The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul (17 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ran had no intention of accepting Malkyr’s offer. As he listened to Malkyr’s footfalls recede, he glanced around the cell and made his decision. He would not wait for Kan-Gul to show up and take Jysal for his own. Ran needed to get out of the cell and now. He had to find out where Kancho and the others were hiding, a fact he enjoyed because it meant more trouble for Malkyr.

He should never have trusted Malkyr at the start. That was one of the biggest mistakes he’d made. But even as he scolded himself for bad judgment, he reminded himself that this was what the wandering quest was all about. Shinobujin thought of it as a type of finishing school for recent graduates. There was nothing like being exposed to the real world and real consequences to impress upon you what worked and what did not.

Ran also recognized that he still had much to learn. Despite having graduated, he was still very new to the world at large. His ego had already tripped him up and he hadn’t fully taken into account the possibility of betrayal by someone who had depended on him.

Malkyr’s voice drifted down from above. “Baraz, get your butt below deck and guard the prisoner!”

Ran had precious little time. He ran his hands over the walls of the cell, searching for what he needed. On the second go-around, he found pieces of splintered wood and carefully extricated them from the planks they had been part of. They were both long and thicker than they needed to be, but Ran wasn’t sure if the salt air had weakened them at all.

Ordinarily, lockpicking required metal tools to work properly. But Ran had also been shown techniques using stiffened wood with one acting as a rake and the other as a pick. If he was able to reach the lock, he could attempt it. He reached his arms through the bars, grateful they were set wider apart than he would have expected in a formal cell, and let them dangle down toward the lock itself.

Ran let his hands feel their way over the lock. He couldn’t see it, of course, but he could picture it in his mind. Then he reversed the pieces of wood and inserted them one at a time into the lock. The simple padlock hung on a bolt that Ran could have easily kicked through if he’d needed to. But that would create a lot of noise, something he didn’t want.

Footsteps echoed overhead. Ran forced himself not to rush. He worked the pick and rake into the padlock and felt the slivers of wood trip the pins. There were only three, and Ran quickly worked them into the correct position. Then he took the wooden pieces out and, using his free hand, pulled down on the lock.

It popped open with a thunk that Ran prayed hadn’t echoed across the expanse of the ship. Then he slid the lock off the bolt and opened the door.

“Hey—”

Baraz. Ran didn’t even pause. He stepped out of the cell and drove his front foot into the guard’s groin, doubling him over. As his head came down, Ran’s knee came up and crushed his nose. Ran kept moving and with his right hand cupped the guard’s chin and yanked it around, snapping his neck. Baraz dropped to the ground. Ran dragged him into the cell, closed the door, and relocked the padlock. Let Malkyr wonder how he could have escaped a locked cell.

Ran smirked. Once again, the legend of the night stalkers might give him a psychological edge. If Ran could escape from a locked cell and take out a guard, did he do so using magic? The truth was he could not, but planting such a thought in the minds of his enemies could work to his advantage. And Ran was going to need every edge as he made his escape.

He crept across the deck, hearing footsteps above him. He headed toward the stern, back where he knew the captain’s quarters would be located. He paused outside of the door and then pressed down on the handle, hoping it would not squeak when he entered. Inside, the small room showed a bed and a simple desk. A secondary door sat off to the port side. Ran opened it.

A toilet—little more than a seat over a large hole leading right out to the sea—greeted him. Ran frowned. He’d expected to find a closet or armory with weapons. He was still unarmed and didn’t like his odds for confronting the other sailors aboard the ship.

His ears caught a sound. Ran turned. Someone was coming down the ladder.

Malkyr?

It had to be. Malkyr wasn’t the patient type, and he would want an answer from Ran about his offer. When he found the cell empty, the ship would erupt into chaos, and they would search everywhere for him.

Ran felt his heartbeat quicken. He had no way out of the cabin. There wasn’t a secondary ladder leading above decks.

“He’s gone!”

Malkyr’s voice reached his ears and Ran knew he had precious seconds to act. They would tear the ship apart looking for him.

Ran grimaced.

No choice.

He stepped into the toilet, closed the door behind him, and looked at the hole. It was barely wide enough, but fortunately the toilet looked to have been custom-made to accommodate a captain with a larger than normal backside. Ran jerked the seat up and looked at the hole. It didn’t smell as bad as he thought it would, and he could see straight down into the water. Maybe ten feet. He heard footsteps running all over the decks now.

Ran positioned himself on the edge of the hole, aware of the filth caking its sides, took a deep breath, and then lowered himself down the short tunnel, carefully closing the seat over him as he did so.

