by Mel Odom
The fact that she’d crawled there without Shang-Li’s knowledge irritated him almost as much as Moonwhisper eating from her hand like a docile pet. Traitor, he thought at the owl.
Moonwhisper ignored him and greedily accepted another morsel from the ship’s mage. The owl even stretched his great wings in appreciation.
“You can tell by the way she handles and the way the crew responds to her,” Amree continued. “Probably in the same fashion you can identify an author’s work from the use of words and quill stroke. That’s the same ship that followed us out of Westgate.”
Kwan Yung preened at that. “Exactly.”
“I’m sure not everyone can be taught that skill.”
Shang-Li felt his father’s gaze on him but didn’t bother to acknowledge it. The ship’s mage had quickly learned to manipulate the relationship between father and son.
“You can try,” his father said with a hint of dejection and disappointment, “but some students remain uneducated nonetheless.”
“You have to love what you do.”
“And remain focused on what you desire to learn without letting yourself get distracted.”
“Exactly.”
“Have you eaten this morning, Ship’s Mage Amree?”
“As a matter of fact, I haven’t, and I find myself famished.”
“Perhaps we could continue this appreciation of expertise over a meal.”
“Happily.”
From the corner of his eye, Shang-Li saw Amree swing lithely and flip away from the yard and the lines. She landed on the deck with a slight thump only a few feet from Shang-Li.
“Keep an eye on that ship,” she said as she passed him. “If it starts getting any closer, let me know.”
Shang-Li growled an affirmative and watched her walk away with his father. Then he turned his attention back to the ship.
Shang-Li peered at the other ship through the spyglass. There was no doubt that the mystery ship had decided to aim directly for them. All her sails hung from the masts and caused her to resemble a great cloud skimming low over the ocean’s surface. She was close enough that he could spot ship’s crew eagerly hanging onto the railing. They held cutlasses and other weapons knotted in their scarred fists. Many of them pounded the hilts of their weapons against the ship’s side, but the noise didn’t yet reach Swallow.
“Can she outrun us?” Iados asked.
Captain Chiang nodded. “She’s doing a fair job of it now. We’re full into the wind and letting Swallow have her head. But that ship is built for running. Look at that spread of canvas.”
Shang-Li had to admit that the captain was right. The other ship seemed to have more sails grabbing the wind than Swallow possessed.
“She’s a pursuit ship,” Amree declared. “Built for speed. I’ll wager she has an improved hull as well, something that makes her cut through the water much more surely than Swallow can.”
“That ship was gone for two days,” Iados said.
“Not gone,” Amree corrected. “Still out there. We just didn’t see her.”
“If she didn’t see us, then how did she stay on our track?”
Amree pointed up. “Ever known doves to fly so far from land?”
Shang-Li glanced up and spotted the two white birds cutting through the pale blue sky. The birds paced Swallow, flitting back and forth to overtake her and fall behind again.
“You might have mentioned them before,” Shang-Li said.
“I just noticed them this morning, when I was wondering how the ship had kept us in view.”
“It would have been better had you noticed them sooner.”
Amree shot him an unpleasant look. “Or I might never have noticed them. It might have taken someone pointing them out to me for me to see them. Like some others I could mention.”
Chastened, Shang-Li said nothing.
“If they make the mistake of losing sight of us again for a time,” Iados said, “I’ll take a bow and pluck their spies from the sky.”
“I think the time for games has passed,” Captain Chiang stated calmly. “I, for one, don’t like the idea of being taken by pirates. I won’t believe in whatever tender mercies they would offer us for a quiet surrender. It would probably go even worse for you, Master Kwan.”
Kwan Yung scowled at the ship. “The fact that they have come all this way makes it apparent these men aren’t after revenge for anything my son or our ship’s mage has done.”
“They’ve got the smell of treasure up their noses,” Thava said.
“That’s an idea even desperate men cling to.” Captain Chiang looked at his nearby crewmen. “Prepare to repel boarders. And get the archers to their posts.”
