Shadows Beyond

Chapter 11

Zeff went up on deck to search for TagShad, rubbing his thigh as substitute for the fact that he dared not touch the part of his leg that was still desperately sore. He heard the boatmen groaning their discomfort to ZefShad, clearly thinking he was Zeff.

Regretting they had not been hit harder to keep them unconscious longer, Zeff walked around the deck, but failed to find TagShad. Deciding that his leg was not up to clambering over the bales of spilk, he thought maybe another shadow would locate TagShad more easily.

Staying out of sight, he called to ZefShad who was steering the boat. Lashing the wheel to the main beam to hold it steady, he lessened the speed before leaving the boatmen to cries of, Where yer goin’?’ and ‘Come back here!’

Zeff quickly explained the situation to his shadow and rammed the dirty hat that ZefShad had taken from one of the boatmen on his own head. ‘You search for him.’

The boatmen were still cussing and moaning when Zeff took the helm.

‘Shut up,’ he snapped.

The men must have thought that forcing him to speak at long last was something of a victory because they started shouting all the more. ‘We’ll hunt you and that littl’ girl daarn,’ one of the boatmen growled malevolently, ‘and have all kinds of fun with her that you won’t be able to stop, ‘cos dead men carn’t stop nothing.’

Zeff picked up a cudgel that was lying to the side and gave a practice swing. ‘If you don’t stop your jawing, I’ll beat your brains out.’

The men did not want to obey, but could see they were in no position to defend themselves should Zeff start battering them. Looking at Sydd, Zeff added, ‘If they don’t shut up I’ll throw the contents of your bed into the river.’

It was satisfying to see Sydd’s horrified expression, and even more so to witness the crew’s mystification. Sydd glared venomously at Zeff, who held his gaze without flinching.

‘Shut it, pig-spittles!’ Sydd growled at his crew.

The men fell silent, probably relieved that in obeying their pilot, they would not risk a beating from Zeff, who returned to the wheel wondering just how much trouble he and his brother were in.

Winning a fight against such a man as Sydd could not be beneficial to a long or healthy life. Sydd would want revenge. Perhaps killing the entire crew might be the safer option, but he did not know how they could explain that to the authorities once they reached the docks. They could dump the boat and travel the rest of the way on foot, but Zeff’s leg would slow them down and Tagg was hardly up to walking. Anyway, they had been seen lounging on the bales of spilk by passing vessels all day. Suspicion would instantly fall on them. No, he would have to work this out a different way. Zeff increased the speed. The sooner they arrived at the City, the better.

‘Keep goin’ at this pace,’ Sydd drawled, ‘and yer’ll crash her for sure. Carn’t see nothin’ in this light.’

He had a point. The vast majority of boats were moored for the night. Keeping going at this pace was a risk, but one Zeff was perfectly willing to take. ‘Perhaps I have better eyesight than you,’ was his only reply.

‘P’raps yer wants to turn me boat over,’ Sydd growled.

‘I want to reach the City,’ Zeff said, ‘and so I suggest you shut your mouth and let me concentrate.’

A small piece of rubbish landed with a gentle thud in front of the wheel.

Zeff knew that ZefShad must have thrown it. Reducing speed and lashing the wheel to the main beam, he left the helm and went to ZefShad, who quickly led him to a space on deck overshadowed by bales. Standing back, he pointed down to where the gunwale met the deck.