by Simon Archer
Wait. I could breathe water?
I caught Ligeia’s shoulders, my eyes wide and full of questions. Could I speak like this?
“I gave you my gift, dear Captain,” she told me, her voice sounding strange beneath the waves and a loving smile on her face. “We can talk later. For now, your people need you.”
Behind her, Mary swam down towards us, silvery bubbles trailing behind her. “This is wonderful!”
We were both safe, but Ligeia was right. There was more still to be done. I nodded to them both and focused a moment on the siren. “Thank you,” I said, then released her and stroked awkwardly for the surface.
My head broke water on a scene of mayhem. What was left of The Indomitable floated, burning from the waterline to the remains of the upper decks. My own ship was backing water away from the ruins, and while she seemed to have taken more damage, she wasn’t sinking or listing, something that sparked further hope in my heart. Mary’s enchantment had certainly done its work, even if it hadn’t rendered my ship invulnerable like I’d secretly hoped.
What about the boarding party, though? Many of them weren’t the best swimmers, and they’d not seen what was coming. I looked over at Ligeia when she surfaced beside me, followed a moment later by Mary.
“Can ye search of any o’ my crew that went overboard?” I asked the siren as I struggled to keep my head above water.
“Many leaped from the ship before it exploded, my Captain,” she spoke over the roar and crackle of flames. “Yours and theirs. I will round up survivors for you and keep my allies focused on pinning down the merfolk.”
That explained why nothing bad was waiting in the water. There was still a fight going on. Distant cannonfire rang out, punctuating that thought. Hopefully, Bill and Kargad were winning the battle within the straits.
“Look,” Mary touched my shoulder and pointed.
I looked in the direction indicated and saw that the elven ship was still sitting a good way off. She was definitely on alert, though. Figures manned the ballistae on her deck and went about their duties with focused efficiency.
“Are you good to get back to your ship?” Ligeia asked.
“Aye,” I replied.
“I am not so sure,” Mary added. “My leg’s still bleeding, I think.”
“And your arm, Captain,” Ligeia observed.
“I’m fine,” I growled. “Go an’ see to my crew. I’ll make sure the pair o’ us get to The Hullbreaker.” Then another question popped into my head. “How long does this gift o’ yers last?”
The siren smiled. “As long as I live,” she replied, then dove, vanishing in a flash with a kick of her legs.
Mary and I exchanged meaningful glances. Being able to breathe underwater opened up whole new worlds to us. For now, though, we had to get to the ship.
“How is yer leg, really?” I asked the witch.
“Sore, but I think I’m good for a short swim,” she replied tiredly.
“Let’s be off, then.” I caught her in my wounded arm and started kicking powerfully in the direction of my ship, swimming a sort of side-crawl that seemed woefully slow.
More cannonfire echoed from the depths of the strait, followed by a thunderous explosion. Another ship’s powder had cooked off and sent her screaming to the hells. I just hoped it wasn’t one of mine.
“This is bloody awkward,” Mary complained but stayed limp in my grasp, cooperating as best as she could while I swam.
We passed some other floating sailors, both mine and the Imperials. I called out reassurances to my own crew. We’d be awhile recovering them. Hells, I’d probably rescue the enemy sailors as well. Maybe a few of them would be worth a ransom or even make decent recruits. Ligeia, though, might drag down a few, though I figured Tiny was getting his fill back in the strait, especially since the big bastard hadn’t made an appearance out here, yet.
Maybe he was dining on merfolk.
I didn’t even need to call up to the deck when we reached The Hullbreaker. Shrike was already starting a rescue effort and had rope ladders in the water, as well as two of our four dinghies. One had been destroyed by the broadside we’d taken, and he held the last in reserve.
“Arms around my neck, lass,” I told Mary as I clung to one of the rope ladders.
“Aye, my Captain,” she said with a mischievous chuckle and did as she was told. I felt her wet, bare breasts against my back. Of course, her mostly opened blouse was completely open now.
