"Put him back on his knees," she ordered.
Blood ran from between the slaver's lips and down his chin as Scars shoved him back down to the deck. Tyranny took another step closer.
Without warning she lifted one foot, and kicked the kneeling slaver in the chin.
The blow knocked him over onto his back. He writhed and choked for a time, then died as his own blood slowly filled his lungs.
As the final death rattle escaped him, Tyranny walked over and picked up two more shards of glass. She walked back to the other slaver and held the shards before his face.
"Answer my questions truthfully and you won't suffer the same fate," she said. "Now then, how many more slaver ships guard the Citadel?"
His hateful arrogance withered; the slaver bowed his head. "None," he answered. "Sure of his victory, our messiah sent them all."
"And the number of slavers?" she asked.
"They all came with the fleet."
"Then the traitorous consuls constitute the only remaining defense of the Citadel?" she asked.
"No," the thing said. "There are now others there, too. They are human, like you, but they are not consuls. They arrived just before our lord departed for Eutracia. They asked for his sanctuary and he granted it. He seemed glad to have them there."
Concerned by this unexpected news, Tyranny took another step closer. Her eyes narrowed. "Who are they?" she demanded.
The slaver shook his head. "None of us know," he answered. "They remain largely out of sight."
"Can you tell me anything else about them?" she asked.
The slaver shook his head again. "That is as much as any of us knows."
Rubbing her chin, Tyranny backed away. She took a final draft on her cigarillo, dropped it to the deck, and crushed it beneath her bloody boot. She looked over at K'jarr.
"Have our troops returned from the enemy vessels?" she asked.
"Yes," the warrior answered.
"Good," Tyranny said. "Have all of the surviving slavers taken back to their ships. That is where they shall meet their fates."
She turned back to K'jarr. "As this is being done, order all of our remaining vessels to form a line in the sea, with the Reprise at the center."
K'jarr clicked his heels. "As you wish," he said.
The demonslaver that Tyranny had questioned glared at her harshly. Struggling to break free of Scars' grip, he spat at her.
"What about me, you bitch!" he screamed. "You said that if I talked, you would spare me!"
Tyranny barely glanced at him "No, I didn't," she said.
She nodded at her first mate, then looked at Adrian. "Walk with me," she said.
As the two women strode to the gunwale, Scars wrapped his hands around the protesting slaver's throat, and the screaming died away. The privateer looked out to sea.
"The slaver's information is disturbing," Tyranny said. "What do you make of it?"
Adrian shook her head. "I have no idea," she answered. "But the Jin'Sai and Jin'Saiou must be informed immediately."
At the mention of Tristan, Tyranny felt the familiar pain go through her heart. "Indeed," she said. "Provided they are still alive."
Silence reigned as the two women watched the Minions fly the slavers back to their vessels. As ordered, the remainder of Tyranny's fleet began lining up on either side of the Reprise.
By the time the ships had deployed as ordered, the sun had set and stars twinkled above.
"What will you do now?" Adrian finally asked.
Tyranny turned to her. "I'm giving you command of the fleet," she said.
Adrian's jaw dropped. "Wha-what?"
"You heard me," Tyranny said. "My job here is done. Both the warriors and I can be of far greater use in Tammerland. I shudder to think of what we might find when we arrive. We will leave straightaway."
"What are your orders?" Adrian asked tentatively.
"Have the acolytes blow holes in the hulls of the slaver ships until each of them is sunk," Tyranny answered. "And make doubly sure that each and every demonslaver has drowned. Then and only then are you to order the fleet back to the coast. Many of our vessels are in a bad way, but the voyage is short. I will leave Scars here to help you. Anchor off the Cavalon Delta, then report to the palace."
Tyranny gave the acolyte a wry look. "You have acquitted yourself well out here, Sister Adrian," she added. "This shall be your first command, but I have the feeling that it won't be your last."
"I will do my best," Adrian said.
Tyranny looked over at her giant first mate. "Scars!" she shouted.
"Have my litter made ready! And tell K'jarr that all of the warriors are to accompany me back to Tammerland!"
Scars nodded back. Tyranny turned to Adrian again.
"Good luck," she said. "And don't lose any of my ships!"
"And good luck to you," Adrian answered.
Tyranny walked to her litter and climbed in. Adrian watched her give some final orders to Scars; the first mate nodded. In a matter of moments the litter and the entire host of warriors had taken to the nighttime sky.
As her litter climbed higher, Tyranny heard the muffled echoes of explosions. She turned to watch the Acolytes' azure bolts shooting across the dark sea to smash into the hulls of the slaver frigates. One by one the ships went down. She let out a long, tired sigh. Perhaps the time of the demonslavers is finally over, she thought.
Tired and bloody, Tyranny closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. The nighttime air felt fresh and clean against her face.
As her litter turned toward Tammerland, the privateer dreaded what she might find there. But she was sure of one thing: The Jin'Sai would need her sword, and she would give it.
CHAPTER LXXXVIII
As Tristan and Wigg's litter was carried over Tammerland, they could hardly believe their eyes.
The western half of Tammerland was destroyed. The superheated mass in the Sippora still moved slowly along with the river, setting fire to everything nearby. The streets were filled with a writhing, crushing flow of humanity. Demonslavers and K'tons systematically slaughtered the refugees as they fled. Blood slicked the streets. The fires roared high into the night, sending choking smoke up to greet them, and even from their altitude, Tristan, Wigg, and Traax could easily hear the cries of the dying.
Behind the demonslavers lumbered giant beasts the likes of which Tristan had never before seen. With sweeps of their incredible tails, they were destroying building after building, sending walls and roofs high into the air. Behind and above them sailed the six remaining Black Ships, their skeletal captains raining azure bolts down upon anything that still moved.
Horrified, Tristan turned to look at Wigg. The First Wizard's face had gone ashen. Tristan quickly guessed that this was not Wigg's first encounter with these monsters.
"You know what those things are, don't you?" he asked.
Wigg nodded. "Earthshakers," he said. "They are abominations originally conjured by the Sorceresses of the Coven. Unless they are stopped, they will smash through Tammerland until nothing is left. If they reach the palace they will surely destroy it. And with the upper levels gone, the fires might easily find their way down into the Redoubt. If they do, three hundred years of records and research in the craft could be destroyed forever."
Tristan shuddered at the prospect of the craft's written history gone in a single night. He took the wizard by the shoulders.
"Can your plan defeat them?" he asked anxiously.
Wigg shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. "Perhaps. But only if Faegan and Jessamay have been successful in their research. Right now, our priority is to reach the palace without being seen. Only then can the three of us do what we must, while you go on to follow the dictates of the Scroll Master."
"Agreed," Tristan said.
Ox was flying nearby. Tristan shouted out a series of orders to him. Because they had flown in from the northwest, they had not yet been spotted by the enemy. But if they didn't change course, they soon would be. It nearly drove the prince mad that they would have to take such a circuitous route, but there was no other choice.