Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [56]
Tense moments passed before his ministrations took effect. The drow coughed, sputtered, and then gave up the water she had inhaled. She recovered faster that Xzorsh expected. Seizing his hands, she pulled herself up into a sitting position.
"The net," she gasped in a raw-edged voice, struggling to tear it away; her eyes as frantic as those of a trapped animal. Xzorsh reached for his knife, then realized that its place was empty-he had given it to Lord Caladorn. Seeing this, the drow told him there was a knife in her boot and wiggled the one foot that was not entangled in webbing. Xzorsh found the knife and went to work. It was the finest blade he'd ever held, and it cut through the ropes with astonishing ease. In moments the drow was free. She hauled herself to her feet and staggered over to the rail.
The warship that she had attacked with a massive fireball had drifted away from the battle. Flames leaped toward the darkening sky and licked at the sea as the ship burned down to the waterline. Two of the attacking vessels remained, and the battle was being waged exclusively on one ship. The other warship-the one that had lost a mast-managed to press in close. A line of Northmen stood at the rail, holding long spears and pikes and harrying the pirates whenever they came within reach, herding them back toward the midst of the battle.
And the battle itself was not going well. Fyodor raged like a whirlwind across the deck of the warship, and wherever he went Northmen fell before his blade. But his shirt hung in tatters around him, and his hair and clothes were dark with blood. Liriel suspected that much of it was his own. Even a berserker had limits, and when Fyodor fell, so would the Ruathen who were protected by his fury.
Xzorsh came to her side and handed her the knife. "Never have i seen so sharp a blade," he said tentatively. "Perhaps this is a foolish question, but do you have anything that can cut through the hull of a ship?"
Liriel spun to face him, her golden eyes distant as her thoughts raced over the possibilities. Suddenly she smiled and tore a bag from her belt. She shook out the contents; a dozen or so crab-shaped metal objects clattered to the deck. Xzorsh recognized them as the things she'd hurled at the giant squid. They had cut through the tough carapace of the creature, but the sea elf did not see how they would help him now. They would not fly through water as readily as they spun through the air.
Closing her eyes, the drow held her hands over the strange metal crabs and began to chant. They began to glow, taking on the red color of a winter sunset. At length the drow stooped and gathered them up.
"These are throwing spiders," she explained quickly. "i've changed the enchantment slightly. Put them on the hull of the ship-or anything else, for that matter-and theyll dig their way through. I want them back," she cautioned the sea elf as she handed them over.
Xzorsh nodded and pointed to some of the pike-wielding Northmen. "When their ship is at the bottom of the sea, i will retrieve your weapons and return them to you."
Liriel gave him a fierce grin and a companionable swat on the shoulder-a gesture she'd no doubt learned from Hrolf. "Send them to Umberlee," she said with dark glee. The sea ranger nodded and dove into the water, hugging the bag of precious magical weapons close to his heart. Left alone on the Elfmaid, Liriel paced the deck as she contemplated her next move. Invisible or seen, she could fight well with a sword but not well enough to turn the tide of battle. Her strongest weapon, her magic, was the best option. But she could not hurl fireballs without hitting some of Hrolf's men.
Liriel's fingers closed around the Windwalker, and she frantically reviewed the arsenal of spells she had stored in the amulet. None of them, in and of themselves, seemed equal to