Their plan of attack wasn’t something he’d come up with on his own either. He’d consulted the others although he’d relied most heavily on Travers and Jake, who were the two with the most experience in naval warfare. It had taken them a day to agree on their course of action, and Timmy still wasn’t entirely sure it would work. However, it was the best they could come up with, given the circumstances. As Old Man had told him when he’d asked for advice, there was no point in letting perfect become the enemy of good. In other words, it wasn’t always possible to come up with a perfect plan. Sometimes, they had to be happy with simply having a good one.
Timmy walked over to Katie. The girl was talking softly with all of the rats that had come along. They had their instructions, and she was checking to make sure that none of them had any questions about what they were required to do. In truth, the rats seemed calmer than she did. After all, they were ninja rats. As cute and cuddly as they could be, this was what they did for a living.
“Nervous?” Timmy asked. He put one hand on Katie’s shoulder, and she jumped, rounding on him with a glare before she realised whom it was.
“A little bit,” Katie replied. The mood on all of the ships had taken a turn for the serious as everyone finished up their preparations. Perhaps the only ships where the mood hadn’t change were the ships crewed by Timmy’s zombies. Then again, they were zombies. They didn’t really do fear or worry. “This isn’t like our other missions, is it?”
Timmy wasn’t stupid enough to think he could lie to his clever apprentice. “No, Katie, it’s not. There are hundreds of people on a dozen ships just waiting to kill the lot of us. There are thousands more waiting on the island with the exact same objective. You’ve also never fought in a major naval battle before. It’s something else, all right.”
Katie blanched but did her best to compose herself. Her hands tightened on the sleeves of her robes, and she had to force herself to loosen her grip, so she could wipe her glasses with one sleeve. “Master…”
“Don’t worry so much.” Timmy smiled. “It’s not like it’s the two of us against all of those people. We’ve got four ships full of people to help us, not to mention the others.” He ruffled her hair and chuckled at her squawk of outrage. “We’ve got the world’s most dangerous elf, an ancient vampire who thinks sunlight isn’t all that bad, a legendary swordsman, and a dragon. Oh, and let’s not forget Gerald.”
Katie giggled. “Of course, we can’t forget Gerald. Maybe he could drop a tower on them. It normally works.”
Timmy poked her forehead. “Unless a giant golem dodges it and uses it as a club.”
“I doubt that they have a giant golem, master. It would be incredibly bad luck, even for you.”
“Seriously, though,” Timmy said. “Gerald is a good guy.” He glanced over to where the bureaucrat was doing his best not to hyperventilate. To try to take his mind off the impending battle, the older man had begun to itemise some of the things he might need during this part of the mission. So far, Timmy had seen some golems from a previous mission that had been repurposed to obey Gerald, an assortment of protective charms and potions, a frying pan, a pogo stick, and countless other bits and pieces. He’d even seen what appeared to be an octopus. After all of this was over, he’d have to ask Vicky to bump up Gerald’s pay. Gerald wasn’t the bravest man, and Timmy would be surprised if he made it through the mission without fainting at least once, but the bureaucrat did whatever they asked him to do, at least, he tried to. And that was all anyone could ask. “And you never know when you might need a pogo stick.”
“It might come in handy,” Katie replied. “I mean… if we have to jump over a floor covered in deadly poison or something.”
“Indeed.” Timmy patted her on the back. “You should talk to Old Man. I’m sure he’ll have something wise and calming to say to you, Little Miss.”
“Master, don’t call me that!”
“And bring Rembrandt with you. He and Old Man can argue philosophy or something until we get there. Heck, those two will probably talk about it while they’re fighting.” It amused him to no end that Old Man and Rembrandt got along so well. It was almost like they were brothers – except for the fact that one of them was a rat and the other was an old human.
Katie went off, the rats following in her wake, and it wasn’t long before she was chatting good-naturedly with Old Man and Rembrandt. Old Man met Timmy’s gaze and nodded. Good. He understood what Timmy wanted. It was okay to be a bit nervous before a big battle – it would have been strange if Katie weren’t – but being too nervous would make it hard for her to perform at her best. As for him, he was going to have a nap until they got closer. He didn’t think he’d get much sleep later. Either they’d be too busy celebrating, or they’d be fighting for their lives, so it might be a good idea to steal some sleep while he could.