As soon as he let go of the sides of the seat, he dropped. Ran tried to slow his descent, but the muck on the sides acted like a lubricant and shot him down the shaft and into the cold sea below.

Ran blew out as soon as he entered the water, trying his best not to make a large splash. He cracked his eyes and then kicked his legs, driving himself into deeper water. No doubt the sailors above on the raider ship had heard the splash and would be searching the depths.

As he swam away, several arrows zipped past him in the water. But they soon stopped. They wouldn’t waste arrows unless they had a clear target.

Ran kept kicking and swimming away from the raider ship. He wanted to get closer to the transport vessels and use their massive bodies as cover. His lungs felt like they were going to burst, and Ran had barely cleared the first vessel when he needed to surface and steal a breath. As his head came out of the water, he could hear the chaos on the docks. Footsteps pounded across the piers and decks of various ships as Malkyr’s men searched for Ran.

He allowed himself a quick grin, then stole another breath before submerging once again and heading for the last transport vessel. As he kicked, he heard splashes and then saw floating lanterns above him casting their light into the depths of the harbor waters. Overhead, Ran could see the roof of the cavern. He tried to stay deep enough that the lanterns would not illuminate him as he swam.

The bottom of the harbor was remarkably clean and sandy. Ran spotted a few fish, and fortunately he did not see any of the ravenous sharks that had marauded them at the reefs. Still, the sooner he got out of the water, the better. Malkyr would know there was only one possible way he could have escaped the vessel, and that was through the toilet.

Ran swam harder, aware that his lungs were straining again. He waited until one of the lanterns passed overhead and then surfaced when he thought the eyes of sailors would be on the lit area rather than the one the lantern had just passed over. He snatched a quick breath and dove down again. He pulled for all he was worth and swam beneath the keels of two more transport vessels. He estimated the depth of the harbor was roughly twenty feet.

A few more fish swam past him, but Ran paid them no mind. Beyond the last transport vessel was an outcropping of rocks that he hoped to use as a shield in order to gather his strength back after the exhausting swim.

Another lantern passed between the transport ships. Ran had to wonder if putting a lit candle so close to a wooden hull was a smart move. But Malkyr would be desperate, and rational thought was always the first casualty of hurried thinking. Ran kept swimming and passed by the last transport vessel. He had a hundred yards of open water to cross before he reached the rocky outcropping.

Just as he thought he might not make it, he pulled even harder and managed to surface directly behind the rocks. With only his head exposed, Ran sucked air into his lungs and took a moment to restore normal rhythm to his breathing. The chaos on the docks continued, and Ran leaned his head around just enough for one eye to see. Scrambling figures were running all over the place.

There seemed to be no reason to their search pattern. That was another psychological edge that Shinobujin had exploited numerous times in the past. A careful search pattern would have taken time to organize but resulted in a more thorough search. Rushed as they were, Malkyr’s men were running here and there, scanning the water and thinking they had checked each place in turn. But in their rush to do so, they had obvious gaps. Ran had moved through those gaps and now rested away from where they were searching, somewhat secure behind the outcropping of rocks.

With his breathing back to normal, Ran scanned the immediate vicinity, trying to work out where Kancho, Jysal, and Neviah could possibly be hiding. The choices were limited to farther back in the tunnel or some place Ran could not see. Years of training had taught Ran to always watch for possible hiding spots as a matter of habit, so that at a moment’s notice he could slip into one of them. But even he had to admit there were very few places three people could hide effectively from a thorough search.

The most likely answer was that they had retreated farther back into the tunnel. Perhaps they had managed to locate a branch in the tunnel. Ran frowned. They hadn’t seen any branches on their way down. Although once Jysal had noticed the light, their awareness had been fixed on that. Even Ran had focused only on the light and not what else the tunnel might have held. He closed his eyes and took several deep cleansing breaths to focus his mind. He recalled the image of the tunnel as they approached the light at the end. There were several shadows along the rough wall that would have been large enough for him to hide in. Perhaps one of them held a small crevasse leading to a side passage.

Of course, Jysal had magic at her disposal. Was it possible she knew a way to turn them all invisible? Had she rendered them immune to sight? Could it be that Malkyr’s men might be walking right past them? Malkyr knew that Jysal had magic power, but he didn’t think she could do anything with it yet. She was, in his mind, on her way to the temple to learn how to use it.

Even if they were invisible, they would still need to be absolutely quiet. And just because they couldn’t be seen didn’t mean that some of Malkyr’s men might not bump into them unexpectedly. Invisibility was no guarantee of safety, Ran decided. Better to try to make an escape or at least move back to a better defensive position.

But where?

