Hanna returned to Captain Rozad, who was calmly standing at the wheel. “It seems running was never going to be a possibility.”
No, it certainly wasn’t. The first pirate ship was closing in fast now and the second was in front of them. Escape was impossible. “No, it seems not. What are we going to do, Captain?” While Captain Rozad was the captain, the ship belonged to Hanna, as she was the representative of the trading company and the daughter of its owner. But Hanna knew well enough to defer to the captain’s judgement.
“Why don’t we hit this head on,” said Captain Rozad. “Attack the second ship before the first can get to us. With luck, we can have one ship neutralized before the other gets to us. I suspect they are anticipating that we will panic and try running.”
Hanna couldn’t see any issues with the captain’s plan. Fighting one ship at a time would be far easier than two. Even if it was only for the beginning of the battle. Any advantage they could gain would be vital. Hanna winked at him. “Make it happen, Captain.”
Captain Rozad smirked. He then turned the ship wheel and sent the Lady directly towards the second pirate ship.
Hanna joined Azad and the portion of the crew who would form the boarding party. Azad was practically beaming.
“The gods do favor us!” said the excited first mate. “Two sheep coming in to be sheared.”
“Hey, I’m no farmer,” said Dilare the Red.
Azad laughed. “No, you are not, and you’d make a terrible farmer’s wife.”
“You’re damn right,” said the proud woman warrior.
Hanna smiled at the light banter between Azad and Dilare the Red. She was one of the few crew members not from Creyta, but she certainly fit in well with the others.
Azad nodded and got serious. “We won’t have a lot of time between when we hit the second ship and the first one arrives to back them up. We’ll play the game a little differently today. Hanna will take half the boarding crew and the rest will stay on the ship to counter the second attack.” Azad turned to Hanna. “We’ll keep our archers supporting you for as long as we can, but once the second ship strikes, you are on your own.”
A half boarding crew. They’d never attempted to take over a pirate ship with only a half boarding crew. They would be significantly outnumbered. But they had never attacked with Hanna having the spirits of two warriors. It was a risky plan but by keeping half the men back it would give her more archers for the initial attack. Hanna looked around, none of the crew members looked nervous at all. The boarding crew had faith in themselves and in her. She laughed and nodded. “Rowan, Dilare the wife of no farmer, Tayo and Jordin, you are with me.”
Tayo grinned widely. It would be his first real test as a member of the boarding party. She’d debated going with a more experienced member of the crew, but Tayo and Rowan had been working together in their training and she knew they were up to the task. Dilare was as fierce as any man, and Jordin, while one of the quieter men on the crew was as dependable as they came.
Hanna huddled with her chosen boarding crew. “Okay. This isn’t going to be too different from normal. But this time we’re going to wait a little longer than normal before boarding. Let’s see if they try sending a boarding crew of their own over. The shield warriors have been complaining that the boarding crew have been hogging all the action lately. So, we will let our archers earn their keep. When we attack keep your ranks tight. Once I am on their ship stay close. I’ll be moving fast towards the middle.”
The second pirate ship, realizing that they weren’t trying to avoid them but actually had changed course to attack, started to change directions. They wanted to wait until the first ship arrived before mounting their attack, but Captain Rozad had planned his course well and the Lady of the Evening pulled alongside the pirate ship.
Hanna and her boarding crew took their positions behind the shield crew who doubled as their archers. The men were firing into the pirate ship crew who were scrambling to counter, arrows crisscrossed in the air as the two crews fired at one another. The Lady’s crew behind their shields had an advantage over the pirate crew and started scoring hits while the majority of the pirate arrows struck shields. The pirate ship captain realizing the situation, turned his ship bringing the two even closer. The pirate captain yelled and the pirates started throwing their grapnels over the rail of the Lady.
Hanna smiled to herself as she hid behind her shield, Captain Rozad’s skills at the wheel, had forced the pirate crew to attack early. Now the pirate crew was trying to board the Lady. This was exactly where they wanted the pirate ship.
