Deadly Games ee-3

by Lindsay Buroker

  Amaranthe tapped one of the handles. Whennothing happened, she risked grabbing both sides and lifting. Acollapsible pipe linked the bottom of the device to the deckbeneath it, and she had no trouble raising it three feet. Two roundconcave pieces of glass set in the side closest to her made herthink this was something one looked into. She was about to try itwhen the knob on top flared to life, emitting a soft crimsonglow.

  She dropped the device. It clunked back tothe deck, but nothing untoward happened.

  “That’s definitely not standard Turgoniantechnology,” Maldynado said. He had relinquished the stool to herand crouched at her side, his shoulders fighting for space amongstlevers and gauges protruding from a control panel beside him.

  “Maybe the Tuggle has been outside ofimperial waters and acquired tools to help in its trade,” Amaranthesaid. “Could this be some sort of underwater version of theTurgonian periscope? Like the ones used on army trampers for seeingover trees and brush? Only this one lets you see down into thewater?” If so, that might be just what they needed. “These knobsand levers could be controls for rotating it and raising andlowering it.”

  “You’re an imaginative girl.”

  “Is that good or bad?” she asked.

  “Mind if I wait to pass judgment until afterwe see if you get us blown up by playing with that thing?”

  After giving the glowing knob a wary squint,Amaranthe pulled the device up again and leaned her face in so shecould peer through the glass eyepieces.

  Blackness greeted her. She fiddled with theknob, which she could raise, lower, twist, and push in differentdirections. The view wavered, but she still couldn’t seeanything.

  “Because it’s the middle of the night anddark down there,” she realized. “Drat.”

  Amaranthe started to draw back, but hersleeve caught on a small lever beneath one of the handles. Itclicked. A beam of light shot out from somewhere beneath theviewing display, and it illuminated the water.

  “There we go,” she murmured. The blue-paintedhull of the ship came into view, taking up most of the rectangulardisplay. Not sure which lever or knob to push, she started with thehandles themselves. The box twisted, altering her view below.“Ah.”

  Turning the periscope allowed her to see toeither side around the bottom of the ship. Nothing more interestingthan a couple of fish and the wavy green algae on the dock pilingscame into view.

  “I wonder if this can go down deeper,” shemused.

  “Am I supposed to respond to your mutterings,or are you simply talking to yourself?” Maldynado asked.

  “It depends on whether you have an idea.”

  Maldynado pressed on the glowing knob.

  Bubbles of water streamed past the displayuntil the view vanished in a swirl of sand followed bydarkness.

  “Crashing it,” Amaranthe said, “isn’t what Ihad in mind.”

  “Oops.” He released the knob.

  The darkness faded again, and the viewdrifted up from sand, to seaweed, to water, and finally back to thehull of the tug.

  “Huh.” Amaranthe played with the knob andfigured out how to move the viewer, not just up and down, butlaterally as well. She had trouble fathoming how the latter wasaccomplished, but reminded herself magic was involved.

  She navigated the display farther from theship and deeper as well, marveling as fish flitted through thelight. Remembering their purpose on the ship, Amaranthe angled theview toward the bottom of the lake.

  Ruins-the foundations of long sunkenbuildings-protruded from the sand and seaweed. Amaranthe rememberedsome childhood trivia about the lake level being lower a thousandyears earlier and of previous civilizations that had called thisarea home and built places such as the pyramid.

  Nothing more interesting occupied the floor,and she soon passed the last of the ruins. The sandy slope ended ata cliff plunging into blackness. She debated whether to back up andsearch north and south along the shoreline. Wouldn’t the kidnappersstay close to the surface for convenience? The lake was hundreds offeet deep out in the middle. While she considered her options, theviewer’s momentum, or perhaps a stray current, took it over thecliff. It dropped rapidly, and she decided to let it continue.

  Maldynado shifted from foot to foot. “Can Iplay with it?”

  “I’m not playing,” Amaranthe said. “I’mscouting. Our comrades’ lives are at stake. This is extremelyimportant.”

  “All right. Can I scout with it?”

  An orange glow emanated from somewherebeneath the viewer, and Amaranthe forgot the conversation. Herinsides twisted. Nothing natural could be making that light; thishad to be the spot.

