The Sundering: The Sentinel Part 9

Behind him, Joelle called, "Kleef?"

"By the Nine h.e.l.ls!" cried a second female, Elbertina.

A confused murmur began to build amidships as the men sleeping on the main deck were awakened by the alarmed voices. Kleef continued to peer over the taffrail, searching the stern of the little ketch for any shadows that didn't belong.

A gasp sounded somewhere near the helm, then Elbertina asked, "What happened?"

"We had a visitor."

Kleef turned to find Elbertina kneeling in the blood next to Rathul. Joelle was crossing the quarterdeck toward him. Both women were wrapped in night cloaks, and both held swords in their hands.

"He's gone back to the Wave Wyvern now," Kleef continued. "But he claimed to be one of the Twelve Princes."

"Yder?" Joelle asked. "He was here?"

"He wouldn't give his name," Kleef said. "But he had glowing blue-gray eyes."

Joelle nodded. "Yder. He's the commander of the guard in the Hall of Shadows in Netheril."

Falrinn Greatorm emerged from below decks cursing and complaining, and a cry of alarm rose from the bow as one of Carlton's men-at-arms discovered the body of the forward lookout. Malik was nowhere to be seen.

Ignoring the outburst, Joelle took Kleef's elbow and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Kleef pointed to starboard, where the moonlit silhouette of a three-masted gallea.s.s sat on the distant horizon. "Yder didn't come to fight, or the Wave Wyvern would be turning toward us by now."

"Your man might disagree with that," Elbertina said, removing her free hand from Rathul's slit throat. "Though it's hard to call what happened here a fight."

Kleef had never had much respect for Rathul during their days on the Watch together. But that had begun to change after he volunteered to help rescue the grand d.u.c.h.ess, and the sight of the old man lying dead on the Roamer's deck both sickened and angered him.

"That's the point, I think," Kleef said. "Yder was trying to arrange a trade, and he wanted to convince me I had no choice but to accept."

As Kleef spoke, Carlton stepped onto the quarterdeck and joined them. Behind him followed Greatorm, who took one look at Rathul's body and began to mutter about bloodstains. He stepped over the corpse to take the helm, then began to bring them around.

After a moment, Joelle asked, "A trade, Kleef?" Her tone was uneasy. "For what?"

"For you and Malik." Kleef looked around and, still seeing no sign of the little man, asked, "Where is Malik? Yder couldn't have-"

"Malik is safe," Joelle said. "When there's an attack, his duty is to hide."

"Very wise," Elbertina said, almost curtly. She looked back to Kleef. "And what was the prince offering in return? The grand d.u.c.h.ess?"

Joelle was quick to shake her head. "Yder knows we're too smart for that. We can't even be certain the grand d.u.c.h.ess is still alive."

Kleef remembered the pale cylinder Yder had tossed at him, then turned and spotted the thing rolling across the deck. It was a thin, withered finger inside a large yellow ring. "I think maybe we can." He pointed at the finger. "Yder threw that at me before he left."

Elbertina quickly retrieved the finger, and her mouth fell in horror. "It's still warm." She turned the ring up to reveal the incised figure of a diving wyvern. "And that's my ... That's the grand d.u.c.h.ess's signet."

"So, we do know Her Grace is still alive," Carlton said. He turned to the helm. "Captain Greatorm, bring us astarboard. We can't let them escape."

The gnome looked at Carlton as though he were mad. "I thought they were the ones chasing us?"

"And now that they have found us, we need to move quickly," Carlton said. "The grand d.u.c.h.ess has served her purpose. They may not keep her alive much longer."

"And that is a reason to mount an impossible attack?" The question came from down on the main deck, where Malik had just emerged from the companionway and stood looking up at the rest of them. "Perhaps you would care to make it easier for them by attempting to swim to the Wyvern in your armor?"

Carlton's eyes blazed with anger. "I don't recall asking your advice."

"But you'd do well to listen to it," Greatorm said. "He's right. They're just trying to goad us into chasing them."

Kleef shook his head. "I just don't see that," he said. "Why would they bother?"