A roar from Azad signaled that it was time. The archers on the Lady all stood and concentrated their fire at the middle of the pirate ship, hitting some pirates and forcing others to take cover. This created the opening the boarding crew needed. Dilare the Red, Rowan, Tayo and Jordin all leapt across on to the pirate ship. Hanna jumped up and launched herself over the rail.
Normally, Hanna or Azad before her, was to jump into the open space created by the boarding party and then make her way to the pirate ship’s captain. The sudden counterattack often ended battles in a quick and efficient manner, but this time with the promise of a second ship backing them up, the pirates would likely not surrender, even if their captain was captured. So, this time Hanna changed her course. Instead of leaping into the space created by her crew she jumped into the closest group of pirates preparing to board the Lady. As Hanna sailed through the air she felt the surge of magic flowing through her as Thorodd and Anso’s spirits flowed through her body.
Landing nearly on top of one shocked pirate, Hanna used her shield to bash the man back. He flew backwards crashing into several of his companions behind him. Hanna slashed at the next man and stepped into the middle of the group of pirates. Around her Hanna could hear the sounds of the battle. Several groups of the pirates were not on the Lady, but all the pirates near her had turned to try and stop her. Already the pirate attack was in disorder. Hanna pressed forward. Behind her, Rowan and the rest of her boarding crew had adjusted to her change of tactics and were now defending her backside, striking anyone within range. Deliberately, Hanna used her shield to smash pirates towards the waiting weapons of the crew behind her. She spun, slashed and bashed her way through the crowd of pirates. She could feel the pull of Thorodd and Anso as the two warrior spirit warriors worked in conjunction; they pulled and pushed her to safety by helping her to avoid and block the pirates’ attacks while pressing her attack forward.
Compared to the demon warriors, the pirates were slow and weak. Their movements slow, like they were moving through molasses, Hanna wreaked havoc on the pirate crew as men dropped under her axe, or from the boarding crew behind her who followed in the path of devastation she created.
A massive fireball came hurling towards Hanna. She ducked down, bringing her shield up to block. The blast of magical fire slammed into Hanna’s shield. Another ball of fire slammed into her shield. The heat of the two attacks was intense. With a peek over her shield, Hanna spotted a mage on the far side of the deck, she then looked around the rest of the pirate ship. Few of the pirate crew were left standing, the rest were either fighting on the Lady of the Evening or were on the ground injured or dead. Hanna turned to her boarding party. “Return to the Lady. Help Azad.” Being the only one of the boarding crew with a shield it made no sense for the others to stay. Hanna would deal with the mage and any other surprises the pirate ship had for them.
Dilare the Red, the most experienced of her boarding crew, reacted instantly. She turned and ran to the pirate rail, making the jump back to the Lady. The rest of the crew quickly followed.
The mage sent a series of fireballs towards Hanna. Hanna used her shield to block the first couple of attacks but once she knew her boarding crew were safely away, she sprung forward, ducking under the fireballs. She rushed towards the mage, not taking a straight path but using angles, and the pirate ship to make the mage miss. The mage, realizing Hanna was too fast for his fireb
alls stopped.
Hanna was in the air, her axe coming down in an attack meant to crush the mages skull when the wave of energy slammed into her, sending her sprawling back.
Hanna shook her head. The heavy blow had rattled her brain
The mage smirk. “Your speed is impressive. The spirit magic in you is truly impressive, but it won’t be enough.”
From her back, Hanna slowly rose, her eyes warily watching the mage for his next attack. “What do you want?”
“The spirit stones. Between you and those meddlesome witches you’ve wasted enough of my time. We want the stones. Hand them over and your crew will be spared.”
“Sorry, don’t have them. And I’ve heard that story before. Hand over the treasure and nobody gets hurt. It is always a lie.”
The mage chuckled. “For one so young you are wise beyond your years.” He then launched his next attack.
