By Blood Betrayed (The Kingsblood Chronicles)

by Houpt, David

  Outside, a man shrieked, and the pitch of his voice rose as he screamed. A splash abruptly ended the scream. Lian guessed that the sailor in the crow’s nest had been pitched out of his perch by the collision.

  “What the hell?” Cedrick exclaimed, fighting through the clutter to reach the door. Lian, closer to the exit, extended a strong steadying arm to his captain. Nodding his thanks, Cedrick staggered outside the cabin. Lian followed close behind.

  Searcher rocked back to center slowly, and the crew regained their footing. Doval’s voice cried out, “Man overboard!” and several sailors rushed to the starboard railing.

  The helmsman, who’d managed to stay on his feet, was trying to spin the wheel to port, but was met with resistance. “Helm won’t answer, Captain!” he yelled.

  Beliu, tied up to the port side of the cookhouse, had slammed against it before sliding forward. As he staggered to his feet, he seemed to be coming out from under the influence of the tranquilizers Nan had been feeding him each morning and evening. Lian ordered him to stand, which he did with little show of reluctance. Good horse, and my thanks again, Saul, the prince thought. A maddened horse on deck would be a nightmare for the crew until it was brought back under control.

  The fallen lookout began screaming once again, and Lian rushed to the starboard stairway to see what ailed the man. He was partially wrapped in long blue-green strands of what Lian took to be seaweed. His agony and terror, however, were apparent, for his veins bulged at his neck as he struggled, jerking repeatedly, as if he were being stung by hornets.

  One of the sailors lit a torch from his lantern and threw it out over the head of the victim to light the area. Lian shielded his eyes against the sudden glare.

  “Gods, those are man o’war tentacles!” exclaimed Doval as he watched the dying man. “But it’d have to be so big—” The bosun abruptly terminated his sentence and rushed forward to the prow. He yelled, “Cut those sails loose now!” The fallen sailor slumped over in the mass of tentacles, unconscious yet still faintly twitching.

  Arden and a few of the mercenaries emerged on deck, and Lian ordered Kess to load, signaling Snog to have his loader do likewise. He climbed up to his own station and cranked the weapon to readiness.

  Lord Grey is communicating with me, said Gem urgently. He says, “Creatures are climbing the hull from below the ship.” He says he isn’t sure how many, but they’re swimming through the tentacles without being stung.

  “Captain!” yelled Lian. “I think this might be a trap!” He decided that he could explain his conclusion later as paranoia.

  Arden yelled, “Arden’s Company! Spread out and guard the crew! Cedrick, get more lights up!” Cedrick nodded and signaled to his mate Robin, who dispatched a sailor to light more lanterns.

  The mercenaries broke into pairs, helping each other into the leather armor that was their shipboard protection. Only the two goblins, who Lian had never seen unarmed or unarmored, wore their chainmail. The barbarian Nan was attired in only her animal hides, disdaining armor.

  The first intruder scaled the port side, moving as quietly as it could. It was a lizard man, a species similar to the Molan lizards but of a bluish-purple coloration. Intending to grab the sailor lighting torches, it didn’t see the big goblinish throwing axe until it was already embedded just below the crest of its head.

  Sar shouted in triumph as it plunged back over the side, but this was cut short as dozens of the things poured up over the sides of the ship. Their surge seemed to be triggered by the fall of the first lizard.

  “Arm yourself!” Lian called to Kess, drawing Gem and his shortsword. Don’t reveal your magics unless you have to, he said to Gem. There hadn’t been time to light very many torches, and much of the ship was cast in deep shadow.

  Kess grabbed a cutlass from the locker adjacent to his ballista and cast a wishful eye at the siege engine before backing toward the helmsman and Lian, his attention focused on the ship’s railings. The bolt-throwers were useless against boarders originating in the water, since they couldn’t traverse to fire across the ship.

  Lian’s senses, sharpened by the blade’s powers, picked up the scrabbling of lizards climbing the stern of the ship. Gem made sure he was aware of it.

