Cole was ferried across in the third and final group. Soeman sat next to him, his thin face ashen and his hands twitching with nerves.
Not that the soldiers staring across at them had any cause for suspicion. Just about everyone aboard the two ships was feeling the strain of sailing on the Swell. Prisoners, sailors and Watchmen alike had reacted poorly to the news they had crossed into the dreaded stretch of water. The hold had been an unpleasant place to be at that moment, with prisoners retching all around him, others moaning in fear, and Three-Finger accidentally pissing on his leg as he shifted to avoid another man’s vomit.
He reached across and squeezed Soeman’s arm. A Watchman saw the gesture and sneered. Cole frowned in response and then turned and spat over the side of the boat, just as he imagined Brodar Kayne would have done.
He immediately regretted the gesture. It was because of that old bastard he was in this mess in the first place. To make matters worse, the Highlander still had his birthright, his precious dagger. He wanted Magebane back. If he had to take it from the old barbarian by force, so be it. That was exactly what he would do.
The boat bumped against the hull of the cog and Cole shipped his oars. The old seadog, Jack, clambered up the hanging rope like some wiry monkey. Soeman tried to haul himself up next but slipped and crashed back down into the boat, sending it lurching to one side and soaking everyone with cold seawater. A Watchman hauled him to his feet and shook him so hard Cole thought his teeth were going to fall out.
He wouldn’t have minded giving the man a shake himself, but he needed Soeman for his plan to work effectively. It came as a relief once the engineer was finally over the side of Red Bounty.
‘You next,’ ordered a Watchman. Cole glanced around and stretched theatrically to make sure everyone was focusing on him. Then he sped up the rope like an acrobat. He reached the top and vaulted onto the deck of the ship, landing in a smooth roll.
He immediately regretted his bravado. Agony exploded in his swollen groin. His bruised ribs hurt even worse. He wanted to fall to the deck and wait for the pain to subside, but everyone was watching him. Teeth clenched, he shrugged and strolled over to the rest of the captives.
‘What was that about?’ asked Three-Finger, a puzzled expression on his ugly face.
‘Morale,’ Cole replied. ‘The men can’t fail to have been impressed by what they just saw. A leader has to inspire confidence in his ability.’
‘Whatever you say.’ Three-Finger looked around the ship and counted under his breath. ‘There are six Watchmen aboard this vessel. That means there are six more back on the Redemption. And that cocksucking Augmentor.’
Cole nodded. The rowing boat was now back alongside the other ship, where the sailors were attending to the rigging. Captain Kramer stood near the rail, conversing with his first mate. Falcus lurked nearby.
A booming voice brought Cole’s attention back to Red Bounty. The speaker was a huge bear of a man with a bristling beard. His assistants cowered behind him on the aftcastle as he stared down at the indentured workforce with undisguised contempt.
‘I’m Foreman Armin,’ he bellowed. ‘I’m supervising this mining operation. If any one of you so much as puts a foot out of place, I’ll have the flesh stripped from your hide.’
Cole glanced at the soldiers behind him. They wore eager looks on their faces, no doubt keen to get stuck into the business of mistreating their prisoners. Whatever one might say about Kramer, the captain ran a tight ship. Armin, on the other hand, gave the distinct impression he would be the taskmaster from hell.
‘We have the whole day ahead of us,’ the foreman continued. ‘When I say the word, you cretins will begin unloading equipment from the cargo hold. I want everything tested to ensure it’s operational before work begins on the morrow. Any man not pulling his weight gets to feel the leather of my boot up his arse. Where’s Soeman?’
The engineer hesitated for a second, and then raised one thin arm.
‘You’ll oversee the construction of the platform,’ Armin said. ‘I want it assembled by the time we finish work this evening.’ He paused a moment, savouring his next words before he spoke them. ‘Tomorrow a handful of you bastards will test the water. My men will operate the drill. You lot’ — he smiled grimly, gesturing at the captives — ‘will search the sea floor.’
The uproar was instantaneous. Men cursed and shook their heads. Others looked for weapons as if they would mutiny right then and there. Crimson Watchmen waded in, laying about them with the pommels of their swords and lashing out with cruel whips. The man next to Cole was knocked down and stomped on. He turned his head and spewed bloody spittle and loose teeth all over the deck.
Within the space of a minute the protest was over. Captives groaned, wiping blood from their faces and nursing bruised bodies. Cole shook his head in annoyance. This wasn’t going to make their escape any easier.
‘Now that we understand each other,’ said Armin, ‘let me explain how we’re going to do things. You will search for blue veins in the rock. When you find one, follow the vein and extract as much of the rock containing blue material as you can. That stuff is solidified magic. These waters are rich with it, so you shouldn’t have much difficulty locating good hauls.’
‘How are we supposed to dive to the bottom?’ asked a long-faced fellow behind Cole.
‘The sea is shallow here. Less than thirty fathoms. You will be provided with special helmets to help you breathe.’
‘What kind of helmets?’
Armin frowned. ‘The kind you wear on your head. They’re a Shadowport invention, based on old Fade designs.’
‘I thought the Fade were just a myth.’
The foreman was starting to grow annoyed. ‘The Fade are no myth, you gormless fool. Almost everything we know of engineering and the sciences is taken from their ancient teachings. How do you think Shadowport’s navy defeated ours? They had access to knowledge we did not.’
‘But no one has crossed the Endless Ocean for centuries-’
‘Enough!’ Armin roared. His beard bristled with anger. ‘You’re here to do a job, not talk my bloody ears off. You criminal scum will keep your mouths shut and do as you’re told. I want the cargo hold emptied before midday. And if any piece of equipment so much as gets scratched,’ he added, ‘the idiot responsible loses a finger. Get to work.’
Cole glanced at the prisoner whose face had been ground beneath the boot of the Watchman. It was the fellow who had rejected his scheme the previous night. He had a hand in his mouth and was taking a painful account of his remaining teeth. He caught Cole staring at him and nodded once, a grim gesture whose meaning could not be lost. One more.
He hoped it would be enough.
Dusk arrived.
Cole’s body ached all over from hauling equipment around. Red Bounty’s cargo hold was enormous and it was a wonder she hadn’t sunk under the sheer weight she carried. One poor fool had accidentally dropped a section of the huge drill Soeman was assembling, opening a considerable hole in the deck. Just as Armin had promised, the worker had lost a finger.
Three-Finger might have sympathized with the man’s loss, but he didn’t seem the sort to offer much in the way of compassion. The convict sauntered up and flashed an evil grin. ‘Soeman thinks the Core can be sabotaged to start a fire,’ he said.