by PT Hylton
Edvard’s breastplate had shifted to protect his neck.
“Your breastplate is stone,” Benjamin said. “Isn’t that handy.”
“You have no idea.”
Suddenly the stone began to snake its way up the blade. Benjamin tried to pull the sword back, but the stone had it locked in its grip.
“The stones we carry are just for self-defense. When we go into a real battle, we mold a thin layer of stone to our torso. Serves both as armor and a weapon.”
Benjamin tugged at the sword, but he still couldn’t budge it. “Yeah? What about your buddies? Why aren’t they wearing it?”
“They don’t take you seriously as a threat. I do. Consider it a compliment.”
The stone was almost to the hilt of the sword now. Just before it reached his hands, Benjamin let go and stumbled backward.
Edvard grabbed the sword, and the stone shifted back to its original location. He gazed at the weapon for a moment, then tossed it over the side.
Benjamin snarled at his opponent. “I really liked that sword.”
“Well, at least you had it during your final battle.”
The stone on the breastplate quivered, the telltale sign it was about to morph into a new shape.
Swordless, Benjamin knew his best chance was to use his second favorite weapon. His eyes went black, and a fireball shot out of his hand.
Edvard screamed as the fire hit him in the face.
Benjamin let the fire burn for a moment. It was a risk, but if something caught on fire, he could dampen it with ice magic before it got out of control.
As Edvard began to fall, Benjamin reached out with magic and gave a mighty push. Edvard hit the rail, and something cracked loudly. Whether it was the rail itself or Edvard’s insides, Benjamin did not know. He pushed again, and Edvard went over the side.
If the fireball hadn’t killed him already, the stone breastplate would ensure he drowned.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and a moment later a light rain began to fall.
“It’s about time, Ludvik,” Benjamin muttered.
It took five more minutes to dispose of the rest of the Stone Shapers. In the end, they lost eight of their own people and took out all twelve enemies. For a ragtag crew of stormship sailors facing off against magic users, that wasn’t half bad.
The Stone Shapers had underestimated them, but Benjamin knew it wouldn’t happen again.
He heard splashing on the starboard side, and he ran to the rail to look over.
In the moonlight, he could just make out Ludvik dogpaddling below, a wide smile on his face. “How’d we do, sir?”
“Better than we had any right to,” Benjamin said, “but not as well as I intend to do next time. Next time we’ll be ready.”
****
Elliot’s plan was straightforward, aggressive, and ballsy as hell. That was why Abbey liked it.
They’d left Baer Gigur late morning. It had been a somber goodbye for the ekkja; they left knowing this could be the last time they saw their home.
Something struck Abbey as she watched them gather the things they considered essential and load them onto a handful of wagons. She saw Sigmund nearby, and she went to ask him about it.
“Hey, Sig. I haven’t noticed any kids in Baer Gigur.”
“Astute observation,” he answered drily.
“So why aren’t there? I mean, you put a group of men and women in a boring hideout in the woods, you’re bound to get some pregnancies eventually, right?”
He chuckled. “You’re more right than you know. When we made the decision to start raiding, we knew it would be dangerous. If we were caught, the Stone Shapers would probably find our homes and burn them to the ground. Those of us without children left our old village, which is hidden in the south, and we built Baer Gigur. The Tall Grass Raiders are the select few, the small segment of Ragnar’s Barskall who remain childless.”
They had searched for Gideon on the way to Nuur, but it proved fruitless. Honestly, their search had amounted to little more than looking among the undergrowth along the side of the road. Elliot had his mind set on the coming engagement.
They reached Nuur midafternoon. It was smaller than Ammaas, but it had a similar layout. Stone houses, each with its own style, lined the strangely winding streets. When they entered the town, they split up into groups of four or five so as not to attract attention.
The key players, Elliot, Abbey, Dustin, Hekla, and two other archers, stayed together. Syd had agreed to lead one of the other squads, as had Sigmund.
