Читать книгу Aramaya - Jane Routley - Страница 5

In a couple of days we would be in Aramaya. I leaned against the rail of the ship looking down into the dark grey sea. I should be excited about seeing the centre of the world, but instead my mood matched the color of the water.

"Thinking of Ruinac again?" asked Kitten, appearing at the rail by my side. She put her arm around my shoulders.

I smiled ruefully at her.

"For once no," I said. "I was thinking of my mother. She took the attitude that men were a temporary part of a woman's life. Once upon a time I thought she was mistaken. I really thought Shad and I would last for ever."

My mother, my effortlessly fertile mother, would also have said it was children who were your lasting joy, but I was not going down that path yet again.

"Perhaps she was right, perhaps not," said Kitten squeezing me. "But even if men are temporary, friendship lasts. When we get home to Ishtak, perhaps you will come and live near me. We can have a lot of fun together."

There was a shout from the foredeck.

"Come on. We need to get below," said Kitten, pulling me away from the rail.

I looked up at the sky. A huge bank of black clouds was rolling over the horizon. That had come up quickly. No wonder the sea was so dark.

I groaned. By now I well and truly regretted pushing the others into shipping for Aramaya at this time of year. I had wanted to end my inactivity on shore, but I had merely exchanged it for the inactivity of shipboard life with the "delightful" extra ingredient of seasickness.

"Yes. Another storm. They don't call it Storm Season for nothing," said Kitten. "The captain wants us battened down below decks as usual. Come on."

The two of us shared a little dark cabin on the upper deck. It was small but luxurious compared with the cramped communal room the other ten passengers shared. A communal room is less than pleasant when everyone is seasick during a storm. After the first storm I, in my role as healer, had distributed little magic pills to cure seasickness, but my supply of these pills had run out several days ago due to the sheer number of storms we had gone through since we had left Ishtak.

Our ship, the Eagle, was the last ship to risk the 30 day journey across the Western Ocean to Aramaya, before the two month long Storm Season made the crossing impossible. Now I could see why. The captain told us that this was a particularly rough year, but he always saw plenty of early storms on this crossing.

So, while Kitten and I dreaded yet more nauseating lurching hours spent below deck, we did not feel any special anxiety. We had learned early that it was pointless to leave a candle lit, so we lay on our bunks in the dark talking - in Aramayan to give me practice - until the howling of the wind and the crashing of waves made it impossible to hear each other. Then we lay alone in the darkness with our thoughts.

I tried to think about Dally and what sort of actions I would take when I reached the coast of Aramaya, but as usual I thought of Shad. I remembered the last time I had seen him. We had been fighting as usual. I was furious at him about something - I can't remember what exactly. - I think it was just everything. Anyway to punish him I had suddenly refused to go to the yearly gathering in Ernundra.

When I saw how much my refusal hurt him I felt horrible and guilty and this just made me angrier. How could he make me go? The Klementari were not my people, but his and now every one of them would know that I was barren, because Edaine would have told them and they would all know my failure and they would look at me with humiliating pity.

“How could you put me through that,” I shouted. You’re supposed to love me, but I haven't seen much love lately.”

"You know they won't care about that," he said, trying to sound reasonable, but not really succeeding. "Please Dion, won't you do it for me. You know how much it means to me."

"Well then go without me," I said, wanting him to beg, wanting him to suffer as I had suffered.

He was silent for a moment.

"If you would not mind it, I will," he said. His voice sounded tentative, nervous. Why? What was he nervous about? Was he guilty? He wanted to go without me, didn't he? I knew it! I had known it all along. He wanted to be rid of me. Who could blame him? Edaine would take him gladly. Maybe he wanted me out of the way so he could go to her. She'd be able to give him children. My heart felt like it had turned to a stone fist.

"You do that," I said bitterly

"You do mind, don't you?" he said.

"Why should I care? Do what you want. I don't give a damn."

"Dion, I really need to go. The gathering gives me so much strength and it's been a hard year. For both of us, I know. Please. Stay home if you want, but don't ask me not to go."

He was planning to leave me. I could tell. I had known this would happen. I had known he would leave me from the moment I had lost his child. The inevitability was like a grim march to execution.

"Oh Dion," he said softly. He came up behind me and touched my shoulder. "Don't be like this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry we fight so much. Sometimes I wonder... Maybe it’s better I go alone. Time apart might cool things down between us."

He WAS going to leave me. Anger stormed into my head. A violent red mist clouded my eyes. How I hated him in that moment. I wanted to break him. I spun round and slapped him hard across the face.

