Heart of Black Ice

CHAPTER 56

The following day, the Bastion rang with excitement, and the Norukai rushed down to the sheltered harbor. “The war fleet has returned!” a guard shouted through the halls, causing the raiders to celebrate. The slaves received the news without enthusiasm.

From the upper tower, Bannon and Lila looked through an open window to see dozens of serpent ships sailing in. Bannon lost count after fifty.

Lila realized what they were. “They are the rest of the damaged raiding vessels from the river below Ildakar. The construction crews finished repairing them.”

Bannon had not forgotten the battered vessels. The Norukai shipwrights would have worked the slaves day and night, until they were ready to set sail. Now in addition to Lars’s raiding fleet and the hundred new serpent ships that had been constructed in King Grieve’s absence, these vessels swelled the Norukai navy to an unstoppable force. They would ravage the entire coast.

“Sweet Sea Mother! We have to get away! It’s more important than ever,” Bannon said. “We’ve got to warn people that these attacks are coming. How will they be able to defend themselves?”

“It’s now more important than ever, but our chances of escape are even worse,” Lila said. “There will be twice as many Norukai in the Bastion, watching us every moment.”

Bannon saw the newly repaired ships approach like a pack of wolves closing in on a wounded stag. Some vessels anchored at the outlying islands in the archipelago, while others docked directly below the Bastion. Those crews would be ready for wild revels and war preparations.

As he thought about it, he smiled slowly. “I disagree, Lila. Our chances just got better! Think of the drunken celebrations. The Bastion will be in complete chaos, and the slaves will be ordered about on countless tasks. Who will keep track of it all? Who will be watching us, in particular? Would even Atta bother harassing you?”

Frowning, Lila winced from her swollen bruises, the healing burn on her shoulder. “We might have our opportunity, but we don’t have the resources. Where would we go?”

“If we could slip out of the Bastion, we will hide somewhere.”

Lila was not convinced. “Then what? We would still be trapped on the island and surrounded by serpent ships.”

“Emmett has to help us.” Bannon knew it was the only answer.

As new arrivals piled into the Bastion, the old kitchen servant was paralyzed with the responsibility and fear of reprisal if the banquet wasn’t perfect. The returning captains barged into the great fortress, filling the reception hall and throne chamber where Grieve received their reports.

The king remained sullen after the loss of Chalk, but his rage had galvanized him. When the repaired ships returned from Ildakar, he was convinced that the only way to purge his sorrow was to devastate the Old World.

In the midst of the clamor in the kitchen, all ovens were stoked to bake bread, loaf after loaf that filled wooden handcarts. The larders were nearly emptied, but fortunately Lars had brought back supplies from his raids.

Emmett and his staff still had to prepare the food. Slaves hurried about, and the limping old veteran did his best to manage them. The well-trained slaves did their duties, but the newer recruits often dropped platters or spilled tureens.

With Lila beside him, Bannon cornered Emmett just outside the kitchen. “This is our chance. The Norukai will be drunk, loud, and unruly. You can help us escape.”

The old man’s blank stare melted into surprise, then horror. “You can’t escape. They’ll kill you!” He stuttered, “I-I can’t lose two slaves. The Norukai need to be served. King Grieve has commanded it.”

“King Grieve should not be your master,” Lila said. “You saw the warships that just arrived, and you know the fleet he is building. We must get away to sound the alarm up and down the coast, and this may be our last chance.”

“It isn’t only so we can save ourselves,” Bannon said. “Just get us a boat, even a small one, and we will sail away. We’ll find the mainland, get the cities and villages to prepare their defenses. The people have to know that a war is coming their way. Think of how many innocents will be slaughtered.”

Emmett looked distraught. “I know what King Grieve intends to do. I’ve been here for a decade. Alas, I may be the only person from my village who remains alive.”

“There will be countless villages like yours once those raids launch,” Bannon said. “We can save some of them, but only if you help us get away.”

“I … I don’t know how. If I knew, I would have left here long ago.” His thin voice cracked.

“Are you sure about that?” Lila said in a low voice. “Would you have been brave enough to escape on your own?”

