“It looks like your friends from last night aren’t finished with you,” Yulver continued. “Perhaps I should toss you overboard and let them have you.”
“It’s a different group,” Lorik said. “We scuttled their ships.”
“Not the ones in the harbor,” Stone said. “The two we used to get back to the Dancer—we just left those behind. It looks like maybe somehow they got them back.”
“Of course they did,” Yulver complained.
“You should have had us sink them,” Lorik argued. “You’re the sailor, not me. I had no idea they could swim out that far and fetch their ships.”
“You dolt!” Yulver thundered. “Ange Point is built right on the sea. There must have been small fishing boats and skiffs all up and down the shoreline.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Lorik said sheepishly.
“Well, you better think of how to keep them off my boat or you’ll have me to answer to.”
“Stone, did you find any bows in your weapon hoard?”
“No,” Stone said. “We only found steel.”
“Damn, that’s too bad.”
“What about the spears?” Stone asked. “We’ve got a few of those on board.”
“No, they won’t do,” Lorik explained. “Even if we covered them with pitch and lit them on fire, it would just burn the ships in one spot and would be too easy to extinguish.”
“Well, you’d better think of something,” Vera said. “It looks like they’re gaining on us.”
“The wind’s poor,” Yulver said. “We’ll have to row to stay ahead of them.”
“No,” Lorik said. “They’ve been rowing hard for a long time. They’re bound to be exhausted. Our men should rest. That’s one advantage we’ll have over them.”
“I’d prefer not to have my ship boarded at all,” Yulver said.
“It’s inevitable. We’re bound to run into more Norsik further up the gulf. The last thing we want is to get trapped between two opposing forces.”
“Well, I’ll see how much speed I can coax out of the ship,” Yulver said. “You figure out how to deal with the Norsik.”
Lorik leaned against the railing, watching the Norsik ships slowly close the distance behind them. Vera made sure everyone on board had eaten. Then she moved to the bow. Stone wanted her as far from the Norsik as they could get.
“Any chance we could beach the ship and fight them on shore?” Stone asked.
“No, the cliffs run right down to the sea. We’ve no place to get away from them. They’ll catch us in an hour or two.”
“You sure outrunning them isn’t the best option?”
“I don’t think we can. Yulver’s only got half a compliment of rowers. The rest of us are farmers and fighters. We can’t match the discipline of the Norsik. Look at how their oars move as if they were all connected. They’ll out-row us, that’s for certain.”
“But with the sail helping us, surely we can stay out of harm’s way.”
“No, better to deal with the bastards now, on our terms. Even if we did outrun them today, there’s no assurance that they wouldn’t keep following us. They might catch us when we least expect them.”
“So what do we do?” Stone asked. “I haven’t fought on board a ship before.”
“First, we need to clear the deck. Anything that can be stowed below should be.”
“Vera too?”
“No,” Lorik said. “If the ship sinks, I don’t want her trapped down there. She might be safest in the crow’s nest.”
The Dancer wasn’t a large merchant vessel, but more of a traditional long boat. The mast was sturdy, rising as high as four tall men. At the top a long iron spike had been driven horizontally through the mast. A sailor could climb the mast and then sit on the flattened top with his feet on the spike, which stuck out on either side. There were short ropes tied to the spike on either side of the mast, which the sailors used like reins. In heavy seas the crow’s nest at the top of the mast was a dangerous place, as it swayed violently back and forth.
“You want Vera up there?” Stone asked, the uncertainty clear in his voice.
“It’s the safest place for her.”
“She could fall.”
“We’ll be fighting in close quarters down here,” Lorik explained. “She’ll be captured or killed, if she isn’t knocked overboard.”
“All right, I see your point,” Stone conceded.
“Let’s get this stuff stowed away.”
They moved everything out of the way. The oars were cinched into the hooks along the railings. The rowing benches were moved into the narrow ship’s hull. Ropes and buckets were secured and the sails around the raised platform that served as a cabin were tied up so that a person could see from one end of the deck to the other.
