Dragonslayer – Book Tour and Giveaway

The storm seemed to come towards us at an unnatural speed. Every time I looked up it appeared that the clouds were closer, so that they soon covered the whole horizon and turned the sky dark. Flashes of lightning could be seen ripping across the sky and aiming to strike at the water. Sheets of rain connected the imposing clouds and the angry sea, turning the storm into an apocalyptic vision of Mobis’s charging hordes.

‘May the Fates take pity on us,’ I said quietly. ‘Do you think Villermir has discovered we are missing?’

Kade turned to find the storm had closed the distance to the horizon by half since the morning. ‘If so, it looks like he doesn’t know which direction we have taken, so is ripping up the entire ocean to get at us.’

Iced water ran down my spine. I sat watching the tempest race towards us, unable to move, unable to think clearly. Thoughts of rowing or channelling the wind were gone. I could think of nothing except our impending doom.

A blast of cold wind and the first splatters of rain nudged my mind back into focus. I stored the oars and lashed them down tightly to the floor of the boat, tucked under the curve of the side so no stray wave could dislodge them. Next was the sail. The wind threatened to rip the canvas from my grip one moment, then pull me overboard the next. I struggled with the heavy weight while the rain started pelting me, stinging any exposed skin. I squinted against the onslaught, the gloom as the clouds gathered overhead making it difficult to see.

Kade tried to help but was finding it difficult to rise in the wildly rocking boat. I shouted at him to stay where he was, gesturing to convey my message over the sound of the rain and wind which muffled my voice. The last thing I needed was for him to go overboard, and he soon came to the same conclusion. Frowning in frustration, he could do nothing but sit and watch me struggle. Eventually, I had removed the sail from the mast and dragged the canvas over to Kade.

‘Wrap yourself in this,’ I shouted into his ear. ‘It will keep the worst of the rain off you, and you can stop it being blown into the sea.’

He nodded sadly, silently pleading with me to stay under the canvas with him, but there was still work to do. The waves were now high enough to wash over the sides of the boat. I grabbed a couple of mugs and gave one to Kade. We worked as hard as we could at bailing out the water. The mugs were ridiculously inadequate and there was soon a finger-length’s depth of water in the bottom of the sloop.

The storm hit us with its full fury. Lightning crackled overhead, followed immediately by a boom of thunder that rattled the boat and had me cowering at the bottom of the craft. Rain as hard as hailstones pounded against flesh and wood, bouncing in the puddles that were forming everywhere, making movement around the boat slippery and potentially lethal. The waves grew higher, towering above the mast and lifting us high into the sky, before dropping us down again with a heart-stopping lurch. We gripped the flimsy wooden frame to stop ourselves being thrown around or tossed overboard. My nails tore into the timber as I closed my eyes tight against the horrors of the storm. My wits were about to leave me. I froze, waiting for the mountains of water to tear us apart.

The storm left as quickly as it arrived, racing across the ocean in all directions. The waves rocked the boat violently, but they no longer swept over the sides. Easing my cramped hands from the boat wall, I started bailing out the water from the bottom of the boat and this time it stayed out, the rain slowing to a steady downpour. The gloom remained and I could barely see Kade at the stern. We stared at each other for a long time, neither of us really believing that we had survived. That the little fishing sloop had stayed afloat and in one piece. That neither of us had suffered any more harm than being whipped by the wind and rain.

My nerve finally broke. I stumbled over to Kade and collapsed under his arm as he lifted up the canvas for me to crawl under. I hugged him so tightly that I thought I would crush his ribs, but could not loosen my grip. My whole body shook as I laid my head against his chest, allowing his fever heat to warm me and letting my tears soak into his tunic.

‘I can’t do this anymore,’ I sobbed. ‘I just can’t.’

‘Oh, Magpie,’ he whispered into my sodden hair.

The tears flowed harder at his use of my pet name that he hadn’t uttered for so long. He said no more, just stroked my back in long, soothing sweeps until I fell into an exhausted sleep.