"Get out," I screamed at him. "Get out. Go get yourself a nice new wife, damn you."

He staggered back, clutching his cheek.

"I hate you." I shouted. "I never want to see you again. Go on. Go to your gathering. And go to hell."

I picked up a china jug and threw it at him.

His face set into bitter lines.

"Damn you," he shouted. "If that's what you want then I will go."

He stormed from the room, leaving me to kick the furniture and weep enraged tears. I didn’t stop till I heard his horse outside, trotting away down the road. At that sound I was suddenly overwhelmed with terrible shame and sorrow. I knew I had treated him badly. I ran to the window and shouted his name once, twice. He didn't even slow down. Probably he couldn't hear me. After two calls, my pride came back. Accursed pride. Damn him! Let him go! Let him do his worst! I didn't care any more.

I dried my eyes, went back to my tasks and swallowed my disappointment, for I had wanted to go to the Gathering. The Klementari in their green homeland were kind and wise and talking with my old friends and participating in the rituals of the Gathering brought me tremendous peace.

From the very first night I missed Shad, but I began to see that he had been right. Time apart made me think of him more kindly than I had done for a long time. It was unreasonable for me to blame him for our childlessness. We did not know it was his fault. I knew I had acted badly to him. I had the uneasy feeling that I had gone too far this time and maybe really hurt him.

But I never, never expected him to actually leave me. I never expected that just a few days later, a messenger would come bearing his wedding ring, an act which constituted a request for divorce under Klementari law and a terse letter signed by him which confirmed this.

That moment when I first read that letter... Why must the mind grind over old wounds like that? Though I screwed up my eyes against the pain, still the tears leaked out.

Suddenly the ship pitched violently sideways. I found myself, sprawled against the cabin wall clinging to the sloping bunk, all memory forgotten, trying to stop the mattress from falling on top of me. There was a thudding crump of water hitting the deck above us. For a moment it seemed as if the ship was going topple over and then it gave an almighty lurch the opposite way, which threw me onto the other side of my bunk and had me scrabbling not to be thrown to the floor. There was another crashing thud of water on the roof and the ship lurched and pitched again. The timbers around us creaked and groaned with effort. Water was running down the side of the cabin. My God, when had the storm got this violent?

Quickly I brought a magelight to mind and dazzling white light filled the cabin. The floor was covered in inky black water, a miniature sea with waves that splashed around to the violent lurching of the ship.

As I began to use my power, I was suddenly horribly aware of another power all around us - the power of the sea smashing at the tiny ship - a monstrous power, cold, dark and very very deep. Frightened I pressed my hand against the wall of the cabin and pushed a spell of binding into it and down into the timbers of the ship.

"I best see if I can go and help." I cried, sliding gingerly off my bunk and into that inky water. It was ankle deep. When I'd signed on for the journey, I'd signed on using my old name Dion Michaeline, healer. I did not want to travel as Dion Holyhands, Lady of Ruinac. It was too much baggage for what I hoped would be a discreet journey. Had the ships crew known who I really was, they might well have already asked me to help them. I knew nothing about the sea and ships, but I knew all about the use of magic as a brute force. I had fought demons.

Kitten shouted something back at me as she jumped down beside me. Together we heaved open the door.

Kitten's servant, Captain Simonetti was out in the corridor of the ship hanging on to swaying walls as he came splashing and slipping down the corridor towards us. His wife, Suza, clutched the frame of their cabin door looking uncharacteristically anxious. In the brief lull between the crashing waves I could hear others in the communal cabins, crying, praying and being sick. The last made me glad I was a mage and could at least keep my dinner down. Suddenly it seemed stupid for a mage to be walking in water like this. I waved my hand and spoke the words and the water streamed out from under the cabin doorways, back up the corridor and out through the cracks in the hatch way. Kitten turned and gave me a sign of approval.

Then the ship rolled and dumped all three of us on the floor. There was a roar and a thump and water gushed through the gaps in the hatchway again, soaking us as we struggled to our feet.

Suza Simonetti helped Kitten and I get up and together the four of us staggered to the hatchway. The force of the waves had cracked it. Drenched by the streams of water that flowed through the crack, we waited for the right moment and then the four of us pushed the heavy cover open. In a moment Kitten and I were out on the lurching bucking deck.