"Because sea chases are never quick and never easy," Greatorm said. "And you're sailing with one of the slickest, trickiest captains on the water. All we need to give them the slip is a wisp of fog or a little puff of storm, and they know it."

"They found us this time," Carlton pointed out.

Greatorm's k.n.o.bby cheeks brightened to crimson. "Because I let them. You said you wanted your d.u.c.h.ess back, didn't you?"

This seemed to confuse even Joelle. "But now that they have found us, you want to keep running?"

"That's right," Greatorm said. "If we do this right, we won't even need to fight those dusky dogs-at least not all of them."

"You see?" Malik said, looking at Elbertina. "That is why you must always trust the captain of your ship."

Carlton continued to look skeptical. "What about Her Grace?" He seemed to be addressing his question not to Malik or Greatorm but to Elbertina alone. "I don't see how running keeps the grand d.u.c.h.ess alive."

"Yder will never kill the d.u.c.h.ess-not if we can make him believe he can trade her for the Eye." Malik tipped his head toward Kleef. "And even an oaf like Kleef can tell a lie that simple."

Kleef glowered at the insult, but nodded. "I think I can manage that." He turned back to the others. "What bothers me is that Yder came alone. Why not bring his whole company and be done with it?"

"I don't know," Joelle said, flashing a confident smile that suggested just the opposite. "Perhaps because he has been trying to kill us since Big Bone Deep and has not succeeded yet?"

Kleef frowned. "That's not much of an answer."

"But one that makes sense," Joelle said. "He has been chasing us since Big Bone Deep, and we have been escaping him since Big Bone Deep. Perhaps he has realized it's time to try another tactic."

"You mean trade," Elbertina said.

Joelle shrugged. "Perhaps," she said. "Or perhaps his true intent was something else entirely. With a Prince of Shade, it's never safe to a.s.sume."

"Which is why we can't take a chance on Kleef fooling them," Carlton said. He turned from Joelle to Elbertina. "We need to go after the Wave Wyvern now, while we still have her in sight."

Carlton didn't add "my lady" to the end of his sentence, but he might as well have. Clearly, the sergeant was deferring to her judgment-and Kleef could think of only one reason he would do that in a matter concerning the health of Grand d.u.c.h.ess Elira Seasilver.

Kleef turned to the woman he had been addressing as Elbertina. "Arietta?" he asked. "I mean, Lady Arietta?"

The woman nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. Arietta Elbertina Ifig Seasilver." She did not appear the least bit embarra.s.sed at having been caught in the lie. "Elbertina is my stage name. I tried to explain that on Deepwater Bridge, but there wasn't time."

"So you just kept lying to me?" Kleef was hurt and not quite certain why-and it didn't matter. Now that he knew her true ident.i.ty, his duty was clear. "But that changes nothing, of course. I am entirely at your command, my lady."

Something soft and regretful appeared in Arietta's eyes, but when she spoke, there was only birthright in her voice. "Thank you, Kleef. I'm certain we'll get along even better than before."

"Until we all drown," Malik replied.

Arietta turned to the little man, her voice harsh. "Truly, Malik? Do you think so little of me?"

Malik looked confused. "Then you are not going to order us to a watery end?"

Arietta glanced back toward the western horizon, where the distant silhouette of the Wave Wyvern continued to float in front of the silver moon. She said nothing for a long time, and her expression grew both sad and determined.

Finally, she looked back to Malik. "Of course not," she said. "This is Captain Greatorm's ship, and we should follow his plan."

CHAPTER 7.

SAILS FURLED AND BOW DRIVING, THE WAVE WYVERN WAS COMING hard, a head-sized wedge that just five minutes earlier had been a mere speck on the horizon. Already, Arietta could see the spray of the sea dividing before the prow and the curtains of water dropping from the oars, and it would not be long before she could make out the scaly face of the ship's hissing-wyvern figurehead.

"They're coming too fast." Arietta spoke just loud enough to make herself heard above the waves rippling around the hull of the Lonely Roamer's little skiff. "Falrinn won't have time to reach the reef."

