The Call of Kerberos (15 page)

The creature responded by pushing its bulk against the ship, sending it slamming into the side of a wave that had just begun to rise above it.

Silus lost his footing completely as a wall of water hit him. For a moment he feared that he had been swept overboard - then a hand grabbed his and he found himself dangling just below the ship's rail, looking up into the face of Jacquinto. Beyond him Silus could see Kelos. The mage's hands were wreathed in fire as he sent bolts of energy into the flank of the creature. Despite the howls that accompanied his strikes, Kelos's attacks seemed to be having little effect.

Jacquinto pulled Silus back on board and handed him a sword. Ignacio and Ioannis charged up the stairs onto deck, their own weapons already drawn.

"Where's Katya?" Silus said.

"With Father Maylan. Don't worry, she's safe," Ioannis said. "Holy gods! Is that thing part of the plan to save us?"

"Something went wrong."

"Obviously. Hey, look out!"

Ioannis barrelled into the side of Kelos, just as one of the creature's flippers came crashing down. The mage tumbled to safety but Ioannis didn't get out of the way in time and his legs were smashed into the planks. He screamed out as bones splintered and he tried to pull himself away as the creature loomed above him again.

Jacquinto was already rushing to his comrade's aid and he pulled Ioannis free before the leviathan could strike. Silus tried not to look at the shapeless mess of Ioannis's legs or the blood that now stained the deck.

"We're never going to be able to fight that thing. We're going to have to outrun it." Ignacio said, and before Silus could stop him he was climbing the rigging.

The sails had been furled to prevent them being pulled from the ship by strong winds, but now Ignacio was hoping to use that wind to get them away from the creature.

The mizzenmast sails unfurled with a great snap and the ropes that had held them in place whipped away from the ship, catching the creature across its flank with a noise like the cracking of a bull whip. The creature reared and the
Llothriall
began to move out of its shadow.

"That's it." Jacquinto called to Ignacio. "It's working."

The ship
leaned hard to starboard as the first of the unfurled sails took the wind and Ignacio scuttled along the ropes and leapt nimbly to the mainmast. The ropes holding the sails here were thicker and Ignacio unsheathed his knife, hoping to save time by cutting through them. He looked nervously behind him as he worked and saw that the creature was already gaining on them.

The first thing to catch up with the ship was the great bow wave that the creature pushed through the water before it. Ignacio was almost thrown from the mast as the crest hit and the ship's bow dipped sharply, the masthead disappearing into the water. There was the sound of splintering wood as the creature's snout nudged the stern and, for one terrifying moment, it felt like the
Llothriall
was going to capsize.

Ignacio redoubled his efforts and was almost pulled from his perch as the shimmering silks unfurled.

The ship crashed down as the mainmast sales filled with wind. Ignacio saw part of the day room tearing free with the snout of the creature but was relieved that none of his comrades tumbled after the wreckage.

The leviathan bellowed as they sped away from it, but the unpredictable currents of the Twilight seas were already begin to pull them in several directions at once. Ignacio realised that he had only brought them a few minutes at best and dropped back to the deck.

Ioannis was sitting propped against a chest while Kelos crouched over him trying to stem the flow of blood, without much success. Ioannis looked like he was wearing a pair of scarlet breeches. Jacquinto and Silus were looking towards the stern, expressions of impotent panic on their faces.

There was a thunderous splash and Ignacio turned to see that the creature had disappeared beneath the waves once more.

"It's gone," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "It's okay. It's gone."

"No," Silus said. "It's going to come back and this time there will be nothing we can do to outrun it."

"What are we going to do?"

"Something is controlling that thing," Kelos said. "Silus, you'll have to break through its conditioning."

Silus nodded, watched the wake of the creature and waited.

There was a sound like the creaking of an ancient and wind blown tree as the stern of the
Llothriall
began to knit itself back together, the residual magic spending itself in repairing the vessel. Soon the hole where the day room had been was covered by an uneven patch of rough wood, but the ship hadn't resealed itself perfectly and one end of a table and the legs of several chairs now protruded from the stern. However they were no longer taking on water and while Silus awaited the creature's next attack he was very grateful for this.

He looked down at the water as the wind fought with the ship. The silks above him were already showing signs of strain and a tear had appeared in one of them. Every so often the direction of the wind would change, pulling the ship violently onto a new course with Silus having to hang on to avoid being pitched over the side.

The crew had retreated below. Both Ignacio and Jacquinto had wanted to stay and fight, but Silus had convinced them that he needed to be on his own for what he was about to attempt.

Kelos had agreed. "Anything that interferes with his concentration could lose us this fight."

Gulls had begun to congregate on the water not far from the
Llothriall
, picking through the detritus that had been scattered by the creature's attack. As they took to the air with a cacophony of shrieks, Silus drew his sword.

There was a moment of quiet then before the sea erupted.

The leviathan's body left the water, arcing high - its jaws opening to catch the gulls that were too slow to escape - and Kerberos itself was eclipsed by its bulk, a vast shadow falling over the deck of the ship.

Silus shielded his eyes and could see a mass of tentacles lining the creature's underside, just before it crashed back down, throwing up a wave that pushed the ship rapidly to starboard.

Silus lost his footing and his sword skittered out of reach.

He stumbled twice before he managed to regain his feet and he snatched up his weapon just in time to sever the tentacle that slithered towards him. Dark purple ichor sprayed into his eyes and Silus didn't have time to clear his vision before another tentacle snaked in behind and lifted him from the deck.

A deep lowing sound came from the creature as it drew him near and the pupils of several of the vast eyes that dotted its head dilated as they studied him. Silus saw his image repeated in those dark pools and he willed himself to relax as he saw beyond them.

