Sometimes being right was no fun at all.

  It was midday on their first day at sea. There was no land in sight, just the endless waves of the Dividing Sea and the huge blue expanse of sky that was broken only by a few wispy clouds. Serrel was trying to be helpful by coiling a long rope for some of the sailors. The crew of the ship, particularly the Captain, were rather old fashioned and still considered having a mage onboard to be bad luck, and Serrel was hoping to look as unthreatening as possible.

  “Do you sleep with that thing as well?” asked a scornful voice behind him.

  Serrel turned to find Caellix had again sneaked up on him in that way of hers. She was worse than Dogbreath. If you were downwind, you could at least smell him coming. He was relatively harmless in his way, as well. Whereas Caellix at that moment was holding a well made and most likely very frequently used spear at her side.

  Caellix glanced at his staff, which was propped against the rail of the ship while he worked. Serrel took it everywhere with him. That was one of the first lessons Holland had drilled into the members of Pond Scum. Your staff never left your sight.

  “I always keep it with me, Sergeant,” Serrel said carefully. “It isn’t much different from carrying a knife... or a few axes.”

  Caellix looked down at the sharp hatchet tucked into her belt. She nodded.

  “I suppose so,” she conceded. “If it were a real weapon. What good is a big stick in a real fight?”

  “If he was fighting Dogbreath,” put in Brant, who was watching a safe distance away with some other Hounds, “he could distract him by throwing it and yelling fetch.”

  “If only all our opponents would be so amendable,” replied Caellix.

  Serrel careful placed the rope on deck and picked up his staff. “I have to admit, I haven’t been in many real fights-”

  “Really?” said Caellix. “I am shocked.”

  “But I imagine five feet of solid wood is better than nothing,” Serrel finished.

  “Only if you know how to use it, Fresh Meat. And only if you have trouble figuring out which end you were meant to hold a sword by.” There were a few laughs. Caellix didn’t join them. She wasn’t being spiteful for the joy of it.

  “I know how to use my staff, Sergeant,” Serrel said irritably.

  “Good,” said Caellix. Without warning she lowered her spear and stabbed the point straight at him.

  Serrel didn’t always think the worse of people, but part of him saw that coming. The word of power Balvihs had been floating in his mind, and now with little effort, Serrel weaved the ether into a shield directly in front of himself.

  The spear tip hit the invisible barrier, and stopped dead. Caellix stared at him, and pushed the spear harder. It moved a fraction, then stopped again. After a moment, the air around it began to glow with a dim green light.

  “And how long do you think you can keep that up?” Caellix asked him.

  “Long enough,” replied Serrel.

  “I think you’ll run out of strength before my arm does,” Caellix said.

  Serrel glanced at her arm, which had more muscles that he had ever seen on a woman, and wondered if that were true. He’d never shielded himself for long periods against a physical attack like this. At Fort Amell, they had practised defensive weaving against spells, and the occasional rock thrown maliciously by Holland. No one had ever broken Serrel’s defence before, but then again, no one had ever tried to stab their way through his shield before now. Already he was starting to feel the strain, and the ether energy in his being trickling away.

  “So, Fresh Meat, what happens then?” Caellix asked.

  Serrel dropped the shield so fast, Caellix was momentarily caught off guard. Without the barrier holding it in place, the tip of the spear thrust forwards, and would have hit him had he not already been stepping to the side, and lifting his staff to parry it.

  As the shafts of their weapons impacted, he threw a wave of force at the sergeant, a relatively low powered one, since he didn’t actually want to hurt her, and piss her off more than she generally was. But Caellix was faster than he expected, and had already spun away. Serrel’s spell missed her entirely, and washed over another of the Hounds instead, knocking him comically to the deck.

  Caellix ignored the gales of laughter behind her, and stared daggers at Serrel.

  “Um...” said Serrel. “Sorry?”

  “I don’t care how good you think you are with magic, Fresh Meat,” Caellix said. “How well can you handle yourself in a real fight?”

