The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul (19 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As the raider swung about and headed back to the channel, Ran made his move.

He came out from under the tarp and reached for the rope that held the skiff to the stern of the raider ship. It was going to be risky for the first few minutes, but he gripped the rope and immediately started pulling the skiff toward the larger ship. Waves buffeted him and salt water lashed at his face as he hauled the skiff closer to the raider.

Ran kept pulling until the skiff was a few feet from the stern. Then he used his upper-body strength to haul himself off the boat. As soon as he cleared the skiff, he switched so that his feet took most of the weight. He wrapped the length of rope around the outside of one leg, passed it between his feet, and then wedged his feet together to create something of a stop-check. He would bend his knees and bring them up a certain length, then lift himself up as his feet tensed back together. The friction his feet created—even with the sea water making things a bit more slippery—was enough to propel him upward.

At the top of the climb, he could see over the back of the boat into the stern, where the bearded man held the tiller. His back was to Ran. Ran checked his position, then used his hands to bring himself up and over and onto the stern deck with hardly a sound. He crept up behind the bearded man and grabbed him from behind with the tip of his sword poking into the man’s lower back.

“Carefully . . . very carefully now. Don’t do anything stupid or you’ll have a sword stuck through you for your troubles.”

The bearded man raised his hands. “I won’t do anything.”

Ran cranked the arm he had around the man’s neck and used his left foot to buckle the bearded man’s left leg at the knee. “Just take it easy. Call your men and tell them to all stand at the bow. Do it now.” Ran kept his voice level but firm. The sword at his back was motivation enough for the bearded man, and Ran doubted he would make a move while his life clearly hung in the balance like this.

The bearded man gave the order, and his confused crew did as they were told. The three men stood at the very point of the bow, waiting. When they saw Ran dripping from head to toe, the looks on their faces betrayed their surprise.

Good,
thought Ran. T
hey ought to be surprised
.

“Kancho!” He hoped his voice was strong enough to penetrate whatever hiding spots the others had managed to find below decks. Ran waited several seconds before repeating Kancho’s name. “It’s Ran. Come out.”

“Ran? Your name is Ran?” asked the bearded man. “Such a strange name.”

“In my homeland it means ‘storm.’ Pray you never find out why they called me that.”

Kancho poked his head out from belowdecks. The bearded man grumbled, “I thought I told those fools to search this boat.”

“Apparently they didn’t do a very good job,” said Ran. “But I wouldn’t be so quick to blame them. They probably heard you talking about how we’d supposedly swum out into the open sea and decided they didn’t need to be thorough.”

“This isn’t my fault.”

“We’ll see,” said Ran. “Malkyr may not feel as you do.”

Kancho came up to the stern and grinned at Ran. “Glad to see you. We thought you might have gotten left behind or something.”

“Luckily, no,” said Ran. “But it was a little nerve-wracking there for a while.”

Kancho drew his sword and leveled it at the bearded man. “What is your name?”

The bearded man spat at him. “Does it matter? You’ll kill me anyway.”

Kancho smirked. “I will kill you, but only if you give me reason to.” He nodded at Ran. “I can keep him for you if you’d like.”

Ran shoved the bearded man toward the stern of the boat. “Stay put while I get the others. This man is even better with a sword than I am. You’d do well to remember that.”

Ran hurried below and soon had Neviah, Jysal, and Yuki up on deck. “We’re going to make a run for Nehon.”

Kancho called down from where he stood guarding the bearded man. “How about we use the crew to row?”

But Ran didn’t want to do that. Keeping the enemy on board the ship would prove too tempting for them, and they’d be thinking about taking control back instead of focusing on the task at hand. “No, they can jump overboard.”

The bearded man paled. “These waters are filled with sharks. They’ll tear us apart before we reach shore.”

Ran shook his head. “Then I suggest you swim faster. We’re giving you the skiff tied up behind us. Get into that boat and stay there. Once we’re away from the coast, we’ll set you free. Understand?”