"Captain Greatorm is a better judge of vessel speeds than we are," said Jang. The Shou was seated on the rowing thwart, behind Arietta. "Let us be patient."

"Patience has never been a particular virtue of mine," Arietta admitted. She twisted around to look past Jang toward Kleef, who sat in the stern with his sword resting across his knees. "Kleef?"

"Patience is good," Kleef said. Like Jang and Arietta herself, he had forsaken his helmet and armor for a tunic and trousers. "We can't signal anyone anyway-not unless we want to reveal ourselves."

They were floating behind a rocky little islet no more than fifty paces across, watching their pursuers through the columns of a tilted, half-submerged temple. According to Greatorm, the temple sat atop an earthmote that had plunged into the Sea of Fallen Stars a few months earlier, creating a submerged reef.

The Lonely Roamer had spent the last two tendays trying to reach the site at the right time. It had been a tricky operation, since the ketch needed to arrive far enough ahead of her pursuers to circle around the reef and slip through a hidden pa.s.sage into a pocket of deep water. At the same time, Greatorm had wanted to be sure the Wave Wyvern caught up at around mid-tide, when the reef would still be submerged-but not so deeply that the gallea.s.s could cross it without running aground.

According to Greatorm's plan, the Lonely Roamer would sit in the pocket of deep water and serve as bait, and the Wyvern would run aground going after her. Then, when the Shadovar attempted to free the gallea.s.s-or left in longboats to continue the chase-Arietta and her two companions would sneak aboard to rescue d.u.c.h.ess Elira and any other captives.

The scheme had as many moving parts as the Lonely Roamer herself, and for that reason alone, it made Arietta nervous. From what she had seen so far, the Shadovar were far from predictable, and not even Joelle knew the full capabilities of their shadow magic. But no one had offered any better ideas, and Greatorm had promised that his gnomish fog-whatever that was-would stop the Shadovar from using their shadowalking abilities. In the end, Arietta had reluctantly agreed that they had no alternative except to try the gnome's plan.

The Wave Wyvern was close enough that she could see the figurehead's hammered-silver scales sparkling in the midday sun. But the Shadovar were nowhere to be found. Given their aversion to bright light, Arietta suspected they were hiding below decks, reserving their strength for the battle. Still, their absence and the calm sea gave the gallea.s.s the appearance of a ghost ship, and she could not help fearing that she and her companions were the ones being tricked.

"Something feels wrong." Arietta glanced back again. "Kleef, when was the last time Yder came to you?"

"Last night." Kleef's tone was clipped. "If I had seen him since then, I would have said so."

"Of course," Arietta said, trying not to take offense. "Thank you."

Yder had committed no more murders aboard the Roamer, probably because Kleef had tripled the watch and Greatorm was taking pains to keep the Shadovar from locating them after dark. But the prince had been entering Kleef's dreams nightly, pressuring him to betray Malik and Joelle, and the visits were clearly taking a toll. Kleef's eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow, and he was often sullen and irritable.

Except when he was with Joelle, of course. The good lady was spending most of her time with the topsword, taking meals in his company, standing watch at his side, even sitting next to him as he slept. Arietta should probably have been glad to see her taking such care of him, since Yder never seemed to trouble Kleef's dreams when Joelle was near.

Instead, Arietta found herself a bit jealous. After risking her life to fight at Kleef's side on the Deepwater Bridge, she had felt a certain rapport between them-a warmth and respect that she had expected to grow into an enduring friendship. Sadly, all that had vanished the instant Kleef learned of her n.o.ble blood.

At first, Arietta had attributed the change of heart to the typical commoner's spite for the flawed aristocracy of Ma.r.s.ember. But when she attempted to rekindle their friendship, it had grown clear that Kleef's animosity ran deeper. Perhaps he was frustrated that their friendship could never blossom into romance. Arietta had encountered such resentments before, and she knew how quickly a man's affection could turn to hostility when he discovered that his heart's desire was blocked by his station in life.

