Windwalker - Elaine Cunningham [49]
"Chivalrous sort," Sharlarra murmured.
"Traitor! Coward!" the sword translated loudly.
"Bilge water," the captain snapped at "Fyodor." "Any man what takes up with a black elf has no call to name another man 'traitor.' Yield her up, or I'll kill you myself."
A gleaming trident whirled through the air and sank into the deck at the captain's feet. All eyes traced the weapon's path back toward the sea.
Balancing lightly on the rail were a dozen sea elves. A tall green-skinned female, her shapely head shaved to show off her exotic markings, sent a contemptuous glare toward the captain.
The elves leaped nimbly to the deck and hurled themselves at the equally eager sahuagin. For a long moment the sailors hung back, uncertain. Sharlarra noticed the battle warring on their captain's face-a conflict as fierce as that between the sea elves and their mortal enemies.
Finally the captain lifted his curved sword. "It's our ship, lads! We need no scrawny elves to hold it for us! Heave to!"
The pirates surged forward, and Sharlarra followed them- or more precisely, followed the sword. The thing had gotten fully into the spirit of battle and was roaring out some Rashe-maar battle hymn. She fell into place at the sea elf's back, and though her sword tangled with a sea devil's pike, her cold gaze warned the captain to hold his distance. From what Sharlarra had seen, she would not be the least surprised if an elf or two took wounds from something other than a sahuagin's blades or talons.
Not today. Where she came from, elves of all kinds stood together.
Not far away, a male sea elf battled one of the net-wielding sahuagin. The monster employed a spiked flail with which it attempted to herd the elf into position, but though it whirled and cast the net again and again, each time its quarry slipped away, darting and dodging with astonishing grace.
The sahuagin advanced steadily on its smaller opponent, backing the sea elf toward the rail between two roiling clusters of fighters. The net spun out full, dropping toward the elf like a jellyfish intent upon surrounding its prey. There was no place to go, and the sea devil's skull-splitting grin celebrated victory.
A silver blade slashed up, tearing through the net as if it were slicing a ripe pear. The sahuagin's head tipped slowly back then rolled to the deck. Its smile was still in place.
Magical knife, observed Sharlarra. This must be the Xzorsh of whom Liriel spoke.
Her attention was seized by the sword's eager shout. A four-armed sahuagin rushed toward her, brandishing a shining weapon in each hand.
Sharlarra cast a hold-person cantrip on the charging sea devil then ran it through. Not exactly sporting, but in her opinion, neither was having an extra pair of arms. In any event, she had her hands full with the monster coming hard on Four Arms' heels.
For many moments Sharlarra stood and fought the sahuagin, her disguised blade singing merrily as it clashed, clattered, and scraped against the monster's rusted sword.
The sea devil worked the singing weapon down low, then lifted a taloned foot and stomped on the blade. The weapon was wrenched from Sharlarra's hand.
She dived away from a lunging strike, rolled aside, and came up wielding the first weapon that came to hand, a long, slender lock pick. The sahuagin stood like an ugly black statue, frozen in the act of delivering a wicked backhand slash.
Xzorsh strode past, toppling the sea devil with a casual shove. The monster rolled to the deck, still frozen in attack position.
"My first spell," the sea elf said proudly. "Liriel taught me this herself. Where is she?"
He spoke softly, but Sharlarra heard him clearly. She noticed that the battle had died down to a few skirmishes. The ship was nearly empty of both sahuagin and sea elves. Most likely they'd decided that the humans didn't matter and had taken their battle back to the seas.
The sea elf's eyes narrowed. "There is a haze of magic about you, more than the berserker rage could summon. You might look like Fyodor, but you are not he."
Sharlarra smiled. "Liriel was