Sabyna's face drained of color and her eyes filled with cold, hard tears. She wrapped her arms across her breasts and glared at him. "That's the mark of Bloody Falkane," she whispered.
Jherek nodded slowly and said, "Bloody Falkane-the man who killed your brother-is my father, lady."
Sabyna turned from him and walked woodenly to the prow railing.
Not knowing what else to do, Jherek followed after her. He stayed back, wishing he could comfort her. Why did it have to be her brother? But he knew that wasn't a fair question. There were a number of families who'd lost-brothers and fathers, and other family to the notorious crew of Bunyip and Bloody Falkane. It was only his ill luck that numbered Sabyna's family among their victims.
He stood quietly waiting. He had no words. All he could do was try to figure out how a day that was starting so beautifully could be so bad already.
"Anything," Sabyna croaked hoarsely as she turned around to face him with a face wet with tears and wracked with pain.*T was prepared for anything but that."
Jherek nodded but couldn't get a word past the lump in his throat. He looked at the deck between his feet and tried to think. Even if he could speak, what would he say?
Sabyna's startled scream ripped through the morning.
Looking up, Jherek saw two pallid gray arms seize the pretty ship's mage from behind. They wrapped around Sabyna's body and yanked her from the deck. The young sailor caught a glimpse of the gray corpse that had climbed up the ship's prow as it fell back into the water. Two more corpses pulled themselves up the ship's prow as well, throwing their arms over the railing.
"Boarders!" Jherek yelled as loudly as he could.
He ripped the sword from his sash, knowing he was in danger of losing Sabyna. Azure Dagger had all sails out and was running with the wind. He sprinted toward the port railing and threw himself over.
The Sea of Fallen Stars sparkled blue-green for an instant, and he heard other sailors aboard Azure Dagger take up the warning cry.
"Boarders! Boarders!*'
"Boarders my arse! Them are sea zombies straight from Umberlee's."
Jherek hit the water cleanly, following the line of the cutlass. Foam churned white around him as he dived. Turning in the water, he floated, using his empty hand to turn himself around.
Dozens of bodies floated in the sea, all of them pallid gray and bloated from drowning. A hundred and more walked the sea floor, followed by schools of fish and crabs that feasted on their dead flesh.
An eerie, haunting melody suddenly filled the water. Jherek felt a tingle run through his whole body and a warm lassitude started to creep in on him. He pushed the music away, remembering that Sabyna was down there somewhere.
A heartbeat later, the young sailor spotted her, still pulled along by the drowned one that held her less than forty feet away. Jherek kicked his feet and took off after her. Even with the cutlass in one hand and wearing boots, he overtook the sea zombie in seconds. His muscles screamed silent protests after the beating they'd taken the night before.
Other sea zombies noticed the young sailor and swam for him. Two of them were male, but the third had been a little girl no more than ten.
Sabyna struggled against her captor who held her with its arm locked under her throat.
Jherek's optimism flagged. Zombies of any type could prove incredibly hard to kill. They had to be chopped literally to pieces or have the necromancer's spell that created them broken.
Sabyna's eyes widened when she saw him.
Fisting the drowned one's chin with his free hand from behind, Jherek twisted with all his strength. The drowned one's spine cracked as the head came fully halfway around. Still, the creature didn't release its hold on Sabyna.
The young sailor shoved the cutlass forward, preparing to cut the thing's water-rotted arm from it. As soon as the sword touched the drowned one, electricity sparked the length of the blade. The zombie convulsed, its limbs flaring out and the seaweed-tangled hair on its head standing straight up. Great boils erupted on the dead flesh, causing a sudden eruption of blue-purple cuttle worms three inches long and as thick as a man's finger.
Jherek waved the worms from his face, knowing he was safe because they didn't like live flesh. He glanced up, seeing Sabyna swimming for the surface. Before she made it, long vines from a kelp bed snaked out for her, curling around her and pulling her in.
For the first time Jherek realized the hypnotic melody came from the purple-leafed kelp beds. He swam toward her, watching as other zombies closed in on her.
What felt like iron bars wrapped around his ankles and dragged him down. He plummeted toward the ocean floor like he'd been tied to an anchor. Glancing down, he saw that a large man with eye sockets picked clean by a hermit crab still curled up inside one of them had grabbed him.
The roan's waterlogged weight was enough to drag them both to the bottom.
Jherek shoved his cutlass into the man's face, hoping whatever made filled the blade hadn't exhausted itself.
The zombie's limbs and hair popped straight out and the flesh boiled. Lungs near to bursting, the young sailor swam after Sabyna.
A pair of drowned ones reached her first, digging into the kelp bed with her. Sabyna fought against them, but their teeth dug into her right thigh and left side. Blood stained the water.
"No!" Jherek shouted, causing an eruption of air bubbles from his mouth.
He shoved the cutlass into the creature biting on Sabyna's thigh. Jherek watched as the magic in the blade destroyed the undead thing, then he attacked the one worrying at Sabyna's side, destroying it as well. Sabyna's movements showed definite weakness.
Jherek sawed at the vines holding her to the kelp, cutting her free. Her wounds bled freely. He hooked an arm around her waist and swam for the surface, knowing even if he made it there was no way they could reach Azure Dagger or out-swim the rest of the drowned ones.
Another zombie swam at them from above, giving Jherek no time to dodge away. With no warning, a rush of golden scales intercepted the drowned one, snatching it up in a huge mouth and crunching it to pieces.
Even with only that brief glance, Jherek knew it was the sea wyrm that he'd first seen when they'd salvaged Black Champion. The creature had followed Steadfast all the way to Aglarond and back, but he thought it had been left on the other side of the island with Steadfast. Somehow it had known where he was and made its way to him.
Jherek watched the sea wyrm constrict in the water, flipping its body around so that its fins caught the currents in such a way that it turned back around on itself like a corkscrew. The fins on its head flared out as it regarded Jherek. Then another zombie seized its attention 1‹ than ten feet away. The sea wyrm streaked there and bit the dead woman in half. Both halves remained active for a time, arms and legs moving desperately but without an ability to control their direction as they dropped slowly to the sea floor.
A moment later, Jherek brought Sabyria to the surface. She looked into his eyes, coughing and gasping. He glanced down at the wounds in her side and leg, knowing he had to put pressure on them to stop the bleeding. Furthermore, if there were any sharks in the water, the blood scent was sure to bring them.
"Go," she gasped hoarsely. "I'm getting cold, Jherek. I don't think I can swim."
"I'm not going to leave you," he said.
"By yourself you might have a chance."
"No, lady." The young sailor gazed down at the sea wyrm still darting through the water below. It struck like lightning, destroying zombie after zombie that swam toward Jherek and Sabyna. He locked eyes with the creature and said, "Help me."
The sea wyrm curled in on itself, then exploded into motion. It streaked through the water like an arrow, surfacing almost casually beside Jherek. Cautiously, it folded the fins down around its head and stretched its muzzle forward.