Without another word the mustached Ilean handed Chloe a patterned blanket and nestled himself into the sand, wrapping his body in his own covering. Chloe shuffled a little apart and tried to follow suit, but when she closed her eyes the rocking motion returned, making her feel queasy after eating her fill so quickly. She tried concentrating on the crackle of the flames but she was conscious of her vulnerability among so many strangers.
After attempting sleep as a growing chorus of snores drowned out the waves crashing on the nearby shore, she slowly opened her eyes. Kargan was across the fire from her with his hands on his thick stomach, eyes closed, mouth open and chest rising and falling evenly.
Chloe sat up.
With the soldiers in an outward-facing circle and the ship and shore behind her, she began to contemplate escape. Perhaps Kargan and Hasha’s words were meant to frighten her into submission. She clenched her jaw. She had never let fear conquer her before.
At that moment lightning flashed in the smoky clouds hanging over the mountains. A dozen winged figures were suddenly visible as they flew across: shapes with the head and shoulders of men but with the rest of their bodies gnarled and reptilian. They were close enough for her to see bones in their outstretched wings. Both arms and legs were clawed appendages. Chloe made a small sound of fright, terrified they would turn and fly toward her.
These were wildren, she realized. She had never seen a wildran before. The thought that these creatures were as wild as wolves and were permanently in this form filled her with dread. She could believe the stories that said they would eat any flesh they could seize, with humans considered prey as much as goats, pigs, or sheep.
Feeling a hand pinching her arm, she saw Hasha sitting up and staring at her. ‘What did you see?’
‘Furies,’ Chloe said.
‘Are you certain?’
‘Y–Yes.’
‘Did they see us?’
‘I don’t think so.’
Another burst of lightning flashed, though there was no accompanying thunder. The sudden glow lit up the beach for a heartbeat and was gone immediately. The flicker revealed one of the sailors fifty feet from the camp with his ankles in the sea, his hands at his belt as he urinated.
Hasha shot to his feet. Chloe wondered what he was looking at, and then she saw them.
A hundred feet further up the shore, two tall ogres stood watching and assessing. Chloe had seen Zachary in giant form, but these were different in more ways than their slightly smaller size. The silver hair on their bony heads was thin and scraggly. Ragged animal skins hung from their waists. Bare chests revealed hairy torsos and a multitude of scars.
‘Get back to the camp!’ Hasha shouted to the man in the water.
The man looked back at them, confused, but another flash of lightning made him wheel with fright as he saw the wildren, spinning on his heel so fast he nearly fell into the water. He started to run.
Chloe heard another roaring voice and saw Kargan gesturing to the men. ‘Close ranks! They fear steel – show it to them!’
Slaves began to throw more wood onto the fire and Chloe ran forward to help, tossing branches onto the flames until the fire roared. The soldiers clattered their spears onto their shields.
The next time the lightning flickered, the ogres were gone.
Chloe sat back on the sand and wrapped her arms around her knees. At any moment she expected dragons to plunge down from the skies, ripping men into shreds with teeth and claw as ogres attacked the camp in a raging horde.
But the next thing she knew, Hasha was shaking her and light was in the sky.
‘Wake, girl,’ he said. ‘It is time to leave.’
19
The bireme left Cinder Fen as soon as there was enough light to see by, speeding across the water as the men of the crew did their utmost to leave danger behind.
Kargan ordered the pounding drum to set a pace twice the usual rate, and even as Chloe’s heart went out to the slaves below decks, she felt relief as the mountains and the black clouds crowning them disappeared under the horizon.
Hasha came up to the top deck and bowed when he reached Kargan, whose hand was on the mast as he scanned the sea.
‘Slow the pace, lord? Two slaves are not moving. Even the whip will not raise them.’
‘Keep it up,’ Kargan growled, never ceasing his exploration of the water. ‘We are skirting the Sea of Serpents. Even the Nexotardis is not safe from a leviathan.’
‘Lord, we will lose more slaves, and we have no replacements.’
Kargan finally turned his gaze on the master of the oars. ‘Right now my eyes are on you, when they should be on the sea. Do you need to hear your orders again?’