“The magisters say there is something beneath us,” he said.
“Another creature?”
“The source of this strange chimeric.”
Oh suns.Sister.
I bit my lip and glanced back over the side. The sea was glassy still, but a rush of tiny bubbles rose from the deep, popping and bringing with them the smell of decay.
Fahr touched my arm.
“Blue, listen,” he said. “I need to ask—”
“Ascentionus!”roared the magisters, and as one, the three slapped their palms on the deck of the ship. TheTouchstoneheaved, dipping low in the water, then rising anew. She heaved and rose, heaved and rose, as rune spilled all around us and pattern flooded down beneath.
The runes were going down.
Down, down, down, and theTouchstonepitched on the waves, gently at first but growing rougher. Soon, the crew was rushing to secure crates, barrels, and cannons. Within minutes, a large bubble burst the surface, and then another, and it seemed clear that something was moving from the depths of the sea.
Soon, a dark, rippling shape appeared at our stern. It was the size of a whale, but as the shape rolled in the water, a huge wooden fin spun eddies along with it. I saw the fluttering of canvas, and my heart sank at the sight.
Sister.
Of course. The source of the strange chimeric was a ship.
It was clear now, with masts and yards, sails and decks. The fin was her keel, and the spells wove through her until she broke the surface with a spray of white. The small boats tossed hooks and line to heave her aright.
She was a large ship, a four-masted man-of-war, her sails torn, her keel pocked with holes. Three of her masts had been eaten away and most of her deck scrubbed clean by the sea. There were large swaths of planking simply gone, and I could see through her hull as if she were a skeleton, half eaten by crows.
“Name!” barked Ben on one of the boats, and she yawed slowly in the waves until her transom swung toward us.
It was theAndomiehr, the missingRhi’Ahrship responsible for cutting down the Tree.
I turned to the pup, where Thanavar was watching.
Forge, Gav, Fahr had said.You’re going to kill us all.
Coming upon this particular sunken ship was far more than chance, and my heart sank at the sudden realization.
Thanavar was not simply taking the Court of Sand to the Cloudgate.
He was going back to where everything first began.
And he was taking all of us along with him.
32. TheAndomiehr
“She’s been under for years, by the looks of her,” said Smoke.
We were on the quarterdeck with our rum and our lime, watching theAndomiehras she bobbed in the glassy waters. It was night, but there were no moons or stars because of the Dreadsky. I was glad for the oil lamps, else we’d be in the pitch.
“Why was she out here in the Silence?” asked Echo quietly.
The quartermaster grunted and leaned over the rail, cupping his mug in both hands.
“TheRhi’Ahrseem to cross the Sheets and the Silence far easier than we do,” he muttered.
“Maybe they have a chaser of their own,” I said.
