Chapter 4
Heather's anxiety was growing. They had arrived at the south entrance to the secret passage thirty-six hours earlier and still no sign of the Crow and her Daniel. They had sailed hard with only brief stops at the northern and southern post in the standard passage. The outpost winter crews were minimal but they pledged extra observance to watch for the trader’s ship. They would search any ship thoroughly, looking for Daniel. Now all Heather could do was wait and hope she'd made the right decision. Several of the hunters from the Forest were placed as sentinels. The passage was treacherous enough during the day and Captain John assured her that nighttime passage was not possible. The siren winds made morning passage the most likely.
Their plans were a bit sketchy. When the sentinels reported sighting the ship, Captain John would position their ship to block the exit and Heather's hunters would be ready with their bows if needed. Jeremy and three other hunters had practiced climbing the rigging to see if they could use the height for their advantage. Captain John’s sailors taught them how to secure themselves to the mast. In the calm waters they were comfortable and the sickness of the sea was not an issue.
The morning was wearing on and Heather's hope was wearing thin. A sudden glint from a signaling mirror was detected. Several more flashes and Heather knew even without Jeremy decoding the message that a ship was coming. Captain John ordered the anchor raised and partial sails. They moved very slowly to the mouth of the Narrows. The ship was positioned to the far right with just enough sails to hold their position against the wind and current. Other flashes of light could be seen from other sentinels as the Crow made its way through the torturous Narrows. Jeremy and the others were positioned high on the mast and the other hunters were scattered around topside, their bows ready.
When Captain Dirk aboard the Crow saw the ship blocking his way he did not even attempt to stop but instead ordered his rowers to maximum speed. He headed directly for the ship blocking his passage. Captain John held his position, thinking those on the Crow were going to try and speed past them. The ship closed within a hundred yards when Captain John realized that Captain Dirk was going to attempt to ram them. He ordered, "Full sails and rudder hard left."
Heather realized their danger and shouted to her hunters, "Take out the one manning the rudder first and then those rowing on the right side."
As the gap between the ships narrowed, arrows began to fly and the sailor manning the rudder on the Crow fell, as did several of the rowers on the right. The rowing of those on the left began to turn the Crow to the right, but not enough and the ships continued to close on their collision course. Captain Dirk’s swearing could be heard easily above the noise of the Sea and of the ships. He grabbed the rudder and turned the Crow as hard to the left as he could, trying to strike them midship. He urged his rowers on with a fury of cussing.
Their ship had gained enough momentum to begin turning and was partially turned away when the Crow's pointed iron bowsprite struck them a quartering blow just aft of midship. The force was enough to crush the wood planking and pierce their ship. They heeled over from the blow and people were tossed about. The crew from the Crow immediately began swarming over the gunnel, armed with an assortment of knives and swords. Heather was one of the first to recover and counterattacked with her sword.
With a burst of cussing, Captain Dirk redirected the attack by pushing forward towards Heather. His greater size and strength were enough to push Heather back towards the center mast. Heather's agility and greater swordsmanship denied Captain Dirk victory but she was not able to overcome his ferocity. Watching his eyes, she knew something was behind her but dared not turn to look and fought to maintain her position.
Betty was standing near the mast with her small dagger drawn and saw one of Captain Dirk's men start to move behind Heather. She responded by moving forward to intercept him. He either didn't see Betty or chose to ignore a mere half brain. He was carrying an ax and raised it to strike Heather from behind. With hardly a sound, Betty drove her dagger into his back trying to slice open his chest. The attacker’s scream gurgled out, a voice mixed with blood.
Captain Dirk lunged at Heather who deflected his attack and spun around whirling her sword, which caught the ax wielder squarely in the neck almost decapitating him. She continued her rotation back to Captain Dirk who had only partially recovered. Her sword danced again and the thrust penetrated completely through his chest. He fell forward at her feet still cussing with a voice which was now mixed with foaming blood. Heather held her sword to his neck and asked, "Where is the healer from the Forest?"
Captain Dirk coughed up more blood and responded in a hateful voice, "Drowning like a rat in a cage."
Heather's sword twitched again and Captain Dirk spoke no more. She turned her attention to Betty who was pinned down by the fallen attacker. She was completely covered with blood from the man's neck wound and Heather feared for her life. As she began pulling the fallen attacker off of Betty, she heard Betty's small voice say, "He's heavy."
Heather rolled the attacker back enough for Betty to crawl free. As soon as Betty had regained her feet, Heather said, "Stay at my back." They resumed their counterattack.
Those hunters positioned on high had been knocked free of their supports and were dangling only from their safety lines. At first the advantage was all to the attackers but gradually the arrows from the rigging began to turn the course of the battle. Their ship had gained considerable momentum and was turned hard to the left. It began dragging the Crow, which was still wedged into their side. The smaller ship began to respond by heeling sharply to the starboard. The battle wound down fairly quickly but by the time they regained full control of their ship they were headed towards the rocks. Captain John continued the sharp turn to the left, dragging the Crow with them. The rock wall was within easy throwing distance of the ship and those perched up high could easily see the gigantic rocks just under the surface of the water, within feet of their ship.
Captain John finally completed the turn and eased his crippled craft away from the rocks but the Crow was not so lucky. It caught on one of the submerged boulders, which rocked it even further over and disengaged it from their ship. Captain John and his crew were too busy trying to secure their craft to pay much attention to the attacking vessel. Heather, however, was all too conscious of the fate of the Crow. She watched it slowly continue its death roll until it was fully capsized. Somewhere within that sinking ship was her Daniel.
Sacred Water, Book 2, The Time Before Page 5