communicated with each other. From somewhere in the distance he could hear the call of his brethren and he tried to respond, but a bolt of white hot pain was driven into his mind when he lifted his head. He tried to buck against the onslaught of the creatures, but found that it was their will alone that held him; a horrendous buzzing that itched at the back of his mind.
A Chadassa with a barbed spike swam into view and drove the weapon deep into his side. The anger that he felt at the injury was fed back to him by the other Chadassa — a continual loop of rage — until it became so acute that it was almost painful.
He cried out and his call echoed from the depths of the canyon that fell away a short distance beyond him.
And then the Chadassa were swimming away and he suddenly found that he could move.
He could feel the lightless depths of the canyon calling to him, where more of his kind grazed and bred and reared their young in peace.
It wasn't peace that was burning through him now however; just the pure and hateful anger that the Chadassa had instilled in him. He could still feel them somewhere out of sight, feeding his rage. Nurturing it.
Four of his kind swam into view; a male and female adult and, behind them, two calves.
The group called to him as friends.
He shot them a warning response — this much he could just about manage — but they didn't recognise the change that had been wrought in him, they only saw one of their kind and they continued to approach.
The young darted ahead of the group and he went for them.
The calves were easily broken and soon the water was clouded with their innards. The female of the group tried to flee but he lashed out with his tentacles and pulled her in close, before gouging at her side with his teeth.
Even as the male barrelled into him, he closed his jaws and killed his mate.
There was the rich iron taste of blood in the water as he turned on the last surviving member of the group.
The whispering of the Chadassa increased in volume as he squared off against his opponent. The male was bigger than he, the crest of bone that rose from his back marked with the many striations of age. He only hoped that with that age had come frailty, but the vast form that now barrelled towards him showed no sign of weakness.
They grappled and, as he managed to force his opponent to the lip of the canyon, he could see the Chadassa swimming into view as they moved in to observe the fight.
He disengaged and backed out of range of his opponent's tentacles before rushing forwards, barrelling into the side of the enemy, taking him over the edge of the canyon and smashing him into the far wall. Great chunks of stone crumbled away and fell slowly into darkness.
Bellowing his victory he smashed into his opponent again and this time there was the rending of flesh. His opponent was fading in and out of consciousness now and, before he could regain his faculties, his tentacles encircled his body and squeezed hard.
He could feel the great heartbeat of his opponent close against him, echoing through his own body. It was an almost relaxing, reassuring sound but, still, he squeezed with all his might until that beating slowed and then stopped.
He let his tentacles drop away and watched as his dead brethren sank out of sight.
He had killed four of his own kind but it wasn't enough.
The anger still boiled within him -
— and he lashed out.
There was a scream and someone called his name. But that wasn't his name, was it?
'Silus, help!'
A tight band encircled his waist and he struggled against it before realising where he was.
The creature maintained its hold on Silus as it lifted Katya from the deck of the Llothriall. Ignacio and Jacquinto, leaning hard against the rail, tried to make a grab for her, but succeeded only in snatching the shoe from her right foot.
'Katya, try not to struggle.' Silus shouted.
As the creature drew her close, Katya reached out and — for just a second — their fingertips touched.
'Silus, what's happening?' Katya called.
'This creature is being controlled by the Chadassa. They sent it after us. If I can — '
Out of the corner of his eye Silus noticed Ignacio knocking an arrow to a bow.
'No, don't hurt it, otherwise you'll get us both killed!'
It seemed that the wind was strong enough to carry his voice, as Ignacio lowered his weapon.
The creature brought Katya closer then, more tentacles coming to bear as it examined her. One explored the mound of her belly and Silus prayed for the leviathan to be gentle.
'I'm going to try to break through the Chadassa's control, Katya. Stay as calm as you can.'
Silus looked into the creature's eyes again and he could sense the taint that lay over its will, like a diseased caul. He moved beyond this and called to the creature in friendship and in peace. He spoke to it of the lightless depths, the abundance of life that moved through the canyons and of the comfort and companionship of its brethren. Silus could feel how the creature yearned for these things and he focused this desire through his will, until it was keen and strong. Then he broke through the mental restrains that the Chadassa had put in place.
There was a rumbling sound from the leviathan and its grip on Silus suddenly relaxed.
He landed on damp grey flesh and grabbed hold of the ridge of bone that rose from the creature's back. Then, as the creature rose up in preparation to dive, Silus's feet went out from under him. Only his urgent mental calls prevented both he and Katya from being drowned.
The creature settled back down, expelling a jet of water from its spout along with a great sigh.
Silus stroked its flank as he spoke and soon Katya was lowered to stand beside him.
Holding his wife close, Silus spoke again and the leviathan slowly carried them back to the Llothriall, all the time filling Silus with waves of joy in thanks for its newfound freedom.
Chapter Fourteen
After the creature had guided he and Katya back to the Llothriall, Silus spent some time communicating with it. The creature responded to him with peace and gratitude, thankful that it was finally free of the Chadassa yoke. But, before it could go and join its brethren in the depths of the deep-sea trenches, Silus requested a favour.
They needed to find land, and soon. Without Emuel, without the full power of the stone that was the heart of the Llothriall, they were stranded. It would only be a matter of time before the Chadassa launched another attack and Katya was getting dangerously close to her full term. And so, Silus, asked the leviathan to guide them to land.
For a while the creature hadn't responded and Silus contemplated the possibility that there just wasn't any land nearby; that they'd ride the seas until they died of thirst or starvation. Years from now, they'd wash up on some Allantian shore, an unusual ship manned by a crew of skeletons. Perhaps somebody would even write a sea shanty about the mystery of the sepulchral travellers.
But then the creature replied and Silus breathed a sigh of relief.
The crew's enthusiasm and gratitude, however, were tempered by their friend's recent death and when Silus tried to persuade the two remaining smugglers to help harness the creature to the ship, Ignacio refused. After all, this thing had killed his friend. But Silus reminded him that it was the Chadassa, and not the leviathan who had been responsible for his loss.
'Ignacio, this is probably our only shot at survival,' Kelos said, coming to Silus's defence. 'Don't let this voyage have been for nothing.'
'The mage is right,' said Jacquinto. 'How do you think Ioannis would have wanted to die, Ignacio? Deep in the Citadel at Turnitia, tortured to death by the City Guard for running Sarcrean spice to low-life users? Or out on the open waters, battling with his friends and using his sword for something worth fighting for? This was where he