Ignoring the distraction and the pain in my arm, I clambered up the ladder. A couple of my crew helped Mary from my back and onto the deck when I paused at the rail, then I slung myself over and stood, once more, on the firm deck of The Hullbreaker.
From the looks of things, she was in rough shape, but still seaworthy, although there were going to be quite a spate of much-needed repairs when we could manage it. The forecastle was a mess, as was the foremast, and much of the prow was scorched from the explosion of The Indomitable.
Fortunately, the armored prow and the ram had taken the brunt of any real damage and probably saved us from sinking to the bottom of the sea. We were certainly better off than The Indomitable. The burning hulk was finally starting to go down, her fires going out as the water claimed her.
I found a barrel and sat down heavily as Mary just stretched out on the deck with her back to the rail and began inspecting her injured thigh. She slit her pants leg with one of her knives and gingerly prodded the wound. It was seeping, and the pale flesh around it was dark with bruising, but overall, it didn’t look too serious to my eyes.
“Mister Shrike, report,” I said tiredly.
My first mate saluted and gave a nod. “We ain’t sinkin’ Cap’n, which is probably the best news. Not a single, bloody ball took us below the waterline, although the cabins and stores in the fore are a right mess. Bord figures that only maybe three or four o’ the Commodore’s cannons actually hit us out o’ the full broadside.”
I nodded and motioned for him to go on when he paused.
“Some o’ the crew are missin’, there’s a good number injured, but so far we’ve got none dead,” he continued dutifully. “All the men that went with ye jumped ship right before she blew, followin’ a panicked group o’ gunners that came boilin’ up from below screaming about a fire in the powder.”
“Good. Mary and I were right where it started an’ went out a trap door,” I told him. “Ligeia found us right after an’ set us on our way. She’s lookin’ to help the other survivors.”
Shrike nodded. “Are ye an’ Mary good?”
“Good enough. She took a stab to the leg an’ I got shot in the arm. Neither of us is in danger o’ dyin’ any time soon.” I looked over at Mary, where she was still working on her leg. “Aye?”
“Speak for yourself,” she grumbled, then smirked up at me. “I need to get to my workshop to treat this properly, then I can have a look at your arm. Help me up?”
“I’ll be along,” I said and offered my right hand. She took it, and I hauled her easily to her feet. One of the nearby crew offered his arm, she took it, and they went off in the direction of the aft castle.
I turned back to Shrike. “Set the rescue parties to pulling the Imperials out of the drink once they’re done gettin’ our folks back. We may end up with some hostages or recruits out o’ the deal.” My eyes went forlornly to the half-sunk wreckage of Arde’s flagship, and I heaved a sigh. “Maybe Kargad an’ Bill had better luck.”
Shrike laughed. “Well, ye do have someone who can search the bottom for anythin’ o’ value, aye?”
This was true. I was pretty sure Ligeia would be more than willing, but first, we needed to recover her comb and at least a part of Bloody Bill’s treasure. There’d also be fallout from killing the Commodore. Once word reached Admiral Layne, there really was no telling what the man would do.
That thought had to wait, though. I turned my attention to the elven vessel, still riding the waves just outside cannon and ballista range. What in the hell
s were they planning? We were pretty obviously an easy target, and they were doing all of nothing.
It made me nervous.
Suddenly, a shout spread across the deck, and I changed my focus to the mouth of the straits. A ship rowed into the open sea at a languid pace. It was The Witch’s Promise, and she looked none the worse for wear. I couldn’t help but scowl. Of course, Bloody Bill came out of the whole reckoning smelling of roses.
The man himself perched on the beakhead of the ship and gave me a jaunty wave. “Seems we’ve routed the enemy, Captain!” he yelled over the open water. “As I recall, there’s one more thing to be handled, now.”
I walked over to the starboard rail and yelled back. “Aye! The rest of our bargain.”
“Right! Let it not be said that Bloody Bill Markland ain’t a man o’ his word.” He produced something that sparkled in the moonlight from the pocket of his coat. “Where be Ligeia?”
Apparently, she was within earshot as her voice rang out clearly. “Here, William! What do you want?”
