Tales of the Invisible Hand by Miles Holmes

Author:Miles Holmes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Skull Island eXpeditions
Published: 2016-08-03T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28: THE PIRATE HARBOR

The first rays of dawn crept over the horizon. The overcast skies of the night before had cleared, and the rising sun ushered in infinite striations of orange and pink. Battered and fatigued, Gaur clung to the wheel to greet the sun with a defiant scowl. Timri stirred from his cocoon, immediately making a face at Gaur’s menace.

“It can’t be as bad as all that,” he said.

Gaur turned the evil eye on him, then returned his attention to the brightening skies. “We’re nearly there,” he said, his scowl slowly retreating.

Timri rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got to his feet. Beyond the windscreen, they could see a cluster of rocky islands within tantalizing range. Timri glanced to the sky, and grimaced just as Gaur had.

Gaur nodded. “If anyone above were looking for us now, we’re as good as found. At least there is no risk they might report us.”

Timri looked where the Sh’Col pointed to see the silhouettes of several dark boats moving among the islands. “Are they—?” he whispered.

“Pirates, yes. They’ve been watching us for the last quarter of an hour. I expected them to show up by now, of course. It is only surprising they haven’t come any closer.”

“All right. I’m going to look outside,” Timri said. He pulled his burlap tighter about himself.

As he opened the hatch and stepped down the ladder, he could hear shouts from the hold over the roar of the engines. The owners of the boat were apparently awake and extremely unhappy.

“They’ll find you, you bloody thieves! Whoever you are, they’ll find you,” someone yelled. Others angry accusations like it echoed from below. Timri stood on the deck, training his eyes on the sky, north to south, then east to west. He saw nothing above; there were only pirates ahead.

“Timri, get back up here,” Gaur called. The old Ithkar clambered up the steps once more to find Gaur maneuvering the wide gap between the first of the islands. The old man noted that the pirates had retreated. No sign of them remained.

“We’re nearly spent on fuel,” Gaur noted, “but it’s just ahead.”

Timri watched wordlessly as the boat motored on, now well within the archipelago. High craggy islands, unassailable and uninhabited—or so it seemed—were all around them.

“How many eyes do you suppose are on us right now?” Timri whispered.

“So long as they’re not of Irz, I’ll take my chances,” Gaur answered.

They threaded a path through the rocky collection of islands until finally Gaur eased back on the throttle. He had found the island he had been looking for and began his approach. Before them rose a high wall of rock with jutting shards from within the water in many places. Gaur knew it was a treacherous place for boats to pass, pirates or otherwise. Searching for memories of the details, he recalled his last passage through here.

“Just what are you doing? You’re driving us into a wall.” Timri looked at Gaur in disbelief. The Sh’Col still kept his attention fixed his forward and did not answer.

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