“Now what?” Stone asked looking back at the approaching ships. “They’re gaining on us.”
“We’ll have to fight back to back if they board us,” Lorik said. “But they may not be expecting much resistance. We didn’t fight them last night.”
“What are you saying?” Stone asked.
Lorik didn’t answer, instead he turned to Yulver.
“How will they board us?” he asked the sour-looking sea captain.
“Grappling hooks and ropes, I suppose. They’ll lash the ships together, one on each side. Then they’ll come pouring in like a plague of locusts.”
“What if we cut the lines?” Lorik asked.
“They may have pikes or some other type of wooden hook that will do the same job as rope.”
“All right, Stone, I think I have a plan,” Lorik said. “We’ll keep our weapons out of sight. They may not know about them, and if they think we’re terrified and helpless, our attack may catch them off guard.”
“You want us to hide our weapons?” Stone asked.
“Yes, let’s stow them by the rails where the men can retrieve them easily. We’ll split the men into two groups. I’ll lead one, you lead the other.”
“All right, we can do that,” Stone said.
They got their weapons hidden and then helped Vera get situated onto the crow’s nest. She had an almost unobstructed view from her seat high above the deck. She sat with her feet on the spikes and a rope curled around each hand.
It took the Norsik ships only a short while to get close enough to use their grappling hooks. Stone had a big sword on his shoulder and Lorik had his massive battle axe. They were the only two weapons in sight. When the hooks came flying toward the ship, the sailors and volunteers scattered out of the way to avoid being hit. The Norsik pulled the ropes, but as soon as the hooks caught and the ropes tightened, Lorik or Stone rushed forward and chopped the ropes. They did their best to look as awkward and frightened as possible.
Soon the Norsik were shouting and cursing in their native language. No one on board the Dancer understood them, but the gist of what they were saying was clear: they were planning to kill everyone on board.
It took a while for the Norsik ships to close the distance and pull out their harpoon hooks, mounted on long wooden poles as big around as a grown man’s forearm. The crew on board the Dancer tried their best to knock the harpoon hooks away, but it was useless. Once the hooks snagged on the Dancer’s railing, the Norsik sailors pulled hard, and the metal dug into the wood. Then the ships themselves became like anchors that pulled the hooks deep into the wood, so that the sailors with Lorik and Stone couldn’t pull them free. The Norsik then used the poles to pull their ships closer and closer, walking their hands up the long poles.
Lorik and Stone had their two groups bunched together, huddling in fear. Then came the dreaded thump as the first ship crashed into the Dancer. The Norsik began to move forward but Stone was faster. He dropped the big sword and dashed forward, followed by a dozen men. They grabbed their weapons and jumped onto the Norsik barge. The raiders were caught completely off guard. Most were still holding the long harpoons, and Stone carved his way down the nearest one, his knives moving so fast on
ly the flying blood from ruined flesh could be seen. The Norsik were shouting and released their harpoons, falling back from Stone’s savage attack. There were two dozen men on board their ship, and with the addition of Stone and his group, the ship slowly lost ground.
The sailors and volunteers with Stone were screaming like demons, all hacking and stabbing with their weapons. The Norsik were skilled fighters but they had been caught off guard, and Stone’s group evened the odds before the Norsik fully understood that they were being attacked.
Lorik watched his friend long enough to see that the ploy had worked. Then he looked back to the other Norsik ship, whose men were watching their comrades and shouting about the treachery of Lorik’s plan. They were still too far apart for Lorik to lead his group in an attack and they had stopped pulling closer. Suddenly, their captain shouted an order and the Norsik raiders released their harpoon hooks. They rushed back to their oars.
“They’re going to help their friends,” Lorik shouted.
“Cut the sail!” Yulver cried.
