Inexorably the vast thing bore down on Mabin’s helpless ship, and then the vessel, which suddenly appeared very tiny, vanished in the seething funnel. Chunks and pieces of her timbers spun out of the great waterspout hundreds of feet in the air to settle with agonizing slowness to the surface again. A single piece of sail fluttered down like a stricken white bird.
Then, as suddenly as they had come, the black cloud and its deadly waterspout were gone.
So was Mabin’s ship.
The surface of the sea was littered with debris, and a vast cloud of white gulls appeared, swooping and diving over the wreckage as if to mark the vessel’s passing.
Chapter 18
Captain Sorgi combed the wreckage-strewn water where Mabin’s ship had gone down until after dark, but he found no survivors. Then, sadly, he turned his ship southeasterly again, setting his course towards Cippria.
Sephrenia sighed and turned from the rail. ‘Let’s go below, Sparhawk.’
He nodded and followed her down the companionway.
Kurik had lighted a single oil lamp, and it swung from a low overhead beam, filling the small, dark-panelled compartment with swaying shadows. Flute had awakened, and she sat at the bolted-down table in the centre of the cabin, looking suspiciously at the bowl sitting in front of her.
‘It’s just stew, little girl,’ Kurik was saying to her. ‘It won’t hurt you.’
She delicately dipped her fingers into the thick gravy and lifted out a dripping chunk of meat. She sniffed at it, then looked questioningly at the squire.
‘Salt pork,’ he told her.
She shuddered and dropped the chunk back into the gravy. Then she firmly pushed the bowl away.
‘Styrics don’t eat pork, Kurik,’ Sephrenia told him.
‘The ship’s cook said that this is what the sailors eat,’ he said defensively. He looked at Sparhawk. ‘Was the captain able to find any survivors from the other ship?’
Sparhawk shook his head. ‘That waterspout tore it all to pieces. The same thing probably happened to the crew.’
‘It’s lucky we weren’t on board that one.’
‘Very lucky,’ Sephrenia agreed. ‘Waterspouts are like tornadoes. They don’t appear out of completely clear skies, and they don’t move against the wind or change direction the way that one did. It was being consciously directed.’
‘Magic?’ Kurik said. ‘Is that really possible – to call up weather like that, I mean?’
‘I don’t think I could do it.’
‘Who did then?’
‘I don’t know for certain.’ Her eyes, however, showed a certain suspicion.
‘Let’s get it out into the open, Sephrenia,’ Sparhawk said. ‘You’ve guessed something, haven’t you?’
Her expression grew a bit more certain. ‘In the past few months we’ve had several encounters with a hooded figure in a Styric robe You saw it several times in Cimmura, and it tried to have us ambushed on our way to Borrata. Styrics seldom cover their faces. Have you ever noticed that?’
‘Yes, but I don’t quite make the connection.
‘This thing had to cover its face, Sparhawk. It’s not human.’
He stared at her. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I can’t be absolutely positive until I see its face, but the evidence is beginning to pile up, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Could Annias actually do something like that?’
‘It’s not Annias. He might know a little rudimentary magic, but he couldn’t begin to raise a thing like that. Only Azash could have done it. He’s the only one who dares to summon such beings. The Younger Gods will not, and even the other Elder Gods have forsworn the practice.’
‘Why would Azash want to kill Captain Mabin and his crew?’
‘The ship was destroyed because the creature thought that we were on board.’
‘That goes a little far, Sephrenia,’ Kurik objected sceptically ‘If it’s so powerful, why did it sink the wrong boat?’
‘The creatures of the underworld are not very sophisticated, Kurik,’ she replied. ‘Our simple ruse may have deceived it. Power and wisdom don’t always go hand in hand. Many of the greatest magicians of Styricum were as stupid as stumps.’
‘I don’t quite follow this,’ Sparhawk admitted with a puzzled frown. ‘What we’re doing has nothing to do with Zemoch. Why would Azash go out of his way to help Annias?’
‘It may be that there isn’t any connection. Azash always has his own motives. It’s quite possible that what he’s doing has nothing to do with Annias at all.’
‘It doesn’t wash, Sephrenia. If you’re right about this thing, it’s been working for Martel, and Martel works for Annias.’
‘Are you so sure that the creature is working for Martel and not the other way around? Azash can see the shadows of the future. One of us might be a danger to him. The seeming alliance between Martel and the creature may be no more than a matter of convenience.’
He began to gnaw worriedly at a fingernail. ‘That’s all I need,’ he said, ‘something else to worry about.’ Then a thought struck him. ‘Wait a minute. Do you remember what the ghost of Lakus said – that darkness was at the gate and that Ehlana was our only hope of light? Could Azash be that darkness?’
She nodded. ‘It’s possible.’
‘If that’s the case, then wouldn’t it be Ehlana he’s trying to destroy? She’s totally protected by that crystal that encases her, but if something happens to us before we can find a way to heal her, she’ll die, too. Maybe that’s why Azash has joined forces with the primate.’
‘Aren’t you both stretching things a bit?’ Kurik asked. ‘You’re basing a great deal of speculation on a single incident.’
‘It doesn’t hurt to be ready for eventualities, Kurik,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘I hate surprises.’
The squire grunted and rose to his feet. ‘You two must be hungry,’ he said. ‘I’ll go down to the galley and get you some supper. We can talk some more while you’re eating.’
‘No pork,’ Sephrenia told him firmly.
‘Bread and cheese, then?’ he suggested. ‘And maybe some fruit?’
That would be fine, Kurik. You’d probably better bring enough for Flute as well. I know she’s not going to eat that stew.’
‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘I’ll eat it for her. I don’t have the same kind of prejudices that you Styrics do.’