He picked a nice spot in the sun – right next to Spot – and dozed off. He had a feeling that Spot and Avraniel were the only people who weren’t nervous. They’d been looking forward to a good fight for weeks now. He also had a feeling that Spot wouldn’t be hungry after this mission. If anything, he’d be stuffed to bursting. Spot shifted and draped his head across Timmy’s chest. The dragon was warm and strangely cuddly. Timmy fell asleep. In his dreams, Spot grew big enough to carry the castle on his back, and they used their flying fortress to conquer the world, well, the parts that Avraniel hadn’t burnt to the ground, anyway.
Katie awakened him from another dream that involved turning the new lake near the castle into a water-themed amusement park. He’d seen one in his younger days – one of the former members of the Council had been incredibly powerful and amazingly eccentric – and it had proven to be highly profitable. Perhaps building one of his own could not only add to the castle’s coffers but also increase his popularity in the area.
“Is it time?” Timmy asked. He put his hands up to grab Spot’s snout as the dragon licked his face. At least, he was no longer worried about Spot being interested in eating him. This was the dragon being friendly. Well, that was what he hoped it was.
Katie nodded. Her green eyes glanced to the side, and Timmy followed her gaze. Everyone else was already in position although Travers seemed more amused than offended. “We’re going to cross the outer barrier in about ten minutes according to Avraniel. She said to wake you up but in a less polite way.”
Timmy got to his feet. The elf had probably told Katie to kick him or something. He had a shovel in his hand and he slipped two more into the holsters on his back. The shovel in his hand was one he’d designed to be more useful at sea where the rock and earth he needed to reach was much further away and covered in water. The two on his back were a regular shovel and an anti-magic shovel, which was designed specifically to negate or otherwise disrupt magic that it came into direct contact with. If they were going to steal the Eye, they would undoubtedly have to go through some powerful mages.
“All right.” Timmy stretched and checked his pockets. He had some pebbles in his pockets and a specially crafted pouch full of sand. “Let’s do this.”
Timmy took up a position on the quarterdeck next to Travers. He and the captain would have a good view of the battlefield from here, and it was safer than standing at the front of the ship. The last thing they needed was for one of them to be wounded or killed by a stray spell at the start of the fight. In accordance with their plan, their galleon and Jake’s dreadnought made up the tip of a wedge with the ships crewed by zombies flanking them on either side. The two smaller vessels – which were also the fastest in their fleet – were safely behind the dreadnought and the galleon.
As they broke through the outer barrier, magic rustled through Timmy. There was no doubt about it now. The Eternal Empire knew they were coming. There was a shimmer in the seemingly empty sea in front of them, and the island appeared. It was larger than Timmy had thought, at least several miles long. There was a massive tower at the centre of a complex of buildings that took up most of the island.
They could see the docks too, but the enemy fleet had already begun to move into position.
“They’re good,” Travers muttered. Like Timmy, he was using a spyglass to view the enemy, rather than magic. They’d need every scrap of magical power they could muster for the battle ahead. “But at least the wind is at our back.”
“The wind helps,” Timmy replied. “But we were never going to rely on only the wind.”
It was impractical to rely too much on magic during a long voyage, but it was common practice to use magic to help manoeuvre a ship once it was this close to the enemy. Already, their mages were adding to the wind to bolster their speed. Under normal circumstances once they furled the sails in preparation of combat, other mages would help move the water around the ship to improve its speed and agility.
“They’re going to form a line,” Travers muttered. “Broadside us with all of their ships, try to rake us from bow to stern.”
