“Land!” Sir Lothar Tunney shouted in a panic. “We have to make for land, Burton!”
“There is no land.” Bloodhound scanned the waters, judging the seas. Some waves were large enough to turn them over if they were caught on the broadside. “Humbert!” he roared. “Humbert, here, now!”
The first mate came dashing from the main deck, panting. “Cap.”
“Shallows? Are there any shallows nearby?”
“Not for miles, Ash. There’s no running from this thing.”
The captain nodded grimly. That seemed to set his mind on the matter. A crash of footsteps heralded the arrival of Sir Ralston as the Wall came thundering up onto the quarterdeck. He went straight for Saska. “To your cabin,” he bellowed at her. “Right now.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t be a fool. There’s nothing you can do to help here.” The giant was armoured in steel from head to heel and his eyes were steel as well. He went to grab her arm and tugged her toward the stairs. The mists about her silver-blue blade were moving wildly, beating like a heart, faster…faster.
Bloodhound saw them, squinting, then turned his eyes on Saska and said, “You get to your cabin like he says, girl. That kraken…he’s here for you.”
Saska baulked. “Me?”
“Aye. That blade you carry. Always wondered, but now I know.” He craned his neck to look back. “That’s Lorin’s Bane out there.”
Saska’s heart almost stopped in her chest.
Sir Lothar gave a queasy laugh. “It…it can’t be. That beast died forty years ago. The king killed it.”
“No. It was only wounded. And now it’s back for a taste of queen instead.” Burton waved them all away from him. “Go. Now. And stay away from the windows, girl. The Bane is mine, and I’ll have my vengeance. For Lorin,” he declared, closing a fist. “I’ll finish the job he started.”
Saska could not quite believe what she was hearing. Me. It’s here for me. She reached for her dagger, preparing to throw it away into the surf, but the Wall caught her arm. “It won’t do any good. It’s you it wants, not that steel.” He tugged hard, pulling her away…away from the rush of men on deck and the staring eyes of Robbert Lukar and down the corridor to her cabin. Some of the sellswords had gathered outside the door, sensing trouble.
“What’s happening up there?” the Surgeon asked. It was perhaps the first time Saska had seen the man look afraid. The Tigress was with him, and the Butcher and the Baker as well. “I thought I heard someone call out ‘kraken’.”
“You did. Lorin’s Bane has resurfaced.” Sir Ralston pulled Saska in through the door, and plonked her down into a chair. Leshie and Del and Jaito were still there. The Red Blade was cradling her bucket like a lover and her skin had gone the colour of curdled milk. She gave a groan and retched as Hammer lurched over another wave.
“What do you mean, Lorin’s Bane?” demanded the Baker.
“You heard me.” The Wall surveyed the sellswords. “Butcher. Tigress. Take guard at the window.” The pair looked at one another, scowling. Well, the Butcher scowled. The Tigress’s face rarely changed from that long-range, cat-like stare she had, a look that made her seem like the most formidable person in all the world sometimes. “Now. Draw your blades and watch the water. Baker, Surgeon, stay here in the cabin. Protect her. I’ll return when I can.” He marched back through the door.
The sellswords moved into position, the Butcher and the Tigress staying as far apart as the window-width would permit. Which wasn’t much. The Baker pushed his golden spectacles up his nose and then scratched his chin with a knuckly finger. “I thought Lorin’s Bane was dead.”
“It isn’t Lorin’s Bane,” the Surgeon dismissed. “It’s just another kraken.”
“The captain kills them for a living,” Del put in. His eyes were bright with fear, but that thought gave him some hope. “He’ll kill this one…won’t he?”
Saska nodded and smiled wanly, though she had great cause to doubt it. She’d seen the size of those tentacles and she’d seen the dead whale in the water. Joy came over to sit with her, putting her head in her lap. The starcat’s eyes were silver and slitted, anxious like she was. Saska stroked her head to calm her and hoped it would calm herself.
Her stomach was in knots. It’s here for me. Evil was being drawn to her, a dark to snuff out her light. The beast must have been lurking somewhere far below, awakened by her presence as the ship passed its drowned lair. It hadn’t been seen for forty years. Why else would it appear now if not for her, Lorin’s granddaughter bearing Lorin’s blade?
