The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (112 page)

“Keris Is Injured,” it pointed out.

“Later,” she commanded. “See to Shann first, then the injured drach over there.”

“Yes, Keris.” The creature dropped to all sixes and scuttled across the deck. Keris did her best to follow. The tourniquet sharpened the pain, making it feel as if she were walking on knives. She reached the place where Shann was lying. Boxx sat moving its head slowly back and forth. The others stood about, shifting from one foot to another.

Keris looked down at the Chandara. “What’s the matter?”

Boxx’s wide mouth undulated. “I Cannot.”

“What do you mean, you ‘cannot’?”

“I Cannot Heal. Her Sickness—It Is Of The Mind.”

Keris felt suddenly deflated.
There are some conditions even Boxx cannot fix.

“We should get her to the sterncastle, where she can rest,” Lyall suggested.

“I’ll do it.” Alondo bent down and picked the girl up. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared small and fragile in his arms. Keris stood with the others and watched helplessly as the musician carried her towards the cabin.

She tore her eyes away to see Frang striding towards them.
Now what?
He made straight for her, putting his face inches before hers. His mouth was a taut line, and his dark brown eyes flashed dangerously. “You stood by and let that monster take one of my men.”

Keris stood her ground. “I could not prevent it. I am sorry.”

“Nonsense,” Frang spat. “You were right there. Yet you did not even attempt to rescue him.”

“If I had, then you, I, and everyone else on this ship would be at the bottom of the ocean right now.”

Frang’s nostrils flared. “You showed your dislike of Roloff when you tried to falsely accuse him earlier today. You threatened him—everyone heard you. I think you used this crisis as a way of getting rid of him.”

“If I wanted you and your men off this ship, I assure you I would not need the help of a sea creature to do it.”

“Is that so? Then maybe you would like to start with me?”

In a single fluid movement, Keris whipped her staff around and pointed the diamond blade at the big man’s midriff. Frang also moved with surprising speed and grace, aiming his silver lightning weapon squarely at her head. Both stood like statues, each daring the other to blink first.

“Keris,”
Lyall barked. The tall woman did not flinch.
Go ahead. Try it.

“It’s all my fault.” Rael’s anguished voice shattered the tension.

Frang shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“The colcachra. I... tried to tell Shann about the eye but I don’t think she understood. I wanted to warn you—to warn everyone. But I couldn’t leave the afterdeck. I... I was scared.”

“Are you saying you know what that thing was?” Frang exclaimed.

The tall boy shifted his feet and stared at the deck. “No... Yes... Wh... what I mean is, I recognised it. From images and texts found in ancient records. The colcachra was said to possess spines with the power to... influence people—to control their minds through chemical means.” He looked up, his eyes pleading. “The accounts were dismissed as stories. The Biology Division maintained that no animal could have that capability. But wh... when I saw it I feared the worst. I... I just couldn’t go down there. Then when it took Shann over, I... ” His voice trailed away and he lowered his head once more. He seemed utterly lost.

Frang had not moved or lowered his weapon. His flat face was as resolute as before. “That does not alter the fact that this woman deliberately allowed one of my men to be taken by the creature.”

Lyall stepped forward in a desperate effort to get between them. “Look, I am sorry for your loss. But Keris did what she thought was right—for everyone. We have to work together if we’re going to reach the island and destroy the hu-man’s weapon.”

Frang scowled. “What they say is true—you can’t trust a Drannie.”

Trust a what?...Drannie…Drann?
The people of this side referred to the other side of the world—the side where she and the others were from—as Kelanni-Drann. Already, the designation seemed to have been turned into an insult. Keris tightened her grip on her weapon.

Lyall ignored the racial slur. “Look. Boxx, our Chandara, can treat any physical wounds your fallen man has over there. Please, let us help you.”

Frang’s eyes were still locked with Keris’s. His expression betrayed no trace of uncertainty, but she could hear the cogs of his mind working. Weighing actions. Decisions. Consequences. Like it or not, he was down to three men, and one of them required treatment. If he precipitated a confrontation now, he would be at a distinct disadvantage.

A cry from the afterdeck cut off her response. It was Patris.

“Wind. We have a wind. All able hands to sail.”

A stiff breeze arose from out of the south and began to buffet Keris’s cloak, pushing her long dark hair over her face as it blew fear and resentment away.
Yet for how long?

<><><><><>

Chapter 5

Shann came to with an almighty headache. She was lying on her bunk in the sterncastle; Alondo dozed on a stool next to her. As she stirred, he snapped to full wakefulness. “Shann. Shann, are you all right?” His voice sounded fuzzy—drowned out by the pounding at her temples.

“My head... it hurts.”

Alondo jerked the stool back against the floor. The scraping sound went through her head like a jagged edge. “I’ll get Boxx.”

“No... stay,” she managed to get out. “How long... ?”

“Nearly a whole day. I was beginning to wonder whether you would ever wake up.”

“Wh... what happened?”

Alondo swallowed. “It’s not important. You’re safe now—that’s all that matters.”

The musician was clearly not going to be drawn out on the subject. She sagged back and closed her eyes until sleep claimed her once more.

When she awoke again, Alondo was gone and the stool was occupied by Boxx. All traces of her headache had vanished.

