by J M D Reid
“Ary!” a muffled voice shouted. “Open up!”
“That sounds like Guts.” Chaylene grimaced. “Zori was supposed to be keeping him busy tonight.”
“I’ll get rid of him.” Ary grinned. “Don’t let the fish burn.”
Chaylene smacked his backside. He laughed on the way the door. He yanked it open and—
His mirth died at the sight of Guts supporting Estan, his throat swollen. Zori and Esty hovered behind them, Esty’s face smeared with drying blood. Concern swelled as Ary stepped aside, motioning them in.
“What happened?” Ary asked.
“Pirates . . . going to . . . attack . . .” choked Estan as Guts helped him inside. Estan wheezed, fighting for each breath.
“What?”
“Riasruo Above,” Chaylene gasped. “Estan, what happened to you?”
“My brother,” a nasally Esty answered.
Guts eased Estan down on a chair at the kitchen table. Ary grasped his friend and flooded Estan with Healing heat. Ary sensed Estan had a broken bone in his throat and bruises to his abdomen and liver. Ary shivered as he repaired Estan.
“Thank you,” Estan swallowed and smiled. “And if you would kindly heal Esty.”
“Yeah.” Ary touched the Agerzak woman’s shoulder.
Esty gasped as, with a pop, her nose straightened. She rubbed it, her slanted eyes dazed. “Th-thank you.”
“That was neat,” Zori said, her head cocking. “It just . . . sprang back into place like you yanked it, Ary.”
Ary cracked a grin. It felt amazing not having to hide who he was from his friends.
“Here,” Chaylene said, handing Esty a wet rag. “To clean your face.”
“Okay, Estan, what is going on?” Ary asked. “Why do you say the pirates are going to attack?”
“Because my brother is the leader of the Bluefin Raiders,” Esty said as she wiped her face. “He told me he was attacking tonight. He was trying to get me out of the city when Estan . . .” A look of abject fondness filled her face as she stared at Estan.
“Wait, what?” Ary blinked.
“You’re a spy!” Chaylene gasped. “You’ve been passing the raiders intelligence.”
Guts stiffened and Zori squeaked in shock while Esty’s cheeks reddened, the fondness Ary witnessed dying. The Agerzak woman squirmed beneath Chaylene’s accusation.
“Is this true?” Estan asked. “Are you . . .?”
Her head nodded, beaded braids rattling. “But I stopped. I couldn’t take the chance he would . . . hurt you, Estan.”
“Did you warn him about the Bravado?” Chaylene demanded.
Esty squeezed her eyes shut.
“You little trollop!” Chaylene hissed.
“Chaylene!” Estan gasped, putting his arm around the Agerzak woman.
“Let go of her, Estan!” Chaylene’s eyes were tight. “Her brother has the Bravado now because of her!”
“I . . .” Esty hunched her shoulders.
“That’s enough!” Estan roared, shifting Esty behind him. His gaze danced from Chaylene to Zori, the smaller scout moving beside Ary’s wife. Guts folded his arms across his chest, forehead furrowing.
Ary swallowed, not sure what to think. It all came so sudden. A spy?
“She’s just using you, Estan!” Chaylene snapped. “Don’t you see?”
“Yeah!” Zori piped in.
“Lena,” Ary said; Esty’s fond gaze to Estan felt real to Ary. “I don’t think—”
“You need to knock the ostrich down out of your head, Estan,” Chaylene continued, Zori nodding along in support.
“I’m sorry,” Esty said. “I . . . I never really thought of what would happen. I just thought my brother would avoid the Bravado. I didn’t want him to get hurt. He’s . . .” A shudder, like an aborted sob, trembled through her. “But then I met Estan and . . . I couldn’t tell Nrein where you were heading.” She looked at Estan. “I didn’t tell him.”
“She’s a spy,” Chaylene stated. “We need to turn her in. So get back from her, Estan. Guts, grab the—”
“Lena!” Ary barked, his thunderous outburst snapping her mouth shut. Zori jumped a rope off the floor. Even Guts flinched. “If she’s telling the truth and pirates are about to attack, we need to sound the alarm.”
Chaylene’s eyes widened. Ary felt the weight of his own words. Inside him, nervous electricity danced through his sinew, galvanizing him into action.
“We can deal with Esty later.”