Two sailors dashed toward thick metal cleats where the sail lines were tied. They sawed at the thick ropes with knives and cut them in two. The sail dropped to the deck and the Dancer slowed her progress. Yulver spun the ship’s wheel and the Dancer turned slowly toward the other ship, which was falling back to aid the first Norsik vessel, where Stone was reaping a deadly harvest among the raiders.
Yulver couldn’t maneuver the Dancer fast enough to block the ship’s way completely, but he did get the bow of his ship close to the ship’s rail for just a moment. It was all the time Lorik needed. He still had his massive axe in his hands. He sprinted for the bow, jumped up on the Dancer’s railing, and then dove toward the other ship.
“Lorik!” Vera screamed.
He could have landed with a crash onto the deck of the Norsik ship if that had been his goal. His outlandish attack would have surprised the raiders and probably given him time to get to his feet before they rushed forward to cut him down. But Lorik wasn’t aiming to land in the ship. Instead, he fell just beside her and swung the big axe with all his strength as he descended. The axehead smashed into the side of the Norsik ship, just at the waterline. The massive steel axehead, swung with all Lorik’s might and diving momentum, tore a hole in the ship the size of a pumpkin.
Water flooded into the ship. Several of the raiders left their rowing benches to grab buckets and begin bailing the water. Lorik used the axe to pull himself up, then placed his feet on the sides of the ship and worked his axe free of the hole. The heavy weapon was difficult to swim with, but he rolled onto his back and laid the axe across his chest, then used his free hand and legs to propel himself away from the Norsik vessel.
“Throw him a rope!” Vera shouted. “Lorik needs help.”
The enemy ship was listing already, despite the bailing.
“To your oars, men!” Yulver shouted his orders.
The sailors reacted at once, pulling oars free and feeding them into their slots so they could steer the ship. There was no time to raise the sail and they needed forward motion for Yulver to steer the long vessel. Jons threw a rope out to Lorik, and it splashed beside the big man, who was struggling to keep his head above water.
“Grab the rope!” Jons shouted.
Lorik reached out with his free hand, his legs kicking in an effort to keep himself afloat. The rope sagged under the surface just as Lorik’s head dipped below the waves. Jons wasn’t sure if Lorik had gotten hold of the rope, but with his broken arm the injured sailor couldn’t dive in to help his friend. The Dancer was starting to make way, moving forward and turning toward the other ship where Stone and his small group of fighters were now meeting strong resistance from the raiders. Jons turned from the railing, hooked the rope over his good shoulder, and began walking from the stern of the ship toward the bow—the only way he could reel the rope in with only one good hand.
Lorik felt the tug of the rope. It slipped through his hand at first, but he gripped the rope as tightly as possible and wrapped it around his arm as best he could. He was drowning and he knew he would have to drop the big battle axe to have any chance of getting back to the surface, but something inside him wouldn’t allow him to relinquish the weapon. The rope began to pull Lorik through the water and he felt himself rise a little. He opened his eyes and saw the surface only an arm’s length away. He renewed his efforts, kicking harder, and finally his head broke free of the water.
Vera turned her attention back to Stone as soon as she saw Lorik’s head break the surface. She could see the rope, taut and dripping, wrapped around Lorik’s hand. She felt a brief flash of relief, then terror for Stone stabbed at her heart again. She could see that Yulver was guiding the Dancer closer to the Norsik ship, but on the crowded barge, Stone and his small group of fighters were slowly being pushed back. They had evened the odds with the larger Norsik crew quickly, but with every raider that fell, the deck became more and more difficult to fight on. Stone needed more space to spin and twist. He was not a defensive fighter, but the deck of the barge had become so crowded with debris and human carnage that he had no room to maneuver.
Vera risked a glance at the other Norsik ship. The entire crew was bailing water now, some simply cupping their hands to scoop up the water, but it was a futile effort. The Norsik ship was listing heavily to one side, and it was only a matter of minutes before the barge would capsize and sink. Vera knew that if Stone could get off the enemy ship, the raiders would be forced to try and save their comrades, giving the Dancer the perfect opportunity to escape.
