by Bianca D’Arc
But the massive dragon had more finesse than O’Dare would have credited. He merely touched the mast, still matching speed with the fast-moving ship. And then, the knight sprang into action, in the most daring move yet.
Sir Leo stood on the back of his dragon partner, then began to walk, calm as you please, down over the dragon’s shoulder and onto his outstretched forearm. He fairly danced across the dragon’s slick scales, right to his talons and then dropped, light as a feather, into the crow’s nest, next to a startled young crewman.
The dragon let go and veered away from the ship, but didn’t go too far, still keeping pace, while he also kept a watchful eye on his knight. The knight didn’t stop in the crow’s nest, but worked his way down the rigging as if he’d been doing it all his life. Perhaps he had. O’Dare would have to ask Leo’s father where the young man had apprenticed before being chosen as a knight. He’d bet the youngster had gone out on at least one sea voyage, judging by the way he climbed down the rigging.
The crew was stunned by what they’d just seen, and several nodded to Leo as he passed them when he finally made it to the deck. They knew talent when they saw it, and who didn’t appreciate such a show of daring and bravery? Not to mention the absolute trust between knight and dragon. O’Dare hazarded a guess that he’d never see the like again.
“Welcome aboard, Sir,” Penwith said to Leo as he arrived below the quarterdeck.
Only a select few were allowed on the quarterdeck with the captain when the ship was under sail. O’Dare noticed that Sir Leo hesitated, looking to the captain to give him the nod. He was sure of it now. The lad had been aboard a sailing ship before.
O’Dare gave him the signal, and Sir Leo bounded up the steps to the quarterdeck, making a slight bow of respect when he greeted the captain and his officers. O’Dare returned the gesture. Leo might be young, but he was a knight and deserved respect on that basis alone. Dragons did not choose their knights lightly and Leo must’ve had something special in him to make the magnificent blue beast still flying above pick him.
CHAPTER TEN
“Captain O’Dare, sir, I was sent to make sure it really was you on approach. The gryphons spotted you a while back and were concerned your ships might be more pirates,” Leo reported in a rush as he faced the famous Captain O’Dare.
“What news of my daughter?” O’Dare got to the heart of the matter first. Everything else could wait.
“We left her on the far side of the island with Sir Flurrthith. She is accompanying him over land to the wizard’s keep.” Leo was surprised the captain, who had a reputation for being hard as nails and somewhat neglectful of his family, chose to ask after Miss Livia first.
O’Dare merely nodded, giving nothing away of his reaction to the news. “How goes the battle?”
“Sir Hrardorr is destroying the pirate ships with the unexpected aid of a group of sea dragons,” Leo reported, still stunned by the idea himself. He and Xander both wanted to get a look at a real sea dragon, but they were very hard to spot, swimming so deep. “The fair folk and Sir Gowan and Seth are battling on the beaches while the gryphons are seeing to the prisoners, staying out of range of any potential diamond-bladed arrows or spears. Which is why they ordered Xanderanth and me to come out here. No fliers are being let within range of the dragon killers.”
“A wise precaution,” O’Dare agreed stiffly. He’d twitched one eye—perhaps involuntarily—when Gowan and Seth were mentioned. Leo didn’t really know why, but the captain seemed to hold them in dislike. “What of the wizard?”
“He coordinates the battle in his keep,” Seth answered. “Though his gryphon general oversees his own forces, as the Captains of the Guard have charge over their troops. The main force is on the beach you see before you. It is the largest swath of shore that is able to land ships. There are, however, several smaller incursions on other parts of the shoreline. Once Sir Hrardorr and his new friends finish with the main portion of the fleet, I believe they intend to do the same in the other areas. If I might suggest, sir, your ships could be of help in those areas, if you have come to join the fight.”
The cheeky puppy. Sir Leo was nothing like the timid child O’Dare remembered meeting on occasion when he dealt with his father. He was growing into his knighthood well. His father must be beaming with pride.
