The Sea Devil's Eye - Mel Odom [143]
"If Selune guided me well enough," Sabyna said.
Arthoris spoke a command word and held his glove-covered, clenched hand before him. A huge, disembodied hand appeared in the air before him. It measured five feet across at the knuckles.
"Deck crew-stand by to repel boarders!" Azla called, taking her place at the starboard railing. Pirates sprang to her side. "Ballista crews-fire at will!"
Under Arthoris's control, the disembodied fist flew across the water, ignoring the ship that paced them, and hammered the mainmast. Three hits later, the mast cracked and sheared off. Sinking the ships wasn't a good idea. The kegs would sink with them, and there were no guarantees the poison would drift far enough away not to hurt anyone. As soon as the mast crumpled, Arthoris moved the magic hand on to the next ship, attacking the rudder there.
Archers targeted the mage, who stood out against the rest of the crew as he gestured. Arrows sped from their bows, few of them getting anywhere close to Sabyna or Arthoris. Only a handful struck the invisible shield Sabyna had raised in front of them. They dropped to the deck, spent.
Grappling lines tossed from the pirate ship landed over Azure Daggers, railing but were quickly cut away by the ship's crew. Her own ballistae fired, clearing the pirate decks.
The fore ballista on the pirate vessel cut loose. The huge shaft came straight at Arthoris and Sabyna, then splintered against the magic shield. The impact, however, was enough to send both mages to their knees. Arthoris lost control of the disembodied hand, and it faded away.
Less than thirty feet away, Vurgrom's pirate crew linked up.
"Stand ready," Azla yelled.
Her crew raised their shields and their weapons.
The other ship's crew all leaped together, using magic to span the distance to Azure Dagger.
"Haul!" Azla commanded. "Haul, damn you, if you would live!"
Men at either end of the caravel's main deck pulled ropes and ran up a cargo net that spanned the distance across the main deck. The enspelled pirates thudded into the cargo net, caught off guard. Before they could slash their way through the net, Azla's crew attacked them with swords, daggers, and bows. Up against the cargo net as they were, it was like stabbing fish in a barrel.
Sabyna helped Arthoris to his feet, peering out at the water. They hadn't stopped many of Vurgrom's pirates from dumping their deadly cargo, but she hoped they'd slowed them enough that the undersea rescue teams could gather most of the falling kegs before they descended to Myth Nantar.
"Now there's a welcome sight," Arthoris said.
Turning south, Sabyna looked out over the horizon and saw the sails from at least five tall ships running with the wind. All of them flew the colors of Cormyrean Freesails.
"Let's hope they're not too late," Sabyna said grimly.
* * * * *
Hurry, little malenti. There's not much time.
Laaqueel swam after Iakhovas high above Myth Nantar. She glanced at the gates leading into the city, realizing that few of the koalinth had actually penetrated the city itself, proof that the mythal that protected against such creatures still worked.
The maps Iakhovas had drawn of the area from stories they'd gathered were very accurate. She saw Chamal Avenue to the left, noting the fighting going on there, all of it garishly lit by the Fire Fountain.
Iakhovas swam boldly, using his claws against any Myth Nan tarn defenders who made it through his defenses. Over a hundred sharks swam with him as a living wall of protection, all under the control of the headband he wore. The sharks acted like battering rams, barreling through would-be defenders or ripping arms and legs off in their cruel mouths as they passed.
The sea elf rangers and mages of the city tried battling the possessed creatures as well, but they were too tightly packed and controlled to be turned away. A shalarin Dukar slashed through them, arching his body and gliding gracefully toward Iakhovas while using the sharks themselves as cover.
Laaqueel spotted the shalarin