Timmy grimaced. It was a common tactic. The Eternal Empire’s ships had already begun to form a line, turning sideways to bring the full weight of their mages and other projectile weapons to bear once Timmy’s ships and the others were within range. The normal thing to do would have been to adopt a similar position, so they could return fire at full power. The sides of ships were also the most heavily armoured. But they had no intention of doing that. They needed to do more than beat this fleet. They had to beat it, break through the barrier behind it, and still have enough left over to storm the island, which meant that normal tactics weren’t going to cut it. They had to take a few risks. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“I hope our plan works,” Travers said with a grim smile. “Otherwise, we’ll be continuing this conversation in the afterlife.”
“You know what they call us necromancers, right? Masters of death.” Timmy chuckled. “Although, technically, we’re masters of other people’s deaths, so…”
“Master.” Katie had joined them up on the quarterdeck. “Please, stop trying to be reassuring. You’re making it worse.”
“Hey, give me a break. I’m trying my best.” Timmy put one hand on her shoulder. “Get ready.” He nodded at Travers. “Give the order, captain.”
“Battle positions!” Travers bellowed. “Mages, hold until I give the order. Concentrate all magic on defence! We’re going to weather the storm, boys and girls.” Shouts went up across the ship as everyone on board braced for battle. “All ahead full!” Travers roared. “Full speed. Don’t give those bastards any time to think.”
The fleet gathered speed, propelled by the wind and by their magic. As they closed the gap, Timmy could practically feel the surprise rolling off the enemy ships. They were probably wondering what was going on. Only a madman would sail straight at ships that were preparing to deliver a broadside. It simply wasn’t possible to return the favour without turning to deliver a broadside as well. In almost every case, that would have been true. But this ship – Timmy’s ship – didn’t rely on normal mages. They had Avraniel, and she’d been waiting all week for this.
“Mages, ready!” Travers cried. “Here they come!”
Flashes of light erupted from the enemy ships. Dozens of spells and conventional projectiles raced through the air toward them. Timmy’s hands tightened around the handle of his shovel. This was going to get rough.
“Defensive magic!” Travers shouted. “Defensive magic, damn you! Brace for impact!”
Light flared to life on and around the ship, born from the combined efforts of the defensive runes and seals carved into the ship and the magic of their mages. The incoming projectiles slammed into the makeshift barrier with a sound louder than thunder. The air in front of the ship exploded, shredded by a storm of fire, ice, lightning, wind, steel, and stone. The galleon rocked in the water, nearly capsizing under the sheer force of the attack. Timmy nodded at Katie.
“You’re up, Katie. Put those shadows of yours to work.”
The girl leapt off the quarterdeck and glided to the bow of the ship. As the galleon’s defensive magic began to falter, Old Man stepped forward. His sword swept free of its sheath in a single perfect slash, and Old Man’s magic rippled outward. Space bent and buckled, and the shockwave smashed through the defensive magic around the ship and shattered the incoming attacks. It bought Katie enough time to gesture grandly with both arms, stretching a vast wall of shadows in front of them. Timmy could see nothing beyond the wall, and he and the rest of the crew could only wait anxiously as attacks continued to thump and thud into Katie’s barrier. When Katie’s shadows finally receded, the galleon was still sailing. Beside them, Jake’s dreadnought had also weathered the storm although they’d taken a few hits, none of them enough to cripple the larger ship.
“Good!” Travers growled. “Don’t worry about attacking back. Pool your magic for another defence.”
“Avraniel,” Timmy shouted. “They’ve got our defence taken care of. How about you show those Eternal Empire ships what our offence is like!”
The elf cracked her knuckles and stretched her shoulders. She pushed past Katie. “Damn straight, idiot. The rest of you jerks need to watch and learn.” She grinned at Spot. “Watch mommy, Spot. This is how you deal with people in ships who want to kill you.”
One of the reasons that ships preferred to attack by delivering broadsides was because that position maximised the number of mages who could attack at once since most of a ship’s mages were kept below decks in relative safety and they attacked through the portholes in the side of a ship. Rather than attack with their mages, Timmy and Travers had ordered them to focus on defence. With so many mages contributing to their defence, they could withstand a broadside from the enemy’s fleet, especially with people like Katie and Old Man to help out. However, they would be unable to attack back, which meant they would eventually be worn down and sunk. At least, that was what would have happened if they hadn’t had Avraniel around. But they did have her around, and she made all the difference in the world.
