In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2)

by Stephen L. Nowland

  She was interrupted by another blast of lightning. This time it was aimed at the main mast and sent splinters of shattered wood across the deck. The mast groaned ominously under its own weight.

  “Get him!” Aiden shouted, pointing at the wizard who was systematically destroying the ship. Sayana nodded and then moved to the rail, raising her hands and summoning magical flames. They shot towards the enemy vessel in a long stream of fire, surrounding the wizard and setting the deck alight.

  “Are you mad?” thundered Captain Sherrard from the deck above. “We are befouled with that ship! If you set fire to it, we shall burn also!” The wizard seemed to be unscathed, despite the fires surrounding him and Aiden felt a brief moment of jealousy at such power. He and Sayana suddenly were forced to defend themselves against pirates who had broken through the line.

  Aiden took the first swing of the pirate’s cutlass on his shield and swung back with his own. The other pirate slashed at Sayana, expecting a quick and easy kill, but met her own magical force shield. Her response was far deadlier than Aiden’s, for her axe was unnaturally sharp, and with one stroke she cleaved the pirate’s arm clean off.

  A crossbow bolt slammed into the side of the pirate Aiden fought, just missing his own arm as he completed a stroke. He followed through regardless, striking twice at the pirate who was staring at the bolt in his side, dropping him to the deck.

  A small whirlwind of splinters began to rise from the deck nearby, growing stronger with each passing moment until it was twice the size of a man. The whirlwind began to move along the deck, engulfing a hapless marine who was cut to shreds in a matter of moments, before moving in Sayana’s direction. Aiden realised it was being controlled by the enemy wizard, and yearned to leap across the deck and put a sword through his chest.

  The whirlwind was getting closer, the outer edge of slivers striking Aiden’s force shield and slicing into his left arm. Gritting his teeth, he stepped backwards, keeping Sayana behind him as he retreated to the doorway, hoping it wouldn’t be able to follow them inside, when the whirling splinters suddenly dropped out of the air and the wind dissipated. Looking around in surprise, Aiden saw Nellise was holding the crystal she used to channel energies from her prayers.

  “Nice timing,” Aiden called up to her, understanding that she had dismissed the whirlwind. She focused her continuing effots onto the pirate’s pet wizard as the ebb and flow of the battle aboard the Redoubtable pushed towards them, forcing Aiden and Sayana into the melee once more.

  With Ronan supporting them from the upper deck, they held the line against the encroaching pirates, preventing them from breaking through to the lower deck as the crew of the Redoubtable pushed back against the onslaught. Even Captain Sherrard had taken up his cutlass and personally joined the fight, rallying his men in their time of greatest need.

  The crew held firm against the assault until the pirates broke ranks and retreated back to their own ship when it became obvious their attack was faltering. Royal marines peppered them with arrows as they fled, taking down a few more and giving the defenders respite.

  “Mister Masterson, are you injured?” the captain called as he wiped blood from his cheek. There was no immediate reply, and Aiden couldn’t remember what had happened to the young officer.

  “Sir, he’s dead, sir,” one of the sailors eventually answered, his weapon and tunic bloodied from the fight. “Took a blade to the neck sir and bled out on the deck.” Captain Sherrard hesitated for a moment, and then nodded his understanding of this bleak fact.

  “I’m sorry for the loss of your crew, captain,” Aiden called to him from his position next to the mainmast, “but we’re not done here yet.”

  “He was the last of my officers,” Sir Denholm replied solemnly, wiping the blood from his sword. “It is well, to die in the line of duty, but never has a ship carried so much of that burden.”

  “They’re attempting to break free, captain,” a sailor called from the front of the ship. “What are your orders?”

  “The punishment for piracy is death, sir!” he roared, his terrible fury re-focused on the situation once more. “See to it that His Majesty’s will is carried out, if you please.”

  “There’s more to this than some random attack,” Aiden pointed out. “Wizards aren’t the sort to risk their lives in front-line combat, and they’re certainly rare enough that encountering two in three days makes me suspicious. I’d wager that there’s some evidence on that ship to back up my theory.”

