Cloak of the Two Winds (8 page)

Just aft of where the ship's boat hung from its davits, Lonn spotted Karrol—a tiny figure approaching out of the immense brightness.

The Iruks cheered aloud, but next instant their voices went dumb. Behind the skater a silvery light was rising, brighter than the gleaming ice or the sunlit sky—the fluttering, baleful face of the meltwind.

"Oh, no," Brinda moaned.

"She will make it," Draven declared. "If there was ever a skater too stubborn to be caught by the wind, it is Karrol."

But Eben, staring, shook his head.

Now Lonn could see Karrol's arms flailing furiously as she skated. He squinted, trying to judge how much lead she had on the glittering front where the ice was changing to water.

She might have a chance, he thought, a small one.

Then the coaster swerved, blocking their sight of Karrol. The mainsail and boom swung creaking overhead as the vessel changed tacks, aiming close to the wind to intercept the skater.

Amlina had come forward on the tilted main deck.

"We'll do what we can to save her." She spoke in answer to the Iruks' stricken looks.

Lonn stared down at the chains binding him. If free, he might have a chance to help save Karrol. Suddenly it was unendurable to be helpless. A growl started in his throat again and grew louder as his lips parted, his teeth still clenched. He began whipping his tether up and down in a frenzy.

"Lonn?" Draven said.

"The chains work on our minds," he answered. "Are our minds not our own? Help me!"

Lonn braced his foot against the mast and yanked harder, ignoring the protest of his torn wrists.

His fury proved contagious. First Eben, then Draven and Brinda started tugging at their chains in the same tempo. The ring on the mast ignited with yellow light. Pulled taut again and again, the tethers threw off ruby sparks. Even amid his rage, Lonn was aware of the wave of silver radiance that loomed higher and higher as the meltwind neared the coaster's bow.

Hearing the excitement, a number of crewmen had come out on deck. They hovered at the rails, watching the skater's race for life, some making wagers on the outcome.

Flashes of silver light popped and fizzed in the air as the towering curtain of the sea change approached. It was almost upon the ship when a groan went up from the Larthangans. Lonn knew that Karrol had been caught.

Howling in torment, Lonn put both feet on the mast and arched his back. He heard a link snap and then he fell backward, his head and shoulders slamming on the deck.

Next moment, the meltwind engulfed the ship. There was a whir, like a song note, piercing to his bones, a stifling unbreathable warmth in the air, and the dazzling silver light everywhere.

Still on his back, Lonn slid forward as the deck plunged, the
Plover
running off the vanishing ice and crashing into the water. The deck lurched up again as the light and warmth and song note blew past. Cold spray glittered in the air as the ship's hull splashed through foaming waves.

Lonn bounded to his feet, unsnapping the gold bracelets—which, came off easily now—and flinging them away. The main ring of chain had broken on the mast and the other Iruks were also free.

The mates separated and ran to either rail. They shoved the Larthangans aside and looked for Karrol. Lonn spotted her off the starboard side, her arms wildly beating the bright water.

"Hang on, mate!" he yelled. "We'll get you."

At Amlina's orders the sailors had gotten life buoys ready—hoops of cork covered in canvas and attached to ropes. One of these had already been thrown, but the cast had fallen short. Lonn darted back along the bulwark and grabbed a second buoy from the man holding it. He leaned far over the rail and flung the life buoy with all his strength.

The hoop hit the water beyond Karrol and off-line, but Lonn had wisely thrown it to her right, so the coaster's drift would pull the lifeline within her reach. In a moment Karrol caught the rope, a few yards from the floating buoy. She pulled her head well out of the water then and took a great gasp of air.

Lonn's mates were beside him, whooping with joy, Brinda pounding him on the back. Draven and Eben took hold of the lifeline and began hauling it in.

The Larthangans were falling back, muttering among themselves, confused and worried now that the Iruks had somehow gotten free.

Karrol had wrapped both arms around the lifeline and was straining to hook her leg over it as well. By the weakness of her efforts Lonn could tell she was in no shape to climb onboard the ship. So he and Draven grabbed a rope ladder that lay nearby and tossed it over the side. They scrambled down the ladder to the ledge, then started down the arcing beam to the aft runner.

The silver wall of the meltwind receded in the south. Prow in the wind, the coaster had slowed to a drift in the still-turbulent sea. Lonn had almost reached the runner when a high wave dashed over the beam. He lost his grip and plunged into the frigid water.

For a moment he kicked in wild fright. Then his hand found the steel runner and he pulled his head to the surface. Coughing, he dragged himself onto the runner-top, which rode a foot deep. By now Draven had reached the runner, and he helped Lonn to sit upright.

The two mates straddled the runner, waist-deep in the glittering sea. They edged their way aft to where Karrol had been dragged by the lifeline and was feebly trying to get a leg up. Lonn grasped her harness and Draven her arm and together they hoisted her until she sat between them on the runner.

Brinda and Eben called down encouragement from the main deck. Lonn saw the witch standing behind them at the rail. He took the knife from Karrol's belt, cut the line from the lifebuoy, tossed the buoy up on deck. He tied the rope to Karrol's harness, knotting it securely, then slipped her knife into his belt.

Almost unconscious, Karrol was hauled up the coaster's side and helped over the rail. Lonn and Draven, moving with care, climbed back on board the way they had come down. They were halfway up the rope ladder when the hoisting machinery clattered into motion. The ship's runners rose on their beams until they rested firmly against the hull. The
Plover
was already turning off-wind, tacking to the east.

It occurred to Lonn that the witch might have ordered these maneuvers to occupy the crew, so that she could confront the now-freed Iruks alone. Amlina watched with hands in sleeves as Lonn and Draven dragged themselves over the railing.

