The Shadow's Heir (The Risen Sun) (22 page)

21

Kissing the Snake

T
hree months passed.

The ship reached Maijan and docked there to take on fresh supplies. The Amorani-controlled island was big enough to support two small cities and even a few griffiners. Lord Vander went ashore with Ymazu to speak to them, and Arenadd went, too. Laela went with him, more than happy to have solid ground under her feet again.

They spent two days in Maijan, and Laela took the opportunity to explore the port-town where they’d docked, with Oeka by her side. The locals were a friendly enough lot—obviously used to visits from their pale neighbours. Most of them spoke some Cymrian, and they received Laela with great interest, many of them pointing out her blue eyes and chattering animatedly among themselves. At first, Laela was offended, but she quickly realised that their interest was nothing but friendly curiosity, and after that she began to find it vaguely enjoyable.

Once the supplies were on board and Arenadd and Vander had completed their business on the island (and Skandar had taken the opportunity to acquaint himself with the handful of female griffins who lived on it), the
Seabreath
departed.

For the next few weeks, they followed the chain of small islands that Maijan belonged to, anchoring beside one or two of them so the griffins could go ashore. Most of the human passengers went, too, Laela among them, though she spent most of her time on dry land training with Arenadd in the art of the sickle. She could feel herself getting better at it all the time.

She was almost sad when the time came to leave the islands behind and strike out over the Armourfish Sea.

The weather had been growing steadily warmer and warmer as they sailed further east, and by the time they were a month out of Maijan, it was sweltering.

The Northerners, used to cold, looked as if all their energy had been drained out of them. They stayed belowdecks, moaning and grumbling among themselves and trying to cool down by soaking their clothes in sea-water. Laela, too, suffered in the heat, which grew unbearably as the weeks dragged by. She couldn’t believe that any place could possibly be this hot, and almost dreaded what it would be like when they were actually in Amoran.

But as unhappy as they were, nobody looked as miserable as Arenadd did.

The King scarcely moved during the day, and was pale and tight-lipped whenever he was awake. He became snappish and irritable during Laela’s lessons, and only sheer exhaustion stopped them from outright arguing.

Eventually, after what looked like a very unpleasant struggle, Arenadd gave up and took his robe off—going bare-chested like the other men on board. His scars looked even more hideous under the harsh sun and attracted plenty of morbid conversation, which he obviously didn’t appreciate.

Skandar wasn’t much happier than his human. Laela started visiting him with Arenadd as an excuse to get out of the sun, and she was shocked when she saw how thin the huge griffin had become. Whoever had made the stall he was living in had done his best, but it just wasn’t big enough for him. His fur and feathers had become dull and matted from too little grooming. His stall hadn’t been cleaned out properly and stank, but though he’d been lying in it so long that he was developing pressure sores on his paws, he refused to go out into the blazing sun.

By the time Arenadd intervened, the dark griffin’s temper had snapped, and he had begun lashing out at anyone who came close.

Laela, too sensible to try and go too close, hung back and watched while Arenadd did his best to calm his friend down. Eventually, Skandar groaned and laid his head on his talons, and Arenadd could go in and clear away as much of the mess as he could.

Laela realised he was swearing. “We’ve got t’get him out of here,” she said. “He needs—”

“I
know
what he needs,” Arenadd growled without turning around. “That doesn’t mean he’ll look for it. Go back up on deck and see if you can find someone who knows where to find some ointment for these sores.”

Laela nodded brusquely and left.

As she and Oeka climbed the ramp back to the deck, Laela heard shouting. “What’s goin’ on up there?” she mumbled.

Outside, there was furious activity. The captain was yelling orders at his men, most of whom were already dashing off to follow them. There were some griffiners about, most of them looking anxious and uncertain.

Laela squinted irritably in the sun and stumped over to the nearest person. “What’s goin’ on? Why’s everyone shoutin’? I already got enough of a bloody headache.”

“There’s another ship coming this way,” said the man—one of the sailors.

She perked up at that. “Who is it?”

“We’re not sure. They’re not close enough to tell. But we have to be ready, in case . . .”

“In case they ain’t friends?” Laela hazarded.

“Yes. Just in case.”

