Blade of the North

by Jones, Heath

  On the deck below, my friends are struggling, outnumbered, and pressed together by the pirates. Eyeing off the rope in front of me I judge its length carefully. Then, grabbing hold of the rope with one hand I take the knife out of my mouth with the other. The pirate crossing on the rope looks at me, horrified, as I slash down and cut the rope.

  We’re both falling, but, unlike the pirate, I cling desperately to the rope, while he falls helplessly towards the water. The rope pulls taut, and I swing over the deck of The Emperor’s Tide then out across the sliver of water separating the ships. Barely clearing the rail of the pirate ship, I smash through a group of open-mouthed pirates. Letting go of the rope, I fly briefly through the air before falling hard onto the deck, rolling uncontrollably, then crashing into the base of the mast. My ribs explode with pain, but I force myself quickly to my feet.

  Facing me is a handful of startled pirates. Pulling the other knife out from behind my back I face them, a knife in each hand. Slashing quickly and accurately I take advantage of their moment of hesitation. Within a few heartbeats four pirates are writhing on the ground and the deck is suddenly clear around me. Running to the railing, I push through the waiting pirates and cut the first of the ropes that are holding our ships together. Suddenly the sterns of our ships lurch away from each other. The pirates around me topple over, but I hold my balance and cut the next rope.

  Looking across the water, I see the battle still raging on The Emperor’s Tide. I’m hoping that without the weight of reinforcements coming from this ship, the pirates will lose their advantage. But there are still three more ropes holding the bows together. And the pirates who were waiting to cross over here at the stern are now on their feet, facing me.

  There must be nearly twenty of them. At least they’re not forcing their way onto The Emperor’s Tide – but that’s a small consolation when they’re all looking at me with murder in their eyes. I know I can’t beat them all, but somehow, I have to make sure they, and the pirates at the bow, don’t get across to our ship.

  The pirates advance across the deck towards me. They’re slow and cautious, giving me a few seconds to think. I can’t fight my way through them to cut the three remaining ropes. There’s only one thing I can think to do. Turning the knife over in my right hand I launch it at the closest rope. It strikes true and severs the rope with an audible snap. Again, the ship lurches, and again I keep my balance while the pirates stumble. My job is almost done - only two ropes hold the ships together – but I only have one knife left.

  I back away as the pirates close in on me. I contemplate throwing my last knife to cut one of the remaining ropes, hoping the final rope will break under the strain of holding two ships together, but I don’t want to be completely defenceless. But then… Suddenly the realisation of what I’ve done sets in - I can’t beat all of them. I’m not going to survive. The only hope for my friends is for me to sever the remaining ropes. And that means the pirates will kill me.

  I have no choice. I undertook this journey to save Father, but I’m too late for that – he died with the fall of Tolos. I have nothing left to lose now except my friends… and my life. So, taking a deep breath, I turn the knife over, ready to throw.

  Suddenly the ship shudders violently as one of the remaining ropes snaps, and I topple over, falling to the deck. Springing back to my feet I face the rushing, enraged pirates. I raise my arm to throw the knife at the last rope, but the pirates are rushing me too quickly and I don’t have a clear throw. Hesitating only for a moment, I run for the mast.

  Leaping, I kick out and push up off the mast with my foot, then reach as high as I can, my fingers just managing to grip onto the lowest yard. Swinging my body up and onto the yard, I pull my feet up just as the pirates surge over the deck below me. One of them, a grim-looking man with a short beard and a scar across his cheek, is boosted up and reaches for my ankles. He cries out as my knife slices through his hands and he tumbles back into the mob below.

  The pirates are lifting each other up now on either side of the mast. I ignore them for a moment and look for the rope that is keeping the two ships tied together. Nothing is obstructing me now – if I throw, I know I can hit it and sever the rope. Balancing myself on the yard I raise my arm to throw my last knife, the only means I have of defending myself. But a hand grabs my ankle and I lose my balance. I chop down viciously and a brief sense of delight floods through me as I see the pirate’s severed fingers fly off his hand. The man falls back to the deck, screaming.