  The lizards were shorter than those who that dwelled near Mola, but broader. They wore no clothing. carried no weapons, and were completely coated with a clear slimy substance. They climbed the ship easily with their powerful clawed hands, but once they made the railing, they were quite clumsy due to the slippery material that coated them. The near-darkness of the stern was no apparent hindrance to them.

  Gods, the stench! Lian thought to himself, for the lizards brought with them the pungent smell of particularly rotten fish. It wasn’t enough to nauseate him, but it was certainly noticeable.

  The mercenaries surged forward to engage the lizards while the sailing crew retreated toward the center of the ship where the weapons lockers were kept, always unlocked and at ready. Lian watched Yarek, the martial arts practitioner, deliver a flying kick to the chest of one lizard, flinging it off the ship with an audible cracking noise. Lian assumed that the sound was that of breaking ribs.

  Yarek’s next series of blows directed toward the lizards that now surrounded him, however, was ineffectual. Though the lizards couldn’t actually get their claws on him, the warrior’s blows glanced off the intruders, except for those which struck dead-on. The slime acts like armor against crushing weapons, Lian thought, turning his attention to the lizards fording the stern railing.

  Despite the slippery substance, which impaired their balance, the lizards poured effectively over the side of the ship, losing momentum only when they released their handholds and the grip that their thick, sharp claws accorded. Kess and Lian managed to position themselves back to back before the enemy surrounded them, as did the two mercenaries who had arrived to defend the afterdeck. The helmsman and Cedrick, however, weren’t so lucky, and were separated by the lizards.

  The captain was aware that he would be quickly subdued if he were seized from behind, and ducked behind the ship’s wheel to press his back against its stout post.

  The helmsman on watch, who Lian knew only by the name of Rudi, slashed one lizard across the chest and dealt another a superficial cut on its scaled arm before he was grabbed from behind. Rather than clawing him, the lizard simply threw him over the side. The helmsman yelled in anger as he flew through the air, but his shouts turned to shrieks of terror and pain as he landed in the thick mass of tentacles floating near the surface around the ship.

  How long are those tentacles? Lian wondered, as the lookout had been tossed nearly even with the bow. He’d assumed that the poisoned appendages would only be a problem near the front of the ship, but that had just been proven false.

  He had no more time to wonder as the lizards pressed their attack. He could hear Beliu screaming in rage and terror, and fervently hoped that the lizards were paying for their encroachment. Even somewhat drugged, the horse wouldn’t tolerate these foul-smelling enemies anywhere near him.

  Also audible over the din of battle was the clear singing of the mage Reidar. An explosion that sounded like breaking glass cleared a small section of deck of lizards, leaving behind tattered remains. As soon as he completed the first spell, Reidar began a second spellsong, but the crush of lizards prevented him from repeating his first strike.

  Reider’s second spell, shorter and simpler, sent a mere pair of the lizards hissing and spitting high into the air, far out away from the ship. Lian doubted that the fall would kill them, but it would certainly make it necessary for them to swim back.

  He kept his own slashes short, concentrating instead on using Gem to hold the lizards at bay, while employing his shortsword to thrust past their claws to wound arms and torsos. Behind him, Kess was being sorely pressed, and Lian yelled to him, “Make your way to the mercenaries!” There were nearly two dozen lizards on the afterdeck alone, and he could hear their hissing and low-pitched calls
from every quarter of the ship.

  The two mercenaries, a pair of Arden’s swordsmen, were using their shields to good advantage, and were making their own way toward Cedrick’s position between them and the pair of gunners.

  Lian’s scaled armor deflected the lizards’ claws, but Kess yelled in pain several times as long gouges were ripped in his arms and face. Suddenly swinging Gem in a powerful slash, he took one of the creatures off guard, cleaving its skull with the sharp edge of the lashthirin-alloyed weapon. While his opponents were momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden spray of blood across their faces, Lian was able to swing Gem the other way and slice a hand off of another attacker. The shortsword took out a third lizard, but his victory was short-lived.

  The fallen lizards were quickly replaced by more, and Kess’ scream of pain informed him that he had unexpected problems behind him.

