Aboard the lead vessel K'jarr saw what appeared to be a black skeleton standing arrogantly in the prow. The skeleton was dressed in some sort of ragged military uniform. A torn, black cape hung down its back, twirling in the wind.
Then K'jarr blinked, and the skeleton was gone. K'jarr rubbed his eyes then looked again. The bizarre form did not reappear. Surely the moonlight was playing tricks on him.
Suddenly, the seven Black Ships formed a straight battle line in the sea. As the lead ship gained slightly on the others, an azure glow surrounded her, and K'jarr knew that the craft was in play. With no help from any of her crew, each of her massive sails began to furl itself until it was tightly wound and tied off against a spar. Without aid of the wind, the ship's bow raised high, then plunged mightily back down into the sea. K'jarr expected her bow to rise up again, but it didn't.
Instead, the bow continued to plow deeper into the waves. As it did, the dark hull pitched upward to nearly vertical, and the stern of the great ship rose high into the air. As K'jarr watched her sink, his breath caught. The ocean quickly engulfed her decks, and the entire vessel was swallowed by the sea.
As the ripples closed in and the sea calmed, the magenta moonlight revealed no trace of the ship.
"One of their great ships has just sunk," one of K'jarr's officers said.
"It would seem that they are not so invincible after all."
His eyes still locked upon the six other vessels, K'jarr shook his head.
"No," he answered quietly. "She did not sink. She submerged." He pointed to the next ship. "Watch," he whispered.
The glow of the craft appeared once more. Just as the first ship had done, so did the second. One by one, the five others followed suit with perfect dives into the deep. The glow of the craft slowly retreated and the sea calmed again. The warriors hovered, speechless.
The cloud that hid them was thinning, and they would soon be exposed. K'jarr knew that they would not be able to capture a demonslaver. Worse yet, if they did not start back now they would perish in the sea before reaching the Reprise. The unbelievable things they had witnessed had to be relayed to Tyranny and the princess, whether they took a captive or not.
K'jarr gave the order to retreat. Leaving the security of the cloud, one by one the warriors turned west, each hoping that he could reach Tyranny's flagship before his strength gave out. as he watched from the shore Wulfgar paced nervously, his full attention upon the restless sea. Bratach and Serena stood waiting nearby. The cool evening wind swirled about them, and Serena pulled her shawl closer.
An area of the sea suddenly became disturbed. Soon the ocean was alive and roiling. Without warning, the first of the Black Ships exploded from the depths.
Her bow shot to the surface, and the rest of her massive hull followed. With a gigantic crash she landed solidly upon the ocean. The demonslavers aboard her appeared to be unaffected by their ship's recent maneuver. Wulfgar watched as, seawater dripping from her black masts and decks, she rocked back and forth, finding her equilibrium. Then her black sails unfurled. As they caught the night air, they snapped open sharply, and the warship began bounding across the waves.
From his place in the bow, the macabre figure of Captain Merriwhether grasped a line to steady himself. He then pulled his sword from its recently engraved scabbard. As he held the centuries-old weapon high, the crimson moonlight glinted off its blade. Smiling, Wulfgar raised his good arm in response.
Just as the first ship had done, each of the other six vessels exploded from the depths. Then, one by one, they turned and sailed off.
Once they had passed, Wulfgar turned toward Einar and Serena. The moonlight tinted his ravaged face pink. Taking his queen by the hand, he smiled.
"Tomorrow I sail for Eutracia."
CHAPTER XLI
Staring out of his hired carriage-of-four, Bratach couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. So far, all was going according to plan.
The assassin Satine had begun her sanctions, the Orb of the Vigors continued to spew forth its deadly energy, and the royal palace was in a state of uproar. By now, not only should his master have conjured forth the Earthshakers and summoned the Council of Seven, but the Black Ships should also be in his service. Unless Bratach missed his guess, Wulfgar would be sailing for Eutracia any day now.
As he watched the Eutracian streets slide by, one corner of Bratach's mouth turned up. There was very little-if anything-that could stop them now. Soon the Vigors would be extinguished, the royal house and the two wizards dealt with, and the coming war fought and won. Then the Enseterat would stride the earth like a colossus and control the fate of the craft for all time.
Bratach had purchased secondhand the dark, shopworn trousers and simple peasant shirt he wore, along with the dirty knee boots, so as to better fit in with common Eutracian society. Having worn the dark blue robe of a consul for most of his adult life, he felt strangely out of place in these pedestrian clothes. But the last thing he needed was to be publicly greeted by another onetime consul of the Redoubt-even though Nicholas had made them all brothers in service to the Vagaries.
The thought of Nicholas saddened him. Other than the Enseterat, he had never known such a perfect being. Nicholas had come heartbreakingly close to achieving his victory, only to perish upon his masterpieces, the Gates of Dawn. But this time they would not fail, and the Jin'Sai would pay dearly.
Suddenly the carriage came to a halt, returning Bratach's thoughts to the present.
"This is it!" he heard the driver shout down. "That'll be two kisa, if you please."
Bratach swung open the carriage door and stepped into the busy street. After gazing about for a moment, he found what he was looking for. Smiling to himself, he walked toward the driver and quickly conjured several kisa. As he drew them from his pocket, the newly created coins sparkled brightly in the sun. He handed four of them up.
"Here are two extra," he said. "Wait for me nearby. I won't be long."
Greedily fingering the golden coins, the driver smiled. "Very well, sir," he answered.
"Don't stray far. I'll be right back."
As Bratach watched, the driver took his carriage around the corner. Then Bratach looked around. What he was searching for was down the next street to the left. Eager to reach his destination, he set off.
It was still morning and the sun shined brightly. As he entered the busy roundabout, he was at first dismayed to see the place so full of people. But he was resigned to wait as long as necessary. As it had the days before, the fountain in the center splashed happily.
Walking over to a nearby vendor, he surreptitiously conjured several more kisa and exchanged them for a massive, freshly roasted turkey leg. Chewing like a contented peasant, he walked to the fountain and sat down upon its edge.
By the time the turkey leg was gone, the crowd surrounding him had thinned out a bit. Shifting his weight slightly, he placed one hand down into the cool water. He looked around once more and closed his eyes.
He removed his hand from the water and peered down. As he did, he employed the craft to cause a small area of the surface to calm. He smiled as he read the message that had formed from the grains Vivian had left there yesterday.
It is done, he read.
After scanning the remainder of the message he closed his eyes again. The grains vanished and the water stirred once more.
Wulfgar's consul stood to walk back to his carriage. Finding himself in a particularly cheerful mood, he decided to do some shopping before heading back to meet Ivan. AS BRATACH'S CARRIAGE APPROACHED THE ARCHERY SHOP, HE saw that the "Open" sign hanging in the window showed red letters rather than black. Before leaving for the roundabout he had ordered Ivan to display it, hoping that Satine would see it and enter. If Vivian had known about Geldon's death as late as yesterday, it was possible that the dwarf's killer had by now returned to the city.