  The spear came hurtling at him again. Serrel parried her attacks as best he could, using his staff and throwing up shields whenever he needed to. He was out of depth somewhat. Holland had taught them close combat with a staff, but Serrel had not exactly proven himself a natural born warrior. Even with Caellix holding back, and she was holding back he realised, he only narrowly avoided being impaled over and over by the skin of his teeth.

  With one final thrust, Caellix sent the spear flying to his throat. Serrel managed to cast his shield again, then felt a sharp prick right on his adam’s apple. He weaved his shield too slowly, and instead of stopping the blow, it had formed around the shaft of her spear, giving it easy access. Part of Serrel noted with interest the way the shield didn’t pass through obstructions, and just formed itself around them, and filed the information away for future reference. The rest of him focused on not moving a single muscle, or even breathing, in case he accidentally opened his own throat.

  He did not have to worry. Caellix held the spear with extraordinary control, and kept it perfectly still, its tip just touching the skin of his throat.

  “What’s next, Fresh Meat?” she asked him. “What’s your next trick?”

  Serrel held up a finger in a just-give-me-a-moment gesture. There were more laughs behind him.

  “Do try not to make a mess, Sergeant,” said Captain Snow, who was watching the fight from a spot near the helm.

  “Stick him!” yelled Dogbreath. “Heheh.”

  With perfect timing, the whole ship suddenly shook violently. There was an ominous groaning of wood and the ship listed to port. Caellix lowered her spear quickly to avoid causing a messy accident, and the two of them fought to remain standing.

  “What just happened?” Brant asked aloud.

  “Snow!” the ship captain was yelling angrily. “What’s yer bloody wizard doin’ to my ship?”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Serrel snapped indignantly.

  Caellix made a face. “Gods, I hate the sea,” she muttered and turned to look out over the railing, their fight forgotten.

  Serrel joined her at the rail. “What is it?”

  “Do I look like a sailor to you, Fresh Meat?” She pointed to the surface of the water. “Maybe you can tell me what the hell that is.”

  Serrel saw a large dark shadow under the water, growing larger and larger. Then suddenly the sea exploded, and a huge black object almost as large as the ship they were on hurled itself out of the water and into the air. Serrel had a momentary view of fins and a huge tail, before the creature fell back into the sea with a giant splash, spraying up a great wave of water that drenched the pair, and sent the ship rocking again.

  Caellix shook her head, spraying water from her dreadlocks over Serrel. “I hate the sea,” she repeated.

  The other Hounds and most of the sailors lined up at the rail.

  “Wow,” said Holly. “What was that?”

  “Whales,” said one of the sailors. “Great Blacks. Been a while since we’ve seen one of them. They don’t usually come to these waters.”

  As they watched, more and more of the creatures began surfacing all around the ship. Some came up slowly, and blew great plumes of water into the air as they took a breath. Others leapt dramatically skywards as the first had done. In other vessels in the flotilla, soldiers and sailors were lining up to take in the sight as more whales appeared amidst the mass of ships.

  The captain growled. “Blacks be bad luck,” he muttered.

  “Only if they land on you,” said Brant, as the ship rocked back and forth from the force of the landing whales.

  “Blacks be bad luck, you dosy boy,” the captain repeated. “That’s why we stopped huntin’ ‘em.”

  “They’re just big fish,” said Holly.

  “Mammals actually,” said Brant.

  “Tain’t the whales yer need to worry about,” insisted the captain. “It’s what comes after ‘em.”

  Serrel looked over at him. “Why?” he asked. “What comes after them?”

  The first sailor shook his head. “That’s just a-”

  He was cut off by another whale erupted from the sea. It was far too close to the ship for comfort, and it was the biggest one yet. Except...

  Serrel stared in horror as the whale landed back in the sea, only just missing the hull of the ship. It wasn’t just a whale. Something had been wrapped around it. He had a glimpse of what looked like... snakes?

  Another whale came up, thrashing violently, its huge tail throwing a mass of water all over the onlookers strong enough to send a couple sprawling. And Serrel saw it clearly. Not snakes. Tentacles. Huge tentacles wrapping around the struggling whale and yanking it back beneath the waves.

