Under Fallen Stars - Mel Odom [136]
"Go below!" Jherek yelled at Sabyna, knowing he couldn't hold a dozen armed pirates back.
"If I let go this wheel, we'll go down!" she shouted back at him.
Knowing it was true, Jherek felt torn. She stood in harm's way, and yet he couldn't protect her if she abandoned the wheel. He concentrated on the possessed pirates who moved at them with single-minded purpose. With the way the stern castle's steering section was left so open, the pirates would surround them quickly. The red-eyed men already moved to flank them.
Jherek swung the cutlass, feeling the impact of blade meeting blade when the pirate automatically blocked. Before his opponent could withdraw his weapon, the young sailor reached out with the hook and caught the man in the shoulder.
The curved hook bit deeply into the man's flesh, skidding for just a moment across the shoulder blade before sinking into bis back. Under the spell that held him, the pirate didn't make a sound, but tried to pull his weapon into Jherek's exposed arm.
Shifting quickly, Jherek blocked the weakly aimed cut, then stepped to the pirate's left and yanked on the grappling hook. Getting his weight into the motion, the young sailor pulled the pirate over his hip in a wrestling throw Malorrie had taught him.
Off-balance and at the mercy of the brutal hook, the pirate stumbled over Jherek's hip and sailed into the next man behind him. With a crashing thrash of limbs, the two pirates tumbled over Black Champion's stern railing and splashed into the dark sea below.
Pulled nearly off his feet by his own efforts, the hook lost to him because he hadn't been able to free it from the pirate, Jherek caught himself on his free hand and pushed up. He blocked a cutlass blow that had been intended to take his head from his shoulders, then launched a kick that caught the pirate wielding it full in the chest.
Bone snapped and the pirate stumbled back, knocking down two others.
"Well met, young warrior," Glawinn growled as he stepped in at Jherek's side. The paladin's blade gleamed despite the darkness of the sky. "Now let's rid ourselves of these vermin."
As the paladin and the young sailor engaged the pirates, Skeins blew past them in a violent flutter. In heartbeats, the raggamoffyn chose a victim and covered him, possessing him even in spite of whatever spell had already claimed him. The pirate lifted his blade against his brethren and attacked from the rear.
Jherek's breath burned deep in his lungs, gusting out in uncontrolled bellows. His trip through the rigging had taken a lot from him already. He fought fiercely, stepping into the rhythm Glawinn set up. Or maybe the paladin stepped into the rhythm Jherek had established. The young sailor wasn't certain. All the days they'd spent as sparring partners stood them in good stead now.
Ducking low beneath a wildly swung cutlass, Jherek saw Glawinn rip a backhand blow across a pirate's throat. Blood dribbled down the man's chest as he fell backward. Jherek surged up, holding tight to the hilt of the cutlass as he drove it into the chest of the pirate in front of him. Though the cutlass wasn't normally a thrusting weapon, it split the man's heart and killed him instantly.
Jherek shoved the corpse from his weapon, aware of Azla racing up the stern castle steps to join them. Her scimitar rang, a death song hammered out in steel. Jherek fought fiercely, defending Sabyna from the pirates who tried to take the fight in her direction. The footing became even more treacherous than the storm had made it, as blood spilled quickly across the brine-stained deck.
Despite his efforts and the fact that his life hung on the eyeblink of time between the slashing and parrying of the cutlass, Jherek played over the voice's words.
Soon, my son.
There'd been no promise of how soon, and no