Lorik was near the Dancer when two volunteers came to his aid. Jons continued to pull the rope while the other two men grabbed Lorik and lifted him up over the low rail at the stern of the ship. He flopped onto the deck, hugging his axe for a moment. He saw Vera climbing down from the crow’s nest and so he climbed to his feet and looked around.
Yulver was busy calling out orders. The other men on the ship were working to row the Dancer to where Stone was fighting on the Norsik barge. Lorik hurried over to Yulver.
“Row hard, men!” Yulver shouted. Then he turned to Lorik. “You’re one crazy idiot,” he said. “I thought that little stunt was the last time I’d ever see your ugly mug.”
“No such luck,” Lorik said.
“Can you sink the other ship?” Vera asked as she hurried up to the two men.
“No!” Yulver said adamantly. “If you sink their ship, they’ll do whatever it takes to get on board with us, and they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way. You have to leave them an opportunity to retreat.”
“So how do we help?” Vera asked.
“If we get close enough the others can get back on the Dancer,” Yulver said.
“Oh!” Lorik shouted. “The grappling hooks!”
He didn’t stick around to explain. He ran to where the big metal hooks were still stuck fast in the railing. Jons hurried over to Lorik’s side.
“What can I do to help?” the wounded sailor asked.
“I need ropes, at least two of them.”
“I’m on it,” Jons said.
Lorik was tired and it took all his strength to free the grappling hooks. He had to place one foot on the ship’s railing and pull the hooks with both hands. He managed to free three hooks, and by that time Jons had gathered several lengths of rope.
“Tie the ropes onto the hooks,” Lorik explained. “We’ll use them just like the Norsik did.”
Vera tied one of the ropes to a hook, and Lorik tied another. Jons was having trouble tying his hook with only one hand, but one of the other sailors hurried to help. Then Lorik directed the crew to stand by their oars. He threw the first hook, and it missed the ship by just a few feet. Vera threw hers and it crashed over the barge’s railing near the bow. Three sailors ran to her aid as she began to pull the rope.
The Norsik had fallen back into a tight group, their swords held out to fend off anyone who came too close. Stone, bleeding from a small gash in his shoulder, c
ontinued to feint forward, but didn’t actually engage the raiders. He could hear the cries of help from the other ship and knew that it wouldn’t take much for the raiders to rush his small boarding party. They had fought well, but the volunteers and sailors were not as ferocious as the raiders. If the fighting went on much longer, Stone knew the tide would turn against him. For his own part, Stone felt boxed in by the ship. He had jumped across to the Norsik barge and taken the raiders off guard. He had fought close in, which was to his advantage. The raiders had short swords, but they were used to basic hacking and slashing; they didn’t have the finesse it took to wreak havoc in close combat.
Lorik’s second try with the hook was more successful. It landed amidship and he quickly pulled it tight. The hook held fast and Yulver began barking orders again. He stationed Vera and Lorik on opposites sides of the Dancer’s stern. Then he had his sailors who were still on board prepare to raise the sail. The Dancer was filled with feverish activity. Lorik and the men with Vera pulled the Norsik barge close, but they would have to be almost touching for Stone’s party to make the jump back across.
The sinking Norsik ship flipped suddenly in the water, then began sinking quickly. Lorik watched as the raiders began swimming toward the sister ship where Stone and his squad were still fighting. He knew if the other raiders reached the Norsik barge, they would serve as reinforcements.
“Pull harder!” he shouted. “We need to get Stone and the others back on board.”
Stone held his ground until he heard Lorik call him. He knew he couldn’t turn his back on the raiders or they would cut him down from behind. When the ships were only a few feet apart Lorik called to his friend.
Lorik The Protector (Lorik Trilogy) Page 12