The deck was covered in torn rigging, and broken spars. The sky above was almost as black as night. Sheets of rain swept into our eyes, driven by the savage wind. Huge waves rose above us. It was as if the ship was flinging itself over mountains. I clung to a nearby rail while Kitten leaned unsteadily over the hatchway, shouting at the Simonettis to stay below. Using magic I pushed the hatch cover shut over them.

Suddenly, a huge black mass of water rose up and up over the side of the boat. Screaming, I snatched Kitten round the waist and flung the two of us against the mast, binding us to it in a panic of strong magic. There was an awful moment as we stared up at the huge wave and then the force of the water came crashing down on us like a blow. Water, water, endless rushing water. I clung to Kitten and the mast and still there was a heavy blanket of rushing water pushing the air out of my lungs. Even through the calming power of magic it was like being buried alive. The mast was shuddering under me. My lungs were bursting. I fought upwards through the tons of water.

Then suddenly it was gone and there was air. Gasping I let go of the magical binding and simply clung to the mast like a bit of discarded seaweed. I must get Kitten below where it was safe. But Kitten was already away gripping the ships rail, slipping and staggering down the heaving, watery deck with surprising speed. I set off after her as fast as I could, leaning into the roaring wind and stumbling over the rubbish on the deck, but by the time I reached her, we were already at the stairs that lead up to bridge.

"Get below!" I shouted, gesturing as best I could without releasing the rail. She either couldn't or wouldn't make out what I was saying and even as we shouted hopelessly at one another in the inferno of roaring wind, another wave broke over the desk covering us waist deep in powerfully dragging black water.

I contented myself with hanging onto Kitten and keeping her magically warm. Together we crawled up the stairs.

The wheel of the Eagle was on the open deck, but wardings surrounded it, designed to protect the helmsman from the fury of such storms. The force of the waves must have been too strong for them this time, for there was the nerve-jangling feeling of broken magic everywhere. Two sailors and the cabin boy were streaming with water as they struggled with the wheel. A fourth was tied by his waist to the mast behind, drooping with unconsciousness or death, blood running down his face. I staggered over to him letting magic hold me to the deck. It was the Captain, unconscious from a blow to the head. He was terribly cold. I stopped the bleeding in his head and set a spell to warm him.

Behind me Kitten was shouting furiously at one of the struggling sailors, who was obviously refusing something, probably our help. I could help them despite themselves. There was no way I could replace the wardings under these conditions, but clinging to the mast I muttered the spells to build a warm bubble of protection around us. Suddenly it was almost as if we were in an invisible cabin. Rain and wind battered against empty air as if it was a roof and the noise of the storm was shut out.

"...the Demonslayer of Gallia, you stupid man," Kitten shouted in the sudden quiet.

He wasn't listening.

"Look out!" he screamed, pulling Kitten against him. A huge wall of tumbling white foam was charging down the ship towards us. It smashed itself like a rock into the protection spell. The spell held, but I felt the waves' force like a winding blow to the chest - felt as well the weight of the water on the ship's deck pushing it down.

"Away! Away!" I cried to the wild waters. Using all the force I could I threw myself on the deck and pushed my being into the ship's straining, creaking, almost breaking timbers, willing the ship to lift its head, willing it to pull itself over the next wave. Up and up. I was the ship, feeling the poetry of its beautifully crafted timbers - feeling those timbers screaming and cracking under the pounding water. I made myself light - felt myself rising and suddenly I was at the top of the wave in the screaming wind and below was a huge glassy black drop. I felt the ship begin to topple. I turned us, righted us, and held us back as we went sliding down that incredible watery slope, the sound of sailor's voices screaming in our ears.

And then another monstrous mound of water loomed above us cutting out all light and leaning over to fall down upon us again.

Oh, the power of the sea! It was too mighty for even the remotest chance of stilling the storm. I had never felt anything as powerful, not even when I had fought Bedazzer the demon back when I was 17. The sea wasn't hungry or even angry. It was just raw, mindless power thundering out of control, smashing and smashing. The ship and I were a tiny wooden cocoon that struggled on and on, dragging ourselves up though each terrifying wave and sliding down each vertiginous drop, teeth clenched, muscles and timbers straining in the pound, pound, pounding of the waves. Magic is power singing in your veins, but here it was merely a whimper trying to keep the ship and I from foundering under the weight of the mighty waters. Through that endless weary time we managed to ride the waves, but sometimes that was impossible and then with a teeth clenching effort of will we managed to stay afloat in an act akin to swimming.

The world had changed from black to grey.

"Dion! Dion!" Kitten was kneeling beside me shaking me. As I looked up startled to see her, she cried "Praise Aumaz!" and hugged me.

