It fought him with the strength of a demon. The damn ship had a will of its own. It was determined to doom them all. He pushed as hard as he could, throwing his weight to one side. Inch by inch, the rudder moved, and the ship’s prow swung onto the new course.

Enough. Hold her there.

His fingers slipped. The wheel spun with irresistible force. The wooden handle hit him on the forehead, the force of the blow like a punch from an orc. His legs threatened to give way. Instead, he willed himself to reach out and grab the handles again.

What are you doing? Hard left! Hard left now or we will be swamped!

Throwing every remaining ounce of strength into the struggle, he fought the wheel around.

Look up!

Kormak saw a distant golden light breaking through the storm clouds.

It is the sunstone atop the Palace Imperial. We are on course.

Kormak tried to hold course for the distant light. How much longer could he keep this up?

CHAPTER TWO

KORMAK GRITTED HIS teeth and gripped the wheel. Salt spray stung his eyes. Cold water swirled around his feet, shifting Zamara’s body. The captain’s eyes opened. He gave a sick grin then felt at his head.

“You look as if you could use some help,” he said as he used the rail to pull himself to his feet.

Zamara shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted into the distance. “By the Holy Sun, man! What have you done?”

“What now?” Kormak managed to force the words out of his numbed mouth.

Zamara slapped his back. “You’ve taken us into Trefal Harbour. If we can just get past the Wizard’s Isle we are safe.”

The realisation hit Kormak. Over the past few minutes, the sea had become less rough and the ship ran much smoother.

Zamara bellowed orders. Men pulled themselves out from below decks. The captain strode over and put his shoulder to the wheel.

“Not much further now.”

***

The Wizard’s Isle jutted from the sea. Its thousand windows blazed with light as they scudded past.

Beyond the tower lay a wide bay where the sea was far less rough than beyond the jaws of the headlands. A massive rock, like a sawn off mountain, rose above the city. On it perched the Palace Imperial. Above its highest roofs loomed a mighty tower. At its tip a golden glow pierced the night, like the first light of the sun peeking over the horizon at dawn.

Rhiana raced up the stairs to the sterncastle without stopping to ask the captain’s permission. Ahead of them, the harbour was full of the masts of ships, clustered together like a herd of beasts in a snowstorm. Apart from the main body was another smaller group of much larger ships.

Kormak unclenched his fingers from around the wheel and staggered to the guardrail. Rhiana made to support him but he shrugged her off.