The Ruling Sea Part 31

'Consider this as well: your friends will know agony. What Thasha suffered by that necklace is but a foretaste. She will become the plaything of the Gurishal lunatics, or of the s.h.a.ggat himself if he wants her. She will bear children who will be taken from her and raised in the knowledge that their mother was a wh.o.r.e. Neeps Undrabust will be lowered into tanner's acid, gradually, until his screaming stops. Fiffengurt will be blinded and abandoned to the lepers of Ursyl. Hercol's queen will be devoured by wolfhounds before his eyes.

'And then there is your city. When I rule this world through the s.h.a.ggat, I shall finish the job Arqual began five years ago. Ormael will be razed, the adults taken into the Straits of Simja and drowned, the children scattered to other lands and made to forget their language. All this I shall see to personally - in memory of you, Pazel Pathkendle. Goodbye.'

The mage departed without a backward glance. As he pa.s.sed Jervik he made a sharp gesture in Pazel's direction. Jervik nodded and hurried to the bowsprit.

'Muketch,' he said, in a low, gleeful voice. 'What've you got yer brown a.r.s.e into now?'

The lookouts were back at their designated spots on the port and starboard rails. Pazel tried to speak, but only managed a feeble moan. With each pitch of the ship he felt his fingers loosening.

'Quiet, eh?' said Jervik. 'He said you might be. Tha's all right. I can sit here as long as you like. But if you try somethin' I'll deck you proper, s'help me Rin.'

With immense effort, Pazel shook his head. Jervik grinned, his face like a wide-mouthed frog. Then, with a glance over his shoulder, he pulled something from his shirt and held it up for Pazel to admire.

On a leather cord beside his bra.s.s Citizenship Ring hung a thick gold bead. It might have weighed as much as eight or nine Arquali c.o.c.kles, and been worth ten times that, if the metal was as pure as it looked.

'I'm rich,' he said. 'I'll have one o' these every week I do his biddun.'

Pazel was finding it difficult to blink. A few more pitches of the bow and he would drop like a stone.

'What're you doin' out there, you daft pig?' said the older boy after a moment. 'Get in here. I'm s'posed to watch you, is all. I'm not gonna hurt you.'

He stepped forwards. He was getting annoyed at Pazel's silence. And all at once Pazel understood the part Arunis had in mind for Jervik.

You poor imbecile.

There was no way to warn him. When Pazel's head lolled down to his chest he could not raise it again.

'I said, get in 'ere!'

Jervik cuffed the back of his head - signing his own death warrant (for murderers at sea were hanged from the yardarm, no exceptions) if he only knew. Pazel barely felt the blow, but with the next pitch of the Chathrand Chathrand his arm slipped from the Goose-Girl. Jervik gave a sort of woof of surprise. Pazel was looking head-down at the churning sea. Then, as the bowsprit rose again, he fell. his arm slipped from the Goose-Girl. Jervik gave a sort of woof of surprise. Pazel was looking head-down at the churning sea. Then, as the bowsprit rose again, he fell.

Onto an outstretched arm.

Belesar Bolutu was there, shirtless, wrenching Pazel out of his fall and against his black chest. The man had leaped past Jervik and straddled the bowsprit, clinging for dear life with his legs. An incoherent howl escaped his tongueless mouth.

For a hideous moment Pazel felt them both sliding into a fall - he lifeless as a sack, Bolutu with his arms locked around his chest. Then the lookouts dived on Bolutu with cries of By the board! By the board! By the board! By the board! and hauled the two of them to safety. and hauled the two of them to safety.

Dimly, he felt hands stretch him out on the deck. The forecastle was suddenly crowded: others must have flung themselves down from the rigging the moment his fall began. The voices were far away.

'Another fit! The boy's a menace to himself!'

'He was pushed! Jervik Lank did it, the dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.d!'

'Are ye sure it was Lank? What about that d.a.m.ned Arunis?'

