Read The Mad God's Muse (The Eye of the Lion Saga Book 2) for Free Online Page B

Still,
he felt its claws tearing at him from within. He drew Brutus’s
sword and began hammering at the door. Perhaps the top was clear,
and he could crawl over the obstruction.
    The ship lurched again, more
violent this time, with a groan that sent shudders throughout the
frame. The floor again tilted beneath Ahmed’s feet, water
churned, and he lost his footing.
    When he surfaced again, it was
to blackness. The lantern was out, and he had no idea where the door
was. The panic in him drew strength from this and surged at the
chains of faith with which he had bound it, a frenzied beast intent
on freedom.
    The water was near his chest
now, and freezing cold. He could taste the sea on his lips, or was
it blood? His, Brutus's, who could say? It was quiet now, just the
sloshing of the rising water and the sound of his own labored,
shuddering breath. He struggled to find the door again, to reorient
himself. Surely, if this was the end, it would not be because he had
not tried. But the door was simply gone . He pounded his fists
against unyielding wood in frustration.
    The ship groaned again, and he
heard creaking nearby. A board, perhaps right next to him, gave way
with a crack like thunder, and he felt more water rush in. Something
hit his chest, something small, but hard and heavy. He reached for
it, but found nothing. Another groan came from overhead, and then a
great splintering, shredding sound. Ahmed simply stood. How could he
know if he were avoiding a blow, or leaping into one he would have
survived? It was in Ilaweh’s hands.
    The water was rising faster
now. It was up to his neck. This was his end, then. He shook his
head at the irony, that a man from the desert should suffer such a
death. He felt the fear in his heart subside, replaced with
acceptance. He was ready, as difficult as the path was. Ilaweh’s
will be done.
    As the water closed over his
head, Ahmed Justinius looked up one last time before he closed his
eyes, and saw, in the pitch darkness, a twinkling of light. The door
was over his head, and through the hole he had hacked into it he
could see the moon.
    Energy surged into him as he
seized the edge of the wood. He could not strike a blow against it,
not with the water, but he could pull. He did so with all his might.
    Ilaweh, if it is your will
that I die, let me die well. And if it is not, then give me
strength!
    Ahmed felt as if his arms would
tear themselves from his body. Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen. His
muscles tightened even more, and his breath burst from him in a cry
of exertion. This would be his last chance. Twenty seconds. Twenty
five.
    The door gave way with a
thunderous crack that Ahmed heard even through the water in his
ears. The moon above wavered with the water covering him. He
clambered through the opening and burst to the surface, sucking in
air in great gasps.
    He was on the main deck, what
was left above the water at any rate. He saw men leaping from the
railings, and remembered Brutus’s warning to escape the ship
before it went down, or he would be dragged down with it.
    Ahmed struggled to climb the
tilted deck, to reach a high point and jump as the others were
doing. He couldn’t help but smile at the irony. He had never
learned to swim. He was, perhaps, jumping from the frying pan and
into the fire.
    I
will learn , he promised himself. I
will learn right now.
    He leapt over the rail and into
the dark, rolling waves. He watched the others, and tried to do as
they did, digging and crawling through the water like sand. In the
distance, he saw lights, and what looked like land, and his heart
sank.
    Too
far. Far too far, and I am exhausted and freezing, and out of my
element. Ilaweh, I have failed you . Yet he swam on.
    Ilaweh’s will would be
done.

Chapter 3: The Dead God

    Aiul had realized fairly
quickly that, while he was in a prison, it was not the prison. His cell was far from luxurious, but there was at least
enough room in the small, brick room to stand and pace. The door