  “You mean to go over there and find it?” the captain asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “I have few men to support you and I would be more than content with letting her burn to the waterline.”

  “If my suspicions are correct, it could provide an important clue as to why this attack happened,” Aiden persisted.

  “As you wish, Mister Wainwright,” Sir Denholm conceded. “Sergeant of the watch, prepare to support a boarding action!”

  “Sy, feel up to a little more action?” Aiden asked of the sorceress.

  “Not if I have a choice,” she replied weakly. “Do I have a choice?”

  “I’m going over there whether you join me or not,” he replied with determination.

  “Stay here, I’ll go with him,” Ronan stated, brushing past Sayana on his way down from the upper deck. Aiden couldn’t be sure, but he thought the sailor had casually run his hand over her rump on the way past.

  “Those fires are starting to spread, so I can only give you a few minutes before I have to order the ropes cut,” Sir Denholm informed Aiden as he, Ronan and two marines prepared to charge across the sole remaining boarding plank connecting the two ships.

  “They’re in pretty bad shape, sir,” Ronan remarked. “I doubt we’ll meet much resistance.”

  “I pray that you are right, Woulfe,” the captain replied. “Carry on, Sergeant Quinn.”

  “Aye aye, captain,” said the sergeant, a tall, grizzled man who looked like he’d been hit in the face many times during the course of his life and lived to tell about it. “Come on then, let’s get this over with.” With that inspirational command, Quinn led them across the boarding plank and around the fires consuming the mainmast. The deck was devoid of life, save for the unmoving bodies of slain pirates.

  “If there’s anyone left below, they’re done for, no matter what happens here,” the sergeant remarked, carefully leading them towards the door.

  “We’ll want to check the longboat as well, sarge,” Ronan added. “I – wait, did you hear that?” Aiden’s ears pricked up as he stopped and listened as carefully as he could, but was unable to discern any strange noises beyond the crackle of flames and the fluttering of the sails. The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up, and he groaned inwardly, knowing what was about to happen.

  Ronan leapt to one side just as a stroke of lightning shot across the deck, knocking Aiden and the two marines from their feet. Smoke arose from the scorched deck as he slowly picked himself up to see the wizard standing next to the tiller on the rear deck, apparently less of a coward than Aiden had thought. To make matters worse, the door burst open and three pirates charged out, cutlasses flashing in the light.

  Still on one knee, Aiden brought his shield up to deflect the blade that descended toward him. Help came in the form of a carefully aimed crossbow bolt from the Redoubtable, which took the pirate in the arm and put him off balance for a moment. It was all Aiden needed to regain the initiative, rising to his feet and smashing his opponent in the face with the hilt of his cutlass.

  Before Aiden could move in and finish him off, the hair on the back of his neck bristled and a moment later, he and Ronan were were almost struck by another bolt of lightning. Cursing loudly, he leaped to one side and looked around, highly motivated to eliminate the damned wizard once and for all. The smoke was becoming increasingly thick, obscuring the deck and providing ample cover.

  “Now’s our chance to get that bastard,” Ronan advised, a course of action Aiden wholeheartedly agreed
with. Stumbling around in the thick smoke, he eventually found the stairs leading up to the bridge and almost ran into the back of Ronan, who had frozen in place. Suspecting the cause for his unnatural hesitation, Aiden turned and saw the wizard standing just across the deck, preoccupied with incoming arrows from the Redoubtable.

  Seizing the opportunity, Aiden tightly gripped the hilt of his cutlass and crept as quietly as he could across the wooden deck, hoping to catch his opponent by surprise. By some stroke of luck, he succeeded in getting within striking distance and swung his blade with all of his strength.

  The sword went right through the man as if he wasn’t there and Aiden, prepared for the impact, tumbled onto the deck. Subtle laughter could be heard from behind him as a succession of arrows struck the actual wizard, now visible and standing only a few yards away. Each arrow caused a flash of light as it hit his incantation of spectral armour, without further effect. He raised his hands in preparation for another incantation, and Aiden had nowhere to run.

