* * *
Later that evening, Werdna stood at the helm of the small but efficient bridge. He looked at the compass, glanced at La’mamm, and then adjusted his scarf attached to his straw hat. He said confidently, “I told you earlier this looking glass allows us to see eight miles in all directions, but only in good weather. If they’re out this way, you can bet us a mess of glass jars we’ll find them.”
La’mamm was puzzled by the expression. “I don’t know about glass jars, but one thing’s for sure—say a storm did throw the Sealander in the wrong direction. It still couldn’t have taken them off their route more than a few miles.” He glanced at Earron, then reached into his coat for some tobacco leaf.
La’mamm seemed able to talk for hours about nothing, Earron thought as he took his lucky scarf from his inside coat pocket and tied it loosely around his neck. He finally had had enough of La’mamm’s bragging and decided to let Werdna have the professor to himself.
La’mamm seemed to smoke constantly as he spoke. “You know, I’ve been known to talk off even an Oowed’s patience. Have you ever owned one?”
“I can’t say that I have,” Werdna grinned, “but something tells me you have.”
“In fact I own two. They’re excellent servants, better than Zacs. They don’t talk back, and their patience is well known. I must say they’re worth the tiallup and more. Not too smart, but if they were, they probably wouldn’t have those funny tails, droopy ears, and all of that fur.” He chuckled.
Werdna continued to smile and grin at La’mamm’s endless bragging, occasionally waving the smoke away from his face. He finely had the land-lover prop the door open to clear some of the smoke. But then as the evening faded into night, and stars dominated the ocean sky, the time passed, and eventually the night grew old as early morning turned into dawn. The following day proved uneventful. Emaya’s words began to haunt Earron and Coita. They were starting to give up hope of finding any sign of life.
Later that night Earron was sitting on a bench secured to the railing; he stared at the waves reflecting the moon. He was lost in deep thought as the fog began to settle in. I wonder if pirates captured the Sealander. Did they take them to the islands of Tryon? That’s said to be their hideout. Even worse, maybe they killed everyone aboard, took off everything of value, then burned the ship.
As the Mothcuh cradled them while breaking through the rhythm of waves, Earron pondered many things as he stared into the fog, which seemed to be leading them nowhere. The window standing on the water in Kyhawn’s dreams. Is that where the Sealander is—lost in one of those dreams?
Coita came up alongside Earron. “Want a fresh cup of tea?”
When Earron reached for it, they felt a hard bounce off portside. The cup dropped and spilt out onto the deck. He and Coita rushed portside. “I think it was only the waves slapping against the boat,” Coita said as he swallowed what was left of his tea. “But wait— there’s something out there.” When he leaned over the wooden railing, a clump of his greased-back brown hair fell forward. He turned his narrow face toward the bridge. “Turn around, Nevets!” he shouted.
Earron leaned over the railing; his dark curly hair slapping against his round face as he squinted into the fog. “There it is. I see it too—but what is it?”
Nevets brought the Mothcuh to an idle and they retraced their course as closely as possible.
“Look—there it is again. It’s a lifeboat.” Earron pointed.
Werdna grabbed two ropes. “We’ll lasso it.” He tossed Earron one.
They tried for a while without any success. Finally Earron, desperate to find out where the small boat came from, gave Coita one end of his rope. “Keep hold of it,” he directed as he tossed his coat aside and began to take off his garments.
“You’re not going over the side?” Coita questioned, his blue eyes widening with concern.
“Just keep hold of your end,” Earron repeated as he climbed over the railing into the cold water. He struggled for a moment but managed to swim alongside the lifeboat. He secured the rope around the bench plank and hung on. “It’s half full of water. Pull me in quick.”
After they dragged the boat alongside, Coita and Ralz, one of the fisher-Zacs, reached for Earron, and he climbed aboard.
Nevets stuck his head out the bridge door. “You’re one barmy Zac.” He envied Earron’s bravery.
“You’re freezing.” Coita held his shoulders. “Werdna went to get some towels.”
Earron was too busy shivering to say a word.
Werdna came back with both towels and blankets. “Good job.”
Moments later the small boat rested on the main deck next to the steam-shaft. The entire crew gathered around. Earron wrapped himself in a blanket, knelt beside it, and read the letters on the side. “S E A … E R. Some letters are missing, but it must be from the Sealander!” He gave them a long look, then glared at the ocean.
La’mamm gestured impatiently. “Something else is out there.”
Earron got to his feet and stood next to the steam shaft for warmth.
Werdna and Ralz tied a harpoon to a rope and thrust it at the object repeatedly without any success.
