ushered them away.
Church and Ruth were gripped with the overwhelming strangeness of their situation, but they were distracted from discussing it by a tall, thin figure looming ahead of them. It appeared to be comprised of black rugs fluttering in the breeze beneath a tattered wide-brimmed hat. In the shadows that obscured the face, Church saw eyes gleaming like hot coals. It stretched out an arm towards Ruth, revealing a bony hand covered with papery white skin. 'Watch your step,' the figure said in a whispery voice like the wind over dry leaves. 'There are things here that would drain your lifeblood-'
Before the dark figure could continue, Cormorel stepped between it and Ruth, brushing the arm aside. With one hand in the small of Ruth's back, Cormorel steered her away.
'What was it?' Ruth looked back, but the presence had already melted away amongst the busy crew. She felt as if a shadow lay across her, although the effect diminished within seconds of leaving the figure behind.
'The Walpurgis,' Cormorel replied coldly.
'Yes, but what was it?'
'A memory of the world's darkest night. A disease of life. An unfortunate by-product of the Master's policy of admitting all comers is that occasionally we must play host to… unpleasant travellers.' He eyed Ruth suspiciously. 'You would do well to avoid the Walpurgis at all costs,' he warned.
'Did you hear me calling?' Church asked when they stood in the shadow of the mast.
'We hear all who speak of us.' Cormorel had sloughed off the mood that had gripped him after the encounter with the Walpurgis and his eyes were sparkling once again. 'A muttered word, an unguarded aside-they shout out to us across the void.' He surveyed them both as if he were weighing his thoughts, and then decided to speak. 'You did not call the ship, the ship called you-as it did everyone who travels on board, myself included. Wave Sweeper offers up to us our destiny, revealed here in signs and whispers, symbols that crackle across the void. It is a great honour. For many who travel on Wave Sweeper, the journey is the destination.'
The concept wasn't something Church wished to consider; he yearned for the old days of cause and effect, linear time, space that could be measured; when everything made sense.
Irritated by the salty sea breeze, Ruth took an elastic band from her pocket and fastened her hair back. It made her fine features even more fragile, and beautiful. 'You don't mind us coming?'
'We accept all travellers on Wave Sweeper. They are a source of constant amusement to us.'
'That's nice,' Ruth said sourly. She looked out to the hazy horizon, aware of the shortening time. 'How long will it take?'
Cormorel laughed at the ridiculousness of the question. 'We will pass through the Far Lands, Sister of Dragons.'
'We have to be back before Samhain. A long time before.' She fixed him with a stare that would brook no dissent.
'You will be in place to face your destiny.' There was something in Cormorel's smile that unnerved them both.
Before they could ask any further questions, they were hailed from the other end of the deck. Cormorel's companion Baccharus hurried to meet them, his ponytail flapping. Where Cormorel was overconfident, proud and arrogant, Baccharus was humble and almost shy, traits they had never seen in any of the gods before. If they could trust any of them, he was the one.
Ruth greeted him with a smile, Church with a bow, but if anything he was more pleased to see them. 'We are honoured to have a Brother and Sister of Dragons on board the ship that sails the Night Seas,' he said quietly; he even sounded as if he meant it.
Cormorel laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. 'Baccharus will show you to your quarters. They have already been prepared for you-'
'You were expecting us?' Church asked.
Cormorel smiled in his irritatingly enigmatic way. 'Food and drink will be sent to your rooms-' He caught the look in Church's eye and added, 'It is given freely and without obligation. Wave Sweeper is a place that defies the rules that govern our existence. It is the Master's wish.' He gave an exaggerated bow.
Baccharus led them to the door through which Callow had been herded. Behind it, creaking, irregular steps went down into the bowels of the ship. The torches that lit their path were set a little too far apart, so uncomfortable shadows were always clustering. Despite the flickering flames, there was little smoke and no charring on the wooden walls. Ruth steadied herself on the boards at one point, but the surface felt so much like skin she never tried again.
They came on to a corridor that twisted and turned so much it was impossible to see more than fifteen feet ahead or behind. It was oppressively claustrophobic, barely wide enough for one person, with the ceiling mere inches above Church's head; doors were on either side, each with a strange symbol burned into the wood that was not wood. Baccharus stopped outside two doors marked with the sign of a serpent eating its tail.
Or a dragon, Church thought. He let his fingers trace the symbol. It felt as if it had been branded into the wood years before. Not wanting to consider what that meant, he stepped into the room sharply once Baccharus opened the door.
The room unnervingly echoed their bedrooms in the pub, as if they were still on land, dreaming their encounters on Wave Sweeper. A fishing net hung on one side, while lanterns, billhooks and other implements of a seafaring life covered the walls. The bed was barely more than a bench covered with rough blankets beneath a window with bottle-glass panes that diffused the light in a dazzling display across the chamber; even so, shadows still clung to the corners. A connecting door gave access to Ruth's room, an exact replica of Church's.
Ruth summoned up the courage to touch the wooden walls once more. Something pulsed just beneath the surface, while her feet picked up faint vibrations, as if somewhere in the core of the vessel a mighty heart was beating. The notion left her feeling queasy and disorientated.
Baccharus watched her curiously, as if he could read her thoughts, and then warned, 'The ship is large, with many wonders, but many dangers too. You are free to roam as you see fit, but take care in your investigations.'
Once he had left, Church threw open the window and looked out across the waves. 'This isn't going to be easy.'
'Did you expect it any other way? From the moment we started on this road we've had trouble at every turn.' Ruth examined the cupboards. They were generally empty and smelled of damp and dust.
'You can't trust any of the Tuatha De Danann, any of the other creatures. They've all got their own agendas, their own secret little rules and regulations-'
'Then we don't trust them. We trust each other.' Ruth joined him at the window; the sea air was refreshingly tangy, but her face was troubled. 'Last night I had a dream…' She chewed on a nail apprehensively. 'No, it wasn't a dream at all. I felt Balor in my head.' The gulls over the sea suddenly erupted in a crazed bout of squawking. 'It knows what we're doing, Church.'
A chill brushed slowly across his skin.
'It was so powerful.' Her eyes were fixed on the horizon. 'And it's growing stronger by the minute. I'm afraid of what the world's going to be like when we get back. And I'm afraid that Bator will be waiting for us.'
The food was delivered about an hour later by one of the blank-faced gods: bread, dried meat, dried fruits, and a liquid that tasted like mead. They ate hungrily and then returned to the deck. Manannan was at the wheel, surveying the horizon, while the crew prepared the ship for departure.
'If we're going to back out, now's the time,' Ruth said. 'Once it sets sail, we'll be trapped with this collection of freaks until the bitter end.' She thought for a moment, then revised her words. 'Until we reach our destination.'
They moved over to the rail to take one last look at Mousehole. People moved quietly along the front, oblivious to Wave Sweeper's presence. The sky was still blue, the sun bright on the rooftops, the wind fresh. Church scanned the length of the coastline, then closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
'I love it,' he said.
'What?'
'Britain. The world. There's so much-' He broke off. 'I never thought about it before. It was just there.'
Ruth said nothing, caught in a moment of admiration for the untroubled innocence that still lay at the heart of him, despite all that was happening.
