“You’re not helpin’!” I growled, pulling back with all my might. But my heels slid on the bloody deck and I kept going, straight to the frog-demon’s gullet. Jasper had a point. This was no way for the Stone-Warden’s quest to end…being turned into frog poop.
“Help you want? Okay, try this. Maybe you should use both hands.”
So simple I wanted to kick myself. My left hand shot out, yanked the saw-toothed weapon from the right’s grip, and cut the horrible amphibian’s tongue in two. Roaring, the monster whipped its bloody appendage away from me. I peeled the twitching remainder off my wrist and turned back to the last musketman.
But the demon refused to give up its meal, tongue or no tongue. Those powerful tiger’s haunches launched it at me as soon as my back had turned. The wind whoofed out of my lungs as I crashed to the deck. I hit my jaw and saw stars, even losing my grip on Morphageus. My boomerang slid a foot away. When I tried to raise myself up to retrieve it, the four foot-wide frog mouth closed around me, black blood from the severed tongue soaking my shirt. Oh, no you don’t! With a burst of Stone-strength I dragged the smelly rubbery thing with me while those foul lips chewed at my shoulders. Groping wildly, unable to see the deck, my fingers just managed to touch the edge of the boomerang. That turned out to be enough, though. With a whispered wish it swelled into a shiny steel sledgehammer that only weighed about a pound to me. My wrists snapped backward over my head, thumping the demon a good one between the eyes. It hissed and let me go, backing up about five feet. Morphageus shifted back to its previous shape. I whirled to throw the boomerang and darned if that miserable demon didn’t come for me again. Forced to fend it off with the sword, which its agile tiger’s body let it avoid, I started to think that Ma was in a world of trouble. Come on, come on, come on!
“These pesky things are always a pain in the rudder,” Roberta said from behind my ear. “Stand back. Let me take care of it, shrimp.”
Not turning, panting from the effort of fighting and panicking from worry about Ma, I screamed, “No! Sharpshooter! Foremast! Ma! Hurry!”
Her boots clattered away before I’d got all my words out. Desperate to help Ma, I willed Morphageus into a ten-foot spear and fed it to the frog’s mouth till the point came out its other end. Gurgling, the monster sagged to the deck, coughing more inky blood. Swirling the lance in a great circle to keep everything else at bay, I pivoted to see what Roberta might be able to do with just seconds to spare.
The buccaneer queen sprinted to the rail, throwing her sword end-over-end at a fox-like thing with two heads which barred her way with a pistol. Before it could fire it clutched at the hilt which had buried itself in its chest. Roberta leaped over the bow of the Kiss in a long graceful swan dive. No!How’s that gonna help Ma? But instead of falling into the sea Pitcairn’s lady rose, her form flowing into the familiar scarlet shape of the parrot I knew so well. Her curse had kicked in as soon as she’d crossed the plane of the rail. In the blink of an eye a crimson bullet shot up into the rigging of the Croatan. I heard the musket discharge even above all the other savage noise around me. Catching my breath, I hurried my eyes over to where Ma stood, oblivious to what happened anyplace except right in front of her. She hurled another death-bolt at a ram’s-horned snake demon. It blew away in a puff of ash. She’s okay! Roberta did it! Looking back up at where the third sharpshooter had been, I saw him dangling from one twisted leg, face a shredded mass of black meaty ribbons. Roberta swooped back low, claws plucking her cutlass from the fox-thing’s body. As she landed her human shape asserted itself again, expanding up and out until the long-haired lady of Commander Pitcairn stood before me again.
“Whoo!” she grinned. “That was a close one!”
I just hugged the stuffing out of her, unable to say anything, tears half-blinding me.
“Time for that later, shrimp.” She patted me on the back and peeled me off her. “Gotta go finish this. Get yourself someplace safe.” With that she yelled and waded back into the battle.