  His amusement was interrupted as a ballista bolt eight feet in length struck his body dead-on, blasting through his protective magicks and piercing his chest. His broken form was thrown over the rail, falling into the ocean below. Aiden turned to look back at the Redoubtable and saw Nellise standing at one of the ballistae, looking satisfied with her work.

  “Do what you came here to do, Aiden!” Sergeant Quinn roared as he continued the fight on the deck below. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can.” Aiden hesitated for only a moment longer before he rushed downstairs and opened the door leading inside the ship, with Ronan, now free from paralysis right behind him.

  The narrow interior was the same basic layout as the Redoubtable, at least regarding the position of the captain’s cabin. They passed a stairwell leading down and Ronan paused here for a moment to listen carefully for signs of trouble, but shrugged when it became obvious that all was quiet down below. The pirates were beaten and all that remained was to find what they could from the ship before she burned.

  “I smell smoke,” Ronan whispered.

  “Well, the ship is on fire,” Aiden pointed out, raising an eyebrow as he pondered the intelligence of his ally.

  “No, from up ahead,” the sailor clarified. “I didn’t think the fires had reached that far yet.” Aiden could smell it now too, different to the tar-laden odor coming from the main deck. A horrible thought occurred to him just then and he rushed to the captain’s cabin.

  He unceremoniously kicked the door open and the first thing he saw in the messy quarters was a burly man setting fire to a pile of papers in a chest. The pirate looked up, not entirely surprised, and drew a savage-looking cutlass.

  “I knew you’d come lookin’ for this, but you’ll have to kill me quick if you wants it!” he snarled. This was clearly the captain, a scarred and beaten looking veteran with grey streaks permeating his scraggly black beard, a missing left eye covered by a patch, and a left hand missing two smaller fingers. Despite his handicap, the man’s one remaining eye was shrewd and sharp and Aiden would be a fool to underestimate him.

  “I think we can take him,” Aiden said to Ronan, but upon looking over his shoulder, discovered that the sailor had vanished.

  “Looks like yer friend didn’t want to stay for the dance,” the captain observed, laughing caustically at his predicament. “Don’t worry young’n - ol’ Cap’n Freegard knows how to entertain a lady.”

  Knowing the evidence he sought was being burnt, Aiden leaped forward, bringing his cutlass across in a vicious attack that met the captain’s blade with the resounding noise of steel on steel. Aiden brought his shield up to keep the captain’s ferocious attacks at bay as he sought to find an advantage.

  The next few moments of the fight tested Aiden’s skill to the limit as he tried to batter his way through the expert swordsman’s defenses, but to no avail. It was looking like a stalemate, for the captain wasn’t quite able to anticipate where Aiden’s invisible force shield was going to be and hit it more often than not.

  Aiden dodged around, gradually trading places with the captain as both men showed signs of frustration when Ronan finally made his presence known by slamming the captain over the back of his head with a huge lump of wood. The pirate slumped unconscious to the floor.

  “Thanks for keeping him busy,” he remarked. “I took the liberty of grabbing some of those documents out of the fire and then came across that marvelous piece of timber craftsmanship. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore, no sir.”

  “I didn’t even see where you went,” Aiden muttered.

  “You and your host were occupied at the time,” Ronan shrugged. “Come on, or we’ll be burned alive.”

  “What about him?” Aiden asked, pointing down at the comatose pirate.

  “He’ll go down with his ship, as a captain should,” Ronan shrugged, rushing out the door and heading down the passage towards the main deck, with Aiden in close pursuit. A victorious Sergeant Quinn had already retreated back to the Redoubtable with his wounded comrade, so Aiden and Ronan ran across the deck and over the plank as quickly as they dared, passing two sailors who cut the final ties between the two ships once they were safe.

  “Mister Wainwright, you couldn’t have cut it any closer if you’d tried,” Captain Sherrard called from the upper deck. “Simons, get any men you can spare to push that ship away from us!” he ordered one of the sailors.

