthor asked.
“Have a moment’s patience,” Tournak said. “Keep your eyes on the watcher’s vessel.”
Motionless, the three observed the shadowing vessel slamming into hostile waves and cutting through the whitecaps. Undaunted, the craft sailed straight for them. The chaos and roar of churning whitecaps were frightening. The exiles could tell the pursuers talked, though they couldn’t make out the words.
“The one in the bow is getting ready to attack us,” Bodrin said.
“He can’t hit us yet; they’re not close enough,” Saxthor said.
The attacking wizard leaned forward, propped one hand on the boat, and shot blue wizard-fire at the exiles. A great swell rose, and the whitecap’s crest caught the bolt. The magician turned to the watcher, mumbled something, and pivoted to fire again. When he leaned back to shoot another bolt, Tournak veered his vessel to port, evading the shot.
The awesome, yet terrifying, fish exploded from the water and flew over the approaching assassins. The evil magician stumbled backward. The boat cut to starboard, but right away straightened its course, aiming again for the Neuyokkasinians. The wizard and watcher returned to the bow, prepared for another attack. Eyeing the two men about to assault the fleeing boat, the sea monster glided closer over the attacking boat. This time the cutthroats didn’t veer to avoid the fish, but continued on their course, overtaking the refugees. Saxthor could identify the watcher’s extended finger pointing him out.
“Another bolt, and we’ll sink,” Saxthor said.
Bodrin pushed Saxthor down on the deck. “He can’t miss us if he shoots once more.”
The evil warlock thrust his arm out and hurled wizard-fire at Tournak. Prepared, Tournak jerked the steering oar, narrowly avoiding the blue flame. A second bolt shot past Saxthor as he stood up, searing his hair on the side. Saxthor dropped to the deck but peeked over the boat’s edge.
“Keep down,” Tournak said.
In a boiling eruption, the sea monster blasted out of the water. He snapped up the wizard, tossed him in the air, and swallowed his prey before splashing back down into the dark green ocean.
“I never imagined a fish could do that,” Bodrin said.
Saxthor nodded, peering over the boat’s side.
Tournak grinned. He monitored the hunters as the angry fish, flashing ripples of color through its scales, again crossed the bow and snatched the watcher in his fangs. The vessel swerved and steered around in the opposite direction. The luminous fish arced once more and took the helmsman, who dangled upside down before he vanished down the fish’s bloody throat.
“He swallowed three men whole.” Bodrin’s head shook.
The wildly pitched boat shuddered as the squall caught it at the same time as a wave. With no one at the steering oar, the craft capsized in the gust of wind. The upheaval tossed the last cringing seamen into the churning froth. As Tournak sailed on, the boys beheld the fish swallowing the flailing crewmember. The ocean denizen rammed the overturned boat, cracking the upturned keel. The shattered craft bobbed for a moment then sank beneath the waves without a trace.
The seas settled somewhat. The sun appeared for a brief period. Tournak looked ahead at the wall of dark mist and said no more.
“What happened?” Saxthor asked.
“Fedra carried the amulet when he came with the letter about the change in plans,” Tournak said. “Had anyone other than Memlatec’s choice tried to use the charm, it would’ve flashed flame-red rays, and the fish would’ve swallowed the wearer first. As you saw, I was the right one. The assassins failed t
he test.” Tournak put his free hand on each boy’s head in turn. “I guess I’m too tough, and you two are too tender. Those men must’ve been just right.”
The youngsters settled to the deck and stopped talking but still glanced at each other and Tournak every few minutes.
“You boys going to catch some fish for dinner?”
“We’ve never seen men die before,” Saxthor said. “The shape-shifter doesn’t count.”
“It won’t be the last time,” Tournak said. “The world is changing very fast, and you’re at the center of the upheaval. Sorry you had to witness such drama, might as well be now as later, I suppose. Those men ignored the warnings. They paid the price for their decisions.”
Bodrin kicked a coil of rope. “At this rate, there’ll be nothing left for us to experience when we grow up.”
Tournak laughed. “More to come, lots more.”
As they approached the wall of mist, Saxthor observed a tree floated in the whitecaps. Then the ocean churned, the tree bobbed, and a sudden upwelling began to swirl, yet again. The edges spun in a rippling, circular current. In a flash, an enormous vortex appeared sucking anything the swirling course caught down a dark funnel to the seafloor.
“What now?” Saxthor asked.
The spinning current seized the tree, three times the boat’s length, off the vessel’s starboard side. The tree trembled, seeming to struggle. Its limbs shook and jerked above the water as if grasping for the sky. The crown would plummet, and the roots pop up and then flip again. In the end, the massive root system flipped up in the air. The exposed roots trembled as though the vortex was grinding up the canopy. In a diminishing, quickening spiral, the whirlpool pulled the entire tree into the funnel’s dark core, where it disappeared, sucked down in the sea.
“A whirlpool that can eat a whole tree,” Saxthor mumbled. “I’ve seen eddies in the river, but none this big.”
Bodrin leaned over the boat’s side. “It’s caught our boat.”
The boys clung to the cabin as the vessel struggled in vain to resist the vortex’s tug. As if surrendering to its fate, the boat began to turn to the whirlpool’s center.
The Neuyokkasinian Arc of Empire Series: Books 1-3 Box Set High, Epic Fantasy on a Grand Dragon Scale! Kindle Edition Page 21