Deltora Quest #6: The Maze of the Beast (6 page)

T
he other passengers stared curiously at the newcomers. One, a hugely fat man in a striped jersey, was clutching a large painted box with a handle. A music box, Lief guessed, remembering the music he had heard from the shore. “Ho-di-ho!” the fat man cried, in a strangely light, shrill voice for one so large. “Lockie the Stripe at your service, music-lovers!”

The woman beside him giggled. She was also quite plump, and was wearing a pink dress and mittens. Her round face was framed by huge bunches of pink curls that clustered over her forehead and cheeks. With one hand she waved girlishly at Lief, Barda, and Dain. With the other she nudged the arm of a tall, thin man with a patch over one eye who stood by her side. He nodded gravely.

Two other men looked up from a table where they had been playing cards, but made no attempt to speak.
They both had shaved heads, and had broad bands tied around their brows. Their fingers were covered in rings, and each had what looked like an animal tooth stuck through one ear. They did not look friendly.

The last passenger was a haughty-looking young woman in a fine purple cloak tied at the throat with golden cord. The hands that held her golden parasol were tightly gloved in black to match her shining high-heeled boots. A scarf of purple silk was bound closely around her head. Long golden earrings swung from her ears. Her face was powdered white, her lips were painted red, and her eyes were outlined heavily in black. After one bored glance at the newcomers she turned away and stared out at the water, twirling her parasol.

Lief looked around, trying to appear at ease. But his heart was sinking. Any one of these characters could be an Ol. They could all be Ols, come to that. He began to wonder if he, Barda, and Dain would have been better off remaining in the reed beds.

The captain strode up, grinning. He was a short, chunky man with a twisted nose and grey hair in a thick braid that hung down his back like a rope. His peaked cap was pulled so low on his forehead that his eyes were in deep shadow. “Welcome aboard! How far will you be going?” he asked.

“One of my sons and I have business on the coast,” Barda said pleasantly.

“Is that so?” grinned the captain. “Fishy business, I’ve no doubt.” He nudged Barda knowingly, then stuck
out a filthy hand for payment. As Barda counted out the coins, Lief saw that the captain’s little finger was missing, and the ring finger was just a stump.

“A little argument with a big worm, lad,” said the captain, noticing that Lief was looking at his hand. “You’ll want to keep your own little pinkies out of the water as we get on. The worms, they swim up from the sea. And the farther in they get, the hungrier they get.” He grinned, and the woman in pink giggled nervously.

“My younger son wishes to stop off in Tora,” Barda said, raising his voice slightly. “Can you oblige him?”

“Tora?” The captain snorted with laughter. “Why, no. I can’t oblige the young fellow there, I fear. A visit to Tora is not possible for us.”

Dain gave a start, but instantly controlled himself. Plainly, he had decided that he had no choice but to stay with the boat, at least for the present.

Barda looked at him, then shrugged agreement.

“All right. Only two more things,” the captain went on. “One, I’m offering a ride, not a guard service. This is a cruel river, and your safety is your own concern. Two, if you’re Ols, that’s your business. I’ll carry Ols as happily as I’ll carry anyone, as long as they pay. But you’ll keep your hands to yourselves while you’re on this boat, or you’ll find yourselves overboard feeding the worms. I’ve dealt with Ols before, and I can do it again. Understand?”

Lief, Barda, and Dain stared, then nodded. The captain grinned, turned on his heel, and left them.

“It’s all right,” hissed the woman in pink. “He said that to us, too. I suppose he has to be careful. But really!”

The captain had returned to the helm in the boat’s cabin. He shouted some orders, the polypan leaped to do his bidding, a whistle sounded, and the boat began moving again.

Lockie the Stripe sat down with a grunt, placed the painted music box between his knees and began to turn the handle. A piping, jigging tune began. The woman in pink and her long, thin partner began to dance, their feet thumping on the rough boards. She laughed. He remained as solemn as the grave. The two other men went back to their card game. The young woman in the purple cloak twirled her parasol and stared out at the river.

The companions sat down on a bench by the rail.

“A strange group,” Barda muttered. “We will have to keep our wits about us.”

“Indeed.”

They all looked up. The young woman in purple had moved closer to them. She was still staring at the water, but plainly it was she who had spoken.

Lief stared at her. At the proud tilt of her head, the painted lips, the black-shadowed eyes, the long golden earrings. Then he had the shock of his life as he recognized her.

