The Heart of Alchemy by James Wisher (i like reading books txt) 📗

“They had better make her comfortable. The last trip was bad enough. Damned if I’m going to spend every night for three or four months in a bloody hammock. Anyway, well done arranging everything.”

“Of course. Is there anything else I can do before you depart?” Henry asked.

“No, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”

“Then I bid you fair wind and smooth seas.”

Otto frowned. “Isn’t that a Lux expression? Going native on me?”

“Perish the thought, but it’s difficult not to pick up a few things when you live somewhere long enough.”

Otto didn’t especially care what sayings Henry picked up and dismissed the matter at once. As long as his loyalty remained in the right place, he could talk however he wanted.

At the docks, Captain Wainwright stood at the bottom of the gangplank to greet them. He looked as happy as Otto had ever seen him, his blue and white uniform crisp, his beard trimmed, and a big smile creasing his face.

“Lord Shenk, welcome. All the work is done and the Star is as fit as she’s ever been. I can’t tell you how excited I am to begin the trip.”

Otto shook the man’s hand. “However excited you are, it’s not half as excited as I am. I want to be out of here as soon as possible.”

“You’re in luck. The tide will turn in half an hour. As soon as it does, we’ll throw lines and set sail. We’re going to make history, my lord.”

Otto doubted Wainwright knew just how right he was. He led the way up the gangplank. Time to see what all his gold bought.

It turned out that what his gold bought was a modest room at the best inn he’d ever visited. There was a single-person feather bed, a soft leather reading chair, a writing desk with bolted-down supplies, and a chest of drawers, also bolted to the floor, with locking drawers. It wasn’t Franken Manor, but it was a massive improvement over what he had last trip.

He’d barely settled into the chair when someone knocked on his door. “Enter.”

Captain Wainwright poked his head in. “Is everything to your liking?”

“It’s sufficient. I assume you’ve settled on our final course.”

“Aye, I have. I don’t expect any issues until we reach the Frozen Narrows. Assuming we can thread the needle, it should be smooth sailing until we reach the island. Heaven knows what we’ll have to deal with there.”

“Let’s just worry about getting there. We have two months to plan that little adventure.”

“Right you are. If you’ll excuse me.”

Wainwright closed the door and Otto sighed. Now for the boring part. Weeks on end of tedium. Though if this trip was anything like the first, he’d be wishing for boredom before it ended.

Chapter 30

Otto’s breath puffed white as he stood beside the ship’s rail. His magic, combined with a heavy wool cloak, kept him from freezing, if not exactly comfortable. They’d been sailing for nearly five weeks with no issues.

In fact, Captain Wainwright kept the ship well away from land lest they draw the attention of something nasty in the Dead Lands. While it might have extended the journey by a day or two, that was a price Otto would gladly pay if it avoided a fight with some undead monster. Otto didn’t know what sort of creature might think a ship full of men would make a tasty snack and he had no desire to find out.

He’d spent much of the trip studying the undead and how best to control them. If an emergency happened and they were forced to land, it seemed a prudent precaution. Not that he was all that confident in his newfound skills.

Unfortunately, the moment of reckoning might be coming sooner than he wanted. Directly ahead, a spit of blackened land jutted out into the ocean on the left side. On the right, thick chunks of ice bobbed in the waves. Thankfully small waves at the moment, though that would change once they reached the Narrows.

At the helm, Captain Wainwright gripped the wheel, a grim look of determination on his face. Though certainly fearful of the risks, the handful of times they’d spoken about the passage the captain’s eyes lit up with excitement for the challenge. Otto knew just how he felt. Every time he attempted a new spell, the same excitement filled him. Granted, failing to learn a spell wasn’t apt to end up with them all dead, but still it was exciting in its own way.

“Master?” Corina came towards him, her slight figure wrapped in a heavy, fur-lined cloak. “I thought you said it got warmer when you went south?”

“It does, for a while. If you go far enough south, it grows cold again.”

“That makes no sense.”

Otto smiled. “Much of life doesn’t. Help me keep watch.”

“For what, ice floes?”

“No, the lookouts can spot them easily enough, we need to watch for anything magical coming from the Dead Lands.” Otto pointed at the rapidly closing mass of blackened earth. “We’ll be within a quarter mile of land when we pass through the narrowest part. If anything’s going to happen, it will happen there.”

Corina shivered. “Just looking at the blackened earth gives me the chills. What happened to it?”

“According to the books I’ve read, when the undead plague destroyed Amet Sur’s former empire, something happened to the land. So many beasts of corruption striding across the ground killed it in a way fire or any other natural force couldn’t. I doubt anything will ever grow there again. It is literally a land of the dead.”

“That’s horrible.” The wind howled, blowing her hood off.

“Focus now. We’re approaching the Narrows.”

The wind continued to pick up, propelling them forward at a furious pace. The masts creaked and the canvas cracked like whips.

“Reef those sails before the mast snaps!” Captain Wainwright shouted.

Sailors hurried into the rigging. Every second Otto expected one of them to go tumbling into the sea.

But the sure-footed men never hesitated and soon they had half the canvas