by Clayton Wood
Another explosion rocked the ship, shards of wood and metal flying past them. Kyle pulled magic into his mind’s eye, weaving rapidly. A shimmering blue aura appeared around them, debris ricocheting off of it. Men screamed in the distance.
“Foremast down!” came a panicked shout.
There was a terrible cracking sound, and Kyle glanced upward, spotting the mast at the front of the ship. The base of it had shattered, the remaining massive wooden beam slowly falling backward toward them. Kyle pushed Ariana off of him frantically, then scrambled to his feet.
“Run!” he screamed.
He grabbed her by the arm, yanking her out of the path of the falling beam. The mast descended toward them, its massive sails rippling sinuously in the wind, the thick white fabric engulfed in flames. Its cross-beams crashed into the next mast, snapping it in half. Kyle felt Ariana take over, grabbing him around the waist and leaping through the air. The foremast barely missed them, clipping the edge of his gravity shield. The shield shoved back against the foremast, catapulting them forward. They fell to the deck, hovering a foot above it. The flaming sails and rigging descended in slow-motion all around them, draping over the shield and leaving them in near-darkness.
The heat from the burning sails was immediate and intense, and Ariana's shard reacted immediately, snuffing out the inferno and cooling the air within the gravity shield. She pushed herself off of him, nullifying his shield and grabbing the charred fabric with both hands, then pulling outward. The sinews in her neck and arms strained, and there was a loud ripping sound as the thick fabric tore. Light spilled in from the widening hole, and Ariana stood up, lending Kyle a hand. He grasped it, hauling himself up onto his feet.
“We have to get out of here,” Ariana shouted. Kyle shook his head.
“Look,” he yelled, pointing at the huge sail, a third of it now engulfed in flames. Its surface rippled and bulged in a dozen places, with muffled screams coming from the sections that were burning. “They're burning alive!”
“We need to save ourselves,” Ariana protested.
“No,” Kyle insisted.
“Kyle, our mission...”
“I let Rusty die,” Kyle interrupted, his tone sharp. “I could have protected him. I won’t let these people die too.” He turned back to the burning sail. “I’m going to get that sail off them.” The boom of the Defiance's cannons rippled through the air, and the ship lurched to the right.
“Fine,” Ariana replied. “Make water and drop it on them.” Kyle shook his head.
“It'll take too long.” He dropped through the hole in the sail, crawling underneath until he was completely covered. Then he stood, pushing the heavy fabric up with his hands.
“What are you doing?” he heard Ariana ask. He ignored her, weaving magic in his mind's eye, creating a gravity shield around himself. Then he paused, taking a deep breath in; he let it out slowly, then streamed magic to his boots.
Suddenly he felt himself burst upward, the sail tenting over his gravity shield as he rose through the air. He streamed even more magic to his boots, his gut dropping as he accelerated upward, taking the sail with him. He glanced down past his feet, seeing the huge sail hanging down all around him, the rigging attaching the sail to the fallen mast's crossbeam uncoiling rapidly on the deck. He decreased the magic stream just as the rigging and sail went taught, right before he was jerked to a halt. The sudden, crushing deceleration took the breath right out of his lungs, and he gasped for air, stars floating in the periphery of his vision. He grit his teeth, ignoring the burning in his chest, and stared down at the now-taught rigging bolted to the cross-beams below.
He had to get the sail free from the mast, or it would just fall back down on the crew below...
Kyle took a deep breath in, then shoved as much magic into his gravity boots as he could. The sail and rigging strained below him, the cross-beams far below starting to bend under the steadily increasing tension, arcing upward from the deck. He pulled as much magic into his mind as he could, throwing it at his boots. The cross-beams creaked, arcing even higher, until they snapped off of the fallen mast. He burst upward in the air with gut-wrenching speed, his guts dropping to his feet as he hurtled through space. The burning sail and dangling rigging came with him, soaring high above the Defiance's remaining sails.
Kyle cut back sharply on his magic stream, turning to the left and flying away from the Defiance's ruined deck. The dark blue waters of the ocean were below him now, barely visible in the darkness. He waited another few seconds, then stopped abruptly in mid-air, the fluttering sail and rigging continuing forward past him like a giant flying jellyfish.
