James Barclay - Beyond the Mists of Katura

Takaar, exhausted but drunk on his success, leaned forward and placed a finger on Stein’s chest, tapping it gently as he spoke.

‘Remove water from any of us, a ship, an elf. . or a human, and all that remains is dust,’ he said.

The bell at the helm rang and Esteren’s voice rang out.

‘Ready to bring us about, heading north by north-west,’ he ordered. ‘Stand by. Selas, get up to the forward nest. I don’t want to collide with any wreckage. Bosun, you are not in position. Let’s come around, wait for our passengers and head on. Tell Takaar he is not to employ that casting on any of my timbers, under any circumstances, or he’ll feel my boot in his arse.’

Esteren’s chuckle was as loud as his voice.

‘Good work, everyone. Now let’s get north.’

It was full night and calm had returned to the diminished elven fleet. Only topsails, jibs and spankers were running to keep speed low and manoeuvrability high for the skeleton crews during the hours of darkness. The first mate of the Soul of Yniss doubled as the helm. The crow’s nests were empty.

Services had already been held for the lost, and as they drifted across the waves, dirges and prayers for those to be committed to the sea and Shorth’s embrace would continue until first light. Combined with the creaking of ships’ timbers, the rush of the sea, the ripple of sailcloth and the lonely call of stray gulls, the elven voices lent a surreal quality to the darkness.

In the captain’s cabin of the Soul of Yniss , on a rug woven in a likeness of the stone apron of the temple at Aryndeneth, sat Auum, Ulysan, Esteren, Takaar, Drech and Stein. They had been served a herb and boar broth and now had plates of fruit, sweet leaves and steaming broad-based mugs of earthy root tea before them.

They had barely spoken a word, choosing to listen to the songs and chants, occasionally joining in or mouthing silent prayers of their own.

‘We should get to it,’ said Esteren. ‘I don’t know about you, but I require sleep before dawn.’

‘We’ll try not to keep you,’ said Auum, a glint in his eye. ‘So, Ulysan, let’s go through the numbers, depressing as they are.’

Ulysan swallowed the remains of his drink and reached for the jug, talking while he poured and set the jug back down.

‘We lost a single TaiGethen, Gyaam’s Blessing lost four, Spirit of Tual lost two. None of us lost a single crew hand or Il-Aryn adept. That’s the good news. Obviously we lost Capricious . Thirty-seven crew lost including the captain. Eight TaiGethen lost. All the Senserii survived. Twenty-eight Il-Aryn lost.’

Drech hissed in a breath.

‘And the wounded?’ asked Auum.

‘Mainly minor injuries, not a great deal to worry about. The majority were caused by the sinking of Capricious . They range from cuts and bruises to severe sprains, breaks, and we have two nasty sword injuries. The surgeons aren’t going to lose anyone and Stein says he can speed healing along.’

Auum inclined his head to Stein, who shrugged.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Auum. ‘Esteren, Drech, Takaar. We have all lost valued friends and comrades. To lose a ship and so many of those on board is a bitter pill, but we have kept an invasion force from our shores.’

‘We all knew what we were getting into,’ said Esteren. ‘But thank you nonetheless.’

‘A full list of names of the fallen will remain in the captain’s cabin,’ said Ulysan.

‘Why did so many Il-Aryn die but so few TaiGethen from the same vessel?’ asked Takaar, his face grey with exhaustion and knowledge of the losses he had suffered.

‘And no Senserii,’ said Auum sharply. ‘You know the answer. Please do not try to cause a conflict where none exists.’

Takaar’s face closed still further.

‘Could have saved more. Should have saved more,’ he muttered.

‘Perhaps it’s time you got some rest,’ said Auum.

‘Don’t patronise me,’ snapped Takaar. ‘You want me out of the way so you can plot, is that it?’

Auum felt the aches of the day’s exertions more keenly all of a sudden. He kneaded the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger and tried to remain calm.

‘Gently,’ whispered Ulysan.

Auum nodded. ‘It’s just that you look exhausted, as I feel. After what you did today you have every reason to be asleep already. There’s nothing to plot, Takaar. We just need to go over our next moves. We don’t need to be sidetracked by pointless debate about who saved whom and who didn’t and why. It’s done. Accept that everyone did everything they could.’

Stein cleared his throat noisily.

‘It isn’t pointless to the dead.’

‘It is especially pointless to them,’ said Esteren. ‘Please, Takaar, let this rest.’

Takaar waved his hands in a shooing gesture. ‘Yes, yes, brush it under the rug. Never mind the dead. Never mind if they could have been saved. Never mind who chose to live, letting others die.’

Auum sprang across the rug and pulled Takaar’s face to his, hands on the mad elf’s head.

‘Then let’s lay it out for you so you can grasp it, shall we? Because everyone but you has worked it out.’ Auum’s eyes bored into Takaar’s, who held his gaze unflinching. ‘Your ship was sunk because the barrier came down. The shamen worked out the weak point was the mana threading and concentrated all their efforts there. When Stein told you this, you chose to attack him rather than warn Drech to fortify the threading. The shamen targeted your Il-Aryn the moment the barrier was down because they were easy targets, on their knees, disoriented and tired.

‘My people got as many as they could over the side, but it was too late for the rest. And your twelve Senserii rescued one elf between them: you. Perhaps you’d have done better casting your clever new trick then, rather than saving your own skin.’

Auum moved back to his place in complete silence, righting a bowl he’d knocked onto its side on his way to Takaar. He sat and drank the remainder of his infusion.

Ulysan whispered in his ear, ‘Gentle, just as I advised. Well done.’

Auum suppressed a smile and looked at Takaar, who appeared stunned. He was muttering under his breath, deep in conversation with his tormentor.

‘We do have some good news as regards our landing capacity,’ said Esteren carefully.

Auum nodded his gratitude. ‘The boats we captured were worth the effort, I take it?’

Takaar lurched to his feet.

‘I think perhaps I will take my leave,’ he said. ‘I find my exertions have sapped my strength more than I thought. A shame the fact that I have saved the expedition a full day has gone unmarked, but these are the wounds true genius must often bear.’

Takaar shambled out. Esteren followed him, bade him restful sleep and shut the door behind him.

‘Anyone who laughs is going over the side,’ he said.

‘What was the point of that, Auum?’ demanded Drech. ‘He’s fragile enough as it is.’

‘Not fragile enough that he won’t bolster his own sense of injustice,’ said Auum. ‘No one calls the actions of the TaiGethen into question.’

‘It’s a dangerous time for him,’ said Drech.

‘When isn’t it? Remember what I said: he’s your problem, so keep him in check. Look at the power he wields. What happens if he decides to turn it on us? Stein was lucky he was physically attacked rather than turned into so much dust.’ Auum shook his head and turned back to Esteren. ‘When do we make landfall?’