There were Chadassa crawling all over him, their thoughts an incessant buzzing chatter as they communicated with each other. From somewhere in the distance he could hear the call of his brethren and he tried to respond, but a bolt of white hot pain was driven into his mind when he lifted his head. He tried to buck against the onslaught of the creatures, but found that it was their will alone that held him; a horrendous buzzing that itched at the back of his mind.

A Chadassa with a barbed spike swam into view and drove the weapon deep into his side. The anger that he felt at the injury was fed back to him by the other Chadassa - a continual loop of rage - until it became so acute that it was almost painful.

He cried out and his call echoed from the depths of the canyon that fell away a short distance beyond him.

And then the Chadassa were swimming away and he suddenly found that he could move.

He could feel the lightless depths of the canyon calling to him, where more of his kind grazed and bred and reared their young in peace.

It wasn't peace that was burning through him now however; just the pure and hateful anger that the Chadassa had instilled in him. He could still feel them somewhere out of sight, feeding his rage. Nurturing it.

Four of his kind swam into view; a male and female adult and, behind them, two calves.

The group called to him as friends.

He shot them a warning response - this much he could just about manage - but they didn't recognise the change that had been wrought in him, they only saw one of their kind and they continued to approach.

The young darted ahead of the group and he went for them.

The calves were easily broken and soon the water was clouded with their innards. The female of the group tried to flee but he lashed out with his tentacles and pulled her in close, before gouging at her side with his teeth.

Even as the male barrelled into him, he closed his jaws and killed his mate.

There was the rich iron taste of blood in the water as he turned on the last surviving member of the group.

The whispering of the Chadassa increased in volume as he squared off against his opponent. The male was bigger than he, the crest of bone that rose from his back marked with the many striations of age. He only hoped that with that age had come frailty, but the vast form that now barrelled towards him showed no sign of weakness.

They grappled and, as he managed to force his opponent to the lip of the canyon, he could see the Chadassa swimming into view as they moved in to observe the fight.

He disengaged and backed out of range of his opponent's tentacles before rushing forwards, barrelling into the side of the enemy, taking him over the edge of the canyon and smashing him into the far wall. Great chunks of stone crumbled away and fell slowly into darkness.

Bellowing his victory he smashed into his opponent again and this time there was the rending of flesh. His opponent was fading in and out of consciousness now and, before he could regain his faculties, his tentacles encircled his body and squeezed hard.

He could feel the great heartbeat of his opponent close against him, echoing through his own body. It was an almost relaxing, reassuring sound but, still, he squeezed with all his might until that beating slowed and then stopped.

He let his tentacles drop away and watched as his dead brethren sank out of sight.

He had killed four of his own kind but it wasn't enough.

The anger still boiled within him -

- and he lashed out.

There was a scream and someone called his name. But that wasn't his name, was it?

"Silus, help!"

A tight band encircled his waist and he struggled against it before realising where he was.

The creature maintained its hold on Silus as it lifted Katya from the deck of the
Llothriall
. Ignacio and Jacquinto, leaning hard against the rail, tried to make a grab for her, but succeeded only in snatching the shoe from her right foot.

"Katya, try not to struggle." Silus shouted.

As the creature drew her close, Katya reached out and - for just a second - their fingertips touched.

"Silus, what's happening?" Katya called.

"This creature is being controlled by the Chadassa. They sent it after us. If I can - "

Out of the corner of his eye Silus noticed Ignacio knocking an arrow to a bow.

"No, don't hurt it, otherwise you'll get us both killed!"

It seemed that the wind was strong enough to carry his voice, as Ignacio lowered his weapon.

The creature brought Katya closer then, more tentacles coming to bear as it examined her. One explored the mound of her belly and Silus prayed for the leviathan to be gentle.

"I'm going to try to break through the Chadassa's control, Katya. Stay as calm as you can."

Silus looked into the creature's eyes again and he could sense the taint that lay over its will, like a diseased caul. He moved beyond this and called to the creature in friendship and in peace. He spoke to it of the lightless depths, the abundance of life that moved through the canyons and of the comfort and companionship of its brethren. Silus could feel how the creature yearned for these things and he focused this desire through his will, until it was keen and strong. Then he broke through the mental restrains that the Chadassa had put in place.

There was a rumbling sound from the leviathan and its grip on Silus suddenly relaxed.

He landed on damp grey flesh and grabbed hold of the ridge of bone that rose from the creature's back. Then, as the creature rose up in preparation to dive, Silus's feet went out from under him. Only his urgent mental calls prevented both he and Katya from being drowned.

The creature settled back down, expelling a jet of water from its spout along with a great sigh.

Silus stroked its flank as he spoke and soon Katya was lowered to stand beside him.

Holding his wife close, Silus spoke again and the leviathan slowly carried them back to the
Llothriall
, all the time filling Silus with waves of joy in thanks for its newfound freedom.

Chapter Fourteen

After the creature had guided he and Katya back to the
Llothriall
, Silus spent some time communicating with it. The creature responded to him with peace and gratitude, thankful that it was finally free of the Chadassa yoke. But, before it could go and join its brethren in the depths of the deep-sea trenches, Silus requested a favour.

They needed to find land, and soon. Without Emuel, without the full power of the stone that was the heart of the
Llothriall
, they were stranded. It would only be a matter of time before the Chadassa launched another attack and Katya was getting dangerously close to her full term. And so, Silus, asked the leviathan to guide them to land.

For a while the creature hadn't responded and Silus contemplated the possibility that there just wasn't any land nearby; that they'd ride the seas until they died of thirst or starvation. Years from now, they'd wash up on some Allantian shore, an unusual ship manned by a crew of skeletons. Perhaps somebody would even write a sea shanty about the mystery of the sepulchral travellers.