"Well, my wicked servants," the Sea King said sullenly to those gathered in the throne room, "who should I hold accountable this time?"
- And we, your majesty, did everything we could, - Tiger babbled tenderly. - We tried. It's all Krysyuk's fault. He screwed up the whole thing. If only I could run on the ground, you would be sleeping peacefully today.
"That's true," the King confirmed without a smile.
- What, me? - Krysyuk flared up. - I worked tirelessly, didn't get any sleep at night. And only to listen to malicious slander? I stole the map, and what did you do? I did everything, me! These three idlers only got in my way and confused your majesty's brilliant plans. And anyway, I heard... - he whispered something to the King.
He chewed his lips and looked at Tiger in such a way that the shark's fins began to shake.
- Yes, I will! - Having gathered the rest of her courage, she went to Krysyuk.
But Krysyuk, having darted, as usual, under the throne, squeaked from there:
- Our King knows everything! So be careful!
- Actually, the Curious One also told me...
Realizing that things were taking a bad turn, Tiger came up with:
— And we caught a spy!
- What? - the King jumped up in surprise, instantly forgetting about Krysyuk's denunciation.
"Tried to get to the island!" Tiger reported cheerfully.
But the King knew who was who, and asked the Hammer again:
— Caught?
- Yes sir! - Hammer boomed.
"Drag him here!" the King rejoiced. "We'll ask him now what our enemies want and," he looked suspiciously at Tiger,
— who was he going to see?
- So it's impossible!
"Why is that?" the King did not understand.
— He'll choke!
— And where are they keeping him now?
- In the upper palace!
The king sighed and scratched the back of his head.
- Well, who is this?
- I can't know!
"I dare add, your Majesty," Tiger intervened, "this is, I believe, the Griffin."
- You idiot! - the King yelled, clutching his head. - I thought you had finally distinguished yourself! I was about to reward you! And you... - He choked with anger. - Who did you grab?! What do I need him for?
"Well, that's right…" Hammer began hesitantly.
- Out! - the King screamed. - Give him a slap on the neck and throw him out of the gate! He'll keep getting underfoot! The last thing I needed was a Griffin.
- So... This... We caught it... - said White. - Once... it... was missing... Now we have it.
The King no longer had the strength to answer. He just plopped down on the throne and closed his eyes heavily. Then he stirred.
- What are we going to do now? The princess has made common cause with the Rainbows.
"It won't be for long," Krysiuk reassured. "Or I don't know the rulers of Tan-Khorez at all."
"That's true," the Sea King agreed hesitantly. "But what are we going to do next?"
"Eat it!" Hammer roared so loudly that the chandelier's pendants jingled. He was eager to correct his mistake.
- Oh! - the King shuddered. - Well, you do that.
- Yes sir!
- And a person close to me will look after me.
"I... that... yeah..." White mumbled.
"But what if they do get to the Black Sword?" Krysyuk said thoughtfully.
- What do you mean? It will be bad. It will be bad for all of us, including you, - the Sea King grumbled sadly.
- It's not my fault.
- Of course, of course... - the King smiled sarcastically. - You yourself just bragged that your merits are the greatest, that you do everything alone. Are you planning to defect? - he hissed. - Too early! If I catch you, I'll skin you alive! You are, of course, a good spy, but don't forget about the Curious One! I see and hear everything.
"You are insulting me, your majesty," Krysyuk pouted. "I am the most devoted servant in the world to your majesty. And you are treating me like this for no reason at all…"
"Servant..." the Sea King grimaced. "If the Master of the Mist sends me soldiers, I probably won't need any servants."
- Ice ones? - Tiger gasped, frightened and delighted.
— Themselves.
"They'll melt," Hammer said contemptuously.
"We'll see," the King answered evasively.
The wind gradually grew stronger, but, driven by the measured strokes of the long oars, the Golden Galley hardly slowed down. She easily ran up a wave, froze for a moment on the crest, rolled softly and flew swiftly down. The massive sparkling ram crashed into the base of the next wave, a firework of spray rose up, falling like real rain on the deck. The ship was about to plunge into the water, but then quickly emerged, and its sides remained dry, as if the sea were completely calm. The oars splashed loudly, and, encouraged by their powerful blows, the ship rushed forward.
