Yazwa's heart pounded in her chest as she thundered down the stairs. "We were right there!" she barked as she tried to hurry without looking like she was hurrying. There was some activity going on in the bowels of the ship. Groups of soldiers were rushing around with muskets slung over their shoulders, all heading up above deck.
"I didn't think to ask which surgery he meant!" Saiyun answered, keeping pace behind her. "I had no way of knowing he had his own."
Yazwa dodged around a pair of sailors hauling a barrel of gunpowder down the hallway. How much time had they wasted going to the bow? How long had they been alone together? Was someone else going to die because she was an idiot?
Forgetting about looking casual, Yazwa sprinted forward, bowling an unfortunate sailor down.
"Wait!" Saiyun called, straining to catch up. "Wait! We can't get separated!"
"MAKE WAY!" someone bellowed ahead of them.
Screeching to a halt, Yazwa hid behind a corner as an officer marched by with a bunch of armed soldiers in tow. Marching quickly they soon disappeared up a set of stairs as the officer demanded a clear path.
Leaning against the wall, Yazwa took a few deep breaths as she stared down the empty hallway. "Something's going on," she said as Saiyun caught up with her. "I think this might be it."
"We need to find Ji now," Saiyun said, hurrying past her. "They said it was on this level, on the port side, and always guarded. Shouldn't be too hard to find."
Yazwa wiped her sweaty palms on her dress and tried to ignore the knot in her stomach. All they could hear was the sound of rushing feet marching above them as they searched through the halls of the ship. Everyone who passed by paid them no mind. Clearly they had better things to do than worry about some random guests on the ship.
After turning another corner she spied on what might have been the only person on the ship not running around. "I think this is it," she said as the guard turned to look at them.
"Let me do the talking," Saiyun said as he stepped ahead of her. "Is this Ca Diro's private surgery?"
"Yes, but he's not to be disturbed. He's with someone who's very sick," the man said, hand drifting down to rest on his short sword.
"How kind of him," Saiyun said with a forced smile. "I think he may be seeing my servant. Did she have a tail?"
The guard frowned. "I'm not supposed to talk about his patients."
Yazwa held her staff with a white-knuckle grip. Ji could be being tortured behind this door for all she knew!
"Someone saw her with Ca Diro," Saiyun said. "If she's not well, I'd like to see how she's doing. I might not be able to afford any expensive treatments."
"You can talk to him when he's done," the guard said, shaking his head. "Until he goes out, no one else goes in."
Saiyun sighed, tapping his foot on the floor. "Could you at least tell him we're here?"
"No," the guard said, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Now–"
Yazwa lashed out with a hard punch that hit the guard square in the nose. His head snapped back, slammed into the wall, and he slumped to the ground limply. "I'll get the keys on his belt," she said, kneeling and yanking them off with one hard tug.
"He might have heard you," Saiyun said, pressing his fingers to his lips and waiting. When no alarm was raised on the other side of the door, he started searching through the ring of keys. "Stay out here. We can't let him see you."
She nodded, pulling the limp guard away. When Saiyun found the right key, he opened the door and slipped in, leaving it open a crack. Yazwa stood out of sight up against the wall, listening as Saiyun demanded answers from Ca Diro, who replied by demanding to know what Saiyun thought he was doing in there. Yazwa swallowed when she realized Ji wasn't saying anything. Was she passed out? Was she dead? What was wrong?
From above the loud, deep ring of the ship's bell sounded through the decks, feeling like a kick in the chest. It rang again and again, joined by the sound of distant whistles. They didn’t have time.
Yazwa threw the door open and rushed into the room. First, she saw Ji, limp and strapped to a chair. Then she saw Saiyun, already reaching into his robes for his summoning dolls. She beheld the whole room before she finally locked eyes with Ca Diro as the glowing lanterns flamed out.
"You," Ca Diro gasped, eyes shining blue and growing wide.
Yazwa's eyes blazed gold in response. With one practiced motion, she pulled the sharp white light from the obsidian flakes at her belt and slid it into her staff.
This time, she was no helpless prisoner.