O’Dare was inclined to like the young knight, if for no other reason than his feat of acrobatics and the courage he’d demonstrated just coming aboard. After talking with him a bit, he was even more disposed to befriend the young man.
Why couldn’t Livia find a nice boy like this to get involved with instead of those two imbeciles? One was a soldier thug, it was plain to see, and the other a wimp who had chosen the safe healer’s path instead of what he should have been doing all along—fighting to protect his homeland, like young Leo here.
Of course, Leo was probably a few years younger than Livia, come to think of it, so that probably wouldn’t work out. It still seemed strange to O’Dare to have left his daughter a child and come back to find her a young woman, bred in the image of her mother…and with all of her father’s character faults, apparently.
“It shall be as you suggest, Sir Leonhardt. Will you communicate with the others on land and find where best to place us? We will sail at the wizard’s command.”
Leo really shouldn’t have been so surprised. Or, if he was, he should have hidden it better. But that would come in time, O’Dare supposed. The young knight had many years—if he didn’t fall in battle—to learn his craft. The fine art of diplomacy would be among the things his elders, and time, would teach him.
O’Dare watched Sir Leo’s face closely, noting no real change in his ability to focus even as he held a conversation, purely in his mind, with either his dragon or the others on shore, O’Dare wasn’t sure which. A few seconds later, Leo blinked and refocused on the ship.
“Is it possible to split your group in two, sir? There are two areas of concern at the moment, on nearly opposite sides of the island.” Leo waited with seeming patience for O’Dare’s reply.
“Lieutenant Freistan,” O’Dare called to one of his officers. The man was at his side in a moment. “Send signal to Captain Livingstone. We’re flanking.”
They’d already drilled for such situations. Livingstone was a capable commander who stood next in line to be commodore of the entire fleet O’Dare had put together. He could easily take half the force and work independently of the rest of the fleet.
Within a few minutes, signals had been sent back and forth between the two ships, and in consultation with the land contingent through Sir Leo, they came up with a workable plan. A few minutes after that, the fleet split roughly in half, one portion heading for the east side of the island, the other for the west.
O’Dare swung around to the east, since Leo claimed that was the side closest to the wizard’s keep. If at all possible, O’Dare planned to go ashore when the battle was done and retrieve his wayward daughter.
Though, if what he suspected was true about the pirate fleet, he might be obliged to leave her in the wizard’s company. That might just be the safest place for her.
It was as he swung around the eastern side of the island that Captain O’Dare saw something that sent a cold chill down his spine. It was a ship, speeding away under full sail, already almost beyond visual range.
O’Dare had to use his spyglass to see if what he feared was true. With a sinking heart, he recognized the ship he’d never wanted to see again.
None of the masts he’d seen so far in the enemy fleet sported a flag, which was strange in itself. Every ship flew something to identify itself to its fellows—unless it was up to no good. But on this side of the island, that escaping ship was one O’Dare recognized. A ship that bore the scars of previous battles.
It was O’Dare himself who had given the orders for his cannons to let loose on his enemy. O’Dare had put those scorch marks on the timbers and caused the patchwork of new wood beams to be added after his c
annons had blasted holes in the ship time and time again. And still it sailed—the thrice-damned rival O’Dare had been fighting this past decade and more.
Fisk. Former friend, frequent partner until O’Dare had finally realized what Fisk was up to—no good. The traitor Fisk continued to sail, some said, because he’d made a deal with a demon. O’Dare didn’t know for sure, but he knew he would keep hunting Fisk as long as one of them still breathed.
He owed Fisk a deadly debt. He would repay the bastard in kind. The lying, cheating bastard who had turned Captain O’Dare into a pirate.
With the unexpected aid of Captain O’Dare’s fleet of ships, the tide of the battle soon turned. Between the sea dragons and the mighty roar of ship-mounted cannons, none of the winged creatures had to take chances with those diamond blades. Gowan suspected Hrardorr would do the same as he’d done in Dragonscove, collecting the weapons off the sea floor and bringing them ashore to be disassembled and made into harmless stones.
