‘So this is what you need to remember: the forestays, mainstays and mizzenstays: Snap ‘em, and they’ve got to run her into a wall. If they don’t, the ship will tear itself apart beneath them.’
‘Good. Thank you.’
‘Good luck,’ Captain Ford said. ‘Now you and Garec should get some sleep. Gilmour, too.’
‘He never sleeps,’ Steven said, ‘and we’ll be all right.’
‘Garec’s that good?’
‘I’ve never seen him miss.’
The sun was high and burning off the morning cloud cover when Garec joined Steven on deck. The two ships were rapidly closing on one another.
‘Can’t see anything yet,’ Steven said, ‘just that one fellow up there, in the bow. I can’t decide if he’s an archer or just some kind of lookout.’
‘At this rate we’ll soon be able to ask him face-to-face,’ Garec said. He had both quivers on his back and held his bow loosely in one hand.
‘Captain Ford seems to think they’ll tack north and strafe our broadside until we heave to and let them board us.’
‘Or they’ll not be so polite,’ Garec said, calm despite staring at an entire shipful of sailors and soldiers, all intent on killing him. His experience in the meadow near Meyers’ Vale, standing in the face of a cavalry charge, was still fresh in his mind. ‘They may decide to run in, get their hooks over our rails and come aboard uninvited.’
Steven ran his hand along the weathered railing. ‘So it’s up to us to discourage them.’
When they were within five hundred paces of the Malakasian cutter, they heard someone hailing them, ordering them to heave to.
‘Here we go,’ said Steven.
Garec nocked an arrow, considered the wind and the swells and aimed above the shouting Malakasian. ‘Shall I deliver our reply?’
‘Let me try first,’ Steven said, ‘and perhaps no one need get killed.’ He flexed his wrist a few times, summoned a pair of glowing fiery orbs and sent them hurtling with surprising speed towards the man hailing them, the cutter’s first officer, he presumed. The fireballs crashed into the side of the ship, blasting through the gunwale and knocking the sailor to the deck.
‘Excellent shot!’ Captain Ford shouted from the helm, ‘now see if you can get their sheets to fire up.’
Steven repeated the gesture and six of the orbs, trailing fire like Larion meteorites, flew into the cutter’s rigging. The bigger, faster ship came about suddenly, turning north to match the brig-sloop’s own tack. This was clearly something the Malakasian captain had expected, though from the behaviour on board the cutter – the frantic shouted orders and general scurrying-about – it looked like Steven’s attack forced their change in course earlier than they had planned.
‘They’re turning!’ Gilmour called from amidships. ‘Hit them again, Steven – two or three are catching fire; the others passed right through. Not so much speed on this next barrage perhaps.’
‘I’d like to drive them off,’ Steven admitted. ‘The fewer we kill, the better.’
Garec shielded his eyes from the sun. ‘You certainly scared the dog-snot out of that officer. He’ll be changing his leggings pretty soon.’
The ships were on a parallel course now, the cutter some three hundred paces north of the Morning Star. They were well within range of skilled archers, but, a little surprisingly, the marines weren’t lined up, ready to fire on the hostile Pragan boat. Garec himself was in position now to kill every officer on their quarterdeck. He waited for Steven to ask for help.
‘This one should do the job,’ Steven murmured, calling up more of the brilliant orbs.
Garec felt the heat on his face and turned away. ‘Gods, but that’s hot, Steven.’
‘I’m hoping to finish this right-’
He dropped the fireballs into the sea, where, hissing and spitting, they sank towards the bottom. He barely managed to throw up the protective spell in time to ward off the Malakasian’s counterattack, which struck with all the force of a bottled thunderclap against the brig-sloop’s starboard bulkhead; Steven and Garec were sent sprawling at the impact.
‘What the fuck was that?’ Steven shouted as he rolled to his feet.
Garec spat a mouthful of blood onto the deck and said, ‘But waiter, I didn’t order this.’
‘It’s that fellow there,’ Gilmour was pointing towards a lone figure standing in the stern of the cutter.
‘It’s the lookout, the one you spotted earlier,’ Garec said.
‘That’s no lookout,’ Steven said, ‘they have their own magician, and he just got a punch in.’
‘How are we still alive then?’ Garec was crawling towards the rail, an arrow nocked and ready. It was obvious he meant to kill the enemy sorcerer with one shot.
Steven kept pace with him. ‘It’s a spell I used in the river, something that just blew out of me.’
‘Oh well, thanks then,’ Garec said. ‘Why don’t you just keep your head down while I send him to the Northern Forest?’
‘We probably don’t have to kill him,’ Steven said.
‘No,’ Garec said, ‘this one’s all right. Call it a donation to the cause.’ He knelt, took aim quickly and fired. The arrow arced cleanly across the sea, but burst into flames and disintegrated before it reached the enemy ship. Garec cursed. ‘Sorry, Steven, looks like he’s all yours.’
Steven waved at the Malakasian magician, trying to get his attention. The other seemed to understand that he was being challenged, and pointed back. ‘That’s right, you bastard, just you and me,’ Steven muttered.
He turned to Gilmour and asked, ‘Who is this guy?’
‘No idea,’ the Larion Senator said cheerfully. ‘Probably someone who discovered skills as a child. A thousand Twinmoons ago he would have been recruited to study at Sandcliff Palace. Instead, now he’s a dangerous young man. That last spell was most likely honed on trees and rocks as he was growing up.’
‘I’d love to see his house,’ Garec smirked, wiping twin blood trails from his nose. ‘I’m sure it’s a lovely place, apart from all the holes.’
Steven said, ‘He’s not all that powerful. I could pull his tongue out of his head from here if I wanted to… I’m just not willing to risk doing anything so magically noisy.’
‘Probably too late,’ Gilmour admitted. ‘The blow he struck at us was quite enough to hit Mark like a slap in the face. You might as well do whatever you like to end it quickly, and we’ll pray to the gods that Mark doesn’t have time to pinpoint where we are while you’re cleaning up.’
‘Maybe you’re right,’ Steven said. ‘If I just- What did you say?’
‘The spell he cast at us,’ Gilmour said. ‘Can’t you feel it? It’s still lingering in the air. I’m sure the ripples have gone all the way to Philadelphia by now.’
‘Oh no,’ Steven cried as his eyes widened, ‘no!’ He cupped his hands and shouted, ‘You must stop what you’re doing, right now! Stop it!’
The Malakasian shot them a broad grin and waved. He was joined by an officer who cried, ‘Heave to! Strike your mains and tops! Prepare to be boarded!’
Captain Ford joined in now, shouting from the bridge, ‘We left your sister and mother in Orindale – most entertaining girls, they were!’
‘Heave to!’
‘Heave yourself, you’re not taking my ship!’
Steven, distracted by the exchange, failed to see the Malakasian gesture towards the Morning Star, but Gilmour shoved him and Garec to one side, threw up his hands and shouted a deflective incantation.
The sorcerer’s second volley crashed through the gunwale, showering the deck with splinters and sending all three men tumbling once again.
‘Red whoring rutters!’ Garec cried, ‘but I hate it when he does that!’
‘Steven! Garec!’ the captain screamed, ‘will you kill that annoying little bastard or do I have to ram him? Look what he did to my ship! Kill him, Garec; kill him now!’