"I would say that you are lying and you would try to have us slain before we got to our ship."
Whilst Martin spoke, Ublaz was slowly drawing the sabre from his waistsash. The movement was hidden by his flowing cloak. He tensed himself to spring as he continued talking. "I was not always an Emperor. Once I was a corsair, the most feared swordsbeast of the high seas. I ruled with my blade."
Martin's quick eye caught the shifting of the pine marten's cloak. Silently he stepped sideways and took up the warrior's stance. Ublaz made his move then, roaring as he whirled about and lunged with the sabre, "Mine is the last name you'll hear. Ublaaaaaaaz!"
Clang! Clash!
Martin parried the thrust and brought his blade into play. Back and forth they dodged and skipped, slashing, riposting and countering, steel singing against steel to provide music for the dance of death. Warrior and Emperor, blade for blade, backing, weaving, their swordpoints seeking and questing, whirling in the flickering gold light. The pine marten rushed his opponent; gripping the sabre with both paws he battered the Warriormouse into a crouch. With a swift sweep of his sword, Martin sliced across his adversary's footpaw, then, bringing the blade up in a flashing arc, he fenced Ublaz into a corner.
The Emperor bulled his way out, inflicting a gash in Martin's side. They locked blades in the center of the room, pushing sword hilt to sabre guard as each strove wildly to gain the upper paw. Panting and gasping, eye to eye, the combatants swayed, grasping for any hold their footpaws could find that might serve as a lever.
Then without warning Ublaz dropped his head to one side and bit savagely into the side of Martin's neck. With a mighty roar of pain the Warrior lashed out; his paw, locked tight around the sword handle, punched Ublaz solidly in the eye.
The pine marten's mouth fell open, colored lights exploding on his vision as he staggered backward.
And trod upon the sleeping snake!
Faster than any eye could follow, the venomous reptile struck, burying its fangs in the leg of Ublaz.
Martin stood watching, his chest heaving as he sucked in air hungrily, a paw clamped to his wounded neck. Ublaz's sabre clattered to the floor. He was swaying, his head drooping to one side, squinting as his vision blurred. He stared dazedly at the coral snake as it slithered across the room in a golden fluid movement; back into its tank it slipped with hardly a ripple. The Emperor took a few unsteady backward paces until he reached the wall, then leaning against it he slid down into a sitting position.
Stretching forth his sword, Martin picked the crown from Ublaz's head with his bladetip. The thick, garnet-studded circlet slid down the hilt; Martin looked down at Ublaz, who was staring back at him in disbelief, his lips moving.
“ Nobeast was mightier than me .. . Emperor ... I was ... Emp ..."
Martin looped the crown onto his belt and squatted facing the dying pine marten. "So, yours wasn't the last name I heard, but here's the last name you'll ever hear. I say it for a friend whose kin you had murdered for a half-dozen pearls."
Martin brought his face closer to Ublaz and roared aloud, "Holt Lutraaaaaaa!''
Chapter 54
Clecky had succeeded in fighting his way through the ranks of Monitors to the stairway. He passed Grath his javelin and gave Inbar the short axe he had thrust into his sash. The two otters shouldered their bows, and Clecky and Grath placed themselves on either side of Inbar, who still had the Abbot bundled upon his back.
Battling madly, they were halfway to the main entrance when Martin came charging from the cellar stairs to join them, shouting, "Mad Eyes is dead! I have slain Ublaz!"
There was an immediate lull in the fighting as the Monitors lowered their spears and stared dully at one another.
Martin got behind Inbar to protect the Abbot. "Come on, back to the ship, quick!" he yelled.
Plogg peered through the darkness at the huddle of creatures clattering along the jetty toward him. He drew his rapier, calling, "Who goes there?"
Clecky could not resist. "Just a one-eared hare, a wounded warrior, a sleepin' Abbot and a couple o' plank-tailed water-dogs. Yowch! I say, watch it!"
Grath smiled as she waggled the javelin tip. "Sorry, mate, I slipped."
Plogg helped haul the Abbot aboard. He was still sleeping, wrapped snugly in the velvet wall hanging. The shrew glanced up towards the palace, saying, "There's about a score o' lizards millin' round up there, looks as if they're wonderin' what t'do."
Martin pulled Clecky over the stern rail then severed the rope-lines holding Waveworm to the jetty. "We're not waiting to find out what they're going t'do. Make sail and let's get away from this place!"
Viola and Welko dashed back and forth on the deck of Freebooter. With a pair of oars they had found, the two of them were smacking every head or paw that showed over the rails. There was a moment's respite. Quivering with fear and exhaustion the volemaid leaned wearily against the rail.
"Oh dear! Oh goodness me! We can't keep this up much longer. Good job they've given up for a while. Yeeeek!"
Welko ran at her, swinging his oar. He brought it down, whooshing within a hairsbreadth of Viola, to crash upon the head of an evil-looking ferret gripping a cutlass between his gapped teeth.
"Don't turn yer back on the rail, miss, that'n near 'ad you," he said. He stared out into the fiamelit darkness. The burning ships were beginning to hiss and sizzle as they sank lower into the shallows. Welko shook his head in despair at what he saw.
"They've put some o' that burnin' timber out an' they're lashin' t'gether a couple o' rafts. We're in real trouble if Martin an' the others don't show up soon!"
On the shoreline, Buckla touched the top of his head tenderly. "I'll keel'aul that perishin' volemaid for beltin' me with that oar. Make those lashin's tight, mates. Haharr, let's see 'em try ter stop us this time. Gancho, are the rafts ready?"
Gancho locked off a vine rope with two half-turns and a double hitch. "Ready as they'll ever be, bucko. Come on, we kin paddle with our paws, 'tis no more'n ten shiplengths out to Freebooter."
Corsairs and searats piled aboard the two rafts until they were low in the water. Baltur licked the edge of his cutlass meaningfully. "Yaharr, keep the shrew alive, I wanna liddle fun with 'im afore the fishes get wot's left!"
The vermin on the rafts' edges began paddling with anything available: paws, spear blades and scraps of driftwood. Both rafts were making fair progress until about halfway. Suddenly the nightdarkened waters exploded beneath them.
"Nuggoramaaa harrawoooom gurroochorrr! Harm not our friends. Go from here."
The great bull seal Hawm and a pack of adult male and female seals had smashed the rafts to matchwood in seconds. Huge wet tails and strong flippers made loud thwacking noises as they rendered each vermin senseless with a single smack. Searats and corsairs flew out of the water and through the air to hit the sand, as the powerful mammals flung them ashore with mighty flicks of their sleek heads. Welko and Viola leaned over the rail of Freebooter laughing gleefully at the sight.
"Ooh! King Hawm gave that searat such a crack, did you see him?"
"Aye, lookit that ferret, 'e did a somersault in the air afore 'e landed onshore. Go on, mates, give it to 'em!"
"Oh yes, please, belt that slimy stoat good an' hard for me!"
King Hawm swam up to the side of the ship, then, clapping a flipper against his broad chest, he smiled and bowed.
Welko and Viola clapped their paws together joyfully, calling aloud, "Haaaaaawm! Haaaaaaaawm!"
The king pointed his flipper at Waveworm rounding the cove. "Ma'tan! Ma'tan!"