The Jewel of Turmish - Mel Odom [107]
"Now you're stepping over boundaries."
A triumphant gleam showed in Druz's eyes and Haarn couldn't understand it at all.
"I withdraw the question," she said, "and offer my apologies."
Haarn nodded, feeling only a little relieved.
"Love like your father and mother had isn't necessarily a bad thing," Druz said. "Wolves mate for life."
"Stonefur mated for life," Haarn said coldly, "and his mate attacked you. You killed her without a second's thought."
His words visibly stung Druz. Her face pinched shut. Glancing down, she pulled her blanket up and turned away from him.
"Since you're awake," she said, "I'm going to sleep now."
Haarn watched her do exactly that, and he was irritated at her for raising so many questions in his mind and leaving him with them. He glanced at his father, knowing Ettrian's presence had triggered some of those questions as well.
Haarn settled back against the stone wall of the overhang. Never in the past two days had he been so aware of how uncomfortable it was. He gazed at Druz, sleeping so childlike beneath her blanket-except for the naked dagger in her fist-and tried not to think about any of the questions she'd raised within him. It didn't work, not even when he directed his mind to prayers to Silvanus.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Borran Kiosk stood on Mistress Talia'a flying deck, scanning the dark ruins of the Whamite Isles. Lightning seared the sky as light rain continued to fall. At least the sea had quieted.
The ship had been taken over days before, perhaps even as much as a tenday-Borran Kiosk was not sure. Only corpses revived by the mohrg's magic crewed the ship.
The change from living to dead had not been without problems. Alive, the crew had been adept at manning Mistress Talia, but rising from the dead had cost them something of their skill. Only every now and again was Borran Kiosk able to raise one of his kills nearly whole in ability.
The five he'd created to carry the pieces of Taraketh's Hive had been very special. One of them, Borran Kiosk knew, had almost been destroyed by druids. He'd managed the skeleton's escape only with the help of the league of wizards Allis served.
Lightning burned the heavens again, but nothing disturbed the surface of the sea. Footsteps sounded on the deck behind him. There was only one person who moved freely about the ship.
Without looking around at Allis, Borran Kiosk asked, "Where are the drowned ones?"
"Under the sea," she replied. "They're probably on their way here now. They hunt anything. From what I'm told, even the fish no longer come here."
"We need to go in closer."
"If we do," she said, coming up to the railing where he stood, "we run the risk of being overrun by their numbers before you're able to control them."
Borran Kiosk raised his arm and regarded the pink and white coral shell that encased his arm. It looked so simple, so powerless. If he hadn't felt the magic in it, he wouldn't have believed it could do what she promised. He looked back out to sea, trying to discern some movement in the rolling troughs of water, but there was none.
Allis stared at the rolling sea as well. Her hair lay plastered against her skull and her clothes, like Borran Kiosk's own cloak, were sodden. Her opal eyes glowed in the darkness.
The gale winds swept Mistress Talia's decks and yet another bolt of lightning pierced the dark clouds.
"Sails!" a man shouted from above.
Borran Kiosk looked up at the corpse manning the crow's nest. He had stationed one of the dead men still able to speak up there to act as lookout.
"Where?"
"Off the starboard bow, cap'n," the dead man cackled gleefully.
Unfortunately, though some of the dead men yet maintained enough experience to do their jobs, not all of them kept their sanity.
Even after days at sea, Borran Kiosk could not keep straight which was port and which was starboard. None of that mattered in his plans. All he wanted was to get the ship back to Alaghфn with his promised undead army in tow.
"Where?"