The waves no longer boiled with snow-white foamy crests, they turned into a string of dark, black billows. Suddenly the wind died down, so that one could calmly light a candle, and its flame would not waver. Somewhere in the distance, from the very depths of the sea, a white-green flash flashed, accompanied by a booming blow, like a clap of thunder.
"It's started," Khani whispered with slight fear.
Toril, standing beside him at the stern, watched the ominous signs of the approaching storm with calm and attention. No storm could sink the Golden Galley. Khani knew this, too, but he still felt uneasy.
However, his horror was mixed with delight. A real hurricane! How wonderful! Especially when it was safe. Although who knows… Some concerns remained. They talked, they tried to convince, but the waves were too high… And he could not understand his brother at all, who stood leaning on the railing and indifferently looked at the black waves. Khani put his hand in his pocket and carefully stroked the ruby lying there, which seemed unusually heavy and warm to him.
A white border began to appear on the waves again.
The princess beckoned to Chani with her finger and when he bent down, she said in his ear:
- Now we're going to see something.
- What?
- Man-eating waves, look more closely.
Chani turned a little pale. And with a slightly trembling voice he said:
— Like those who gnawed at the Lighthouse Bastion?
Toril chuckled.
- Don't worry, they won't do anything to us.
- Why do you think I'm worried?
— It seemed so.
- And in vain.
A mournful, drawn-out howl rolled over the sea, drowning out the whistling wind and the splashing waves, like a wolf howling at night during a snowstorm. Dozens of other voices responded to this call. The howl was getting closer, it sounded louder and clearer.
Toril put her hand under her cloak just in case, feeling for the Golden Torch.
— She had never met so many Wavers before. Their voices came from all sides, encircling the Galera.
And then, to the right of the ship, a particularly large wave appeared, moving for some reason towards the others. Khani anxiously asked the princess:
- What is this?
- Be patient and you'll see. There's not much time left to wait.
The wave smoothly turned to intercept the Golden Galley, and the brothers saw white eyes without pupils, then a huge, greedily trembling mouth opened wide, and the waver rushed at the Galley, which was rapidly cutting through the waves.
A triumphant, iridescent howl came out of the gaping maw as the glittering golden ram flew straight into it. The maw slammed shut with a crash, crooked fangs clanged… And then the howl was replaced by a scream of horror and pain. There was a cracking, crunching sound, and some fragments fell onto the deck, in which, only upon closer inspection, one could recognize the recently formidable and strong fangs of the waver.
The galley froze for a second, but the heavy oars whistled through the air, whipping up fountains of foam, and, having pierced the waver through and through, the ship rushed on.
"Wow," Khani whispered excitedly. "I've never seen anything like this."
"And you're unlikely to see it," Toril said, completely calmed down.
The Golden Galley sped through the seething sea, leaving behind a slowly spreading oily stain on the churned waves. The three Wavers visible in the distance were much more cautious, frightened by what they had seen. They did not even dare to come closer.
Only the largest of them, a real water mountain covered with clumps of greenish foam, stubbornly circled far around the Galley, sniffing, looking closely, taking aim. But it did not approach. Finally, having made up its mind, it opened its mouth, which could easily accommodate three such ships, rushed to attack, but at the last moment it braked sharply, causing a real whirlpool to swirl, turned aside and tried to bite off the oars on the starboard side. Again the travelers were deafened by a heart-rending scream. Having lost a dozen teeth, the waver shamefully fled.
"That's it," Toril rubbed her hands. "The game is over, we can go to bed peacefully, they won't risk coming any more. And the Galera itself will take us where we need to go."
The wind began to die down, the waves gradually calmed down...
"Look!" Chani exclaimed.
Behind, not so far away, three black triangles, three fins, cut through the waves: two smaller ones and one huge one, almost as tall as the Galley's mast.
