The Maiden in the Mirror

by Scott Hamerton

  Minerva was within reach of the opening into the crow's nest when a bright flash of heat turned her head upward. The Skyraker had broken through the barrier of the canopy, into the light of the sun. When she opened her eyes, she squinted hard and basked in the warmth of the day. Before she turned back to her task, she noticed two dark spots within the halo of the sun. They seemed to be growing, as if they were falling slowly.

  The sound of a bell smashing loudly beside Minerva's head nearly startled her off the ropes. Nezzen was holding a small ringer in his hand, flailing it with all his might. When she looked up again she suddenly understood what Nezzen was seeing.

  A huge, green-bellied ship was pushing its way down through the tops of the forest.

  The Arbalest had found them.

  Minerva bounded down the spars and threw herself across the narrow walkway that connected with the mizzenmast. In response to the warning, Captain Glass tacked the ship to its starboard side, veering off and away from the green ship as it came down.

  In the general principles of aerial combat, as explained by the twins, attacks came down from sources that were above. If a ship could rise above its opponents, it became untouchable. In many cases, the ability of a smaller ship to climb over a larger one was all that saved it. Riggers might not fight in the melee on the deck, but they could certainly win a battle from the masts.

  As the Skyraker climbed higher, memories of the spider storm that grounded the vessel weeks before came flooding back to Minerva. In between strokes of wild effort, a tiny yet important thought struck her. There were two spots on the sun, not just one.

  "Stop scrubbing!" she shouted, but only Luff turned to look at her. "There are two ships! It's a trick!"

  Luff held his gaze upward, looking for the second ship.

  "Archers on the fore! Take cover!" shouted Olbus.

  Minerva turned to see rows of men aboard the green ship armed with drawn longbows. The men on her own ship shuffled quickly behind whatever barriers they could find. If riggers could win a battle, archers could end it; she had nowhere to hide.

  The Skyraker rocked as Gunner let loose a warning volley, and the Arbalest sailed off, putting a large island of foliage between them. Then the arrows sailed. Not from the Arbalest, but from the Ballistae. Hidden from view until now, hanging in the blinding light of the sunny day. A shaft of nail-straight wood pierced the mast beside Minerva. She ducked to the other side only seconds before another attack struck her cover.

  Screams of terror and pain erupted from the riggers, and someone fell past her in a flash of dark cloth. She couldn't remember who was working the upper sail and began to panic. Then a third volley struck the Skyraker, flooding the forest with the sound of splintering wood. The sailors below went for the safety of the lower deck, and several lay motionless on the planks, pierced clean through by wicked slivers from the heavens.

  Olbus bellowed commands to those around him, but the crew wouldn't listen. They were already running for their lives.

  Luff and Leech were still scrubbing the sails when Minerva began to climb down. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

  "We're giving Gunner – his one shot!"

  Captain Glass had already abandoned the helm, and yet the twins were willing to risk their lives to give Gunner one chance to win it all.

  "Get off – the sails!" they called to her, when she turned to tend her own sail.

  "Right after you!" she called back, doing her best to level off the lift on the mizzenmast.

  Two arrows streaked past her on both sides, and she felt like a golden bull's-eye on a wide white target.

  "Ladies! First!"

  The Arbalest angled away to port, flanking the Skyraker from up high. If the Skyraker could rise between the two sloops, Gunner could probably take them both.

  "Why thank you, my knights!" she replied sarcastically. "I'm sure the lord of the house will reward you handsomely for your kindness!"

  "Get off! The sails! Minnie!"

  "No!"

  In only a moment, the Skyraker rose level with her assailants, perfectly within range. Starboard boomed, loud and clear, and the ship listed in response. Wood split, the forest trembled, and the foremast of the Ballistae bent and twisted wildly.

  The Arbalest, unfortunately, was already familiar with Gunner's effectiveness, and pulled away before the cannons could level against them. The enemy ships rose ever further, regaining the advantage of height. Three lone riggers on a frigate could never hope to catch them.