  As the device continued to drop, a greatstructure came into view, all painted metal and massive rivetsrunning vertically and horizontally on the hull. Though the wordhull came to mind, this construction looked nothing like a ship. Itsat on the floor of the lake, reminiscent of a couple of matingoctopi tangled in a tableau of passion. Tentacles-she did not knowwhat else to call them-spread out on two levels, each tube largeenough that, if they were hollow, men might walk through theinsides. Here and there, bulbous protrusions-rooms? — stuck out. Thetwo octopi “heads” were bigger, each the size of a house. Some ofthe larger protrusions had portholes, and she wondered if she couldslip in close to peep through one.

  Cannon-like bristles on the ends of the“ tentacles” stayed her hand. Weapons.

  Strange creatures swam about, too. Nothingshe remembered from her science classes in school. A translucentgolden fish glided into view, its sleek body pulsing with innerlight.

  Something stirred in the seaweed below. Thefish’s glow increased in intensity, and Amaranthe almost had toturn her head away, but then, with a flash, a streak of lightningshot from its body. The charred husk of some innocent lake dwellerfloated away.

  A shadow fell over Amaranthe’s viewer. Shetwisted the knob, pulling the device back and tilting it up for alook.

  A massive purplish blue creature floatedthere, tentacles-real tentacles-waving around it. A kraken.She had read of them, but they lived in the depths of the sea, notin freshwater lakes.

  A tentacle streaked toward the viewer. In theship’s engine room, Amaranthe flinched, jerking her own headaway.

  “Idiot,” she whispered. She leaned back in,clamped her hand on the knob, and pulled it back as far as it wouldgo.

  But it was too late. The tentacle wrappedaround the viewer, so large it easily blotted out the entiredisplay. Amaranthe did not hear a crunch or snap-not with so muchdistance separating them from the device-but she sensed it. Theview winked out, leaving only her reflection in the glass of theeyepieces.

  She stepped back, lowering her hands.

  “Do I get to use it now?” Maldynadoasked.

  “Uh, sure.” Amaranthe rubbed her face. Shehoped the kraken could not track the viewer back to the ship.

  “Wait, it’s broken.” Maldynado frowned ather.

  “Yes, and it’s possible we shouldn’t stickaround. Just in case what broke it wants to visit.”

  Amaranthe jogged for the ladder.

  “I can’t believe you broke it before I got toplay-scout-with it,” Maldynado muttered as he followedher.

  She almost gagged when she returned to thedeath stench of the corridor above. She glanced toward the storagearea where she had left Books and Akstyr, but it was dark, so sheheaded outside.

  “Over here,” Books called as soon as shetrotted onto the main deck. “We hauled four suits out, and we cango down tonight. This gear is brilliant. There’s no tubing exceptto these packs, which can be filled with compressed air. They mustbe magic of some sort. I can’t imagine we have the technologyto-”

  “Not now, Books,” Amaranthe said. They hadlaid everything out on the side opposite from the dock. “It’sdefended. We’re going to have to-”

  The deck heaved, throwing Amaranthe intoAkstyr. She bounced off him and almost tumbled over the railing. Itcaught her in the belly, forcing an “Oomph!” out of her lungs. Thefar side of the ship rose, slanti
ng the deck further, and shewrapped her arms around the railing, clinging like a tick lest shebe hurled into the water.

  The men cursed, but the sound of woodcracking drowned their words. Everyone else had tumbled to the deckas well, and they were bracing themselves against the railing.

  “The suits!” Books cried, wrapping an armaround one helmet and his legs around another.

  “Blazing ancestors,” Maldynado yelled.“What’s going on?”

  As abruptly as the far side of the ship hadlifted, it crashed down. Amaranthe flew from her perch and landedwith a painful thump on the deck. The ship rocked, and water surgedover the railings. A suit threatened to float away, and she grabbedit.

  “Get the gear and run to the dock!” sheordered.

  A tentacle thicker than a man’s body rearedout of the water ten feet away. It stretched high, towering overthe tugboat. The tentacle waved menacingly against the starrybackdrop, then plummeted. It slammed onto the deck at the front ofthe ship.

  Metal groaned under the assault. A woodenship might have been destroyed right there. As it was, the tentaclewrapped around the base of the crane and snapped the metal support,as if it were breaking a pencil.

