The sound of boots rushing up the stairs woke Yazwa from a fitful sleep. Tsen's departure the day before had instilled a sense of urgency in the crew. Watches were doubled, and all anyone could talk about was what was to come. After her watch was over, Yazwa had tried to get some sleep, but every little noise woke her up. But this sounded different.

"What's that?" Ji asked, head darting up from her hammock.

"Everyone's running above decks," Yazwa said, swinging her legs out of her hammock and looking out the cracked porthole. Barely any light was streaming in, so it must have been early. She groped around in the darkness for her clothes and sandals. After she slipped them on she hurried above decks with Ji.

It was just after dawn, the sun still halfway below the horizon. The whole crew was gathered along one side of the ship, peering into the distance. Aven was perched on the rigging above, shielding his eyes with his free hand. Bill stood up on the sterncastle, telescope to his eye.

"What's going on?" Yazwa called up to Aven. "What do you see?"

"It's a ship," Aven called down. "Just on the horizon, to the right of the big cloud."

Yazwa pushed forward until she found a space alongside the railing. When she squinted, she saw a tiny blob where the sea met the sky. "Are you sure that's a ship?" she asked. "It's so far away."

"It's a sloop," Bill called giddily. "One mast and low in the water, sailing south. Exactly the kind of ship and course we'd expect to see on the outer edges of Azun's fleet. Cai! I want you on the helm!"

The crew chattered to each other as Cai broke away from the group and took over from the weary crewman. Time dragged on as the crew remained at the railing, eyes fixed eastwards.

"What's going on?" Saiyun asked, a half-sewn doll in his hands as he emerged above deck.

"There's a ship on the horizon," Yazwa said, beckoning him over. "Bill thinks it's one of Azun's."

Saiyun rushed to the side. "There is? Already?!"

"Relax, it’s not that close yet," Bill said from the sterncastle, sounding as if he was on the verge of breaking into manic laughter. "He hasn't taken the bait yet. If we can see him, he can see us. Right now, the captain is probably weighing his options, trying to decide if we're worth investigating. We're small but... Cai, nudge us northeast a few degrees. Help convince him."

Cai gently spun the wheel and the ship groaned and creaked. Yazwa grabbed a rope, keeping her eyes locked on the faraway ship. It was close enough now that she could make out a single sail and the froth of waves breaking against the hull, but nothing more. "Aven, what if he doesn't take the bait?" she asked.

"Then we pass on by and try with the next one," Aven replied, gazing out to sea.

"At least we know we're in the right place," Saiyun said. "This has to be a good sign."

"Yes, yes!" Bill cackled, putting the telescope down. "He's changing course and coming right for us. Cai, put us on a westward course with the wind. All hands on deck! Full sail!"

The nervous silence shattered as the crew scrambled to their stations, shouting orders over each other. The ship groaned as Bill forced it into a wide turn away from the rising sun. Yazwa untied a knot and seized a rope, letting it go bit by bit until her sail was fully open. The ship lurched forward as the wind caught its unfurled sails, slowly picking up speed.

"He's going to full sail too!" Bill called and the crew cheered in response. "He took the bait!"

A jolt of energy shot down Yazwa’s spine and she grabbed Saiyun’s shoulder and shook him. “This is it, this is IT!”

“I-agh!” Saiyun groaned as struggled to keep his footing. “Let go!”

Yazwa laughed and released him. “Sorry! I’m…it’s so exciting,” she said, clapping her hands together.

“That’s no reason to…” Saiyun trailed off, looking off at the ship in the distance. “Never mind, I have much to prepare for.”

Yazwa leaned out over the railing and squinted into the distance. At the horizon line was the little blob that was causing all the commotion. This time she wouldn’t miss out on the action as she had with the Akshi. This time she’d be in the thick of it, in hand-to-hand combat on the pitching, rolling deck of a pirate ship. The greatest adventure of her life was on its way.

-

Ji breathed deeply, sweat pouring down her body in the stifling heat in the hold. Her muscles burned and each one of her many bruises sent a dull, throbbing ache through her body with every heartbeat. She raised her fists and took a wide stance, pushing the pain to the back of her mind. "Ready."

Aven stood at the other end of a narrow corridor, lit by a single swaying lantern hanging from the ceiling. There were patchworks of bruises up and down his arms as well and sweat glistened on his forehead. "Good."

Ji held her stance, the tip of her tail twitching back and forth. Aven never attacked right away, since no one ever let you know when they were coming at you in real battle. She bit down on the urge to charge in. Attacks below decks could come out of nowhere, so she had to learn to react in a split second.

Aven let the moment drag out, watching her feet and swaying back and forth to keep her guessing when he'd come at her. When she shifted her foot slightly he lunged at her, holding a wooden dowel up high and stabbing down with it.

