The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [80]
From the top of the drinking vessel trailed a thin column of steam.
* * * * *
The dragon turtle came at the Princess of Moonshae from below, smashing the bony shell of its back into the hull with another timber-crushing blow, heaving the vessel far out of the water and sending her crashing to the side. Again the tumble very nearly capsized the battered longship.
Alicia caught a momentary glimpse of a monstrous snout thrashing in the water. A cavernous mouth gaped, and she saw bony ridges instead of teeth. With one bite, those ridges clamped onto the longship's starboard rail, ripping pieces from several stout planks. Blunt claws, each as big as a tall man's leg, appeared at the gunwale on either side of the snout, and the Princess of Moonshae rocked violently as the monster pushed against the hull.
The bowmen fired volleys of arrows at the beast when it showed itself above the gunwale. Most of the missiles bounced harmlessly from the heavy shell, but a few shafts punctured one of the monster's staring eyes. The turtle closed a leathery lid over the injured organ, effectively blinded on one side, though that did nothing to deter its aggressive attacks.
Next the raging beast ducked under the water to come up against the port side of the longship. Keane dove out of the way in apparent fright as the blunt head reared into the air, but then he spun and pointed. From his finger burst a lightning bolt that scored a gory wound in the dragon turtle's good eye.
The monster bellowed in rage, opening its jaw and belching forth a great cloud of steam. The blast struck the ship with explosive force, hissing through the air, searing flesh in a white fog. Several crewmen, caught in the killing heat, collapsed to the deck, writhing in agony.
Keane dodged beneath the killing cloud and then quickly scrambled to his feet. Next he cast a blast of cold that ricocheted harmlessly from the monster's great shell after freezing the water there to a gleaming coat of ice. Again he chanted the words of magic, and a fireball drifted outward, exploding in a hellish blossom of flame. The blistering inferno sizzled the surface of the sea but didn't affect the monster. The dragon turtle simply dove to avoid the blast.
For a time, then, nothing disturbed the surface of the gently rolling sea. Endless seconds passed into an eternal minute, then another… and still there was no sign of the turtle's presence.
"Is it gone?" asked Alicia.
"Not likely," replied the Prince of Gnarhelm tersely. His intense manner prevented the woman from asking any further questions.
Abruptly the captain stiffened. "To the oars!" he bellowed, his voice booming through the boat and out across the sea. "Stop her in the water! Backward, men-hard!"
With his first word, the men of his crew sprang into action, seizing the long oars that were drawn into the vessel. The blades struck the water and churned backward with enough force to send Alicia stumbling forward from the sudden shift in the ship's momentum.
"Stroke, you weaklings! Full astern!" shouted Brandon, stalking down the center of the hull.
A great crack sounded at the same time as the longship's bow flew upward into the air. The blinded turtle hadn't struck the ship squarely, but several more planks splintered, and the craft rocked dangerously as it slid backward off the dragon's rising shell. Water spilled into the hull through several narrow, long gaps.
"By the Abyss, still it finds us!" hissed Brigit, her hand tightening around her sword.
"By sound!" Keane's eyes suddenly flashed, and he looked for Brandon. The turtle, meanwhile, vanished into the depths. In a few seconds, the magic-user explained his plan-and Brandon nodded grimly.
"Be silent!" ordered the Prince of Gnarhelm in a low voice that nevertheless carried throughout the hull. "Everyone remain perfectly quiet!"
As always, the crew obeyed even as the order was issued. Quickly the Princess of Moonshae grew still, drifting like a ghost ship with upraised oars and silent,