“Nothing needs to be done about Esty,” Estan insisted. “She . . . made a mistake.”
Ary fixed Estan with a stern look. “She’s responsible for aiding in her brother’s crimes.”
Estan did not flinch. Ary witnessed strength in his friend, a granite core he had never expected. “And she is making amends. She saved my life tonight. She fought her brother to protect me. She didn’t have to tell me about the attack, but she did. I’ve kept your secret. We can keep hers.”
“Estan!” Chaylene hissed. “You aren’t threatening to speak, right?”
“Of course he didn’t mean it that way,” Ary said. “Right, Estan?”
Estan’s confidence faltered. “Er, no. I didn’t mean I would tell, I just meant that I haven’t told. And I won’t. But you will keep her secret, too.”
“Fine!” Chaylene snapped. “Zori, with me.”
“Right!” Zori said, nodding her head. Then she blinked, asking, “Wait, what are we doing?”
“Scouting. Ary, alert Captain Dhar and sound the alarm.”
“Be careful.” Ary handed the armory keys to Guts. “Get a pair of pressure rifles out of the armory for them, then report back to me.” Ary grabbed his red jacket, his heart beating. “Estan, with me.”
“What are you going to tell the captain?” Estan demanded as they marched out into the night. “How will you explain this?”
“No idea. Suggestions?”
*
“Where’s Fumpf and Hestril?” Tsossar asked Nrein after Wind galloped onto the deck of the Iron Horse. “Did he run off with your sister?”
“Fumpf’s dead,” Nrein growled.
Tsossar’s face tightened. He glanced at the skyland. “Are we exposed?”
“No!” Nrein looked around at his crew. “Onhur awaits us like a trembling maiden in the dark of her bower. All we have to do is seize her and claim her sweet prizes.”
Hungry faces grinned at him.
“Booty and women await us if we’re man enough to seize them.” Nrein looked at his crew. “Are you men or sniveling Vionese?”
“Men!”
“Drop the sails, load the ballistae, and ready the raiders!” He pointed at the lights of Onhur. “There’s our prize. Let’s claim her!”
A bloodthirsty roar resounded. Nrein grinned as the birth of his kingdom approached.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chaylene’s stomach knotted as Whitesocks flew over the edge of Tlele. She scanned the skies ahead through her pressure rifle’s scope. Behind her, horns sounded twice, paused, sounded twice: danger approached.
The alarm rang.
Zori soared at her wing, bundled up in her heavy coat, a scarf wrapped around her mouth and leather goggles over her eyes. Chaylene regretted forgetting her own scarf, the cold air biting at her exposed cheeks and lips. Below, flashes of lightning lit up the roiling turbulence of the Storm. Foggy clouds—a squall drifting in from Grion Rift—hung on the horizon to the east.
Her heart thudded in her chest, beating with fear and anger. Estan’s threat echoed in her head. Esty spied for the Bluefin Raiders and deserved spending time in the stocks. But she had to keep Esty’s secret. Even if Estan wouldn’t reveal what Ary was, Esty knew.
Chaylene gritted her teeth and kept scanning the sky. The Vionese sailor lurked in the back of her mind every time she peered through her scope. She half-expected to see his face exploding instead of the dark Storm churning in endless chaos. She swallowed, her throat dry. Her hand trembled. She thirste
d to drink the bottle of orange wine sitting on her table.
She hadn’t dreamed of the sailor the night before.
Chaylene searched for any ships out in the darkness, trying to separate patches of grays from the surface of the Storm, the churning patterns distracting her. The pirate ships painted their hulls black. She wasn’t certain they could be spotted at all at night unless she and Zori were right on top of them.
Chaylene licked her dry lips, her stomach twisting with every passing heartbeat.
Zori’s shrill whistle caught Chaylene’s attention. Her friend pointed down.
Chaylene leaned out to peer straight down. Whitesocks flapped his wings once as he glided through the air. She frowned. There was something rising up from the Storm. A flash of lightning rippled through the clouds, illuminating the surface in sheets of yellow and blue except where three dark shapes obscured it.
The Bluefin Raiders sailed for Onhur.
*
Ary marched alongside Captain Dhar as she hobbled towards the dock. Horns blared through the night. Runners raced into town to roust sailors out of the taverns and hurry them back to the ships. The crews of the Dauntless, Adventurous, and Gallant streamed to their vessels. The marines stationed at the Rheyion Naval Port unlimbered the massive ballistae guarding the docks.