“What, how likely is it that they’re wantin’ to attack us?” said Laela.

“There are plenty of trading ships in these waters,” said the sailor. “Which means—”

“—It’s probably one of them?”

“Which means there are also pirates,” the sailor said grimly.

“What in the gods’ names are they?”

“Bandits. Thieves.”

“Ah. Right.” Laela’s grip on his arm slackened. “I’d better go tell the King, then.”

•   •   •

A
renadd took some time to emerge from belowdecks, and when he did, it was obvious what had taken him so long. He walked slowly, pausing every few moments to look back. Skandar was following—limping slightly and hissing. Several times he tried to turn back, but Arenadd kept talking softly to him, and he gave in to his friend’s coaxing and stepped up onto the deck. There he opened his wings, put his head back and stretched luxuriously. Someone brought a bucket of water and a brush, and Arenadd set to work cleaning the griffin’s flanks. Skandar cooed, obviously enjoying it, and deigned to lift his paws one by one so Arenadd could scrape the muck out of his talons and clean and dress the sores.

Laela, watching, found the scene so strange and weirdly amusing that she almost forgot about the oncoming ship.

“Don’t yeh have people t’do that for yeh?” she asked eventually.

Arenadd glanced up. “He won’t let anyone else touch him. I wouldn’t ask them to, anyway.”

“Well, yeah, they might lose an arm or somethin’.”

Arenadd picked up the sharp tool he used to scrape out the inside of Skandar’s talons. “I may be a King, but I’m a griffiner as well, and doing this sort of thing is part of my duties as Skandar’s human. Yes, what do you want?”

The sailor who’d been trying to get his attention bowed hastily and spoke in Northern.

Arenadd’s expression changed. “How close?” he asked, using Cymrian for Laela’s benefit.

The reply came in the dark tongue—Laela understood a few words here and there, but had no idea what the man was saying. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

Arenadd nodded curtly and went back to his work, speaking to Skandar now. After three months of daily tutoring, Laela was pleased to find that she could understand parts of this, at least.

“. . . enemies . . . dangerous . . . fighting . . . many.”

Skandar raised his head and stared out over the sea. His tail began to lash back and forth.

Laela turned, and her face froze. “What?”

The strange ship had come so much closer since she’d last seen it that it was as if it had appeared out of nowhere. Now she could see that it was at least as big as the
Seabreath
—and far more heavily manned. At least a hundred men were up on the decks—Amoranis, all of them.

Many of them were carrying bows.

“Pirates, Sire,” one of the griffiners said. “They have us outnumbered.”

From the other ship, a thickset man brandishing a spear yelled out a sneering challenge in Amorani.

“Fools,” said Lord Vander, appearing from somewhere as if by magic. “They have no idea that they are up against griffins. Sire—” He turned to Arenadd. “You need not concern yourself with these scum. If you wish, I will go at once and tell the griffins belowdecks. They will deal with them quickly enough.”

Arenadd didn’t look at him. He kept his eyes on the oncoming pirate ship. There was a very strange look on his face. Not angry, not frightened, but strangely . . .

Laela stepped closer to him. “What’s up, Arenadd?”

The Dark Lord was pale, and his eyes were gleaming. He was breathing heavily and his fists clenched. He let out a long, slow sigh.
“Oh . . .”

Laela nudged him. “Sire? Arenadd?”

The ship was very close by now—so close Laela could see the intent expressions on the bandits’ faces.

Fear put a tight band around her chest. She moved closer to Oeka and tried to look calm. Strangely, her mind—addled by the heat and now by apprehension—threw up a memory that seemed to have nothing to do with the situation. She was a child back in the village, listening to the miller’s sons singing a taunting song at their sister.
Pretty maid, dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss a fellow. By mistake she kissed a snake—

Laela glanced at Arenadd, in time to see a horrible grin spread over his face.

“Sire?” Vander was still hovering nearby, looking slightly anxious.

“Those fools,” Arenadd breathed. “They have no idea.”

“Not yet,” Vander said grimly. “Ymazu and I—”

“No.” Arenadd held up a hand. “Stop.
Stop!
”

The people around him, who had been hurrying to organise the defence, stopped in their tracks.

