Sea of Ghosts - Alan Campbell [18]
Davy was waiting for them on the other side. He glared at Creedy and growled, ‘I said two.’
They were in an enormous butchering hall, where dozens of dragon carcasses trundled along the overhead conveyor system. Workers slewed off scales with head-spades and opened bellies to spill out guts and hacked off wings and flesh with heavy machetes. White bones glistened among red meat. Blood ran in runnels across the floor and collected in frothing channels. The smell and heat was overpowering.
‘Two, five, what’s the difference?’ Creedy said.
‘The difference is, I only got two suits,’ Davy replied. ‘The price was for two. We already agreed that.’
Granger stepped between them. ‘What does he mean?’ he said to Creedy. ‘The arrangement was for all five of us.’
Creedy looked at the ground. ‘You couldn’t afford five,’ he said. ‘Those suits aren’t cheap.’
Granger took a deep breath. ‘What did you think was going to happen when we got here?’
Creedy shrugged. ‘I dunno,’ he said. ‘Maybe whaleskins. Hell, what was I supposed to say? I thought you’d figure something out. You always figure something out.’
Davy laughed. ‘Whaleskins? You’ll be dead in a day.’
Granger turned to him. ‘Show me.’
He led them through the butchering hall and through a set of hangar doors into a cold room. Here, lying among blocks of ice, was an enormous green dragon. It was twice the size of the reds. Its mouth had been propped open with a head-spade, revealing the pink tunnel of its throat. One of its eyes stared glassily at the ceiling, the other had been mangled into red pulp. On the floor beside it lay two bulky brass diving suits. They looked perilously old and rotten.
‘You were lucky,’ Davy said. ‘We’ve not seen a monster like this in months.’ He rested a hand on the dragon’s snout. ‘She sank two ships, dragged them straight to the bottom, before the third put a harpoon through her eye.’
Banks blew through his teeth. ‘That is one phenomenally ugly bitch,’ he said. ‘She reminds me of someone.’ He looked over at Creedy. ‘Can’t think who, though.’
Creedy gave him a grim smile.
‘You aren’t gonna survive in there without a suit,’ Davy said. ‘Not all the way to Ethugra, anyways. These greens have guts like acid. Burn a man alive.’
‘Can you get more suits?’ Granger said.
Davy snorted. ‘Tonight?’ He stared at the dragon for a long moment. ‘Maybe for sixteen thousand, I can get one.’
‘I don’t have that sort of money.’
‘Then you’re screwed, aren’t you? Ship sails at dawn.’
Banks stepped up to Granger. ‘You and Creedy go,’ he said. ‘We’ll follow when we can.’
Granger shook his head.
‘Creedy knows Ethugra,’ Banks said. ‘You’ll need him once you get there.’
‘Makes sense to me,’ Creedy said.
‘No,’ Granger insisted. ‘I’m not leaving anyone behind. Banks and Swan can use the diving suits. The rest of us will have to wrap up in whaleskins. Once the carcass is aboard, we’ll climb out and look for another place to hide.’
Creedy grunted. ‘It’s a goddamn prison ship. Where you going to hide?’
‘We’ll deal with that problem when we have to,’ Granger said.
‘The sergeant’s right for once,’ Swan said. ‘We wouldn’t stand a chance on a ship like that, not outside that big green bastard. You and Creedy take the suits.’ He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. ‘To be honest, I never much liked the idea of Ethugra anyway.’
‘Absolute shit-hole,’ Tummel agreed. ‘Too many jailers and not enough publicans.’
‘Gambling’s illegal in Ethugra,’ Swan muttered.
‘Everything’s illegal in Ethugra,’ Tummel said.
Banks nodded. ‘We’ll take our chances here.’
Creedy had already chosen the better of the two diving suits and began to pull it on.
Granger wouldn’t have ordered them to obey him if he still had the power to do so. They were his men – the last and best of his men – but more than that, they were their own men. He couldn’t order them, but he didn’t have to abandon them either. ‘I’m staying here,’ he said. ‘One of you can have that suit.’
‘I don’t think you understand, sir,’ Banks said. ‘If you don’t go,