It was Jasmine.

The sun was very low in the sky. The
River Queen
chugged on, steadily moving down the river. Lockie the Stripe had at last grown tired of turning the handle of his music box, and was lying flat on his back on the deck with his eyes closed. The woman in pink and her companion were murmuring together. The two card-playing men had begun another game.

Without making any sign that she knew them, Jasmine had moved away from Barda, Lief, and Dain once more. Now she was sitting alone under her parasol at the other end of the boat. “I cannot believe I did not recognize her!” Lief whispered for the twentieth time. “How did she come by those clothes?”

“From our friend Steven, I have no doubt,” Barda whispered back. “She must have tried to go inland, to avoid the reed beds, and been forced at last to double back to the Broad River path. So it was that she ended up behind us, instead of in front.”

“She is very clever,” Dain murmured admiringly, watching Jasmine daintily nibbling dried fruit from a small bag in her hand. “Who would describe her as ‘a wild girl’ now? But where is her bird?”

Lief glanced at the riverbank, and caught a glimpse of a black shadow skimming silently through the reeds. Kree was keeping them well in sight.

As the sun set, the reed beds at last gave way to flat drifts of sand scattered with low bushes. The moon rose,
only to be covered by cloud almost at once. The whistle blew. The
River Queen
slowed and stopped.

“We start again at first light,” the captain announced as Chett threw out the anchor with a rattle of chain. “Make yourselves comfortable, friends, and get some rest. But be on guard. Remember, your safety is your business, not mine.”

He stumped back into his cabin and shut the door. Everyone heard the firm click as a bolt slid home. Now there was silence, except for the lapping of the water and the creaking of timbers.

Chett ran around the deck, lighting lanterns, but they did little to pierce the darkness beyond the boat. The woman in pink leaned against her companion and closed her eyes. The men at the table threw down their cards, pulled blankets out of their packs, and settled themselves to rest.

Lief, Barda, and Dain ate a little, and drank sparingly. Then they, too, took out blankets, for the night was growing chilly. Lief yawned. The rocking of the boat was making him sleepy. He fought to stay awake.

“I will keep first watch, Lief,” said Barda’s voice out of the gloom. “Sleep, but be ready. I fear that this is going to be a long night.”

A
shriek woke Lief. He was on his feet in an instant, his hand on his sword. He had no idea how much time had passed. It was very dark. The lanterns had gone out. The sky was black.

“Barda!” he hissed. “Dain!”

The two voices answered close beside him. His companions were also standing and alert.

The shriek came again. Lief realized that it was Kree. Kree was crying a warning. Where was Jasmine? He wanted to call to her, but knew he could not. No one must guess they knew one another.

Sleepy, grumbling voices could be heard around the deck as the other passengers stirred. “It is only a bird, my love,” the woman in pink mumbled. “Go back to sleep.”

For a moment, there was silence once more, except for the lapping of the water, the creaking of the boat’s
timbers. But surely — Lief’s ears strained — surely the sounds were not quite as they had been before. They were louder. And a slight, bumping noise had joined them.

Another boat …

The thought had barely crossed Lief’s mind when all of a sudden the darkness around the deck rails seemed to move and thicken. He could hear heavy breathing, and the tinny rattle of steel. The boat was being boarded!

“Beware!” he shouted. “Defend your —”

There was a roar of anger and a rush of feet. Someone cannoned into him, throwing him down violently. He hit the deck with a thump, striking his brow on the corner of something that chimed and jingled. The music box, he thought confusedly. He touched his forehead and felt trickling blood.

Dizzy and sick, he crawled to his knees. Lockie the Stripe was squealing in panic. The woman in pink was screaming and crying. Sounds of fighting filled the darkness. Lief could hear crashes and groans, a blood-curdling yell, the splash of something heavy falling over the side. He could hear the clash of steel against steel.

“Give us some light, you fool!” roared a voice.

One by one, the lanterns began to glow once more. The polypan was lighting them, grinning and chewing as he swung from one to the other. Gradually, a scene of horror was revealed.

There must have been twenty invaders at least. Men, and women, too, with knives, swords, and axes.
They wore a strange array of fine and tattered clothes, their wild hair was matted, their eyes glittering.