  "Okay, time to get down," Minerva said, and the twins agreed.

  Chapter 70

  Nurse Minerva

  Minerva and the twins almost fell into the hold beneath a crash of wooden hailstones. The remainder of the crew gathered the wounded in the galley, and sailors everywhere called for the surgeon, but Lintumen was locked in his cabin on the other side of the arrows.

  The smell of sweat permeated the galley, and the thick iron scent of blood plugged Minerva's nostrils as she entered. The odor reminded her of her father and the wounded that sought his treatment.

  A man screaming in agony snapped her attention to the now. A sailor beside her had forcibly removed an arrow that pierced his upper arm, and blood gushed from the open wound.

  "Don't pull the arrows out!" she ordered, and rushed forward to stop another man from doing the same.

  "Are you a surgeon?" the first sailor asked in desperation.

  Minerva nodded as she pressed down on the wound in the sailor's arm, applying as much pressure as she could. She had aided her father enough to know far more than the average person. "I need sheers, or clippers, or a saw," she said to the men around her.

  The man on the table went white with fear at the idea of whatever she was planning, and struggled to pull away from Minerva.

  "I need to cut the cloth," she whispered diplomatically, and he relaxed noticeably.

  "What else?" the twins asked together, bounding up to her.

  "Thin rope. Splints. Blankets. Needle and thread. Get the last two from my cabin." Minerva looked around at the many wounded men, realizing that she couldn't possibly triage them all. "Jim!"

  Big Jim rumbled over from the far end of the deck towards her.

  "Do you have any boiled water? We need clean water, and strong alcohol to clean the wounds."

  Jim nodded and hurried into the kitchen.

  The ship lurched suddenly as it clipped a tree, knocking over benches and sending sailors sprawling. The crew whispered in fearful, hushed voices.

  "How do I help?" Olbus asked, surprising Minerva with his presence.

  "Don't let anyone pull the arrows out. We need to stop the bleeding first."

  "Sailors! Pay heed!" The walls shook when Olbus unleashed his voice. "Leave the arrows in the flesh! Do not withdraw the ammunition until cleared by the surgeon!" At the end of his command, he gestured at Minerva, drawing an inordinate amount of unexpected attention upon her.

  It was then that Minerva noticed a gathering of men in the far end of the galley. Her skin crawled and she went closer, recognizing the type of gathering that occurred around a dying man when no one knew what to do. When she pushed through the circle, she found Woody laying on the floor with an arrow pierced through his upper thigh. Nobody moved to help him, and he lay on the ground, panting heavily.

  Minerva went forward but the crowd held her back.

  "There's nothing you can do," they said. "Let him die in peace," they insisted.

  Minerva looked down at the man she called a friend. He breathed in stuttered gasps, and his eyes stared off into nothingness.

  Treating the dying is as important as treating the wounded. Minerva heard her father's words echo in the back of her head as she shoved her way into the center of the group and knelt beside Woody, lifting his head to rest on her lap.

  "Mom?" he asked feebly.

  Minerva said nothing, granting Woody his delusion.

  "I'm cold, mom."

  She pulled a nearby blanket over his
body, trying to warm him. "What's your name, sailor?" she asked.

  The crowd fell into a murmur, objecting to her ignorance. They all knew his name was Woody, and so should she.

  "Warren. Cobbler." Woody struggled to push each word out, pausing overlong between them.

  "You did good, Warren. Thank you for all your hard work. I'm very proud of you."

  A weak smile spread slowly onto Woody's face, and one last sentence formed on his lips, but he lacked the strength to issue it into the world.

  Minerva wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled the blanket over the face of her friend. The crowd around her stood hushed and parted to let her pass, but she couldn't just walk away. "Nobody wants to die alone," she said.

  Chapter 71

  A Cloak of Courage

  Captain Glass called a meeting of the senior crew in the kitchen. No one invited Minerva, but Olbus retrieved her when she didn't attend on her own.

  "What are your orders, Captain?"