We had the upper hand now, thanks to Ma’s magick and Sha’ira’s and Romulus’ bravery. The surviving demons were being pressed back against the rail. Some stood their ground, many tried to leap over to the Croatan. But at that moment the ships pitched and began sliding apart. I saw Ernie climb up the netting Pitcairn had erected along the rail. He gave me a thumbs-up and a toothy smile. In his other paw he held one of the grapple ropes the Obverse had used to lash the ships together, chewed through as if by a razor. The Marines had done their work well. Mr. Bridgewater spun his wheel and steered the Kiss farther away from the Croatan. In a few moments a good hundred yards separated us. All the remaining enemies were trapped on our deck. Knowing that no quarter would be given, they fought like fiends, which seemed appropriate, considering. Staying well clear of the main battle area, since every now and then a demon would lunge for me, I helped out a little by turning Morphageus into a spring-loaded steely fist. I’d let it bound out on the spring, upend an Obverse combatant, then have it retract so I could do it again to another one of them. Ma’s magick ran low, since there was no Songline for her to use as a charge, and she slumped against the foremast. I rushed to her and shielded us both while we watched the mopping-up.
Pitcairn and the enemy captain had kept up their duel all this time. Both bore a few cuts, but nothing that looked serious. With his ship free of the Croatan, our captain seemed to gain new strength from imminent victory. With a neat twist the oaken belaying pin knocked the cutlass from his foe’s right hand. Before the other cutlass could react Pitcairn stepped to his left at a forward angle, cocked his sword wrist, curled his arm and body in a bow to the right, and deftly spitted the hulking Obverse commander between the shoulder blades. As neat a punto reverso as you’ll ever see. The new-slain man stared down at the six inches of steel protruding from his jabot, gave us all a grim smile, and flopped to the deck like a dead fish. In fact, it was an literal three foot long mackerel’s head that lay at Pitcairn’s feet as the human form melted away, revealing a lizard body and a possum tail.
Now that numbers were on our side and there was room to maneuver, Pitcairn’s crew finished things with an improvised firing squad, lining up and blowing the rest of the demons to kingdom-come with muskets, pistols, a blunderbuss or two, and even the pintle guns mounted at bow and stern. The limp bodies of all the dead demons fed the sharks in nothing flat, as all the sailors wasted no time in throwing every last scrap of the battle’s losers into the sea. With no fires to put out the barrels of water were upended and used to scrub the deck clean of blood and sundry monster chunks. It all ran so smooth that I had the awful suspicion this hadn’t been their first demon-boarding.
Propping Ma up on my shoulder, holding her close, I watched Sha’ira and Romulus lope over to us, followed by Ernie, Gracchus, and the proud Marines. Romulus’ muzzle dripped with black blood, as did Sha’ira’s lovely green robe. Flecks of that foul ink speckled her brown face, too. Pitcairn, arm-in-arm with Roberta, strolled up to us, smug as cats in the creamery.
“Would you care to give the order to fire, Miss Verity?” Pitcairn asked. “They’re aiming to escape before we can react. Little do they know.”
Standing up, I gazed at the Croatan, wanting nothing more than to see an end to her. But as she began pulling away from us, into the wind, I thought of a promise I’d made. “First things first. Can Mr. Nickleby’s guns disable her rudder first?”
They could. And that’s how I ended up in a jollyboat, rowed by eight stout sailors, well in front of the Croatan. Standing on the broad back of the enslaved white whale, I patted it and assured him I was his friend. Morphageus sliced off the towing harness as if the hawsers had been wet twine. My new giant friend dove out of sight, then breached the choppy surface of the water a hundred yards away, celebrating his freedom. Three times he flew into the air as if he’d fly to heaven. Circling back around our boat, surrounded by a cloud of seagulls, he raised his head so I could pat it as if he was the biggest old hound in the world
. With another wink at me and a wave his flukes, he vanished. That made me the happiest girl on the sea, let me tell you.
42/ Voyage of Surprises
“If this was one of them sentimental novels that society ladies like to read,” Jasper said, “we’d call this a Sudden Unexpected Plot Development.”
Twenty minutes later, as we all watched the shattered Croatan go down like a gorgeous sunset, Commander Pitcairn turned from smooching Roberta to announce, “Did I tell you that it wasn’t always called the Croatan? That’s the new name the Obverse scum gave it, to commemorate one of their nastier achievements. De Latte says he served on her, years and years ago. Britannic whaler, true enough, but she went by the name Pudding.”
Fergus, still scrubbing the odd speckle of demon blood from his weathered skin, said, “Pudding, sir? I think De Latte’s havin’ you on.”
