The Binding Stone (The Dragon Below, Book 1) (21 page)

He responded with hammering punches of his own. Ashi stumbled backward under the flurry, barely able to block the shifter's fists. When she managed to react with punches and kicks herself, Geth swung his right arm to defend himself with blocks
that just as often turned into heavy blows. Dandra could see why Geth's weapon of choice was the massive great-gauntlet--it was a extension of his own natural fighting style. Spinning and darting around Ashi, he took all of the punishment that she served out and returned it in equal measure.

But the Bonetree hunter had the advantage of height and the beams in the ceiling of the hold ran only a couple of feet above her head. Ashi caught Geth with a solid, double-fisted blow that seemed to rattle even the tough shifter, then as he shook off the strike, jumped up and wrapped her hands around the top of one beam. Hanging from it, she snapped her body forward, putting her entire weight behind a stomping kick with both feet square to Geth's chest. The shifter made a wheezing noise and flailed back away from her.

Ashi dropped to the ground in a crouch. Across the hold, her eyes met Dandra's. The kalashtar froze. Geth was down. The burly sailors had their hands full keeping back Natrac's struggling brawlers. Singe stood in front of her protectively, but he was unarmed--and his fiery spells were as useless on a wooden ship as most of her own powers. Most, though not all. She reached desperately for the
vayhatana
she had used to move the stone in the Bull Hole. If she was fast, she could use it hold Ashi back.
Tetkashtai, I need your help!

The only response from the presence was another wail of despair.

To one side of the hold, though, Vennet turned from bashing a man's head against a barrel. Dandra saw his eyes narrow as he took in the hunter's menacing stance. He shoved the man he had been struggling with away and turned to face Ashi. Even as her crouch turned into an outstretched leap for Dandra, concentration flickered across the half-elf's features. The dragonmark that patterned the back of his neck shimmered.

The roaring of a gale filled the hold. Dandra felt it only as a strong breeze, but in a path in front of Vennet, loose objects and abandoned clothing flapped and tumbled, blown up into the air. The worst of the windstorm, however, was focused directly on Ashi. Its unseen force snatched the leaping hunter out of the air
and slammed her back into a stack of crates. Her impact scattered them and left her sprawled on the floor, struggling to climb back to her feet in the face of the howling wind. She grabbed at a big, heavy barrel and clung to it.

Now, Tetkashtai
, urged Dandra. She reached into herself and forced an image of what they needed to do onto Tetkashtai. The frightened presence finally responded, entwining her skill with Dandra's raw power.

A ripple of force passed through the air as invisible
vayhatana
wrapped around Ashi's taut body--and around the barrel she clung to. With all of her will, Dandra held the two together. Trapped even as Vennet's wind died away, Ashi spat and struggled, but the best she could do was rock the barrel from side to side.

Out of the corner of her eye, Dandra could see Vennet staring at her. All of Natrac's other "clients" were staring, too--at her, Vennet, and a slowly rising Geth. The brawlers were silent, shifting uncomfortably.

Natrac peered down from above. "Is it over?" he asked.

Vennet's angry gaze shifted to the half-orc and rage fell over his face. Natrac flinched and slowly slipped back through the hatch.

The mood around the captain's table a short time later was far grimmer than it had been earlier in the evening. Vennet sat at the table's head, Natrac and Geth to one side, Dandra and Singe to the other. In the aft hold, Ashi had been placed in shackles and chained to bolts driven into the wood of the ship.
Lightning on Water
had no brig. Chains had been the best solution Vennet could come up with. For the remainder of their voyage, the rest of the men and women who had taken Natrac's offer of passage would sleep on the ship's deck, their good behavior guaranteed by a promise from the captain that if they stepped out of line they would have to deal with him and Geth directly.