She stroked at Joy’s thick soft fur. I should take a rowboat out. If it’s truly here for me, no one else needs to die. The thought was fleeting. Even if she did that she was not so naive as to think the rest of them would be spared. The ship was rocking wildly now. Through the window she could see Blackthorn moving nearby, dark as night against the dread and dreary skies. The Butcher peered through the glass. “There’s something in the water.”
Others rushed over to look, the Baker and Del and Jaito all gathering around. Saska remained in her chair, stoking Joy’s head. She could not see through them all, but knew what was happening by the sounds they made, of fear and horror and awe. The Tigress was looking out too, hissing. Then suddenly there was a deep groaning sound, some primordial bellow coming up from below and Del gave out a sharp gasp. “Gods…gods…” he said, moving back.
Saska rose and went over, peering through them and saw it. The great bulbous body rising up from the water to wrap Blackthorn up in a net of tentacles. She saw them slithering out onto the decks, swiping men aside, saw them wrap and crush and throw them to their doom. They were thicker and longer than she could have imagined. Spears as thin as pins flashed silver against the strangled daylight as men hurled from the decks, and the few mounted guns that Blackthorn bore fired out in fury from the gunwales. She is a toy to it, Saska thought. Just a toy. The masts were torn down, sails falling in tangles of rigging. The waves between the ships rose up to block their view, then fell away again, and rose and fell, and each time the damage was worse. She could see bodies in the water, floating among the debris. There are hundreds of men aboard, she thought. Hundreds. They were all going to die.
All of a sudden Hammer swung to starboard, and all they saw was sea and sky. Saska backed away from the window. She could hear the shouting up on deck, hear the fury of the raging storm. Lightning flickered away in the distance and thunder sang its booming song. The ship turned again, moving to face a large incoming wave and they all braced and held on…all but Del who was thrown from his feet to land hard against the wooden floor. Jaito went to help him up. “He is hurt,” he called. “Help me get him to a chair.”
Saska hurried over. Her brother had hit his head against something as he fell. There was a gash on his scalp, oozing blood into his long black hair. They set him into a chair, bolted to the floor so it did not move. “Jaito, get a cloth for the bleeding.”
The young archer rushed off, tripping and falling himself as the ship bucked and lurched. He scrambled back to his feet, snatching a towel and returning. The Surgeon stepped over. “We must check for fractures.” He set about running his hands across Del’s neck to make sure the cut was his only wound, then nodded. “Sit him up.” He let Saska and Jaito do that as he wrapped the towel around Del’s head to make a bandage, his fingers working quickly, deftly.
The others were still at the window, calling out what they saw. “We are going to her aid,” the Baker said. “This Bloodhound is mad. He is attacking!”
What choice did they have? They were hardly going to outrun the beast and sometimes it was better to stand and fight.
“The other ships are coming too,” the Butcher shouted.
They could hear the bells ringing out above them, relaying orders. The Baker called out something about seeing more greatwhales out there, charging their foe. Leshie stood uneasily to her feet and cast her bucket of vomit aside. “They’re helping us,” she said, weakly. “They’ll kill it for us. They will. I know they will.”
Saska hoped so. Together they might overwhelm the creature, enough at least to drive it back down to the depths. She went back to the window. The ship was turning and she saw a flash of Blackthorn again, listing badly to one side as the monstrous squid dragged it under. From the decks above them she heard the call of ‘fire’ and dozens of harpoons and throwing tridents went flinging out toward it, to plunge into its enormous black bulk.
“They do nothing. Nothing,” the Baker proclaimed. He drew his sword. “We must go to deck. Our godsteel will cut it when it comes for us.”
“Brother. We protect the heir.” The Butcher put a hand on his shoulder.
“We protect her by killing it.” The Baker swept his brother’s arm aside and staggered toward the door, bellowing for Umberto and the Gravedigger as he passed outside.
No sooner had he left than he was replaced by Prince Robbert, who came surging inside, dripping wet, a dagger in hand to help steady himself. His eyes swept across the room and landed on Saska. “You’re Lorin’s heir?” he said. “That’s who you are? His granddaughter?”
Saska nodded. “I wanted to tell you.”
