Secrets of Arkana Fortress (26 page)

              Evie rolled her eyes and went back to her contemplation while Carlo went over to check on his friends. The stormy weather was beating her mind more than her body, amplifying her thoughts about Dedrick tenfold, as well as her anxieties. She turned to one side and huffed, her eyes tracing the slight gaps in between some of the decking. There were only about five or six other men down below, and another three up on deck tending to the rigging and sails, making sure the turbulent conditions didn’t rip them off like the wings of a fly in the chubby hands of a child.

              This all seemed so over the top, her being sent so far south just because her uncle had gotten hazy information about a planned raid on his headquarters. Her mind still focused back on the argument she and Dedrick had had prior to her departure. She had known there was something wrong, and her apprehension at leaving him to fight alone had proven to be for nought against his stubborn resolve. That was the one thing she missed above all else at the moment.

              She closed her eyes as her heart sank even lower, the knotted sickness driving itself into her stomach like a charging Bullwark. Her sleek fingers worked their way around her neck and she pulled out a silver chain with a small blue sapphire attached to the end of it. It had been her mother’s.

              Arlene Ranliss, sister to Dedrick, had disappeared many years ago when Evie was only a year or two old. From what her uncle had told her, her mother had been a sought after diplomat of the Donnol council when it was still in existence. A diplomatic venture to the far southern city of Yokitos had been her last noted whereabouts. Nobody had known whether or not Arlene had reached the mystery city or not. Missing presumed dead was the official word after some years. A memorial was erected and Dedrick had been left to grieve and bring Evie up by himself, her father having been killed the year before. When she was 16 he had given the necklace to her with a tear in his eye; she remembered that most of all.

              She replaced the heirloom and gripped the bracelet on her wrist. She had thanked the gods that this had been retrieved from the trader after their collision in the marketplace. This had been a gift from her uncle when they had both perused the Donnol market many years ago, she couldn’t quite recall how many. The seller had called it a mystical charm that would protect the bearer when they needed it – a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but she needed all the help she could get at the moment.

              The boat rocked violently all of a sudden, sending her toppling to the floor, her chin bashing the deck hard. She rolled onto her side wearily and rubbed her face gently; that had hurt… a lot.

              ‘Sorry ‘bout that, love,’ shouted the captain from behind the wheel. ‘We is getting t’the choppy bits of the trip.’ He veered the craft to one side, Evie rolling along the floor with the sharp turn.

              ‘For crying out loud will you…’

              Another creak, this time from underneath the ship.

              ‘What the fuck was that?’ groaned Evie as she tended to the fresh addition of splinters to her arm.

              This time the captain cursed loudly.

              She looked over at him and saw his face, an image of utter confusion that was clear even in such a dark, sea spray filled atmosphere. He called out to one of his crew to take the wheel before he promptly darted off down below, vaulting over the railings in front of him to do so. What the hell just hit them?

              Evie turned her attentions over to Carlo and the other two… or not. Carlo was leaning over the side, but the others were nowhere to be seen. She scrambled up to her feet and staggered over to him, gripping the railing so she would not topple overboard. She peered over the side to see what he was doing. He had his arm stretched out; it looked like he was holding onto something, but there was nothing.

              ‘Carlo? What the hell are you doing?’ she asked hesitantly over the crashing sound of a wave against the hull.

              He grunted and threw his free arm over, wrapping his hand around his other one for extra support. ‘Can’t you see I’m trying to stop Savi from drowning?’ he shouted with a dog-like bark in his voice.

              Evie looked again. ‘But… there’s no-one there, Carlo. What the heck is with you?’

              ‘We’ve already lost Bardi to the sea; I’m not letting Savi go the same way. Give me a fucking hand already!’

              Another violent rocking of the ship sent her crashing onto her back. All this turbulence was making her nauseous. Her sight was strained, but she could visibly see the ship crashing through waves of frothy water. She placed her hands on the deck to prop herself up onto her knees.

              It was then that she paused.

              She felt nothing in the floor.

              The ship wasn’t moving anywhere.

              Carlo had disappeared from the side. She whipped her head around frantically searching for him. There he was, unconscious in the middle of the deck.

              She slid over to him.

              His body vanished in a puff of smoke.

              What in the name of the gods was going on?

              The floor rumbled, and a sudden swoosh went past her head. She shot her gaze upwards and saw what looked like some kind of serpent… made of water. Its tubular body rotated as it ascended and descended around her, gradually encasing her section of the floor with a wall of oceanic fury.

              Her fear had set in just as fast.

              Evie brought her knees up to her chin and she sat rocking in the middle of this watery prison. She fingered her bracelet slowly for comfort, praying that someone would rescue her, although she couldn’t see how they would.

              It had gripped her – the realisation that death was an absolute, especially in the face of such natural power.

              She felt helpless; she was helpless.

              She squeezed her eyes shut, so much so that it hurt.

              ‘Please…’

              The sound stopped.

              Silence surrounded her like a shroud.

              Was she dead now? If she was then it happened bloody fast. She dared to open her left eye. The ship was serene, a stark contrast to before. Both her dark eyes opened and she viewed the deck cautiously. Carlo was nowhere to be seen, neither were the other two. A crewman was sprawled like a ragdoll at the helm, his body swaying from side to side as the wheel turned slowly left and right.

              A crash sounded behind her sending ripples through her eardrums. She darted around.

              The captain emerged from below deck holding some sort of circular device in his hand that was glowing jade green. It was soft and soothing, and seemed to calm the air around his vessel. He stared at Evie on the floor and gaped. ‘You alright? How were you not affected?’

              She cocked her head and frowned. ‘Affected by what?’ There was a slight tremble in her voice.

              ‘I was completely wrong ‘bout where we were, missy. Bloody Isles of Dinsk is where we are, not outside Isle of Sands.’

