Part 31 (1/2)

'Consider this as well: your friends will know agony. What Thasha suffered by that necklace is but a foretaste. She will become the plaything of the Gurishal lunatics, or of the s.h.a.ggat himself if he wants her. She will bear children who will be taken from her and raised in the knowledge that their mother was a wh.o.r.e. Neeps Undrabust will be lowered into tanner's acid, gradually, until his screaming stops. Fiffengurt will be blinded and abandoned to the lepers of Ursyl. Hercol's queen will be devoured by wolfhounds before his eyes.

'And then there is your city. When I rule this world through the s.h.a.ggat, I shall finish the job Arqual began five years ago. Ormael will be razed, the adults taken into the Straits of Simja and drowned, the children scattered to other lands and made to forget their language. All this I shall see to personally - in memory of you, Pazel Pathkendle. Goodbye.'

The mage departed without a backward glance. As he pa.s.sed Jervik he made a sharp gesture in Pazel's direction. Jervik nodded and hurried to the bowsprit.

'Muketch,' he said, in a low, gleeful voice. 'What've you got yer brown a.r.s.e into now?'

The lookouts were back at their designated spots on the port and starboard rails. Pazel tried to speak, but only managed a feeble moan. With each pitch of the s.h.i.+p he felt his fingers loosening.

'Quiet, eh?' said Jervik. 'He said you might be. Tha's all right. I can sit here as long as you like. But if you try somethin' I'll deck you proper, s'help me Rin.'

With immense effort, Pazel shook his head. Jervik grinned, his face like a wide-mouthed frog. Then, with a glance over his shoulder, he pulled something from his s.h.i.+rt and held it up for Pazel to admire.

On a leather cord beside his bra.s.s Citizens.h.i.+p Ring hung a thick gold bead. It might have weighed as much as eight or nine Arquali c.o.c.kles, and been worth ten times that, if the metal was as pure as it looked.

'I'm rich,' he said. 'I'll have one o' these every week I do his biddun.'

Pazel was finding it difficult to blink. A few more pitches of the bow and he would drop like a stone.

'What're you doin' out there, you daft pig?' said the older boy after a moment. 'Get in here. I'm s'posed to watch you, is all. I'm not gonna hurt you.'

He stepped forwards. He was getting annoyed at Pazel's silence. And all at once Pazel understood the part Arunis had in mind for Jervik.

You poor imbecile.

There was no way to warn him. When Pazel's head lolled down to his chest he could not raise it again.

'I said, get in 'ere!'

Jervik cuffed the back of his head - signing his own death warrant (for murderers at sea were hanged from the yardarm, no exceptions) if he only knew. Pazel barely felt the blow, but with the next pitch of the Chathrand Chathrand his arm slipped from the Goose-Girl. Jervik gave a sort of woof of surprise. Pazel was looking head-down at the churning sea. Then, as the bowsprit rose again, he fell. his arm slipped from the Goose-Girl. Jervik gave a sort of woof of surprise. Pazel was looking head-down at the churning sea. Then, as the bowsprit rose again, he fell.

Onto an outstretched arm.

Belesar Bolutu was there, s.h.i.+rtless, wrenching Pazel out of his fall and against his black chest. The man had leaped past Jervik and straddled the bowsprit, clinging for dear life with his legs. An incoherent howl escaped his tongueless mouth.

For a hideous moment Pazel felt them both sliding into a fall - he lifeless as a sack, Bolutu with his arms locked around his chest. Then the lookouts dived on Bolutu with cries of By the board! By the board! By the board! By the board! and hauled the two of them to safety. and hauled the two of them to safety.

Dimly, he felt hands stretch him out on the deck. The forecastle was suddenly crowded: others must have flung themselves down from the rigging the moment his fall began. The voices were far away.

'Another fit! The boy's a menace to himself!'

'He was pushed! Jervik Lank did it, the dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.d!'

'Are ye sure it was Lank? What about that d.a.m.ned Arunis?'

