Child Of A Guardian And Of The Free (Book 3) (13 page)

Chapter
14

Eibhear and Dale

‘
Why aren’t we unconscious like the others?’ Dale whispered, struggling to keep his head above the waves.

‘
I have no idea,’ Eibhear said cautiously. ‘They must have done something to knock everyone out, but somehow they missed us.’

‘
So if they do it again whilst we’re in the water?’

‘
We’re in deep, deep-’

‘
Water, Eibhear. We’re in deep water.’

‘
Stop whispering so loudly. How long can you tread water for?’

‘
Do you want me to answer or to stop whispering?’ Dale’s whisper was sarcastic. ‘I don’t have to tread water forever; I just have to outlast you. Then I can use your dead body as a raft and make for the shore.’

‘
You do realize I won’t tire for a very, very,
very
, long time?’

‘
Eibhear?’

‘
You’re already tired aren’t you?’

‘
Yes. I’ve not been the same since I was ill.’

‘
Hang on to my shoulder, but whatever you do keep still and don’t panic, and don’t try to climb me if someone sees us, or if a shark bites your leg off.’

‘
Can you still hear their thoughts? Are they going away yet?’

‘
They want the ship, but they don’t think they can sail it so they’re deciding whether to wait until the sailors wake up or to move them onto their own boats whilst they’re unconscious.’

‘
That could take hours!’ Dale whispered indignantly.

‘
Relax. They’ll probably remain on board.’

‘
That doesn’t help us!’

‘
That storm will,’ said Eibhear, glancing upwards to the re-gathering clouds. ‘If it rains down heavily enough, we’ll make for the shore. Can you swim, other than treading water badly?’

‘
Of course I can swim! But I doubt I can make it to the shore. I’m certain it’s even further away than it looks.’

‘
We’ll try anyway. It has to be better than staying here. Do you notice the waves are starting to pick up as the storm closes in?’

Without warning a huge wave picked them up and slammed them against the ship
’s hull. Eibhear cursed as he frantically tried to keep his face above water. Another strong wave burst over their heads and Dale was smashed against the ship for the second time. He lost consciousness. Eibhear grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him away, hoping with all his heart that no-one would look over the side of the ship and see him dragging Dale through the water. Minutes later the storm hit in earnest, bringing torrents of rain, massive flashes of lightning and almost simultaneous crashes of thunder. Eibhear felt nothing but relief as the rain hid them.

Dale regained
full consciousness as Eibhear dragged him from the water onto a rocky beach. His eyes shot open as a particularly loud crash of thunder sounded and he marveled that the storm could last so long. He groaned in pain. His head felt like he’d been kicked by a horse and he felt faint as well as being nauseated. He reached up and touched his scalp gingerly and found that blood was still oozing from a long wound, despite his time in the salty water. He wondered where Eibhear was.

‘
Right beside you,’ Eibhear muttered. He was lying on the rocks just below Dale and he wasn’t moving. Dale sat up in surprise and almost fainted. He wondered how much blood he had lost.

‘
Eibhear! Are you alright?’

‘
Just a bit tired. Ahh.... more than tired. I’m absolutely exhausted. You were right. We were a lot further from the shore than I’d imagined and the waves just got bigger and bigger. It’s a bit...disturbing…out there in the sea, feeling something huge brush past my legs when I’m dragging someone who won’t stop bleeding into the water.’

‘
Sorry,’ said Dale, feeling a bit guilty for blacking out. He lay back against the rocks. ‘Eibhear I really am sorry. Being dragged through the water in the middle of that incredible storm, with the ship getting further away in the lightening and wondering what was brushing against my legs, wondering if I’d be such a burden I’d end up drowning both of us...that was scary.’

Eibhear sat up and stared at
Dale. ‘I thought you were unconscious!’

‘
Yes. I was.’ Dale rolled over slightly so he could look down towards Eibhear. ‘And it’s terrifying to be in a situation where I can hear exactly what’s going on, but no matter what I do, I can’t get my body to move. It’s like being crippled when you know you’re not.’

‘
Do you ever actually sleep properly?’

‘
Sometimes. Rarely. Well, my body sleeps, but my mind doesn’t want to. If a shark had taken a piece out of me there would have been nothing I could have done about it. I would have had to drift there and watch it eat me.’

‘
Well, that would be fairly horrible,’ Eibhear admitted. ‘But I would have killed the shark.’

‘
You would have had to let go of me, and I would have drowned.’

‘
I meant that I would have killed him if he ate you, though he might have died anyway if he bit you.’

‘
Nice to see you’re getting your strength back. I feel terrible. I think I’m going to vomit. Where in all hell do we go from here?’

‘
We have to get our ship back.’

‘
Easier said than done. What do you suppose they’re going to do with everyone who was still aboard the ship?’

‘
I have no idea, but I’d love to be watching when Rez wakes up.’

‘
If they let him live that long.’

‘
There is that.’ Eibhear sounded depressed. ‘So you heard the cracks of lightening around the ship?’

‘
So incredibly loud. I wonder what the damage is.’ Dale felt panic wash over him for a few seconds and he determinedly pushed it aside. He wondered what would happen if those on the ship were killed, and the ship was taken.

‘
Don’t even think about it,’ said Eibhear grimly. ‘Unless you think we should stay here, steal a couple of girls, settle down, have a family...’

‘
Couldn’t you just kill me?’ Nausea overcame Dale and he managed to roll over before vomiting violently.

‘
I don’t think I’ll have to,’ said Eibhear drily. ‘From what I’ve seen you’ll probably smash your head on something or fall out of a tree and die.’

‘
We’ll have to come up with some sort of plan.’

