The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [145]
‘Stop!’ Jarrod yelled.
‘What?’ She could barely hear him over the storm.
‘You’re making it worse,’ Jarrod yelled again, wrapping his arm around her as a wave broke over the deck. ‘We need to get below. We’ll be drowned out here.’
‘Aggravation before amelioration,’ she replied, her voice hoarse from yelling. She held onto him with one hand and the railing with the other. Wave after wave washed over the deck, ripping at her legs until they slipped out from under her.
‘There is no amelioration! We have to get below. Now!’ Jarrod shouted.
Come, Maudi. To the hatch.
Rosette squinted, squeezing the salt water out of her eyes. Another wave came when they were halfway to safety. Rosette looked up to see a wall of water come plummeting down towards them. She opened her mouth to scream before everything went black.
‘Rosette, wake up!’ Jarrod slapped her face again.
She fluttered her lids, wincing at the light. ‘What happened?’ she groaned, her throat raw.
‘You were knocked out. Can you walk?’
Rain poured onto her face, the deck rocking violently beneath her. ‘I’m all right,’ she spluttered.
Jarrod pulled her up and they staggered to the galley hatch.
‘We’ve got to get to the horses. Untie them. They could drown,’ he shouted above the roar of the waves.
Rosette lifted the hatch door and slid down the steps with Jarrod right behind her. Drayco was at her side, all four legs braced.
‘Get the lantern,’ Jarrod said, pointing to the dim light hanging from a beam.
She slid to the galley table, waiting for the boat to rock the other way before handing the lantern across to Jarrod. He had the lower hatch door open and was peering into the dark.
They startled as a loud crack split the sky above them. A bulge in the side of the galley splintered and a rush of water poured in. They were ankle deep in moments.
‘The horses!’ Jarrod said.
‘They’ll be terrified!’ Rosette started to back down the ladder. ‘I can calm them.’
Perhaps you can calm us all. Drayco’s voice cut through her thoughts like a knife, his agitation tactile.
Jarrod grimaced, raising the light above his head. They shimmied down the ladder and into the cargo hold. Drayco kept behind Rosette, springing off the ladder and landing hard as the boat rocked up to meet him, his paws splashing in the rising water.
The mountain horse was down, struggling. She’d slipped and couldn’t rise. The boat was rocking wildly and Rosette lurched to the stalls. She thought the mountain horse had damaged a leg, but couldn’t tell for all the thrashing. The copper-red mare stood in a wide stance, her head up, eyes rolled back, screaming as Jarrod approached.
‘I won’t lie to you, Wren. We’re probably all going for a swim, and soon.’
If we don’t drown in this hole first. Drayco was perched atop a stack of chests lashed to the far wall, his claws extended to the full, sinking deep into the thick netting that held the cargo in place. Maudi, I hate this place. Get us out of here!
Rosette reached her hands out to both horses and sent energy, calm and strengthening. She filled the room with it but was careful to keep it in the hold. It was not unlike the spell she’d directed at the storm, and that had certainly backfired. She didn’t want to make matters worse.
How can things get worse? Water’s rising! Drayco’s words were desperate, but his tone was already softer. The calming spell was working on them all. The horses settled immediately, enough for Jarrod to slip into their stalls and untie them and help the mountain horse to stand. Her legs were fine—no worse for the fall—though she still favoured the newly shod hoof.
‘I hope you know how to swim,’ Rosette whispered in her ear while Jarrod unlatched the stall doors, tying them open.
The boat suddenly listed and Rosette found herself sliding away