Hesitation slowed Ji's response. The last few attacks had been a straight thrust at her belly and as she shuffled forward to meet the attack she changed her approach on the fly. Her instincts bellowed for her to charge forward and strike him while he was wide open, but this was a different type of training. As the dowel stabbed downward she shifted her body out of the way and swept her right arm to the right, deflecting the blow and slamming Aven's hand into the wall. The shock forced him to drop the dowel and Ji followed up, slamming her fist into his stomach.

Aven grunted and fell to the floor with a thud, holding up his hand. "Good," he groaned as he lay on the floor, clutching his stomach.

"Are you sure?" Ji asked, crouching down beside him. "I hesitated, you got closer than you could have if I reacted faster."

After a few deep breaths, Aven sat up and shook out his hand. "Even if you could have been faster, you still pulled it off," he wheezed, resting his head against the wall. "If you want to survive a close quarter fight, you have to be able to win fast. The longer you spend focused on one enemy the more likely it is you're going to get stabbed in the back by someone you didn't notice. Take them down quickly, then move on to the next one."

Ji nodded as he talked, all her weight resting on the balls of her feet. "Did I do the disarm right?"

"Yes," grunted Aven. "If someone takes hold of you it's a lot easier to do damage with a knife than with your fists. Disarming them gives you an opening while they're recovering. You don't need to kill them, just put them out of the fight. Which you're doing very well."

"Right," Ji said, rising up. "Again!"

Aven stayed sitting and shook his head "No," he said, leaning his head against the wall. "We're done for today. We need to give our bruises time to heal before that ship closes in."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

At the mention of bruises, the ache from hers returned twofold. "You're right," she said, wincing and rubbing a deep one on her hip. A bold feeling took hold of her and she sat down next to Aven, stretching her weary legs out. “We can’t win if we’re too tired from training.”

Aven grimaced, flexing his wrist. “That’s what my mother always said. Before we’d go on a job we’d do nothing but rest and eat the day before. If we had better food I’d say we should do the same.”

Ji was silent for a moment, the tip of her tail tapping against the floor. They were so close their shoulders were almost touching. She wasn’t sure why that mattered, since they had just spent hours grappling on the floor. “I…” Ji said, clearing his throat as she tried to find the right words. “I am honored to fight by your side to help avenge your mother.”

“Thanks,” Aven said, glancing at her for a moment before his gaze darted away. “But you don’t have to. This is my fight, not yours.”

“Yes, it is,” Ji said quickly. “This Azun is an evil man. It is my duty as an Acolyte of En Chitei to fight him with all my strength. Our fights are one.”

“Never thought I’d hear that,” Aven mused, looking at the swinging lantern. “Are you sure you should be here? Won’t your temple be angry with you about who you’re fighting with?”

“No,” said Ji. “I was ordered to sail with Bill by my Esgan. Azun is consorting with Akshi and Koravs, so I have every right to hunt him down, even if it means sailing with pirates. And if… And if I thought they would object, I would just lie,” she said, puffing out her chest.

Aven snorted, shaking with laughter. He clutched his sides, wincing as each laugh aggravated his bruises. “No. No, you couldn’t. You’re a worse liar than Yazwa,” he said between gasps for air.

Ji blushed as a small smile spread across her face. “I would still try. My place is at your side. In battle,” she added quickly.

“Thank you,” Aven said, locking eyes with her as his laughter faded. “We’ll need all the help we can get. Go get something to eat. I’m going to pray for a little while.”

"Yes," Ji said, rising to her feet and giving him a polite bow. "Thank you for everything."

She left the hold and quickly climbed the stairs into the cool evening air. The sun was dipping below the horizon, its rays shining on only the highest masts of the fleet. The smell of cooking food made her realize how hungry she was and she hurried up the stairs to the sterncastle.

Most of the crew was gathered around a pot boiling on a small fire. Cai looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, is there any part of you that isn't a bruise?"

Ji looked down at her arms, the yellowish purple marks showed up a lot more vividly in the firelight. "Some, yes. I have been training hard with Aven."

"I can see that," Cai said, tossing her a bar of hardtack and grabbing a bowl. "You're making me feel like I'm not doing my part."

Batro laughed, swirling his steaming bowl around. "If you clean your guns any harder they're going to fall apart. I thought some of those were held together with rust."

"Don't lie, you know I take care of my weapons," Cai huffed, dipping a ladle in the pot and pouring the heated grog into it before handing it to Ji. "Here, get it in while it's hot."

Ji took the bowl and dropped the chunk of hardtack into it. Getting used to the taste had been a challenge at the start. While she could not say she liked the meal, she now looked forward to dinner rather than dreading it. "Is there more? I think I could eat two."

"Finish that one first," Cai said, looking down at his own bowl. "I swear, once this is over I'm never eating this again. Nothing but fresh meat and fresh vegetables."

Batro snorted, poking at his food with his finger. "I know you old man. You're going to gamble your share away in a week."

"I can't lose this much gold that quickly," Cai said, leaning back and drinking what was left in his bowl. "Nope, I'm going to buy a herd of pigs so I can have bacon whenever I want."