Shann thanked the creature and emerged from the sterncastle, blinking in the sunlight. She found Keris and then Rael. Both seemed pleased to see her up and about, but they were oddly evasive. Frowning, she climbed the ladder to the afterdeck. Lyall and Alondo were leaning over the stern, staring out to sea—deep in conversation. They turned and their faces brightened as they saw her approach.

“How are you?” Lyall asked.

Shann gave her mouth an ironic twist. “I’m fine. I’m not so sure about the others, though. Everyone I’ve talked to seems... distant. What’s going on?”

Lyall sidestepped her question. “How much do you remember?”

Shann joined them, leaning on one of the crenellations of the raised afterdeck. Grey-green waves slipped noiselessly beneath the Reach’s hull, emerging as foam at the stern, before settling into the wide wake that marked the ship’s passing. She stared down at the murky waters. Somewhere below lurked the monster that had attacked them. She recalled the cold presence at the edges of her mind and shuddered. “I tried to sever the end of one of its arms. It opened an eye. Something stung me. I felt... weird. The next thing I knew I was waking up in my bunk with a splitting headache. I must have blacked out. How did you drive it off?”

“Keris attacked its eyes and the thing retreated,” Alondo said. “Unfortunately, it took the drach Roloff with it. Frang was upset, to say the least. Things have been pretty tense since.”

That might explain why people were behaving oddly, but not why they were behaving oddly towards
her.
Shann could not shake the feeling that there was something that she was not being told. “How come I was the only one to black out?”

Lyall and Alondo looked at each other. Eventually Lyall spoke up. “You didn’t black out—at least, not right away. You turned on Keris.”

Shann’s mind struggled to catch up. “Turned on... ?”

“You assaulted her,” Lyall continued. “Badly wounded her in the leg. It’s all right, though. She still managed to damage the creature to the point where it retreated. Afterwards, Boxx performed its usual healing services. She lost a fair amount of blood, but she says the leg feels almost back to normal. And she doesn’t blame you. We all realise you were under the influence of that thing. It managed to get control of Roloff too. We’re all just relieved that you survived. Roloff wasn’t so lucky.”

“But how—?”

“Rael says they are called ‘colcachra’. They shoot spines which have the ability to influence people—take them over.”

“You should rest some more,” Alondo urged.

But Shann did not feel like resting. She was filled with an odd mix of horror, embarrassment, and elation.
I attacked Keris—virtually disabled her.
Her first instinct was to go to her and apologise, but the woman had a strong sense of pride. She might interpret an apology as if the girl were rubbing it in. Maybe it would be better to say nothing.

She decided to report to Patris that she was feeling better and able to resume shipboard duties. Busying herself with mundane matters seemed the best way to drive away disturbing thoughts. Before long, her head was filled with the feel of the wind, the smell of salt, and the steady rhythm of the waves.

~

Late in the afternoon on the fourth day, she was seated in the crow’s nest. Of all the places on the ship, this was her favourite. Here, far above the deck, she felt as free as the birds that wheeled overhead. She was Queen of the Sea, casting her eye over a watery domain that stretched as far as the eye could see. All of a sudden, she spied a hazy line on the horizon. She squinted, rubbed her eyes, and peered at it again. Finally, when she was certain it was not a mirage, she pointed and hollered.
“Land. Land on the port quarter.”

Her cry was met by answering shouts from below. People scurried over the deck like insects, congregating at the ship’s side. Shann felt a wave of relief wash over her, followed by another of anticipation. After so many days—so many hardships—their goal was in sight at last.
Time to make an end of it.

She forsook her throne and descended the rigging.

Lyall and Alondo stood ready at the lines. Each wore a grey sailor outfit, although Alondo’s head was topped off, as usual, by his festive red cap.

Patris was waiting for her, a squally wind blowing his long lank hair about his face. “Well spotted, First Mate. Wind has veered around to the northwest. We can sail on a beam reach, then close haul and tack inshore. She’s gusting though, so you’ll need to pay constant attention to the sail trim.”

Shann nodded. “When you’re ready to turn into the wind, let me know.”

She watched his retreat as he hurried aft to man the rudder. Then she joined the others, working to let out as much sail as possible. As the swell increased and the waves grew steeper, they allowed the sail to luff, spilling excess wind, and hauled the Reach in a little closer to the breeze. Shann’s actions were instinctive, as if she were one with the ship. She felt a twinge of regret at the thought that all too soon she would be leaving behind the freedom of the open sea once again.

Patris hollered, and the ship heeled over to port so that she was now close hauled. The vessel rose and fell. Wind-whipped spray ran down their faces as the three crewmembers drew in the sheet tightly and began to tack upwind. Gradually, the distant shoreline rose up and became a forbidding cliff of dark grey slate and obsidian. Waves crashed against the jumble of huge rocks at its base, and birds cawed overhead, adding their cries to the cacophony. They reefed the sail and the Reach came about so that she was running parallel to the shore.

Patris tied off the rudder, descended the ladder, and joined them. Lyall’s brow furrowed as his gaze ran up the towering cliff face. “Where do you suggest we weigh anchor?”

Patris wiped the hair away from his face. “I don’t suppose anyone has a chart or a map of this island?”

Lyall shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Rael says that no records survived from ancient times, other than the name ‘Helice’. None of his people have ever ventured here.”