The bearded man frowned but nodded. “Very well.”

“Tell your men that if they try anything funny—like untying the skiff before we reach open water—our mage here will turn you all into shark food by destroying the boat.”

The bearded man passed the word to his crew. Ran had them line up at the stern and then jump into the water. The four of them splashed into the churning sea and swam for the skiff as quickly as they could. A triangular fin jutted out of the surf and closed in on one of the men, but at the last second he was yanked into the skiff just inches shy of being bitten by the ten-foot shark.

“Close,” said Ran.

Kancho frowned. “I think we should have used them to help us row.”

“We don’t need them,” said Neviah. “We’re able to sail from here on out. Help me with the main sheet, and rowing will be a bad memory.”

Ran eyed her. “You know your way around boats?”

Neviah shrugged. “Spare knowledge I acquired during my travels. I would never claim to be a captain, but I can get us going and on course. If things hold, we should be fine until we reach the coast of Nehon. I have no idea how to bring a ship into a busy harbor, so we may still have a swim ahead of us. But it will be a quick one.”

“Fair enough,” said Ran. “I’ll turn the ship over to you then. Just tell us what you need us to do.”

“Stay by the tiller for right now,” said Neviah. She turned to Kancho. “Come with me.”

Kancho shrugged and followed her belowdecks. Within thirty minutes they had the main sail fluffing in the strong winds. Neviah pointed at Ran. “Steer to the port side so the sail fills.”

Ran did as she commanded, and the sail instantly took a gust that filled it. The raider ship responded by cutting through the waves with speed. Ran smiled. This was more like it.

But he was worried about the dark clouds gathering over the land to their left. A storm right now was the last thing they needed. And they were losing sunlight as well.
Neviah might not know enough to be a ship’s captain, but she’d better know enough to navigate a storm,
he thought.
Otherwise, this is going to be a very short trip
.

Jysal stood at the bow, peering out to sea as the prow cut through the waves. The raider rose and fell as it carved a path through the Dark Sea. The wind tussled Jysal’s hair, and Ran found it nearly impossible to look away from her. She faced forward, deep in concentration. Kancho came up to stand alongside Ran.

“What is she doing?”

Ran shook his head. “No idea. She looks beautiful, though.”

Kancho grunted. “There is something eerily beautiful about her. Such power, too. I wonder if she knows what sort of life lies ahead of her.”

“Do any of us?” asked Ran. “Our destinies are known only to the gods. The best we can do is try to play the roles they set before us.”

“Is that why you chose to become a shadow warrior for the Nine Daggers?”

Ran smiled. This was the first time Kancho had said the words. He knew that Murai custom was to never speak the name of his clan. But Kancho had demonstrated that he cared little for Murai customs if it did not suit his own agenda. Ran admired that.

“I didn’t choose to become one of them,” said Ran. “My parents were slain in a territorial dispute between two of the warlords in my region. I came home from playing in the fields one day—I couldn’t have been much older than seven or so—and found them both dead. Slaughtered. We had no possessions, no weapons. It was a senseless act. But senseless acts are common, aren’t they?”

“Indeed.”

“The house was afire. I couldn’t do a thing to rescue my parents. The house burned with them still in it.”

“I am sorry for your loss. Their souls will have traveled on to a better life by now.”

Ran nodded. “I hope that’s true. In any event, I had nowhere to turn. I wandered by myself for two months. I begged for food from anyone who would listen. Gradually, I made my way out into the countryside and passed from temple to temple, offering to work in exchange for food. But one of the monks had a better idea and told me to go visit a temple hidden in the peaks of Gakur.”

“Various clans of Murai have searched for that place for many years,” said Kancho. “I believe they would destroy it if they ever managed to locate it.”

“The temple is guarded by magic of a sort I have never known to exist elsewhere. I doubt any warlords would ever be able to locate it. No one knows how to get there unless you are given specific directions from one who knows. As it was, I nearly died getting there.”