Arietta turned back toward the Wave Wyvern. The gallea.s.s had drawn so near that she filled most of the view between the columns of the half-submerged temple. A dusky shape with tiny bright eyes stood behind the figurehead, his gaze fixed on the pocket of deeper water where the Lonely Roamer lay at anchor.

Arietta crouched lower in the skiff. "What's Greatorm waiting for?" she hissed. "Yder must sense a trap by now!"

When no answer came, she glanced over her shoulder to find Jang looking back at Kleef, who sat tense and upright, teeth clenched and eyes wide with dread. Fearing that Yder had found a way to visit Kleef during his waking hours, Arietta reached for her bow ... then felt a dark menace searching for her, something savage and profane, the same unholy hunger that had violated her when Malik revealed the Eye of Gruumsh-and she knew why Greatorm felt so confident in his trap.

He was dangling the ultimate bait.

"What are they doing?" Jang's voice was m.u.f.fled and hard to hear, no doubt because he was looking in the opposite direction, back toward the Lonely Roamer. "Have they gone mad?"

The last thing Arietta wanted to do was reveal herself to the Eye by looking in its direction, but the confusion in Jang's voice was too alarming. If Malik and Joelle were doing something foolish-or even treacherous-she needed to know about it.

Arietta reluctantly twisted around and looked toward the ketch, which was about two hundred paces away, bobbing gently against her anchor chain. The pocket of deep water in which she lay was a little calmer than the shallows covering the nearby reef, a difference that would soon be obvious to any seamen aboard the Wyvern. The Eye was nowhere in sight, but several figures could be seen pursuing a larger shape-no doubt Kleef's man, Tanner-toward the bow of the little ship.

"Relax, Jang," Kleef said, finally opening his eyes. "They're just setting the hook."

"You knew about this?" Arietta asked.

A tight, half grin came to Kleef's mouth. "My idea," he said. "Yder has been trying to get me to steal the Eye for him. I thought we could use that against him."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Arietta demanded.

Kleef shrugged. "Joelle was nervous about exposing the Eye," he said. "She wanted to keep it a secret until the time came."

Arietta hesitated, feeling a little excluded, then finally nodded. "I see. Well, that makes sense."

Aboard the Lonely Roamer, the chase had reached the bow, where Tanner stumbled and fell. His pursuers fell on him immediately, and the profane hunger of the Eye vanished at once. The Roamer's anchor chain began to clatter through the hawsehole, and a dense white fog spilled over her bulwarks and crept across the water toward the reef. In seconds the ketch was no longer visible, and Arietta knew that if all went according to plan, the vessel would soon be escaping through the hidden pa.s.sage.

"Even better than promised," Jang said. "I had not expected it to be so fast."

"Indeed," Arietta said, still worried. Greatorm had promised that the Shadovar would not be able to dispel the fog, but he had refused to reveal how he created it. "I just wish he had told us how it works. 'Trust me' is not very confidence-inspiring."

"Greatorm is a smuggler," Kleef said. "You can't expect him to give away his tricks."

The fog soon washed over them. It had a salty, acrid taint that burned Arietta's nostrils and made her think of brimstone, and there was a yellow tinge to it that made distant shapes difficult to see.

Shouts of alarm and frustration drifted across the water from the direction of the Wave Wyvern, and an urgent creaking grew audible as the oars put on speed.

"Sounds like it's time," Kleef said. "Let's move."

Jang took up their own oars and backed the skiff out of the pool in which they had been hiding, then carefully began to row them around the half-submerged temple. By the time they arrived on the far side of the little islet, Greatorm's gnomish fog had swallowed everything in sight. The only way Arietta could tell that the Wyvern was crossing ahead of them was by the shriek-splash of her oars.

Then came the deep burbling growl of a keel running aground, followed almost instantly by the crash of tumbling gear and the cries of startled crewmen. The tumult continued for only a moment, then quickly faded as the ship slowed to a dead stop. Jang continued to row, and the Wyvern finally grew apparent, a faint darkening in the fog, about twenty paces ahead.