Sudden silence. Pazel wheezed, and they all looked down at him thoughtfully. Somewhere in the depths of the s.h.i.+p the white dog began to bark.

'Arunis didn't lay a finger on him,' said one of the lookouts. 'He just talked and went his way.'

'Why don't the muketch muketch say nothin'?' say nothin'?'

'He jumped! He jumped! Didn't he, Brother Bolutu, sir?'

A pail of seawater struck his face. Pazel gasped, and found he could move again. Even as he struggled to sit up, Neeps and Thasha pushed their way through the crowd.

'Pazel!' cried Neeps. 'Burning devils, what's happened to you now now?'

'I'm all right,' he said, letting them pull him to his feet.

He was very dizzy. Scores of off-duty men surrounded them, but only Neeps and Thasha held his arms. 'What did you want die for, Pathkendle?' asked one of the lookouts.

'Oh shut up!' said Thasha. 'Pazel, it was Jervik, wasn't it? That vicious thug, I'll--'

'No,' said Pazel. 'Not this time.' He took a stumbling step, and the crowd parted before him. 'Where's Bolutu gone?' he said. 'That man just saved my life.'

'Brother Bolutu took off near as fast as he got here,' said the watch captain, hitching his thumb at the ladder. 'Didn't say a word. Oh, but then he can't, can he?'

They left the gaping men behind. Pazel's hands shook on the ladder, and when he had descended to the topdeck he found himself short of breath. He steadied himself against the wall of the forecastle house, blinking gratefully at his friends.

'Arunis . . . is spying on us,' he gasped. Despite his exhaustion he knew the spell was fading; already the warm tropical evening had driven the cold from his limbs. He told them of the mage's attack and the part Jervik had played. But he could not bring himself to confess how Arunis had exploited his feelings for Thasha.

'At least we know he's still weak, still recovering from Dhola's Rib, or even before. He can still cast spells, obviously - but it cost him something terrible. I doubt he could have managed the second one if I hadn't touched him.'

'Not likely he was shamming, either, since he thought you'd be dead,' said Thasha.

'He's afraid of you, Thasha. He wants to get you off this s.h.i.+p. Maybe he really is weak, right now. He didn't want anyone to know that he he had killed me, so he left Jervik to take the blame. That fool doesn't know how close he came to earning a jump from the mizzenmast.' had killed me, so he left Jervik to take the blame. That fool doesn't know how close he came to earning a jump from the mizzenmast.'

'With a noose for a necktie,' said Neeps. 'And I for one wouldn't have shed a - Thasha, what's wrong?'

Thasha's eyes were gleaming with sudden realisation. 'Chadfallow was right,' she said.

Neeps looked at her, then started. 'Blow me down. So he was.'

Pazel looked from one to the other. 'What do you mean? Right about what?'

'There was a fight on the berth deck,' said Thasha. 'Half the crew ran to see it. The crowd was so thick you could hardly move.'

'What sort of a fight?'

Neeps shrugged. 'Plapps versus Burnscoves, that's all we ever heard. It started in the mess hall. Dastu took a few nasty hits - seems he tried to keep the peace, and n.o.body thanked him. Marila's with him right now in sickbay.'

'By the time we arrived the fight was getting ugly,' said Thasha. 'Hercol was tossing men left and right, shouting at both gangs to come to their senses. I could have helped, but Marila grabbed me around the waist and wouldn't let go. Then Neeps got knocked over and she had to let go of me and grab him him before he jumped in and got himself killed.' before he jumped in and got himself killed.'

'Stubborn little devil, that one,' muttered Neeps.

'The next thing we knew Chadfallow was shouting at us from the edge of the mob: ”On your guard! This is not a coincidence!” That's when we asked ourselves what had happened to you.'

'A diversion,' said Neeps, 'the whole blary fight. Arunis didn't want anyone watching the forecastle.' He looked at Pazel sharply. 'And you're a daft one, aren't you?'

'Daft?' said Pazel.