“Oh, no, it was really called the Pudding. The last time the builder ever let his tiny daughter christen a ship.” Pitcairn tipped his tricorn to Gracchus and his Legion. “And that’ll be the last time the Obverse takes my Marines for granted, I suspect. All honor to you, gentlemen, for cutting those grapples.”
“Our pweasure, sir!” the rats shouted, nibbling on their reward cheese.
“The Puddin’, eh?” Jasper said to me. “So it’s a case of rats sinkin’ a dessert ship.”
That had been so bad I almost hurled myself overboard. “I can’t believe you said that. Good thing nobody else can hear you. They’d probably make me walk the plank.”
“Plenty more where that came, missy,” my sword-spirit cackled. “The cook, Mr. Van Tassel, is from Holland.”
“So?”
“So, his food is so bad the crew calls it the Curse of the Frying Dutchman.”
“Aah!” I shrieked, out loud. Everybody stared. I turned red and tapped my noggin. “Jasper again. He’s…pun-ishin’ me.”
“Ha-ha,” he sighed in a deadpan voice. “The child thinks it has wit. Tryin’ to out-joke her magick wea-pun.”
I mastered my temptation to use Morphageus to cut off my own head. Instead, I hugged Ma some more. It amazed me that she had any stuffing left, since I’d been squeezing her with Stone-strength every chance I got. Some of the color had come back into her cheeks, but she still looked weak from expending all her magick in the battle. If I’d known she was a demon-butchering mage I’d have gotten into a lot less trouble at home all these years. Lucky all I got was stood in a corner, instead of bein’ turned into a chicken.
“Honey, could you ease up just a smidge?” she asked. “You’re a might stronger since I saw you last. I imagine Eddie will have trouble arm-wrestling you now.”
I looked down, ashamed that I’d hardly thought of him with everything else that’d been going on. “Hope he gets the chance,” I whispered.
Ma frowned. “Why? What happened?” She raised my chin up with a knuckle and stared at me. “Where is he?”
“Gone,” I told her, lip trembling. “Venoma took him to London. That’s why we’re out here. If I don’t show up at Merchantry headquarters by the next moon they’ll…they’ll…”
She held my head to her shoulder. “Oh, baby girl. And here I was all worried about myself.”
“I worried for you, too. But I figured you were better able to take care of yourself than Eddie, him bein’ in the hands of monsters and all. Just dumb luck that you were on the ship that chased us.”
“No, I doubt that it was all just chance. With magick few things are. As for me being able to take care of myself, well…” She gave me a tight sour smile. “All the sorcery in the world does you precious little good when you’re stupid enough to climb onto an Obverse boat.”
Roberta spoke up, peering down through her spectacles at where we sat. “Which leads this old bird to wonder how that happened?”
Ma leaned back as she relived that awful first night. “I got back to the house after putting costumes away. No kids in sight, but I figured they were off someplace re-enacting the swordfights they’d seen. While I tidied up and waiting for Verity to get back I found her note. In the middle of reading it something landed on the roof. Something weighing hundreds of pounds and running across it. My guard should have been up, as it’s been for a dozen years, ever since we lost her father. But I was tired. I went into the alley to chase off what I thought was another Saturday night drunk. Venoma almost got me. If I hadn’t seen a one-eared cat hiss at something in the dark I wouldn’t be here to tell you this. Got a force shield up just in time to deflect her attack. Animated it and sent in after her. She flew against a wall but came back for more. We went at it for a few moments, then I saw that she just trying to drive me into a Bully circle, an enchanted web of magick that I couldn’t have escaped without more preparation and embracing a Songline. I just had time to get into the house, leave you that one-word message, and bolt out the front door. Once I’d made it down the street a block or two I took a minute to think. Verity was gone, along with Romulus and Ernie, and Merchantry assassins had shown up at just that moment. Either we had the world’s worst luck or the Stone-Warden had found Morphageus earlier than expected.
“So I embraced the line that runs beneath the theatre, took on Mr. Ford’s image, and risked a trip there to hunt for the kids. Two Bullies were on watch, but I strolled right past them. Bullies can’t sniff a shape spell to save their souls. It didn’t take long to stumble onto that basement temple, same as you did, dear. We’d always known that you’d find Morphageus someday, probably on a major Songline, but I never dreamed that it was at Ford’s all along. Deep down, I’d hoped you’d never find it. Never have need to. But once I saw that it had happened I high-tailed it out of there.”