Karrol lay on the deck, panting, Brinda supporting her head and upper body. The ivory skates were still attached to her boots, though her cape and quiver had been lost in the sea.

Grinning, Eben hugged Lonn and Draven in turn.

"Bravely done," Amlina added her own congratulations. "Come below with me now, and I'll see you have blankets and a stove to dry your clothes."

Lonn snatched the knife from his belt and pointed it close to the witch's face. "Don't think to trick us. We'll not be chained again."

He had to admire the witch: her placid expression never faltered. "I don't intend to chain you again. Obviously it would do no good, since you can break the witch-chains. Come, you can't stay out here in those wet garments."

"We don't trust you," Lonn said.

"And I don't trust you." Amlina shrugged. "But what choice do you have? You might kill me with that dagger—and several of the crew besides. But the others would catch you up and throw you into the sea."

Lonn clutched the knife-handle, glancing about at the sailors who watched from their various stations.

"Come below," Amlina said. "You can distrust me just as easily there, and you'll be out of the wind."

She stepped back, then turned and started across the main deck. Lonn lowered the knife, scowling.

"This witch is crafty," Eben muttered. "She backs down when we have the advantage. When she has it, she slaps us in chains."

Draven and Brinda each took one of Karrol's arms around their shoulders and helped her across the deck. The klarnmates followed the witch down three steps and through a door below the quarterdeck. Inside was a cramped corridor leading to the witch's cabin and one other, and a stairway spiraling down.

The witch closed the door behind them and proceeded down the stairway. The
Plover's
design was typical for small trading ships: crew's quarters and galley forward, main cargo holds amidships. Aft, below the quarterdeck and main cabins, were compartments that could serve either for storage or as extra accommodations for passengers. Amlina took the Iruks through this part of the ship, past partitions and empty lockers, to a relatively spacious room at the very stern. Small windows of stained glass opened onto the ship's wake. There was a portable oil stove and some bedding—padded mats covered with canvas.

"You'll need more sleeping mats and blankets," the witch said. "And I'll see if the cook won't consent to brewing you some tea."

Her display of hospitality only increased Lonn' s suspicions. "We're glad to be out of the cold," he said. "But don't think to keep us locked in down here."

"You won't be locked in," Amlina said. "But I hope your own good sense will keep you here at least till tomorrow. My crewmen hate and fear you—and not without reason. Until I pledge to them that you can be trusted and order them to make peace with you, there isn't likely to be peace. So the less you are in their eyes the better."

"We don't fear your Larthangans," Lonn asserted.

"I don't want you slaughtering them any more than I want them slaughtering you," Amlina replied. "You Iruks have shown me daring and resourcefulness in action. More, you've shown that you can break the slave chains of the Archimage of the East. Perhaps this was accomplished by the energy of the meltwind, for the time of its passing is one of great potential. No matter, it was an impressive feat of will. But you must also show me that you can be patient and peaceable. If not, there can be no place for you on this voyage."

Saying no more the witch departed. She returned a while later with the cabin boy and two other crewmembers. They brought extra bedding, oil for the stove, and a tray with Karrol's rations and a pot of tea. The Larthangans put everything down and left in haste. The witch bid the Iruks a peaceful rest before going.

Karrol was unconscious and never woke as the mates undressed her. They hung her clothing on hooks behind the stove, where Lonn and Draven had already put theirs. They dried Karrol's hair and skin with towels, then covered her with blankets.

Karrol slept until evening when the cabin boy brought supper, leaving the tray outside and hurrying away before the Iruks had opened the door. The mates took their meal seated in a half-circle around the stove. As they ate they told Karrol how they had come on board the
Plover
, and what had passed between them and the witch. When the tale was done Karrol stared moodily at her empty bowl.

"So now we're waiting to find out if this witch is going to kill us or take us on as her toadies."

"As her partners," Draven amended. "And what other choice do we have?"

"I don't know," Karrol grumbled. "I'd like to take the ship by force and drop the witch into the sea."

"And sail the ship with a hostile crew?" Eben demanded. "Or do you mean to sail it with no crew at all?"

"I said I'd like to," Karrol murmured. "Not that it's practical."

"Obviously it's not," Lonn said. "Our best hope seems to be to make peace with the witch, convince her that she needs us as much as we need her."

"Agreed," Eben said. "I just hope the witch's magic is able to lead us to Glyssa."

Draven lay back and stretched, poking his feet under the stove. "We've reason to be cheered, mates. Yesterday we were all apart, out on the ice and destitute. Now we are fed—not well, I admit, but fed—and warm and dry. We have a ship and a witch to help us hunt for Glyssa."

"At least the five of us are together," Brinda agreed.

Karrol had checked for more tea but found the pot empty. She put it down with force. "We won't be a klarn again until we have Glyssa back. So don't be saying how well off we are. Not with Glyssa out there alone somewhere, and maybe dead."

The mates stared at her gravely.

Karrol sniffed, holding back tears."I'm sorry. I'm just so tired. And I'm frightened for Glyssa." She bowed her head and sobbed.

The Iruks gathered around her, patting her shoulders and murmuring comfort.

"Lonn," Karrol cried. "I'm sorry I blamed you. I know it wasn't your fault. I know I would have drowned in the sea if you hadn't risked yourself to save me."

"It's all right," Lonn said. "We are klarnmates—one soul."

Karrol nodded and wiped her eyes.

The Iruks sat down in a circle, leaving a space where Glyssa would be. They put their hands in a pile and pledged themselves to finding Glyssa and saving her, no matter what dangers stood in their way.

They sat in silence for a time, and then Eben began a chant. All of them joined in, the same chant they had sung in the ritual the night the klarn was joined.

Through wind and sharp wave

Through ice and blood

We hold to the klarn