Barda, his back against the deck railing, fought two of them. Dain was beside him, fending off a third. Lockie was cringing on the deck. The woman in pink, wailing helplessly, was clutching at the thin man who was shaking her off, crawling away like a long-legged spider looking for a hole to hide in. One of the card-playing men lay dead in a pool of blood. The other had disappeared. Over the side, no doubt, thought Lief, remembering the splash.

Of the captain there was no sign. No doubt he was still locked in his cabin, and Lief was quite sure that he would not venture out for the sake of a few passengers. They had accepted his terms, paid their money, and taken their chances. He had not spent a lifetime on this dangerous river for nothing.

Lief staggered to his feet, feeling for his sword. He had to help Barda. But the deck seemed to be spinning. He could not move fast enough. With horror he saw one of Barda’s opponents close in, grabbing a lantern and swinging it in Barda’s face. Barda thrust himself backward to escape the flame. The deck rail groaned and began to split.

“No!” cried Lief, lurching forward. But the next second the whole section of deck rail broke away. Barda, the pirate, and the lantern tumbled into the water. There was a tremendous splashing and bubbling. Then silence.

“Barda!” shrieked Lief, stumbling to the gap. But no head broke the surface of the water. The lantern had gone out. All was darkness.

Lief prepared to jump. All he knew was that he had to save Barda, who was somewhere down in that black water. But with despair he felt himself pulled backwards by grasping hands and thrown to the deck again.

“Not until we have picked you clean, boy!” laughed the man above him, a man with a nose that reached almost to his chin, and teeth filed sharp as knives. “The worms can have you then!”

Everything was blurry. Stabs of pain shot through Lief’s head as he was rolled and pushed on the deck. The cloak was ripped from his back. His sword and money bag were taken. The embroidered band was pulled from his waist.

No!

He moaned, scrambling to rise. A heavy boot kicked him in the ribs.

“Finish him off, Finn, and the other one, too,” screamed a voice.

Finn
. Lief squirmed at the sound of the name — one of the names on the walls of Where Waters Meet.

“The other one is valuable,” a deeper voice called. “He is with the Resistance. I have seen him with Doom. The Guards will pay in gold for him, alive.”

“See what I have found, trying to creep up on us!” A huge, grinning woman with streaming red hair
came around the corner of the cabin, hauling Jasmine in her brawny arms. Jasmine’s feet were swinging high off the ground. She was kicking and struggling, biting at the hands that gripped her, but the woman took no notice.

“Fine clothes for a fine lady!” she roared. “Would I not look beautiful in these?” She tore off the purple scarf, and Jasmine’s tangled black hair swung free. Then the woman set about tearing at the golden cords that bound the cloak around Jasmine’s throat.

There was a screech, and a black shadow swooped at her head. With a snap, a sharp beak struck her just above the ear. The woman shrieked and staggered and her grip on Jasmine loosened.

In a flash, Jasmine had wriggled free, leaving her cloak in the woman’s hands. In a moment her dagger was in her hand, and her booted foot was kicking backwards with deadly force.

The woman howled and fell back, lurching into Lief’s attacker and sending him sprawling. Jasmine hauled Lief to his feet and passed him her second dagger. “Stay behind me!” she ordered. “Where is Barda?”

“Gone,” muttered Lief. Jasmine’s eyes darkened. As Kree flew down to her arm she whirled to face the pirates, baring her teeth.

Lief saw them hesitate. And well they might. The elegant lady they had thought to rob so easily had become before their eyes a fiery warrior whose dagger glinted as brightly as their swords. Even the polypan was gaping in astonishment. And the woman in pink —

Her mouth was open. Her eyes were burning, huge, fixed on Jasmine. And as she stared, something began to happen to her face. It was as though the burning eyes were melting it. The flesh was paling. The pink curls were shrivelling and drawing back, back to her swelling skull to reveal the mark high on her brow. Her arms and shoulders were bubbling and twisting. Then her whole body was writhing upward, flickering like cold white flame.

“Ol!” The cry of terror echoed around the deck. And instantly the pirates were scattering, scrambling for the rail, dragging Dain and all their booty with them. Their feet crashed onto the deck of their own boat. The polypan leaped after them, chattering and spitting in fear. Oars rattled and splashed as ruffians bent to pull away from the danger, to escape downstream.

But the Ol cared nothing for them. The burning eyes were fixed on Jasmine. The toothless mouth was grinning greedily. It lunged forward, its long, white fingers twitching as they reached for Jasmine’s throat.