Earron went to the railing and spoke sharply, “This is taking way too long.” He dropped his blanket, tied a rope around his waist, shoved the other end in Coita’s hand, and before his good friend had a chance to talk him out of it, Earron jumped into the water again. All eyes were on him as he neared the floating object. “There’s some broken planks here, and a chest.”
La’mamm leaned over the railing. “Leave the planks—grab the chest. Blast it, lad, and hurry before you freeze to death.” He shivered.
Earron grabbed hold and swam portside, one hand gripping the chest. “Throw me another rope.”
La’mamm rubbed his lower back. “Someone jump in and give him a hand. Crap … I’d go, but I have a bad back.”
Werdna slung off his boots and stripped down. Ralz handed him the rope, and he jumped in beside Earron. Together they secured the chest. With the help of Coita, Ralz, and crew-Zac Hielmon, Earron, and Werdna were soon on the main deck, both now wrapped in blankets and towels.
They hoisted the chest aboard. La’mamm leaned close. “It’s my artifacts.” His grayish eyes widened with hope. “I had this chest specially designed for this type of disaster, but I haven’t actually seen it tested before. I had to leave Chamquinil before its construction.” They gathered around while he knelt before the chest and prayed.
As they waited respectfully, Werdna looked at Earron sympathetically. “I’m really sorry we didn’t listen to you and Coita the other day.”
Earron held back his tears as he stared at Werdna, whom he liked very much. His feelings mixed, he didn’t say a word as he gazed out at the sea.
Coita gave Earron another cup of tea. Earron embraced it with both hands but continued to stare out at the foggy seawater.
The tall skinny La’mamm started to preach. “God be with them, but may the evil perish and the rachis prosper.” He slipped on his leather gloves and cleared the seaweed aside, exposing its amazing carvings. “Wait, the blasted chest isn’t supposed to have a regular lock system—open it!”
Nevets shouted down from the helm. “Bust it open! Use a harpoon.”
O’Rost, another member of the crew, grabbed a harpoon hanging from the exterior of the bridge cabin wall.
Nevets shouted, “Ralz, come up here and take the wheel!”
Ralz grunted but did as he was ordered.
Keyed up, La’mamm puffed hard on his pipe “My artifacts could be in here for all I know—be careful.” He leaned forward and waved his arms. “Careful … careful.”
On the second swing, O’Rost snapped the padlock.
“Stand back. I’ll be the one to open it.” La’mamm pushed them aside. He slung the lid upward. “Crap … there’s nothing in here but a bunch of soaking wet books, clothes, and more crap.” He stood angrily, hands pressed to
his hips, and peered out at the ocean. “My chest is still out there … somewhere in this area.”
The others remained silent. Their thoughts were no longer on the chest, but of Kyhawn and everyone aboard the Sealander.
The silence broke when Werdna, a short stocky silverish-blue Zac with long black hair and dark piercing eyes, spoke with an evident concern in his voice: “If the ship did sink, there are sure to be survivors in need of our help.” He turned to his brother. “Nevets, don’t you think we should start the motor and circle around looking for them?”
Nevets, who usually felt the world circulated around him, turned and started toward the steps to the bridge.
“Looks as though this lifeboat drifted from due west,” Hielmon said. The rest of them indicated their agreement with a few nods, and one, “yes in deed,” from O’Rost.
Earron was sitting on the steps in Nevets’s path. He stood, grabbed him, and began to shake him. “If you’d taken us out here when we first asked you—this wouldn’t have happened.”
Coita did his best to pull Earron away.
Werdna grabbed Nevets. “My brother and I couldn’t have predicted this. If we had, we would have been here sooner.” He tried to pull his brother away from him. “You know that to be true, Earron.”
Coita jerked Earron’s hand loose from Nevets’s throat. Earron pulled Nevets’s hat onto his face as Nevets took a few wild swings, but missed him.
Werdna and O’Rost finally separated them. O’Rost muttered, “I’m not letting you go until you promise to take your brother’s advice about the search.”
“Sure.” Nevets shook them both off. “But listen up, Earron—how were we supposed to know that barmy dream of Kyhawn’s was going to come true?” He turned, stomped up the steps, and grabbed the wheel. “I’ll take it from here.”
A drop of rain splashed on Earron’s face, then another, and another. Unsure of Earron’s mood, Coita stepped aside. A moment later, a strange gust of wind passed over them.
Coita grabbed Earron’s clothes. “Let’s go inside and get you dressed.”