-
"So what now?" Aven asked from the floor of the brig. He was kneeling, taking a whetstone to his knife "All this chaos seems like a perfect chance to escape. No one will be watching the sea."
"One of those long boats we came over in should be big enough to hold all of us,” said Cai. If we can row fast enough we can get clear before anyone knows we’re gone.”
There was a muttering of approval, but Bill shook his head. "This isn't like breaking into a manor during a party, this is a fully-fledged fleet. Even if most eyes are on the sky, there are still Vao with summons patrolling the water. We wouldn't even clear the fleet's wake before we were spotted and swarmed."
"Maybe if–" Cai said, jumping when something heavy slammed into the side of the ship. The cell bars rattled as he continued. "Maybe if we hide? This ship is huge, so if we find a secluded place, we could wait until the fleet docks in Adoti. We'd stand a better chance of getting ashore."
"That's perfect," Aven said, carefully examining his blade. "There's probably a thousand places to hide here. They'll just assume we ran away in the chaos."
"They would if we were just a band of random pirates they picked up," Bill sighed, sitting down in a chair. He paused for a moment while a group of people ran past the iron door, shouting orders. "Azun wants to drag me back to Tsilen for trial. He knows there's no way we could slip away from the fleet, so the only place we could be is here. There are plenty of summons with excellent senses of smell. With all the Vao in this fleet, there's bound to be one somewhere. The only way we can make it out of here is if Tsen protects us."
"There's a flaw in that plan," Cai said from the desk. "He's in the middle of a fight for his life. Every gun, cannon, and summon in the fleet is aimed at him. Think he's going to stop for a chat in the middle of a storm of bullets and cannonballs?"
Bill turned to look at him. "Does that sound like something Tsen would do?"
Cai was silent as another volley of cannon fire rumbled above. "So, you're still going to renegotiate your deal?"
"There's a special whistle he'll respond to," replied Bill. "I know from experience he'll be able to hear it above this din. I'll sneak up alone, get his attention, and bargain our way out of here. If he thinks he can wreck the fleet on his own, he can get us away from it cleanly even easier. While I'm on the deck, you hunker down until I come get you."
"No," replied Cai, voice and eyes hard. "For all, we know you're going to get him to rescue you and leave us here to rot. A lot easier pulling one man out of this than all of us."
Everyone turned to look at Cai. Aven swallowed. He'd never heard him talk like that before.
"I got you this far, didn't I?" said Bill, slowly getting to his feet. "I let you all in on the plan. One person might be able to sneak around up there, but if we all go, they'll figure out there's been a prison break and come after us. Let me get his attention and us out of here."
"What if you catch a bullet?" Cai asked with a shrug. "What if you get knocked overboard? What if one of those masts falls and blocks the way? What if you only brought us in on this because you needed help getting out of the cell? No, we go with you. That's it."
A heavy silence fell over the brig, interrupted only by creaking timbers and distant gunfire. "Your call," Bill said abruptly. "Let's not waste any more time. Loot as much as you can from the brig's magazine. I don't know how many guns and powder we'll be able to find topside. I'll go up first and lead us to the forecastle. There wasn't anyone there before, and we might get lucky.”
"Wait," Aven said as the rest of the crew scrambled for the pistols in the strong room. “What about Ji and the others? We have no idea where they are.”
Bill rubbed the bridge of his nose as the crew armed themselves. “One problem at a time. If we don’t make contact with Tsen, none of us are getting out of here. Everyone ready?” The rest of the crew formed up behind Bill, their pockets bulging with musket balls and bags of powder, and most held pistols in both hands with one or two more stuffed into their waistbands. They'd have no lack of firepower.
“I’ll bring up the rear,” Aven said, sliding to the back of the crowd. Best to let the ones with guns go first. If the others were looking for them, hanging back might give them a better chance of spotting them in the chaos.
Bill rapped his hands on the metal door, drawing everyone's attention. "Here we go! Remember, we're all going for the forecastle! If you fall behind, you're left behind!" The crew roared in agreement as he threw the door open and bolted into the hallway.