“Only this.” He grinned, drew back, and hurled the glittering object away from his ship. “Now! Captain Kargad has me old first mate’s shares, an’ our business is done. Fare ye well, Bardak Skullsplitter!”
Bloody hell.
Ligeia dove under, a brief ripple heading in the direction of the item’s splash for a moment until she was too deep to see. Sails began to raise on The Witch’s Promise, and the oars dug in, driving the galleon forward until she caught the wind. To the aft, Cerridwen stood at the mizzenmast, and her voice rang out faintly as she called up a wind for her Captain. It picked up quickly as the crew hurried to raise the sails to full cloth.
Bill wasn’t heading back into the straits, though. If he did that, he’d run into Sirensong. No, the bastard turned his ship towards Milnian territory, despite there being an elven warship right there. He’d never outrun it, but his ship definitely had the advantage of firepower. If I had to hazard a guess, he meant to pick up his treasure before we could search for it.
Meanwhile, we were stuck picking up our stranded crew and the surviving Imperials. What’s more, the bastard had the comb all along and hadn’t let on. Bill had led us on this chase, then tried to hoodwink me into dealing with the Commodore’s fleet, and set off before I could catch him.
That’s what he thought. There was no way I was going to stand for that. We still needed that treasure to take our fight to the Admiralty, in addition to making the damned pirate pay for his tricks.
Maybe I’d even let him live, depending on how long it took to catch up with him.
Apparently, though, the elves finally decided to do something. Their sails went up, and their ship began to get underway, making a beeline straight towards The Witch’s Promise.
I swore loudly. “Shrike! Hurry up with gatherin’ our crew an’ start gettin’ the ship in order. I don’t mean to let Bloody Fucking Bill get away with this!”
“Aye, Cap’n!” he called back, then turned at started yelling at the crew.
We were behind, sure, but I still had the best witch.
34
The elves and The Witch’s Promise disappeared into the distance not too long before my former first mate’s triumphant return. Mary had seen to my arm, using a long-nosed set of pliers to find and pull the ball out of the muscle before treating the hole with a poultice of pleasant-smelling herbs before she bandaged it up.
Bord’s idea of petards had been a good one, and between bombs raining into the water and a school of hungry sharks controlled by the siren, not to mention Tiny himself, the merfolk had been routed early in the battle.
Sirensong came sailing from the mouth of the strait within the hour, preceded by a very satisfied-looking Tiny, with Ligeia, of course, sitting in her nook on his shell. The ship was a bit battered, with some cannon damage and part of the rigging in a tangled mess, but otherwise, she looked to be ship-shape. What cheered me up even more, though, was what came after her.
Kargad had captured one of the enemy ships, a newer-looking sloop-of-war, ketch rigged with a mainmast and mizzenmast. Like Sirensong, she had a bit of battle damage, but nothing near as bad as my poor Hullbreaker.
I had been walking the decks while we finished up the rescue operation and had convinced a few of the sailors to jump ship with the Admiralty and join up with me. Mary did some sort of witchy thing with each of them and told me point blank that she’d know if they ever planned to turn on me.
This brought a chorus of denials, and no little stink of fear, but in the end, we’d added a good fifty or so able-bodied to the crew. Most of them would go to Kargad, especially with the new ship.
Not much later, in the War Room, I lounged comfortably in my chair while the others chattered back and forth. We waited for Ligeia, and when she finally made her entrance, I asked, “Was that yer comb?”
“Yes, my Captain,” the siren replied with a vigorous nod. “William kept his word, though in a poor fashion.” She wore a woven satchel of some sort of wet sea-grass at her waist and patted it softly with one hand. “I will strip my power from it as soon as I have time.”
“After this meeting,” I told her. “We need to get underway, and I’d like you at full power.”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “Thy will be done.”
Then she paused and said, “Also, Captain, I found this.” From her pouch, she drew a long blade on a broken haft. “It seemed odd and important, and its touch is fey.
That was the blade of the spear Sebastian Arde had fought with. I looked aside at Mary.
“I want a look at that,” the witch said.
