nature to let fear rule him. He had never really experienced anything like the terrors he had read about in books save as an echo of Teclis’s fears.
‘Would you be happier on deck?’
‘I think I would.’
‘It might be easier to be swept overboard.’
‘We can rope ourselves to the railings, the way real sailors are supposed to.’
‘You sure?’
‘I would rather be above than trapped down here.’ Tyrion understood. Spending your last few moments watching a small cabin fill with water would not be a good way to leave the world.
Tyrion helped his brother up the stairwell. He was not sure this was a very clever idea. He was confident he was sure-footed enough not to be swept away. He was not so sure about his twin. Teclis could barely walk at the best of times.
Nonetheless it appeared the decision had been made.
The rain splattered onto the deck, huge droplets hitting the wood and bouncing with a flicker that reminded Tyrion of miniature lightning bolts. White foam surged over the prow of the Eagle of Lothern and added to the slick wetness underfoot.
He left Teclis near the afterdeck and went to find some ropes. The sailors looked tense and ready for action, like soldiers getting ready before a battle. Their enemies were the sea and the storm. The officers bellowed last minute instructions. Down below the horses whinnied in panic and it struck Tyrion what a cruel trial this must be for them. How unnatural for creatures reared to race across an endless plain to be imprisoned within a bobbing wooden box as it was battered from all sides by mighty waves.
The ship rose and fell through the long swells. He swayed to keep his balance as he moved. He was surprised to see Lady Malene come on deck and ask permission to join the captain on the afterdeck. He was even more surprised when the officer beckoned for him and Teclis to come up and join them. Malene nodded to emphasise this and the twins went to join the officers. The wind had risen to a dull roar now. The waves smashed against the ship. The decks creaked. The sails boomed and cracked.
‘If you are going to remain on deck, lash yourself to something,’ said Lady Malene. He could see that she was already lashed to the railings. ‘Particularly Teclis. We do not want to lose you overboard.’
He cinched his brother to a banister, making sure the knots were tight and in the style he had observed the sailors using, then he stalked across the deck, sure-footed as a big cat.
No one seemed to want to question them about why they had not stayed below. No one minded that they were on the aft-deck, the sacred space reserved for officers and mages. It seemed that on this ship at least they were regarded as personages of some importance.
Lightning flickered in the distance, and the sullen boom of thunder rippled in its wake. Somewhere down below a horse whinnied in terror and tried to kick its way out of a stall. A rider shouted words meant to be reassuring but which just sounded panicked.
Suddenly the rain intensified. Within heartbeats Tyrion was soaked to the skin and looking at everything as though through a thick, grey mist. The ship heeled to the right as it struck a wave at the wrong angle. The roll was disturbing, as if some great monster had risen from the sea beneath the ship and was trying to push it over. That was not an image he wanted in his head.
The captain yelled something to the steersman, who twisted the great wheel that guided the ship. In response to bellowed instructions, sailors overhead did something to the sails, Tyrion was not sure what. The vessel righted itself. The prow rose like a bucking horse. Tyrion felt himself begin to slide back down the deck. He looked around to make sure that Teclis was still held fast. His twin stood by the rail, clutching it as if it were the only thing that stood between him and watery death, and yet despite this, his gaze was riveted to Lady Malene.
Tyrion followed his look and understood why. An aura of power played around the sorceress, its nimbus visible even to Tyrion’s sight. Tyrion was not sure what she could do against the unleashed fury of the storm, but he sensed enormous power pooling within her.
The rain lashed his face, and his eyes stung with salty tears. It was difficult to