  The pirates are more interested now in me than in climbing over to The Emperor’s Tide. If that’s what it takes to save my friends, then so be it. Grimly I swing my knife from side to side, trying to keep the clambering pirates at bay.

  I know that my effort is in vain - I can only do this for so long and my arm is already growing tired. I should just give up, but something in me refuses to stop fighting - life is too important for that. So even if fighting will only prolong the inevitable for a few more minutes, I will fight. Lifting my exhausted arm, I slash down again and again at the hands reaching up for me.

  The yard is growing slick with the blood of the enraged pirates, and it is hard to keep my footing. Another hand grabs my foot and I slip, falling to my knee. Before I can stand back up the hand takes hold of my leg. I slash at it and am rewarded with a spray of blood. Another hand clenches tight around my opposite leg then pulls down. I slip and fall heavily onto the yard, one leg dangling over each side. Pirates grab onto both legs and pull. It feels like my legs are being stretched out of their sockets, and I scream in agony. Lashing out, I slash down wildly, but it is only the final thrashings of a dying animal.

  Finally, one of the pirates proves stronger than the other and they drag me down from the yard. Falling hard and slamming onto the deck, my head bounces off the wooden planks. Immediately sweaty bodies crowd over me. Hands claw at me, ripping and tearing my clothes. I cry out but there’s nothing I can do.

  Then suddenly there is nothing. The groping, clawing hands have stopped. Moments before there had only been ugly, scarred faces above me – now there is sky. I’m scared – why have they stopped? Fearfully I look around. The pirates are fighting – who? Each other? Has a rift suddenly broken out among them?

  A pirate jumps on top of me. I scream and kick out, trying to force him off me, before realizing he is dead. It’s too much to hope for – are they really fighting themselves? Do I have a chance to escape? I sit up and look for a way to run. Before I can move, a hand covers my mouth and an arm wraps around my chest, yanking violently backwards.

  “Don’t make a sound girl,” a voice whispers harshly in my ear. “We’re just gonna have us some fun.”

  I try to scream but the sound is muffled, and the man behind me just chuckles. I fight against him, but his arms are too strong, and he pulls me away from the fighting and behind some crates.

  He turns me over and his stinking breath churns my stomach. “Now,” he says, before falling on top of me. Frozen with fear, it takes me a moment to realize he isn’t moving. I push him off, surprised that he doesn’t resist. He rolls over on the deck and I’m confused to see a knife sticking out of his back. Looking up I see Aveline’s face staring down at me.

  “I know you’re good,” she says, “but taking on a ship full of pirates by yourself? That’s bordering on idiocy.” I can’t believe it – Aveline is here! But… how? She smiles grimly then offers me her hand. I gratefully accept as she helps me to my feet.

  Looking back over the deck I see Theolin, Alek, and Dain struggling against the pirates. Even the captain, Johannes, and the other sailors are here, bringing the fight onto the pirates’ ship. Dain is watching me with a look I have never seen from him before. Turning back to Aveline, I open my mouth but am too stunned to speak. I can’t believe I’m still alive. I was supposed to be helping my friends, but I am the one who needed rescuing. “What…?” is all I can manage to say.

  “Jarryd saw you cross over to the pirate ship,” she says
, answering the question I failed to ask. “We were losing, but when you cut the ropes and the pirates weren’t able to get over to us, we forced them back. When I finally got some space to breathe, I saw you struggling up on the yard, trying to keep their filthy hands off you, but I couldn’t do anything. Before we’d beaten the ones who had boarded our ship, Jarryd had already rigged another rope across to their ship and was climbing over. I broke away from the fight and went with him – there’s no way he could have looked after himself let alone rescued you – then Theolin and the others followed us when they could.” She hesitates for a moment, and a shadow passes over her face before she continues. “When I saw you dragged down, I thought we were too late.” She smiles again, the brief look of gloom forgotten. “Thankfully, we weren’t.”

  “Thankfully,” I agree, looking back down at the body of the pirate who had tried to take me for himself. “Thank you for coming for me. I owe you my life.”