What was I doing here lying face down on the wheel deck? My arms and legs were buried in the wood. They were wood. I had become one with the ship and fought the waves with it. For how long? Slowly I pulled myself out of the deck. Coming back hurt. The numbness in my limbs changed unpleasantly to pins and needles. I was sopping wet. I ached all over as if it was I who had been battered by the waves. As in fact I had been. I rubbed my eyes and looked round. Little squalls of rain were still battering against the protection barrier, but the sky had lightened from thunderous black to heavy grey. Though the waves were still big they no longer threatened to swamp the ship. Through my changing hands I could feel that the ship no longer needed holding together. Somehow even though I had been wood I had retained enough of my own mind to know that it was time to change back to my original form.

It could be dangerous to change shape thoughtlessly. Once I had lost consciousness in the shape of a stone and if it had not been for the voice of someone I loved calling me back, I might still be a stone.

It had been Shad's voice that had called me back then. God and Angels, all my thoughts still led back to him.

"My Lady," said the cabin boy. He was offering me a steaming cup. I took it and cupped my cold hands gratefully around it. It was water and rum. The water was brackish and the rum was rough medicinal stuff, but it was blessedly hot. I felt as cold and damp as waterlogged wood.

"Thank you my lady," said the boy blushing and bobbing. He scurried away quickly.

"What was that for?" I said.

"You silly thing, you just saved all our skins," cried Kitten "Those waves... My God we would certainly have sunk without you."

Had I been fighting for all our lives or simply instinctively for my own? So often in this last month I had wondered if there was anything still worth living for. Yet it seemed that part of me still wanted to live despite that.

Even though the deck was still heaving in the big waves, there were sailors moving about. They were cutting ruined rigging from the masts and hauling up a couple of sails. They had opened the hatchways too and the green-faced passengers were poking their heads out, risking the frequent rain squalls for the sake of some air. Suza Simonetti waved at us. Twilight was falling over a metal grey world. The ship rocked over the waves like a galloping horse.

The rain battered against my protection barrier and ran down it as if it were glass. We were nice and warm behind it with the brazier and our hot rum drinks. Everyone's clothes began to steam.

"My God, that was one hell of an experience," said Kitten, walking up and down the deck with remarkable steadiness. "Like riding a horse only much bigger. Coming down those huge waves would have been great if I hadn't been so scared."

The man at the wheel rolled his eyes, but good humouredly. He did not seem the least worried that Kitten had earlier called him a stupid man. The cabin boy and the other sailor looked at Kitten with frank admiration. Who could blame them? Her blue eyes glowed with vitality and her fine skin was luminous in that grey light. Her hair, disheveled by the sea, fell in a charming golden tangle around her face. She had once been the most famous courtesan on the Oesteradd Peninsula and the Duke of Gallia's favorite mistress. Now she was simply a beautiful and wealthy actress returning to her homeland of Aramaya. Past glories did not hang heavy upon her. Unlike me, she had too much zest for life to regret yesterday.

"Land ho," shouted a voice from above.

"By Aumaz' mighty finger, it'll be the coast of Aramaya," exclaimed the man at the wheel whom I had discovered was the first mate. "We must be very close to see it in this weather. Two days early. This wind has been a kind of blessing. It's blowed us ahead of ourselves."

"So when will we make port, Mr Mate," said Kitten.

"I don't rightly know, ma'm. It's possible we've been blown off course. We're likely something south of Karenagrad now.

"The capt'n'd know," said the other sailor regretfully. "He's the man what knows this coast line - the rest of us only bin on this route once before. Best we find a sheltered place to heave to for the night and in the morning we can go ashore and ask."

"Light," shouted a voice from above. "I can see lights."

"Get the chart, Gianni," shouted the first mate.

Shortly afterwards even we could see two little lights shining though the gathering dusk. The shore was quite close. I could see a hint of cliffs in the gathering darkness.

The cabin boy returned with a parchment chart and the first and second mates pored over it.

"This light'll be some warning of rocks, maybe these here Ursus rocks," explained the mate. "What we are doing is heading so that we get the lights lined up and then we know we're past them. But what we really need is somewhere quiet to drop anchor. Maybe..."

Suddenly there was a sickening tearing crash and the whole ship shuddered, tipped over on its side and stopped moving. I fell onto the deck and lay there momentarily winded. I could feel the ships timbers shuddering and tearing under me, hear them screaming as the next wave pushed us forward.

Feet pounded on the deck. "Rocks! Reef!" shouted voices all around. "Lower the boats."