  “I told you!” roared the captain.

  “What the hell was that?” Holly asked in shock.

  “Krakens,” the captain snarled. “A whole school of bloody krakens. They come up, chasin’ the whales.”

  “Oh, well now. That’s just perfect,” said Caellix scathingly.

  “How much trouble are we in right now?” asked Captain Snow calmly.

  “Plenty,” said the captain. “If we don’t get clear o’ the school, them Blacks will knock us to pieces. And if we’re really unlucky, one o’ them krakens might decide he wants a bite o’ us...”

  “Oh. Well, then. No worries.”

  “If ye have a god, Snow, I’d start praying to him.”

  “Good point,” said Snow. He turned to his men. “Hounds! Off the leash. It’s time to pray.”

  Without a word, the Hounds dashed back to the hold. Several jumped down below-decks, while others waited by the ladder. Soon, a long stream of weapons emerged on deck, passed up from below and distributed around the group. It didn’t take long for everyone to be armed.

  “What d’yer think yer can do with those?” the captain asked witheringly.

  “We generally find a use for them in most situations,” replied Snow, accepting an ornate sword from Brant.

  Serrel was impressed at the speed and coordination of his unit. He stayed out of the way, and watched the sea seethe with monsters. Fleeing whales sped hurriedly through the water, while huge masses of red tentacles sped after them with alarming tenacity. He watched a giant kraken pass silently under the ship and disappear.

  Beside him, Caellix gripped her spear tightly and pursed her lips. Her eyes danced across the surface of the water, seeking the next threat.

  Then it happened. A large whale, masses of red tentacles coiled tightly around it, launched itself from the water and slammed straight into the ship nearest them. Serrel heard the sound of wood cracking, and breaking to pieces, then men screaming as their ship came apart around them. He watched in horror as the ship rolled over onto its port side and began to sink, men on its deck sliding down and landing into the sea.

  “Hell,” said Snow. “Come to starboard, we need to help them!”

  “Belay that!” said the captain. “If there be men in the water, they be as good as dead.”

  “They aren’t dead yet.”

  “There’ll be a frenzy! The krakens will attack anythin’ that moves!”

  “Captain!” Caellix snapped. “There are Legion on that ship. So you can either come to starboard, or you can go swimming.”

  The captain scowled. “Bloody Legion... Fine! On yer head be it! Come about, lads, and tool up! We be in for a fight!”

  Serrel held on to the rail as the ship veered towards the stricken vessel. He saw men and woman struggling in the water. Then he saw a vast red shape appear beneath them, and one by one they started being pulled underwater.

  He wondered who had been on that ship. If it had held someone he knew.

  The ship came upon the floundering crew, and the sailors quickly threw rope and barrels over the side. But anyone unlucky to be in the water was quickly dragged down and lost. The dying crew and members of the Legion aboard did their best to drag themselves onto the wreck of their ship, but it was sinking too fast to give them any real aid.

  Serrel watched one woman in a Legion uniform struggling up the side of the almost vertical deck, as a long red tentacle slithered up from beneath her. She screamed as it wrapped around her leg.

  “’Scuse me,” Holly pushed past him, lifting a bow. She sighted down the arrow at the tentacle, and let fly.

  The tentacle twitched in pain as the arrow drove into it. When a second arrow fired by Brant impacted, it let go of the woman and shot back underwater. But just as someone threw her a rope, the woman lost her grip and slid down to join it.

  “Damn it!” Holly swore.

  Serrel looked at the water, at the red shape beneath the surface. It wasn’t too deep.

  “Can you hit the body?” he pointed at the long, thick mass attached to the tentacles.

  Holly and Brant lowered their aim, and fired. The arrows hit the water, but were slowed down too much and merely bounced off the kraken’s thick flesh.

  Caellix swore, flipped her spear over and impaled it blade first into the deck of the ship for safe keeping. She turned to the nearest sailor. “You! Harpoon! NOW!”

