Stone said, “I’m going to take a look. Stay here.” He stepped to the edge of the cabin and leapt out into the wind. Moon ducked as Stone’s large form flowed into being. Stone fell toward the water, then caught the wind and soared upward.
The distance-lights pointed toward the island now, moving along its shore, past the abandoned camp and the wrecked pieces of the flying boat, already coated with windblown sand. There was no movement there. Moon went to the opposite edge of the cabin and crouched down. One of the distance-lights was mounted on the lower deck, a big barrel with the light pouring out the fluted end. It steamed in the damp air and made ominous clicking noises. All the lights were lit now and Moon hoped they lasted through the night. He called down to the Janderi standing beside it, “Hey, can you point it east of the island, at the open water?”
The Janderi glanced around, clearly not sure who had called to her, but seized the big lever and swung the light to the east.
Moon stood again to look, but the light only revealed an empty stretch of water.
“Moon!” It was Jade’s voice.
Moon jumped down to the deck below. Jade stood there with Callumkal and Rorra. Jade said, “Stone couldn’t tell what it was?”
Moon moved his spines in a negative. “It’s behind the island, in the water, coming this way.” He turned to Rorra. “Can you move the boat?”
Rorra nodded and looked at Callumkal. Callumkal said, “You think they mean to trap us against the rocks of the—”
Then Jade snarled. She was facing out toward the sea and Moon whipped around. Caught in the glow from the distance-light were two dark shapes, each almost as tall as the ship itself. They were rounded at the top, and Moon had the impression that something moved along the sides, like tendrils or feelers. More shapes formed out of the darkness. Moon’s spines prickled with fear and dismay. There were three more, five more . . .
Callumkal swung around to Rorra, “Tell the captain, get us underway—”
Rorra waved an assent, already limping rapidly toward the hatchway that led to the nearest stairwell.
“Do you know what those are?” Jade asked tightly.
Callumkal shook his head, his horrified gaze on the approaching sealings. “There should be little in the way of large sea life in this area, especially carnivorous sea life. I don’t—”
“They don’t have to be carnivorous, they just have to be able to swamp the boat,” Moon said. From the stern, someone bellowed orders to release the anchor lines.
Jade said to Callumkal, “Can you—”
The hull moved under Moon’s feet, then it suddenly jerked upward. His claws slipped on the wood as water and wet sand flooded over the rail. He slid down the deck toward the opposite side.
The distance-lights swung crazily, groundlings screamed. Moon slammed into the rail and held on despite the torrent of water, realized the tight grip around his waist was Jade’s arm. He shook his soaked frills out of his face and saw Jade gripped Callumkal’s arm, keeping him from being washed over the side; Moon was the only one with a free hand to hold onto the rail.
Looming over the deck was a dark shape, rounded on top, a long flowing fin along its edge. There was no sign of eyes, but a narrow lip across its belly poured out seawater. At least it’s not a carnivore, Moon thought, not reassured. It must be something that normally lay flat on the seafloor, drawing in water and sand through some other orifice and pushing it out through this one, filtering out everything that had fallen to the bottom.
Something metallic screeched from the stern. Callumkal, shielding his face against Jade’s shoulder, sputtered and gasped, “The anchor lines! They’re holding us—”
Keeping this thing from turning the boat over, Moon thought, struggling to push himself off the rail. When the other sealings got here, the lines wouldn’t be enough. Or this one would pour enough water into the sunsailer to sink it in place. He tried to plant his claws in the deck and push himself upright.
Then another dark shape loomed up over the sealing; Moon’s heart stuttered for an instant because he thought it was a kethel. Then it buried jaws and claws in the top of the sealing and he realized it was Stone.
The torrent of water stopped, and Jade choked and spit out a mouthful. “Finally,” she gasped, then yelled, “Balm, Briar! Where the shit are you?”
From the stern, Balm yelled, “Jade!”
Moon braced himself as Stone reared back, dragging the sealing with him. The hull swung back to rock toward the sealing, and Moon tightened his grip, holding on to the railing to keep all three of them from falling into the creature’s maw.
With a crunch, Stone ripped the sealing away from the boat, taking a chunk of the opposite railing with it. Jade let go of Moon and Callumkal and they staggered on the rocking deck.
Callumkal recovered and ran down the deck toward the stern, shouting for the crew. Jade said, “We need to keep them off until the boat can move,” and leapt to the top of the cabin.
Moon followed her to the cabin roof and jumped from it to the upper section. He caught a glimpse through the large windows of the steering cabin, saw the flying boat navigator Esankel and two Janderan pulling levers and turning wheels and shouting at each other. Callumkal was just climbing up the stairs from below.
Moon leapt down to the stern deck where Jade had found Balm, Briar, and River. There were Kishan on the overhanging deck working the distance-lights and the weapons, and another group huddling over the winch attached to the anchor line. But there was one person Moon didn’t see. Chime was heading here, he thought, sudden fear tightening his chest. Where is he? But then Chime, with Song and Root behind him, slammed out of the nearest hatch.
Chime staggered on a buckled deck plate and said, “Sorry, we got stuck inside when the ship went sideways. What happened?”
Moon turned him around to face the island, where the shapes of the sealings were visible in the shafts of the distance-lights. Chime made a strangled noise.
Jade said, “Balm, Briar, Song, get in the air and try to see where the Fell are. River, Root, and Chime, get back up on the cabins, watch this deck. Don’t let anything get inside.”
The warriors took flight from the deck. Moon started to follow and Jade grabbed his frills and jerked him to a halt. “You stay with me,” she said.
Moon bounced impatiently, thought about protesting, and decided it would make him sound too much like Root. Then he saw Stone bank through the air and come in low over the top cabin roof. “There’s Stone,” he said.
Jade hissed, “Come on,” and went up the wall onto the next deck. Stone shifted, dropped down to the cabin roof, and landed on his feet in his groundling form. He swung down to their deck and said, “Where’s Callumkal?”
“This way.” Moon turned to the nearest hatchway.
It opened into a corridor with two stairwells, one up and one down. From the watery rushing noises and yelling, the down one led to something important, probably the motivator. Moon took the upper one and climbed rapidly, rounded a corner, and up again into the steering cabin. It was a wide cabin with windows all around, like the steering cabin of the Kishan flying boat. The wall below the front window had a number of levers and wheels and long tubes with horns on the end, which, from how Esankel and the other two were using them, were apparently for yelling at people in other parts of the sunsailer. Vendoin was there with Callumkal, and Kellimdar clutched one of the fabric maps. Rorra held the steering lever, her weight braced against it to keep it in place. They looked up as Moon stepped aside to let Jade and Stone get into the room.