Sudden silence. Pazel wheezed, and they all looked down at him thoughtfully. Somewhere in the depths of the ship the white dog began to bark.

'Arunis didn't lay a finger on him,' said one of the lookouts. 'He just talked and went his way.'

'Why don't the muketch muketch say nothin'?' say nothin'?'

'He jumped! He jumped! Didn't he, Brother Bolutu, sir?'

A pail of seawater struck his face. Pazel gasped, and found he could move again. Even as he struggled to sit up, Neeps and Thasha pushed their way through the crowd.

'Pazel!' cried Neeps. 'Burning devils, what's happened to you now now?'

'I'm all right,' he said, letting them pull him to his feet.

He was very dizzy. Scores of off-duty men surrounded them, but only Neeps and Thasha held his arms. 'What did you want die for, Pathkendle?' asked one of the lookouts.

'Oh shut up!' said Thasha. 'Pazel, it was Jervik, wasn't it? That vicious thug, I'll--'

'No,' said Pazel. 'Not this time.' He took a stumbling step, and the crowd parted before him. 'Where's Bolutu gone?' he said. 'That man just saved my life.'

'Brother Bolutu took off near as fast as he got here,' said the watch captain, hitching his thumb at the ladder. 'Didn't say a word. Oh, but then he can't, can he?'

They left the gaping men behind. Pazel's hands shook on the ladder, and when he had descended to the topdeck he found himself short of breath. He steadied himself against the wall of the forecastle house, blinking gratefully at his friends.

'Arunis . . . is spying on us,' he gasped. Despite his exhaustion he knew the spell was fading; already the warm tropical evening had driven the cold from his limbs. He told them of the mage's attack and the part Jervik had played. But he could not bring himself to confess how Arunis had exploited his feelings for Thasha.

'At least we know he's still weak, still recovering from Dhola's Rib, or even before. He can still cast spells, obviously - but it cost him something terrible. I doubt he could have managed the second one if I hadn't touched him.'

'Not likely he was shamming, either, since he thought you'd be dead,' said Thasha.

'He's afraid of you, Thasha. He wants to get you off this ship. Maybe he really is weak, right now. He didn't want anyone to know that he he had killed me, so he left Jervik to take the blame. That fool doesn't know how close he came to earning a jump from the mizzenmast.' had killed me, so he left Jervik to take the blame. That fool doesn't know how close he came to earning a jump from the mizzenmast.'

'With a noose for a necktie,' said Neeps. 'And I for one wouldn't have shed a - Thasha, what's wrong?'

Thasha's eyes were gleaming with sudden realisation. 'Chadfallow was right,' she said.

Neeps looked at her, then started. 'Blow me down. So he was.'

Pazel looked from one to the other. 'What do you mean? Right about what?'

'There was a fight on the berth deck,' said Thasha. 'Half the crew ran to see it. The crowd was so thick you could hardly move.'

'What sort of a fight?'

Neeps shrugged. 'Plapps versus Burnscoves, that's all we ever heard. It started in the mess hall. Dastu took a few nasty hits - seems he tried to keep the peace, and n.o.body thanked him. Marila's with him right now in sickbay.'

'By the time we arrived the fight was getting ugly,' said Thasha. 'Hercol was tossing men left and right, shouting at both gangs to come to their senses. I could have helped, but Marila grabbed me around the waist and wouldn't let go. Then Neeps got knocked over and she had to let go of me and grab him him before he jumped in and got himself killed.' before he jumped in and got himself killed.'

'Stubborn little devil, that one,' muttered Neeps.

'The next thing we knew Chadfallow was shouting at us from the edge of the mob: "On your guard! This is not a coincidence!" That's when we asked ourselves what had happened to you.'

'A diversion,' said Neeps, 'the whole blary fight. Arunis didn't want anyone watching the forecastle.' He looked at Pazel sharply. 'And you're a daft one, aren't you?'

'Daft?' said Pazel.

