Railing exhaled soundlessly. He could just make it out through the gap between the bins where he crouched between Woostra and Mirai. The latter must have seen it, as well, for she gave a small gasp and pressed more tightly against him. She was so close he could feel her breath against his face, warm and feathery. Woostra had adopted a hedgehog defense, collapsed into a tight ball, head buried in his arms. Together they waited, so afraid it was all they could do not to bolt and run. But flight from whatever this was would be pointless. Doing anything that caught its attention would be the end of them.
The rain strengthened suddenly, gusts blowing across the decking and into their eyes. A second later a clawed hand reached for the rail and fastened in place, close to where the bowsprit jutted into the darkness. A sleek shape rose into view—what looked to be an immense lizard—towering over the airship bow, dozens of feet in length. It was hard to determine more than the general size and shape, but it appeared thick-bodied and sinuous as it hauled itself halfway onto the foredeck.
Railing was singing full-out now, using every last vestige of his magic to gather and shape the elements around him, forming a cloaking for Mirai, Woostra, and himself. He made their smell vanish and their shapes dilute. He masked their presence with a combination of darkness and damp, drawing in and thickening the rain and gloom. He watched the creature sway slowly from side to side, an unwelcome invader looming over the bins, the foredeck, and themselves. A silent shudder ran through him but he held fast to the wishsong, keeping the cloaking in place.
Then, abruptly, the creature lowered its head until it was almost touching the coverings of the bins, its bulk directly atop them. Its jaws split wide, filled with rows of jagged teeth that were monstrous and threatening. Railing could feel Mirai shaking. He had his arm about her, and he tightened his grip on her shoulders.
Make no sound, he willed her. No movement. All will be well. I will protect you. I will give my life for you.
For several endless seconds he believed they had been discovered and that—with the swiftness for which lizards the world over were known—it would snap them up like helpless insects. But then the creature withdrew, slithering away again, retreating over the rail and off the airship. Railing watched it go, still singing, still holding fast to what he had begun, taking no chances. The lizard’s head swung back briefly, as if making sure; then it skittered off into the rain and gloom.
For a long time afterward, Railing didn’t move. With Mirai still pressing close against him and Woostra huddled close, he stayed where he was behind the bins, crouched down beneath the sheltering magic of the wishsong. He kept it in place, his voice soft and steady, until the danger was clearly past.
Finally, as the rains began to abate slightly and the gloom to clear marginally, he let it die away into silence.
Mirai looked at him questioningly, then lifted her head to look about. Woostra, sensing her movement, did the same. Together they rose and stood peering through the lessening gloom, trying to decide if all was indeed safe again, if the creature was truly gone.
“The next time this happens,” Woostra said finally, “I can promise you I will be staying below.”
When the searchers appeared abruptly from the west, trudging sodden and discouraged out of the damp and dark, all three hurried out to greet them.
Challa Nand lounged against the aft rail next to the boy as Austrum and his Rover companions ran up the sails on the Quickening and prepared to get under way. With the storm beginning to slow and the heavy weather to move on, the Troll had advised that there was no reason for further delay and every reason to get the airship aloft, regardless of the fact that it was still deep into the night.
“That creature was some sort of mountain lizard,” he advised, looking out into the new day’s persistent gloom as if he might still catch sight of it. “A Wynendot or a Spurken, one of those sorts. There’s not all that many of them left, but this far north you have to be wary. I thought we were still south of their range, but apparently not.”
The search party had returned embittered, frustrated, and empty-handed, just as the Troll had anticipated they would. They had found no trace of the missing men, although at least they hadn’t lost any more. Skint and Challa Nand had managed to keep the rest of them safe while they floundered around looking for their fellows.
“The lizard took them during the storm,” the Troll advised. “It has a long tongue—very adept at snagging food—so it probably happened pretty quickly. The storm must have hidden their screams. There wasn’t much anyone could have done. It was just bad luck it found the ship in the first place.”
Then he looked over at Railing. “It was good luck, though, that you kept your wits about you when it came back for a second helping. Those lizards are very aggressive. If you’d tried to defend yourself, it would have come at you, and you wou would have had to kill it—if you could have managed it, and that’s far from certain. Better that you didn’t try at all. Using the magic to hide yourself, the scribe, and the girl was the right choice. That was quick thinking.” Then he paused. “But how did you know it was there? You couldn’t see a hand span in front of your face out there.”
“I sensed it.” Railing gave him a look. “I just did.”