The Diamond Isle by Stan Nicholls

Author:Stan Nicholls [Nicholls, Stan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Published: 2011-06-30T16:03:31+00:00

Two hours later they were well underway, far enough out to make the island a black ribbon on the horizon, with grimy white seagulls the only relief from steel-grey ocean and sky. The mist was clearing.

At the stern rail, Caldason, Serrah and Kutch watched as the two decoy ships disappeared around the island’s east and west headlands.

‘I can’t believe we’re actually going at last,’ Kutch said.

‘I should think Reeth’s even more pleased,’ Serrah replied. ‘Aren’t you, love?’

‘It’s good to be on our way,’ Caldason agreed.

‘You could be a little more enthusiastic about it.’

He smiled, mildly. ‘I’m just tired.’

‘You do look bushed. Take a nap. There’s nothing you can do here.’

‘Maybe I will. You’ll call me if–’

‘What’s going to happen in the next couple of hours?’

‘Vance could happen. We’re not clear yet.’

‘If we get our throats cut I’ll be sure to wake you. Now get some sleep.’ She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Caldason nodded, heavy-eyed, then turned and made for their cabin.

It was part of the crew’s modest quarters below decks, and tiny. Once inside, he didn’t even bother kicking off his boots, simply unbuckling his scabbard, laying it aside, then stretching out on the bunk.

The second his head touched the pillow, he flew.

Far below lay the ocean, drab and choppy. The packet ploughed through it with ballooning sails, looking as fragile as a child’s toy in the vast expanse. He travelled at a greater speed than any seagoing vessel, so that in an instant he passed the ship, then left it behind.

Drawn northward, on the same course as the packet, his velocity increased. He soared into piercing airstreams, yet was untouched by them, as though invisibly cocooned. And he was unaware of the sting of ice crystals when he sliced into low clouds.

He covered an enormous distance but glimpsed no other craft. At least, that’s how it seemed. His speed was such that something as minuscule as a ship was easily overlooked in that immense ocean. He was likewise oblivious to land masses. Although he thought he saw, just fleetingly, a canopy of dark shapes hugging the surface of the ocean. Some were the size of islets, others no more than specks, and there was a profusion of them. They could have been the island group the packet was bound for; they were gone so quickly it was impossible to tell.

He began to slow, but not for any apparent reason. There was no land in sight. Beneath him, wind-driven waves caressed the sea with foaming fingers, just as before. Soon he moved no quicker than if he were swimming under his own muscle power.

At length he noticed something. In the sky, some distance ahead, there was what he took to be a black cloud, which appeared to be expanding, growing darker. Then he realised it was coming his way. As it approached he could see that it consisted of hundreds of individual dots, each moving of their own volition. The nearer the dark throng got, the more defined its constituent parts became, but it had almost reached him before he recognised what it was.

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