Abbey and her team hid in a dead-end alley at the end of a twisting road while Hekla scouted ahead. They didn’t speak as they waited, each deep in his or her own thoughts about the battle to come. Abbey and Elliot each carried rope, and it was difficult for Abbey not to fiddle with it while they waited.
They could hear the chatter of the people passing on the street outside the alley. Most complained about their duties or the dry weather, but one conversation in particular caught their ears.
“—first voyage south. Was it everything you’d hoped?” a male voice asked.
The other person was female and sounded a bit younger, around Abbey’s age. “It was that and more. I’ll be happy to sleep in my own bed tonight, but I’m sorrowful that the trip is over.”
“Tell me the gossip, then. Is the stormship still there?”
“It is. They’ve got it locked down in the harbor. I heard there was some trouble yesterday. Some Shapers paid them a late-night visit.”
“Serves the foreign bastards right.”
“Agreed, but apparently they fought the Shapers off. I wasn’t able to get all the details, but it sounded like…”
The voices trailed off as the couple walked out of earshot.
Abbey grimaced.
“At least they’re still alive,” Dustin whispered.
“Yes.” But how many of them?
Hekla crept back into the alley. “I found one. It’s perfect. Large enough for all of us. And there’s a building right across the street, and a small alley behind it.”
“Perfect,” Elliot said.
Hekla showed them to the alley behind the building, then went off to make sure the other squads were in position.
Abbey grabbed Elliot’s arm. “You ready?”
Elliot drew a deep breath before answering. “Honestly, I’ve never liked heights.”
“Eh, you’ll get over it. Dustin?”
The Storm Caller gripped his staff and closed his eyes. A moment later, wind hit them from below as if it were coming out of the ground.
Abbey channeled her magic, and suddenly she and Elliot shot upward, almost weightless. She felt Elliot gasp.
As they reached the top of the building she angled herself forward and increased their weight, and they stepped onto the roof.
Elliot’s face was as a pale as a cresting wave.
“You’re welcome for the ride.” Abbey winked. She set her rope on the roof. “I’ll be right back.” With that, she stepped off the roof and drifted to the ground below.
She made four more trips, first carrying each of the archers to the roof and finally Dustin himself.
When they were all in place, she stood on the edge and watched. Before long, Hekla ran into the alley and nodded at her.
“Hekla says everyone’s in position,” she told Elliot.
“Excellent.” It was clear from his voice he was still a little shaken from his flight.
Abbey raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to be able to accurately shoot an arrow?”
He swung the bow off his back and pulled an arrow from the quiver on his hip. “We’re about to find out.”
Abbey looked at the preliminary target, a Stone Shaper guard standing on the dock below. Two other Stone Shapers stood on the deck of the ultimate target: a large fishing vessel.
The other three archers readied their weapons. They were in charge of taking out the two Stone Shapers on the ship. As soon as the guards were down, it would
be Abbey’s job to get Dustin to the ship as quickly as possible. He’d begin stormcalling while Elliot and the archers rappelled to the street and made their way to the ship.
The other groups were to run to the ship as soon as they saw the guards fall.
With any luck, the whole mission would be over in two minutes and they’d be sailing south to help free The Foggy Day.
Elliot took one last look around. “Everyone ready?”
The archers and Abbey confirmed they were.
“And you know I am,” Dustin said. “Let’s steal their damn ship.”
Elliot nocked and loosed in one smooth motion, and the arrow flew true. The first guard fell.
The heist of the fishing vessel had begun.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Would you like some food, dear? We have rabbit.” The old woman wore an expectant smile that made it clear she’d like nothing more than to feed a guest.
“Perhaps just a little,” Gideon replied. “You’re very kind.”
A part of him felt guilty for eating some of the elderly couple’s food, but another part, a much louder part, roared with hunger. That part drowned any moral qualms he might otherwise have had.