While they were at the tunnel entrance, they held the higher ground. Kancho could have held off a frontal attack for some time and Neviah would have spelled him. But what would that gain them? Malkyr would simply throw more men at them until they were exhausted and easy to overwhelm.

And Ran would have heard the noise of battle. Kancho and Neviah were ferocious fighters. They would kill many of Malkyr’s men before succumbing to the assault. No, he decided, they had to be elsewhere.

Something told him to duck back behind the rocks. As he did so, a brilliant burst of light flashed over the rocks he’d been bobbing next to in the water. Ran shrank back into the shadows of the nook he was in and waited. The light stayed on the area for another thirty seconds before moving off. Malkyr must have had some sort of huge candle and a reflector that could throw light into other areas.

Wonderful
, he thought.
So much for being invisible in the shadows
. Ran would need to figure out a way out of the water and out of the harbor. He knew he could always swim out of the tunnel and head for open sea, but that meant leaving his friends behind. And the sea was no safer than his current predicament.

Malkyr would most likely assume he would make for the open ocean anyway. Ran would go where he was least expected—he would stay in the harbor and wait for his friends to arrive.

The water surrounding him chilled his bones, and Ran tried a rapid series of breaths to flush himself and generate some warmth. It helped momentarily, but then he heard several heavy splashes, and his heart started beating even faster. Something was wrong.

Ran sank into the water until just his eyes were out of it. Then he moved to the edge of the rocks and peered around back at the harbor itself. Sailors still ran around the docks, peering into the water. But they had added a new variable to the search. As Ran scanned the water, he could make them out easily moving against the current.

Malkyr had put swimmers into the water.

And two were headed directly for him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

They hadn’t seen Ran yet, but judging by the direction they were swimming, they were coming to check out the outcropping. Ran had seconds before they reached the area, and he had a decision to make. If Malkyr was smart, he would have dispatched these men and then had one wait outside the location while the other went to check it out. If Ran tried to subdue one, the other could raise the alarm.

But as they approached, Ran could see they were both coming into the area. Even better, they appeared to be uncomfortable in the water. Their stroke technique was awkward and clumsy and produced more splashes than movement. Ran nodded to himself. He could work with that.

As they approached, he took a deep breath and dove deep. Once he hit the bottom, he kicked off and darted under the two men. Ran kicked over to the closest transport vessel and waited near the keel for the two men to scour his previous hiding spot and declare it free of nightstalkers.

It took them barely three minutes to do so, during which Ran surfaced exactly once to snatch a quick breath before descending again by the keel of the transport. It was too bad, he thought, that the transport ships didn’t have an entrance under their keel that would grant him access. He could have hung out there while trying to formulate a plan to reconnect with Kancho and the others.

Eventually, the two swimmers exited the outcropping and floundered their way back to the dock, where two more men hauled them from the water. Ran surfaced and watched. As they stood there shivering, Malkyr stormed up and demanded to know if they’d found anything.

“There was nothing, my lord.”

Malkyr backhanded the first man. “You are fools. How can one man disappear like that? He’s not a wizard. He must be here somewhere.”

The second man cleared his throat. “Perhaps, my lord, he swam out of the harbor and made it to open sea?”

Malkyr stopped and ran a hand over his jaw. “Perhaps. It would be a difficult swim, though. And the danger from sharks is great.”

“They may have already devoured him, sir.”

Malkyr nodded once. “It’s worth investigating. You two get some warm clothes on and then take a skiff out of the harbor. See if you can find any signs that he passed that way. Better yet, see if you can find any sign that the sharks took him.”

The two men rushed away, and Ran allowed himself to float in the gentle swells. The rest of the docks seemed to be quieting down now that Malkyr had assumed Ran was gone. But sailors still rushed around putting supplies on the transport vessels. Ran wondered when the army from the north might be due to arrive, but he guessed they were still some time away. The supplies being loaded were all dry goods and nonperishables. That meant the army was likely not due to arrive for a while yet.

Ran hoped that was the case, anyway.

Eventually, he heard a bell ring somewhere farther away from the docks. The sailors all stopped working and filed off through a tunnel leading away from the docks. Ran pulled himself out of the water, aware of how chilled he was. He squatted in the shadows of the remaining crates and used deep breathing techniques to rapidly flush heat into his body. The practice of doing so was an ancient one. The training for doing so consisted of sitting naked in a snow drift while cloth that had been soaked in icy water was draped over you. You then had to meditate and through deep breathing be able to generate enough heat to dry the cloth.

It had been so cold when Ran had undergone the training that he made a vow to himself that he would get it done the first time so he didn’t have to suffer through it again.

He’d been the only one in his class to get it right the first time.