A trio of fireballs came flying at Hanna. She dove to the side, two of the fireballs missed her, but the third struck her boot. The magical fire melted the leather. The smell of burnt leather and skin filled Hanna’s nostrils.
Hanna charged forward again. She dodged and weaved through the series of fireballs that the mage sent her way. As she drew closer, Hanna watched the mages hands carefully. When he was launching fireballs, he opened his hand. When he created the energy shield which had slammed her back his fist had closed. As Hanna moved within striking range the mages hand started to ball up in a fist. Hanna jumped a step back, raising her shield. The energy shield came up. Hanna could see the faint blue lines of magical energy. It hit her, but nowhere near as hard as it had the first time. As she had suspected the magical was a shield and it had been her own momentum that had been her downfall the last time she hit it. This time it was barely noticeable.
Hanna tried to move forward, but the magical shield prevented her from getting closer.
The mage grinned. “So close, yet so far away,” he said in a mocking tone.
Hanna looked at the edge of his magical shield. It was shaped the same as her own shield only bigger. She might not fully understand how to beat magic, but a shield was something she understood perfectly. She then hurled her axe straight up into the air as hard as she could. She then pulled one of her eagle’s claw daggers out and waited.
The mage frown. “You think a knife will serve you any better than your axe? Perhaps you are not as smart as I thought.” But then he looked up and realized that Hanna’s axe was coming down straight at him. The mage instinctively lifted his arm, his magical shield went up to block the axe.
Hanna threw the dagger as hard as she could.
The mage’s shield blocked her axe, sending it flying across the deck of the pirate ship. But before he could get the shield back down Hanna’s blade was deep in his chest. His eyes went wide as he studied the knife in his chest. He staggered forward, his magical shield disappeared. “I take back my last statement,” said the mage before coughing up a mouthful of blood. “You are as irksome and dangerous as your father.” The mages head dropped and he started to slump down to the deck.
My father? thought Hanna.
“What about my father?” Hanna grabbed the mages shoulders to keep him from falling. But it was too late. The mage had gone. Had the mage meant her grandfather? It had been Thorodd who’d originally made the deal with the Nordviks, surely the mage meant him. But what if he was talking about her father.
Hanna stood over the dead mage for a moment, frustration filled her as she wished she had only wounded the mage and not finished him off. But he was too dangerous to attempt to only wound. The sounds of battle reminded Hanna that there was another pirate ship. She pulled her blade from his chest, wiped it clean on his robes and then sheathed it. She turned and ran, grabbing her axe as she went.
The fight on the Lady was in full swing. Despite being outnumbered by the two ships of pirates the crew of the Lady were more than holding their own. In fact, they were starting to push the pirates back.
Hanna desperately looked around the ship. She spotted the leader of the pirates, he’d been the one barking orders on the ship she’d just left. Hanna ran through the groups of fighting men. She struck pirates as she went but her focus was on the pirate captain. He was fighting Rowan, and the young sailor looked like he was about to run his glaive through the captain when Hanna ran past him, pushing his glaive aside. She knocked the captain to the ground with her shield and then stepped down on his hand, crushing it to the point where she could hear bones break. The pirate captain yelled in pain and his hand released his sword. Hanna kicked the weapon away and sat down on top of the captain. Using her legs, she pinned the captain’s arms to his side.
The pirate captain tried to squirm but he was stuck under her.
She put the blade of her axe against his neck. “I am going to ask questions. You are going to answer. If I think you are lying or holding back I will no longer have a use for you and will ask someone else my questions. Do you understand?”
The pirate captain glared into her eyes, but when she pressed her blade against his neck he spoke. “I understand.”
Hanna could hear the fight going on around her, part of her mind, led by Thorodd and Anso was paying attention to it, she knew the battle was almost over and Rowan and Tayo were now standing guard over her back while she interrogated the captain. The rest of the crew were pushing the remaining pirates back. Many had already jumped back onto their own ship while the rest were trying make their way to it.
“Why did you attack us?” asked Hanna.
“Your cargo,” said the captain.
