Meri worked like an adder: quick and sure in her attack, never giving time for reflection or repost from the opponent. She worked her way across the deck of the North Wind, defending her from the pirates. Around her, bodies spilled their lifeblood and were kicked overboard. The young man Callath along with Luc were carrying the wounded to Sedal below. The first mate clenched her teeth and blinked away the hot tears that formed in her eyes.
The cries from the Pora Diy caught her attention and she began to search the deck of the North Wind for a grapnel. She found one lying beneath the wheel of a catapult and wrenched it free. In one smooth toss she'd hooked it on the spar of the main course sail and swung herself over into the blood fest thereabouts. She lost her belt-dagger in the first kill and harnessed a harder grip on her sword. If necessary she could retrieve the knife from her boot.
"Meri!" The woman turned and for a moment caught the eye of Calnan before he turned again, focused on his opponent's lance. She moved towards him assuming that he needed help in his duel. The attaché, however, demonstrated a clean parry-thrust and sent the pirate crashing to the deck before she'd taken her second step. He looked up and beckoned her on dropping to his knee before the body of the ambassador's son. The first mate leapt over a coil of lines and knelt down beside him.
The young man was barely conscious and his breathing was loosing its stability. The gash was deep in his shoulder and was his only wound. "Wrap it up Mr. Terendul and stow him somewhere out of sight. We'll return when the fighting's over and do what more we can then." Calnan grabbed her sleeve as she stood to go and pulled her level with him.
"No we can't do that," he said between clenched teeth. Meri kept her patience in check and wrenched free of his grasp.
"I can," she said forcefully. "You do whatever you want!" Then she stood and left the young man as his friend's only hope. This was war, she told herself firmly, sacrifices would be made.
Avershire rolled a catapult clear of the wreckage of the Pora Diy's collapsed mizzen mast and placed a barrel-full of heavy stones in the spoon. Then he wound the twine so the neck bent over the launch bar.
"Now," he signaled to Packs beside him who cut the twine and sent the rocks crashing towards the main mast. It was a good hit but the spar stood firm and Avershire loaded another round.
"Ahoy Avershire!" called a cheery Borger as he rolled a second catapult up beside them. "Maybe two will get the job done?" The captain threw him a grin but stayed focused on winding his catapult's twine.
"Now!" and Packs snapped the string that sent a simultaneous hit along with Borger's shot that brought the Pora Diy's final mast crashing to the decks. Within no more than an hour, Avershire's crew had taken over the Pora Diy. The first battle was over.
|