Heart of Black Ice

CHAPTER 79

The ships of the Serrimundi navy sailed north, following the Norukai fleet. The serpent ships raced along toward Tanimura, completely unaware of the armored vessels in pursuit. Olgya had summoned just enough mist to create a veil that hid them from the Norukai lookouts.

Harborlord Otto rode at the front of the Mist Maiden, wrapping his hands around the rail. Captain Ganley stood beside him, shading his eyes. “Are you tense? Or eager?”

“They are ahead of us, and I don’t want to miss the battle,” Otto said. “I’m glad we saved Serrimundi from destruction, but we’re still part of this war. Imagine how much harm a whole Norukai fleet will inflict on Tanimura! A small raiding party nearly wrecked Serrimundi harbor!”

Chuckling, Ganley stroked his beard. “But this time we know how to fight back. And when we come at them unexpectedly, it will be like a knife in their backs. It is what they deserve.”

Otto looked down to the water where the prow cut the waves into white foam. He was startled to see sleek figures swimming beside the Mist Maiden. At first he thought they were dolphins, but he recoiled when he recognized the human forms, the scaly skin, jagged fins. “Selka! Those are selka swimming beside our ship.”

Ganley watched hundreds of the sleek forms streak toward Tanimura, like escorts for the Serrimundi navy. “I don’t think we need to worry about them. The selka and the Norukai are mortal enemies. Ours is not the flesh they wish to devour.”

“We will feed them plenty after today’s battle,” Otto said.

All of the Serrimundi vessels had been armored with metal plating at Nicci’s insistence, and now their crews were trained with swords, spears, and boat hooks. Dozens of expert archers were aboard each ship, ready with baskets of pitch-wrapped fire arrows.

Olgya joined them at the bow, her hair undone from her usual braids, the strands uneven. She had used her gift to summon wind, pushing the metal-clad ships at greater speed and closing the distance to the Norukai. Now that they approached, she stretched out her fingers and relaxed, undoing the mist spell that had created a blurring veil around their ships. The fog dissipated, revealing them … but the Norukai were looking forward, expecting nothing from the open sea behind them.

Ahead, Otto could see Tanimura with its great harbor ten times the size of Serrimundi’s. The tremendous battle had already begun, and he heard the shouts and screams, the clang of metal, the hulls splintering as ships collided with the harbor blockade. The Norukai rowed furiously, slamming into the line of defensive ships.

“Nathan is there,” Olgya said, nodding to herself, “as well as Oron and Perri. They are putting up a strong gifted defense.”

Otto could see many wrecked serpent ships sinking after being battered by a succession of huge waves. “They’ve done good work already.”

“And we’ll do more.” Olgya spread her arms wide and brought them together with a resounding clap. With the release of her gift, she sent a shock wave through the water, creating a line that was at first a ripple, building higher and higher into a great rolling wave that hurtled toward the rear of the attacking serpent ships. “Our first blow will get their attention.”

In the smooth wake behind Olgya’s wave, the harborlord saw streaking scaled figures, hundreds of the muscular selka as they raced forward to join the attack. The rolling wave crashed into the rear line of serpent ships.

On their decks, the Norukai fighters whirled and screamed in outrage at the surprise attack. Then the selka surged up the hulls.

Otto laughed, and Captain Ganley shouted for his archers. Within moments, a blizzard of flaming arrows arced through the sky and pelted the wood and sails of the raider ships.

But that was only the beginning. Closing in like the jaws of a trap, the Serrimundi ships joined the battle.

Nathan fought to keep his head above the blood-churned water. Grieve’s damaged ship creaked against the weathered krakener, scraping the new armor plates with a flurry of sparks. When the waves buffeted him, he was nearly crushed between the two hulls, but he used his gift to shove the ships apart and just barely save himself. He sprayed water between his lips. “That would have been an embarrassing end for a great wizard.”

On the Chaser’s deck above, he could hear the fighting, the clash of metal and battering clubs. A dying Norukai splashed into the water beside him, clawing at the gaping wound in his chest.

Nathan’s boots and soaked cape weighed him down, but he kept himself afloat in the rough waves and worked his way along the side of the Chaser. He yelled up, “Someone throw me a rope! I can help if I get up there.” Since they were fighting for their lives, though, no one paid attention to the man in the water.

Nathan knew Bannon and Lila were skilled fighters, but the Norukai were nearly inhuman. Frustrated, he dug in with his nails, trying to climb the wet and slimy hull boards. His boot found purchase on a clump of old barnacles, and he pulled himself higher, reaching up until he caught the frame of a porthole above the waterline. He grasped the lip of wood with his fingertips and used it for purchase, straining to climb just a little higher until he was out of the water, dripping like a waterlogged dog.

Partway up the hull, he found himself stuck. He couldn’t reach the rail still two feet above his extended arm. He clawed for a higher grip, struggled to keep his footing, but the leather soles of his boots were smooth, and they slipped on the boards. He tried to hold on to the porthole frame, but found himself falling backward. Instinctively, he used the gift to create a wall of wind. Under normal circumstances, he would have used the push of air against an enemy, but now he used the same magic to form a cushion beneath him. With a hard shove, he used the burst of air to throw his body higher until he tumbled over the rail. He sprawled across the deck, which was slippery with blood and old slime.