Ligeia nodded and turned it over. We all sat silent as Mary inspected the thing.
“‘Tis magical, as I expected, but there’s something…” Her voice trailed up as she flicked the metal with a fingernail and held it up to her ear. A moment later, she dropped the blade, and it clattered to the table as she gazed in horror at it. “Witchblade!”
“What does that bloody mean?” Bord demanded. “Looks like typical human-crafted shit to me.”
Mary scowled and focused on the dwarf for a moment. “Aye, it’s human-crafted shit, but the damned thing holds a soul in it. It’s necromancy of the worst sort, and I want nothing to do with it.”
“No one’s going to make ye wield it, lass,” I said and picked it up. The metal of the blade felt strangely warm, and I fancied I felt a pulse, like a heartbeat when I touched it. “Other than holding a soul, what makes it so bad?”
She sighed and looked at me askance, then her eyes narrowed, closed, and opened again. “The soul in the blade can fight for the owner. Usually, these souls are those of weapon masters who have grown old and tired, ready to die, but unwilling to pass on. This particular one,” she waved her hand at it, “was not right in the head when he was bound.”
“That accounts for how crazed Arde seemed, does it not?” I asked.
“Aye,” she nodded, “something is wrong with it. I’d suggest throwing it back overboard, or at least keeping it under lock and key.”
“Noted,” I said and dropped the long, leaf-shaped blade with its broken haft back on the table, then looked over the rest of the lot. “We did good, but Bloody Bill managed to put one over on us, and I mean to chase him.”
Kargad sported bandages on his hands and a scabbed spot where he’d lost the tip of one pointed ear. He flashed a broad grin and nodded vigorously. “Sounds like a plan to me, Cap’n, but Sirensong needs a bit o’ work.”
“What about The Hullbreaker?” I asked as I gave Bord a pointed look.
He scowled beneath his beard and replied, “Ye cannot use the foremast for anythin’ but decoration unless we have some way to shore it up an’ replace the missin’ bits. Me crew an’ I can work on her while we’re sailin’, but ye’ll drop behind yer target.”
“Damn,” I growled. “No one o’ us can outgun The Witch’s Promise, but I think if we can catch her, we can cause Bloody Bill no end of trouble.”
“Aye,” Kargad replied, “an’ we gained somethin’ else besides.”
Mary took the opportunity to lean against my right shoulder and Ligeia my left. I put my arms around them and waited, fixing my friend and co-captain with a rather pointed look.
“A she-orc, Cap’n,” he replied with a faint blush.
Kargad blushed...?
“Do tell,” I said.
“A shamaness. Tuskless,” he expanded. “She delivered the booty for Shrike, an’ said she was a consolation prize for ye. Apparently, she’d run afoul o’ the black market in Tarrant an’ ended up in Bloody Bill’s possession when her former owner lost her to him in a poker game.”
“Tuskless…” I mused over the description. Tuskless shamans were usually that way because they’d sacrificed those particular parts of themselves to the spirits in return for power. Why would Bill be willing to give her up?
“Right, we’ll figure this out later. Did she say anythin’ useful?” I asked.
“She wanted to speak with ye,” he replied with a shrug. “Apparently knew yer name, at least.”
“What’s she called?” I asked patiently. Kargad must have taken a blow to the head, or else he was totally smitten by this newcomer.
Or, a little paranoid part of me suggested, he’s under a spell.
I glanced sidelong at Mary. Her gaze was fixed on Kargad. Did she have the same suspicions?
“Adra Notch-Ear,” Kargad answered. “Nagra took a shine to her, too.”
“Fine, then.” I nodded slowly. “We’ve got to be goin’ within the hour if we’re to stand any chance o’ catchin’ Bill. I reckon the new ship’ll do me. At least it ain’t damaged.”
“Not for lack o’ trying,” Kargad muttered.
I ignored him and continued, “Kargad, I’m putting ye in charge o’ gettin’ these boats fixed. Anchor The Hullbreaker and Sirensong south along the coast of the island, in a sheltered cove if ye can. That way if ye need wood, it’ll be easy to get.”
