Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [25]
As the squid raised the man for a third attack, Fyodor's sword traced a downward arc, cutting the lower end of the mast line free. Clinging to the line with one hand and suspended from the tilted mast, the young berserker swung out toward the water. He slashed at the flailing tentacle as he passed, severing it in a single blow. The captured sailor dropped heavily to the deck, still belted by a length of the writhing, silvery appendage.
The impromptu pendulum reached its outer limit, and Fyodor began to swing back toward the ship. To Liriel's astonishment, he let go of the rope well before he cleared the side of the deck. Holding his sword firmly in both hands, point downward, he fell directly toward the giant squid.
Fyodor landed on the creature's head, and the force of his fall drove his blade hilt-deep into the base of one of the tentacles gripping the Elfmaid's hull. The berserker began to wrench the blade back and forth, tearing an increasingly wide gash.
This attack seemed to confuse the squid. Other tentacles rose from the water, slapping out wildly in an attempt to dislodge the human. Fyodor continued to tear through the clinging tentacle, unmindful of the powerful blows that the squid occasionally managed to land.
As Liriel watched, with gleaming eyes and bated breath, she noticed that another warrior had entered the battle. Xzorsh had slipped back into the water and was sawing determinedly away at the second arm that clung to the ship. His efforts managed to distract the squid and, with a sound like that of a thousand boots pulling free of a muddy bog, the squid pulled the tentacle free of the hull. The squid then dipped the tentacle under the sea elf. With a quick, disdainful flick, it sent him hurtling out of the sea and up over the embattled ship.
Xzorsh hit the wooden deck with a painful thud. He rolled and somehow managed to find his feet. Pointing toward Fyodor, the elf called out a warning in a strange language of clicks and whistles.
Liriel did not have to understand the sea elf's words to perceive the coming danger. The tentacle Xzorsh had dislodged from the ship curled inward toward the squid's body, slowly and deliberately making a wide circle around the young berserker. The squid had changed tactics.
The tentacle closed in, wrapped itself tightly around the berserker's chest, and pinned his arms firmly to his side. With a quick, sharp motion-oddly like that of a warrior plucking an arrow from his shoulder-the squid yanked Fyodor from his perch. This particular "arrow," however, was more persistent than most. Fyodor managed to keep his grip on the sword. As the creature pulled him beneath the waves, the berserker finally severed the tentacle that held the Elfmaid captive.
The ship righted itself abruptly, rocking wildly. Liriel clung to the rail of the ship and hauled herself to her feet. Her eyes fixed confidently upon the turbulent battle just beneath the waves. The water roiled and churned from the furious fight, and her keen eyes saw the spread of ichor in the moonlit sea. Steam rose from the icy water, a testament to the unnatural heat that suffused a berserker in full battle frenzy.
"You're calamari," she promised the injured squid, and her voice rang with wicked glee.
But Hrolf did not seem to share her confidence. The captain came to her side and placed a huge hand on her shoulder. "He's gone, lass," he said softly, "and i'm giving the order to flee."
"No," Liriel said calmly, not taking her gaze from the sea.
"There's naught that any of us can do for him. More good men will die unless we put some distance between the ship and that monster," Hrolf persisted.
"Give him time," the drow asserted. Despite her confident tone, Liriel began to feel the first raw edges of worry. Strength Fyodor certainly had, and courage and cunning. Time, however, was in dangerously short supply. Even a berserker needed air.
The sea calmed, suddenly and dramatically. "He is gone," Hrolf repeated, and nodded over Liriel's head to a grim-faced and