  One lizard had tried to rush the young sailor, and had ended up with a cutlass embedded in his mouth point-first. However, the blade snapped in half before Kess could pull it free, and he was forced to draw his belt knife.

  “Here!” Lian said, linking arms briefly and turning to present Kess to his former adversaries. He slashed quickly at Kess’ lizards, who were perplexed by the maneuver, and severed half of one’s hand. In the momentary confusion, he passed Kess his shortsword. The move, swiftly and smoothly executed, earned a shout of approval from Nan and Kar, who were in a position against the deckhouse where they could see the fight on the stern deck.

  Kess, emboldened by the quickness and agility afforded by the enchanted weapon, cut and thrust with more confidence. The lizards, having observed firsthand the effectiveness of both of Lian’s blades, grew a little more cautious.

  From his new position, he saw that Cedrick had managed to lash himself to the wheel-post, and although he bore several superficial wounds, he seemed to be holding his own. Lian could also see that the lizards were forcing the two crews back to the center, and that at least two more crewmen had been tossed overboard into the waiting tentacles. Beliu had a sheen of sweat on his sides, and blood coated his foreleg from the fetlock to the hoof. The gelding stood in a clear circle with four dead lizards lying broken about him. Another was dragging himself away from the horse, trailing a shattered leg behind him. The gelding’s eyes were wide, but he stood grimly, ready to kick and stamp at anyone who dared approach.

  Yarek was climbing the netting that led to the masthead, carrying his bow and quiver with him. Lian was forced to divert his attention from the rest of the battle as the lizards pressed him again. Without his second blade, Lian was challenged just to keep the creatures at bay, and his progress toward the captain’s position was halted. Let me know when, Gem said, ready to throw her magic into the battle.

  Reidar’s protectors had been overrun, and he was forced to abandon spellcasting for his falchion. Arden shouted orders in an attempt to get Reidar enough protection to allow him to cast spells again, and Lian caught a glimpse of Nan and Kar working their way toward him.

  The two swordsmen on the afterdeck managed to reach Cedrick’s side, and they protected him so he, too, could issue orders. At this point, lizards were still boarding, and their numbers threatened to overwhelm the beleaguered crew. Soon, but—Lian began, his thought suddenly interrupted.

  Kess screamed again, and dropped the shortsword as he was snared by two of the lizards. Lian thrusted a reverse stroke straight back into one of the two grappling lizards, who released his prize to grip his guts where the razor-sharp blade had opened his side.

  The other lizard, quickly aided by additional comrades, tossed Kess over the side, arms flailing. He bounced off the railing, his arm bending at an impossible angle with a terrible snap, before sliding over toward the death waiting in the sea. “NO!” shouted Lian, sweeping his blade about his torso wildly, forcing the closest lizards to duck.

  Lian, aware that he was about to join the young gunner, was surprised to see a full yard of arrow shaft suddenly appear in the throat of a lizard standing between himself and the captain. Yarek was calmly reloading his bow, a distracted and calm expression on his face.

  Lian didn’t worry that the shot might have struck him in the confusion of the melée, since he knew that he would have certainly been killed if the lizards had been able to grab him. Gem’s magics would take time to weave, and the poison of the “man o’ war” had proven to be very fast-acting indeed. Immediately, Lian leapt into a frontal kick at the remaining lizard standing between himself and the three other men, slashing downward with Gem at the same time. Using her as a makeshift lever, he finished his vault over the slippery lizard, slamming into the back of one of the mercenaries’ opponents. The swordsman took advantage of that lizard’s surprise to stick it in the throat, and Lian hastily formed up with the two better-protected warriors.

  “That was close,” he said, exacting a hearty laugh from the swordsman beside him.

  The foredeck was now empty of defenders save for Snog, who had climbed out onto the spar, a structure Lian had learned was called the “widowmaker” because of the number of sailors who fell to their deaths from it. There, the lizards could only reach him one at a time, and the goblin could effectively defend himself. Smiles, the sailor who loaded for the goblin, had been tossed over into the deadly waters. As Lian watched, the goblin drove his current attacker into retreat with his magical dagger, then threw one of his deadly throwing knives into the back of another lizard. It screamed and fell over, blood spraying from an arterial wound.