He still couldn’t believe he’d done it. He’d found a stone in the village they’d visited. He’d almost tried to escape immediately, but they’d watched him closely, both in the village and during the journey back to Baer Gigur. He’d hidden the stone, shifting it between his hands and his mouth as the situation dictated.
Then, when the leaders of both The Foggy Day crew and the Tall Grass Raiders retired to Elliot’s home for a meeting, he’d made his move. He’d almost had to stab Clemens, but thankfully that big idiot Olaf had tackled him, moving him away from Clemens and giving him a clear path to the woods beyond Baer Gigur.
But the most unbelievable thing, the thing he still couldn’t wrap his head around, was that he’d somehow avoided capture. Even though Elliot and his ekkja knew the woods and he did not, he’d managed to evade them.
He’d run all through the night, keeping his eyes fixed on the Crossed Stars, a constellation that would lead him south. Not long after dawn, he’d stumbled across a decrepit old home. He’d assumed it was empty, but as he approached, he’d heard voices inside. The old married couple, Albert and Soffia, had invited him in with almost no questions. He’d spent most of the morning sleeping in their home.
Now the sun was high; Gideon guessed it must be midafternoon. He consumed the rabbit that was offered to him with gusto.
When the final bone had been stripped of meat and placed back onto the plate, he leaned back in his chair. “Thank you both. You have no idea how much better I feel now that I have food in my stomach.”
Albert waved the thought away. “A stranger did me a service once when I was young. This was before the Stone Shapers came, of course. Back in the Time of Madness. Ever since then, I’ve tried to help people where I can. Besides, I haven’t seen a face other than Soffia’s in six months, not counting the damn Stone Shapers. It’s nice to visit with someone without lady parts.”
Soffia cackled with laughter. “Don’t lie. You love waking up to my face every morning. And my lady parts.”
“Let’s not be crude at the dinner table, dear.”
“You think that’s crude? I’m just getting started. Wait until I start telling him about your equipment.”
Gideon held up a hand. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Thank you both for the meal, and for letting me rest here. Tell me, how far are we from Nuur?”
Albert raised an eyebrow. “No more than a few hours, if you have a decent team pulling your wagon. But I wouldn’t recommend going there. They don’t much like anyone not wearing the black sash.”
“Aye,” Soffia agreed. “They’re likely to throw you in the stocks on some trumped-up charge and then sentence you to a couple months on their fishing ships as punishment.”
Gideon smiled. “You’re pulling my leg. It can’t be that bad.”
“Oh, it’s worse,” Albert replied. “Because once you’re in their labor force, you’ll never get out. They’ll accuse you of a minor infraction to extend your sentence, and they’ll continue doing so until you’re either dead or too old to be useful to them.”
Gideon nodded politely. He knew it didn’t work like that. Granted, his brother and his lieutenants in Nuur did sentence criminals to labor on the fishing vessels, but it wasn’t like they were describing.
Was it?
Albert leaned forward in his chair. “Point is, I’d avoid Stone Shaper cities if I were you. Hell, avoid Shapers altogether if you can, though that’s nearly impossible these days. They spread like rats, don’t they?”
Gideon struggled to keep his face even. “I suppose I wouldn’t know.” He’d known that some in the villages disliked the Stone Shapers, but he’d never heard it discussed so openly. He wondered what else he’d learn if he traveled more frequently without his black sash.
“You’re lucky then.” Albert took a long pull from his cup of brownish water.
Soffia stood up suddenly, her eyes fixed out the window. “Speaking of rats…”
Albert glanced out the window. “Sonofabitch. Already?” He turned to Gideon. “They come every week, take what little we’ve got, and call it a tax.”
Gideon stood and looked outside. Two men on horseback were approaching, and both wore black sashes.
A few moments later, the two men were at the door. They offered no greeting. One of them, a short fat man with a patchy beard, glared at Albert. “You know why we’re here. Let’s not dawdle.”