Now, as he dried himself, Ran felt his thundering heart inside of his chest and smiled. If Malkyr truly believed he was gone, that afforded Ran more opportunities. The first thing he had to do was get back to the tunnel and see if Kancho and the others were still there somewhere. So, after drying off, Ran stole out from the concealment of the crates and headed up the slope toward the tunnel entrance.

The torch still burned brightly. Ran was surprised there were no guards at the entrance, but then again, they were probably part of a search party following the tunnel back to the now-blocked entrance where they had entered. As Ran re-entered the tunnel, the first thing he saw was a small pile of stones that had been arranged in a peculiar way. Ran recognized it immediately as a Murai signpost meant to direct other Murai. Kancho had left it off to one side, and Ran read the direction as heading east, so he backtracked down the tunnel until he felt a shift in the air.

A branch? Ran let his hands trace their way over the rocks of a shadow recess and found the opening. It was barely large enough to squeeze through, but once he did, Ran was able to stand up and continue on. Twenty steps ahead, the new tunnel sloped downward and meandered left and right before widening out into a new cavern. Ran saw the faint blue light and smiled.

Ran came to an abrupt stop as bare steel hovered inches from his face.

“So this is where you all went.”

Kancho’s face popped out of the dim light as he lowered his sword. “He’s back!”

Ran smiled. They had each whispered, but even so their voices sounded loud in the confines of the cave.

Kancho rushed over. “We thought you were dead. When we saw Malkyr emerging from the ship, we knew he must have done something to you. But then we saw you escape the boat and vanish completely.”

Ran frowned. “You saw my escape?”

“We saw you drop off the back of the ship.”

“I escaped by sliding down a privy shaft.”

Neviah approached him and gave a sniff. “You don’t smell any worse for having been down the shaft of a toilet. I’m surprised.”

“Try spending a few hours in the sea after doing that, and you’ll be surprised how clean you can feel.”

“That must have been fairly awful,” said Neviah.

“It was either that or stand there and wait for Malkyr to come for me.”

“You could have killed him,” said Kancho. “Surely that wouldn’t have presented you with a problem.”

“It wouldn’t have been a problem,” said Ran. “But I had good reasons for not doing that. At least, not yet.”

“What reasons?” asked Jysal.

Ran eyed Kancho. “I heard two men talking about a hostage. They referred to her as the daughter of a Murai.”

Kancho balled up his fists. “So they have her?”

Ran shook his head. “I do not know where they may have her. I came across Malkyr shortly afterward, and that’s when he betrayed me.”

“He’s betrayed us all,” said Neviah. “And he will surely pay for that with his life.”

“I won’t argue with you on that,” said Ran. “But the priority has to be finding Kancho’s daughter. The problem is, we do not have a lot of time. Kan-Gul is set to arrive tonight, and he intends to take Jysal with him. Malkyr deliberately wrecked the
Aqaria
so he could sell Jysal to him.”

The look on Neviah’s face reminded Ran of death. He had no doubt that she would find a way to kill Malkyr regardless of how many Chekhal stood in front of her. The thought that Jysal had been targeted like that no doubt made her blood boil.

Kancho wanted to leave immediately. “We must find her and then get out of here. I don’t care about Kan-Gul. I just want to get my daughter back to the safety of her home. She is the only family I have left. My wife died three winters ago, and Yuki is my world.”

“We have two priorities,” said Ran. “Finding Kancho’s daughter and then finding a way to get out of here.”

“What about killing Malkyr and Kan-Gul?” asked Neviah.

Ran shook his head. “As much as I understand wanting to do both, the priorities are what I just mentioned. Killing those two is a luxury. And you still have to get Jysal to the temple.”

Neviah frowned. “I dislike the idea that Malkyr will live to see more sunrises.”

“And I hate the thought of Kan-Gul being able to cast more magic,” said Ran. “But we need to get out of here. Only then can we reassess the situation. If it warrants coming back and killing them both, then we certainly will. But only after Kancho and his daughter are headed home to warn Nehon of the invasion, and Jysal is safely tucked away in the temple. I’m assuming that place would be pretty much unassailable?”

Jysal nodded. “The mages would never allow any invader to get close to it.”

“If they could even see it,” said Neviah. “The temple is cloaked in many spells, and only those who know how to find it will ever be able to see it. An invading army from the north would have no chance and would most likely wander right past it.”

“Good,” said Ran. “So, let’s split up then.” He looked at Kancho. “You and I will go after your daughter.” He eyed Neviah. “Can you and Jysal take Malkyr’s boat down without too much trouble?”

Jysal smirked. “Only if Neviah lets me use some magic.”

