by Tom Gallier
Slashing left and right, Alex struggled to stay by Tiana’s side, now guarding her back as she engaged all three noblemen. He was impressed by her skill. The three men were stronger, and Alex could tell she struggled a little under the power behind their strikes. But the redhead was a she-devil of the first order. He’d never seen anyone move so fast, with such cunning and skill. In a dozen heartbeats she had the nobles falling back with numerous small cuts on their arms, legs, and faces.
A group of strangers suddenly screamed in rage and bum-rushed the front door. They swept Alex up as more patrons joined them, forcing the city watch to split and allow them to pass through the door. And that unleashed a torrent of fleeing men and women.
“Where’s Tiana?” Alex demanded.
Helene looked around, looking disheveled and harried. Nicanor moved up behind her a second later, shaking his head.
“They got the captain,” Nicanor said. “A blow to the head from behind took her down.”
Alex felt his face flush. Before the wild rush to the door swept him up, he’d been guarding her back. He felt as if he failed her.
“We have to save her,” Alex said.
“Who says?” another pirate said. “It’s her tough luck. We just gotta take care of our own asses. Back to the ship!”
The fleeing patrons disbursed quickly. The crew of Wraith vanished with them. Alex found himself standing in the twilight street with Helene, Nicanor, Ramy, and Naar. They alone didn’t run for their lives.
Ramy and Nicanor suddenly forced them all into a dark alley, just as city watchmen started filing out into the street. They watched as the three nobles came out, followed by two watchmen carrying Tiana. The captain hung limply in their arms. The leader of the nobles lifted her head by her hair, spat in her face, and then slapped her. Hard.
Nicanor and Ramy held Alex back, while Helene clamped a hand over his mouth.
He watched the nobleman take Tiana’s purse, before waving for the watchmen to take her away. One and all marched off into the dark.
Chapter 19
“I’m going to castrate that noble jerk,” Alex growled. “And then I’m going to ram his family jewels up his butt with a pole.”
They were following the two dozen men holding Tiana. Even the locals vacated the streets when they spotted all of those watchmen approaching. That told Alex a lot about how the king of Port Xerses ran his city. Yeah, mob boss mentality big time.
“This is insane,” Nicanor said. “Alex is going to get us all killed.”
“Really?” Alex replied. He stopped to face the others. “What will happen to Captain Tiana if we don’t rescue her?”
As one, including Helene, they shrugged and pulled a face. That seemed awfully cavalier of them. But then Helene spoke up.
“She’s young and pretty, so the magistrate will probably sentence her to slavery,” she said. “She’ll be auctioned off, where some rich noble or merchant will buy her for his harem. And harem slave beats being sold to the mines.”
“Yes!” Ramy cried. “We don’t have to rescue her. All we have to do is hang out at the slave market and within a few days she’ll be brought over and sold. So we just have to buy her back.”
Alex’s jaw dropped. That was a terrible idea. First of all, he’d been in that world long enough to know slaves were treated badly. Once enslaved, Tiana would not have any rights. The men holding her could do anything to her they wanted. Hell, he wasn’t sure they’d even wait for a judge to sentence her to slavery before they took advantage of her.
“Not an option. We’re going to break her out tonight,” he said. “And as fast as possible.”
The others didn’t look happy, but they didn’t argue the point either.
The watchmen wended their way through the darkening streets. Alex got a nice little tour of Port Xerses. They passed a construction site about halfway around the lake. There were piles of bowling ball sized rocks, and thick square-cut timbers laying about. As best he could tell, the walls were stone, with the beams used between floors and to support the roof.
Their trip ended shortly thereafter.
Alex watched them take Tiana into a squat drum tower. It only stood three stories, with walls of bare stone. The flat roof was crenellated, but he only counted two men guarding it. Twenty heavily armed and armored men guarded the door.
“Happy, barbarian?” Nicanor said. Was there a hint of smug pleasure in his voice? “The whole crew together couldn’t take that tower. I say we go back to Wraith and let Nakato decide if we try to buy Tiana when they auction her off.”