“Captain Dhar?” Admiral Grelen growled as he stalked up dressed in a green doublet and dark hose instead of his uniform. “Why have you sounded the alarm?”
“The Bluefin Raiders are about to attack Onhur,” Captain Dhar answered, her crutch and wooden leg clumping as they stepped onto the wooden docks.
“How did you learn this?”
“One of my marines heard sailors talking about a group of ships holding station out of sight of Onhur,” Ary lied. “It was right at sunset. They didn’t get a good look, but the sailors thought it was odd. Hulls too dark for Vionese ships.”
“That’s thin,” the admiral growled.
“The adjutant-lieutenant insisted,” the captain said, giving Ary a sharp look. “Lieutenant Jayne and another scout are on a reconnaissance flight.”
“If I’m wrong, consider it a training exercise,” Ary added. He swallowed as Admiral Grelen fixed him with a tough stare.
“You better be right, son. My wife’s not happy. You’ve ruined her party.”
“I’m right, sir.”
Captain Dhar limped up the Dauntless’s gangplank, half pulling herself along with the rope railing. Admiral Grelen went up next, Ary following. Sailors bustled on the ship though only half the crew looked to be on board.
“Get those sails unfurled!” the captain shouted. “Is there a Windwarden aboard?”
“Yes, Captain,” Lieutenant Tharele nodded as she stood at the bow.
“Break out the weapons, Adjutant-Lieutenant.”
Ary snagged a boarding sailor, growling, “With me!”
He headed below deck to unlock the ship’s armory. Ary grabbed a barrel holding thunderbusses, while the sailor hefted one holding crossbows. Ary stepped out and saw another sailor. “Ienchie, grab bolts!”
“Sir,” the female sailor nodded.
Ary headed above deck with his barrel, hefting it with ease. He slammed it down and handed a thunderbuss each to Guts and Estan. Corporal Huson raced up the gangplank, saluting when she reached the top, and seized her thunderbuss. Sailors received crossbows as they gained the deck. The gangplank groaned as the three Zzuk Auxiliaries boarded.
“Warleader,” Ary nodded to Nskuapz.
“We are honored to once again fight at your side,” he said in his sibilant accent.
“The honor is mine,” Ary said. “Blood to pay for blood.”
Nskuapz hissed. It almost sounded like a laugh. He strode past, greatclub resting on his shoulder.
“Scouts returning!” a sailor shouted from the crow’s nest.
Chaylene and Zori winged out of the night, flying fast. Chaylene dived for the dock, her jacket rustling as Whitesocks flared his gray-feathered wings. The pegasus flapped hard as Chaylene landed on the pier. Zori soared over, Dancer neighing.
“Captain!” Chaylene shouted. “Three ships approaching from the west. Two Vaarckthian cruisers and the captured Bravado. You need to put to sky now, or you’ll be caught on the docks.”
“Do it!” ordered Admiral Grelen. “Lieutenant Jayne, pass the word to the other ships then support from the sky.”
“Yes, Admiral.” Chaylene kicked Whitesocks’s flanks and the pegasus leaped off the pier, wings spread wide.
“Cast off!” the captain shouted from the stern deck.
Sailors threw hawsers off the mooring posts before they rushed aboard. The Dauntless sailed with half her crew. Ary grimaced at the holes in the defenders. The Bosun barked orders as she strode along the deck, sending sailors from the rigging to man the ballistae batteries. A breeze swept down the ship, conjured by the Windwarden. It propelled the Dauntless out from the dock while the ship begun her slow turn.
“Corporal Huson, command the starboard deck,” Ary ordered.
“Adjutant-Lieutenant!” She strode to her post, barking commands as the ship turned faster, picking up speed.
“Guts, join her. Estan and Jhech, on my side.” Two of Ary’s marines hadn’t reported in time: Zeirie and Messiench. Ary strode over to the starboard. Estan and Jhech formed the center, with one of the drafted sailors between them. Four more sailors spread out on either side of them. It was half the defense the Dauntless required.
“Bosun, I need more sailors for deck defense,” Ary said, shifting his balance as the deck pitched.
“I have none to spare,” the Bosun growled. She looked up. “Set the rigging for straight flight!”