  Captain Glass looked at Olbus, uncertain. Olbus did not reply, and the ship shook in the silence, spilling a nearby pot of clean water. "I don't know," the captain said. "How are the men?"

  "Holding together," Jim said.

  Minerva sat on a sack of rice in the corner, doing her best not to think about the sailors dying on the floor outside. A sound like hail scattered across the deck above them.

  "What are they doing?" Gunner asked. "We've been pinned in here for almost half an hour, but they haven't boarded us." Nobody replied to Gunner's question. "I mean, if someone could take the helm, and get some lift, we could easily destroy them. Those ships are as brittle as eggshells. I just need a clean shot."

  "If they board us – we have the advantage. We outnumber them – almost two to one." Luff and Leech weren't strategists, but the numbers spoke for themselves.

  Something outside the ship scraped slowly up the hull, silencing the conversation with its callous interruption. The Skyraker had been losing lift since the enemy first pinned them down. It would only be a matter of time before they hit the forest floor.

  "They are waiting," Olbus explained. "It's a siege."

  "What are they waiting for?" asked the captain.

  "For Captain Black to arrive," Minerva concluded.

  None of the others denied the truth in her statement, and Gunner turned angrily upon the captain. "Black has been on our aft for months now, ever since we entered the borders of Linora on that little errand of yours. What were you doing out there, anyway? What did you do that was so bad that he has his whole fleet hunting us down?"

  Captain Glass looked around sheepishly, and his eyes lingered on Minerva. The Skyraker's stop at Minerva's house was also the first encounter with Captain Black. "I was there to see my mistress," he said.

  "I don't believe ye," Jim professed, looking like a butcher with an apron covered in blood.

  "Black and I have the same mistress. We kept it a secret from him, and now he's mad."

  "That's a load of – bilge water! No pirate – gets that angry – because of a woman."

  The twins rounded the stoves to the other side of the captain, cornering him. Then he glanced at Minerva again, long enough this time that Gunner connected his gaze.

  "Why do you keep her on board?" Gunner wondered aloud. "The crew has almost mutinied twice now, and yet you always go back for her. Why? Is it so that Olbus can keep his new daughter around? Is she your mistress?"

  A flurry of accusatory glances went about the room.

  Olbus stepped forward with a shout, shoving everyone away from the captain. "Mutiny when you have the time. Not right now."

  "Maybe the captain is all Black wants?" Jim mused. "Maybe we should offer him up and see what happens."

  The others joined in on Big Jim's statement, and an intense argument quickly erupted. When Minerva could suffer their inaction no longer, she went for the door.

  "Where are you going?" Gunner asked, spotting her escape.

  "To save the ship."

  The men looked at her in amazement.

  "And how do you plan to do that?"

  "I'm going to take the helm, and then I'm going to fly us out of here, or I'm going to die trying. Either option is better than sitting around and squabbling like chickens in a henhouse."

  Six grown men stared at their feet in shame, humbled by the lecture of a thirteen-year-old girl. When they said nothing, Minerva stormed from the kitchen in the direction of the hold. She didn't know what all was in it, but there had to be something that would help her.

  "Hey – short stock."

  "Don't call me that!" she barked at the twins, as they ran up behind her.

  "Sorry. Can we still – call you Minnie?"

  "That's fine."

  "What can we do – to help?"

  "I don't know. I'm going to the hold to find something that might get me to the helm. A large crate that I can hide in, maybe, I'm not sure."

  The twins followed Minerva down into the hold and lit a lamp, revealing many piled boxes, crates, and sacks of supplies, and Gunner joined them shortly afterward.

  "Sorry about what I said, Minnie," he said. "I didn't mean to insult you."

  Minerva accepted his apology, completely won over by his perfectly sculpted everything.

  "I don't think any of these boxes are going to work," Gunner said with dismay, after ten minutes of tromping around in the bowels of the Skyraker. "They're all too thin or too heavy. An arrow would go clean through them, and none of them are small enough for any of the men to fit into."

  "What about – sacks of flour – for cover? Those would – stop the arrows."