Aven took up the rear, slowed as he checked each hallway they passed. The brig must have had thick walls because the noise was deafening. Each blast of a cannon felt like a punch to the chest, and the screams and shouts from above got louder and louder with each step she took. Shocked crewmen stared and called out as they raced up the stairs, but Aven pushed off, easily dodging any wild attempts to grab him. He wasn't sure if he could hear soldiers chasing after them or if it was just the thundering in his heart.
Smoke burned Aven's eyes as he sprinted upstairs onto the deck. He blinked away tears, trying to get his bearings in the haze. All around him were broken pieces of masts and shredded sails, smoldering on deck. Groups of soldiers surrounded them, flailing with blankets and throwing buckets of sand on the flames, some even trying to stomp them out with their boots. He ran past teams of men at cannons, so focused on reloading their guns they didn't even notice them pass. From above, she could hear the rush of wings and screeching battle cries of the winged summons. A set of stairs loomed into view, and Aven killed his speed. He turned around and climbed the stairs backward, knife in hand. No one seemed to notice their mad dash, save for the few below deck.
The forecastle was somewhat like the one on their old ship. A raised area on the front of the ship with two staircases leading up and a solid wooden railing on the edge. The only real difference was how much more massive it was. Several small cannons were aimed over the side, but there was no one up there but them. The smoke thinned as he climbed the stairs, and he could see that half the ship's masts were still intact, the other half broken or burning.
"Find him!" shouted Bill, shielding his eyes and looking up at the sky. The crew was clustered around each of the staircases, pistols at the ready. "Get your eyes open and tell me if you can find Tsen. He had five summons with him!"
Aven turned her gaze skyward. Dozens of specks soared in great circles above them while others flew in straight lines in close formation. How was he supposed to pick out Tsen in all this? If he had five summons with him, that meant he was looking for a group of six. There were none to be found among the summons above them, but there were plenty of threes and fours. He shifted her gaze lower, if Tsen was attacking, maybe he wasn't diving down from- "There!" Aven called.
"What?" Bill snapped, grabbing his shoulder. "What is it?!"
Aven pointed to the west. Six tiny specks hovered just above the waves, growing larger with each passing second as they bore down on the treasure ship.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
"Yes, yes!" Bill shouted, sticking his fingers into his mouth and letting out a sharp, repeating whistle.
As he did, gunfire erupted, and Aven dropped to the deck. The crew opened fire down the stairs and were answered by another volley. The soldiers had found them. On the deck below, frantic orders were shouted, and to the west, he heard distant cannon fire. Crawling past Bill as he repeated his whistle, Aven peeked over the railing at the spot on the horizon.
Tsen, the dragon, was flying towards them with incredible speed, the tips of his wings skimming the tops of the waves. Both two-headed birds flew above him, easily keeping pace. Further above him flew the three white birds, the thick mist rolling off their wings forming a dense smoke screen that hid him from anything above. The ships he passed fired their cannons futilely, their shots coming nowhere near him. As he closed in, the flying summons shrieked and dove out of the sky in waves, punching through the smoke screen to strike.
But the smoke screen did its job, and each summon failed to hit its target. Any that got close were batted aside by the double-headed birds. A searing red light glowed in Tsen's mouth as he flared his wings and turned sharply to the left. An intense red beam of light shot out of his mouth and raked along the edge of the ship, slicing through masts at the base. There was a tremendous roar as they crashed to the ground in flames, and Tsen banked to the left, coming so close to the forecastle that Yazwa swore he clipped it. The bird summons flew over the ship, dodging between the charred remains of the masts, coating everything with another layer of mist.
"Did he hear you?" Cai shouted from the stairs. "That scared them off, but they'll be back with more soon enough!"
Aven peered out over the railing, through the mist and smoke she could see that one mast was still standing, its sails alight. "There's one left!" he called. "You have another chance!"
Bill pounded his fist against the deck as Tsen flapped his wings and shot up into the sky with a swarm of summons in hot pursuit. "I don't know how long it will take him to come around again. Cai, how long do you think we can hold out up here?"