As he watched, the sail flew forward and downward, black smoke rising from the still-burning fabric. Still it fell, until it crashed into the ocean, the flames snuffed out in a burst of steam.
He turned to the Defiance, watching as the sailors who'd been trapped underneath the burning sail rolled on the deck to snuff out the fire licking at their clothes. Watched as they all stood up, their eyes on the sail floating in the ocean. As they raised their eyes to the heavens, looking at him.
Kyle flew back over the Defiance, descending slowly through the air toward the deck below. He dropped down right next to Ariana, his black gravity boots striking the deck with a dull thud. The Captain, his fine red uniform smudged with dirt and soot, walked up to them, his expression incredulous.
“The hell?” the Captain blurted out.
Kyle turned to the man, eyeing the pistol at his waist, and pushed a little more magic into his gravity shield.
“You're a damn Weaver?” the Captain exclaimed. Kyle hesitated, then nodded. “How did...” the Captain began, but he stopped himself, turning to his flabbergasted crew. “Quit gawking and get to the cannons!” he barked, grabbing one of the sailors by the collar and yanking him toward one of the unmanned cannons. “Tell the pilot to give me a hard starboard,” the Captain ordered, sending another sailor toward the bridge. “We run or we die!”
The Defiance slowly turned right, angling away from the warship, which also began turning right, trailing behind them. Its port cannon – at the front of the warship – fired, sending a cannonball upward and outward. Kyle backpedaled, watching as the huge iron ball arced in the air toward them.
“Brace!” the Captain yelled.
The sailors dropped to the deck, but the cannonball overshot the Defiance entirely, splashing in the ocean beyond. The Captain pointed toward the back of his ship.
“Get to the stern chaser!” he barked. “Slow them down!” He turned to Kyle then. “You lied to me,” he accused.
“He saved your men,” Ariana countered angrily. “You should be thanking him!”
“I was about to,” the Captain retorted, eyeing her suspiciously. “I suppose you're a Weaver as well?” Ariana paused, then nodded. The Captain sighed. “So your whole story was a fabrication.” Another nod.
“The warship is gaining on us fast, Cap'n,” a sailor warned, pointing to the rear of the ship. The Captain turned to look, then swore.
“We'll never outrun a Quadra-class warship without full sails!”
“We can help,” Kyle declared. “Ariana, if we could make a big enough flat gravity field, we could pull air into that sail,” he added, pointing to the one intact mast. Wind that passed through the gravity field would be shoved into the sail, making the ship retreat much more quickly. But Ariana shook her head.
“We have to take out that warship first,” she countered. The Captain snorted.
“That's a Quadra-class warship with a crew of two hundred armed men,” he retorted. “I don't care if you're a Weaver,” he added. “I guarantee you they have a Neutralizer just like I do.”
“A what?” Kyle asked.
“A Neutralizer,” the Captain repeated. He reached into his pocket, retrieving a silver amulet. In the center was a small white crystal. “It'll drain the magic out of you.”
“That's why you said magic wouldn't work around you,” Kyle realize
d. The gemstone looked like a Void crystal. The Captain smiled grimly.
“It takes a while to reset after each use,” he explained. “But one use is all it'll take.” He shook his head. “You won't stand a chance.”
Ariana wavered, glancing at Kyle. He knew what she was thinking; without magic, she would be useless. The Neutralizer would incapacitate her...but it might not work as well against him. When it came to making magic, no one could beat him.
“We’ll see about that,” Kyle replied, nodding at Ariana. “I’ll top you off,” he said, streaming magic to her shard. When he was done, he turned to the warship in the distance. “I’ll fly us to the ship,” he decided. “Stay close to me. If they use the Neutralizer, I’ll revive you.”
“Got it,” Ariana replied. Kyle turned to the Captain.
“I’ll be back,” he promised. The Captain snorted.
“No you won’t,” he countered. “But thank you.”
Kyle nodded back, then turned to Ariana.
“Get on my back,” he ordered. She complied, and he streamed magic to his gravity boots, rising above the deck of the Defiance. The Captain stared up at them.