Judging by how many of the ships were thought to be carrying the deadly weapons, the haul in diamonds would be enormous. Gowan hoped the wizard would be willing to share some of the loot with the merchant ships who had come to their aid. A small fortune might help ease Livia’s father’s anger a bit. Maybe.
Speaking of which, the fair folk had things well in hand when Gowan and Seth were summoned back to the keep to meet again with Gryffid. Livia had been in touch, as well, telling them all that Flurrthith’s mother had come to meet them and had given Livia a ride to the keep, her young son having recovered enough by then to make the short flight the remaining distance to the keep.
Genlitha was still running high patrol, reporting the enemy’s retreat directly to Gryffid. She seemed to have lost a bit of her awe of the wizard, though she still spoke of him with obvious reverence. Xanderanth was escorting Livia’s father as he made for the shore and the keep. It seemed the sea captain had come for his daughter and would storm the wizard’s keep to get her.
Gowan wondered how that would go over. If Captain O’Dare insisted on being an ass to the last of the great wizards, he could very well end up turned into a toad. And wouldn’t Gowan pay to see that.
Livia ran into his arms when Gowan entered the keep. Seth wasn’t far behind Gowan, but he’d have to wait for his hug and kiss. Gowan was enjoying having Livia in his arms again too much to let her go quickly.
A throat clearing rather pointedly somewhere in the great hall made him look up. He met the twinkling eyes of the wizard, Gryffid. He seemed indulgent, but only to a point. Caught, Gowan let Livia go with a final kiss, leaving her to Seth. Gowan, meanwhile, went to greet the wizard, who was smiling.
“Sir Gowan, your dragon friend is everything you claimed and more. How he got the sea dragons to help, I would love to know, but I won’t interrupt him while he’s working so diligently on my island’s behalf.”
“I’m not sure how he managed it either,” Gowan admitted, shaking the wizard’s hand. “But it was a blessing. The force that came against your island was larger even than that which attacked Dragonscove. It felt like they were making an all-out assault here.”
Gryffid frowned. “Yes, I believe you are right, but I have not yet figured out why or what they could possibly hope to gain here. I thought everyone realized it was my home and that the fey and the gryphons would defend it vigorously.”
“Aye, Sir. It seemed a strange attack to me, and most of my life has been one battle or another.” Gowan sighed, scratching his head while he tried to puzzle out what could have been driving the pirate fleet to such lengths.
“Which is why I asked you here. My people are questioning the prisoners as we speak, but you have seen this fleet of brigands in action before. I was hoping you and your fellows might be able to shed more light on what could have motivated them.”
Gryffid ushered them all toward a table to one side of the great hall that had been laid with food and drink, along with plates and utensils, buffet style. He invited them to take what they wanted and then sit with him at another table, in a group of empty tables with chairs, off to one side.
Only then did Gowan realize how hungry he was. Adrenaline had kept him going all day and throughout the battle, but he hadn’t eaten since the snacks they’d snarfed down while flying, many, many hours ago. The sun had set, and bonfires were lighting the beach, lanterns and candles providing light inside the keep. Gowan was dusty with grime from the battle on the beach, though he’d been able to wash off the worst of the blood and sand before answering the summons to the keep.
He was presentable, but famished. As was Seth, it seemed, from the way he piled food on his plate. Gowan followed suit and then joined Livia and the wizard at table.
They went through every facet of the battle for Dragonscove at Gryffid’s urging. The wizard asked pointed questions, leading the three of them through their actions and that of the fighters and then the prisoners who had surrendered to the king’s judgment.
Gryffid asked Gowan and Seth to compare the behavior of the enemy in Dragonscove to what they’d just witnessed. What they came up with was confusing. In Dragonscove, they’d been after riches. A few establishments along the shore had been obvious targets, a small amount of looting had even taken place before the enemy was defeated.