Helene looked distressed by that suggestion. Even Ramy frowned. Alex still couldn’t read Nagu expressions, but Naar seemed agitated. Alex’s heart raced, because Nicanor had a point. Just the armed and armored watchmen out on the street would be tough for the crew to take out. Taking a locked up defensive tower could take days, weeks, or longer. The local authorities would not allow them to besiege the place.
“Nakato will declare himself captain and leave her,” Helene said. “Hell, that’s what Tiana did when the previous captain got arrested.” She caught Alex’s eyes. “Like they say, no honor among pirates.”
“That just proves my point,” he said. “Tiana has to be broken out tonight. And as fast as possible.”
“Great, big man,” Nicanor sneered. “You go kill all those street guards, while the rest of us just fly up over the battlements. Oh wait, we can’t fly.”
He had a point. The five of them had limited options. But Nicanor was wrong in one aspect. Helene could make things fly. She was Wraith’s head lift witch.
“Do you think Nakato would fly Wraith over and land on the roof?” Alex asked.
“Hell no! Even Helene isn’t that good,” Ramy said. “There’s a reason ships land in water. Landing on that tower might break the keel.”
“Wraith would break open like a dropped beer barrel,” Helene said. “Even if I could manage a soft enough landing, the weight of the ship might be enough to break her apart.”
Alex considered stealing a small boat. Maybe one of the Port Master’s skiffs or tugs. Or a flup-flup taxi. He hadn’t seen any flup-flups in Port Xerses, but then he thought of the next best thing. A big grin spread across his face.
“We will fly in,” he said. “Come with me.”
Alex led them back the way they’d come. Back to the construction site. He showed Helene one of the telephone pole sized timbers.
“Can you make this fly?”
She looked back and forth between him and the timber. Blinked a few times, and then shrugged.
“I can lift it, but how do we propel it?”
Good question. Alex looked around a moment, and found his answer.
“You provide the lift,” Alex said. “I’ll provide the propulsion.”
He watched Helene pull her athame and straddle the timber. She sat at the leading end, chanting while she carefully carved a pentagram. Several of her tattoos started to glow dimly and writhe as she worked. It made his eyes itch to watch, so he turned away to provide his part of the bargain.
Nicanor took up his station next to Helene, arms crossed and looking unmovable. So Alex asked Naar and Ramy to help him. They sifted through all the rope onsite. After he explained his plan to them, the experienced sailors quickly settled on a rope a little thicker than his thumb.
“You cannot do it alone, friend Alex,” Naar said. “This timber is actually quite heavy. It’s not as easy to move and maneuver as you think. I will help you on the ground.”
“What does that mean?” Helene asked.
“You just get that beam to lift, and I’ll handle the rest,” he replied.
“It’s ready,” she said. “Tell me how you are going to propel it.”
Alex was impressed. He expected her witchcraft would take longer. All she did was carve a small pentagram, about the same diameter as his closed fist, and she was through. Nothing left to do but the actual magic of lifting.
“All right, my friends,
listen up,” Alex said. “Where I come from we have a saying: Keep it simple, stupid. With that in mind, this is my plan.
“Naar and I will lash ropes around the timber. Nicanor and Ramy will ride the timber with Helene, who will lift it about ten feet up. Naar and I will pull you down the street and to the tower. At the last moment, Helene will lift up over the battlements, with Naar and I hanging onto the ropes.”
“And then drop down on the roof,” Helene finished. “I like it. I’m not sure how well it will work, but I’m willing to give it a try.”
“That’ll get us atop the tower, and probably give us easy access down inside,” Nicanor said. “That’s the easy part. That tower is full of armed watchmen. How are the five of us going to fight our way through the tower, find Tiana, and then fight our way out? We’re probably outnumbered ten to one.”
“I hate people who think,” Alex muttered.
Ramy barked his laughter. Naar grinned, and even Helene smiled.