Before Bill could answer, one of the white birds with misty wings landed on the deck with a thud.
"Squawk!" screeched the summon, flapping its wings and fixing its beady eye on Bill.
"...Tsen?" asked Bill.
The summon squawked again, nodding and ruffling its feathers.
"Jobs gone wrong. I need to renegotiate our bargain," Bill said, still crouched low.
"Squawk!" chattered the summon, vigorously shaking his head.
"Don't give me that!" Bill demanded. "You've barely gotten started. What I want now is easier than this. I'll consider the debt completely cleared too!"
The summon scratched the deck and stared intently at Bill.
"We want out," Bill said, waving his hand at the fleet. "All of us, so far away from this fleet that it doesn't know where we are anymore. Can you do that?"
Aven felt a spike of annoyance as the summon managed to perfectly replicate Tsen's annoyed sigh. It pointed its wing at Bill and then shuffled in a circle, pointing its wing out to sea. A small ship bobbed in the waves, the same type they had boarded days ago.
"That ship," Bill said, snapping his fingers. "You want us to get on that ship, right?"
The summon nodded again, opening its misty wings to take off.
"Wait, we can't take that ship!" said Bill. "They'll shoot us to pieces before we get a hand on it."
"Squawk!" screeched the bird, pointing its wing at the ship again before it shot into the air with one flap. It flew straight towards the boat and soon enough the sound of gunshots and screams rolled over the water.
“That’s our way out!” Bill called as the crew cheered. “All we have to do is fight our way to one of the long boats and we’re in the clear!”
“Reload boys!” Cai called. “We don’t get another shot at this!”
Aven grabbed Bill's wrist before he could charge down the stairs. “Wait!” he snapped. “What about the others? They might still be on board!”
Bill wrenched his hand away as the crew frantically reloaded. “We don’t have time to go looking for them now! Tsen will go back for them.”
“What if he refuses?” Aven pressed. “He’ll probably say he only agreed to rescue whoever was there when he struck the new bargain.”
A musket ball whistled through the air and Bill ducked. Orders were being shouted on deck and the dim figures of soldiers forming up could be seen through the smoky haze. “Look,” Bill snapped, crouched low. “Not everyone makes it back. You know that, I know that, we all know that. The plain fact is I’m not going looking for them.”
“I am,” Aven said, without an ounce of hesitation.
Bill grimaced as Cai called out that they were ready. “I won’t try to stop you,” he said, crawling over to the lip of the stairs and talking to the crew. “Shoot anything that moves, and don’t stop running until you get to one of the boats. Cai and I will cover you while you get it lowered. GO!”
Aven watched as the crew rose as one and charged down the steps, firing and dropping pistols as they went. Few shots answered them as a cloud of gunsmoke raced ahead, shrouding them from view. Past the burning sails and smoldering masts he saw the red-painted sterncastle of the Golden Colossus rising into the air. If Azun was keeping rescued prisoners anywhere, it would be there.
He jumped over the railing, landing silently on the deck. The haze hid him as he darted into the smoke, running to the other end of the ship. “Wait for me,” he said to no one. “I’ll get you out.”
-
Yazwa sprinted forward, golden eyes locked on Ca Diro's bright blue aura. With one swing of her staff, she would slice him in half and avenge Ji's torture. A flash at the corners of her vision told her that Saiyun had brought out both Jados to help her. They wouldn't be needed. Ca Diro scrambled backward, putting the pillar in the center of the room between him and Yazwa. She darted around it, raising her staff for the kill.
A searing red light shone in Ca Diro's hand and his aura quivered, rapidly shifting its color to purple from the neck down.
Yazwa brought her staff down in a diagonal slash at his neck, but Ca Diro lunged backwards just out of reach towards one of the tables that lined the walls. As she took another step towards him, he seized the heavy table and hurled it through the air straight at her. She threw herself to the ground, feeling the table just graze the top of her head as it flew over her.
As she tried to get back to her feet, the two Jado's swarmed towards Ca Diro, one on the ground and one on the wall. He seized another table and hurled it at the ground Jado, forcing it to abandon its charge and dodge out of the way. The wall Jado leapt at him, beak open wide for a deadly bite.