His gazed drifted to Gideon and settled there for a long moment. Then his eyes widened. “Wait, I know you. I saw you at court last year when I was getting my commission. You’re Gideon!”
Gideon had no memory of the man, but he nodded sharply. “Greetings.”
“Where’s your sash? What have they done to you?” He looked at Albert and Soffia, anger in his eyes. “You know who this man is?”
Gideon held up a hand. “It’s all right. They helped me. They deserve our thanks.”
Albert stared at Gideon. “You’re a Stone Shaper?” The hurt was clear on his face.
Gideon stayed focused on the two men in the doorway. “They fed me when I was hungry. Whatever taxes they owe, waive them for the rest of the year.”
If Albert heard, he gave no indication. “A damn Shaper at my table, eating my food. As if I haven’t given you bastards enough.”
The fat Stone Shaper scratched his head. “I don’t know, Gideon. We have quotas to meet. If we don’t collect the taxes—”
“Do you know who I am?” Gideon snapped, echoing the man’s words from moments before.
“Yes, sir,” the fat one said.
“Then act like it.”
A few moments later, they were ready to leave. Gideon tried to thank his hosts again, but Albert ignored his outstretched hand and Soffia spat on the ground.
It disappointed Gideon, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He had more important matters on his agenda.
After all this time, he’d finally found the Tall Grass Raiders. He needed to tell Magnus the good news.
****
The three archers loosed their arrows and the two guards on the ship fell, one with two arrows sticking out of his chest.
Now that the guards were down, Dustin could begin his work.
Abbey set her feet, preparing herself. “Remember, we need a straight, hard wind at our backs. I’ll take care of getting us down. You just make sure the wind pushes us straight out.”
Dustin cracked one eye open. “Could you maybe not tell me how to do my job for once?”
She shrugged. “It’s worked out pretty well so far. Why mess with success?”
He shook his head and began stormcalling.
There was a bustle in the streets below as a passerby noticed the guard on the dock with an arrow in his chest and called to his friends.
The wind was
stirring, but it wasn’t strong enough. Not yet.
“Come on, Dustin,” Abbey grumbled.
As if spurred on by her words, a sudden gust hit her in the back. Without even asking to see if he was ready, she grabbed Dustin’s arm and made them weightless.
They shot forward, and a thrill ran through Abbey as the now-familiar sensation of her feet leaving the ground took hold.
As they crossed the street, she increased their weight in tiny increments, causing them to descend in a smooth arc.
Their feet touched down smoothly on the deck of the ship, and Abbey immediately ran to the mast and went to work raising the sails.
On the docks, a small group was gathering around the fallen guard. Somehow they’d failed to notice Abbey and Dustin soaring over their heads and landing on the ship.
“Wait, he’s alive!” one of the gawkers cried. “We’ll get you help, buddy?”
“What’s he pointing at?” another asked.
The first man spoke again. “The bell. He wants us to ring it.”
At that, Abbey’s gaze shot to the end of the dock. Sure enough, there was a bell hanging from a post.
Ringing it would raise an alarm.
One of the gawkers trotted toward the bell. Abbey frantically tried to figure out a way to stop him, but he was too far away.
He reached the bell and rang it hard.
“Abbey, what are you doing?” Dustin asked. “Get that sail up fast!”
She went back to work. As she did, she glanced at the street. Two of the archers were rappelling down the rope on the side of the building. Elliot and the other archer were still on the roof. Squads of Tall Grass Raiders were running toward the ship from both directions.
The gawker kept ringing the bell, and Stone Shapers began pouring out of nearby buildings. The fallen guard and the crowd around him captured their attention first, but one of them quickly noticed Abbey and Dustin.
“Over there! What are they doing?” It was a tall Stone Shaper woman who spoke.
“Damn it!” Abbey considered charging at the man ringing the bell, but she wasn’t sure it would help at this point. Other bells up and down the dock were ringing now too as more took up the alarm.