"You have arrived, my dears," the princess stated, not at all worried. "You can be proud, the Sea King has done us a great honor by turning everything he had against us. Others will not see as much in their entire lives as we have in one day."
"Great joy," Chani replied skeptically. "I would prefer to be paid less attention to."
"I think it's even good," Toril said contentedly. "It gives us the opportunity to solve all the problems with one blow. If we destroy them now, we won't encounter any obstacles in the future."
"So these are the same sharks?" Khani asked.
- They are the ones. All three. Honestly, I've never heard him send all three at once.
The fins were rapidly approaching, a little more and they would fly into the Galley. But, obeying an unheard command, they moved to the sides, surrounding the ship. The Galley found itself in the center of a regular triangle. The largest fin was rushing ahead, and on the sides, a little behind, were two others, which seemed small only from a distance, against the background of the White fin, and up close they turned into almost as huge. In any case, they were much taller than the tallest man. But the sharks, too, apparently knowing about the failure of the Wavers, were afraid to approach the Golden Galley and accompanied it at a respectful distance.
Despite this, Toril began to get nervous.
— What are they cooking?
"What can they do?" Khani answered cheerfully. "We'll go through them like a knife through butter."
- But they are waiting for something, aren't they? I don't understand. I don't understand, and that's why I'm afraid. When you know what danger awaits you, it's somehow simpler and calmer.
At last White emerged from the water, and Khani whistled. In the wildest fishermen's tales, no fish of such size had ever been encountered. Unnoticed, White approached the ship and yawned lazily, as if wanting to check what impression her mouth, studded with enormous teeth, would make.
"Wait, wait!" Chani suddenly exclaimed. "Or is it just me?"
No, he wasn't imagining it. Indeed, on the fin, where the water didn't splash, a tiny lump had settled. This lump threatened them with a thin paw and screamed curses in a squeaky voice.
"Look," Chani said almost joyfully, "our old friend! Do you want to swim again?" he asked Krysyuk, cupping his hands like a megaphone.
In response, he waved both his front paws, almost fell into the water, but managed to hold on at the last moment. Then he ran down the fin, onto the shark's back, ran to the very muzzle, apparently said something and came back. Grinning triumphantly, he threatened the travelers again.
The two lagging fins overtook Galera and approached White. Now all three sharks were swimming ahead. One of the smaller ones swam closer, stuck its snout out of the water. And Khani even closed his eyes and shook his head, as if chasing away a nightmare.
"Pay attention," Toril introduced in the tone of a strict teacher,
- There is a hammerhead shark in front of you.
Hammer stared blankly at the Galley with his incongruously small pig eyes. Gradually they filled with blood. Throwing up a fountain of spray, Hammer dove, rounded the Galley, paused for a second, taking aim, and rushed headlong towards the ship. Two boiling streams of foam diverged from his fin in both directions. Somewhere right in front of the Galley's bow, the shark jumped to the surface for a moment, checking the accuracy of its aim, and, striking its tail hard, rushed, as they say, straight ahead.
There was a loud thud. Chani, unable to hold on, went flying head over heels. Toril and Khani stayed on their feet, albeit with difficulty. The blow was so strong that they were literally thrown up, Khani almost bit off his tongue.
Behind the Galley, a madly spinning wheel shot out of the water. Raising clouds of foam and spray, it rolled over the waves, spun even faster, whipping up high fountains. Then everything calmed down, and the Hammer's extremely offended face appeared above the turbulent water. Right in the middle of his forehead, a large abrasion was visible, and gradually a huge bump rose, swelling and filling with purple paint.
"Number one," Chani said, wincing and rubbing his bruised elbow. "And number two," he added quickly, watching as the second shark rushed toward Galera, raising a wave of surf.
She seemed to be flying straight towards the Golden Galley's ram, but at the last moment she flicked her tail, Tiger's back, decorated with black stripes, flashed above the water, and the living projectile flew past.