  She held out her hand, and caught the harpoon he threw to her. Then she leapt onto the rail and balanced upon it in a crouch. Serrel reached up and grabbed a hold of her belt instinctively, and braced his feet. Caellix pulled back her arm, aimed, and hurled the harpoon with all her strength.

  It sailed through the air, down through the water, and slid through the kraken’s flesh. The monster thrashed in pain, tentacles lashing out and hammering anything unlucky enough to get too close. There was the limp body of a man still held in one, flung back and forth like a rag doll.

  Serrel caught sight of the harpoon, still lodged in its body. He pointed his staff at it, and pictured in his mind a fist, no, a hammer, slamming down on the end of its shaft like it was a nail, and he thought, Soa.

  The wave of force he cast struck the harpoon and cracked the shaft in two, but pushed the barbed tip deeper into the kraken’s body, and by luck severed something important. Its tentacles continued to writhe and thrash even as it died, until one of the creature’s brethren, perhaps sensing its sudden end, grasped it in its own tentacles and dragged it deeper into the sea.

  Caellix jumped down from the rail. “Throw the ropes! Quickly, before-”

  The ship rocked again, and this time Serrel stumbled and fell on one knee. He saw a flash of red, and threw up his shield, just a pair of tentacles slithered over the side of the ship and struck at him. One tentacle hit his shield and bounced off, giving Serrel a close up view he wasn’t really looking for. It was as thick as his leg, its lower surface covered with huge suckers, each one with a vicious curved hook in its center.

  He pointed his staff and said, “Fieren.”

  A gout of fire shot from the end of his staff, and burned the creatures flesh, giving off a foul chemical smell that made him light headed. He pushed himself upright, and weaved fire again. The tentacle jerked away, and retreated quickly back into the water.

  He looked to his left in time to see Caellix hacking at the second tentacle with an axe until it fell in half and lay coiling on itself on the deck. Then he heard the ship’s captain screaming, and spun around.

  A second kraken was attacking from the port side. Gigantic tentacles were rising from the water, straight up into the air. They were almost as tall as the ship’s mast. Then they dropped, landing on the deck hard enough to break several planks, and causing the ship to bob up and down.

  As they slid backwards to the sea, one brushed against the Captain, and sensing him, quickly wrapped itself around his body and pulled him along with it. He screamed in terror as the Hounds and his crew hacked frantically at it, but he was soon lifted from the deck, and carried away.

  Serrel ran across the deck, and reignited the flame from his staff. He weaved the fire into a form hotter and fiercer than before, and turned it on the next tentacle. Its flesh blackened and burned in seconds, causing it to lash out in pain. The Hounds hacked and slashed at it, filled it with arrows, until it slid from the deck and disappeared.

  When they turned back to the sinking ship, it was gone. On a few pieces of flotsam drifting on the surface and just over a dozen survivors flailing frantically in the water. The Hounds and the crew pulled them out as fast as they could, but could only watch as a red shadow rose beneath the final man and dragged him under.

  Serrel looked out across the flotilla, and saw that they were not alone in their battle. Kraken had attacked half the ships, damaging several. Before his eyes, the largest tentacles yet wrapped themselves around one ship and crushed it in half.

  Slowly the fight wound down, as the Legion fought off the attacking monsters, and the rest of the creatures set off after the fleeing whales or settled for a meal of their injured or dying brethren. Eventually, the sea was calm again, disturbed only by the wreckage of broken ships. Anything remotely edible was taken.

  “Gods,” Holly breathed. She was deathly pale.

  Caellix shook her head rapidly, and drenched Serrel for the third time. “I. Hate. The sea.”

  “Yes,” said Serrel. “You mentioned.”

  Snow was barking orders, “Get those men someplace warm and dry. You,” he pointed at one sailor who blanched. “You’re the captain now, correct?”

  “I... I don’t know...”

  “No? Fine. You,” he pointed to the next man. “I hereby dub thee captain of the good ship Dragonfly. Congratulations.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the man could only stutter.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9