Hanna pushed the axe further into his neck.
“And we were paid,” said the captain.
“Who paid you?”
“The mage. He said you were carrying valuable cargo that he needed. He would take what he needed and we were to have the rest, along with a sizeable chest of gold.”
“Where was the mage from?” asked Hanna.
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know his name,” said the captain. “He made it clear all we needed to know was that we were to find the Lady of the Evening and take it.”
The pirates who’d survived the fight were back on the first pirate ship and were trying to sail away. A barrage of arrows from the crew of the Lady of the Evening was making that difficult.
Hanna removed her axe from the pirate’s neck. “If you swim fast you may make it back to the other ship before it disappears.”
The pirate captain stood up. He looked at Hanna but said nothing. Instead he ran towards the rail of the ship and jumped over it. He dove into the water and started swimming towards the retreating pirate ship.
Captain Rozad came up to Hanna. “Probably should’ve killed him.”
Hanna said nothing. She just watched the pirate swimming towards the fleeing ship. He made it almost half way before the sharks attacked. Hanna turned to Captain Rozad, her eyes an icy blue. “You were saying?”
Captain Rozad sighed. “Nothing.”
“How are the crew?” asked Hanna.
“The Hywett brothers both died. Wynn, Jordin and Helan Daner sustained injuries but none serious,” said the Captain.
Hanna frowned. Two dead, it was far less than it could’ve been, but it was still a loss. The Hywett brothers were good men. “Damn it.”
“Did you learn anything from the captain? Why did they have a mage? The Black Sword Gang has never had a powerful mage before.”
Hanna sat down and tried to pull off her boot. The burnt leather was stuck to her skin. “Could you cut this off please. My leg is killing me.”
“That is a nasty burn. You catch one of the mages fireballs?”
Hanna nodded as Captain Rozad carefully started cutting her boot. “Yes. And the Black Sword Gang doesn’t have a mage. He was their employer. He was after me and the gemstones.”
“You think the mage was working with the witches?” asked Captain Rozad.
“No. The mage called the witches meddlesome. I thi
nk the mage was the one behind the Skagge attacks.”
“I don’t suppose he was working alone, that would be too easy,” said the captain.
“He said we when referring to wanting the gem stones, so no I don’t think he was working alone. He also said something strange. He said I was like my father, irksome and dangerous.”
“This is going to hurt,” said Captain Rozad as he grabbed the chunk of boot leather stuck to her leg. He then ripped it off. Chunks of burnt skin came off with the leather.
Hanna clenched her jaw and hissed a string of curses so vulgar that Captain Rozad almost blushed. It was one of the most painful things she’d ever felt.
Azad, who’d seen Captain Rozad cutting the boot and gone below to get medical supplies, handed the Captain a container of salve and a thick, clean strip of cloth to wrap around her leg.
“You think he was talking about Merdem or do you think he was confused and thought Thorodd was your father?” asked Captain Rozad as he wrapped Hanna’s leg.
“I don’t know. Why would a mage know my father?”
“We used to do a lot of strange jobs for the king of Creyta. We encountered more than a few mages, some of which became enemies. It is entirely possible that the mage knew your father.”
Hanna’s father had been missing for years. It wasn’t likely, but what if the mage was connected to her father’s disappearance?
“Koyo and I will have a look at the body of the mage, see if we can find anything of note,” said Azad.
Hanna wasn’t sure what they expected to find, but they were right to look. It was troubling to know that powerful mages were also hunting her, as if witches and demon warriors weren’t enough.
It wasn’t long before Koyo and Azad returned from examining the mage’s body.
“Find anything?” asked Hanna.
Koyo frowned. “Yes. I think the mage is from Caruana. Or at least that is where is clothing is from. Caruana leather is impossible to mistake.”
“Caruana? Where is that?” asked Hanna. She’d sailed all over the world with the crew of the Lady and had never heard of Caruana.
Hanna Halfblood: Spirit Warrior Page 12
