Chapter 9 #2
“They have his son!” Bastion sputtered. “We can’t leave them!”
Her eyes widened. The ship rolled and groaned again, and they braced against it.
“Is the whale still here?” he whispered.
She nodded, and the movement highlighted the fine sheen of sweat coating her face. The sight of it sent his stomach plummeting. Healing him had cost her.
“Stay behind me,” he said. They rounded the barricade of cargo, keeping low as they stepped over dead bodies and lifeless weaponry. Unsecured crates littered their path. A surge of guilt hit him as they passed the panicked goats, tugging uselessly at their tethers.
They reached the bottom of the stairs as someone began to descend. Bastion spun and, in one swift movement, swept Ulla into his arms. He stepped behind a beam, every newly healed muscle singing with tension. Her heart raced in time with his, hammering against their sternums.
His gaze dropped to hers. All the calm had drained from her eyes, leaving only fatigue. They were so close, and oh, how he wished this was a stolen moment back at the tavern instead of a scrap of reprieve while fighting for their lives.
“We need to take shelter before the squall hits!” a voice cried as it passed.
Bastion tore his eyes away from Ulla.
“Haddrick!” he hissed.
The healer spun, terror plastered across his face. He clutched Rowan to his side. Tears streamed down the boy's face.
“You’re alive!” Haddrick exclaimed. Relief and regret mixed on his face, only to be swept away by fear. “You have to warn Lord Kyrith about the weapon!”
Bastion tightened his grasp around Ulla. How could he have forgotten about that?
“I need to see it!” he said. Haddrick shrank, eyes darting nervously towards the stairs. Bastion stepped closer. “Show me! Quickly!”
Something slammed into the hull, and the healer staggered to the side. He gathered Rowan up against his chest and pointed to the long crate. “It’s there!”
Reluctantly, Bastion let Ulla go.
She steadied herself against the beam, and Bastion leapt onto the cargo.
Innocuous boxes surrounded the crate, some of their lids askew.
A glint of gold caught Bastion’s attention.
Instead of reaching for the weapon, he pushed the lid off a neighboring box, peering inside with growing unease.
A third, fourth, and fifth followed. He stepped back, counting.
So much treasure. Silk, tapestries, raw fibers in vibrant hues, coins, statues, and jewelry. Acari jewelry.
Bastion swallowed his disbelief and seized the lid of the long crate.
Inside, cushioned by a bed of straw, a thin metal rod ran almost the length of the box.
Bastion reached in and grasped it, his fingertips just meeting as he lifted the heavier end.
A wolf’s head, almost as large as his own capped it, an articulated tongue dancing in its yawning mouth between vicious teeth.
He glanced over his shoulder at Ulla. Her eyes were locked on the object, and he saw the same question in her eyes.
How was this a weapon?
Another blow shook the ship from below, reeling Bastion back to reality.
He leapt off the cargo, leaving the weapon and gold behind. Fear and urgency threaded deeper into his gut, like a root reaching for water.
“Haddrick, what is that?” Bastion asked.
“I don’t know!” he whimpered. “But I know it’s dangerous. Lord Kyrith has something they want, and they intend to use it to get it from him!”
“What do they want?”
Haddrick shook his head, hugging Rowan tightly. “I have no idea.”
Bastion struggled to put the pieces together, but he was missing something. Ulla touched his arm and caught his eye. She was right. There would be time later to sort out this discovery.
He turned to Haddrick again.
“Let’s go. Now. While they’re distracted.”
Realization spread over the healer's wan face, and tears glimmered along his lashes. He looked like a man who was about to see sunlight for the first time in a year.
He nodded. Bastion’s gaze fell to Rowan. Then, to Ulla.
“Where is the whale?” Without hesitation, she pointed to the left. “When we’re topside, run for the opposite rail.”
They emerged onto the upper deck, mad with movement.
A flat shelf of dark clouds reached for them, sheets of rain visible as it moved closer.
Men yelled as something collided with the side of The Basilisk.
They raced to secure sails and cargo, while others paced the rails with swords drawn and harpoons ready.
For a moment, Bastion felt all but invisible.
Then, a shout drew his attention and Bastion turned to look.
At the helm, Buck stood with Bastion’s sword strapped to his side like a man freshly hung. He pointed at the four of them, his eyes wild and angry as he wrestled with the wheel.
“RUN!” Bastion yelled.
Haddrick picked up Rowan, and Bastion pushed Ulla ahead. The nearest of Buck’s men turned, their expression twisted in brutish surprise.
Bastion met them with his sword raised and his teeth clenched. He parried their strikes and blocked each slash to give the others time to reach the starboard rail. Buck thundered commands from the helm, his face purpling in rage.
Wind sliced at the pirates. Bastion danced with it, darting backwards and then forwards, spinning to sever and thrust. They leapt back, giving him room to take them down with whirring arcs and sweeping cuts.
The rocking of the ship grew less violent, and a new swarm descended on him. He tried to force them back, but there were too many now. He was losing ground.
A sound like a boulder hitting water exploded across the deck. Six men dropped in its path. Suddenly, Haddrick stood beside Bastion. A shimmering ball of energy hovered between his hands. It snapped and hissed as it grew.
“Go!” Haddrick exclaimed. Desperate determination joined the fear lining his face.
Bastion dragged his eyes from the power Haddrick wielded and lifted them to Buck. He was loath to leave his sword in such a man’s possession. Bastion shook his head and tried to push past Haddrick. The healer blocked him, his eyes wild.
“SAVE MY SON!”
A chill ran down Bastion’s spine. Over his shoulder, Rowan cried, “Da! Da!”
Bastion’s heart jumped into his throat, but he nodded. He turned on his heel and ran.
“DA!” Rowan screamed from Ulla’s arms.
She reached for Bastion across a yawning abyss of slick deck. Thunder cracked across the sky as their palms connected.
Together, they jumped into the voracious sea.