Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin Read Free Book Online

against the tide. A smaller ship appeared on the opposite side of the whirlpool and began its own circuit of the edge. A figure on the deck of the smaller vessel jumped up and down, waving his arms.
    "Oh, god." I didn't want to watch.
    The other ship twisted and turned, out of control. I realized that within seconds, we'd plow right into it.
    "Get ready," Elyssa said in a strained voice. "I can't hold this course much longer."
    I remembered the dead woman with the rope and had an idea. "Do what you need to do." I ran to the lower deck and untied the rope from the woman and the railing, then raced to the front of the ship.
    We were less than a hundred feet from the spinning boat. Hot wind whipped against my face. The man on the deck of the other boat had given up yelling for help and apparently braced for the inevitable. I leaned over the railing.
    "Grab the rope!"
    He didn't see or hear me. I shouted again and again, but the deafening din of the swirling water was too much to overcome. I decided to try another tactic and tied the rope to the railing and around my waist then I rappelled down the side of the ship. The yacht abruptly turned and I lost my footing.
    The rope played out all the way to the end, jerking me to a halt inches from the rushing water. Agony inflamed my ribs and I shouted in pain. Dangling and twisting in wind and the stinging salt spray, I heard a faint cry. When I rotated toward the front, I saw the man and his boat only feet away. With a yell of surprise, I put out my feet to ward off the blow. The other boat's hull knocked me swinging out over the void. For a moment, I hung over the violent maw, then swung back toward the boat as the yacht crushed through its hull.
    The man's face filled with fear. I held out a hand as I swung toward him. "Jump to me! Jump!"
    He ran to the edge and leapt just as I swung back into range. He slammed against me, clinging tightly to my ribs. I cried out in agony. He slipped and his weight shifted to my foot. Water foamed around his waist and I knew I'd lose him to the tide unless I did something fast.
    Using every bit of supernatural strength, I fought gravity and tried to pull him up with my leg, despite the burning pain in my abdomen. One of the man's arms hung limp by his side and I realized he must have dislocated it.
    The fingers of his left hand held my shoe in a white-knuckled grip. My hand reached for his as I pulled up my leg. With one last gasp of pain, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist.
    The ship shifted directions and we swung back over the glowing vortex. The other man screamed. I imagined his shoulder hurt as badly as mine did with all his weight and centrifugal force jerking on mine.
    The gravitational slingshot threw the yacht out of death's door, past the event horizon of the maelstrom, and into open water.
    I heard a man sobbing. At first I wasn't sure if it was me or the guy I'd rescued. It turned out to be both of us. Unfortunately, I was out of juice. There was no way in hell I could get both of us up the rope. I'd be lucky to get up there myself. Elyssa probably had no idea where I was, so that left me little choice. The man's feet were already trailing in the water.
    "Can you keep afloat until I untie the rope?" I asked him.
    "Yes," he replied.
    I released him into the water. The knot had tightened considerably from all the weight on it, but I managed to work it loose and dropped into the water a moment later. I swam to the man and grabbed him under an armpit as the yacht motored past. Just as the rear dock neared, I swam for it, and grabbed the ladder. With a chorus of grunts, groans, and sobs, we heaved ourselves up onto the back deck.
    I was in pain and beyond exhausted, but we'd done it.
    We had a ride to the mainland.
     
     

Chapter 5
     
    I heard Elyssa screaming my name as we neared the bridge.
    "I ought to slap you silly, Justin!" She threw herself into my arms, eliciting a yelp from me.
    "I think a slap would've been less painful," I