The Rise of the Sea Ghosts (from The Gelid Times Trilogy)

Chapter 7

The River Elin; To the South

As Celeste watched her dad in the distance, his hand still on the strange man's shoulder, she could swear she saw him break the stare that held the man's attention and nod at her. Did he really just nod at her? Was he giving her his permission?

"Let's go Celeste - we're going to get caught - you know - caught - like killed caught - not like oh, that was a bit of a naughty thing to do caught - but like - you are under age and not the first born and you've stolen a boat and you are going to die for it caught," Kaz said in his loudest whisper as he steered the boat.

Kaz caught his breath several times, gulped in the freezing air, tried to recover from his rant. His chest heaved as he squeezed his two hands on the boat's wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned a mottled mix of red and white.

Celeste ran the palms of her hand along the smooth cold wooden rail that stopped her from falling overboard then slapped it hard. It was going to be a long trip with Kaz, she thought as she watched her dad's image seep into the freezing morning mist and all too quickly, like a bleeding water colour painting, he and the strange man, became a blur and was lost in the haze of the boat yard. She hadn't felt the need for her dad's permission but knowing that she had it felt good.

"We're not going to get caught," she responded firmly as she turned towards the bow of the boat and walked to join Kaz at the helm. "We're going to be smart Kaz. We're the best navigators. We're not going to become a ghost ship. We're not going to get caught. We're going to be smart." She stood close to him and observed how lost he was in his oversized Parker; she then surveyed the river ahead.

The Legend cut through cleanly through the icy river and headed downstream towards the Saltum Sea. The mainsail and the headsail billowed as the wind gusted and then eased as the air held its breath before it gained momentum again and filled the sails.

Kaz's face, retracted in his parker hood was a stark contrast to the black fur that surrounded it, smooth and pale, he scanned the banks, the freezing river ahead and the sky, searching for the enemy, any enemy that would come stealthy and rip your throat out and hang your innards for the buzzards to pick apart, slowly, excruciatingly painfully, in a delirious, lingering death. Occasionally, he peered over his shoulder and over the rails, just in case, for you never knew if an enemy would attack from behind, below, above or from the side or in front. In winter, when this stretch of the river was patched with frozen sheets of ice, underneath lurked the immortal stinger. In existence since the beginning of time, the immortal stinger has the enviable capacitor to return to a pre-adult state when injured and regenerate to live its next life. Two arms lengths in diameter, it's round transparent head slither under the ice and disguise its iridescent red stomachs. Not technically a fish and not remotely human, the immortal stinger has over a hundred tentacles that unrelentingly trap their prey – a sting from any one of the tentacles would be enough render the largest of humans incapacitated, and on their way to a slow, painful death. Invasive in the extreme, the hull of the boat was at constant risk of the immortal stinger attaching itself to its sides, setting it off balance or worse, creeping over the rail, invading the boat.

Celeste noted his diligence. Despite Kaz's propensity to view everything as a catastrophe, he was the best and Celeste felt slightly reassured despite his nervousness.

"I'll put our rucksacks below deck," Celeste said as she motioned for Kaz to remove his rucksack.

Without taking his eyes off of the river, Kaz let his rucksack slip off of his shoulders and he held it out to Celeste. He would not waver on his watch and Celeste knew it was not worth trying to have any further conversation with him until they passed through the viaduct.

Celeste shook her head trying to rid her thoughts of the immortal stingers and headed below deck to secure their rucksacks. She had complete faith in Kaz, even if he didn't have complete faith in himself. Celeste tied Kaz's rucksack to one of the hooks on wall. She opened her own rucksack and took out a small notebook and pencil and on an empty page and wrote:

Day 1: Early morning. On the River Elin. On the Legend with Kaz. Dad, well Dad, he knows. Still freezing. Mist lifting. Great-Gram Agate will have some answers. Great-Gram Agate must have some answers.

"Celeste - get up here!" Kaz shouted from above deck.

Celeste pushed her pencil and notebook into her rucksack and tied it to one of the other hooks and took the small staircase two at a time and followed Kaz's gaze. The translucent shapes and tenuous tentacles of the immortal stingers had emerged in a large swarm.

"We're not going to make it through them! We don't have a chance!" His eyes widened in his hood.

"We can steer round them," Celeste said calmly.

"Steer round them? Are you crazy? That will bring us so close to the bank? We'll run aground!" Kaz's voice rose becoming strained and strident.

"Okay - well look - we can't go through them, can we?" Celeste said.

"We can't go back, can we?" Kaz looked behind.

"No – there's no going back," Celeste said firmly.

"Well - the boat can't fly over them, can it?" Kaz paused, as if he was actually thinking of a way he could get the boat to fly.

"The only way would be around the swarm, no?" Celeste said logically.

"Yes, but..."

"No buts, we have to go around and now Kaz," Celeste motioned for him to put two hands back on the ship's wheel while she went to adjust the sails.

"Not too much!" Kaz shouted nervously.

"Not too much," Celeste confirmed.

Celeste made a minor adjustment to the sails and the boat turned easily towards the starboard bank. Releasing the tension of the mainsail, Kaz was able to slow the boat and manoeuvre around the beginning of the shoal.

"We're getting awfully close to the bank Celeste, awfully close - too close. Tighten the sail, the boat's going to ground!" Kaz shouted.

"Steady, steady Kaz – we've got this," Celeste reassured.

"Celeste! There's a second swarm! We can't avoid it! It's the largest swarm of immortal stingers ever!"

"Barnacles!" Celeste exclaimed as she joined Kaz at the helm.

"There's only one way now," Kaz said taking a deep breath. "Tighten the mainsail, Celeste. We're going full speed down the centre of the river"

Kaz looked at Celeste and Celeste knew that this was their best option.

Celeste peered ahead at the river – it was bold and daring – qualities that Kaz often lacked but she'd chosen him because he was the best navigator. If they could only get to the other side of the viaduct, they would be safe. Celeste nodded and returned to the mainsail tightening its tension. As soon as she did so, Kaz altered course to avoid the starboard bank, pushed the boat into full speed ahead and rammed it down the centre of the river causing a massive wake to develop behind them as they attempted to bore a path straight through the immortal stinger swarm.