Neviah shook her head. “There’s no need to use magic, Jysal. We can do it with cunning and force if need be. I don’t want you casting spells. It’s simply too dangerous.”

Jysal sighed. “Fine.”

Ran pointed. “Have you scouted ahead farther to see where this new tunnel leads?”

Kancho nodded. “It leads to the main ventilation shaft of a very large galley. Luckily, it’s not in use, but we were able to steal some hardtack.” He reached into his tunic and brought out a piece. “Would you like some?”

Ran took it and bit into it, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could. It was only some very dry stale biscuits, but he was ravenous. When he was done, Kancho offered him some water, and Ran drank deep. “Thanks.”

“Thank you,” said Kancho. “You’ve given me real hope that my daughter might be able to be saved.”

“We don’t have her yet,” said Ran. “And we need to find her first.”

Neviah took a breath. “How long should we wait after you leave before heading down to the boat? And how soon do you want it ready for sailing?”

“Malkyr said he could get the boat ready in quick time, that he would only need a few bodies for the oars. Each of us can take an oar if one grabs the tiller. So concentrate on getting the ropes undone from the docks and making sure the oars are fit into their locks. I’m sure you’ll hear some commotion once we find Kancho’s daughter. That will be your cue to start casting off.”

“We are likely to be running very hard when we grab my girl,” said Kancho. “Make sure you have the gangway ready to drop so others can’t scramble aboard once we do.”

Neviah nodded. “We’ll be ready. Just go and find her quickly. The thought of Kan-Gul coming here is already making my skin crawl. I want to be far away by the time he arrives.”

Ran nodded to Kancho. “Let’s go. You lead the way as far up as you can. If they’ve got a galley down there, odds are good they must also have some sort of holding cell. My bet is we will find your daughter there.”

“I agree it seems to be the most likely place for her to be held.” He glanced at Neviah and Jysal. “Good luck to you both. I hope to see you again very soon.”

Jysal smiled and then winked at Ran. Ran turned and followed after Kancho. The older warrior led them down a twisting path of dirt and loose stones that skittered and plopped away, bouncing against the walls. As quiet as Ran was able to be, Kancho simply could not help himself and continued to make noise.

Finally, Ran laid a hand on his shoulder. “Let me go first.”

“Why?”

Ran smiled. “Because I’m quieter than you. And if they hear us coming, we will have no chance of getting your daughter back safely. They will simply kill her or use her to get us to surrender. Neither one of those options is acceptable to me.”

“Nor I,” said Kancho. “But it’ll be fine until we get to the ventilation shaft. It’s just a crack in the ceiling, but the hoods for the stoves are but a short drop.”

Ran nodded, and they moved off again. As they rounded another turn in the tunnel, Ran spotted a lot more light up ahead. It came from a long crack in the floor.

This is where it would get tricky, he decided. Up until this point, Ran had maintained the element of surprise. But they were about to go deep into enemy territory, and there was no telling what they might find.

Ran knew Kancho’s daughter was still alive, but he had no idea what condition she might be in. Had they beaten her? Raped her? Ran hoped they had not done anything to her. If they had, then Kancho’s rage would be severe, and all hope of a stealthy recovery would be gone. Kancho would most likely go insane with fury and kill anyone in the nearby area. The entire dock would be alive with enemies, and the girls would have to abandon them to Malkyr’s men if they had any hope of escape.

No, decided Ran, it would not be a good thing if Malkyr had done anything to Kancho’s daughter. Ran almost felt sorry for Malkyr. If he had roughed up Kancho’s daughter, Kancho would not stop until the birds were pecking at the remnants of Malkyr’s corpse.

Ran eased himself down in the shaft and onto the hood above a large stove. There were no torches or lanterns in the galley—all the light came through window squares cut into the double swinging doors of the galley. Ran eased himself to the floor and silently crept to the doors.

He drew in deep breaths to feed his body plenty of air as he lowered his jaw to allow himself a greater range of hearing.

He heard the muffled sound of many voices and the occasional loud clatter of dishes. The noises were quiet enough that Ran knew they weren’t directly on the other side of the door, but rather off to his left.

Ran slowly leaned his head just far enough for one eye to see.

Directly across from him was a set of double doors much like the ones for the galley, but no light came from the squares cut into the doors. It was probably the main mess hall for expected army.

To his left there was a single door on the other side of the hall, and all the noise came from there. It was probably intended to be the officer’s mess once the army arrived, but the sailors and raiders had availed themselves of the better digs in the meantime.

And between Ran and the officer’s mess hall stood a huge man armed with a battle axe.

The guard was enormous. His muscles looked at least three times the size of Ran’s, and the guard had almost no neck sitting atop his shoulders.