"I'm going back to Ankuri once I can get passage," Batro grinned, poking his bar until it broke to pieces. "With that much gold and a story like this I can marry into any family I want. They'll be lining up to bring me in."

"Sure kid," replied Cai. "And they're going to make me the Emperor of Qisin. What about you Ji? What are you doing with your share?"

Ji pushed her finger into the scalding hot water of her bowl, wincing as she broke apart the bar of hardtack. The ache of hunger was getting worse and worse by the minute now that she had food in front of her. “I won’t take a share. An Acolyte of En Chitei has no need for riches.”

“Can I have yours then?” Batro asked, swirling the hardtack around in the bowl.

Cai laughed. “Fat chance. I’m the first made. I get first dibs after the captain.”

“No,” Ji said, poking the hardtack again. “I’ll just give it to Aven like I have been. He’ll know what to do with it.”

“I can see it now,” Cai said dreamily. “You two with your own mansion on a cliff overlooking the sea.”

Cai’s comment sent a flurry of emotions surging through her that was thankfully hidden as she ate her hardtack. Taking control of her breath she forced them away by the time she emptied the bowl. There was no time for that. For any of that. The only thing that mattered was the coming battle. It would do her no good to think about what came next, no matter how giddy it made her.

-

Saiyun tossed the doll up and down in his hand, steadying himself against the railing of the ship as it pushed through the choppy water. Their pursuer was still behind them, gaining ground with each passing hour. He didn't have any time to waste.

“Are you going to try again?” Yazwa asked, leaning on the railing.

Saiyun squeezed the new doll, tied to his wrist by a long strand of fishing line. "Yes,” he said, reaching over the side and dropping the doll into the water. Saiyun reached out and felt the mystical patterns he had sewn into the doll. He imagined it soaked with water, swelling up larger and larger until–

There was a sharp splash as the water surrounding the doll was sucked in to form the summon’s body and the rest of the water rushed in to fill the void. Saiyun willed it to sink and circle the boat as he stumbled to the railing.

"Did it work?" Yazwa asked, peering into the water. "I don't see anything, did it work?"

Grabbing the line tied around his wrist, Saiyun pulled it aboard as quickly as he could, the far end having snapped from the force of the summon’s manifestation. "Yes," he said with a smile, feeling the summon zip through the water. It easily outpaced the ship, darting past the bow as it pushed through the waves. "Here it comes."

Swift Tanlin popped out of the water, jumping in a long arc. At first glance, it was a gray, horse-sized seal. Its body was long and sleek, with six pairs of flippers running down the sides of its body providing it propulsion along with its powerful tail. Short, sharp tusks jutted down from its upper jaw and five pairs of dark eyes covered the front, sides, and top of its head.

"Eugh," Yazwa shivered as it splashed down, disappearing into the water. "I kind of wish you could just use the turtle instead."

"Ijose does not have the speed we need," Saiyun said as Swift Tanlin surfaced again, easily keeping pace with the ship. "Our targets will be fast and we will need to be swifter than them."

A sharp whistle caught Saiyun's attention as Cai walked up beside them. "That might be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen in the water."

"Might be?" Yazwa said, looking down at the summon. "It has eyes all over its head, what could be uglier than that?"

"I've been at sea for a long time," Cai nodded sagely. "And I've been drunk for about half of it. Even I don't believe some of the things I've seen."

Leaning out over the railing, Saiyun reached his hand out as far as it would go. He willed Tanlin to leap up, and the second its hard rubbery skin touched his palm, he banished it. The burst of water sloshed back into the ocean and Saiyun just barely managed to grab hold of the sopping wet doll. "So," he asked, wringing the water out of the doll. "Did my progress win you any coin?"

"No," Cai sighed. "I put my money on you pulling it off tomorrow. So did everyone else, except for Bill. He's going to be swimming in silver."

Pride swelled in Saiyun's chest as he squeezed the last of the water out of the doll. "Please give him the money with my compliments."

"Best I can do is give it to him with a sour face," replied Cai. "I lost a lot on this one."

"I can live with that," Saiyun grinned.

Yazwa tapped Saiyun on the shoulder. "Are we doing another one?"

"No," Saiyun said. "I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for all your help."

"It's not like I didn't have fun," said Yazwa, slapping him on the back and taking her leave.

Saiyun watched her go, flexing the sting of the slap out of his back. A few months ago, that probably would have sent him sprawling on the deck. Her rough handling to help him practice would have left him dazed and unable to stand. He clenched his fists, feeling the callouses life at sea had built up.

"That's a serious look," Cai quipped.

"Yes," replied Saiyun. "It's almost as if we're sailing into a serious situation."

Cai laughed and patted the pistol holstered at his hip. "You’re right. Bill’s in his cabin. Go tell him that he lost, I’m sure he’ll have some ideas for what to do with your new ugly summon.”