Arenadd’s hand went to his belt and freed his sickle. “There’s no need for you to risk your lives here. Leave this to us.”

The griffiners glanced at each other. “But, Sire,” said one of the younger ones, “there’s no need for—”

Arenadd drew himself up to his full, impressive height. “Quiet, Arawn.” He gripped the sickle. “I may have been a King for twenty years, but underneath I am still
Kraeai kran ae
.” He looked at the pirates again. “And I think it’s time I reminded myself of that.”

Laela gaped at him. “Yeh ain’t gonna—”

Arenadd laid a hand on her arm. “Sorry, Laela,” he said. “But today you’re going to see a different side of me. Skandar!”

Skandar, who had been lying on his belly, stood up and limped toward his human. The ship actually leaned to one side under his weight, and several people quickly ran to the opposite side to try to balance it.

Over on the deck of the pirate ship, the crew stopped their jeering. Laela saw their faces slacken with dismay as they saw the giant griffin.

Arenadd went to the railings and held his arms out, his hair blowing in the wind.
“You fools!”
he roared. “You think you can stand against me? You dare to challenge the Dark Lord? Look on your deaths and shudder!” and he laughed like a madman.

Behind him, Skandar spread his wings and screeched.

The pirates had already realised their mistake. They dropped their weapons and scattered, desperately trying to turn their ship around. Laela saw them tug on ropes to adjust the sails, shouting at each other in panic.

A handful of them were more collected. They leapt onto the railings, balancing there with incredible ease, and aimed their bows.

The captain of the
Seabreath
shouted a warning, and everyone, including Laela, dropped flat.

Everyone except for Arenadd and Skandar.

Laela heard Arenadd grunt as an arrow buried itself in his hip. As she stood up, he yanked it out and hurled it into the sea with a contemptuous laugh. Skandar hadn’t been hit at all, and Laela suddenly realised that the arrow had been aimed at the giant griffin’s chest.

Arenadd had put himself in the way.

That was the final straw for Skandar. He stumbled forward and launched himself clumsily into the air. For a moment, it looked as if he were going to go after the pirate ship alone, but once he had gathered momentum he came swooping back and scooped Arenadd up in his talons. Laela stood up and watched, open-mouthed, as the giant griffin flew straight for the fleeing bandits. He paused to deposit Arenadd on the deck, and then landed himself.

Arenadd had already attacked.

On the
Seabreath
, sailors and griffiners alike ran to the railings to watch, expressions of disbelief slowly spreading over their faces.

For Laela, it was beyond imagining

Skandar rushed over the decks like a massive wave, all claws and talons and enormous beak. Men fell in front of him like blades of grass. Most of the time, the dark griffin didn’t even bother to kill them—he simply knocked them over and then crushed them under his paws as he charged on, straight at the wheel and the man holding it. The man in question made a run for it the instant he saw Skandar coming, but there was nowhere near enough room to dodge, and for his size, the griffin was astonishingly fast. He caught up with the fleeing Amorani and his beak snapped shut around the man’s chest.

Laela heard the sound of breaking bones from all the way over on the deck of the
Seabreath
.

But Skandar didn’t have the fight all to himself. Arenadd was at the other end of the ship, apparently oblivious to his partner’s slaughter. A gang of pirates had rushed him, obviously hoping to overwhelm him by sheer weight of numbers. For a moment Arenadd disappeared among the press of bodies, and Laela feared the worst.

Then she saw the pirates begin to fall. Arenadd appeared, standing on a dead man’s chest, his sickle scattering drops of blood as he flicked it expertly at another man’s throat. He fought with unbelievable speed, but methodically, like a man who was immune to excitement or fear. He took several blows but didn’t react to them at all.

The ship, listing crazily as Skandar unbalanced it, drifted closer to the
Seabreath
, and Laela could hear the screams.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the fight was over. The surviving pirates dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, holding up their hands in surrender.

Laela relaxed. “My gods,” she said. “He’s done it. He’s . . .”

Her voice faded away. Arenadd stepped off the dead man and walked slowly toward the cowering pirates. Skandar, bloodied but apparently unhurt, came to join him. Arenadd spoke to him, pointing at his prisoners. Skandar rasped back.