Elrin saw his own death in the polished steel. The sabre quivered just under his chin, stopped by a huge olive-green hand. Hurn Ga Kogh loomed over them. He grabbed the officer’s head like an apple, and dashed his body against the mast. The man crumpled in an unfortunate heap.
“My thanks, Hurn,” said Elrin, his heart racing. “You saved my life.”
“That death not for you,” said Hurn in his deep rumble. He knelt beside Amber, laying unconscious on the deck. “Little Bell stopped ringing?”
“No, she’s ok, just exhausted from weaving more than her body could handle. Do you know her?”
“Sang tiny bells in head, help sleep.”
Elrin raised his sword. “Look out, Hurn!”
Three marines came swinging across to take the quarterdeck. The pirate ships fired again, ripping through flesh and rigging. The rope holding one of the marines snapped and he fell hard against the gunwale then slipped into the sea. Elrin grabbed the pail of water and swung it at one of the others. It flew through the air and slammed into his target. The marine let go in midswing and crashed onto the deck at an awkward angle, clutching at his crooked leg. The remaining marine landed hard on the deck, tumbling into Amber. The impact roused the magical prodigy, who groaned and sat up, grasping her head. She scrambled behind Hurn, frightened by the black star on blue of the marine’s surcoat. Elrin circled around while Hurn swung his tremendous arms, swatting and grasping for the Jandan fighter.
Elrin pressed an attack from behind, slapping the flat of his blade against the side of the man's head. “Yield!”
The Jandan counterattacked, swinging his blade around in a wild arc. Elrin stepped back, dodging the blow while Hurn brought his fist about, knocking the marine to the deck.
“We’ve got to help Delik and Minni free the slaves from that galleon,” insisted Elrin. “Stay together and follow me.” He jumped across from the gunwale onto the galleon's main deck.
Amber gathered up her satchel and pouches then froze at the gunwale, unable to make the jump across to the galleon. Hurn lifted her like a doll under his arm and leapt across, his large feet splitting several boards on the deck where he landed. The girl slapped his arm and giggled in nervous excitement.
Men ran from below decks in a panic, scrambling across the fallen rigging and collapsed sails to climb onto Juniper. Mutineers filled with bloodlust raged at anyone in a uniform, beating them down with fists or slashing at them with stolen blades. Amber pulled Elrin out of the way of a berserk Jandan swinging a fire stoker at all who came near him. Blood oozed from a gash on the man’s forehead, caking congealed gore over his eyes.
Hurn stepped in front of Amber and Elrin and cleared a path to the hatch, batting any foolish aggressor out of their way with a heavy hand. On the gun deck below, cannon smoke hung in the air greased with the smell of burnt flesh and thick with curses. Spot fires licked the bloodstained deck, crackling along with the cries of the wounded and battle hungry.
Amber pulled out a jar from her satchel and gave it a rattle while clicking the stump of her tongue and popping her lips in a tune of fire licking spring tinder. The room flared an eerie blue-white, lit from the jar full of twigs.
“I can hear people calling out further down,” said Elrin.
“Follow,” said Hurn, stooping as he moved off into the depths of the ship.
Elrin took Amber’s free hand and pressed on after the ogre. She rattled her jar of twigs as they went, the cold blue light falling on a grim scene of carnage. They passed body after body. Most were dead, or soon would be. They littered the deck, groaning with wooden debris lodged in their flesh and gashes across their skin. Hurn guided them deeper still, past more of the dead. The design of the galleon was similar to Juniper, but far bigger. The shouts and screams were clearer now, the prison hold had to be close.
Cannon fire pounded the galleon with such force it lurched and groaned, knocking Elrin off his feet. Hurn helped him up and pointed down the nearby stairs. The young Calimskan hoped it was safer from the cannon and hurried on, descending into knee high water and a sea of panicked faces imprisoned behind bars.
Minni was tackling the locks in the dim, her face tight with worry. She had only managed to open one cell and the prisoners’ panic had risen with the infiltrating water. Delik was trying to keep the calm, but his face was grim. If the pirates kept up the endless barrage, water would flood the whole deck before Minni could pick every lock.
