Chapter 44
My ears ring as I regain consciousness on the deck of the ship.
I stand, fighting to stay conscious, and my vision blurs.
A throbbing pain shoots through my head, and I lift a shaky arm to my face, feeling the blood.
Luckily, there’s only a small scratch across my cheek, and the rest of me seems to be untouched.
Chaos comes into view as my vision clears, Wielders and creatures clashing in a tangled, gory mess.
I hear Larkin screaming my name to move, but I can’t process what’s happening. The clang of weapons and blasts of magic rattle my ears, and I stumble backward, unsure of which way to go.
Two hands wrap around my shoulders, and Larkin shakes me as his face comes into view.
“Briar,” he screams in my face. “You need to fight.”
He turns with a warrior’s grace, his sword drawn, and the long metal clashes against a creature’s armor.
Larkin is already covered in blood, and my jaw slacks as I watch him rip out a piece of wood that protrudes from his upper thigh.
He grits his teeth, but acts as if nothing pains him in this moment.
I slowly blink back into my body, and my vision steadies, allowing me to see clearly for the first time.
Snarling creatures claw at the wooden surface as they crawl from their mangled boat to ours, and dozens of resurrected beings move across the splintered wood, not caring that it digs into their dead skin. I realize that this ship isn’t as full as the others, but it is still overwhelming.
I stand in disbelief as I watch a creature approach me, noticing my shocked state.
Its semi-human face gnashes its rotting teeth in my direction, snapping at me like a rabid animal.
Long arms and legs propel it forward at an unnatural speed.
This poor soul races toward me, resurrected against their will and forced to fight, and I can’t move.
The creature nears me, and I realize I have neither axe drawn for my protection, and I am completely defenseless. It raises its long black claw to strike me down when Larkin jumps before me and drives his sword into the creature’s neck. The creature screams and scratches at its open throat.
The resurrected being falls to the ground, twitching before it becomes lifeless once more. Its body shrivels into a grey knot, and I step back in horror. I snap back into my body, realizing our time is limited before this ship goes under due to the amount of damage done to it, and I have to help.
Now.
“If you don’t move, I’m going to kick your fucking ass,” Larkin hisses and pushes me forward. “Move, or you are going to get us both killed.”
I quickly grab both axes and clutch them in my hands.
“Larkin,” I breathe. “It’s worse than I thought.”
“I know,” he responds.
The familiar weight of the weapons feels good, and I gaze at the shining gold blades.
Fear has left me, and the only thing that remains is rage.
I step forward, swinging one axe after the other, showing no signs of slowing down.
I work in tandem with the surrounding Wielders, bringing my axes down upon every resurrected being that comes into view while Larkin remains at my back.
When my arms scream at me to stop, I quickly lower one axe and send a surge of magic toward the crowd of creatures.
Shock ripples through me when I realize I wielded light instead of shadows.
My body screams in pain as I force myself to continue forward, striking creatures down one by one.
The wind rips around us, the howling unable to drown out the growls and screams of those being taken down either by Wielder or creature.
Blood sprays in all directions, and I have to work twice as hard to keep the hot liquid from getting in my eyes.
I move carefully over each fallen body, twisting with my weapons as we race against the sinking ship around us.
“The ships are going ahead,” Larkin shouts, through the clangs of weapons and blasts of magic. “The second ship is coming to stop one of the others from reaching the pier.”
I quickly glance over the ship's edge to see Andorwood’s second ship passing us, Darcy instructing the crew. The large, dark wooden vessel heads in the direction of the two resurrected ships like a beast of the sea.
I close my eyes and push against the connection to Silas on the pier.
“Silas,” I think. “Can you hear me?”
The connection is dark, and I can’t feel his presence nearby. I glance toward the wall. His magic must be blocking more than just the looming ships sailing their way.
“Silas, Gods damnit,” I yell into my mind. “There are more than two ships.”
No response.
“We have to get off this ship,” I shout back to Larkin. “Silas can’t hear me.”
Larkin moves to the opposite side of the ship, swinging the sword, as if he had done this his entire life.
He fights with such ease that I can’t help but admire his stamina and precision.
