Brian Keene - Deluge - The Conqueror Worms II

Novak nodded slowly, but didn’t speak. His eyes remained fix on the churning ocean. His expression went slack. Sarah recognized the signs. She’d seen them before, during the siege in Baltimore. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she felt the familiar stirrings. Unable to help herself, Sarah turned toward the sea. The feminine voice and melody were beautiful. She didn’t understand the words, but she felt them deep down inside. The song was calming and hypnotic. As she listened, Sarah forgot all about Kevin and Teddy and Carl. Her grief was washed away in the rain. She tried to fight it, but the melody was too strong. From the corner of her eye, she saw Novak shuffling toward the rail, arms outstretched, as if greeting the new arrivals. Sarah tried to resist, but the song overwhelmed her, promising an end to sadness and exhaustion.

“Simon,” Sarah grunted. “You… have to… get us both… inside.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Novak said. “Listen. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”

Simon swept forward, rushing to the rail. The ship tilted and he almost went over the side. Clinging to the rail, he chanted in a strong, loud voice, overpowering the siren song.

“CLEOTE! Innammanna vishnatu. Ia, Cthonical. Ia, Pshtari.”

The song continued, growing louder. Novak stopped at the rail next to Simon. Sarah approached from behind. Even as she saw Novak turn to look at the Black Lodge operative, she had the sudden, uncontrollable urge to push Simon into the water. She raised her hands and crept toward him.

“Ut nemo in sense tenant,” Simon yelled. “Descendere nemo. At precedenti spectator mantica tergo.”

As one, the sirens fell silent. Then they began to shriek as they slipped back beneath the waves. Sarah jerked as the spell was broken. Spasms jolted through her arms and legs. She saw that Novak was jittering, too.

“Inside,” Simon said, turning to them. “Hurry! I wasn’t able to banish them. The spell only bound them temporarily. They’ll be back with reinforcements.”

“What kind of reinforcements?” Sarah asked. “The worms?”

“No. That’s the one thing we won’t have to deal with any longer.”

“Then what?”

“Everything. Every denizen of the Great Deep. Every spawn of Leviathan. The sirens. The shark-men and starfish-men. The giant crabs. The flying piranha-like fish. And a host of others. Every terror we’ve been exposed to since the rain started is now descending on our location. Not to mention Leviathan himself is coming, and the hull of our vessel is weakened by the White Fuzz growing on it.”

“Sounds like one hell of a party,” Novak muttered.

They lurched into the bridge. Panting, Novak stumbled over to the intercom and grabbed the microphone. He took a deep breath and then keyed the microphone. When he spoke, his voice was stern and powerful, barking commands with authority.

“This is not a drill. This is not a drill. General quarters. General quarters. All hands arm yourselves and muster in the bridge on the double! I repeat, this is not a drill.”

He hung the microphone back up and his shoulders sagged. Obviously exhausted, he turned to Sarah and Simon, and grinned.

“So, what now?”

“We are directly over LeHorn’s Hollow,” Simon said. “Keep us anchored here.”

“But won’t that make it easier for them to attack us?” Novak asked.

Simon nodded. “Yes. It will. But I have to open the door into the Labyrinth. I’ll be focusing all of my concentration on that task.”

“What about us?” Sarah asked. “What do we do while you’re opening the door?”

“You fight. You defend us. You hold them off long enough for me to do it.”

“But that’s impossible!”

“You’d better hope not,” Simon said, lowering his voice. “For all of our sakes. This is the final battle.”

CHAPTER 86

Katerina, Mylon, Henry, and Gail rushed onto the bridge. Water dripped from their clothes, pooling on the floor. Each of them was armed with more than one weapon. Caterina had a knife from the galley and a broken broom handle that she’d turned into a makeshift spear. Mylon carried a shotgun, and had a pistol and a knife holstered at his waist. Henry clutched a rifle, and had a small hatchet dangling from his belt loop. Gail was armed with a spear gun, and wore a backpack slung over her shoulders.

“What’s in the bag?” Novak asked.

She smiled. “Roach killer. We’re all out of napalm.”

Novak returned the grin. Sarah watched the silent interplay between the two, glad that the disagreement from earlier had apparently been put aside. She turned her gaze to Henry, caught his eye, and winked. After a moment, he winked back at her.

“We okay?” Sarah whispered.

Henry shrugged and then nodded.

Simon and Novak quickly brought the others up to speed, informing them of the situation and what to expect. Before they’d even finished, the hull thrummed as the ship lurched sharply to port, knocking them all off balance.

“It’s starting,” Novak said. “Simon, how long will it take you to open the doorway?”

“Provided all goes according to plan, approximately ten minutes. You’ll have to keep them off me. If I’m interrupted, the spell will be ineffective.”

Sarah grabbed a damp, musty roll of paper towels from atop the navigation equipment. She tore off sheets and handed them out to the group.

“Stuff your ears,” she told them. “It’s the only way to protect against the sirens.”

She held one out to Mylon, but he stared over her shoulder, his eyes wide and alarmed. Slowly, he raised his hand and pointed.

“That might protect against the sirens,” Mylon said, his voice trembling. “But what’s gonna protect us against them ?”

Sarah turned. Through the window, a dozen shark-men and starfish-men were climbing over the rail. A sudden swell caused the bow to rise, spilling two of them back into the water, but the others clambered onto the slippery deck and plodded forward.

“Okay,” Novak said, his voice low and hoarse. “Lets go, people.”

He snatched his rifle from the corner, opened the hatch, and charged outside. Gail charged after him, followed by Caterina and Mylon. As he ran through the door, Mylon repeated a litany of “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” Henry and Sarah glanced at each other.

“We’ll be okay,” she said.

Nodding, Henry thumbed the safety off on his rifle and ran after the others. Sarah followed behind him. Rain pelted her face, and the wind whipped her hair. As she closed the hatch, she glanced back at Simon.

“Good luck.”

“And to you, as well, Sarah. I’ll see you on the other side.”

Out on the deck, the others started screaming. Thunder exploded overhead, drowning them out.

CHAPTER 87

The ship rolled violently as Sarah raced out onto the slippery deck. Losing her balance, she slid, shrieking, toward the rail, but managed to steady herself before falling overboard. The falling rain and ocean spray stung her eyes, blurring her vision. Blinking water from her eyes, she turned, trying to make sense of the chaotic battle unfolding around her. The paper towels stuffed in her ears made everything seem muffled.

Caterina faced off against one of the half-man, half-shark creatures. The beast loomed over her, standing easily ten feet high. It swung at her with one massive fist, but the lithe woman managed to dodge the blow and dart underneath it, jabbing the creature’s white, slab-like belly with her spear. Sarah was dismayed to see that the broken broom handle barely scratched the monster’s hide. Roaring, the shark man swung at her again. Caterina dodged a second time, thrusting her weapon at the prominent dorsal fin on its back. The thing spun, lashing out with its tail, and knocked Caterina off her feet. She landed hard, losing her grip on both the broom handle and the knife. Blood dribbled from her nose, turning the wet deck pink. Laughing, the shark man placed one foot on her chest and lowered its head. Foam dripped from its slavering jaws, splattering Caterina’s face. The girl thrashed beneath its weight, kicking and punching to no avail.