'As a d.i.c.ky-bird!' said Thasha. 'How could you just sit sit out there with your back to the ship? Do you have out there with your back to the ship? Do you have any any idea how foolish that was?' idea how foolish that was?'

'And it's not even the worst part,' said Neeps. 'He grabbed Arunis by the hand! Rin's chin, mate! Why didn't you just hand over your old man's knife and say, Stab me? Stab me? ' '

They began a lively quarrel over the signature moment of Pazel's stupidity. Pazel, who thought of both friends as outrageously devoid of fear, was alarmed to realise how badly he'd shocked them. What he'd done was was idiotic, to be sure. For some reason he recalled a question Chadfallow had thrown at him as a challenge, years ago, at their dinner table in Ormael: idiotic, to be sure. For some reason he recalled a question Chadfallow had thrown at him as a challenge, years ago, at their dinner table in Ormael: What's the real tragedy, lad? To fall from a cliff and perish - or to be the sort of man who cares so little for his life that he risks it? What's the real tragedy, lad? To fall from a cliff and perish - or to be the sort of man who cares so little for his life that he risks it?

He watched his friends argue: exasperating, irreplaceably dear. He wanted to live for any number of reasons. But first among them was to stop Arunis from carrying out the threats he'd made on the forecastle.

He sighed; there was worse to confess. 'He saw through me when I touched him,' he said, as Neeps and Thasha turned to stare. 'At least that's what he claimed. He said that Ramachni didn't make me the spell-keeper, when I used the Master-Word. So the s.h.a.ggat won't be made flesh again if I'm killed.'

A moment's silence. Then Thasha grabbed him by the collar, her hands literally vibrating with rage. 'You imbecile.' imbecile.'

'Just go straight back to the stateroom,' said Neeps, 'and get comfortable. You can make the tea from now on.'

Pazel was livid, but he knew his friends were right. Arunis had nothing to lose by killing him now. And why wouldn't he? Pazel had come closer to stopping him than anyone aboard.

'Listen,' he said. 'I'm sorry. But if you want me to spend the rest of this float in the blary stateroom you'll have to tie me up.'

'That's an idea,' said Thasha.

Pazel glared at her. 'In any case, you're the one who's in danger.' And he told them about Arunis' claim that Rose intended to sell her to the Bramian natives.

'What rubbish!' said Thasha when he had finished.

But Neeps looked worried. 'Maybe it's not,' he said. 'Rose is just crooked enough. And the tribals on Bramian wouldn't get much out of killing you, would they? Not as if you're a threat, once they've whisked you off into those jungles. More likely they'd make you a slave or a servant. That way if you turned out to be the spell-keeper the s.h.a.ggat would still be in the clear.'

'Think about it,' said Pazel. 'How else could Rose get you off the ship, keep you from dying, and prevent you from warning the outside world ?'

'Thasha,' said Neeps, 'just keep to the stateroom for a while. Until we're away from Bramian.'

She looked from one to the other, exasperated. 'What's got into you two? Hide? Hide? Is that all we're going to do, until Rose decides to starve us out, or Ott starts cutting off our fingers? We need to fight back. We need to get back to the list.' Is that all we're going to do, until Rose decides to starve us out, or Ott starts cutting off our fingers? We need to fight back. We need to get back to the list.'

'The list?' said Neeps.

'The list of allies, you donkey - potential allies, I mean. And we need to do it soon. We can't beat them without more people on our side.'

'You're right about that,' said Neeps. 'But we'll have to be so d.a.m.ned careful.' He leaned closer, whispering, 'I have no idea why Rose has been so easy on us, but one thing's for sure: he won't won't go easy on mutineers.' go easy on mutineers.'

Pazel sighed. 'All right, genius. You come up with a plan.'

'We start with one person each,' said Thasha instantly, as though she'd only been waiting for someone to ask. 'Just one. Surely we can each find one person to trust on this ship? If Hercol and Marila do the same thing, we'll have ten people on our side.'