Emmett fumbled with his ponytail, wrapping his fingers around the gray hair. “No, I-I don’t think so.”

“But you can help us!” Bannon insisted, then dropped his voice to a hush again. “It will be days before they realize we’re gone, if they notice at all. King Grieve could never connect you to our escape. Sweet Sea Mother, please!”

Emmett struggled with his conscience, flexing and unflexing his fingers. His wrinkled face was seamed with sorrow, and as Bannon silently pleaded, he saw something break inside the old man. “I-I do know of a way down to the waterline. It’s steep and rarely used, a small rock jetty, but I think you’ll find a boat there. Some of the Norukai spearfish in the narrow coves.”

“That’s a start,” Bannon said without thinking.

“We will make do,” Lila agreed.

Perspiration sparkled on Emmett’s forehead as he looked from side to side. He hunched his shoulders as he hobbled along a corridor, leaving the mayhem of the kitchens. “Come with me! We won’t have much time.”

They took a side corridor, then worked their way down a narrow set of stone steps that were slimy with moss. They descended steeply, running fingers along the wall to keep their balance. The veteran slave looked behind him often, stared longingly up the stairs as if desperate to get back to his duties. He winced with pain as he limped along on his poorly set leg.

Bannon would not turn down any chance to escape, but he realized that if he and Lila were going to sail off in a small boat, they had no water, no food, no clothing or blankets, not even any charts. They could rush back to the kitchens, grab some supplies.… No, he shook those thoughts away. This was their first opportunity to escape, and if he and Lila died out on the open water, at least they would die with some semblance of freedom.

The tortured staircase turned again and spilled them out onto a wider landing where daylight flooded through a small barred gate. Bannon drew in a deep breath of the fresh, salt air that replaced the dankness. Outside, he could hear waves crashing on the rocks.

He worked the gate’s metal latch. Caked with salt and rust, the hinges groaned in protest, but he and Lila managed to swing the gate open, to freedom.

A stone jetty extended into the choppy surf, and two small boats were tied to the pilings. One was rotten and half full of water from the crashing spray, but the other was a fishing boat large enough to take two or three people and a haul of fish. It had a single mast and a roll of gray sailcloth tucked against the bow under the front gunwale. A pair of oars rested in the bottom of the boat.

Bannon controlled his disappointment. “I had hoped for something better, but I expected nothing less.”

Lila said, “We will cross the ocean in a rowboat if we need to.”

“You’ll need to,” Emmett said.

Bannon clung to a shred of optimism. “Two people can sail this boat. We will make it work.”

Emmett squirmed, desperate to bolt back inside before the Norukai noticed his absence. Bannon looked at him, thought of the innumerable years of captivity the old man had suffered. “Come with us, Emmett. Escape! We’ll all survive together.”

The old man was taken aback by the suggestion. “N-No, I couldn’t. I don’t dare.”

“You will never get away from King Grieve unless you come with us now,” Lila said. In disgust, she yanked at the ragged neck of her wool garment, tore it, then flung the shapeless dress away. She stood proud, clad as a morazeth again.

The old slave struggled with his decision, but shook his head. “I can’t! All of the other slaves…”

“All of the other slaves would also escape if they could. This is your chance! I’m begging you, Emmett,” Bannon said.

But the old man was too frightened. “Go.” He waved them off. “Don’t waste your opportunity. I-I wasted mine long ago. Now I continue to serve.” He swallowed hard. “Until I die.”

“Until you die,” Bannon said. It sounded like a prophecy.

Lila had no further patience. “Here’s the boat, boy. The celebrations are getting louder. The Norukai are intoxicated, and night is falling. If we are to have any chance, it is now.”

Bannon climbed aboard the battered fishing boat, giving a last glance back at the gate, but Emmett had already limped back inside, pulled the bars closed again, and vanished into the shadows.

Lila sprang into the boat with perfect grace. “You know how to sail, boy. Take us away from here.”

Bannon undid the ropes on the piling and used one of the oars to push them away from the jetty. Rowing carefully, he dodged the first line of rocks and spraying waves, then worked his way into the open water. He looked at the towering black Bastion behind them and shuddered as they headed out to the open sea.