  "Too heavy," said Minerva, having already considered the prospect. She often faltered when hauling a single bag to the kitchen.

  "What about – the sails?"

  The twins pointed at the stack of sails piled near the stairs. Arach supplied them with a full set of spare hammers for every mast.

  "Nah, those things are lighter than a loaf of bread," Gunner responded. "It would be like shooting through paper."

  Minerva suddenly found her solution. She grabbed the smallest of the sails and ran upstairs to the common room. She passed Olbus and the captain on the way, who followed her and the twins to where she draped the cloth over a small table. Then she ran to the galley, reclaimed what needle and thread remained, and returned with her supplies.

  "What are you doing?" the captain asked quizzically.

  "I already told you. I'm saving the ship."

  Minerva flipped the corners of the sail over to form a triangular shape and rammed her needle back and forth through the cloth. Considerable resistance held back her efforts to pierce the tightly woven fibers, but she preserved, even without a thimble for pushing the needle.

  "Minnie?" Luff said, approaching her warily. Her pace was frantic.

  "Yes?"

  "What are you making?" Leech asked.

  "A cloak."

  "Out of a hammer sail?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  Minerva reached over and pulled the sabre from Captain Glass' scabbard. Then she swung down hard on the cloth in front of her. On the third swing, she lay the weapon flat and scraped it across the sail. A wave of sparks exploded into the air, sending a wild fountain of blue and green fireworks towards the ceiling.

  The men stood stunned.

  "Arach taught me a lot about spiders," she said, as she picked up the corners of the sail and held it up to reveal a perfectly intact sheet of cloth. Minerva whipped the shroud around her shoulders and pulled the makeshift cowl over her head. It hung long and low on all sides, covering every visible surface of her body. "He taught me that a thin sheet of spider silk could stop a flying dagger, and this is a lot thicker."

  In the ensuing silence, Minerva went for the stairway leading topside, but the captain stopped her halfway up. His face furrowed, fraught with worry. Arrows were for killing.

  "Captain, do you know what Lintumen told me the night that I fought the sha
dow in your cabin?" Captain Glass shook his head fearfully, and Minerva gave him a sly grin, doing her best to reassure him. "It's just a cloak."

  Minerva left the captain behind, ascending the stairs but stopping short of cresting the deck, still within protective cover. Several long arrows jutted from the railing that encircled the staircase. Part of her rapid pace up until this point was an effort to quell the fear that gripped her. If she didn't go now she might never convince her feet to carry her onward.

  The weight of another body on the stairs drew Minerva's attention away from the deck, and she turned to see Olbus watching her nervously. She could see in his face exactly what he wanted to say. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to protect her, but she simply couldn't allow it.

  Minerva pulled the cloth of the sail in tight around her body, and she felt secure and warm within it.

  Courage and sacrifice, she thought. Go for it.

  Minerva sprang from the opening, sprinting for the stairs over the sterncastle. A knee-height forest of feathered arrow shafts littered her path. She couldn't recall the number of times she had made the trip to the mizzenmast in the past, and yet every step she took dragged slowly in her mind. Wooden shafts and stiff feather fletching cut her shins and jabbed her feet as she ran through the miniature forest. She hit the stairs running, stumbling up them and bearing down fast on the helm.

  Off in the quiet distance she heard a row of longbows pulling back. Someone shouted, and the enemy loosed their ammunition. The first arrow to strike glanced straight off the top of her head and she tripped, rolling into the rail at the side of the deck. She hauled her feet in fast under the cover of the cloak and spun to her stomach, covering her body with the spread of the sail.

  Deadly shafts rained down on her, pounding off her shield and deflecting into the wooden surfaces around her. A tiny screech of pain escaped her lips each time she bruised from the impact.

  It doesn't hurt, her mind insisted, urging her onward.

  Minerva righted herself to her knees and sprinted once again for the controls of the ship. She grabbed the starboard guide wheel as she ran, flinging her body into the enclosure of the captain's platform.