Fear and excitement warred within Shang-Li as he watched the ship quickly closing the distance. They were at a distinct disadvantage and everyone aboard Swallow knew that.
Shang-Li took several deep breaths. His heart rate slowed and a cold calm came over him. He ran his hands along the polished longbow and felt the smooth grain with his fingers.
“We’re going to know in short order if Chiang’s men have any stomach for fighting,” Iados said quietly. “Though our ship’s mage seems to be spoiling for a fight.”
Glancing over his shoulder, Shang-Li watched Amree standing on the ship’s sterncastle. She had her arms folded and her jaw was firm. If she had any hesitation about the coming confrontation, it didn’t show.
“She’s a scrappy one,” Iados said. “You might want to wipe that grin off your face before she catches you wearing it.”
Embarrassed, Shang-Li forced the smile away and focused on the approaching ship. The vessel was almost within bowshot. His gaze traveled the ship’s railing and the sailors gathered there. Nearly all of them were Shou.
“Well, accuracy isn’t going to be an issue for a time,” the tiefling commented. “They’re packed tightly enough that all you have to do is aim your arrow for the deck and you’ll hit one of them.”
“True, but their archers are going to be shooting back.”
“I’d suggest we concentrate on them at the beginning.”
“Agreed.” Shang-Li read the ship’s name, in Shou, on her broadside: Lotus Bee. She was decorated in red and black.
A white flag ran up the main mast.
Captain Chiang stepped up onto the stern deck beside Amree. The captain’s leather armor showed wear and tear from past encounters.
A Shou warrior in black chainmail hoisted himself up to stand on the starboard railing. He held himself in place by gripping lines on either side of him.
“Give us what we want,” the Shou warrior shouted, “and we’ll let you take your ship and leave these waters. We don’t want to kill all of you.”
Quietly, Shang-Li focused on the man and nocked a goose-fletched arrow to string. He kept the bow pointed down for the moment and had only a little pressure on the string.
“If you try to take this ship,” Chiang retorted, “we’ll kill all of you.”
Thava climbed the sterncastle steps and stood beside the captain. She wore her white plate armor and looked fierce as the sun reflected from the polished finish. She had spent her nights cleaning the armor and it gleamed as though it were new.
Despite the appearance of the paladin, the Shou warrior clinging to the ropes laughed. Several of his companions joined him. Shang-Li looked across the water and timed the slow rise and fall of the two ships. “How far would you say he is from us?”
“Two hundred paces,” Iados said. “Not an impossible shot from the deck of a ship and the wind against us, but a problematic one. Let him get a little closer.”
“I’m not giving up anything from this ship,” Chiang replied. “You’ll not draw a cup from a water barrel.”
“Don’t be foolish, captain,” the Shou replied. “All we want are the mage and Shang-Li.”
“Well,” Iados said, “they do remember you. Probably not fondly.”
“Not at all fondly,” Shang-Li replied. The Nine Golden Sword
s vessel had closed another twenty paces. The archers along Lotus Bee’s railing shifted a little. “Evidently their archers want to close the distance as well.”
“It would be a good tactic.” Iados took a fresh grip on the small shield he held.
“If I wouldn’t give you a drink of water,” Chiang replied, “what makes you think that I would surrender my ship’s mage or my passenger?”
The Nine Golden Swords warrior cursed fluently. He released his grip on one of the ropes and drew his sword. He pointed the blade with authority. “I’ll take your head, captain. Gods strike me down if that isn’t true.”
“He’s close enough,” Iados said.
Shang-Li was already bringing the bow up. Three fingers on the cord, he drew the arrow fletchings back to his ear until the broadhead rested against his first knuckle. Just as Swallow and Lotus Bee crested the latest wave, he loosed.
The arrow sped across the water, rising at first, then falling into its final trajectory. Shang-Li already had another arrow in flight when the first struck the Nine Golden Swords warrior in the throat.