“We’re pirates,” Alex said. “Nothing scares us. We laugh in death’s face every day.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
He scowled at him. “I don’t have an answer. We go in, fight to the best of our ability, and pray for the best. The tower isn’t that big. How many rooms can there be? We’ll find her, and then we’ll fight our way out. Or we will die trying. If that scares you, then head back to the ship. We’ll meet you there.”
“Barbarians are crazy,” Helene said. “I like it.”
Ramy agreed, and so did Naar. Only Nicanor balked, but with Helene on board he had no choice but to agree. Alex thought he was more worried about losing Helene by acting craven than any real desire to rescue the captain.
“Great! Let’s go rescue the princess,” Alex said.
“Princess? You mean Captain Tiana,” Helene said.
“She’s my pirate princess,” he said and winked. Helene’s smile broadened. Nicanor’s scowl deepened. “Lift her up, Helene. Get ready, Naar.”
Helene straddled the timber, and then Nicanor snuggled up close behind her, hands on her waist. Ramy straddled the timber behind them. Helene closed her eyes and sucked in a slow, deep breath. The pentagram lay before her. Alex watched her prick her left middle finger, swirl a drop of blood around the pentagram, and began a soft chant. The pentagram began to glow a deep blood red. The timber shifted, but didn’t rise. Helene pricked a second finger, and squeezed out three drops of blood to fall in the middle of the arcane symbol. And then the timber slowly lifted up to a few feet above Alex’s head.
“Perfect. Hang on, my friends.”
Two ropes hung from the timber, front and back. Alex grabbed the leading rope. Naar and Ramy swore they had to have the ropes on the opposite ends to be able to steer it through the streets. And he discovered just how correct they’d been about getting something that heavy moving. Together, Alex and Naar got the beam moving forward, slowly gaining speed.
Alex was at a full run by the time they reached the watch tower. He saw the guards out front pull swords and drop into crouches. Shouts rang out in the quiet night air, and then a bell began ringing to alert the entire city. Not expected.
Chapter 20
“Up and over!” Alex shouted.
Helene responded immediately, and he clutched the rope with all his strength. It proved harder to hang on than he anticipated. But their momentum flew the timber above the tower in a few heartbeats, and Helene dropped it fast. Alex had to scramble to avoid being crushed under it.
As expected, they found two men guarding the roof.
“Kill them!” Alex shouted, and took off after the closest. The watchman tried to get an arrow nocked, but panicked when Alex closed on him with sword raised high. To Alex’s surprise, the man jumped through a crenel and vanished below. “Well, that worked out well for both of us.”
Turning, he saw that Nicanor, Ramy, and Naar had the other watchman cornered. With his back against the battlements, Alex thought he’d take his chances with a three story fall. Nope. Nicanor’s sword found his throat, and it was over.
Looking around, he spotted the open hatch down into the tower.
“Hurry,” Alex cried, grabbing Helene’s hand. “They know we’re up here, so we don’t have much time.”
Alex led the way down into the dark stairwell. It hugged the inside of tower’s outer wall, and the steps proved troublesome. The rises were different heights, and some steps were wider. He almost tripped and fell twice before they reached the next level down.
What Alex thought was a three story tower proved to be only two floors. Alex had judged it by height, but each floor had very high ceilings. Two floors, but probably at least one level below ground.
The stairs ended at the second floor. A wide corridor ran straight across the tower to the stairwell down to the ground floor. A dozen watchmen were racing towards them, swords in hand. Alex charged them.
“Take the fight to them!” he shouted.
The watchmen stopped and formed two ranks of swordsmen. The pirates hit them with wild battle cries. The watchmen repelled their first assault. Alex couldn’t believe they didn’t take a single watchman down. At least he didn’t lose any of his fellow pirates.
Helene stepped forward, catching everyone’s eye. She had her sling out, spinning it faster and faster.
“Get ready,” she whispered. And released. “Poisonous spiders!”