              This was straight over her head. ‘Isles of Dinsk?’

              ‘A fucking strange place and a half,’ the captain remarked as he scouted out the deck of his ship. ‘Whatever you saw round ‘ere wasn’t real at all. The Isles are a fucked up bunch of landmasses surrounded by magic of every kind you can think of… tis like they is alive.’

              ‘What? The islands?’ Evie shifted her legs to stretch them out.

              ‘No… the magic itself. It’s like it’s alive. Know what I’m sayin’?’

              ‘It’s alive?’

              ‘No, no, no. It’s
like
it’s alive, not actually alive.’ His tone got snarky, a slight level of annoyance hidden beneath his salty voice. ‘Anyway, we’ve got to find out how and where everyone is first.’

              Evie jumped up and wiped her face free of the sea spray that still trickled down it. She looked at his hand and the device. ‘What is that thing?’ she enquired, pointing.

              ‘This?’ The captain held it up and looked at it, the green glow still pulsating like a heartbeat. ‘A little device I picked up back east. It nullifies magic and all that sorta stuff. Didn’t cost much.’

              Which meant it was stolen. Evie knew about these so called captains of ships – they were pirates underneath. Getting something for nothing was their motto. Either way, he was her only protection at the moment; Carlo and the others having gone, vanished. Had they gone overboard?

              ‘Where do you think my friends are?’ She walked over to the side of the ship cautiously and peered over the side into a black drink. ‘Did they go over the side?’

              The captain slowly plodded over to her, the device illuminating his weathered face. ‘You don’t sound too concerned for ‘em and their safety.’

              Evie faltered and looked over to him. ‘If all this shit was an illusion then they could be on the other side of the ship safe and sound for all I know.’ She regarded him carefully. ‘I mean… how do I know that you’re not an illusion?’

              ‘Hit me.’

              She blinked. ‘What?’

              ‘Try and hit me. Illusions aren’t touchable, miss.’

              She swung her fist from behind her back, aiming for the smirking man’s jaw. He angled his upper body backwards and caught her forearm with his free hand. He twisted it slightly, the force of his grip stronger than she had anticipated, but still enough to hurt her. He brought his face up to hers, looking like something out of a horror story with that eerie green glow about him. ‘Convinced now?’ he grunted through his teeth.

              Evie wriggled her arm free and rubbed it. ‘Alright, you win; you’ve proven you’re real.’

              He laughed. ‘Good. Well let’s get this sorted shall we? I’ve got some of me crew below decks patching up the hole in the hull. Once that’s done we can gets a move on.’

              ‘And in the meantime?’

              ‘In the meantime we look for the other people.’

***

‘What the fuck went on then?’ Carlo rubbed his head, the throbbing pain from the blow giving him visible grief.

              Evie padded a wet cloth on the back of his head, taking special care as the ship rocked about on its way, and more importantly away from the Isles of Dinsk. ‘You took a helluva blow to the back of the head, mate.’

              He recoiled as she pressed against the bruise beneath his hairline. ‘Give it here.’ He snatched the cloth from her and saw to his own injury. ‘What about Bardi and Savi then? Are they safe?’ He glanced around the room, a poorly lit one below deck, then back to Evie.

              A hard lump formed in her throat. She knew that these three particular men were close friends, like brothers when it came down to it, and to tell Carlo that the pair of them had gone missing overboard into the dark waters was hard enough to even contemplate let alone actually do.

              The pause on her face spoke for itself for Carlo. He held his head in his other hand and groaned like an undead creature rising from the grave. His hand tightened around the wet cloth, and it was all he could do to keep himself from bawling.

              Evie put an arm around him and held him awkwardly. ‘They might be alive… we don’t know yet.’

              ‘But?’ he asked shakily.

              ‘But… it isn’t looking good so far. The entire ship has been combed according to the captain.’

              Carlo grunted again. ‘I don’t trust that guy.’

              ‘Who? The captain? Why not?’

              ‘He just doesn’t seem like someone who’s been sailing ships in stormy seas for nigh on two decades.’

              ‘Well I’ll give you that.’ She paused, her lips screwing up. ‘But just because he’s not some rickety old sea dog with one leg and a lack of hygiene, it doesn’t mean he ain’t a captain who’s been floating around for a long time.’

              With a huff Carlo dabbed his head again, gritting his teeth audibly. ‘Just watch your back, OK Evie? Things ain’t adding up at the moment.’

              She stood up, careful not to bang her head on the splintered ceiling above. The room seemed to be closing in around her. ‘Things haven’t been adding up for a long time, Carlo. It’s the way of this world nowadays.’

Chapter 20

After the great magically oiled cogs creaked the main gate shut with a clap of godly thunder, San Kiln shuffled to one side of the ornate square and perched on a marble bench, unslinging his backpack. His ruffled paws slid the top open and extracted the tome carefully. His eyes perused the cover once more. A plain appearance really was deceptive. He looked at the spine and to the faded wolf emblem. What did this book contain?

              He glanced fleetingly to each street that led into the square. He had to be careful. Even in such a technologically advanced city there were always elements of danger in the form of muggers, murderers, and rapists. Although murders and rapes were not so common in Yingtzo, there was at least a mugging a day. Plenty of vulnerable women had been hospitalised with broken bones, fractures, as well as various traumas. In times of plague, the stresses and strains got to people in more ways than one. Perfectly innocent women suddenly turned to prostitution, doddering old men took to beating their wives, but the worst thing about the effects of Psyloss in Yingtzo was what it was doing to the minds of the children. Boys and girls from each race had turned wild, feral even. They turned to the streets, taking refuge in dark corners, and even the sewer systems. Some had even killed out of white rage, but such incidents were few in number.