Timmy had once joked that Avraniel was worth a hundred fire mages. He’d been underestimating her. The elf’s fists clenched, and the air around her rippled. White flame sprang to life, but somehow the wooden deck didn’t catch fire. Avraniel’s eyes blazed, shifting from amber to molten gold, and Timmy could have sworn he saw her veins take on a similar appearance under her skin, almost as though there was molten metal in her veins instead of blood.
“Take this, you Eternal Empire bastards!” Avraniel howled.
A jagged bolt of white flame so bright that it outshone the midday sun burst from Avraniel’s hands. It crossed the gap between them and one of the dreadnoughts in the blink of an eye. There was a tremendous boom as the air in front of the dreadnought was suddenly filled with countless runes and seals of protection – all of which shattered like glass. The elf’s attack hit the dreadnought halfway along its length.
Dreadnoughts were floating fortresses, protected not only by intricate defensive magic but also thick plates of sturdy, force- and magic-dampening material. A normal fire-based attack wouldn’t have done too much, perhaps blown a small hole at the point of impact. Avraniel’s attack melted every plate of armour within thirty feet of the point of impact and cracked the dreadnought in half. The resulting explosion enveloped the deck of the ship and vaporised its interior, leaving it a broken, smoking, sinking ruin. Utter silence descended over the galleon as Travers and the others stared in awe. And then there was a burst of motion as Avraniel shook her fists at the enemy fleet while cursing up a storm. The other enemy ships immediately turned their attention to them.
“Those bastards are going to be after us now,” Travers growled. “They know we can sink them. They’ll focus all of their attacks on us.”
“That’s the point,” Timmy said. “Although it sounded like a better idea at the time.”
“Brace for impact!” Travers gestured madly. “And get our defences back up to full power. If any of you water mages can spare a second, I want a damn wall moving ahead o
f us. I don’t care if it slows us down. They’re going to hit us with everything they’ve got now. Try to take the edge off it.”
Timmy grimaced as the next broadside thundered in. The Eternal Empire’s fleet had lost its cool at seeing one of their dreadnoughts sunk in a single attack. Every captain in their fleet was now wondering if they would be next – which was exactly what Timmy wanted and needed. As Avraniel turned her attention to helping Katie and Old Man assist the galleon’s defenders, Timmy began to manoeuvre the ships crewed by his zombies. They’d taken a few hits, but most of the fire had been directed at their galleon and Jake’s dreadnought. The zombie pirates upped the pace, pulled along by the zombie whales that Timmy had procured on the same island as the captured pirate ships.
“Give them something else to think about,” Timmy shouted to Avraniel. “Keep their attention on us. Buy my zombie ships as much time as you can.”
The elf was only too happy to comply. Another blast of flame raced toward another dreadnought. This one abandoned its offence completely to focus all of its magic on defence. Avraniel’s attack struck the dreadnought’s barrier with dizzying force, boiling all of the water nearby and creating a cloud of fire that threatened to swallow the ship whole. Somehow, the dreadnought survived, but its outer armour was badly singed and cracked, and one of its masts was on fire. It was, however, still floating.
“Stupid jerks!” the elf muttered. “I know I should have put more magic into that attack.” She summoned more of her fire and began to hurl it at the dreadnought nonstop. “Sink, you losers. Sink!”
“Put the wind and water behind those ships!” Travers ordered as he spotted the zombie ships making their move. He and Timmy had discussed their plan in detail, and he wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip. “Damn you, put the wind and water behind them!”
The galleon’s pace slowed as the mages who could influence the wind and water shifted their attention. The zombie ships sped up, closing in on the enemy fleet. The enemy ships were forced to split their attention between the overwhelming threat Avraniel posed and the zombie ships. Not all of them made the right choice, and the first two zombie ships hit the battered dreadnought Avraniel had been attacking.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire (The Unconventional Heroes Series Book 3) Page 38
