Tonight the sea was relatively calm, the winds were steady, and the fleet's pace was more than adequate. Unless a fog formed, the visibility would be excellent. The other vessels followed the Reprise in a line, at intervals of approximately one-half league. Just now they were in the midst of yet another northern leg of their patrol, and the mysterious area of Shadowood would soon come up along their port side.
At least K'jarr's scouts were keeping the vessels in some form of communication, however tenuous, she thought. Others continually patrolled as far to the east as they dared. This added great range to Tyranny's search, and she was thankful for it. But a squad of four such scouts had already perished when they had overestimated their endurance. She was determined to keep loss of life to a minimum, no matter what it took.
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, she turned to see Shailiha, Sister Adrian, and Duvessa walking toward her, the princess carrying an open bottle of red wine. Adrian held four glasses. Duvessa carried a stone jug of akulee. They were all smiling. Tyranny raised an eyebrow.
Shailiha and Duvessa held their bottles high. "Reinforcements!" the princess announced cheerfully. "At least that's what Tristan likes to call it."
Duvessa and Adrian laughed.
Shailiha poured out three glasses of wine, while Duvessa served herself a glassful of akulee. Tyranny accepted a glass from Shailiha, raised it in a silent toast, then drained it in one long, welcome draft.
"Bless you," she said. She held the glass out for a refill.
As she took another sip, Tyranny looked at Duvessa's body armor. Since that day in Valrenkium when Reznik's beasts had come snarling up out of the earth, all of the healers who had participated in the fight with Duvessa had been granted the additional distinction of the red feather. Embroidered into the leather, it crossed over the white one at a sharp angle.
When Traax had seen how well the women fought, he had immediately requested permission from the Jin'Sai to grant them warrior status-without the need for the customary rites of ascension. Glad to see that his vision of adding females to the warrior ranks was taking hold, Tristan heartily approved.
Upon seeing the honor of the red feather emblazoned upon the healers' armor more female Minions had requested warrior training. Even the stern Traax-who at first had harbored grave doubts about the prince's idea-now touted the concept every chance he could find. Duvessa found that amusing, but she did not chide him about it.
Ironic, Tyranny thought as she stared at the red feather. The Minion women were such wonderful healers, and yet now such accomplished takers of life, as well. Tyranny had requested that a small group of these new warriors be assigned to each of her sixty-three ships, and she was particularly glad to have their dual skills at her service.
Shailiha walked to the gunwale and leaned her arms upon the rail. She smiled to herself as she remembered that she no longer needed Faegan's spell to combat her seasickness. She was beginning to understand her brother's love of the sea.
But when she turned back around to the others, her face was worried.
"If Wulfgar catches us out here with his Black Ships, do we have any hope of stopping him?" she asked Tyranny bluntly. "Worse yet, can we survive it?"
Tyranny didn't answer. Striking a match against one of her scuffed knee boots, she lit another cigarillo. After taking a luxurious lungful of smoke, she shook her head.
"I don't know," she answered. "But if you put a dagger to my throat and force me to choose, I would have to say no. Faegan and Wigg seem to believe that the Enseterat will come with his Black Ships first, because they are so much faster. Then the demonslaver war frigates will follow. If the wizards are correct, in the beginning we will have superior numbers. But at the Citadel, you and I saw firsthand what the Black Ships can do. And don't forget about how huge those vessels are. They were built to carry something. But what could that be-more demonslavers, perhaps? Or will it be something even worse? We barely got away with our teeth that night."
"Remember that day not so long ago in my cabin?" she added. "After K'jarr had described what the Black Ships were capable of, I was practically ready to have him keelhauled! But in the end he was exactly right."
She took another sip of wine as she gathered her thoughts.
"And we still don't know what these seven captains of Wulfgar's are capable of," she added glumly. "Wigg and Faegan claim that they were once powerful wizards. But in their present form, can they still employ the craft? No one knows. But I needn't tell any of you about the kind of destruction seven full-fledged wizards could wreak upon our ships. We might never know what hit us."
Tyranny gave Sister Adrian a respectful nod. "That is why I petitioned Faegan so forcefully to allow us to have some of the acolytes of the Redoubt along. If the seven captains of the Black Ships still command their powers, perhaps our ladies can pay them something back in return. I would have loved to have Jessamay here with us as well, but Faegan swore he couldn't spare her. Something about how she was the only one who could help him in his seemingly never-ending research, he said. Tell me. Does he ever stop studying the craft?"
Shailiha smiled. "I don't think so," she answered. "Sometimes it seems like-"
Two distinct sounds interrupted her. One of them was the peal of the warning bell in the crow's nest. The other was the sound of K'jarr and Scars running toward them.
K'jarr had just returned from a patrol. His wings drooping toward the deck, it was all he could do to catch his breath. Scars had that predatory look on his face that Tyranny knew so well.
"A patrol has found them!" Scars announced. "All seven of the Black Ships are approximately six leagues due east and coming fast, flying above the sea." The giant first mate's face turned hard in the growing moonlight. "Wulfgar's invasion has begun."
Tyranny shot a look at K'jarr. "Did you see any demonslaver frigates?" she asked.
Still trying to catch his breath, the Minion shook his head.
She nodded. It seems that the crippled wizard Faegan was right after all, she thought. And unless we change course, the Black Ships will soon have the angle on us-in addition to their greater speed. She turned back to K'jarr.
"Do you think they saw you?"
K'jarr shook his head. "I kept the patrol very high. But I'm sure of what I saw. The size of the Black Ships makes them hard to mistake."
Tyranny looked over at Adrian. "What are the odds that Wulfgar will sense us?" she asked.
"That is nearly impossible to say," Adrian answered. "The spell Faegan invoked over the Sisters and Shailiha to cloak our blood continues to hold, but this is the Enseterat we're dealing with, and in many ways his powers dwarf even those of Faegan's. There is simply no telling whether he will be able to sense our blood before he actually sees our fleet. I recommend caution."
Tyranny shook her head. "There will be a time for caution," she said ominously. "But now is not it. Tonight he sails only with his Black Ships. He is as vulnerable as he will ever be. If he isn't stopped before his demonslaver frigates arrive, or before he can breach the azure wall in the Tolenkas, he may never be defeated."
She looked east. She saw nothing except a calm ocean, but she knew that was about to change. For several moments she calculated the various distances, speeds, and angles in her mind. Finally she turned back to K'jarr.
"Order a messenger to fly to each of our other ships and inform them of the situation," she said. "I want the fleet divided. The northern half is to turn northeast; the southern half is to turn east for two leagues, then turn north. Each ship is to douse all of her lights and go on battle alert. Go now. And tell all of your messengers to hurry. Our lives depend upon it."
K'jarr bowed slightly. "I live to serve," he said. He was gone in an instant.