Page 22 of The Cradle of Ice

Knowing there was nothing more he could do, he squeezed his eyes closed.

A splintering crash shook the ship. He heard something tear away with a screech of draft-iron. He pictured one of the outer flashburn tanks ripping off its welding, taking part of the hull with it. A fresh howl of winds echoed behind him, confirming his fears.

Still …

He opened his eyes. Outside, the mountain was gone, replaced by the sweep of the icy valley. “We made it,” he gasped out, ending in a near-manic chuckle of relief. “We made it.”

But he quickly sobered, knowing it was only a momentary reprieve from death. The ship continued its dive toward the valley floor. He glanced back toward the roiling howl of winds where the storm had broken into the ship.

Maybe I should’ve added Ðreyk to my prayers.

As he stared, the wheelhouse door banged open, and a blazing sun pushed into the space. He gasped and let go of the maesterwheel. He lifted an arm and blinked away the glare. It took him an extra breath to recognize the familiar golden haze.

Bridle-song …

For him to see it so brightly, the power behind it must be immense. The wielders appeared, rushing forward.

Shiya and Nyx hurried toward him, half sliding down the slanted floor. Their fiery blaze spread outward, reaching the walls, where it vanished from his weak bridle-sense.

He could not find his tongue to even voice a question. Around him, the others stirred on the planks, quickly waking from the witchery afoot. A hand grasped his ankle, then another his calf. He stared down as Darant climbed his body. The pirate’s face stormed from confusion to fury.

Darant got his feet under him and shoved Rhaif away. Glad to be relieved of duty, Rhaif stumbled aside—only to trip over the leg of another waking crewman. He fell hard onto his backside. Darant grabbed hold of the wheel and seemingly took everything in with a glance—of course, brigands didn’t last long if they weren’t ready for the sudden thrust of a sword at their back.

“What’ve you done to my ship?” Darant bellowed, while waving the others to their stations.

Rhaif shrugged. “Thought I’d play captain while you were all napping.”

Graylin rushed to Darant’s shoulder. “We need to get higher before we clear this valley.”

“I see those mountains ahead of us as plain as you can,” Darant groused. “Just gotta get ’er nose up first.”

Darant shifted his legs. One foot reached under the console and pressed a pedal near the floor. The pirate pulled on the maesterwheel, and its shaft slid smoothly on its pistons. The slant in the floor began to level as the bow rose.

Still on his backside, Rhaif leaned on an elbow, looked under the wheel, and groaned.

Ah, so there’s a pedal … someone really needs to tell me these things.

Darant bellowed to the others, “Set that stern forge to blazing! We’re getting our arses out of here!”

Nyx sidestepped Graylin as the knight came protectively toward her. She pointed toward the window. “Hurry! Something’s coming!”

12

NYX STAYED CLOSE to Shiya in case the woman needed her voice. For the moment, the assault upon the ship had ebbed—though the threat remained. She felt those dark energies probing and gliding over Shiya’s glowing shield, focusing there.

Nyx stared out into the windstorm.

Perhaps the wielders have grown wary by what confounds them.

With the attack concentrating on Shiya, more of the ship’s crew woke from the bridling slumber. Shouts and orders echoed all around her, both across the wheelhouse and through the highhorn to the rest of the ship.

Nyx kept one hand on Shiya’s arm, using her bronze form as an anchor in the storm. The Sparrowhawk continued to tremble and rock, forging a hard path through the howling winds. Nyx stared past the windows, searching for the source of the bridle-song. Though the onslaught had waned, she sensed the dark strength out there, like thunderclouds stacked across the horizon.

And we’re heading right toward it.

After shaking off the slumber, Darant had fought the Sparrowhawk high enough to clear the mountain range beyond the wide valley. By now, they had crossed most of the breadth of the Dragoncryst. Only a few jagged teeth of the range still cut across their path.

Graylin stuck to the brigand’s shoulder. “Perhaps we should heed Nyx and turn aside from whatever’s out there. Try another approach. Circle south or north.”