Neeps looked at her eagerly. 'And once we've all met, and decided the best way to fight these cretins--'

'We go out and find ten more,' Thasha finished. 'And if we can just keep doing that, we'll have half the crew on our side before we know it. Of course the trick will be to find them before anyone else else knows it.' knows it.'

Neeps was shaking his head in wonder. 'Thasha, you're as clever as my old Granny Undrabust! You really do have a head for - what's the word?'

'Tactics,' said Pazel.

'Tactics, that's it. All right then: we've got our plan, don't we?'

Pazel didn't answer. The others looked at him in surprise. At last he said, 'How can you possibly think this will work? If we guess wrong about just one person, we're dead as slag. Everything hinges on trust.'

Neeps and Thasha exchanged a glance. 'Trust, yeah,' said Neeps. 'Well, that's something we have, and they don't.'

Pazel shrugged. Once again Thasha was seeing it, that sudden darkening of his spirits, that drawing away. It was agony for her to watch, and she fought back an impulse to reach for him, right in front of Neeps. You're afraid of feeling something. Why? You're afraid of feeling something. Why?

Then, to her amazement, Pazel clutched her arm - tightly, a warning. He pointed up at the main yard, the giant horizontal timber that secured the Chathrand 's Chathrand 's largest sail. The yard was still bathed in orange sunlight, although the deck beneath it lay dark. And at the end of the yard sat a bird of prey. largest sail. The yard was still bathed in orange sunlight, although the deck beneath it lay dark. And at the end of the yard sat a bird of prey.

It was a falcon, small and exquisite, black above, cream-yellow below. It was examining them with one bright eye.

Almost as soon as Thasha saw it the bird was in flight, dropping casually from the main yard to vanish below the rail. The three youths raced across the deck. But here at its midsection the ship was over two hundred feet wide, and by the time they reached the rail and leaned out over the sea the bird was gone.

'd.a.m.nation!'

'It had to be--'

'Of course it was!'

They dropped back onto the deck, once again earning stares from the crew. Pazel groaned aloud. 'That's all all we need! Pitfire, why did Ramachni have to let him go?' we need! Pitfire, why did Ramachni have to let him go?'

But Thasha felt oddly tense, as if tremors had suddenly shaken the boards at her feet. 'He's circling,' she said.

'What?' said Neeps. "How can you know that? What's wrong wrong with you?' with you?'

Thasha turned in place, her gaze flung wide, as if trying to catch up with something in a hurtling orbit around the ship. 'I don't know how I know,' she said, 'but he's above the deck again, teasing us - he's slowing - there!' there!'

A blur of wings, a shrill cry, and there it was, landing neatly on a brace-line seven feet above their heads. Men shouted, pointing: a few of them remembered the falcon. None better than Thasha, however, who had watched the bird for years - loved it, she imagined, though it never paused in its flight - from the gardens of the Lorg Academy.

'Welcome back, Niriviel,' she said.

'You should not welcome me,' said the falcon, in that fierce, high voice she recalled so well: the voice that somehow belonged to both a predator and a homeless child. 'I bring you no good tidings, Thasha Death-Cheater. No comfort to the betrayers of Arqual.'

Thasha shook her head. 'We haven't betrayed anyone, Niriviel. We tried to explain that to you in Simja.'

'After you stabbed my master in the leg. Do you deny this?'

Thasha winced. 'I - no, Niriviel, I don't.'

'Oh come off it, Thasha,' said Pazel. 'It was only a dinner fork.'

Niriviel's wings were aflutter. 'You raised your hand against Sandor Ott, first defender of His Supremacy! If you are not a traitor then the word means nothing at all!'

'Fine,' said Thasha, in what she hoped was a soothing voice. 'You can call me what you like. But even if we're on different sides, I want you to know something. I'm happy to see you again.'

The bird gave an agitated hop.