  “Rubbish,” Aveline snorts. “We owe you ours.”

  I look to see if she is mocking me, but her face is serious enough. “I’d be dead – or worse – if you hadn’t come.”

  “So would we all. Your cutting of the ropes stopped these murderers from boarding our ship and overrunning us. If you hadn’t done that… we’d all be dead.”

  Is it really like that? I was hoping to help them, but did I? After all, I was the one who needed to be saved.

  My confusion must be showing on my face, as Aveline says, “Stop doubting yourself, Sara. It’s almost as irritating as gloating. Now, let’s help the others finish this off.” She tosses me a knife and we throw ourselves back into the fight.

  Dodging blades and daggers, Aveline and I flow across the deck. Fighting back to back, we become a whirling blur of death. Our knives cut and slice, blood spurts, and bodies fall. Colours dance and sway as the pirates fight for their lives, their numbers dwindling. Turning aside a blade aimed at my chest I spin and duck, slicing my knife along the back of the pirate’s leg. Ignoring his screams as he falls, I break away from Aveline and quickly scan the deck. There is a sudden moment of calm around me, but not within: fear is rising steadily from my stomach. All my friends are fighting and accounted for – all but one.

  I can’t see him anywhere, and the fear bubbles up to my throat. Then finally, bent over, tending to the wounds of one of our sailors, and encouraging the man with his words, I see him.

  “Jarryd’s always looking after others,” Aveline says beside me. There is an undercurrent of something in her voice and I feel her eyes watching me. Her face is an unreadable mask, but I get the feeling she is weighing me up – though for what I don’t know. Is she -

  A scream of agony rips from my throat and I stumble back, crashing into the railing. Aveline jumps in front of me, her knives slashing at the two pirates advancing towards us. I try to lift my knife, but another wave of agony tears through me. Looking down I see the hilt of a knife sticking out from my shoulder and blood flowing down my arm.

  Aveline spins around in front of me. Blood covers her forehead and her eyes stare at nothing as she collapses to the deck. “Aveline!” I scream, fear and panic overwhelming me. One of the pirates jumps on to her and the other pirate comes towards me, a knife in either hand. My eyes dart between the pirate on top of Aveline’s body and the other approaching me. I try to back away but there is nowhere to go. There is nothing I can do – I know I’m about to die. My eyes are locked on Aveline’s lifeless form as another knife slams high into my chest. My back arches over the railing and my feet leave the deck. I catch a glimpse of the mayhem on deck, of Theolin rushing towards Aveline, of Dain striking down another pirate, but then it is gone and I’m falling, the railing quickly rising above me.

  My back hits the water hard and the air gushes out of my lungs. Desperately I flail my arms, trying to get my head back above the water, but the pain is excruciating, and I sink further down. Water fills my mouth as I try to scream. Panicking, I kick my legs and strain with all the strength I have left. My lungs burn, and all I think about is how scared I am. I don’t want to die. With a final kick, my head breaks above the surface, but I’ve barely coughed out the water in my mouth before I’m sinking down again. I struggle desperately, fearfully. Frantically I kick out and bring my head above the water once more, long enough to take a gasping breath. But my strength is fading, it’s impossible to keep my head above the surface. I’m losing the fight. Amazingly, the pain in my shoulder, my chest, my lungs, slowly seeps away, until I can’t feel anything at all. As I’m tossed about by the river, everything grows strangely calm, dark.

  All is black.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Gasping, choking – I can’t breathe.

  Smoke is everywhere, stinging my eyes, filling my lungs. Tearing a piece of cloth from my shirt I dunk it in a water barrel to cover my mouth and nose. Finally, I can stand up and look around – to see the devastation of Tolos ablaze. Peace Bringers are everywhere, chasing down the city’s defenders and refugees alike. No one is safe from their blades. Crouching behind the water barrel, I plan my route to the guardhouse - I have to find Father.

  “Run!”

  I turn, startled to see Mother, yelling at me. She stands in the middle of the street, like an unmovable boulder in a raging river as the panicked crowd streams around her. “Run!” she begs me again.

