“Here,” Charm said quietly and gestured toward the view screen. Brighter light flooded the sea floor as a mage light bloomed to life below them. “I’m not much of a mage but I can manage that much,”
“You are more of a mage than you let on, but I won’t push the topic. Thank you, Charm,” Shade said, his words a bit broken with distraction. It was taking most of his concentration to keep the speed of the ship slow and even. If he pulled too sharply on the tow chain, the wreckage would likely break apart. They were only about thirty feet from the surface now. The tricky part would be getting it out of the water. By the amount of drag he was getting off of the chain now he wasn’t sure his chains would hold, airborne.
“Are we going to be able to get it out of the water?” Charm asked, his thoughts apparently mirror to Shade’s own.
“I hope so. I’m not really sure, though. I think we have more than I had planned on hooking on the end of that line. From the weight I think we have the entire Stormrider. A low groan filled the air and Shade felt his muscles clench in response.
“Was that the chains?” Charm asked glancing back at the hatch.
“Uhh, no,” Shade said quietly, eyes searching the view screen. The groan came again followed by a sharp tug on the ship below. Cursing, Shade fought back on the controls and added a bit of speed to the ascent. A loud crack filled the air and the ship jerked violently.
“What the hell is that?” Charm demanded, one hand clutched on his armrest as he stared back into the hold.
“That’s the serpent,” Shade explained his voice a bit strained. Not many would recognize the sounds of the beasts but he did. He had spent countless hours watching them off the coasts of Sanctuary. Typically they didn’t come close to the city but the groans and wails they used for communication carried for miles. Another sharp pull on the chain came and he fought the controls to keep the ship steady. He could see daylight filtering down through the water, they were so close. “Ya like fishing, Charm?” Shade asked with a nervous chuckle.
“Not in this fashion,” Charm replied, his eyes still glued to the back of the ship as if he expected to see the serpent bite through the thick metal at any point of time.
“Almost there,” Shade said, his voice rising a bit. Another crack came from the water behind him and he felt the pressure on the ship lesson. “Bloody hell, I think the bastard broke my chains,” Shade growled as the front of his ship punched through into the open air. Sheets of water poured off of the ship, the bright sunlight turning the droplets into thousands of sparkling rainbows. Intent on altitude, Shade kept the ship climbing, hoping that by some miracle he had at least part of the ship still. Another crash sounded behind them and he felt a heavy strain on the ship again. With a flick of a finger he opened a separate view screen showing the area behind the ship. Trailing on a chain behind them swung a good portion of the Stormrider, followed closely by an enormous green scaled head.
“Shit, oh shit,” Shade muttered and added more speed to their climb. He couldn’t add too much without risking losing the wreckage entirely but then if he didn’t add enough the beast would likely pull them back under. He was a strong mage, but not stronger than a serpent of that size.
“Oh bloody hell, why is it following us?” Charm gasped, eyes flicking from the back of the ship to the view screen and back again.
“They aren’t the smartest of creatures. The ship moved, he thinks its food,” Shade said through clenched teeth. His eyes were locked on the view screen mapping the serpent’s progress. It was amazingly fast for such a massive creature. His breath caught in his throat as the immense jaws snapped down on the wreckage sending shards of wood scattering into the air. The serpent twisted its head, breaking a large portion of the wreckage away and let out a wail of frustration as it began to drop back into the waves. Swallowing heavily, Shade watched it disappear back into the murk and glanced at Charm. He gave a nervous chuckle and smiled. “I really didn’t expect that,” He said quietly.
“I can’t believe it went after the wreckage like that,” Charm said, his voice a bit shaken. With a shake of his head, he leaned back into his seat and stared at the image of the wreckage rocking behind them. “Now what?” he asked Shade.
“Now we get to the coast of Morcath as quickly and quietly as possible and get this smelted down. I have a few ideas of what I can do with Barllen and I think I know someone who can help,” Shade said, his voice returning to normal. Letting out another nervous chuckle, he shook his head ruefully and flipped the controls for the chains. It was better to have less distance between the wreckage and the spell hawk so it wouldn’t sway too much as they flew.
“Who?” Charm asked cautiously.
“You are so paranoid and that’s bad coming from me. I’m usually the most paranoid in a room,” Shade said with a shake of his head. “There is a smith I know in Southern Morcath. Remember, I told you I helped my father with a goblin issue a while back? Well his village is one that I helped. He is a decent man and he has helped me in the past. Actually he supplied me with most of the parts for this ship.” Shade ran a hand across the dash of his ship with affection and grinned at Charm. “Trust me,” he said, his grin widening with the words.
“You say that far too often,” Charm replied with an exasperated sigh.
“Almost as often as you say I’m insane,” Shade agreed with a wink.
Chapter 8
Sanctuary