  “Aye aye, sir,” Simons yelled back, then grabbed two men from nearby, picked up some long wooden beams and attempted to lever the ships apart. The wood creaked ominously as they put all their strength into the effort with hardly anything to show for it. The rest of the crew were either wounded from the fighting so Aiden and Ronan rushed over to give them a hand.

  “Heave lads, heave with all your might!” Simons roared. The five of them pushed with all their strength, with Aiden turning red in the face from exertion. The stricken pirate ship started to move away ever so slowly, but flames were already licking at the upper mast and they just didn’t have the manpower to push her away in time.

  “I can help,” Sayana offered, rushing over to them.

  “Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am, but this is no job for a lady,” Simons admonished her, looking at her diminutive frame dubiously. The sorceress moved to the rail and looked down at the hull of the other ship, then raised her hands up as if pushing it away and suddenly went sliding backwards on the deck.

  “Too much weight,” she muttered to herself as she came to a halt and ran back over to the rail to make another attempt.

  “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but -” Simons began, but Sayana ignored him.

  “Tie a rope around my waist and lower me over the side,” she instructed Aiden. He wasn’t sure what she was getting at but nevertheless grabbed some rope and tied it in a knot. He dropped the loop over Sayana’s body and as soon as she tightened it, she jumped over the side and a surprised Ronan quickly grabbed the rope to prevent her taking an unexpected swim.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Aiden called, leaning over the rail to keep an eye on her. The gap between the two ships was barely enough for her to fit, and any sudden change in their position could crush her between them, but she went about her task, regardless.

  Bringing up her hands, she used a sort of telekinetic push against the side of the ship with the hull of the Redoubtable keeping her in place. The pirate ship slowly began to move, and the wooden hulls creaked and groaned from the force she was exerting upon them.

  “Blow me down, she’s doing it,” Simons breathed. “Let’s give her a hand, lads! Heave!” Aiden rushed back to give the sailors a hand, pulling down on the makeshift lever with all of his strength. With glacial slowness, the two ships began to part, with everyone straining to maintain the pressure just a little longer.

  “By God you’ve done it, men,” Captain Sherrard cried in triumph moments later, “We’ve caught a fresh wind, and we’re pulling away.” Pausing to catch his breath,
Aiden could see he was right – the Redoubtable’s sails were billowing with resurgent winds while the tattered and smoking remains of the pirate ship slowly fell behind in the dissipating fog.

  “Woulfe, retrieve that splendid girl from over the side before you drop her in the drink,” Simons orders as Aiden moved over to help Ronan pull the sorceress back onto the deck. To their dismay, she was dangling from the rope, limp and unmoving.

  “Is she okay?” Ronan asked, as Aiden quickly checked her pulse.

  “Yes, she’s passed out,” he replied, relieved at the steady heartbeat he detected just beneath her skin.

  “We owe that young lady a debt,” Simons remarked with a shake of his head. “That was a proper effort.”

  “There will be time enough for talking later, Simons,” Captain Sherrard interrupted, approaching them across the deck, with Nellise close behind. “We’ve wounded men, and few enough still standing to crew this ship, so I expect you to double your efforts, am I clear?”

  “Yes, Captain,” Simons replied, touching his forehead in a salute before he and the other nearby sailors scurried off to tend to the damaged ship.

  “In all my years of service, I have never seen anything quite so remarkable,” Sir Denholm observed, looking at Sayana’s prone form. “She will recover, I trust?”

  “Yes, she’s done this sort of thing before,” Nellise explained, kneeling down to examine her closely. “Exhaustion, as I suspected. I shall take her back to our room, and see to her recovery. If I could have some help?”

  “Right here,” Ronan volunteered, handing Aiden the papers he had recovered from the pirate ship before he turned to help Nellise.

  “Captain, do you have any idea how that ship caught us by surprise?” Aiden asked as Sayana was taken away.

  “The wind was gentle and the fog was thick this morning,” Sir Denholm explained. “We were practically becalmed, but I felt secure in the fact that any ships nearby would be suffering the same fate. Such arrogant presumption on my part! Man was not meant to play with the laws of nature, Mister Wainwright, and yet that is precisely how that damnable scow managed to creep up on us.”