“But you managed to survive. Seven years old. Impressive.”

“I was nearly eight by the time I found them. Getting there was part of the test,” said Ran. “The temple elders who run the compound wanted only those who had the urge to survive no matter what. After being on my own for many months, I guess it was pretty well established that I wanted to survive. Not only that, but to prosper as well. Survival, after all, is not enough. You have to not just endure; you have to thrive.”

“Did you thrive at the school?”

“I did. The lessons were tough, and there was no slacking. The teachers made sure of that. Complacency was ruthlessly rooted out of us through hard training. The only way to exceed expectations was to constantly challenge ourselves. The teachers made sure that we developed our own sense of discipline; that we never stopped challenging ourselves. Those who grew comfortable with their rank as they progressed were also dropped from the course. The attrition rate was severe.”

“Sounds like a lot of people are wandering around Nehon with intimate knowledge of the shadow-warrior temple. I would think that a very dangerous thing.”

Ran smiled. “They’re not alive any longer.”

Kancho raised an eyebrow. “The elders at your school killed them?”

“No. They sent them away on assignments. Those who returned were allowed to resume training. Those who failed inevitably died during the course of the mission. Their complacency effectively got them killed. The lesson was clear: never believe that you are the best or immune to critique. To do so is to be a slave to your ego. And ego gets people killed.”

Kancho smiled. “There are many similarities between the Murai and Shinobujin.”

“True,” said Ran. “But members of the Nine Daggers are taught to rely upon themselves above all else. Murai are taught to depend on the structure of your code of honor and the service to your lord.”

“Some would say such a thing isn’t necessarily bad.”

“It isn’t,” said Ran. “For professional soldiers like yourself. But it’s the wrong approach for training spies.”

Kancho considered this. “Murai consider the use of espionage beneath them.”

“That doesn’t preclude many from hiring us to do their dirty work, though, does it?”

Kancho grinned. “I suppose not.”

“And your code of honor also precluded you from coming after Yuki, didn’t it?”

“Indeed it did,” said Kancho. “I guess you and I have more in common than I thought.”

“We’re two warriors tossed together in a bad situation,” said Ran. “Both of us have our own paths, but while we’re together, I’m honored to fight beside you.”

“As am I.”

Ran looked at the sky. The dark clouds were congealing into a rather terrifying sight. He could see the sheets of rain pounding the lands on the coast. And judging by the wind direction, the storm was headed right at them. “That’s not good.”

Kancho nodded. “The storm will be upon us very soon.”

“Better get Neviah. I don’t know what to do with this ship.”

Kancho rushed down to the deck to get Neviah. Ran watched him for a moment, but then Jysal’s voice rang out from the bow. She’d been unmoving for minutes.

Until now.

“Sail!”

Ran looked. Around a promontory ahead of them, he spotted the black sail of a narrow ship adorned with the head of a dragon at its prow. Another raider? Out here?

“Who is that?”

Neviah came back up on the deck and looked out across the sea. “They’re on an intercept course with us. Same as the storm.”

“Who could it be?” asked Kancho, coming up to stand with them.

But then he saw the lone figure standing at the rear of the boat a strange-looking helmsman gripping the wheel. There was something off about him. Ran peered closer and saw it.

Chekhal.

Kan-Gul had arrived.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The clouds opened up, deluging the raider ship with a torrential downpour that weighed heavy on the sails. Jysal came away from the bow and walked the length of the boat to stand next to Ran and the others. “He is using magic to control the storm.” She shook her head. “I first sensed it back on the
Aqaria
, but I doubted myself. I thought I was being silly.” Jysal sighed. “I know better now. His magic has a taint to it.”

“You can smell it?” asked Ran.

“Not smell per se,” said Jysal. “Even if we could outrun them, he would no doubt manipulate the weather to force us inland.”

“Where did he get a ship?” asked Ran. “His castle sits in the middle of a plain. I didn’t see any river leading out to the sea. Where did it even come from?”

