The Prince of Mist (Niebla 1)

‘My name is Roland,’ the boy snapped.

‘Roland, Jacob … What does it matter if it’s one name or the other? I have quite a few names myself. What is your wish, Roland? Do you want to save your friend?’

‘Where have you hidden her?’ Roland replied. ‘Damn you! Where is she?’

The magician rubbed his hands, as if he were feeling cold.

‘Do you know how long a ship like this takes to sink, Jacob? Don’t tell me. A couple of minutes at the most. Surprising, isn’t it?’ Cain laughed.

‘You want Jacob, or whatever I’m called,’ Roland declared. ‘Well, you’ve got him; I’m not going to escape. So let her go.’

‘How original, Jacob,’ intoned the magician, drawing closer. ‘Your time’s running out, Jacob. One minute.’

The Orpheus began to list to starboard. The water flooding the boat roared beneath their feet and the damaged metal structure shivered as the furious sea spread through it like acid dissolving a cardboard toy.

‘What do you want me to do?’ begged Roland. ‘What do you want of me?’

‘Good, Jacob. I see you’re beginning to understand. I hope you’ll carry out the part of the agreement your father was unable to fulfil,’ the magician replied. ‘Nothing more. And nothing less.’

‘My father died in an accident. I …’ Roland began to explain in despair.

The magician placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Roland felt the metallic touch of his fingers.

‘Half a minute, boy. It’s a bit late for family stories.’

The waves were now crashing against the deck of the bridge. Roland threw a last beseeching look at the magician. Cain knelt in front of him and smiled.

‘Shall we make a deal, Jacob?’ he whispered.

Tears sprang from Roland’s eyes and he slowly nodded.

‘Good, good, Jacob,’ murmured Cain. ‘Welcome home …’

The magician stood up and pointed towards one of the corridors that led from the bridge.

‘The last door down that corridor. But here’s a piece of advice. By the time you manage to open it we’ll all be under water and your friend won’t have enough air to breathe. You’re a good diver, Jacob. You’ll know what to do. Remember our pact …’

Cain smiled one last time and, wrapping himself in his cloak, disappeared into the night. Invisible feet echoed across the bridge, leaving behind footprints of molten metal. The boy stood where he was for an instant, paralysed, trying to recover his breath, until the ship gave another jolt, pushing him against the frozen wheel of the helm. Water had started to flood the bridge.

Roland rushed down the corridor the magician had pointed out. Water was now pouring through the deck hatches, inundating the corridor, as the Orpheus gradually sank into the sea. Roland banged against the cabin door with his fist.

‘Alicia!’ he shouted, although he was aware that she could barely hear him. ‘It’s Roland. Hold your breath! I’m going to get you out of there!’

Roland grabbed the wheel that opened the cabin door and struggled to turn it, hurting the palms of his hands as he did so. The freezing water was already up to his waist and kept on rising. The wheel only yielded a centimetre or so. Roland took a deep breath and tried again. This time it slowly rotated. The water was now over Roland’s head.

When the door finally opened, Roland swam into the murky cabin, groping around blindly for Alicia. For a terrible moment he thought the magician had tricked him and there was nobody there. He opened his eyes under the water, battling against a stinging sensation, and tried to see through the darkness. At last his hands touched a torn piece of Alicia’s dress – she was still there, struggling between panic and suffocation. He hugged her and tried to calm her, but in the dark she didn’t know who or what had grabbed her. Aware that he had only a few seconds left, Roland put his hands round her neck and pulled her out into the corridor. The ship was still plunging towards the ocean bed. Alicia wrestled with Roland as he dragged her through the corridor towards the bridge, through the debris floating up from the depths of the Orpheus. He knew they couldn’t get out of the ship until the hull had touched the seabed – if they tried before then, the pressure would only pull them back down – yet he was aware that at least thirty seconds had elapsed since Alicia had taken her last breath: by this time and in her state of panic, she had probably started to inhale water. If so, the ascent to the surface would mean certain death for her. Cain had planned this game with great care.

As they waited, it seemed as though the ship would never touch the bottom, and when the impact finally came, part of the ceiling in the bridge collapsed on top of them. A terrible pain shot up Roland’s leg, and he realised that a piece of metal had trapped one of his ankles. Meanwhile, the glow of the Orpheus was slowly fading in the depths of the ocean.

Roland fought against the agonising pain, searching for Alicia’s face in the dark. Her eyes were open but she was struggling not to take in water. She couldn’t hold her breath for another moment, and the last bubbles of air escaped from her lips like pearls carrying away the final moments of a life.

Roland held her face and tried to get Alicia to look at him. Their eyes locked and she understood immediately what he was proposing. Alicia shook her head, attempting to push Roland away from her. He pointed at his ankle, trapped under the metal beams from the ceiling. Alicia swam down through the icy water and tried to free him. They looked at one another in despair. Nothing and nobody would be able to move the tons of steel that were pinning Roland down. Alicia swam back to him and hugged him, aware that she was beginning to lose consciousness th

rough lack of air. Without waiting another moment, Roland cupped Alicia’s face with his hands and, placing his lips on hers, he breathed out the air he had kept for her, just as Cain had predicted he would. Alicia held Roland’s hands tight, and joined him in a life-saving kiss.

Roland gave her one last, desperate look of farewell then pushed her out of the bridge. Slowly, Alicia began her ascent. As she neared the surface she kept her eyes fixed on Roland, his outline slowly fading in the murky shadows at the bottom of the sea. That was the last time Alicia saw Roland.

Seconds later, the girl emerged in the middle of the bay and saw that the storm was gradually receding, taking with it all the hopes she had had for the future.