Shocked for a brief instant, the man stood paralyzed, then grabbed at the arrow protruding from his throat. He lost his footing and plunged into the sea. At the same time, Shang-Li’s second arrow took another man in the eye and knocked him back into his companions.
A torrent of arrows flew from the Nine Golden Swords ship and was just as quickly met by those from Swallow. The shafts clanked and thudded against the yards above and whispered through the canvas and lines. Swallow’s crew took cover, but a few of them were hit. Wounded and dead quickly littered the deck and blood tracked the wood.
Thava took a step in front of Captain Chiang and used her armor to block the arrows that came near. The dwarven armor, rounded to better protect against arrows, kept her from getting pierced but made her an immediate danger to those around her as the deadly shafts ricocheted off it.
Kwan Yung flicked two arrows away with his bow, then loosed an arrow of his own. Another Nine Golden Swords warrior fell into the sea.
“The helmsman,” Iados said. “Can you hit him?”
Shang-Li tried to ignore the fact that he didn’t know where his father was and concentrate on his targets. He found the helmsman, certainly less than one hundred fifty paces away, and drew an arrow back to his ear. He aimed by feeling as much as by sight. An archer operated far beyond simple visual information.
He loosed the arrow and reached for another. In disgust, he watched the arrow deflect from a line, but took grim satisfaction when it lodged in the chest of another opponent. His second arrow sped from the bow and this one caught the helmsman under his right arm as he guided his ship into a parallel course beside Swallow.
The helmsman tried to maintain his hold, but death sapped his strength and he slumped over the wheel. Lotus Bee heeled suddenly to starboard and tracked toward Swallow.
“Hard to starboard!” Captain Chiang yelled.
Even though most of the crew responded to the summons, Shang-Li knew it was too late to avoid a collision. He hoped they survived it. They were very far from land, too far to simply hope they could get a longboat to shore, if they even got to one before the ship sank.
“Stay focused,” Iados growled. “Pick your targets. The fewer of them there are to attempt to board, the better.”
Shang-Li concentrated on his targets, selecting them ahead of time and never checking to see the effects his shafts had. He kept loosing until Lotus Bee slammed into Swallow. The impact knocked Shang-Li from his feet, but he quickly tucked and rolled to stand again. He rushed back to the railing as the Nine Golden Swords warriors prepared to throw themselves over.
Grappling hooks thumped against Swallow. The ships surged against each other again and again, making the deck hard to cross.
“Cut the lines!” the captain yelled. “Keep us clear!”
One of the Nine Golden Swords crew rushed back to the helm and yanked the dead helmsman from the wheel. He hauled hard to starboard to batter Swallow again.
Shang-Li stored the longbow with the ropes at the ship’s side and drew his longsword. He fisted a fighting dagger in his other hand.
When Lotus Bee collided with Swallow again, the Nine Golden Swords crew invaded in earnest. Blades and axes caught the sunlight as they sought flesh. Cries, filled with fear and anger and bravado, echoed along the ship like the sonorous cry of one nightmarish beast.
Standing his ground, Shang-Li parried a sword blow, then opened his opponent’s throat with his dagger. Beside him, Iados fought like a whirlwind of steel and scarlet death. One of his attackers got too close and Iados blocked the man’s axe and gored him in the chest with his horns. The tiefling lifted the man from his feet and flung him as a bull might. The dead man sailed over Iados’s head and thumped onto the deck. He didn’t move again.
In the stern, Thava stood her ground as the Nine Golden Swords warriors attacked her. Her opponents looked like terriers trying to bring down a bear. She swept half of them away with her shield and the clangor of metal on metal pierced the screams and roars of rage. She swung her short-handled axe mercilessly, lopping off everything that came in contact with her weapon. Dead and dying spilled in pieces at her feet. She didn’t fight as she had back at the tavern. Here she strove only to kill and kill again.
Kwan Yung fought nearby and managed to slow some of the men that attacked Thava. He’d traded his bow for a staff and cracked heads and shins with equal aplomb.
Shang-Li gave himself over to the battle. His reflexes, trained in the temple and in the forest, made him incredibly fast and certain. But the sheer numbers of the invaders still forced him back.