  “I need to find Father!” I call back.

  “No, Sara. It’s too late for that - you need to save yourself.”

  Too late? What does she mean?

  “Run Sara,” Mother calls again. “Run and save yourself.”

  “But… what about you?” I call back.

  Mother smiles wistfully. “Can’t you see it’s too late for me too?”

  She shudders, and a sword suddenly rips out through her stomach.

  “No!” I scream, only now seeing the Peace Bringer who had impaled her from behind. He pulls out his sword and Mother’s body crumples to the ground.

  I open my eyes with a start. It’s dark. A small fire is burning nearby, smoke drifting on the quiet breeze. Branches sway gently above my head. Where am I? I try to sit up but then the pain and the memories come flooding back. The pirate attack, knives hitting me in the shoulder and chest, falling into the river, struggling to breathe, sinking, drowning…

  But I haven’t drowned. I’m still alive, but weak and in pain. Carefully inspecting my wounds, I’m surprised to find them bandaged. Who’s done this? And who… who made the fire? Did someone rescue me from the river? Or did I wash ashore somewhere?

  Twigs snap and the sound of footsteps approaches from the far side of the fire. I quickly search for a weapon – a knife, a branch, anything - but there is nothing within reach. A shape gradually emerges from out of the surrounding trees and approaches the fire. Not knowing who or what to expect, I lay flat and relax my muscles, ready to fight if I need to.

  “You’re awake,” the voice says, still in the darkness beyond the light of the fire.

  There’s something familiar about – “Jarryd!” I nearly scream, delighted to hear his voice.

  Dropping the branches he has been carrying next to the fire, he kneels beside me.

  “How do you feel?” he asks.

  “Sore,” I reply. “What happened?”

  “I saw you go overboard, so I grabbed a bucket nearby and jumped over the side after you.”

  Really? Jarryd risked himself to save me? I look at him, truly look at him, and feel strangely peaceful. I’ve never noticed the intensity in his blue eyes before, or the way his whole face lights up when his lips curl into a half-smile like they are now. “A bucket?” I ask, not knowing what else to say.

  “I hoped it would help keep you afloat. Thankfully it did.”

  A bucket. Jarryd and a bucket saved my life. “Thankfully it did,” I agree, smiling back at him. He looks so tranquil in the firelight, the shadows playing across his face. I can’t believe I’m alive, safe by a warm fire with Jarryd. Then guilt assaults me as
I remember… “What about the others?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” he replies, the half-smile fading from his face. “When I saw you going over the railing, I didn’t have eyes for anyone else. I just had to save you.” He lowers his eyes, almost guiltily, but not before I see the sadness in them. Of course. He’s thinking of Aveline. He abandoned her to save me, and now he doesn’t know if she is even alive. I dare not tell him that my last glimpse of Aveline was with a pirate on top of her prone body.

  “Thank you,” I say quietly.

  Like two statues, neither of us moves for a long while. Only the crackling of the fire disturbs the silent night. The sombre mood stretches on, growing uncomfortable.

  “Why?” I ask, needing to break the silence. “Why did you jump and leave… the others, to save me?” I want to ask, why did you leave Aveline, but I can’t.

  He turns his eyes away and stares into the fire.

  “I’m a protector,” he replies. “It’s what I’m supposed to do.” Picking up one of the branches, he adds it to the fire. “You saved us, Sara,” he says, still watching the fire. “I don’t how you were so brave, but we were being swamped on our ship. When you cut the ropes and the ships began to separate, it confused the pirates. That’s all it took, and in that moment of confusion Aveline, Dain, the captain, and the others took back control of the fight. We all would have died if it hadn’t been for you.”

  That’s what Aveline had said. Was it true? It certainly wasn’t bravery that had made me act. It was fear of dying. Maybe I had helped turn the tide of battle in our favour – I’d like to think I had been helpful. But had I saved everyone? No, the others had fought just as hard, and the victory belonged to all of us. If there was a victory. We don’t know what has become of the others.