“What is it, Sienen?” Drake said tersely. “I’ve got plans.” He glanced back at Beck. “Good plans.”
“Some of my boys are missing,” Captain Zhou said. “Light’s all but gone and they should’ve been back long ago.”
“Missing from where?” Drake said.
“Water collection out in the trees.”
“They may have stumbled into one of the magic traps,” Beck said with a sigh. “I can take a team to look for them.” She wasn’t sure if she was glad or not for a reason to be away from Drake.
“They’ve made the run… must be twenty times,” Captain Zhou said indignantly. “They know the route.”
Beck saw Drake glance towards his ship and then back up towards the town. He was obviously torn between the desire to get Beck back to his cabin and the need to take the missing pirates seriously.
“Raise the alarm, Sienen,” he said. “Every man, woman, and drunk who can hold a sharp object gets one.”
Beck swung her jerkin off her shoulder and pulled it on. “Drake, if you wouldn’t mind doing me up,” she said quietly.
“Aye, probably for the best.” Drake started pulling on the laces to tightly secure the jerkin as Captain Zhou ran off towards the town, shouting for people to raise the alarm. Within a minute small bells were ringing all around New Sev’relain, the signal to warn of a possible attack.
Beck counted eight camp fires on the beach between them and the ships. They ranged from cook fires to small blazes, each one lighting only a small area in the encroaching darkness. Each ship in the bay was also lit with a number of lanterns, and Beck counted twelve vessels, all floating on water that looked almost ethereal as the light from a waning sun gave way to that of a new moon.
“There’s a new ship in the bay,” Beck said as Drake finished tightening up the laces and tied them off.
Moving to stand beside her, Drake stared down the beach. “That one,” he said, pointing at a ship sitting at the docks between The Phoenix and the Fortune. “I don’t recognise her.”
An ear-splitting whistle sounded from the town and both Beck and Drake turned to see a bright light rocket upwards, leaving a trail of red behind it until it finally exploded into shards of crimson high above New Sev’relain.
“What in Volmar’s name was that?” Beck said.
“Sky fire,” Drake said. “The Dragon Empire use them for celebrations and for signalling armies from a distance.”
Another whistle behind them turned them both back towards the bay, and the sky was lit by another small explosion a moment later, this one green. In the dim light Beck saw men dressed in armour rush down the gangplank of the new ship before forming up and spreading out along the docks while more men climbed down behind them.
“Bastards are in among us,” Drake said, and started down the beach just as the unmistakeable sound of steel on steel floated down from the town.
Beck took a deep breath and banished all thoughts of sleep or sex or anything but blood and death. “Go to the town,” she said coldly. “They’ll need you.”
“But my ship,” Drake protested, caught between the docks and the town even as the pirates around the camp fires started to react to the small army gathering on their beach.
“I’ll deal with them.” Beck pointed towards the ship and the soldiers pouring off it. “I can fight better without you getting in my way.” She didn’t wait for Drake’s reply. She set off down the beach and towards the ship, hoping he would survive the battle without her protection.
Chapter 12 - The Phoenix
The walls were next to useless in most places, little more than ankle-high fences. Soldiers from the forest swarmed over them in units of five or six, forgoing the usual formations for a more skirmish style of combat. Keelin had to admit it was a wise decision, given the distance between buildings in New Sev’relain and the sheer number of alleyways and cut-throughs.
The pirates and townsfolk had one thing going for them, at least – the soldiers looked weary and out of sorts. No doubt they’d landed their ships on the north-east side of the island, where the sand monsters would have caused heavy casualties to the unwary, and there was a good chance the magical traps in the forest had caused their fair share of chaos among the ranks.
Keelin leapt into the nearest fight, both cutlasses already drawn and swinging. His swords clanged off the soldier’s cuirass, leaving only a scrape in the bright metal by way of damage, but the soldier retreated from the attack and Keelin pressed forwards. A second man stepped forward with a round shield, batting away Keelin’s follow-up just as a spear came over the top and nearly skewered him. Ever light on his feet, Keelin danced backwards out of the way.
The pirates and townsfolk had all been armed with an assortment of swords, axes, knives, and the odd bow, but very few had been given shields. Even fewer were used to fighting well-armed, trained soldiers on a battlefield that was more stable than not. A group of ten men and women pressed the soldiers Keelin was fighting from the other side, but they were scared to get close with a spear swinging about and shields protecting the men they were trying to kill. It was the same everywhere Keelin looked; the people of New Sev’relain simply weren’t ready for this type of battle. They were well and truly outmatched.
One burly pirate with a cleft chin and tattoos showing underneath his shirt and all the way down his arms ran at the group of soldiers with a howl of rage and a big wood axe swinging above his head. The pirate leapt and, with a scream, brought down his axe on the shield of one of the soldiers. The shield split and half of it fell away. A spear was thrust at the pirate, but he caught it with his right hand and launched himself backwards, away from the group of soldiers, pulling the man on the other end of the spear with him. His fellow pirates wasted no time in stabbing the unfortunate soldier before the rest of his group could rescue him.
Most of the soldiers switched their attention and moved to face the larger, more threatening group. Keelin made his move. He ran at the last man facing him, swatting aside his sword, then leapt to his left, careening into one of the soldiers watching the group of pirates. After knocking the man to the ground, Keelin found himself in among the soldiers before any of them realised what had happened. His swords moved in a blur of low and high slashes, aiming for exposed arms and legs. The soldiers went down in a flurry of blood and screams.
A shield hit Keelin in the face and he stumbled away, tripped over something, and felt the ground hit him hard. He tasted mud and blood and struggled to breathe air back into his lungs as he tried to get his hands beneath him.
Rolling onto his back and blinking away the dark spots, Keelin saw the face of the tattooed pirate staring down at him, offering him a hand. He accepted it and was quickly pulled to his feet. The rest of the pirates had surged forwards and were busy finishing off the soldiers with brutal stabs to their faces or any other unprotected areas they could get to.
“No time fer rest, Cap’n,” said the tattooed pirate, thumbing towards the forest.
Keelin saw more and more troops emerging from the treeline, many looking as though they were being chased out. They were quickly forming into small groups. The pirates and townsfolk were banding together as best they could, trying to outnumber the soldiers and drive them apart, but they were fighting a losing battle and already there were more dead pirates than soldiers.
“With me,” Keelin shouted over the clash of battle, hoping that the group he’d just aided would follow his orders. He charged towards a cluster of soldiers who had just cut down three men and a woman and were heading for the town.