A few swift questions had already uncovered the instigator of the brawl: an ugly man who was still unconscious after Ashi had slammed the back of his head against the floor of the
hold three or four times in quick succession. It was generally acknowledged that she had been defending herself against the man and two of his cronies--at least initially. Once the fighting had started, everyone had joined in, most siding with the ugly man. Ashi, it seemed, had not made herself popular among Natrac's clients.

Natrac also held the key to how the Bonetree hunter had come to be aboard the ship in the first place. "It happened at the last moment," the half-orc said, shrinking back from the combined gazes of the others at the table. "I was loading my clients on the pier at Yrlag when she came running up and demanded a place onboard. When I explained that there was no more room, she turned to the biggest man in line and hit him so hard that she broke his jaw with a single blow." He spread his hands. "How was I supposed to pass over someone who fights like that?"

"Grandfather Rat," cursed Geth. Dandra watched as he glowered at Singe. "I
knew
I saw her in Yrlag. She must have run ahead of the other hunters and guessed where we were heading--on her own, she could have slipped past us. The Yrlag Bridge is the only way across the Grithic from the north. All she had to do was wait for us there, then follow us through the town."

"And when she found out we were taking passage on
Lightning on Water
, decided to get on, too," Dandra added. She shivered. "She could have crept out and killed us at any time. We should be lucky that she was the only one."

Vennet glared at all of them. "So she's on my ship because of you three," he said angrily. "Whatever's going on here, I'd like to know about it now!"

Dandra hesitated, unsure of what to tell the dragonmarked half-elf. Singe came to her rescue. "Her name is Ashi, Vennet. She's part of a Shadow March clan called the Bonetree. They're a cult of the Dragon Below."

"Sovereign Host protect us," said Natrac.

Vennet's face settled into a mask of intensity. "Tell me what this is about," he said tightly. His eyes grew hard and bright as Singe recounted Dandra's flight from the Bonetree, the attack on Bull Hollow, the trio's escape to Yrlag, and their determination
to see an end to Dah'mir's power. The wizard made no mention of Tetkashtai, Medalashana, Virikhad or the cult leader's terrible experiments, instead implying only that Dandra had been abducted as a potential sacrifice to the dark powers that the cult worshipped.

When he was finished, Vennet sat back, his expression blank. Natrac, on the other hand, was pale. The half-orc stood slowly. "Vennet," he said, "if there's nothing else you need from me, I'd like the return to my cabin and barricade myself inside until we reach Zarash'ak." He made a sign of protection against evil. "If you do the sensible thing and drop that cultist over the side, let me know."

"I'm not going to drop
anyone
over the side, Natrac," Vennet growled. "House Lyrandar has rules against that. She's chained up well enough. If you want to shut yourself in your cabin for two days, you're welcome to. Keep what you know to yourself. I don't want a panic onboard."

Natrac nodded tightly. "I'll be in my cabin as long as she's alive." He turned to go, but laid one heavy hand on Dandra's shoulder on the way out. "You're lucky to have escaped," he said. "I had a cousin who was taken by a cult in Zarash'ak itself. We kept finding pieces of him in the canals for a week. And they say the cults in the marshes are even worse."

He walked out, shutting the door softly behind himself. Vennet looked after him for a moment, then glanced at Dandra. "Is it true?" he asked. "Are they worse?"

Her belly tightened. The horrific memories she had shared with Singe and Geth surged back at her, forcing a whimper from Tetkashtai. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I don't have anything to compare them to."

"If Dah'mir commands dolgrims and a dolgaunt, he must be very powerful," Vennet said.

"You know what dolgrims are?" asked Singe.

"I've seen a lot of things I've tried to forget." said Vennet. Dandra thought she saw his eyes dart briefly toward Geth.

The shifter only grunted. "What are we going to do with Ashi? Dropping her over the side sounds like a good idea."

"Dropping people over the side is bad for business," the half-elf said firmly. "The crew sees it, they start talking, word gets around ..."

He sat back in his chair. "When we reach Zarash'ak, we turn her over to the authorities there."