But Ca Diro caught the summon by its beak before it could make impact, stopping its attack dead in the air. It flailed wildly, trying to break Ca Diro's grip to no avail. With a hard twist and a sharp snap Ca Diro broke its neck, and the summon reverted to a pile of wood.
By now, Yazwa was on her feet and realized what must have happened. The searing red light must have been some kind of blood magic that was making him enormously strong. Maybe he had just harvested it from Ji. "You are dead!" Yazwa bellowed, charging towards him once more. It didn't matter how strong he was. She would cut him to pieces.
Ca Diro kicked the pile of wood that used to be a Jado and sent broken boards flying at her. She raised her hands to block, wincing as the splintery shrapnel ripped into her arms and belly, but she pushed through the pain, closing distance. She waited until she was a half step closer before lashing out with her staff. He backpedaled again, scrambling to keep out of reach as Yazwa's glowing staff got closer and closer with each reach.
Out of the corner of her eye Yazwa saw the remaining Jado dart around the column, pouncing at Ca Diro as he ducked to avoid a swing at his neck. A surge of triumph rushed through Yazwa, but Ca Diro managed to dodge the snapping beak and get a hold of two of Jados legs. In one fluid motion, he twisted his body and hurled the summon right at Yazwa.
This time, she was two close to dodge, and Jado hit her right in the stomach. Both of them flopped to the ground. Jado's claws scratched across her skin as it tried to get to its feet, and Yazwa was careful to keep the glowing head of her staff away from it until it was clear, as the sharpened edge would cause much less superficial injuries to her ally. As soon as it was, she leapt to her feet, scanning the room for Ca Diro again.
His wavery purple aura stood right next to Ji's ragged one, his hand at her throat. "Drop your Sight," he hissed, his breath labored.
Yazwa froze, heart pounding in her ears as Jado stood next to her, thick tail twitching back and forth. After a moment of hesitation, she blinked away her Sight, and the room came into sharper focus. There were two big holes in the wall where Saiyun had used the ship’s wood to summon the Jados. Thrown tables were scattered around, deep gouges and shattered floorboards marking where they had struck the floor. Saiyun stood frozen by the heap of scrap wood, his hand reaching out to grab the doll sticking out of the pile.
Ca Diro stood behind the chair, holding a scalpel at Ji's helpless throat. "Nobody move!" he shouted, shining blue eyes wild. "If anyone moves I cut her throat!"
Yazwa clenched her staff in a white knuckle grip as sweat ran down her face. She was only a few steps away, but there was no way she could possibly close the distance.
Above them the roar of cannon and crackle of gunfire drifted through the ceiling. Ca Diro glanced upwards as he tried to catch his breath. "Who put you up to this? Was it the old goat?"
"No," Yazwa said after she remembered the old priest in Ortan. "I left right after Tsen rescued me. Haven't talked to him since."
Ca Diro barked out a harsh laugh, glowing eyes locked on Yazwa. "Don't lie to me. He was always jealous. They were all jealous of me! Of my skills! They tried to keep me from my destiny! They forced me into this!"
Yazwa caught sight of Saiyun in the corner of her eye. He was slowly creeping towards the pile of broken wood. But what good would another Jado do while Ca Diro was holding a knife to Ji's neck? "We just want Ji back!" Yazwa shouted. "We just came down here for her. Give her to us and we'll leave."
"I said don't lie to me!" Ca Diro roared. "You think I can't hear what's going on up there? The only people stupid enough to attack this fleet are those zealous bastards running the temples! Did they promise you forgiveness if you killed me?"
"We were with the pirate fleet!" Yazwa replied. "We're just trying to get out of here! We only came down here looking for her! Just give her back, and we'll leave!"
"I SAID DONT LIE TO ME!" screamed Ca Diro as spittle flew out of his mouth. "CONFESS!"
Yazwa froze as she spotted movement behind Ca Diro. Aven's head popped up from one of the holes in the wall. Silently, he levered himself through into the wrecked lab. With one hand he drew his knife and with the other he pointed at Ca Diro, making a gentle twirl with his finger. She got the message, keep him talking.