  Amaranthe ripped her gaze away. The men werealready scrambling across the rocking deck, slipping and flailingin the water streaming past. She grabbed the lone remaining helmetto go with the suit, groaning at the combined weight of the twoitems. On hands and knees, she clawed her away across the heavingdeck after the men.

  The tentacle lifted the crane into the airand flung it with an irritable flick.

  The forty-foot metal arm flew out of sight,though Amaranthe heard it land. Wood smashed and cracked, and shefeared another docked ship had been turned into a victim.

  The tentacle reared for another attack.

  She hustled faster. Fifteen feet to therailing and the dock beyond. Maldynado and Akstyr were alreadythere, hurling their suits off the ship.

  The tentacle smashed into the main cabin thistime. Wood shattered, and shards flew everywhere, peltingAmaranthe’s back as she continued to drag the heavy suit toward therail. The tentacle thrashed. The roof caved in, and more wavesrocked the ship. Beneath Amaranthe’s hands, the deck trembled underthe stress, and the hull quaked.

  In seconds, the cabin was destroyed. Thetentacle lifted from the wreckage and swept sideways across thedeck.

  Amaranthe flattened. It came so close, thebreeze ruffled her hair and cold water droplets rained onto theback of her neck. As soon as it passed over her, she sprang to herfeet and sprinted the last couple of paces.

  Akstyr grabbed her helmet and tossed it ontothe dock. “What is that thing?”

  She winced when the helmet nearly bounced offand into the water on the other side. “I’ll tell you about it whenwe’re safe.” She heaved the suit over the railing and gestured forBooks and Akstyr to follow.

  “Whatever it is,” Maldynado said to Akstyr,voice muffled, “I’ll pay you a thousand ranmyas if you canincinerate it with your mind.” He was wearing hishelmet.

  Akstyr paused, his foot on the railing.“Really?”

  “No.” Amaranthe shoved him from the boat andnodded toward Books. “You next.”

  The tentacle grabbed the rail on the oppositeside of the ship and pulled. The deck tilted thirty degrees,lifting Amaranthe’s side high in the air.

  She hooked her elbow over the railing, evenas her feet skidded out from beneath her. Books was not as quick tograb hold. He hit the deck and started to slide away. Amaranthethrust a foot out, and he caught it.

  The jolt popped something in her hip, but shegritted her teeth and hung on to the rail. She caught it with herother hand and anchored herself, so Books could crawl up her legand find purchase again.

  The dock, previously ten feet below the deck,lay twenty feet down now.

  “Go,” Amaranthe told Books.

  Without pause, he flung himself over theside. The deck rocked. The kraken seemed to know Amaranthe andMaldynado were still on board, and it was trying to shake themfree. They pushed the last of the gear over the side.

  “You go first,” Maldynado said.

  A new tentacle shot up between the dock andthe ship, the gleaming purple skin not five feet from Amaranthe andMaldynado. Water sprayed everywhere and spattered her in theeye.

  “Both of us,” she said. The tentacle sweptdown toward them. “Now!”

  They leaped over the railing just as thekraken smashed through it. A chunk of wood hammered Amaranthe onthe back as she fell. Air whistled past her ears.

  In the dim lighting, she struggled to judgethe distance to the dock. Through luck more than skill she landedwith a roll that kept her from breaking legs, but her momentumthreatened to send her tumbling into the water on the far side.

  A hand clamped about her collar, hauling herback before she flew over the edge.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “You’re welcome,” Maldynado said, head stillensconced in the helmet.

  “I caught her, you dolt,” Books said.“You’re lucky you didn’t land headfirst wearing that thing.”

  Amaranthe hustled to her feet and grabbed oneof the sets of gear. “Let’s chat later.”

  The dock lacked any sort of comfortingsturdiness, and she ran for the street as quickly as she couldwhile dragging the suit and helmet. The men raced after her. Woodcracked behind them, and the dock shuddered. She did not look back.Only when they reached land and the solid cobblestone of thewaterfront street did Amaranthe feel safe enough to check.

  “Emperor’s warts,” she breathed at the sight.Or the lack of a sight.

  The Tuggle was missing, along withhalf of the dock. A ship that had been moored opposite the tugboatwas tilted on its side, its wooden masts broken, with water flowingthrough a hole in its hull. Tangled sails smothered the deck. Inthe water, boards, rope, and other jetsam floated, the only remainsof the salvage ship.