"You chickened out!" Khani cried out joyfully, bracing himself for a new blow and holding tightly to the handrails.
The sharks gathered again ahead of the Galley, calmly racing towards its goal. The water in that place boiled, blows and loud slaps were heard. Chani later assured that he clearly saw how they beat Tiger. Probably for cowardice. Finally, White separated from the group. However, she did not attack, but swam very close to the Galley, looking out for something. Krysyuk left his observation post and sat on White's head, not paying attention to the splashes that splashed him, and whispered something, advising.
The white one circled rhythmically, as if entangling the Galley with an invisible thread. And only the most attentive eye could notice that each time these circles became a little narrower. Just a little. Just a little. But the shark, stealthily, approached the Galley. It was preparing the decisive blow.
"He's being cunning," said Khani, watching her.
"Let it be so," Toril calmly objected.
White's circles became tighter and tighter, and suddenly the shark, striking its tail hard, rushed at the ship with lightning speed. Poor Krysyuk was doused with a real waterfall and almost washed away, he ran up to the very tip of the fin. But White flew at the Galley not from the front, but from the side, as if intending to break through the side. Not far from the ship, it dived, going under the calmly working oars. A creaking, grinding, crunching sound was heard, the Galley jerked, trembled ... And gradually began to slow down.
"What happened?" Chani asked worriedly.
"I don't know," the princess answered as calmly as possible, trying hard to suppress her fear.
She leaned over the rail, peering into the water. Something strange was happening below, under the keel of the Golden Galley. The water had turned a strange white, it was boiling and seething, myriads of tiny bubbles were rising to the surface. The galley was shaking as if in a fever, it was rolling from side to side, flying up and falling down again, moving forward a few steps and then suddenly stopping in place again. It looked as if it was being carelessly dragged along an old cobblestone street.
Looking more closely, Toril made out what looked like a large grey stone on which the ship stood.
"I don't understand," she whispered again, although she had already begun to guess what had happened.
The other two sharks, which had been looming in the distance, cutting powerfully through the water, also rushed at the Galley. The Princess grabbed the railings tightly, expecting a blow, but none came. Hammer and Tiger copied the leader's maneuver exactly, diving under the ship. It shook so much that Toril's teeth involuntarily chattered, stopped, and then suddenly began to slowly back away. The oars still swung steadily, but despite all their efforts, the Golden Galley was now moving backwards.
"What's going on?!" Chani screamed in fear.
Khani, rushing headlong to the bow, also leaned over the railing, almost falling overboard, in order to discern what was happening below. Then he jumped away from the side and screamed shrilly:
- They're holding us!
- Who are they? - Toril didn't understand. More precisely, she didn't want to believe it.
- Sharks!
- Can't be!
- They grabbed the keel with their teeth and are holding... no, they are dragging us back or to who knows where!
"It's all about the White One," Toril explained quietly. "The King specially raised her, cast spells on her. She has the strength of a thousand ordinary sharks. The other two are just big fish, but this one… She can't harm the Galera, but it turns out she can stop it. However, we'll try. You can't take us so easily…"
Chani picked up a boat hook lying on the deck, took aim and struck it like a spear. But he might as well have struck a granite wall. The hook clanked and bounced off, and its tip broke.
The Princess took out her Torch, and tongues of crimson fire licked the water. The water began to bubble and sputter as if in a large cauldron, jets of steam shot up, and everything around was covered in an impenetrable milky-white, warm and stuffy shroud. The strokes of the oars echoed dully in it, and someone's muffled squeak was heard. But the Galley continued to crawl slowly forward, stern first. The Torch's fire turned from red to blindingly white, then filled with sunny gold, and everything was drowned out by the furious roar of steam…
Toril sighed and lowered the Torch.
"When my ancestors built this ship, they had no idea that such a fiend of evil could be encountered.
"So what," Khani asked with a slightly trembling voice as he approached, "does that mean we've arrived?"
"Not yet," the princess sat down with surprising calm, "but soon we will see where they are dragging us. Unfortunately, I don't see a way out yet."