He rolled to his feet, ready to fight. Bannon and Lila faced him, panting hard to catch their breath, both covered in blood. The headless corpse of King Grieve lay on the deck, with an apelike Norukai woman sprawled next to him.

Captain Jared and his men quickly cornered the few remaining Norukai aboard the Chaser. Feeling left out, Nathan called a carefully directed bolt of lightning to blast the last raider standing.

Bedraggled and drenched, Nathan stepped up to Bannon and clasped his shoulder. “Are you all right, my boy?”

The young swordsman stared at the headless body of the Norukai king, and a smile slowly dawned on his face. “Yes, I’m just fine.”

When Nathan shook his head, clumps of white hair flopped from side to side. With a sniff, he summoned his gift, evaporated the water, and refreshed his clothes. “If we are going to have even a small victory, then my appearance should appropriately reflect it.”

Bannon looked at the blood on his sword, Grieve’s blood. “Thank you again for this fine blade, Nathan. I would have killed as many with Sturdy, but your sword was perfectly acceptable.”

“Glad you enjoyed it, my boy, but this little tussle is just a tiny ripple in the overall battle for Tanimura.” He looked toward the shore. “We have much more to do.” The momentum of the Norukai navy had been broken, but many serpent ships had slipped past the blockade and pressed to shore, where the raiders were now ransacking the waterfront district. Fires rose from the city.

Then Nathan stared in disbelief as General Utros’s army appeared in the hills above Tanimura!

“Dear spirits, we—” Before he could get the words out, Nathan felt a black surge inside, pain that echoed through his chest and entire body. The remnants of Ivan seized his heart, and Nathan dropped to his knees on the deck, gasping, unable to scream. His heart fought to keep beating.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

He had struggled to keep control of his new heart ever since Fleshmancer Andre had finished his work, but all of Nathan’s good deeds had not cleansed the corruption of that evil, violent man. He grimaced, curled back his lips. “No! You are dead. You … cannot … have your … heart.”

Thump, thump. Thump, thump!

Sparkles of pain drifted like black snowflakes inside his eyes. He clawed at his chest, but Ivan’s heart twisted as if turning itself inside out to punish Nathan. “You are not there!” he wheezed through clenched teeth. “You’re not real!”

Lila and Bannon both grabbed his shoulders. “Nathan, what is it? How can we help?”

He struggled against the spirit of Ivan.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump.

Nothing.

Nathan’s eyes went wide as he felt his heart stop. He couldn’t breathe, and he fell forward onto the deck. He could sense nothing, only a void surrounding him like a cocoon. He twitched, trying to reassert control over his body, over his heart.

Bannon and Lila were shaking him, and the krakener crew was shouting. He screamed silently inside his head as darkness suffocated him. Flickers of green mist gathered around him, and he heard a tempting call, a whisper, then a demand. “You are dead. You are mine.”

Was it the Keeper? Or Ivan?

I am not, he thought, but his lips could not form words. His anger increased. The last vestiges of his gift tightened around him, and Nathan used every scrap of energy and determination he had. You cannot have your heart back.

With a surge of his gift, he pushed his heart, made it beat, tore the black presence to tatters. Ivan retreated into his bloodstream, but still lurked inside him. The greenish veil faded from his vision.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

He heaved a great gasp of air. Bannon pulled him upright, pounded his back. “Nathan, are you all right?”

“I’m alive. I just had a … disagreement with a visitor inside me.” He dragged himself to his feet, but wobbled. “I am all right.” He brushed aside their concerns and turned to watch the enormous army of General Utros encroach on the outskirts of Tanimura. He knew he needed to be there, to stay alive so he could help Nicci and the others with the grand fight.

At the waterfront, many buildings were on fire, and he could see the furious clash as General Zimmer and the D’Haran army tried to hold the harbor district from the rampaging Norukai. But the enormous army of General Utros was a far larger threat.

Out in the water there were at least forty serpent ships still intact. Nathan climbed to the krakener’s raised deck next to a disheveled Captain Jared, and they both gazed past the naval battle to the open sea beyond the harbor, where an unexpected group of warships was closing from behind. Nathan let out a cheer.

Covered with blood, Bannon shaded his eyes. “Look! We have reinforcements!”

Lila gave a nod of appreciation. “The navy from Serrimundi, of course. They followed, fully armed. They have come to join the fight.”

An outcry of dismay rose from the remaining serpent ships, as the crews realized they would be crushed between two groups of attackers.

Nathan smiled. “That should take care of King Grieve’s navy.”

“Do not count a victory just yet.” Lila turned to look at the city, where the breathtaking forces of General Utros were closing in. “We still have to defeat that army, too.”

Nathan realized their skills would be more vital for the battle inside the main city. He shook his head. “No, I do not believe we can count on a victory anytime soon. Captain Jared, we need you to take us to shore—posthaste!”