  The situation on the main deck was also grim, though most of the two crews were alive. The sheer multitude of unarmed lizards was pressing them back onto the hold covers, and Lian feared that they’d give way under the weight of the crew. The lizards had managed to extinguish half of the lanterns, and the night grew darker and darker. The three goblins, Lian, and a few of the mercenaries were able to function in the deepening gloom, but he heard more than one angry warning to “watch out were you’re sticking that thing.”

  The scream from the forecastle’s doorway drew everyone’s attention due to both its suddenness and sheer volume. A white shape leapt from the shadows of the doorway, throwing itself onto the nearest group of lizards with a terrible ferocity. Lian saw one lizard literally ripped limb from limb by the horrible, pale thing which had crawled up from the depths of the ship.

  “What in the hells?!?” cried Cedrick as he slashed at the hand of a lizard who was trying to get a grip on his bodyguard’s shield. From his position, the figure must have looked like an apparition.

  Lian conjectured that it was most likely their mysterious vampire stowaway, but he kept quiet. The swordsman on his right shrugged as he spitted a lizard with his weapon, saying, “Don’t care, cap’n, so long at it kills scaleys.”

  Behind the white form of the miniature vampire, a black-and-grey tide poured from the open doorway. Rats by the hundreds streamed out, driving directly toward the lizards and attacking them with an insane fury. Although the rats weren’t as deadly as their mistress, the lizards were terrified by the onslaught, retreating in a blue tide to be cut down by the blades of the crewmen.

  The lizards tried repeatedly to grab the small form of the vampire, but every attempt resulted in lizards hurled headlong into bulkheads and even the mainmast. The fury of the vampire’s attack rivaled, or even surpassed, the sheer power of Gilaeshar’s attacks, and it was all the more terrifying coming from such a small package.

  Yarek ignored the vampire and the carnage taking place on the foredeck, spending his arrows in the fight going on around the wheel and Searcher’s captain. He took careful aim each time, never releasing a shaft until he was completely ready. Lian, at first, cursed the little man for taking so long to fire each shot, but he rapidly reversed his opinion when he noted that each time Yarek fired, a lizard fell, not to rise again. The bowman accounted for five kills, and then a sixth as Lian spared the overall situation another glance.

  Rat-covered lizards were plunging back into the wat
er, and the rodents’ squeaks were punctuated by the occasional screech as one was stung by the tentacles. More of the lizards retreated, especially where the vampire carved a swath through their numbers. At some unseen signal, they all turned to flee at once, diving back into the waters from whence they’d come.

  The assault was over, but there were literally thousands of rats on the deck, and a gore-soaked vampire in the tattered remains of what might have been a white nightshirt. She didn’t appear to be a day over Lian’s true age. Sileth of the Silks, Lian thought in awe, wondering along with the entire population of the Searcher, what the vampire would do.

  Ignoring the terrified crew, she bent to one of the still-living lizards, affixing her fangs to it, uncaring that it wasn’t human. She fed from five in total, including the leg-shattered victim of the warhorse, who had nearly managed to reach the side of the ship before she fell upon him. While she fed, the rats tore off pieces of the lizards where they could, but seemed impelled to return down the passageway.

  Arden took the time to rally his force and drag the wounded away from the vampiress. Cedrick’s mate Robin was a casualty of the battle, as was the bosun’s mate Doval. Both had been tossed into the tentacles of the man o’ war that still surrounded the vessel.

  Cedrick, bereft of officers, ordered Lian to have more lanterns lit. This, the prince did personally. As he carried a lit punk around to the lanterns, the breeze freshened and the ship began to list space slightly, pulled over to the port side by the strengthening winds. Above the noise of flapping canvas, he heard a faint call for help, and rushed to the railing, yelling for assistance. Kess was clinging feebly to the side, his left arm hanging, clearly broken and useless. He’d managed to retain his grip on the side of the ship, and there had apparently been no lizards climbing up to yank him free of his precarious perch.