Sailors scrambled through the rigging and on the deck, pulling ropes to swing the spars about. Ary grimaced and gazed at the other two Autonomy ships. The Adventurous turned, the larger ship flying slower. Ary spotted eleven red coats on her deck. She had all her marines aboard. Beyond, the Gallant was still at dock. He glanced at Chaylene and Zori circling above.
Chaylene flashed a hand signal, waving her right arm up and down three times.
The pirate ships were in sight.
Chaylene lowered her right arm.
“Windwarden, descend the ship!” barked the captain.
The Dauntless groaned as the bow pitched down. Ary and the crew shifted their balance. It was like standing on a slope now. He gripped his thunderbuss, eyes sweeping ahead for dangers and targets. He spotted them.
Three dark patches floated above the Storm.
“Three ships, five degrees to port, two thousand ropes!” shouted Velegrin from the crow’s nest. “Black hulls, blue sails. A dozen raiders galloping at us.”
An explosion detonated before the Dauntless, fire lighting up the night sky. Shrapnel dinged against the wooden hull and hissed through the air. Ary’s skin itched. Ensigns Brald and Tsopfein barked orders to their forward ballistae crews, the engines swiveling about. The crews loaded long-fuse shots lifted up through hatches from the magazine below.
The ballistae fired, the twang vibrating through the hull.
“Raiders coming in!” Ary barked. “Port side. These pirates think to scare us. But we’re the Stormwall! A Cyclone’s already broken upon the Dauntless! We’ll sweep these guppies from the sky!”
Explosions boomed through the air. Ary ducked as a pirate shot burst off the port side, showering the deck with shrapnel. A sailor groaned in pain, clutching his ripped open leg. He dropped his crossbow. Ary itched to heal him. Couldn’t.
Instead, Ary rose and aimed his thunderbuss over the port defender’s heads. The raiders thundered closer, the flames sparking from their horses’ hooves marking the shadowy forms. His skin grew tight. He controlled his breathing as the dread built and built in him.
A shot whistled past the Dauntless from the skyland batteries and hurtled towards the pirate ships. The thunderclap rattled the air as the massive explosion raked the deck of an enemy ship. The raiders di
dn’t care. They charged forward. The lead reavers drew bows, arrows knocked, while the rear riders brandished greatswords. They pounded closer and closer. The archers fired. Ary and the defenders ducked as missiles thudded into the hull and streaked over his head.
Ary tensed, gathering his charge in his left hand and gripping the ceramic barrel of his weapon. He aimed at the pirates. “Fire!”
*
Chaylene hugged the back of Whitesocks as arrows whistled by. She risked a glance behind her. Three raiders galloped after, lit by the ballistae shots detonating across the sky. The five shore batteries fired their massive barrages while the Autonomy and pirate ships traded explosions.
Whitesocks whinnied as she shifted her hips. He pulled his wings in and dove straight down.
“That’s it,” she muttered as the air rushed past her. The Dauntless soared beneath her, lightning and crossbow bolts firing into the approaching raiders.
She pulled Whitesocks out of the dive while increasing his lift. Momentum pressed down on her body, her vision darkening for a moment. As her sight cleared, Whitesocks began to climb underneath her pursuers. Their horses couldn’t dive. They galloped downward in a spiral, their horses’ bellies exposed.
Chaylene aimed her pressure rifle and fired. The horse screamed almost like a person as it collapsed and tumbled through the night sky. The raider leaped from his horse and landed on nothing like it was solid ground. He aimed his drawn bow at her.
“Left!” Chaylene screamed as she leaned over, her pegasus banking left.
The arrow hissed by.
She fired her rifle and caught the pirate in the chest. He fell onto his back in a burst of flames. He lay sprawled in the sky for a few heartbeats. When he died, his Blessing ended; his body plummeted towards the Storm.
An arrow flashed in front of her face. Chaylene gasped. Cold sweeps of dread surged through her veins. She swiveled, searching for the archer. He raced behind her. She banked Whitesocks over hard as a second arrow streaked past her head. Her shoulder blades itched, feeling the enemy knocking the next missile.
A shot hissed from above.
The archer fell dead from his horse. A moment later, Zori dived past, whooping.
Chaylene flashed her a thumbs up. Zori banked around and fell into formation off Whitesocks’s right wing.