The ceiling leaked, heavy drips falling upon Elrin’s head. Stepping to the side he wiped his face and his hand came away slick with blood.
The prisoners wailed and cursed, jostling to get to the cell doors. Amber took the jar of light to Minni, holding it steady beside the lock. Minni brightened, rolling her shoulders and flexing her fingers before trying the lock again.
Elrin helped Delik settle the prisoners. “You must calm down. We are here to set you free. We will have you out soon. Our ship is waiting for you. You will all be safe. Preserve your strength.” Elrin and Delik repeated themselves over, helping some, but others were too lost in their craze, banging on the bars and screaming. Elrin had never heard such distress.
As soon as Minni got another cell open she moved to the next, determined to beat the rising water. The prisoners rushed from the cell with Elrin and Delik pointing to the stairs. It would be useless trying to guide them out; they would have trampled anyone in their way. The prisoners panicked in the other cells, grabbing at Minni and Amber. They pleaded, they cursed and the water kept rising.
Cannon fire rocked the ship again and the prisoners screamed. Minni lost her composure. Her hands shook, dropping a pick into the water.
“There’s too many,” she said, fumbling with another pick from her kit. “They’re all different! I can’t get to them all in time.”
Elrin went to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. Her dark eyes were brimming with tears. “You’re doing fine, Minni,” said Elrin. “I’ll keep their hands off you. Just imagine it’s the door to the Calimskan treasury. You do what you do best.”
The young man gave her a reassuring smile, but he knew Minni was right. There were too many cells in the room and not enough time. Minni didn’t say anything more. She wiped her eyes and returned to the lock. She had light and friends at her back. Her fingers eased through a series of manipulations with renewed confidence. The lock released and the door burst open, knocking Minni and Amber into the water. The prisoners poured out in a desperate rush to escape, trampling over any who stumbled.
“Stop!” Elrin reached into the water and grabbed for Minni. He looped his arms under hers and heaved her up and out of danger. She was warm, pressed close, water dripping from her hair down her cheeks, over her lips. She was soaked through to her skin, but her chest rose and fell; she was alive.
Hurn was not so delicate. He plunged his arm into the crowd of prisoners wading to their escape and swept them back. He scooped his hand into the water and plucked Amber out, placing her back on her feet.
“Elrin?” said Minni, placing her hands on his shoulders. “You can let me go now, I’m fine.”
“Yes, of course, I ...” Elrin blushed, releasing Minni from his embrace.
“You were meant to keep those hands off me, weren’t you?” Minni gave Elrin her wicked smile, then moved straight to the next cell lock.
Another attack blasted the side of the ship, lurching it to the side and tilting the deck, knocking Hurn hard against the bars. The ogre regained his footing, pushing himself away from the cell, now misshapen from his impact.
“Hurn!” called Elrin, wading over to the ogre. “Quickly. You have to break them all out. Bend those bars!”
“Should ask sooner,” said Hurn, furrowing his brow. “Leave late.”
Hurn sloshed through the water to the next cell. He grabbed the barred door and heaved, his muscled arms rippling. The door buckled, he heaved again and the door bent open. The prisoners pushed their way out, some managing to call their thanks as they passed
. Hurn moved to each of the remaining cells and broke the doors open. The prisoners soon calmed when they saw the ogre’s work, standing back and giving him room to bend the metal.
The last of the prisoners waded out as a barrage of cannon fire rocked the ship again. The galleon tipped and wrenched, its wooden bones splitting with an awful groan and crack.
“Follow me,” said Minni, leading the way out.
Elrin grabbed Amber’s hand and helped her out of the prison hold. Hurn came after them with a face full of worry, his eyes stark. They climbed out of the flooded room and up through the decks. Delik followed behind Hurn, urging the ogre to press on through the chaos.
Sunlight and water spilled through jagged holes piercing the hull. The galleon leaned and rolled in the sea like a drunkard. The incline of the deck made a straight run impossible, forcing them to scramble over cannons tied down with block and tackle, dodging fallen debris and the dead, and slipping on the blood-slick deck. Finally they made it out through the hatch, only to see that the brutalised galleon had rolled too far for them to jump back to the safety of Juniper.
