Adarna

Chapter 6

A weight slammed into the side of the ship, sending a horrifying shudder through the wood. The entire vessel creaked and groaned as it was forced onto its side, tilting horizontally and sending Robin careening into the far wall of the infirmary. The room was large and spacious, far larger than the surgeons quarters to which it was attached, but all this meant was that there was far more space to fly across when he was thrown from his feet. He let out a gasp at the impact, trying to replace the air that had been knocked out of his lungs, and prodded his ribs to check that they were bruised and not broken. He slumped against the wall and waited a few agonising seconds. Sweat lines his temples and dripped down the back of his neck. Wood splintered, and the sound of people screaming on deck echoed down into the hill of the ship, mixing with the screech of a sea creature.

A few hours ago, he had been chatting with the ship's weather-watcher, Lark, about each of their respective jobs. He had been telling them about the menial work that Hal dumped on him over the past week, and in turn Lark was explaining how their job entailed not just watching for changes in the weather, but also signs of sea beast activity, in order to advise the ship's course. They had paused mid-sentence, then sprinted away to announce signs of a sea beast in the area. Robin had known, of course, that they were bound to encounter one eventually. Every sailor did. But somehow, the reality of it had never really sunk in.

Within minutes, the captain had sent everyone not equipped for combat belowdecks, telling them to tie themselves down and pray to the forty four. This sage advice apparently did not apply to Robin and the doctor, who were forced to spend their time preparing emergency supplies, setting up treatment areas, and clearing away anything that was not nailed down, so that it would not break or fly about if the situation rose to conflict. Robin took a moment to reflect that he himself was not nailed down, and so he probably should have expected this result.

His heart pounded in his chest. Panic squeezed his ribs and clawed its way up his throat, and he swallowed hard to force it back down again. He needed to focus. As his vision cleared away the dark spots blooming across his eyes, he caught a glimpse of two people entering the infirmary. A brief spark of relief dampened the chaos in his head. He had been concerned that they might have been caught up in the fight above deck.

Robin was offering them a shaky grin, about to suggest they find somewhere safe, when another impact tore through the ship and sent them all crashing to the floor. Robin barely escaped a second nasty head impact, braced as he was against the wall, but Freyr was less lucky. Dinta cursed as Freyr's camouflage disappeared completely, and it let out a small whimper. They were both next to it in seconds, assessing the wound. Blood matted its hair and tricked down its brow, and its eyes rolled lazily, unfocussed. He echoed Dinta's curse, then added a few creative expletives of his own before dragging the two over to a bed near the corner of the room. The beds lined each wall, and they were all nailed to the ground.

He shoved them down and tied them in. The bindings attached to each bed were more frequently used when sailing over Wild Sea, where the waves were strong and unpredictable enough to kill even the most experienced sailor. Bruises from the straps and a couple of fractured ribs were considered to be a better alternative to being splattered against a wall—or worse, the corner of some sturdy piece of furniture. They were, however, designed to be able to unlatch quickly if the situation called for it, such as if the ship suffered severe damage and people needed to go from being secure to evacuating.

"Stay—" the crack of a cannon cut him off, followed by a screech that made his blood run cold. Gunpowder, salt and blood filled the air in a tangy combination that caught in his throat.

"Stay there, try not to make yourself conspicuous," he told Dinta, once he could hear himself again. "And whatever you do, keep Freyr camouflaged and awake until it can pull itself back together. I'll grab some salt for you."