"I've been to Zarash'ak," Dandra reminded him. "The authorities there seemed as likely to turn her loose as imprison her--if she didn't just escape from them. Either way, she's going to start tracking us again!"

Vennet frowned. "What am I supposed to do then? Carry her all the way to my next stop at Sharn?"

Dandra glanced at Singe and Geth. The wizard raised his eyebrows. "Why not?" he asked. "Even if she escapes or is turned loose there, she's going to be hundreds of miles away from us."

"You're asking me to carry a dangerous cargo," Vennet said darkly. He steepled his fingers in front of his face for a moment, then looked up. "An extra five hundred gold from your letter of credit when we reach Zarash'ak and I'll do it."

Singe's eyebrows climbed even higher. "Twelve moons, you're mercenary!"

"No," said Vennet, "that would be the province of House Deneith." He gave the wizard a biting smile. "And unlike Natrac, I wouldn't dream of cutting into Deneith's business." There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Vennet called.

One of the big crewmen who had gone into the hold along with Geth and Vennet opened the door. "Beg you pardon, captain, but we may have found out why the fighting started. It sounds like the woman had valuables with her--the first men into the fight were trying to intimidate her into handing them over."

"Not a very successful attempt," commented Vennet. "Have you looked for these valuables, Karth?"

The crewman shook his head and flushed. "They'd be in the hold, captain, and none of us want to go down with ..."

His voice trailed off, but Dandra could guess what he meant. None of the crew wanted to be around Ashi. The hunter had done a lot of damage and even chained up she was intimidating.

Vennet rolled his eyes. "Is there any word what kind of valuables we're talking about?" he asked crossly.

"Some kind of jewelry," said the crewman. "Some of Natrac's gang say it was like a headband set with diamonds."

"I find it hard to believe that a Marcher savage is going to be carrying a diamond bloody headband, Karth. Or that one of Natrac's thugs would recognize diamonds if he saw them."

Tetkashtai stirred uneasily within Dandra's mind.
Dandra, a headpiece set with crystals ...
An image of the spidery, crystal-studded devices Dah'mir's mind flayers had used on them flickered within her light.

I know
, said Dandra. "Vennet," she said aloud, "I'd like to look for this headband."

Geth and Singe stared at her, but Vennet tilted his head, then nodded slowly. "If you want to," he said. "You can't go down alone, though--"

"I'll go with her," Singe said. He shot a glance at Geth. The shifter growled agreement as well.

"We'll all go," said Vennet. "Karth, fetch a couple of lanterns. We'll need more light down there."

As they left the captain's cabin and paced back along the ship's length, Vennet leaned close to Dandra. "You think there's something special about this headband?"

Dandra clenched her teeth. "I think it might be connected to the cult of the Dragon Below." The half-truth seemed to satisfy Vennet.

Karth was waiting by the hatch down to the aft hold, two everbright lanterns in his hands. Vennet took them, passing one to Singe, then nodded at Karth to raise the hatch.

The hold was silent. Geth crouched down and peered into the dimness, then nodded and went in all the way. Vennet followed. Singe gestured for Dandra to go ahead of him, but she swallowed and stepped aside. Ashi might have been shackled, but facing the hunter was still going to be difficult. "After you," she said. Singe nodded and descended the steps. Dandra swallowed. Tetkashtai had already drawn herself into a tight, tense spark. Cautiously, Dandra stepped down into the hold.

From where she sat chained to the floor, bound hand and foot, Ashi glared at her. The Bonetree hunter's face was bruised and
swelling from the brawl and her ferocious fight with Geth, and there was fierce hatred in her eyes.

Vennet and Singe kept their distance from the bound hunter, but Geth strode right up to her. His lips peeled back from his teeth and he growled in Ashi's face. The hunter's gaze shifted slowly from Dandra to Geth. Her lips twitched as well, but they didn't part. She kept her silence. Her arms, however, tensed against her shackles.