The crippled vessel was sinking fast. Bubbles boiled from the tortured hull, churning the water into a lather. Kobb’s pirate ships loitered in the haze of smoke with cannons out like eager dragons, protruding through the bulwark ready to spit the five hells upon them.
The freed prisoners balanced on the ship’s sloping hull, as close to Juniper as they could manage without falling in the sea, grasping for the rope ladders hurled down to rescue them. Hurn moved into the crowd with careful steps and grabbed a woman, lifting her above his head. Men shouted and one punched at the ogre’s back, though he was too busy helping the woman to notice.
“Calm down!” hollered Elrin. “Can’t you see he’s saving your skins?”
Hurn lifted the woman high enough to climb through a cannon port. Once the prisoners understood, they clamoured to be the next one to be rescued. As he passed up the last child, the sinking ship lurched onto its side, tipping everyone off their feet. The remaining masts and their tattered sails slapped against the agitated sea.
Delik and Minni fell into the water. Hurn caught hold of a rail as he slid and grabbed Elrin’s belt, saving him from going overboard as well. Amber was nowhere to be seen. Hurn hoisted Elrin up to the rail, then onto the exposed hull. When the ogre pulled himself up, he was pale with fear. Elrin thought to ask what was wrong, but was distracted by muffled shouts and thumping on the hull. The young man scrambled to where the sound was the loudest and kicked his heel onto the timber. The shouts and thumping became more frantic. Hurn followed Elrin’s lead and jumped with all his weight onto the hull. It creaked a little, but held strong.
Amber appeared floating on the water, ferrying people to Juniper. Her legs were like a little raft, magically buoyant, shunting flotsam to those who couldn’t swim and pushing them to safety. Minni and Delik treaded water beside Juniper, helping people up onto to the ladders after Amber dropped them off.
“Amber! We need your help!” Elrin waved his arms to show where they were.
Amber dropped her legs into the water then rose to the surface like a cork. She ran over the water and up the hull to them, making a strange swishing noise with her mouth like a quart trying to escape a wineskin. Hurn continued to stamp on the hull. An arrow sped past his head and landed in the sea. Another two followed, thunking into the hull.
Elrin couldn’t understand why the pirates were taking shots at them. When would it end? He crouched down on the hull and tugged on Hurn’s arm, getting him to do the same. A smaller target would slow them down.
“Amber, can you freeze water?”
Amber nodded. And made her dripping hand freeze over. Elrin shivered.
“Freeze the hull right here.”
Amber placed her hand on the hull and whispered. The wet wood bulged and crackled, freezing a small radius around her hand.
“Bash that, Hurn,” said Elrin.
He hesitated at first, staring at Amber’s frozen hand.
The screams and thumps from below grew louder, more frantic. Hurn clenched his fists like great mallets and clasped his eyes shut. With monstrous force he brought them down, shattering through the hull. Inside, men gulped for fresh air, floating amongst lacquered black stars, kegs and refuse. Amber iced another section of the hull and Hurn battered through, revealing more trapped marines. From water murky with blood and thick with the dead they pulled the living, one section at a time, until no more cries for help could be heard.
Arrows fell around them and Elrin was glad for the wind and swell, which hampered their precision. The archers on the brightly coloured carrack laughed as they shot, joking with each other. An arrow lodged in Hurn’s shoulder while he lifted a marine to safety and a roar of laughter and cheers went up from the carrack. Hurn pulled at the arrow shaft jutting from his muscular arm, tearing it out with a grunt. Blood slid from the wound.
“We’ve done all we can for these Jandans,” said Elrin. “The ship wont float much longer. Even if it did, those idiots will hit one of us again.”
Amber pointed to Juniper.
“You’re right. We should get Hurn to a ladder before all this blood attracts sharks or a clan of koprani.
Elrin and Amber prepared to dive in, but stopped when Hurn rumbled.
“Hurn Ga Kogh not swim, Hurn Ga Kogh sink like ship.”