Jysal shook her head. “Perhaps he conjured it. It’s possible.”

“Or else he has an agreement with Malkyr and the army to the north,” said Kancho. “They may have supplied him with one. It is of a different style than the transport vessels or even this raider.”

Neviah was watching the sails. “We’re not going to last out here much longer. We’ll have to make a run for it.”

“We can’t outrun him,” said Jysal. “His magic will be too strong.”

Kancho eyed Ran. “What do you think?”

Ran looked at the approaching ship. Its prow cut through the waves like a spear, and the Chekhal aboard numbered at least a dozen, perhaps many more belowdecks. Kan-Gul’s ship’s sails were blown out fully by the wind, and its path would bring it across the bow of the raider. They had the advantage of position. Ran considered reversing course, but the maneuver would take too long, and by that point Kan-Gul would be within striking distance.

A huge wave broke over the bow as the raider speared through the swell. Seawater drenched them all. Neviah frowned. “We can put in by those cliffs, but there’s no guarantee it’s going to be an easy mooring. We’ll have to jump into the sea and try to make our way to land. That’s about the only way I can see us getting out of this.”

“What if we rammed him?” asked Ran.

Neviah shrugged. “We could try it, but this ship is smaller, and any damage would likely be on our end, not Kan-Gul’s. Plus, he may have a reinforced hull that we can’t see. If that’s the case, then he’ll turn us into splinters, and we’ll be in the water anyway.”

“Those Chekhal will try to board us as soon as we make contact,” said Kancho. “They do not have any fear of the sea. And our attention will be diverted at that point, making the prospect of ramming not a good idea.”

“Agreed,” said Ran. “Jysal?”

“Yes?”

“Can you do anything to slow them down?”

Her brow furrowed, Jysal thought for a moment. “I don’t know what I can do, honestly.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Neviah. “Jysal’s power is untapped. Making her take on such a daunting challenge right now might lead to explosive consequences none of us might recover from.”

Ran frowned. “We don’t have a lot of options.”

From behind the boat, they heard several shouts. Ran turned; their prisoners had untied the skiff and were trying to escape toward Kan-Gul.

“They’re getting away,” said Jysal.

Ran held up a hand. “Not for long.” A huge wave crashed over the skiff and dumped the sailors into the water. They floundered in the swells, and then more waves broke over them. Amid the churn of whitewater, Ran caught a glimpse of the sharks. A few screams punctured the air over the thunder and lightning, but the ocean quickly claimed the men for its own.

Ran turned back around. “We’ll head for the cliffs. There’s no other way.”

Neviah nodded. “As soon as we hit the rocks, everyone needs to get off of this boat as fast as possible. We’ll need to claw our way up those cliffs if we’re to make any sort of defensive stand.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ran saw more movement behind them. When he looked, he didn’t know what to think. “Another boat.”

Neviah turned. Sure enough, she saw the ship coming out of the channel they’d left behind. With three sails, the ship was large and powerful, and it moved with a steady speed through the water, regardless of the storm’s power and current. “I’ll bet my last dagger that is Malkyr.”

Ran nodded. “So would I.”

“Two ships converging on us,” said Ran. He grinned. “So much for a fair fight.”

Kancho shifted his sword in his belt. “We’ll take as many of them with us as we can.”

“You can bet that Malkyr has a lot of men on that boat. Add that to the number of Chekhal that Kan-Gul will have at his beck and call, and we’ll be facing impossible odds.” Ran shook his head. “We might be better off taking our chances with the sharks.”

Neviah shrugged. “We don’t have any choice. Our best bet is to get to land and try to lose them there.”

“But for how long?” asked Ran. “We keep running and they keep pursuing us. Kan-Gul won’t let Jysal go free, and he won’t stop until we’re all dead. Sooner or later, he’ll manage to get us into a situation where he will win and we will lose. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my immortal soul eaten by the stuff of nightmares. That’s not my destiny.”

