The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [127]
Aided by the frantically straining Keane, in another moment the pair tumbled over the rail of the ship, collapsing in the bow as water continued to thunder downward around them.
"Break her free, men!" shouted Brandon, chopping at one of the frames where the ship was braced into the broken window. Pry bars, axes, and hammers all crunched against the coral surface of the dome, chipping and bashing in a desperate effort to enlarge the entrance.
"The pressure's too great!" Keane shouted over the thunderous cascade. Brandon saw that the water pouring into the dome held them firmly in the gap.
Spray splashed over Alicia and she whirled in surprise, seeing the sleek killer whale leaping from the water that now surged nearly onto the longship's figurehead. The great mammal teetered on the gunwale for a moment, and then the High Queen of the Ffolk tumbled into the hull beside them. Once again in human form, Robyn knelt beside her husband, tears of relief glowing in her eyes.
The pounding cascade slowed as finally the chamber beneath them was fully flooded. They saw no sign of the squid as the crew again pried against the frame jammed around the vessel's bow. Abruptly the Princess of Moonshae lurched. A chunk of the dome wall fell away, releasing the longship but twisting her hull with brutal, unforgiving force. Planks splintered along the keel, and water exploded through the gap, quickly swirling around Alicia and Tristan as they tried to scramble to their feet.
Slowly the longship began to float upward, toward the surface and the sun. Marqillor and his surviving comrades swam out the broken window, diving for the shelter of the coral ridge below. Water continued to flood the hull in a roaring cascade through a gap at least twelve feet long and more than a hand-span wide.
Grimly Knaff took his position at the helm, and the Princess began to move forward, trailing a bubbling wake at the stern. Her bow rose slightly, but so much water sloshed in a large wave toward the stern that the helmsman had to quickly bring the ship back to level. Dank air stung their eyes and caused their lungs to strain for breath as the ship wallowed through the depths.
"We've got to get Brigit and Hanrald!" Alicia shouted to Brandon, who stood near Knaff in the stern.
"Where are they?" demanded the captain, peering through the turbulent seas. They could see no sign of the knightly pair.
"Look!" Tavish called in alarm as a giant shadow moved through the broken window, emerging from the dome to follow them into the sea. The blunt body, the long tentacles-all were dolefully familiar.
Yet even that fact paled against the significance of the ruptured bow. Water gushed around their knees, rising higher every second.
It seemed clear to them all that the Princess of Moonshae was fatally breached.
* * * * *
Through Deirdre's mirror, Talos observed the escape of the human prisoner, and vengeance against his servant's failure crystallized into determination in his evil, immortal mind. His presence, always a shadow when the princess used the crystal, now formed into a conscious thought-knowledge that he projected into the young woman's mind.
"His name…" came the voice of Talos. Deirdre stiffened, frightened yet at the same time intensely thrilled. She felt the touch from beyond her world, beyond her existence, and she knew that a source of great power reached her.
"His name is Coss-Axell-Sinioth."
The voice faded, but Deirdre's attention had already fixed on a plan-a plan that she could at last put into action.
Finally, now, she had her weapon.
19
To Sun and Sky
Painfully Hanrald grasped at another step, and then one more, pulling himself up as he had for the last half hour-one stone stair at a time. The deep wound in his side wracked his body with waves of agony. He had no idea how much blood he had