Regent

neck stood as she realized there was a filament of energy extending from her head and the ship and reaching up to the clouds above. Time was running out.

Denied direct access to the comets, Catrin reached to the air around her. Pelivor did the same and was soon trying to generate enough lift to get them out of the water. Catrin did her best to focus on providing thrust. Farsy watched from nearby with a glint in his eye, and Catrin smiled at him despite their peril. Under her direction, he had modified the tube of wood, changing the shape of the inner surface so it opened more at the entrance and remained more constricted midway along its length. The changes reduced the strength and stability of the wood, and Catrin could now feel it trembling as she forced air through. A low whistle began, and as they moved faster, it grew in volume and pitch. Over a steeper wave, the hull left the water, lurching suddenly to one side as a feral came at them unblocked until the very last moment.

The whistling continued to grow louder, and Catrin applied as much energy as she thought was safe. Again the crew had to trim the sails as their speed increased. Before they were even finished, the rigging began to vibrate, and the wind tore at the crew. Staying low to the water, they skimmed along as fast as they were able. Above, the skies were far too dangerous, and the Slippery Eel, even with Catrin and Pelivor in control, was no match for a feral dragon in open air.

'At least the water makes it hurt really bad when they miss,' Kenward said. 'We need to get through the harbor and into the river valley. Then there won't be room for many of these beasts in the air above us.'

'Sails ahead, sir- What the-? Sir!'

It didn't take long for Catrin to see what the lookout had seen or for Kenward to start cursing. Thorakis's sailors seemed to be learning new things at an alarming rate. Hovering above the water came a formation of ships linked together by blood red lightning. The ships appeared equidistant from one another and flew as a single unit. Standing at the prow of the lead ship was a tall man in long robes, his arms cast out to the sides, lightning flowing from his hands and into the deck itself. Dark paint made him look like the demons that wandered his decks. Again these Gholgi-like abominations would haunt Catrin, and she watched in horror as similarly dressed men emerged on the prow of every ship in the array. When they raised their hands, a new web of power sprang into the air, joining over the lead ship, focusing, and splitting the air toward the Slippery Eel.

Catrin banked the ship to the right, accelerated, then slowed. White heat seared the air but went wide.

'Higher!' Kenward ordered.

Catrin and Pelivor did as he said. No sooner had they gained open air than a feral locked on to them. A pair of regents gave chase, but this feral was bigger and faster than most of the others. Closing the gap to the Slippery Eel and leaving the regents behind, the feral made it clear it wasn't going to give up easily. Dividing her attention, Catrin reached back out to the comets, and as the Eel moved out from under the dread cloud, the comets answered, flooding her with energy. The ship whistled as she pushed for more speed, but she wasn't certain the Eel could take much more. Instead she focused part of her mind on building up a charge and sending a finger of lightning back at the charging feral. The lightning connected, and in that instant, she felt small and insignificant. The will of the feral washed over her. None of what was going on around her seemed to exist; all that mattered was avoiding the wrath of the lord of the night.

Lost in his rapidly approaching eyes, Catrin watched, entranced.

'Why are we slowing?'

The voices were distant and meaningless. Nothing could be more important than what she was doing, of that she was certain.

'Catrin! Wake up!' Kenward shouted as he shook her.

It took Catrin a moment to realize where she was and what was happening, but then it all rushed back at once and nearly caused her to swoon. In the meantime the feral had drawn closer, and the sight of him sent Catrin scrambling to get them moving fast again. What lead they had was now lost, and the dragon would almost certainly catch them. The regents in pursuit flew in what looked like desperation as they climbed higher and higher. Watching as they disappeared into the clouds, Catrin's hope faded.

At the fastest speed she felt the ship could handle, the feral continued to gain on them. Twice more she attacked, and twice more it seemed only to infuriate the beast. Standing near the stern became a liability as the dragon overtook them. It came all at once, as if it had been holding back and only making them think it had been at maximum speed. The sudden attack caught Catrin off her guard, and she scrambled to cast out energy in hopes of warding off certain death. Behind the feral Catrin noticed two dark shapes diving toward the surface at unbelievable speed. Then those shapes extended their wings and pulled up to skim over the waves, sending spray circling in the roiling wind behind them. They hit the feral hard and fast, knocking him off course and away from the ship. It was a costly victory, though, and Catrin cried out when the feral struck like a snake and sent one of the regents into a lifeless spin until it crashed into the water with a series of sickening pops and snaps. Afraid of going much higher, again in the shadow of the unnatural cloud, Catrin guided them closer to the harbor. Approaching the tall ring of stone that surrounded much of the harbor, Catrin looked up almost expecting to see a Zjhon warship still nestled among the peaks, but it was gone, lost to the ravages of time and weather, she guessed.

When she lowered her gaze, she let out a gasp, which was immediately followed by shouts from the crew. Another formation of ships was leaving the harbor, just clearing the massive semicircle of stone peaks. The base of the passage was far wider than the top, and Kenward cursed when Catrin took them higher and turned sharply so the ship entered the narrow opening at an angle. In trying to match the angle of the rock face that would likely snap off the mainmast, Catrin pitched the ship onto its side, nearly losing Farsy. The wind whispered over the rocks as they passed, and an instant later, they emerged into the massive harbor. Instead of the giant sea and land creatures she'd been expecting, Catrin saw a waiting navy. A mass of ships clogged the waters, and enough land had been cleared to build fortifications. Smoke billowed from stacks on ships and from buildings.

The air above was no safer than that above the open seas. In fact, the rock faces made it even more dangerous to navigate. Bringing the ship down low, Catrin saw dark shapes in the water and knew that the large sea creatures may not be fully visible, but they were still there.

'If we set down,' Kenward said, 'they'll attack from underneath, just as they did the last time we were here. If we stay here, the dragons'll get us, and who knows what's waiting in that river valley. I don't recall it being a pleasant trip. And we had to turn back at those boiling statues.'

'Do you have a better idea?' Catrin asked.

'No,' he admitted.

'Then hold on.'

'Get ready!' Kenward shouted to the crew. 'This is gonna be a bumpy ride.'

The whistle of the ship echoed off the canyon walls, and Catrin brought them higher, even as approaching formations of ships readied themselves to attack. These groups were smaller, some consisting of only three ships, but they moved with nimble grace and seemed capable of greater speed.

'This is insane!' Kenward shouted as they whisked over the first formation of ships, which remained just above the surface of the water. The air around them shimmered, and the smell of smoke polluted the air. 'They're setting us on fire! Put us down! Put us down!'

Not wanting to lose speed, Catrin tried to only bounce the ship along the surface of the narrowing and shallow waters at the mouth of the approaching river. She'd envisioned the ship skipping like a stone, but the drag was far greater than she had anticipated. Everyone and everything aboard was thrown toward the prow. A jet of oily fire spewing black smoke struck the waves before them and set the water itself afire.

'Up! Up!' Kenward shouted.

Catrin would have obeyed his orders if she could, but it was simply too much to ask, and the ship struck the flames, which left the Eel covered in burning pitch. The crew watched helplessly as smoke streamed up through the railing. Realizing that even the water would not extinguish this fire, Catrin concentrated on getting the ship back into the air. Though it seemed like the worst possible thing to do, Catrin had a plan. Pelivor cried out as he exerted himself, the cut of his muscles standing out as the wind plastered his silks against him.

Just before they reached the next cluster of approaching ships, they left the water and banked to port, this time greeted by a series of thumps that slammed into the hull. No one knew how much damage they had taken, but crewmen were shouting from below, and some had to evacuate the deckhouse due to smoke.

'She's gonna burn up!' Kenward shouted.