Summoning magic I pushed myself back down into the ship and suddenly knew the rocks that were tearing into its belly and the pressure of the waves that were grinding it further and further onto the jagged shelf. A craggy lump of rock was embedded in its side timbers - the only thing preventing the water from rushing in. I pushed a protection barrier over the hole, letting myself flow through the timbers. There were no more holes yet, but the waves were powerful and they were pushing us slowly forwards and grinding the sharp rocks further and further along the side of the ship. I must lift it off the rock and get it somewhere safe. But where? It was so dark. Another wave foamed over the rock shelf around us and the ship shuddered forward again. Timbers ripped open against another jagged lump of rocks.

Could I lift the ship? Could I carry it far enough? I could see nothing, but rocks all around. I lit a light and suddenly the whole world was illuminated in a blinding white light. I strained magically to see... I could see white water, surf, a shore, a beach, people on the beach.

Could I bring it there? Would it be safe? I had to try. I could feel the rhythm of the waves pounding over the rocks, could feel the next one coming. I held the ship steady for a moment and then as the wave broke, I lifted. I felt the strain of carrying it for a moment and then suddenly the wave took hold of us and we shot forward and were off the rocks and lumbering through the shallow water. I let it go, feeling relief from the strain, but I held the protection over the hole in its side.

The ship moved forward evenly with the waves and wind for a few minutes. Then it came to another shuddering halt. Sand this time. I gave a push of power and the ship and I, battered and knocked about by the power of the thundering waves, dragged ourself slowly up onto the sandy beach until at last the surf was no more then breakers lapping round our bows.

At last I relaxed and let myself slide out of the ship. I found myself lying face down on the sand before it, my stomach feeling as if it had been scraped raw. I rolled over and rubbed it briefly deafened by the water in my ears. Behind me the Eagle was a dark bulk leaning heavily to one side.

Bang! A blast of magic burst against the side of the ship. I felt a sudden horrible frisson of necromancy and struggled to my feet as fast as I could, bringing magical defenses to mind. My eyes were dazzled by fire and flares of white light. Magelight! Sweet Tansa! People were everywhere, shouting and fighting. Two men rushed at me. The leading one held a sword ready to strike.

"No!" I shouted. I threw out a heavy blow of magic at them which sent several people hurtling through the air in a blast of sand and power. There was a screech and a crackle of light as my power hit other power. Strong other power. One of the hurtling figures stopped in mid-air, turned itself upright and dropped softly to its knees on the sand. As he hit the ground his defenses were already up. I could feel them. Power like a great rock. Oh God I thought. Another mage, a strong one. Using his own magic, not necromancy. I was tired. Could I hold out against him long enough?

Kitten was at my side and Simonetti too with a drawn sword. Sailors with drawn cutlasses were everywhere and more of them were clambering down ropes from the ship. Beyond the light and the huge fire burning nearby, people were fighting, but no one was attacking us. It amazed me.

The mage had gone, but I could sense him out there in the darkness. He was calling to others. He was knocking someone over. He was fending off a blow. I felt the strength of the power he was using to let himself see in the dark and was glad that, for the moment at least, it was not turned against me. As we huddled in a silent group, ready to fight, blasts of magic illuminated struggling bodies. There were other mages out there not as so strong as the first but many of them. Most of them were not using necromancy, but we couldn't be sure that meant they were benign.

"What's happened?" I said.

"Wreckers," said Kitten "It was a false signal. They lured us onto that reef so we might be wrecked and our cargo taken."

And at least one of them had been using necromancy, although I could feel no sign of it now. At that moment there was a final blast of power and then a momentary silence.

Suddenly white mage light flared over the beach. A group of five, no, six mages stood in formation. They wore long black robes. They stood simply, hands at their sides. Bodies were sprawled all around them and a couple of bound figures knelt before them. I could feel the presence of other mages beyond the circle of light and even see a dark robbed figure in the shadows tying something round the wrists of a prone body. The strong mage, however, had to be the tall dark-skinned man standing in the centre of the formation. He was the one making the mage light. Almost as if acknowledging my recognition, he bowed his head politely in my direction and spoke in passable Istaki, the dialect of the city we had sailed from on the Peninsula.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. I welcome you to Aramaya and apologize for your noisy reception and the unfortunate damage to your ship. We have now subdued the wreckers and may proceed upon a more civilized level. I am Prince Nikoli Terzu of the 3rd regiment of the Imperial Demon Hunters. At your service."