“Nor mine,” said Kancho. “But I fail to see what other choice we have. As Neviah has said, there is little she can do when the storm is raging like that and Kan-Gul employs magic. If we try to run, he’ll simply sink us.”

Ran frowned. There had to be a way to even the odds. He looked back to see Malkyr’s ship closing fast. Ran estimated it would be upon them within ten minutes. Meanwhile, Kan-Gul’s ship nosed ever closer, still on track to cut across their bow.

“Stay on this course,” he said quietly.

“What did you say?” asked Neviah.

“Stay the course,” said Ran. He nodded to himself. It would probably not work, but it was worth a try.

“If we stay this course, we’ll ram into Kan-Gul’s ship,” said Neviah. “I thought we decided that was a foolish move.”

“We did,” said Ran. “But that was before we noticed Malkyr on our tail.” He smiled at Neviah. “How fast can this ship turn?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. If I can gibe the sail and work the tiller hard enough, we might be able to turn within one boat length. But I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say for certain.”

“Would you at least agree this is the most maneuverable of all three ships?”

“Without a doubt. These raiders are designed to be fast and agile. If we didn’t have this storm to contend with, we could easily outrun Kan-Gul. He knows that. That’s why he’s had to resort to using magic against us.”

Ran eyed Malkyr’s transport vessel. “I’d wager that is the least maneuverable of the lot.”

Neviah nodded. “He needs a lot of room to maneuver. Once those ships get moving, they’re hard to stop.”

“Excellent.”

Kancho cocked an eyebrow. “What are you planning?”

“We’re not going to ram Kan-Gul’s boat,” said Ran. “Malkyr is.”

“You really think you can get him to commit?”

Ran nodded over his shoulder. “He’s already committed to the path. We just have to make sure that he stays on our tail and thinks we’re trying to get away from him.”

Jysal frowned. “Kan-Gul may see that trick.”

“It doesn’t matter if he does,” said Ran. “They can’t communicate with each other, and I’d bet that Malkyr is so angered at having been bested by us that he is driving hard to get his hands on us before Kan-Gul. We’ll use that desire against him. Keep us on the same path, and at the last minute we’ll turn and scoot for open ocean. If they hit, neither one of them will be in any condition to give chase.”

Neviah smiled. “I like it. It’s risky, but it could work. We’ll all need to work together, though.”

“Just tell us what you need us to do,” said Kancho.

Neviah pointed at the mast. “You’ll need to stand by on that sail. The idea is to drop all the wind out of it, throw the tiller hard, and then get the sail into the wind again to gain separation from the two other ships. If we do it correctly, it should work. But only if we don’t have any mishaps. With the weather this severe, there is no room for error.”

Kancho and Yuki headed to the mast and started readying the knots on the sheet that held the mainsail. Neviah eyed Ran.

“The idea is sound. Risky. But sound.”

“Let’s save the congratulations until after this is all over. It could still turn out to be a horrible idea.”

Neviah laughed. “I like you, Ran of Gakur. You don’t get locked into only thinking that what you suggest is the right way to do things. It takes a strong man to be able to keep his ego in check and listen to others. You’d make a fine battlefield commander.”

“Probably not,” said Ran. “My path lies elsewhere. I’d rather leave the battlefield stuff to others who are more experienced in such things than I am. People like Kancho are suited to that life.”

“Kancho is a professional soldier. He’s not a thinker.”

“He knows strategy.”

“Strategy for individual and small-unit combat,” said Neviah. “You have a better grasp of the bigger picture. Those who are able to do that are few and far between. Regardless of whether they are Murai . . . or not.”

Ran grinned. “Thank you. Now, how can I help make sure this gambit has a chance of working?”

“Stand by the tiller,” said Neviah. “I need to be up front to judge our distance better. Watch my hands. I’ll point in the direction you need to move the tiller. You’ll know how much by how far apart my hands are. Close together, small adjustment. Wide apart, big adjustment. Do you understand?”