“You’re both dead,” he grumbled. Ariana smirked.
“You’re right, I am,” she replied. “But so are they.”
* * *
Kyle streamed magic to his gravity boots, feeling Ariana’s arms tighten around his chest as he rose up into the air, Ariana on his back. The deck of the Defiance shrank below his boots, the open ocean rippling all around the ship.
“Ready?” Kyle asked. He felt Ariana give him a squeeze.
“Ready.”
He took a deep breath in, then flew toward the warship in the distance, taking a curved path toward the enemy ship. He felt a subtle vibration, and saw a gravity shield appear around them. He pushed more magic at his boots, picking up speed quickly, the ocean flying by a few dozen feet below. He aimed toward the back of the warship, scanning it carefully. Sailors swarmed to-and-fro across the huge deck, cannons flashing as they fired at the Defiance.
“They’ve spotted us,” Ariana warned. She was right; Kyle spotted a few sailors pointing up in their direction, gesticulating wildly. “They’ve got guns,” Ariana added. Muzzles flashed, the pop, pop of gunfire reaching Kyle’s ears moments later. He dodged to the side, aiming for the rear deck of the ship, where there was cover behind a two-story structure and no sailors. He took a sudden, deep descent toward it, decelerating rapidly, and landed on the deck, Ariana dropping down from his back.
“Shield yourself,” Ariana stated, her gravity shield vanishing. “I’m not sure what my crystal is going to do when they start attacking.”
“Got it,” Kyle replied. He wove quickly, a gravity shield appearing around him. “We need to overpower them as quickly as possible,” he added. “Before they can use that Neutralizer.”
“Right,” Ariana agreed.
“Stay close to me just in case they do use it,” Kyle stated. Ariana nodded.
“On my count,” she stated. “One, two...three!”
Ariana ran in front of Kyle, turning the corner around the two-story structure and sprinting toward the front of the ship. Kyle ran after her, increasing the magic stream to his shields. A sailor spotted them, shouting something Kyle couldn’t make out. More sailors ran toward them, rifles in hand.
And Ariana sprinted right at them.
She moved with unnatural speed, ignoring the volley of gunfire as the enemy sailors took aim and fired at them. She leaped at the closest sailor, grabbing him and tossing him to the side, right off the edge of the ship.
Another sailor shot at Ariana, almost point-blank, and gravity shields sprang to life around her, the bullet ricocheting off harmlessly. She rammed him, and he bounced off of her gravity shields, flying through the air and slamming into a mast.
“Get her!”
Another sailor shot at Ariana, and she ran up to him, grabbing his rifle and snapping it in two, then whipping the butt of the rifle across his temple. It collided with his skull in a spray of blood, and he fell to the ground, his limbs spasming, then going still.
Jesus!
Kyle heard bullets whiz by him, and swore again, ducking low and following behind Ariana. He wove magic, throwing it outward at a sailor; a flat gravity field appeared to one side of the man, sucking him into it. The sailor flew through the air, landing headfirst onto the deck. Kyle saw Ariana burst toward a group of nearby sailors, grabbing them one-by-one and flinging them over the edge of the boat.
Then Kyle saw blue light streaking from Ariana’s body – and his own – converging toward a man behind a line of sailors toward the middle of the ship. A man holding a large white sphere.
“Ariana!” Kyle warned. “The Neutralizer!”
Ariana pivoted, sprinting toward the line of sailors, a ball of fire appearing before her. Kyle ran out from behind cover, sprinting after her, pouring magic into his gravity shield. Ariana’s fireball shot outward at the line of sailors, and they dodged out of the way, leaving the man with the Neutralizer exposed. Ariana ran straight toward the man, blue light pulling from her.
And then she dropped to the deck like a rag doll, skidding across the wooden planks.
“Ariana!” Kyle cried, rushing toward her.
The sailors regrouped, rushing toward Ariana, aiming their rifles down at her motionless body. Kyle swore, weaving magic as he sprinted across the deck, sending a gravity field outward at the soldiers. Two of them were flung to the side, slamming into a mast and falling to the deck. The others trained their rifles on him, the muzzles flashing as they fired. Kyle ducked reflexively, hearing the bullets whiz by. But still he ran, only twenty feet from Ariana now.