On Gryphon Isle, the enemy hadn’t made it ashore, though small groups had fought their way through the lines, making for the lands beyond the beaches. They’d met up with the gryphon guard there, of course, and were stopped before they could go any farther, but their destination wasn’t clear. The beach was wide and the village far inland. Only small shepherd’s huts dotted the hillsides leading down to the beach, and only flocks of very frightened sheep lay in the direction most of the fighters had been trying to go.
The obvious target on the island was the keep, but the beach where the main battle had taken place was quite a distance from it. The secondary attack, however, had been much closer, but foiled by Captain O’Dare’s fleet—specifically, the portion of it that was under his direct control at the time.
Which made Gryffid look quite eager to talk to the captain. Gowan would be just as pleased not to cross paths with Livia’s father, but it seemed there was no help for it. Just as he thought this, the doors to the great hall opened once more, and the man himself strode in as if he owned the place.
The bastard had bravado to spare, Gowan would give him that.
“Father!” Livia stood from her seat at the table and made a start toward him, then seemed to remember she was at odds with him at the moment.
O’Dare’s heart clenched. He didn’t care that she’d run off—not at the moment anyway—all that mattered was that she was safe and unharmed.
He walked right up to her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. He loved her deeply, though he’d been unable to express it and had, in fact, run away from home, in essence, to avoid the painful memories of Livia’s late mother. That he’d avoided Livia at the same time was something he would always regret.
But there had been reasons… Good reasons. Reasons that had come to fruition today.
O’Dare opened his eyes to find every eye in the room on him. He was used to people watching him. He was in command of a fleet of ships, after all, but he wasn’t used to displaying any emotion in front of his men. To show that you cared for someone was to expose your greatest weakness. He’d learned that the hard way, at the expense of his wife’s life. He wouldn’t make that same mistake again.
Captain O’Dare let go of his daughter and set her slightly away from him. There was much to discuss, and he had yet to meet the owner of this impressive keep. If rumor was to be believed, it was the wizard Gryffid himself, back from the magical mists of…wherever. O’Dare wasn’t sure if he believed in all that hocus pocus horse shit, but whoever owned this keep, he commanded a hell of a lot of power between the fair folk and the gryphons.
“Gryffid, I presume?” O’Dare said, walking up to the only one around the table that he didn�
��t know. Much to his annoyance, the two jackasses who wanted to bed his daughter were there too. O’Dare heard Livia gasp behind him, and he realized he was being a bit rude, but it had been a hell of a long day.
The older man didn’t appear to take offense. He merely bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. This was the guy going by the name Gryffid. O’Dare wondered if he really was a wizard or merely a very clever charlatan cashing in on the fame of the long lost wizard.
“I’m O’Dare. Livia’s father. Captain of the smaller fleet of ships this day, much to my chagrin. Fisk caught me off guard. A large part of the fleet I’ve been putting together for the past several years is either on its way to Dragonscove or still at anchor in other ports, having not yet received my orders.” O’Dare figured he’d just lay it all out there. The time for secrecy was over.
“Regardless of the size of the fleet you commanded today, Captain, they were essential to our victory, and you have my thanks,” the purported wizard replied. “Please, make yourself a plate and join us. We are discussing what may have motivated the attack. You said a name… Fisk? Is he the enemy leader?”
Livia had made a plate up for her father while he’d been talking and brought it to him so he could sit at the table with the wizard and the others. Such a thoughtful gesture touched him deeply. Not since her mother had been alive had anyone done such a small kindness for him. He thanked her, wishing he could say more, but there were too many eyes watching. He would not expose her to even more danger if the wrong set of eyes saw how much he truly cared for his only child.
“I recognized Fisk’s ship as he ran away. I’ve known for some time that he was collecting the somewhat questionable loyalty of the worst cutthroats and cheats that ever sailed the seas. In response, I began forming an opposing fleet in secret, made up of my trade ships and allies, which have been quietly upgraded and outfitted with cannons and men who could fight as well as trade, over the past several years.”