Except for the sounds of rain splashing, the air was quiet. Coita knew how it was to lose someone you truly loved, for the mighty Zacton Ocean had taken his family to their death years earlier. Nonetheless he had hope in his eyes as he embraced Earron. “There’s still a good chance he’s alive,” he said as he handed him his coat. Earron slipped it on and they walked out into the drizzle, a drop of rain washing a tear from Earron’s face.
A few minutes later, while La’mamm had been talking with O’Rost, it stopped raining. La’mamm pointed excitedly. “Over there—a flame!”
All eyes were staring in the direction of La’mamm’s silverish-blue finger. They saw nothing but water fading into darkness and fog.
“It was probably the fog playing tricks,” O’Rost said. “It does that during this season.”
Coita looked hard. “I can see it, but what kind of weird light is that way out here?” Puzzled, he glanced at Earron, and they stared at the somewhat obscured light flickering between fog and shadows.
Nevets turned the Mothcuh toward the lights.
They were mystified. “A fire out here?” Werdna questioned.
Coita leaned close, his blue eyes wide with alarm. “The Sealander—it must be on fire. What else can it be… way out here in the middle of nowhere…?”
“What else but a large ship?” Werdna pondered as he ran up the flight of steps. “Pick up speed, Nevets. Maybe we can still save them.”
La’mamm prayed that Goducess might allow him to take the ancient artifacts to his religious group before others with lesser intentions found them. He gritted his teeth, as he caught a glimpse of something moving in the water.
Earron and Coita stared at it intensely. “Down there!” Earron gestured. “Someone’s in the water!”
The others all gazed over the side in the hope of seeing survivors. But instead an enormous ghostly snake-like creature sprang high above them. La’mamm dropped to his knees and covered his head in prayer. As the creature came thrusting down upon him, La’mamm screamed. However, the creature went right through him, and the fishing boat.
They stared at La’mamm, not believing their eyes. La’mamm fell forward, his elbows hitting the deck. “What the crap was that?” He looked at himself to see if he was still in one piece.
“Werdna, watch out!” Earron shouted. He leaped across at Werdna, pushing him to safety, but getting himself now in the way of the creature.
Werdna caught only a glimpse of it as it tried to wrap itself around Earron. Seconds later the creature vanished before their eyes.
“Turn around, Nevets—get us out of here!” Werdna shouted along with the rest of them.
Ralz and Hielmon had gone for the weapons. Quickly they handed them out to everyone.
Another snake-like creature arched above them. Earron jumped away in time as Coita swung his sword, which went through it as if it were a ghost.
Hielmon stood against the cabin wall, sword in hand. “The fire—it’s not a ship at all. I see trees and a beach.”
“I see land!” Earron exclaimed, a splinter of hope in his voice. “Keep going for the lights, Nevets!”
“But this can’t be …” Nevets rubbed his eyes, blinking. “There aren’t any landforms out this way,” he said out loud to himself as he turned the Mothcuh again toward the lights.
Kyhawn’s dreams swept between Werdna’s words as he spoke. “To the lights, Nevets—take us to the lights!”
SLAM! Another snake-like creature appeared, but this time it felt solid. Its hollow piercing claws raked the entire length of the fishing boat, making horrid scratching sounds. Seconds later another one gripped the rail, trying to stop them. Nevets was unable to shift into a higher gear. Another slammed against the bow.
“They’re not sea serpents!” Earron shouted.
Coita stood behind him. “They’re not snakes either.” He came up from behind Earron, one hand over Earron’s shoulder, the other pointing over his other shoulder, “Look—there’s its body.”
“I see it. I see ,” Earron exclaimed. His eyes wide opened. His round face possessed a dreadful look of intense fear. “Wild. It’s a sea monster alright.”
“Yeah, and those are its tentacles,” Coita pointed fearfully as he and Earron stood back-to-back with their swords ready.
“Look out!” Earron shouted.
Coita tripped over his own feet and dropped his sword. His body hit the deck and a violet crystal spilled out. He rolled over to one side and grabbed it just as a tentacle landed on the spot where he had lain. Its hollow claws made the eerie scratching sound again against the deck as it disappeared into the water. Coita slammed the crystal against the deck, then huddled next to Earron. “Nothing’s happening—”
“I don’t remember what that one’s supposed to do,” Earron said, frantically searching his memory.
“We’re being attacked from all sides!” La’mamm fled for shelter.
The creatures rocked the Mothcuh trying to make them go overboard.
