Dragon Down by Casey Knight Page B

his feet and grabbed a bucket, dipped it over the side and started throwing water on the deck. It’s a good thing because the monster burned so hotly I was afraid the deck would catch fire. Luckily, we sustained little damage. Drained, I slumped to the deck and tried to catch my breath. Zane finished mopping up. He washed down the deck, before joining me.
    “What in the name of god was that?”
    “Lauren, are you all right?”
    “Yes, but what was that thing? There was half a row boat lashed to the bow. It wasn ’t seaworthy, I’d bet on it. That had to be a magical entity.”
    “It was a draug . They are dead spirits that occupy the corpses of dead mariners. I’m sure the inhabitants of one of these islands sent him our way. ”
    “That ’s a good thing in a way isn’t it? I mean we must be getting closer or why bother to scare us away. ”
    “You might have a point. However, we don ’t know if this draug was just in the area or if he was working with anyone. Usually, these creatures don’t often work for or with anyone. It’s just as likely, that it was just roaming the area. ”
    “You have a point and I ’m sure the vampires would have no reason to remove the draug. They don’t want visitors. I may as well try to get some rest. There is nothing more we can do now. Are you all right or is there anything you need for me to do before I retire. ”
    “Lauren, get some rest. I can handle things until sunrise.”
    I didn’t argue. I was exhausted and now that the adrenaline had been absorbed, I was crashing. I fell asleep the minute I curled up on my corner of the deck. If I’d known my dreams would be haunted by images of the draug, I might have chosen to stay awake.
    Groaning because of the stiffness in my joints, I sat up and gingerly stretched. The sun was already high in the sky and we were under way. I pushed myself to my feet and went to scrounge up something to eat. I found Zane looking over a map of the area. Not wanting to interrupt, I scanned the horizon. There was a fair wind and the sun felt warm on my upturned face. When I glanced back at Zane, he had finished and was moving toward me.
    “Thank you for letting me sleep-in. I was exhausted. Have there been any new occurrences?”
    “I sent Tokem out to scout about a half hour ago. There hasn’t been anything out of the ordinary. I’ve set a course that will keep us moving back and forth along the grid we set yesterday. I’ve marked where we’ve encountered our magical creatures perhaps, it will help.”
    “It ’s about time you got up.”
    “It is nice to see you too. Tokem, if I didn ’t know better I’d think you missed me.”
    Tokem glided down from the boom and landed between Zane and me.
    “Did you find anything?” Zane asked as he turned to take the wheel.
    “I thought you ’d never ask. There is a sloop about twenty minutes north of us.”
    Zane ’s head snapped up and he tied off the wheel. “What kind of sloop? Did you see a crew or flag?”
    “It is definitely a sloop. It has three sails and one mast. It is manned, but I couldn ’t get a close look without giving myself away. There were no flags and no name on it that I could see.”
    “Good job Tokem. You better get something to eat because we will need you to keep an eye on it.” Zane said.
    “What do you make of it? Do you think it is a problem or is it just another ship?”
    “Lauren, we are near the shipping lanes still, I don’t like the idea that sloop isn’t flying a flag.”
    “How do you want to handle this?”
    “I think having Tokem keeping us updated is enough for now. If it looks like it is moving in our direction, we can take evasive actions. There are pirates in these waters.”
    “I can take the wheel for now. Why don ’t you get some food and rest? You’ll need it if we have to try and out run this ship.”
    “I hope it doesn ’t come to that because there is no way we can out run a sloop. They were built for speed, which is why the