He and Atta swam back to their ship as the Norukai continued to work on the carcass like seagulls tearing apart a bloated whale. When he climbed aboard his ship again, he caressed the carved figurehead. He raised his fists into the air and shouted, “I am the serpent god now. We are the serpent god, and we will strike and kill.”
He inhaled until his lungs were so full he felt his chest would burst, and then he exhaled a gigantic roar that rippled across the masts. All the Norukai resounded with their response.
One serpent god might be dead, Grieve knew, but now there were many more serpent gods—elsewhere in the sea, and also in human form—and they were far more deadly.
Yes, the world would grieve.
CHAPTER 71
Driven by the enhanced wind, the Chaser practically flew across the waves toward Serrimundi. The krakener pulled far ahead of the Norukai fleet, and the crew made makeshift repairs from the sea serpent attack along the way.
They could not reach Serrimundi fast enough to please Nicci. After seeing the number of serpent ships, she was convinced that even Serrimundi’s new defenses could not withstand such an attack. The much larger city of Tanimura might stand a chance, with its full navy and strengthened army, but not Serrimundi. Effren and Larrikan Shores had already been wiped out by a much smaller Norukai raiding fleet.
Serrimundi was more than ten times larger than Renda Bay, however, and such a city simply could not be evacuated in only a few days. It seemed an impossible situation.
She stood at the bow of the Chaser with Nathan, Bannon, and Lila, discussing options. Even with their speed and significant head start, Nicci doubted they would have enough time to make the necessary preparations—whatever those might be. Together, they tried to develop a plan that would give Serrimundi the best chance of survival.
Just before the Chaser approached the line of reefs beyond the harbor mouth, they encountered one of the patrol boats. As they raced past, Nicci cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Light your signal rafts. The Norukai are on their way!”
The patrol boat’s crew dropped the floating platform overboard and lit the pile of green kindling to raise a column of smoke that could be seen for many miles. Other widely separated scout boats spotted the signal and replied in kind, lighting their own rafts to pass the message along and notify everyone in the city. The lookout on top of the Sea Mother bluff hammered on her gong to sound the alarm.
Serrimundi was on full alert by the time the Chaser sailed past the Mist Maiden and four other armored cargo ships that defended the mouth of the harbor, just beyond the towering stone carving. When the krakener pulled up to one of the repaired piers, Harborlord Otto, Lady Olgya, Captains Ganley and Straker, and other city representatives hurried to meet them.
“The Norukai are maybe two days behind us,” Bannon blurted out. “We have to get the whole city on high alert.”
Otto nodded soberly. “We are as ready as can be. Everyone is armed and trained, the ships are reinforced with metal plates. We knew this might happen.”
“You have made an admirable effort here, but alas we are convinced it will not be enough to save Serrimundi,” Nathan said.
Captain Ganley looked indignant. “Don’t underestimate us. Our people know this is their only chance to save their homes. They will not give up without a fight.”
“It will be a battle such as the Norukai have never seen.” The harborlord crossed his arms over his chest.
“But you will still lose. Even if you inflict numerous casualties on the raiders, they will still burn your city to the ground,” Nicci said. “Tanimura’s defenses are ten times stronger. They have built up a whole fleet of warships ready to defend the sea, and their standing army includes a garrison from D’Hara, thousands from the city guard, and countless refugee recruits. Oron, Perri, and the other gifted are already there with General Zimmer. Our best chance is to lure the Norukai fleet directly to Tanimura, where they will be wiped out.”
“But what about Serrimundi?” Otto asked, his voice cracking. “What are we to do?”
“You may not need to fight at all,” Nathan said, touching a finger to his chin. “We have an idea to protect your city. Lady Olgya’s actions gave us the idea, in fact.”
The gifted woman from Ildakar was surprised. Her hair hung loose now, rather than in the familiar braids, with a ragged hunk where an enemy soldier had cut one off. “I inspired you? I am intrigued.”
Otto looked from Nathan to Nicci. “I like the sound of that, but I don’t understand what you mean.”
Leaving the krakener, Nicci walked down the dock, all business. She regarded the rolling hills, the sections of the city that spread inland from the neat, protected bowl of the harbor. Her memory and her imagination had not failed her. “Yes, it is possible.”
Otto and the others followed her as she walked the length of the pier, anxious to hear what she would suggest. In front of the first line of warehouses Nicci turned and looked back at the harbor, the headlands, and the opening to the sea. “The Norukai islands are far to the south, and this is new territory for them. Before Captain Kor’s raid, Serrimundi had never before been attacked, so the Norukai know very little about your distant city. None of Kor’s raiders escaped alive, so no one was able to bring a report to King Grieve. He isn’t aware of the exact location of Serrimundi.”
Nathan brushed the front of his new vest and adjusted his embroidered cape, as if he were about to step onto a stage. “If fate treats us favorably, we may be able to distract the Norukai and trick them into sailing right past Serrimundi.”
“We want to hide your city,” Lila said, with as much inflection as if she were merely remarking on the weather.
Ganley gasped. “Hide Serrimundi? Where would you put it?”
Nicci lifted her chin. “If we time it right, the Norukai might not see the harbor at all. Because we killed their serpent god, King Grieve is pursuing the Chaser. He wants his vengeance on us. If we can provoke them, taunt them, and make them keep chasing us, we might get the entire fleet to sail past Serrimundi?.?.?.?if they don’t see the harbor in the night.”
“How could they not see an entire city?” Otto removed his wide-brimmed hat and wiped perspiration from his brow. “I still don’t understand this.”
But Olgya began to smile. Nicci looked to Captains Ganley and Straker, both of whom stood ready to follow her instructions. “If other armored ships join us as we race away, King Grieve will keep following us.”
“He wants to kill me, too,” Bannon said. “And Lila. We just have to keep th
e Norukai too preoccupied to look for Serrimundi. That’s why we can’t let them see the city.”
“We must camouflage it,” Lila said, as if impatient for the discussion to come to the point.
Amid the surprised gasps, Nathan held up a finger. “A sufficiently gifted person such as yourself, my dear”—he turned toward Olgya—“could summon a thick mist to blanket the mouth of the harbor, just as you hid our ships from the Norukai after Renda Bay, and outside the Cliffwall canyon before that. If the raiders don’t know to look for Serrimundi, then the diversion should be straightforward enough. Before that, we need to stall and harass the raider fleet, make sure they arrive at night and sail past this part of the coast.?.?.?.”
Nicci turned to Otto. “Harborlord, you’ll need to darken the city tomorrow and each night until the Norukai pass. No one can light fires or lanterns after sunset. Serrimundi must be pitch black when the serpent ships come after us.”
“But my city wants to fight too!” Otto said. “Are you suggesting that we hide here in the fog and let Tanimura handle the war for us?” The lines in his face deepened. “Sorceress, you gave a grand speech that all the cities of the Old World must pull together against our overwhelming enemy. Serrimundi can’t just sit by and let Tanimura face it themselves! We are not cowards.”
“I’m not suggesting that you do nothing.” Nicci’s lips took on a hard smile.
Bannon rested a hand on the ornate pommel of his new sword, and his grin was enthusiastic. “After the Norukai chase after us in the dark, the rest of Serrimundi’s warships can follow all the way to Tanimura. When the battle begins there, you can strike them from behind.”
Lila added with a grim smile, “If you stay far enough back, King Grieve will never expect you.”
“A large curtain of mist?.?.?.” Olgya twisted her long hair in her fingers. “While you lead them away like a fox on a hunt, I can create a thick fog bank to hide Serrimundi.” She looked out to the towering figure of the Sea Mother on the bluff. “And that is just to start.?.?.?.”