Coita stumbled again and Earron fell against the railing behind him. Coita hit the deck hard. He rolled over and grabbed his sword as a tentacle reached for Earron. Werdna went to Earron’s side, swung his sword, and sliced it in half. Earron dived face first onto the deck. Next to him the severed tentacle flopped around madly. Earron rolled over and thrust his blade into it, and another severed tentacle hit the deck. He slashed repeatedly as if he were also trying to kill the pain he felt inside, then jumped to his feet in readiness.
The violet crystal rolled back and forth across the deck.
Coita hacked into pieces a severed tentacle flopping around.
“Look out behind you, Coita!” Earron reached out for him while fighting off another tentacle.
The tentacle grabbed Coita’s hood and slammed him against a railing. Coita lay against it dazed. The creature let loose and attacked again as though wanting to get a better grip on him.
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Werdna jumped to his feet to save Hielmon from another attack, but it was too late. Hielmon screamed as a tentacle slapped him against the steam shaft, wrapped around him, and then plunged its claws deep into his flesh.
Earron dragged Coita to the cabin. He glanced at the crystal, trying frantically to get Coita to respond, asking repeatedly, “Did you say the magic word?”
The motor sputtered. Nevets cried out, “They’re clogging the propeller.” A tentacle bounced off the bridge and cracked the windshield.
While Werdna, O’Rost, and Ralz were fighting them off near the bow, another tentacle swept over Earron and Coita. At the end of this one was a horrifying face. It probed back and forth between them, its mouth opening to expose its fangs and a long pointed tongue.
Earron laid Coita aside, picked up his sword, and began to stab the creature. He dodged the terrible face as it snapped at him. On its third attempt, it went for Coita instead. Earron swung, shouting, “You slimy fiend!” White blood sprayed him and Coita as the severed head dangled from the tentacle. Earron jabbed it, losing his sword in the thick of its flesh. The creature fled into the water.
A moment later Coita woke to find Earron leaning over him. Another headed tentacle was coming up behind going for Earron. The crystal smacked against Coita’s face. Quickly he grabbed it, remembering the magic word. “E-no-moa-tos-ess!” he shouted.
Earron dodged the creature again. He dived for a sword lying on the deck, rolled over, then jumped to his feet swinging. Another tentacle slapped him from behind. He fell face down onto the deck, turning over to find the headed tentacle staring at him. Earron’s dark orange eyes stared back at it. Coita dodged another tentacle pouncing on the deck.
At the helm, Nevets faced the same dilemma. A headed tentacle slammed its head against the bridge door. It stared at him intensely as its body almost draped the edge of the railing weighing the Mothcuh down. The headed tentacle crashed through the door and snapped at Nevets legs. He creamed for help as he tried to defend himself.
Meanwhile Earron rolled to one side and then the other as yet another headed tentacle snapped at him.
A tentacle thumped the deck next to Coita and reached above him. “E-no-moa-tos-ess!” he repeated, as he hit the violet crystal against the deck. Within seconds, violet smoke covered the deck and slowly rolled off into the waters.
There was only quiet while the smoke picked them up and cradled them all the way to the shallow cliffs of the island where they were helped ashore by the Zacs on bonfire duty. The violet smoke slowly faded, but not before they were safe.
The razor-sharp claws ripped across the deck and over the railing, but those sounds faded as the creatures seemingly realized no one was aboard.
By this time, most everybody from camp either was already there or fast on their way.
“Is there a doctor among you?” Werdna pleaded. “My brother’s leg was bitten off by one of those creatures.”
“Let me down,” Nevets cried as Werdna laid him on the ground. Werdna quickly took off his coat and wrapped it tightly around Nevets’s bleeding leg, where from just beneath his knee down nothing was left but a stub.
“The pain,” Nevets pleaded. “Please do something to stop the pain.”
Shya, one of the King’s soldiers, and two of the passengers quickly offered Nevets some zuetia leaves to help ease the pain.
Soon Shellean and two others were at his aid. “We need to get him to the medic cabin,” she told them.
When Earron saw Kyhawn, they stood gazing at each other as if they couldn’t believe they were both really there.
Coita came up between them. “Are you guys going to greet each other or what?”
Earron, more surprised than Kyhawn, opened his arms. “For the past two hours I’ve been thinking I’d never see you again,” Earron told him, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. “When we came upon these sea monsters, I thought for sure they’d eaten you alive.” He took a deep breath. “We could easily have been killed ourselves.”
Kyhawn’s huge smile reflected Earron’s expression. Earron glanced at Coita. “Come here,” he gestured.
Earron grabbed Coita by the arm, and the three of them embraced. “If it weren’t for Coita, we wouldn’t be here,” Earron explained as he began the long story about the crystals.