The black shot hit the centermost watchman in the chest. Uncounted small black spiders exploded out of the shot, swarming the man. He squealed in terror, dropping his sword and beating at the spiders. Instead of helping, his comrades cringed away. And then Helene’s second enchanted shot exploded on the chest of the man behind him in the second rank. He too was covered in small black spiders.
Whether they were poisonous or not was answered a second later, when the first man stopped fighting and dropped boneless to the floor. Alex stared in horror as the poor fellow just twitched. Then the second watchman dropped.
“Hit them again,” Alex cried, and charged the watchman.
Everyone but Helene followed him. She stayed back to sling enchanted shot at the watchmen. The witch’s attack had broken the watchmen. They barely defended themselves from Alex, Ramy, and Naar. It took a moment for Alex to realize that Nicanor remained behind with Helene.
A stone shot hit the watchman Alex engaged. Instead of spiders, a rope quickly wrapped around the man, pinning his arms to his side. Alex almost killed him, but stopped himself. It wasn’t easy with his blood up like that. Then another stone hit, engulfing the screaming man with scorpions.
The remaining watchmen broke and ran.
“Check all these rooms first,” Alex commanded, racing over to the closest door.
They found all the doors unlocked. Most were offices, the rest storerooms. No Tiana, or any other prisoners. Their search only took a moment.
Alex led the charge into the next stairwell. He found watchmen halfway down.
“Hit them with spiders and snakes!” he shouted. “Die!”
The watchmen started backing down the stairs. Alex drove into them, swinging his sword left and right. They parried every strike. He couldn’t break through their guard. And then one of Helene’s shots zipped past him, and hit a watchman in the forehead.
Snakes.
Shiny black snakes spread out. And they went in every direction, including back up the stairs. Even Helene shrieked. But the snakes were intent on saving themselves, so avoided the pirates who’d pressed themselves against the walls. In their panic, the watchmen were stepping on snakes. That resulting in lots and lots of snake bites. Alex noticed men began slowing, and then dropping before they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“How poisonous are those snakes?”
“Very,” Helene said. “Who throws nonpoisonous snakes at foes?”
She had a point. Still, the stairwell was full of snakes. It made the remaining trip down tricky. They found more watchmen waiting on the ground floor.
“No. I have something better,” she said. “Fireballs.”
Alex thought she would just cast a spell, form a fireball in her hand, and throw it. Instead, she fished out a bright red and yellow shot. Helene quickly spun her sling, and then shouted a word when she released the shot. It burst into flames before it smashed into the lead watchman. And hellfire engulfed him. A second fireball struck them, and then a third.
The remaining watchmen retreated through doors, closing them in the pirates’ faces. Alex avoided looking at the burning men, but couldn’t ignore the stench of it. Burning human flesh proved gut-wrenching. It was all he could do to keep his gorge down. Only Naar didn’t look nauseous.
“Search the rooms,” Alex commanded. “Naar, find the stairs down into the basement.”
“She’ll be up here,” Ramy said. “In one of the interrogation rooms.”
He sounded confident, so Alex didn’t ask how he’d know that. He’d probably been arrested more times than he could remember.
The bottom floor was laid out different than the one above. The middle was a large round room, with the perimeter divided off in rooms. The wood plank doors were unpainted. Alex headed for the closest door to the stairwell. With Naar, Ramy, and Nicanor, he forced it open to find three gray-haired watchmen. Officers. The men in charge.
“Helene, prepare a fireball,” Alex said. The officers’ eyes widened. Alex smiled grimly. “Of course, if you tell me where Captain Tiana is being held, I will allow you to live.”
Alex told himself that they were little better than mob thugs. They were the local king’s head enforcers. Killers. The local government was just a protection racket.
They hesitated. Alex scowled. “Helene, hit them! We’ll ask the next room the same question.”
“Wait!” one of them cried. “I don’t know who Captain Tiana is, but a redheaded woman was just brought in. She’s in room two.”