‘
I guess we just have to get back out to the ship and...I have no idea. Maybe we can somehow... Maybe we can just get out there and see what’s happening and hope we get an idea. How’s that for a plan?’ Eibhear asked wryly. ‘Not bad for one of the fallen, I suppose,’ he continued without waiting for Dale to answer. ‘Are you feeling any better now you have all that seawater out of your stomach?’

‘
A little. But we’re not just going to show up on the ship and get ourselves killed. What about Rudi? Can you sense your brother’s thoughts?  Do you know if he’s still alive?’

‘
I can’t hear him. Maybe he’s still unconscious.’ Eibhear turned his face away.

Dale frowned.
‘I think the first thing we need to do is find out. We can’t make a plan until we know exactly what has happened on the ship.’

‘
How exactly do you plan to do that Dale?’ Eibhear’s voice took on an edge of hopelessness.

‘
Don’t lose hope. The rain’s easing but it will be dark within an hour. Let’s find somewhere we can get a bit of rest.’

They
made their way up the steep slope through thick forest. When it was almost dark they came upon a tree whose trunk had fallen across a small, spring fed creek, dragging its huge roots up into the air. There was a small space where it was reasonably dry and flat between the rocky ground and the lower trunk. Dale gave a sigh of relief as he crawled into the gap. He laid his head on the rocks and starting snoring almost immediately. Eibhear sat for a while then squeezed under the roots next to Dale. He closed his eyes.

Two hours later Eibhear awoke. Dale was sleeping though his face was troubled. Eibhear hesitated for a moment.
‘I’m just going to see if I can find food,’ he said. Dale didn’t move, but Eibhear had no doubt his words were heard. He made his way up the sloping banks and moved through the trees. The only weapon Eibhear had was a knife he wore on a belt sheath so rather than attempt to run down any of the wary wildlife, he decided to concentrate on what might be growing in the forest. The few hours of sleep had left him feeling revitalized, and he began to run. He moved inland, up through the mountains, keeping a very fast pace. Finally he reached the top of a high hill and was gave a nod of satisfaction. Familiar bon-yi pine cones lay under the trees. He picked up one of the cones, which was slightly larger than his head, and continued through the trees, collecting anything he knew was edible and holding the food awkwardly in a fold of his still damp shirt. After a time he began to run again, back towards the coast, and soon he pushed his way through thick undergrowth until he broke through to the beach. ‘Good,’ he muttered to himself, pleased to see there was fruit on the beach cherry bushes. He picked one of the orange-red berries and ate it slowly, spitting out the seed. The berry was quite sweet so he decided to bring Dale this way when he was awake, rather than attempt to carry a handful of berries through the forest. He stared out to sea to where he could see the Alkiran ship, but it
w
as too far for Eibhear to see anything that might be happening on board. The sun was rising when he returned to where Dale lay asleep. With care, Eibhear laid the fruit and nuts on a clean, smooth rock. He stepped into the cool trickle of water and splashed his feet. He and Dale had both been barefoot when their ship had been taken, and he wondered how Dale would go moving through the forest for any distance without boots. He leaned forward and washed his face, then decided that the water felt so nice he would bathe. He quickly stripped off his clothing and splashed himself with water, over and over until he felt clean and invigorated. The early sun was already quite warm, so he lay on the rocks until he was dry then put his trousers back on, leaving his shirt hanging on one of the fallen tree’s roots. He sat down on rocks and closed his eyes, letting his mind relax. He gave a cry of surprise as his brother’s thoughts reached him.

Dale opened his eyes and sat up, bumping his head hard on the tree roots.
‘What is it?’ he gasped, holding his head as the wound on his head broke open and blood ran down his forehead.

‘
Rudi! He’s awake. And he’s not happy!’ Eibhear’s face was filled with hope as he dashed across the rocks, grabbing his shirt from where it hung drying. He passed the shirt to Dale.

‘
No, it’s alright. I’ll ruin my own shirt. You keep yours,’ said Dale, trying to pull off his shirt without sitting up.

‘
Just use the shirt, idiot,’ said Eibhear, pushing Dale’s hand aside and pressing his shirt against the wound. ‘I’m blaming myself for this. It never would have happened if I hadn’t shoved you over the side of the ship in the first place.’

‘
But you did. And we weren’t caught and now there’s hope for everyone else.’

‘
I just can’t see what we can do.’

‘
Hopefully I can come with a less stupid idea than you suggested...which shouldn’t be difficult.’

‘
Why don’t you have some breakfast before you strain your tiny little brain?’

‘
You found food?’ Dale dragged himself eagerly from beneath the tree roots and eyed the food. ‘Thank you! You know, I just don’t agree with what everyone says about you Eibhear,’ he said mischievously.

‘
Just eat something before I murder your ungrateful self.’

‘
I am grateful Eibhear. Not just for the food.’ Dale’s voice was suddenly uncharacteristically serious.

‘
I’ve got bon-yi nuts, tree fern, and noo-ni,’ said Eibhear, pointing to the sandpaper figs. ‘If you want Yawinhub you’ll have to walk back down to the beach. I couldn’t carry them through the forest.’

‘
What did you learn from Rudi?’

‘
They’re in some kind of building. They were taken from the ship to the little boats last night, sailed to shore, and now they’re being held in a stone building, from Rudi’s thoughts, not too far from here. And as far as he could tell, they have no idea two people went overboard. The sailors were left on board with Lerise and Jade. Captain Mervin and Colin were taking ashore.’

‘
And what about Ben, Rez and Raline?

‘
Ashore. The building is guarded and they’re threatening to kill Mervin, Colin and Raline. That’s how they’re keeping Rudi, Ben and Rez from trying to escape. They must have worked out that Rudi, Ben and Rez could escape if they chose to.’