“Perfectly.”

“Excellent. When the time comes for the full turn, I’ll raise both arms and bring them down at the moment of the turn. When I do, you move that tiller all the way over as if your life depends on it. Because it does.” She eyed Ran. “Clear?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Neviah dropped down onto the deck and headed for the bow. Ran watched her move across the ship. She might not have thought herself worthy of being a captain, but she certainly seemed capable enough to Ran.

“That leaves just the two of us,” said Jysal over the howling wind. “Not exactly the best weather to try to talk to each other in.”

“Certainly not,” said Ran. “Are you worried?”

Jysal waved him away. “Why would I be worried? There’s some creepy sorcerer who wants to make me his wife and do godawful things to me and force me to live in his terrible castle filled with the undead. What girl wouldn’t want that?”

Ran chuckled. “At least you can joke about it.”

“If I couldn’t make a joke about it, I might get caught up in the fear I feel. And that might immobilize me, quite honestly. I don’t want Kan-Gul to get his hands on me.”

“Neither do I.”

“So I’ll try to keep fighting, and we’ll see if this plan of yours works. Or not. Either way, it will at least prove frustrating for Kan-Gul. And I’m all for that.”

“Good,” said Ran. “Let’s hope his desire to have you for himself makes him as predictable as Malkyr’s ego back there.”

At the bow, Neviah studied Kan-Gul’s ship and glanced back at Ran with a nod. Ran smiled through the rain that spattered his skin. The plan could work if everything came together perfectly. Even still, it was better than simply making for the cliffs and hoping they could outrun their pursuers.

The sea kicked up more swells, and keeping the tiller from being jerked out of his hand proved more difficult than Ran would have imagined. But he gritted his teeth and kept to the course that put them on a collision track with Kan-Gul. He looked behind and saw that Malkyr’s ship had closed some distance between them. It was still a good thousand yards back, though. Kan-Gul was roughly five hundred yards off their port bow.

And closing fast.

The raider ship bucked another swell. Ran wondered how much magical energy Kan-Gul must have been exerting to make this storm happen. Surely he couldn’t keep this up indefinitely. It would prove too exhausting, even for a sorcerer of his skill. He didn’t yet have Jysal to enhance his power. Perhaps he had bound other sorcerers in the past, but Ran had been able to see through some of his illusions. And if his power was so absolute, why had Kan-Gul worked so hard to impress Ran with his power when they first arrived at his stronghold? Ran knew this, but the sheer fury of the storm caused doubt to gnaw at him.

And Kan-Gul had plenty of Chekhal. They concerned Ran greatly. If the ships drew too close together, then the Chekhal would surely leap aboard and start killing anyone they found. Ran wondered if dying by their hand meant his soul would be devoured as well.

The challenge was going to be turning tightly enough that Malkyr couldn’t turn and ended up crashing into Kan-Gul’s ship. Timed correctly, the resulting impact could potentially send both enemy ships to the bottom of the sea. Bad timing would result in Ran’s plan failing miserably.

The waves battered the raider as it rode another swell and crashed down into the trough. Another spray of salt water smacked Ran in the face, and he used his free hand to wipe it away. As dangerous a situation as this was, he still found it hard to complain. Back in Gakur, he could only dream of being out in the real world on an actual assignment for the clan. Now, here he was. He had several good friends to battle alongside and a large number of other people who wanted him dead.

He grinned in spite of it all.

A moment clearly etched in the timeless struggle between Life and Death. And he was a part of it.

Finally.

He surveyed the sea in front of him, trying to pick out his route through the next swells. The angry sea grew even more desperate to toss the smaller ship about, but Ran gave it no mind. His hand was set on the tiller, and the raider ship stayed glued to its course.

Then Ran spotted something that erased his smile.

Another variable. And it was one that he had not figured into the equation.

He just hoped it wouldn’t be enough to throw his plan into chaos.