They were the first pair to half land, half crash their way into the litter. K'jarr had brought them down swift and hard. Tyranny was dazed but unhurt. The other two pairs came down in the same fashion. As Tyranny's head cleared, she saw the still unconscious slaver lying on the floor. The litter was cramped with all of them in it at the same time, but it couldn't be helped.
Tyranny snatched her spyglass from the floor, raised it to her face, and twisted the last cylinder. As the Black Ships came into focus, her mouth fell open.
With the dawn sun now glinting off them, the Black Ships looked even more ominous. The seven of them approached fast, each of their skeletal captains standing proudly in their bows, eager to begin the fight. They were so close now that as she looked through the glass, she could almost count the gold buttons on the captains' tattered waistcoats. Lowering the glass, she looked at Shailiha. There was no time to lose.
"Find the sextant and the map!" she ordered. For a few irretrievable moments, Shailiha scrabbled about in the litter. Then she found the items and handed them over.
The princess knew exactly what Tyranny meant to do. Before they had departed, Faegan had instructed them both regarding the spells and given a duplicate parchment to the princess. Tyranny was in charge of this seagoing mission, but if she were killed or incapacitated, Shailiha was to take over command and employ the necessary spells to see them all safely home. The princess was also fully aware of why Tyranny hadn't employed this last, desperate spell on the way here. It would have given them away. Now, that didn't matter.
Tyranny pulled the parchment out of her jacket. She scanned the list of incantations and found the one Faegan said they should employ only as a last resort. There were three shorter but equally important inscriptions listed just below the longer one.
Looking back to the east, she saw that the Black Ships were nearly upon them. This would be their last chance and it had to work. She gave Shailiha a questioning glance, and the princess nodded anxiously.
"You can do it!" Shailiha shouted. "I know you can! But do it now!"
Hoping against hope, Tyranny read the longest incantation aloud. The litter began to glow with the craft and rise from the sea.
But as it ascended it started to twirl violently. Tyranny was thrown hard against one of the warriors, and her sextant and map fell to the floor. Struggling to focus, she read the next passage aloud. To her utter amazement the litter stopped spinning.
They had risen only to about the height of the Black Ships' oncoming mainsails. Demonslavers swarmed over the enemy decks, shouting at them and brandishing their swords. They were so close now that Tyranny could see the eerie glow pouring from the captain's angry eye sockets.
"Hurry!" Shailiha screamed.
Tyranny read the second passage aloud as fast as she could. The sextant and the map started to glow. The map unfolded itself and hovered in the air. The sextant took its readings from the sun, then a beam of light shot from it to the map. The beam burned a direct course from their current position back to the Reprise.
Tyranny was about to recite the last of the incantations when she heard the unmistakable sounds of swordplay. She turned to look, and her breath caught in her lungs.
Their litter was literally bumping up against the mainmast of one of the Black Ships, and the demonslavers in the rigging were hacking relentlessly at Scars, Shailiha, and the three warriors. More slavers were climbing up, and it would be only seconds now before all was lost.
Scars reached out and grabbed one of the slaves by the arm. He gave it a short twist and broke it. Wasting no time, he tore the creature away from the rigging and threw him down to the deck. The screaming slaver hit hard, head first.
The rest of Tyranny's group was fighting wildly with their swords. But for every slaver that they cut down, two more rose to take his place. The glowing litter swung wildly back and forth, banging uncontrollably into the Black Ship's mainmast and threatening to send its occupants tumbling out at any moment. Several of the slavers began to swing shiny grappling hooks. Fighting the temptation to draw her sword, Tyranny looked back at the parchment and read the next incantation.
The litter shot higher into the sky. Finally free of the Black Ship's mainmast and rigging, it spun around to face northwest. Then it sped off, the amazing force of its momentum throwing all of the occupants crashing backward. Somehow, the sextant and the map stubbornly remained in place near the middle of the litter, guiding it on its way. Fighting the force of the oncoming wind, the exhausted passengers began to claw their way back to their seats.
Sheathing her sword, Shailiha looked over at Tyranny. Her face and arms were splattered with blood, but she was unhurt. Micah and K'jarr had suffered superficial wounds. Striving to work against the wind, Crevin did what he could to tend to them.
The two women looked east, back toward the Black Ships. To their relief the ships were already little more than dark bumps on the horizon. The privateer and the princess smiled at each other.
Tyranny looked down at the demonslaver still lying unconscious on the floor of the litter. Then she turned her gaze northwest again toward where the Reprise circled, awaiting their return. It would be good to feel the ship's sturdy, shifting decks beneath her boots again.
Suddenly she thought of the Jin'Sai. We have what you sent us for, she thought. But how will you receive the news of your half brother? Too tired for words, Tyranny closed her eyes and laid her head against the sidewall of the litter. As she did, the sun rose in earnest, bringing with it the promise of a beautiful day.
CHAPTER LVIII
Dax and the two warriors flying escort on either side of him were glad to see the sunrise. They had flown throughout the cold, cloudless night; the sun would bring welcome warmth to their wings and to the air that filled their lungs. As the morning light improved, Dax looked down to get his bearings.
He was relieved to see that they were still on course. They were flying south, following the Sippora River, and were about halfway to Tammerland. Dax had left camp far later than he would have liked, as there had been important matters to attend to. Rufio had been well liked, and his fellow warriors had taken his death hard-especially since there had been no body to immolate. Dax's first order of business had been to oversee an impromptu memorial service in the slain warrior's honor.
He then told his troops about the azure wall barring the entrance to the pass and he assigned a group of warriors to watch over it. If it changed in any way, they were to report it at once. He also assigned fresh troops to monitor the orb and issued them identical orders. According to the latest report, the deadly sphere, having created the new pass, had turned south again, still hemorrhaging golden energy. Where it would go from there was anyone's guess.
It had been the dead of night by the time Dax had been ready to depart for Tammerland to make a report to the Jin'Sai and his wizards. As the only living warrior who had seen the azure wall, he felt it was his duty to make the report personally.
The young Minion captain stole a few moments to close his bloodshot eyes against the wind. The respite felt wonderful. He had been awake for nearly thirty-six hours, and he was exhausted. Bowing to the inevitable, he opened his eyes again and looked down to make sure that the Sippora was still below them.
To make his group a little warmer, he led them to a lower altitude. As his view of the river improved, his eyes narrowed. I must be seeing things, he thought. He blinked, but the scene remained the same. To his utter amazement, the normally mighty Sippora had turned black and looked as thick as tar. Its banks teemed with refugees and loaded-down beasts of burden, all walking south along either side of the river. The crowds seemed to stretch on forever. They weren't simply fleeing, Dax realized. They were moving permanently, and it seemed that they were all on their way to Tammerland.