The water boiled by the flame of the Golden Torch quickly cooled, the steam dissipated. It became clear that where Toril had accidentally touched the Galley with fire, the gilded side had turned black and sooty, the filigree decorations had melted and turned into shapeless metal overlays, and two oars had disappeared altogether. In their place, only ugly stumps stuck out, nevertheless diligently raking in the air.
The weather became almost good, the sea calmed down, and the sun began to peek through the gaps in the clouds.
- And what will happen next?
Toril didn't understand who asked this, but she waved her hand and answered:
— They'll drag us into Dead Water. Or somewhere else…
At that moment, a quiet voice rustled in the air:
- Throw away the ruby...
Khani perked up.
- And what?!
- Throw away the ruby...
"Who's talking?" Khani looked at the princess suspiciously. "Is it you?"
Toril shook her head.
- No.
"Stop it…" someone invisible whispered again.
Toril, who had been staring blindly ahead with glassy, unseeing eyes, suddenly jumped up as if thrown by a spring.
"Stop it!" she shouted at Khani.
He took a step back.
- No.
"Throw it away!" the princess's voice rang with metal.
"No way," Khani refused.
The princess extended her right hand forward, a bluish glow flowed from her fingers, but, coming to her senses, she put her hands behind her back and explained as calmly as possible:
- Understand, you fool, this is our last chance. My weapon has proven useless here. Even the Golden Torch does not have enough fire to boil the entire sea and cook the damned sharks. We must try, maybe Rainbow will be able to cope with the monsters.
— And if he can't?
"Then we will all die anyway, every single one of us," Toril promised calmly.
Khani grinned and pointed his hand upward.
- Don't you see where the sun is? Only over the sea. Not a single ray falls on the Galera. This means throwing the ruby into the water. Forever.
- We have no choice. If you don't leave, we will die - also, by the way, forever. And along with your favorite ruby.
- And when you are saved, will you have enough conscience to look at the sun, which she will never see again? She will never see it!
- This is war! - Toril cried, no longer holding back. - War! Understand, you stupid stubborn one! In war, people always die, and it is better for one than for all!
Khani shook his head stubbornly.
- No.
Toril suddenly went limp and sank to the deck.
- Do as you please. I won't order you around, but...
"Throw a stone," the voice rang out again, this time seeming familiar to Khani.
He winced as if he had been stung. It was Ryubi's voice. Was that really what she wanted?
"No!" he repeated hoarsely. "I'd rather die."
"Throw it!" Ryubi's voice took on a commanding tone.
Khani looked at the water with wild eyes, raised his head up, in vain hope of a miracle. But no, not a single ray of sun fell on the Golden Galley, they sparkled on the water in the distance. He put his hand in his pocket, took out the ruby, slowly, as if the stone had suddenly acquired the weight of lead, picked it up and, closing his eyes, threw it with all his might to where the water was faintly sparkling.
There was a blinding red flash for a moment. Chani thought he saw a familiar figure flying over the waves, but this time Ryubi was not wearing a velvet dress, but a shining copper armor, in her hand she held a large purple-glowing spear or a fiery beam. There was a long ringing sound, as if a gong had been struck, something whistled, splashed…
The galley jerked from the strong blow and slowly crawled forward! Then it shuddered again, and began to rapidly pick up speed.
"Look!" Toril shouted.
Far behind the stern, two black triangles emerged. And between them, a shapeless gray mass was gently swaying on the waves, around which a dark spot was spreading.
"She finished off the White Death!" Chani cried out triumphantly.
"Yes, she did," Khani agreed weakly. "And I killed her. And now I have to be with her."
He walked slowly to the side and suddenly jumped onto the rail. Chani barely managed to grab his leg and pull him back onto the deck.
"Let go!" Khani growled, fighting back. "Let go!"
Chani held his brother with all his might until Toril ran up and placed her palm on his burning forehead. Khani jerked once more and went silent.
"He'll sleep a little and calm down," Toril tiredly ran her hand over her eyes. "He still has a difficult road ahead of him."