With each creature he strikes down, he moves on to the next one, occasionally taking on two at a time.
Larkin swings his sword and slashes through the ropes that keep the lifeboats anchored to the ship's side.
The small boats crash into the churning water, and some of the Wielders begin to abandon ship.
The creatures scream as the water rises around the boat, recoiling with every drop that touches their cracking skin.
Are they afraid of water?
I watch a creature miss the dock's landing and plunge into the choppy water below. A brutal scream escapes the creature’s mouth as it claws against the current, desperate to grab onto anything.
Its long arms slap against the waves, and the resurrected begin to vanish beneath the black water.
I watch in horror as the once-human face disappears into the darkness.
“Silas, they can’t swim. The creatures can’t swim,” I scream, praying he can hear me.
Larkin races back to where I fight, just in time for me to drive my axe into the neck of a resurrected being. Blood peppers my face, and we have a moment of reprieve while the others continue fighting, and I use my magic to rest my aching arms.
“Good shot,” he cheers.
I stop to catch my breath, my chest heaving. “Thank you.”
“We have a decision to make right now,” he says, his chest also rising and falling rapidly.
“You aren’t supposed to make decisions under pressure,” I respond, wiping my eyes.
I pause for a moment and expel another surge of magic toward a creature stalking us. The blast throws the resurrected being back, taking out two more in its path, allowing us a moment to speak.
“This ship is sinking, and we have limited time to get off. We can shift as close as possible to the pier, or we can shift to the other ship and help them fight.”
I glance toward the pier and see the wall standing tall, still intact, without even a flicker of light escaping through the darkness. Then, I turn my head toward the ship, racing to cut off the other two containing the resurrected.
I consider both sides: one houses the people I care about the most in this world, and the other is filled with warriors who are risking their lives to fight for their kingdom.
I glance back at Larkin, and through the blood, his dark eyes shine with adrenaline, and his hair is no longer blonde; instead, it’s dark and coated with dark red blood.
“I don’t think the resurrected can swim,” I rasp. “I believe they crashed into this boat to bring down an entire ship of ours to limit our numbers. They were willing to sacrifice these creatures so the other two ships could sail toward land.”
“I think you are right,” he agrees.
“We need to head to the second ship and assist those Wielders. If they realize the creatures can’t swim, it gives us an advantage being in the water.”
“Alright,” Larkin says, turning to race to the front of the ship. “Hurry.”
I follow closely behind, swinging my axe at every creature that moves in my view.
The screams fill the air, and even amidst the battle, I can’t help but think of those on the shore.
The anxiety, the fear of what awaits them.
If we can control this from the water, we stand a chance, but I’m not sure how to stop both ships from docking.
My vision snaps around the deck, and I notice a Wielder wearing different clothing than ours, with Rigils scarred into his body.
I narrow my eyes, realizing several people are steering the ships on the long journey across the sea.
I hit Larkin, and his gaze immediately finds the Wielder scrambling on the ground near a fallen resurrected creature.
Larkin rushes over to the man and lifts his sword.
The enemy raises his arms, and I can see he mouths something to Larkin, begging for mercy.
Larkin’s eyes turn dark, and I flinch as he drives his sword through the man's chest. The opposing Wielder slumps on the wooden deck.
I turn to face the Wielders still fighting for their lives and attempt to ignore the ones that have fallen so soon. Brave women and men lay motionless on the sinking ship, and it pangs my heart.
This battle has just begun, and our numbers are already down.
“Abandon ship. The creatures can’t swim; shift as far as you can to the shore, or get on the lifeboats.” I begin to wave my arms to get their attention. “Warn the others. Do not keep fighting. Go!” I scream, my throat becoming raw as my shouts struggle to compete with the howling wind.
Some of the Wielders vanish into the shadows or bright light, while others continue to swing their weapons desperately, aiming to bring them all down before the job is done.
I scream again, “Shift. Go to the shore. They will drown on their own.”
The water rises higher, and the last remaining Wielders abandon the ship, leaving a few creatures screaming as the darkness below drags them to their watery graves.
We both quickly holster our weapons.