Chapter 37 Ikar #2
He quickly jumps over the edge of the boat, but with Rhosse’s large frame, struggles to find a seat and nearly falls out as it rocks and swiftly turns into the current when the rope is released.
Rhosse grabs the back of Darvy’s jacket and pulls him back in, then shoves an oar into his hands, and they straighten the boat out quickly with strong, even strokes.
I glance over my shoulder to find the gloamy figure staring as the river carries us swiftly back toward the nymphs.
“We all know Ikar got the best seat,” Darvy complains, breath heaving, as he smashes in beside Rhosse with a scowl and mans the oar with expert precision, his and Rhosse’s shoulders hitting each other with the close quarters.
I’ll not disagree, but I don’t dare say it aloud.
The battle delayed us, but the suns are just past midday, and I’m pleased with the speed of our return—the river’s swift current works in our favor.
The wind howls around us as if a demon watches our progress in anger, pulling strands of Vera’s hair loose from her braid and whipping them about my shoulder and face.
We all made it in one piece.
Relieved silence hovers for a while, but Rhosse and Darvy never slow down. The wind continues to lift my hair and cool the sweat of battle from my body, but I don’t let myself completely relax. We aren’t safe until we reach the nymphs.
I side-eye Vera, who’s pressed against my side. Rupi perches on her shoulder, beak jutting forward as if to hurry us along, her white fluff blown backward by wind with the speed of our travel. But Vera sits still, stiff as one of the glossy boards that make up this boat.
I shift, trying to get more comfortable on the hard seat with the side of the boat digging into my side. Vera’s lips remain pursed as our hips and shoulders press closer together until I’m settled.
She raises a brow. “Comfortable?”
I shift my shoulders once more for good measure. “Very.”
She scowls, and I look away to hide my smirk.
The sound of oars slapping the water and the rush of the river around us is soon the only thing I hear.
I consider the next part of the mission.
In just a few short days, Vera and I will part ways, likely for good, and I’m to go in search of another woman to share my life and kingdom with.
It’s a painful thought, one that triggers feelings I don’t care to dwell on.
Instead, I focus on the moment. Vera’s small form pressed to mine, relaxing moment by moment as we continue forward.
Other than a soft bump here and there that puts me on guard, we see no river monsters, and soon enough the canyon walls begin rising—an indication that we are close to the nymph border.
I can’t help but feel a twinge of relief.
But it’s doused like a small flame dropped in a bucket of water when something knocks the edge of the boat so violently that, even tucked snuggly between my hips and the boat, Vera almost tumbles out with a scream.
Rupi shoots into the air, flying in agitated circles around us.
I jump to snatch Vera back, and she ends up half on my lap, breathing heavily, my arm tight around her waist. She remains there in shock for a moment, then two, before I reluctantly release her when she moves to return to her own seat.
“Behind us!” Darvy shouts.
I twist in my seat and glance back to see a glistening black creature rising from the depths of the river.
It has a long v-shaped snout with interlocking teeth and eyes that rise just above the surface of the water, followed by a smooth black body which sprouts eight long appendages that twist and flail about like some sort of river demon.
But my eyes focus on one thing. The gloam soldier, or gloam master, as I suspect it is, standing atop the smooth back of the creature, swimming toward us in a wavelike motion.
I was pleased with our speed moments ago; now it’s not fast enough.
“Pick up the pace!” I shout as I watch the enemies behind us.
Rhosse and Darvy push themselves, and it feels as if we fly down the river, but the boat rocks again even more violently than before, and a rush of water flows over the side, drenching Vera and Rhosse.
She spits river water from her mouth and wipes wet hair from her face without complaint, lucent still glowing in her hand.
The canyon walls grow taller, draping us in cool shadows, and I scan the water for the border. It should be ahead. Darvy and Rhosse are already pushing the oars through the water with vicious intensity. Where is the border? Another large thump and the boat nearly capsizes.
“Hold on!” I shout at Vera as I scan the water around us.
I can’t be worried about her falling out of the boat. I see her reach for the edge, but the glossy wood, now slick with gloamy water, is near impossible to grip, and she looks at me, at a loss.
“Hold to me, then!”
The wind blows her hair across her face, hiding her reaction to my command, but she obeys, wrapping her arms around my waist and holding tight. Just as quickly, she screams, and I look down to find a gray tentacle over the side of the boat, wrapped around her thigh and pulling her toward the water.
I reach out to grab her when she lets go of my waist, but she pulls her sword and slices at the tentacle, forcing the monster beneath the water to retract what is left of it and leaving a limp end twitching at our feet.
She’s just wrapping her arms around me again when, this time, three tentacles come soaring with a rush of water from the depths of the river.
Two target Darvy and Rhosse, forcing them to swap their oars for weapons and allowing the boat to turn and pull more wildly in the force of the river.
One swift knock from the right angle, and we’ll all be spilled over the side and devoured by the river demon.
I’m turning to help fight off the two appendages going for Darvy and Rhosse when I feel Vera’s arms tighten around my waist before they begin to slide off again.
“Ikar!” The way she shouts my name pierces my very soul.
I look down to find another tentacle around her legs, dragging her over the side of the boat. Why does it seem like she’s the target?
Well, that and my pack. A tentacle wraps around it and attempts to rip it from my shoulders. I begin to lift from my seat until Darvy jumps forward and chops at the appendage, leaving a second large bit twitching and sliding across the boat.
As soon as I’m free, I waste no time heaving over Vera, who’s still being dragged over the side of the boat, to chop the leg off, dropping a third twitching end in the bottom of our boat.
At the same time, another two tentacles latch onto my sword arm and attempt to yank me into the river, pulling my weight onto Vera, who wheezes at the impact.
I wince, hoping I haven’t injured her, while my sword drags beneath the boat with the force of the current.
I feel the hilt in my grip become slippery in the water.
I’ll not lose my sword.
The slimy chains squeeze my arm, slowing the flow of blood and leaving my grip tingly and weakening. Rhosse swings his axe so close to my arm I feel tingles run across my skin, but the tentacles drop.
I push myself up and help Vera back to sitting, feeling trapped on this tiny boat.
We can only be sure of three things if we enter that gloamy water.
Either we all get transported to different spots along the river and end up alone and possibly dead before we gain the bank, dragged beneath and eaten by the river demon, or we get captured by the gloam master. None of those options are good.
I search for the border of the nymphs and watch it grow closer. I can see the sparkling lucent part of the river ahead, so close… if we can just get there…
“Almost there!”
I look behind us to find tentacles gliding just beneath the surface, and the mouth of the monster only feet away from the rear of our boat.
It waves back and forth as it swims toward us, picking up speed the closer we get to the nymphs.
I gauge the distance to the border, where the water begins to shimmer, then look back to the enemy gaining on us. I have only moments to decide.
“When I say three, jump to the border!” I command.
I have a feeling the river demon isn’t going to simply let us go. Vera looks at me with wild eyes.
“One!”
“But we’re almost there!” Vera shouts.
I can see the blatant refusal in her eyes.
“Two!”
The jaws open wide behind us, casting an even darker shadow, and all eight tentacles rise into the air above us. The distance to the border is iffy for a jump, but it’s our only possibility of survival. I ready myself to grab Vera and toss her if I have to.