"You're right," Yazwa gasped, turning her gaze back to Ca Diro. "You're right, I'm sorry. He did send me here to kill you."
A twisted smile spread across Ca Diro's face. "I knew it… I knew it! Who else? Who else is helping them? It would take a lot of Achali to make this much trouble for the fleet. Tell me!"
"Uh, well," Yazwa stammered, mind racing as Aven crept up behind Ca Diro one silent step at a time. "Latswan of Nagiindo is! He sent an entire regiment through the Akolos to help track you down. They said if I helped they'd pardon me. Doros of Adoti helped, too, they provided the ships!"
Ca Diro cackled, pounding his fist against the column. "They'll all regret it," he hissed. "I'll have Azun level their temples to the ground! I'll drain every drop of blood from their veins! Nothing will-"
A floorboard under Aven's foot creaked when he was only three steps away from his target.
Ca Diro spun, and the room exploded with action.
The Jado at Yazwa's side charged, claws digging into the floor as it screeched out a battle cry.
Aven darted straight at Ca Diro, knife aimed at his heart.
Saiyun dived into the pile of scrap wood, grabbing the doll and summoning another Jado to replace the one that had fallen.
Yazwa blinked her Sight on, grabbing another sharp white light from her pouch as she watched the battle play out. Ca Diro hurled the scalpel at Aven and it sank into his shoulder. He hardly flinched, closing distance at the same time as the first Jado. Ca Diro threw himself out of the way, charging at the newly summoned one instead. He gave it a hard shove before it could turn to face him, sending it flying into the wall.
Saiyun scrambled out of the way, but Ca Diro ran right past him towards the far corner of the room.
As Yazwa placed the searing white light into her staff she saw Aven and the other Jado dragging the chair and Ji's tattered aura towards the hole in the wall. Good, they were getting her out of the line of fire. There was no one between her and Ca Diro as he ran to the corner of the room.
Once again she charged at him, staff raised.
Once again she was denied.
Ca Diro threw open the cupboard, and dozens of multicolored points of light flashed into view. Yazwa watched as he grabbed one of the lights and threw back his head, his aura shimmering into a deep, dark crimson. His body changed, twisting into the shape of a massive crab, so big its back scraped along the ceiling. The floor groaned in protest.
Yazwa seized the moment, hoping the transformation would leave him disoriented and lashing out at one of the claws. Her staff sunk in halfway before the armor stopped it.
She froze and the moment of indecision cost her.
Ca Diro bashed her into the wall with the side of his claw and knocked the wind out of her. Yazwa struggled to maintain her focus as the claw pressed her into the wall, forcing the air from her lungs.
Then, the pressure was gone. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath. The Jados had seized a pair of the crab’s legs and were dragging it backwards. Ca Diro swung back with his claws, knocking new holes in the walls as he tried to protect himself. By the time Yazwa got to her feet, Ca Diro had gotten hold of one of the Jados and crushed it like an ant.
"Go for the legs, Yazwa!" Saiyun screamed. "The legs!"
It was a good idea, but she had a better one.
She ran at the column in the very center of the room and with each step she took, the floor creaked and groaned. The weight of Ca Diro in his crab form was pushing it to its limits and Yazwa was gambling the walls weren't doing any better with some many holes in them. With one quick look around the room to make sure everyone who mattered was out of the way, she swung at the column, slicing it neatly in half.
There was a heartbeat of silence as the weight of the deck above was transferred to the damaged walls.
An ear splitting crunch mixed with screams of shock as the ceiling collapsed. Yazwa and Saiyun sprinted towards the hole in the wall as wooden beams, men, and cannons crashed down around their ears. They hurled themselves through the hole just as the floor gave out underneath them. A cloud of dust billowed up as Ca Diro plunged downwards, smashing through deck after deck.
Yazwa's cough turned into a mad cackle as she lurched to her feet and peered down into the dust-shrouded hole. "And don't come back!" she shouted.