Rays of blue light flowed from him, converging on the Neutralizer.
Kyle felt his magic draining, his magic stream to his gravity shields faltering. One of the sailors fired their rifle, and Kyle felt his right shoulder jerk backward. He nearly lost his balance, stumbling toward Ariana, nearly losing his magic stream to his shield completely.
Pain lanced through his shoulder, blood seeping from a hole in his shirt there.
Kyle grit his teeth, running up to Ariana’s side. The sailors backpedaled, their rifles still trained on him. He knelt before her, pulling magic into his mind’s eye.
Bam, bam bam!
The sailors fired, and Ariana’s body jerked once, then again, holes appearing in her chest.
No!
Kyle wove frantically, creating another gravity shield around himself and Ariana, then let go of his own shield. He scooped her up into his arms, backing away from the sailors.
Bam!
Kyle felt something slam into his upper chest, and he lurched backward, the breath knocked out of him. He stumbled, barely keeping his balance, and stared down, seeing a bullet lying on the ground at his feet. It must have penetrated his gravity shield...slowing just enough not to kill him.
Jesus!
“Shoot them!” he heard the man with the Neutralizer cry. No more magic was flowing into it; it was expended its power...for now. The soldiers advanced, their muzzles firing in rapid succession. Kyle felt a stinging sensation in his thigh, then saw Ariana’s head jerk to the side, a hole appearing in her left temple.
“Stop it!” Kyle shouted, backing away. Another gunshot echoed through the air, and he saw blood spray from his left shoulder. He stumbled, falling onto his back on the deck, Ariana landing on top of him. The sailors strode toward him, more quickly now, reloading their weapons.
“Kill those fucking Weavers!”
Kyle grit his teeth, pain shooting through both shoulders, his chest burning.
Bam!
Ariana’s head jerked again, another hole appearing in her skull.
“Stop it!” Kyle yelled, clutching Ariana to his chest, covering her head with his hands. More shots fired, and he felt a sharp pain in his left hand, then his knee. “God damn it!” he swore, feeling anger rise up within his breast.
Still
the sailors advanced, reloading quickly. One of them fired, Ariana’s body jerking again as another bullet struck her in the back. Kyle clenched his jaw so hard his teeth nearly cracked.
“I said STOP!”
He tore magic from his skull, a thick cord of power appearing in his mind’s eye. His head exploded in pain, his vision blackening. He screamed, wrapping the cords into a massive, pulsing knot, and threw it outward, thrusting a torrent of magic at it.
An enormous dome of blinding blue light appeared all around him, covering nearly half of the width of the warship. The sailors flew backward instantly, the air sucking outward in all directions, blasting everyone on board the ship. All sound stopped as the air was sucked out of the dome.
And then the dome vanished.
Air sucked back into the void instantly, a shockwave slamming into the ship. The mast in front of Kyle exploded, the deck all around him rippling like the surface of the ocean. Then the deck shattered, pieces of wood flying upward all around him. A muffled boom struck his ears, and even through his gravity shield the sound was deafening. Sailors flew high into the air, bodies flinging dozens of feet upward and outward, falling toward the ocean beyond the ship. The ships cannons blew clean off the ship, a few of them exploding in a rain of shrapnel.
And then, in a matter of seconds, it was over.
Kyle’s vision slowly cleared, and he looked around him, his jaw dropping.
The ship was decimated.
He and Ariana were laying on a small island of intact deck, a crater four stories deep and over fifty feet wide surrounding them. The warship’s main mast had blown right off, the two-story structure at the back of the ship in ruins. Not a single sailor remained on deck.
Not alive, anyway.
Kyle laid there, his ears ringing, staring at the devastation. Then he lowered his gaze to Ariana, at her bullet-riddled body. He streamed magic to her forehead, seeing her limbs jerk as he did so, her eyes fluttering open. As he watched, her wounds began to close, hunks of metal pushing out of her skull and landing on the deck with a clink.