Amber shook her head then reached around the ogre’s waist. She swished a liquid rhythm from puffed pulsing cheeks and her arms glowed sea green, creating a radiant ring around Hurn’s waist. His complexion drained of colour in fear of what was to come.
“It’s safe, Hurn.” Elrin dove in to demonstrate how easy it was. “Don’t be afraid. Amber’s magic won’t let you sink.”
Hurn wasn’t convinced.
Amber wrapped her hand around his thumb and waited as though there was no hurry. Her honey coloured eyes warmed the ice blue panic in his. Her gentle smile and understanding melted his fear. They dove in together, making a great splash. His body bobbed out of the water like an awkward duck, thrashing around.
Once he realised he couldn’t sink, he calmed, allowing Amber to ferry him across to a rope ladder. It snapped under his weight, dropping him back into the sea. Elrin waved them over to a thick, knotted rope and Hurn hauled himself up hand over hand. Elrin scaled a ladder and swung over the gunwale to safety.
“That’s the one,” said Coalman, his voice shaking. “He can operate the signals.” Coalman’s eye was black and swollen shut. A gash on his cheek and a busted lip bled down his face. Beside him, brandishing a hooked blade, stood a man decorated face to foot with black swirls of ink.
Two men in motley colours seized Elrin. They took his sword and scabbard and marched him past the gathering mass of rescued prisoners on the main deck. He resisted at first, but the men just twisted his arm until the pain stopped him. They pushed him up the stair onto the quarterdeck. Minni and Delik were waiting, each with their own escort holding them in check.
The pirates had forgotten to take Elrin’s dagger. If he got his hands free, he might have a chance. The young man gave Delik a wink and prepared himself.
Delik warned him off the idea. “Kobb’s taken the lot, lad. Save your fight now. Plenty of time for that yet.”
“How did they take all the ships? What about Tikis?”
“We had to surrender,” said Delik. “That fluyt was full of men. It would have been a slaughter.”
“What do we do now?”
“We give Kobb whatever he wants,” said Minni, her neck scraped and bleeding onto her blouse.
Elrin hung his head.
They’d freed the slaves only to imprison themselves.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
King Kobb
The ships rolled with the swell, congregating on the ocean like seaweed. Gulls flocked, pecking and squabbling over the floating dead. The sunken galleon delivered a fine feast for the creatures of the sea. High above, the sun peaked noon, drying E
lrin’s skin salty and hot while he waited. The fresh breeze was a comfort, cooling his anger as he stewed on the quarterdeck, wondering if he would ever find the Dragon Choir, or his father.
The bright glaring day was thick with an air of quiet tension. The rebels had given a reluctant surrender and Delik’s order to cooperate with Kobb’s men didn’t sit easy with them. Hurn had raged, knocking four men overboard. Amber was the only one who could calm him. She sat beside the ogre, a pebble beside a mountain, soothing him with a calm wordless melody.
Minni’s hair had dried in the heat, curling in a tangled, beautiful mess. She brushed a recalcitrant ringlet from her eye and tucked it behind her ear. It obeyed for a while, then sprung back. The wind made it dance about while she stared across the sea, her brows knitted and lips tight.
Was she upset, or perhaps just lost in a pensive mood? More likely she was plotting an escape, but Elrin could only guess. A woman’s thoughts had ever been a mystery to the young man, though he had never cared to wonder what they were until Minni came along. She caught him watching and her face relaxed, dark eyes enquiring. Elrin didn’t know what to say and she didn’t speak, just smiled. The cut on her neck bothered him, making him angry. He wanted to punch one of Kobb’s men in the mouth, he didn’t care which, any would do.
Rough hands dragged Elrin to his feet. Thoughts of revenge withered as the tattooed man came up to the quarterdeck, two hooked blades slung on his hips. He was built solid like a barbican and dressed in loose cotton for the heat. A comb carved of bone held his thick black hair, gathered into a topknot.
“Kobb would like to thank you in person for getting here so soon.” The tattooed man spoke Jandan with an accent foreign to Elrin. His face was impassive, one half covered in an intricate embroider of ink. His conversational tone was hollow, empty of the smile it required. “Follow me, the captain’s gig is waiting.”
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