warmth of the sun. 'There's no point in guessing,' she said eventually. 'If we could piece it together from what we've seen we would have done it already.'
'I know, but…'
'What is it?'
'It casts a shadow over everything. I know that sounds stupid with what's going down, but the fact is, the five of us… six, with Tom… we were the calm centre, something I could rely on to make everything else bearable.'
'It's just the two of us now. We're the calm centre.'
Any further discussion was curtailed by a sharp knock at the door. It was Baccharus carrying a tray filled with cold meats, fruit and bread. 'I thought you might like to break your fast,' he said quietly.
They ushered him in, then refused to let him leave while they hungrily are everything on the tray. They questioned him about what was happening elsewhere on Wave Sweeper.
'The Master has called a meeting of all who travel upon Wave Sweeper, on deck shortly. There is a feeling for…' He chose his word carefully. '… retribution.'
'Have you found the Walpurgis?' Church asked.
Baccharus shook his head. 'There are many scouring the boat, even as we speak, but it is…' He made an expansive gesture.
'How serious is this?' Ruth said.
'How serious? To the Golden Ones it is a crime against existence. We dance amongst the worlds; stars pass beneath our feet. We are a part of everything, of the endless cycle. We are not meant to be eradicated-'
'But it is possible,' Church said, remembering Calatin. 'You know that.'
'Anything is possible.' Baccharus's voice had grown even quieter. 'But there are some things that should not happen. One could imagine the whole of everything falling into the void before they came to pass. The eradication of a Golden One is one of those things. Cormorel may have appeared young to you. But he was enjoying his wild ways when your world was a steaming rock in the infinite dark. What you saw last night was something beyond your comprehension. A star exploding would not have matched one atom of its import.'
'I'm sorry.' Ruth rested a hand on his forearm. 'I know Cormorel was your companion. We know what it is like to lose a dear friend.' His expression brought her up sharp; it said she could never understand the slightest of what he-all the Tuatha De Danann-were experiencing.
'There are two issues here,' Baccharus continued. 'The Master is concerned that the Walpurgis had not only the power, but also the knowledge of how to use it to end Cormorel's days. And that he had the inclination.'
'Do you believe it was the Walpurgis?' Church pressed.
Baccharus looked at him thoughtfully. 'You saw as well as I-'
'I saw him drain Cormorel's soul. I didn't see him commit murder.'
Baccharus shrugged. 'The Master believes it to be the Walpurgis-'
'Isn't justice important?'
'Of course.' Baccharus's voice grew cold for the first time since they had known him.
'Well, isn't it?' Church pressed.
'Justice is above us all.'
An uncomfortable silence descended on the room until Ruth couldn't bear it. 'That thing which attacked last night-'
'The G'a'naran.' Baccharus was staring dismally across the waves.
'The G'a'naran. What was it?' She looked to Church. 'It reminded me of old stories, mariners' tales-'
'More race memories, things that slip between the worlds.'
'A sea monster?'
'The G'a'naran is unformed, from the age when all flowed freely, finding its shape,' Baccharus said. 'Its home is not beneath the waves, though sometimes it takes refuge there. It navigates amongst the stars-'
'Like you?'
Baccharus looked at Ruth. 'No, not like us.'
Church was troubled by Baccharus's description. 'I don't understand why it attacked the ship if it's not some kind of mindless animal, which I presume it's not. Is it a predator?' He was surprised to see Baccharus was concerned too. 'What is it?'
The god made to leave without answering, but Church dragged the reply from him. 'The G'a'naran would not have attacked Wave Sweeper unless it was provoked. Or summoned.'
'Summoned?' Church's head was thundering; connections were lining up, but not quite linking. 'What's going on here?'
Before the matter could be pursued further, a long, low mournful sound reverberated throughout the ship. It drew an overwhelmingly dismal feeling from deep within them; Ruth found tears springing to her eyes involuntarily.
'The Master is summoning.' Baccharus looked oddly distracted, almost dazed. When he realised they were still seated, he said, 'You must come.'
The sun was unbearably bright as they stepped out on to the deck, blinking. 'Tell me,' Church hissed to Baccharus in response to the silence that lay heavy over everything, 'when you were in trouble on deck last night, why didn't anyone save you?'
On the surface Baccharus's face appeared emotionless, but Church could tell there were deep but unreadable emotions running beneath. 'There is no recognition that we might not exist. Therefore there is no need to aid one in dire straits.'
'I thought you lot always stuck together.'
'You do not understand our ways.' It was a cold statement; Church knew there was no point pursuing the matter. By that time they had arrived in the midst of a crowd filling every foot of the ship's boards, some of the freakish travellers even clambering up into the rigging. Others were arriving behind them. Amidst the reek of alien scents, the pressing of skin that felt like carbonised rubber or gelatine, Church fought to focus his attention on the tableau unfolding on the raised area preserved for the captain of the vessel.
His face like an ocean tempest, Manannan overlooked the crowd, hands behind his back, flanked by other members of the Tuatha De Danann. Niamh was close by his right arm, her beautiful face troubled too. She stared across the waves, lost to whatever dark scenarios were playing in her mind.
A low muttering had risen in the crowd like wind over the water, but when Manannan raised his left arm, everyone felt silent. His gaze slowly moved across the masses; even at that distance Church was sure his eyes were burning. His face held an odd quality too, as though it were about to become fluid, transform.
'A crime has been committed against the very fabric of existence.' He appeared to be whispering, but his voice boomed over the throng, which grew visibly cowed. 'Something more valuable than the stars above you, more important than the entire weight of all your races, from the beginning to the end, has been torn away. This will not go unpunished.'
Church felt a pang of fear. Ruth's skin was unnaturally pale.
'The one who committed this atrocity is known to us, and though not yet within our grasp, know this: there is no escape from our unflinching eye. No hope. We will peel back the lies, strip away the moment and the mile, never rest, until we have it.' He paused, letting his words fall like stones. 'And know this also: our gaze will be turned on you, all of you, individually, even in your most private moments. And if we find any who have aided or abetted the committal of this monstrous crime, they will be punished.' Another pause. 'With the full weight of our wrath.'
He surveyed the crowd one final time, with many flinching from his eyes, and then slowly descended to his quarters, the other members of the Tuatha De Danann trailing behind.
Even when they had all departed and the door had closed, no one on deck moved, no one spoke, there was not even a rustle of clothing. Church smelled fear in the air and more than that, an awful dread that events were rapidly deteriorating. There was darkness on the horizon and none of them knew which way the wind was blowing.
'He's in here?'
Baccharus motioned towards the heavy wooden door with the black sigil. It was two decks down, at the heart of the ship so no wall was next to the cool, green water. Church moved his palm gently a quarter-inch above the surface of the door, testing the sensitivity that had grown in him since Tom had introduced him to the Blue Fire.