“But how’d you end up on the Croatan?” I asked, still trying to imagine my ma and Venoma duking it out in our back alley.
“Long ago, while I still carried you, your father and I had the Equity set up a series of safe houses, bolt-holes, and escape ships to prepare for the day when you’d be called. I used some of them to get to Alexandria. Every few blocks I changed to a new shape, nearly wearing myself out doing it. Dressed as a seaman jumping ship, I passed myself off as a man in need of passage to the Sceptr’d Isle, willing to work in exchange. They readily agreed. I knew that no matter where you ended up, the Merchantry would soon find out, at least until you acquired the skills to cloak yourself. That’s how they found you so soon. Your magick signature is enormous right now. If I was in London, inside their Sanctum, I’d hear where you were and could come help you.
“But I hadn’t reckoned with Obverse treachery. They’d infiltrated the Croatan’s crew, who were mere mortals for the most part, just waiting for the day when you’d take up Morphageus and reveal yourself. At first I noticed nothing wrong, just kept swabbing decks and doing whatever odd job they gave me. Pretty soon, though, the crew began avoiding me. No one spoke, no one came near me in any way. Then one night a sack was jammed onto my head and I got trussed up tight. Turns out they had a Spellchequer on board. Sprites who do no magick of their own, but can detect it in others, especially shape spells. She revealed me to Captain Rowling and I found myself in their brig. I gave them a long sob story about being disciplined by the Proprietor and wanting to get back to London to redeem myself. They seemed to accept that but kept me locked up anyway. I gathered they must have decided that since they found you they’d return across the barrier to the Obverse instead of going to London. Double-crossing the Proprietor or whoever sent them. Too many factions in the Merchantry to keep track of. So I became a menu item instead of a passenger.”
I hugged her again, taking care not to smush her. “Well, you’re our passenger now, and to London after all. Don’t imagine it’ll be much of a pleasure cruise. But Eddie sure needs us and that’s a fact.”
Sha’ira nodded. “You speak the truth. We will need a sound plan by the time we disembark. Strolling into the lion’s den carrying its favorite food is rarely wise.”
I gulped at that. How on earth did I thin
k I could get into the lair of the world’s most powerful mages, grab Eddie from a deep dark dungeon, and sneak out again? Hope all these here experts have some ideas, ‘cause I sure don’t.
“We’ll give that constant thought on our way to Europa,” Pitcairn said. “The wind is in our favor, the weather fair, and our wake is free of enemies. Let’s bury our dead, physic our wounded, and thank our lucky stars we escaped this mess.”
Ma stood up on her own and took a deep breath of the sea air. “I need a change of clothes. This wool stinks of demon. Then we’ll start Verity on her course of instruction.”
“Instruction?” I frowned. “School’s out for the summer.”
“Don’t you wish,” she smiled, heading across the deck. “Your schooling is only now going to begin. Or continue, I should say, as we’ve been teaching you since birth.” I stopped and looked at her with a puzzled face. “History, writing, sword-fighting, solving puzzles, acting, make-up, accents? Surely you didn’t think I encouraged all of that by pure chance?”
“You’ve been trainin’ me to be Stone-Warden all this time?”
“Um-hmm. All the while praying you’d never be called. And now we’ll get to work on the real learning. If she’s willing I’d like Sha’ira and commander Pitcairn to school you in real combat, not stage make-believe.”
I recalled all the times I’d almost been turned into Swiss cheese by others’ blades. “Fine by me.”
“And maybe a little dreamwriting, if you think it wise?” Sha’ira asked.
“I do think it wise,” Ma agreed. “And perhaps some instruction in how to tell a story, for when she writes her annals of this quest.”
“Of course. Just like the others.”
My eyes went wide. “Others? Other Stone-wardens have written about their adventures?”
“All them that lived,” Ernie said from atop Romulus’ back.
Ma gave him a flustered look. “Um, exactly. Someday you’ll read them to learn from their mistakes and successes. And I’ll also start you on a course of Songline instruction. Not much good aboard a ship, even this one, since the lines only run through Mother Earth, but at least you’ll have a head start for when we get back onto true dry land.”
Brimstone and Lily (Legacy Stone Adventures) Page 44
