Arrows began to fly from deck to deck as archers, their legs twisted in the rigging, shot at enemy archers. Javelins rattled on the decks or pierced the armour of the warriors, Eldren and Human, and threw them prone. Now the sound of cannon could still be heard, but it was not the steady pounding it had been. The shots became more intermittent and were replaced by the clash of swords, the shouts of warriors fighting hand to hand.
Smoke still formed acrid blossoms in the air above that watery battlefield. And when I could see through the murk to the green, wreckage-strewn ocean itself I saw that the foam was no longer white. It was red. The sea was covered by a slick of blood.
As our ship beat on to join battle once again, I saw upturned faces staring at me from the sea. They were the faces of the dead, both Eldren and Human, and they seemed to share a common expression-an expression of astonished accusation.
After a while, I tried to ignore the sight of those faces.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE BROKEN TRUCE
Two more ships fell to our ram and we sustained hardly any damage at all. The lolinda moved through the battle like a dignified juggernaut, as if assured of her own invulnerability.
It was King Rigenos who saw it first. He screwed up his eyes and pointed through the smoke, his open mouth red in the blackness of his soot-covered face.
'There! See it, Erekose? There!'
I saw a magnificent Eldren ship ahead of us, but I did not know why Rigenos singled it out.
'It is the Eldren flagship, Erekose,' Rigenos said. 'The Eldren flagship. It could be that their leader himself is aboard. If that cursed servant of Azmobaana does ride his own flagship and if we can destroy him, then our cause will be truly won. Pray that the Eldren Prince rides her, Erekose! Pray for it!'
Katorn snarled from behind us: 'I would like to be the one to bring him down.' He had a heavy crossbow in his mailed hands, and he stroked its butt as another man might stroke a favourite kitten.
'Oh, let Prince Arjavh be there. Let him be there,' hissed Rigenos thirstily.
I paid them little heed, but shouted the order for grappling irons to be readied.
Luck, it seemed, was still with us. Our huge vessel reared up on a surging wave at exactly the right moment and we rode it down upon the Eldren flagship, our timbers scraping its sides and turning it so that it lay in a perfect position for our grapples to seize it. The iron claws snaked out on thick ropes, clamped in the rigging, stabbed into the deck, snatched at the rails.
Now the Eldren craft was bound to us. We held it close, like a lover holds his mistress.
And that same smile of triumph began to cross my face. I had the sweet taste of victory on my lips. It was the sweetest taste of all. I, Erekose, signed for a slave to run forward and wipe my face with a damp cloth. I drew myself up proudly on my deck. Just behind me was King Rigenos, on my right. On my left was Katorn. I felt a comradeship with them suddenly. I looked proudly down on the Eldren deck. The warriors looked exhausted. But they stood ready, with arrows strung on bows, with swords clenched in white fists and shields raised. They watched us silently, making no attempt to cut the ropes, waiting for us to make the first move.
When two flagships locked in this way, there was always a pause before fighting broke out. This was to enable the enemy commanders to speak and, if both desired it, decide a truce and the terms of that truce.
Now King Rigenos bellowed across the rail of his high deck, calling out to the Eldren who looked up at him, their strange eyes smarting with the smoke as much as ours did.
'This is King Rigenos and his champion, the immortal Erekose, your ancient enemy come again to defeat you. We would speak with your commander for a moment, in the usual truce.'
From beneath a canvas awning on his poop-deck, a tall man now emerged. Through the shifting smoke I saw, dimly at first, a pointed golden face with milky blue-flecked eyes staring sadly from the sockets of the slanting brow. An eldritch voice, like music, sang across the sea:
'I am Duke Baynahn, Commander of the Eldren Fleet. We will make no complicated peace terms with you, but if you let us sail away now we will not continue to fight.'
Rigenos smiled and Katorn snorted. 'How gracious!' Katorn grunted. 'He knows he is doomed.'
Rigenos chuckled at this. Then he called back to Duke Baynahn.
'I find your proposal somewhat naive, Duke Baynahn.'
Baynahn shrugged wearily. 'Then let us finish this,' he sighed. He raised his gloved hand to order his men to loose their arrows.
'Hold a moment!' Rigenos shouted. 'There is another way, if you would spare your men.'
Slowly Baynahn lowered his hand. 'What is that?' His voice was wary.
'If your master, Arjavh of Mernadin, is aboard his own flag-snip-as he should be-let him come out and do battle with Lord Erekose', humanity's champion.' King Rigenos spread out his palms. 'If Arjavh should win-why, you will go in peace. If Erekose should win, then you will become our prisoners.'
Duke Baynahn folded his arms across his chest. 'I have to tell you that our Prince Arjavh could not get to Paphanaal in time to sail with our fleet. He is in the West-In Loos Ptokai.'
King Rigenos turned to Katorn.
'Kill that one, Katorn,' he said quietly.
Duke Baynahn continued: 'However, I am prepared to fight your champion if…'
'No!' I cried to Katorn. 'Stop! King Rigenos, that is dishonourable-you speak during a truce.'
'There is no question of honour, Erekose', when exterminating vermin. That you will soon learn. Kill him, Katorn!'
Duke Baynahn was frowning, plainly puzzled at our muted argument, striving to catch the word.
'I will fight your Erekose,' he said. 'Is it agreed?'
And Katorn brought up the crossbow and the bolt whirred and I heard a soft gasp as it penetrated the Eldren speaker's throat.
His hand went up towards the quivering bolt. His strange eyes filmed. He fell.
I was enraged at the treachery shown by one who so often spoke of treachery in his enemies. But now there was no time to remonstrate for already the Eldren arrows were whistling towards us and I had to ensure our defences and prepare to lead the boarding party against the betrayed crew of the enemy ship.
I grasped a trailing rope, unsheathed my glowing sword and let the words come from my lips, though I was still full of anger against Katorn and the king.
'For Humanity!' I shouted. 'Death to the Hounds of Evil!'
I swung down through the heated air that slashed against my face in that swift passage and I dropped, with howling human warriors behind me, among the Eldren ranks.
Then we were fighting.
My followers took care to stay away from me as the sword opened pale wounds in the Eldren foes, destroying all whom it even lightly cut. Many Eldren died beneath the Sword Kanajana but there was no battle-joy in me as I fought, for I was still furious with my own people's actions and there was no skill needed for such slaying-the Eldren were shocked at the death of their commander and they were plainly half-dead with weariness, though they fought bravely.
Indeed, the slender shark ships seemed to hold more men than I had estimated. The long-skulled Eldren, well aware that my sword touch was lethal, flung themselves at me with desperate and ferocious courage.
Many of them wielded long-hafted axes, swinging at me out of reach of my sword. The sword was no sharper than any ordinary blade and, although I hacked at the shafts, I succeeded only in splintering them slightly. I had constantly to duck, stab beneath the whirling axe blades.
A young, golden-haired Eldren leapt at me, swung his axe and it smashed against my shoulder plate, knocking me off balance.