the hull of the ship, the bottom of it just below the waterline. Then something dark covered it, something gelatinous that still allowed some light in, seeping through its partially translucent body. His giant jellyfish.
Yanko pulled himself to his feet, regretting that he had called the creature up to attack the ship now that he wasn’t sure of Dak’s motivations.
“Get out,” he yelled to men clinging to the cannons.
The stern end of the ship sat lower, and several feet of water already covered the far end of the deck. Pirates sputtered and cursed. One swam for the hole in the hull, not caring that it was partially blocked by a jellyfish twenty times larger than any of them.
Yanko started in that direction, too, water sloshing around his knees and tugging at the hem of his robe. He kept his shield around him, expecting another explosion or for one of those jellyfish tentacles to slip inside and catch him. From his viewpoint, the creature seemed to be clinging to the hull and to part of the deck, adding weight to further pull the ship off kilter.
He could still hear his mother shouting, though to his surprise, her words now included orders to lower the rowboats and abandon ship.
“The underwater boat has been destroyed, but we’ve taken on too much water. Get to Firecracker and Sea Thorn!”
Before Yanko reached the hole, he halted, thinking of the prisoner he had intended to check on at the beginning of the chaos. He doubted anyone had freed her before running above decks. He gripped a support post, fighting against the ever-increasing water flowing inside, as he checked the brig with his mind. Alarm rushed into him like the water rushing into the hold. Yes, the woman was locked in her cell, and nearly the entire level had flooded. She was gripping the bars and trying to keep her head in the diminishing air pocket at the ceiling.
Yanko sprinted toward the ship’s ladder, going as far as he could before the water grew too deep for running. He swam for the steps, though he could no longer see them. He couldn’t see anything under the churning water. The jellyfish shifted its grip on the hull, and even less light flowed inside to illuminate the way.
What are you doing? his mother spoke into his head, startling him.
Getting my prisoner, he thought back.
How about you get this jellyfish off my ship? Her tone came through as dry, even via telepathy, but there was an edge to it, as well, a warning.
I don’t suppose you would believe the Turgonians were responsible for that? Yanko stopped to tread water for a second over the steps. He mentally prepared himself, took a huge breath, then dove.
No. I should have questioned you about them from the beginning. Where did they get a mage hunter that can pilot a flugnugstica? Or are these allies of the mage hunter in the brig? Why would the Turgonians be helping Nurian assassins?
If Yanko had not been busy swimming into the darkness of the deck below, he would have shuddered, now having an idea of what “questioning” by Pey Lu would involve.
Those aren’t Sun Dragon’s people, Yanko thought, wanting to give her something, though it might have been wiser to ignore her. Beams had fallen across the passageway leading to the brig, and he felt like a fish navigating a cave during a tide change.
The pilot has quite a command of flugnugstica warfare, Pey Lu thought, more irritation seeping into her dry tone. An image accompanied the words, the underwater boat zipping all around the bottom of the Prey Stalker, somehow anticipating her attacks in time to snug up to the hull of the ship. It stayed so close that she had to divert her magical blows lest she strike her own craft. When she had tried to fling a mental assault at the pilot, she had met with the same kind of brick wall Yanko had encountered with the woman in the brig.
Yanko had been fortunate enough to get through the mage hunter’s defenses, at least enough to distract her for a moment.
I had no such luck with this pilot, Pey Lu said coolly.
Yanko did not respond, though part of him wanted to point out that she claimed to like challenging opponents. Maybe she only liked them when she ended up defeating them.
He wriggled into the brig, cracking his knuckles on the metal bars. He couldn’t see anything in the gloom, but he sensed his prisoner