Amree gave ground in the ship’s stern. She’d gotten separated from Thava and Captain Chiang and was quickly running out of room.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Iados,” Shang-Li called.
“I see her,” the tiefling replied. “Go.” His blade lashed out and plunged through a man’s eye. Iados yanked the corpse in front of Shang-Li to create a momentary barrier.
Taking advantage of the brief respite, Shang-Li retreated to the mainmast while sheathing his sword over his shoulder. He pushed off the mainmast with his feet and vaulted up into the yards. When he grabbed the nearest one, he flipped and propelled himself toward the stern. He ran lithely across one of the lines, then hurled himself at the nearest canvas on the aft mast.
Catching hold of the canvas, Shang-Li flipped between the sails and landed in the concave surface. When he let go the canvas, he slid down toward the sterncastle just as three Nine Golden Swords warriors closed on Amree.
At the bottom of the sail, Shang-Li hit the boom with both feet and threw himself forward. He cleared the stern railing with ease and ripped free his sword in mid-air. He had the blade in his fist by the time his feet touched the deck.
Amree gestured and spoke a word that vibrated through Shang-Li’s skull and stomach. In response, a wave curled over the ship’s side and swept her three attackers over the railing.
“The last time I faced them, I was out of my element,” Amree said fiercely. “This is the sea, my chosen home. They don’t have the same advantage over me.”
Shang-Li nodded, but there was no time to talk. New attackers clambered over the railing as the two ships met again.
Suddenly, a wave of incredible pain blazed through Shang-Li’s head. He tried to push it away, but it speared through his temples and took away his balance and strength. He dropped to one knee on the deck and struggled to keep the sword up in front of him.
The sky clouded over instantly, or maybe it was a dark fog. Shang-Li tried to figure out which it was, but by then the sea was a roiling mass of water and icy wind that snapped yards and tore canvas.
The Blue Lady’s voice reverberated inside Shang-Li’s skull. You have come back, manling. Despite my wishes and my generosity in sparing your life.
The sea geysered at the ships’ sterns. When the gray-green mist cleared, the Blue Lady stood
atop a column of water.
“By the gods,” Thava whispered as she took a fresh hold of her axe and set her shield before her.
Weakly, Shang-Li forced himself to his feet and faced the Blue Lady.
“I warned you,” the Blue Lady said. “I was gentle the last time. This time I will not be.” Then she spoke in a language that Shang-Li couldn’t understand.
The storm’s intensity picked up. Lightning flashed through the dark clouds and the winds howled. yards snapped like branches and ropes tore liked rotted thread as Lotus Bee and Swallow were stripped from the top down.
“Archers!” Captain Chiang roared. “Loose!”
The archers overcame their astonishment and fired a ragged volley of arrows at the Blue Lady. The Nine Golden Swords archers reacted even more slowly, but arrows filled the air.
None of the deadly missiles struck their intended target. The howling winds knocked the arrows off course or stopped them cold in mid-flight so that they dropped into the heaving sea. The waves rose higher, until they surged over the bows and the sterns of the ships. All warring between the crews was instantly forgotten as the men struggled simply to survive and remain on deck.
The Blue Lady spoke again, and this time a whirlpool formed behind the ships. Incredulous at her show of power over the Sea of Fallen Stars, Shang-Li watched as the whirlpool widened and pulled the two ships toward the center of the swirling waters. The roar of the surging current nearly drowned all noise.
Men screamed and shouted in fear. Panic rose in Shang-Li and he barely controlled it. He gazed back over his shoulder, searching for his father. Kwan Yung stood at the stern railing and clung fiercely. He spoke, but the gale winds ripping across Swallow’s deck made communication impossible.
Shang-Li looked at Amree but found the ship’s mage remained sure-footed even on the heaving deck. One of her spells kept her grounded to the craft and she walked the heaving wooden surface as easily as she might have crossed a tavern floor. She helped some of the sailors find better grips.