  The tentacles were gone.

  “That was a kraken?” Books shook his head.“That cannot be here. The Aracknis Kraken is adeep-sea-dwelling relative of the giant squid that’s native to theTrechara Trench, two thousand miles away. It feeds on large fish,squids, and other species found only in that environment. It’sphysiologically adapted to a saltwater habitat, and itcannot be here.”

  “Thank you, professor.” Maldynado removed hishelmet, and his damp curls stuck out, creating a silhouettereminiscent of a dandelion gone to seed. “Perhaps you should swiminto the lake and tell that to Lord Tentacles out there.”

  “That was brilliant,” Akstyr said. “My firstsea monster.”

  “Sea monsters can’t be in freshwater lakes,”Books muttered.

  “They can if they’re guarding a submergedmagical fortress full of kidnappers,” Amaranthe said.

  “A fortress?” Books frowned.

  “That’s what I’d call it, yes.”

  He groaned.

  “Does this mean we’re not going divingtonight?” Akstyr asked.

  Books groaned again.

  CHAPTER 14

  Though darkness had fallen hours earlier,light crept beneath the door of Deret Mancrest’s flat. No lampsburned in the hallway outside.

  “He stays up late for a respectable newspaperman,” Amaranthe said.

  “Maybe he’s entertaining,” Maldynado said.“Though I’d expect more thumping and moaning if that were thecase.”

  Books was not there to glare at him.Amaranthe had sent him and Akstyr to slip into the library andresearch krakens-specifically how to kill them-and check forinformation on underwater habitations as well, though she doubtedthey would find anything there. She did not think the technologyexisted to create something like that without the mental sciences,and the curators of the imperial libraries would never put booksdiscussing otherworldly construction on the shelves. Not if theyvalued their necks.

  “Be ready. He answers the door with a swordstick.” Amaranthe knocked.

  “Naturally,” Maldynado said.

  Shuffling sounds came from withi
n, along witha noisy yawn that could have woken half of the building. A momentlater, the door opened. Mancrest stood inside, leaning on his swordstick, his tall form limned by candlelight coming from behind him.Papers scattered a desk, as well as a couple of quills and anold-fashioned ink jar.

  Mancrest gaped at them, though he dismissedMaldynado with a glance and focused on Amaranthe. She tensed,expecting a barrage of imprecations.

  “Ms. Lokdon!” he blurted.

  “Yes….” She tried to judge his tone, butcould only read the surprise. Given the hour, that was hardlyshocking.

  “Hello. I didn’t expect you.” Mancrestwinced. “That’s obvious, isn’t it? What time is it? Aftermidnight?” He peered at a clock perched on a fireplace mantle. “Itis. Huh.”

  “Does he seem scattered to you?” Amaranthewhispered to Maldynado.

  “His shirt buttons aren’t in the wrong holes,so I don’t think he’s been entertaining,” Maldynado whispered back,then he raised his voice. “Have you been drinking, Deret?”

  “What? No?” Mancrest rubbed his eyes andyawned again. “Just been up. Thinking.”

  Amaranthe fought back a yawn of her own.

  “Come in, come in.” Mancrest shuffled to thetable in sandals that slapped the wood floor with each step. Theneighbors below probably loved that. “Since you’re here,” he said,“I might as well…” He poked through papers. Some were empty, somehad a line or two on them, and some had more. A few crumpled ballsoccupied a nearby waste bin. “No, that’s awful. Ugh, what was Ithinking there?” He discarded those two pages and surveyed others.“No, I was closer on a previous draft. Uhm…this one isn’tentirely horrible. It’ll have to do.”

  Amaranthe exchanged eyebrow raises withMaldynado while Mancrest folded the selected page with care. Heplaced it in an envelope, melted the end of a wax stick over acandle, and sealed the missive with a smudge. He tugged on a goldenchain around his neck, pulling a flat, oval signet out. Mancrestpressed it into the wax, leaving the image of a soldier holding asword aloft-his family’s crest.

  Amaranthe was about to interruptletter-crafting time-they had important matters to discuss-whenMancrest straightened, marched the envelope over, and handed it toher.