Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere (20 page)

Raehar put a finger to his lips and motioned for her to stay still. “Wait here. I will see what’s going on.”

He began to draw his sword, then sheathed it and shook his head before retrieving his pistol. He may have to take down many men in short succession, and a pistol was the best choice to dispatch their strongest before they had a chance to react. He muttered to himself. “Can’t believe this is happening.”

Climbing up to deck, he heard Captain Silvertongue’s orders over the ocean. “None of ye are to fire a single round! She bears the white flag and we must respect it, but be ready for anything.”

His nerves eased and he returned his pistol to its holster. Making his way to the bow, he saw the boat approaching in the distance.

“Follow the code. Kassina and I will take Lucia out to meet ‘er. If they so much as throw a splinter of wood in anger, then kill ‘em all!” Silvertongue said.

They cried back, “Aye, capt’n!”

“Give the ceasefire signal to Greenhaven! Let’s get this over with,” Kassina said.

Lucia surged and tore through the water at an unnatural speed and a torched arrow was fired diagonally from her deck on each side. In the distance, two arrows were also fired from Greenhaven’s parapets, to mirror the signal.

Damn. It has already started. How am I going to get out of here now
, he thought.

Helenia watched the mirror image of the flamed arrows as they arced through the air, and splashed into the ocean. Turning around, she watched Greenhaven’s signal arrows fall through the sky. She knew that this was her purpose, and that standing behind the castle walls was not where she should be. It had been bothering her for a long time, but she wanted to face the enemy and make a change in the war,

Here we go.

She checked her armour and weapons, ensuring that they were securely placed and fastened. She touched some of the many orbs tied to the boat’s deck and made sure that they hummed from the activated magic inside them. This craft was built to explode in a big way, and she just had to make sure she was far from it when it happens.

You can do this,
she thought, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again to see the ship forming in front of her. The sun sank into the horizon, and they fell further into darkness.

Staring at the approaching ship, she noticed that the carved figurehead held a broadsword. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched it swing the sword around to a better position and stared at her.

Helenia puffed out a breath. “By the gods. What have I gotten myself info?”

She was past the point of no return and she knew it. The only way was forward from here.

“I have come to talk!” Helenia said, her voice changing pitch mid-sentence.

“Greetings, little princess. Remember me? Because I remember you. You have not come to surrender? After all, that would be the smart thing to do,” Kassina said, her dark form coming into view on the ship’s deck as they floated to a stop. The figurehead reached down to stop Helenia’s floating boat with one hand, while steadying her sword with the other.

“I have never seen anything like you before,” Helenia said, staring at the huge living carving.

“I am Lucia, and you had best not try anything, as I really don’t want to have to use this,” she said, her chest heaving from her heavy breathing.

Helenia raised her arms in the air. “Pleased to meet you, Lucia. I am Princess Helenia.”

Kassina snarled, “Enough of the pleasantries. You have our attention and my time is not to be wasted. If you are not here to surrender, then what are you here for?”

“I am here to ask for you to turn your ships around and leave.”

Kassina first scrunched her brow, then turned to Silvertongue and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her. “They’re scared, like the little rabbits that they are.”

The pirates and vampires laughed.

The dark queen turned back to Helenia. “And why would we want to do such a thing? Let me make this really simple for you, as I obviously need to do so. Either surrender, or die.”

Helenia’s eyes narrowed as her voice darkened. “You think that we are afraid? Not at all. I was wondering if you would turn around, to save the needless slaughter of your lives. We are ready for you.”

Kassina raised her eyebrow, and rested her hands on her hips. “My dear child, if you were well prepared, then why would you be out here, talking to me?”

Helenia turned back for a moment and stared at Greenhaven’s walls, before facing Kassina again. “Because what you really want: Talonsphere, was never in Greenhaven at all. You were looking in the wrong place, and taking it back will gain you nothing.”

“Really, then why do I have a map that tells me otherwise? And Talonsphere is not all that we are after,” Kassina said.

“Our treasure? There is none of it left! It was all taken out of the castle and hidden, where none of you would ever find it. The map was a fake, and you were misled by my sorry excuse for a brother. So, go ahead if you wish. Let us see who wins this battle, but there will be no prize for your spilt blood.”

Kassina stared silently at the princess and focused, her face appearing strained before she snarled. “You have magic. How did you do this?”

“You mean, how did I stop you from reading my mind? You have no idea of what we are capable of. Turn around and go back, before we wipe you from the seas you float on.”

“You think you can come out here, threaten us, and we would just leave? You thought wrong. Maybe you are telling the truth or maybe not, but I will find out for myself. Lucia, run her through!” Kassina said.

Helenia had hoped this would not happen, but even with her temples pumping from the adrenaline, she did not hesitate. The princess stepped back, drew her hip swords, and said, “
Iuxta bolem involam
.”

Both swords hummed and ignited with fire from their hilts. Her armour emitted a feint white glow as the ships erupted in chaos.

“No! I will do no such thing. She is here under the white flag, and will be allowed to leave. That is the code. We never break the code,” Lucia said.

Kassina’s voice was harsh. “A ship with a conscience. Who would have thought?”

Helenia breathed easier, but was confused by a chorus of splashes behind the ships. She lowered her blades to her waistline and stared into the ocean. The ships’ many lit torches revealed movements in the water and splashing filled the air.

Captain Silvertongue leapt to tackle Kassina to the ground as a creature, half woman and half fish, leapt from the water with the speed of an arrow. She sliced through the air with her claws, snapping her razor sharp teeth as her bite narrowly missed Kassina’s neck, before splashing into the ocean on the other side.

Damn! Why did he save her?
Helenia thought.

Cries of “Mermaids!” were soon drowned out by the popping of strange hand-held weapons, and clanging of swords.

Ships were surrounded by furious movements on the ocean’s surface, and overrun with attacking mermaids. As if time slowed down, Helenia watched as a flash of scales and light blue and green colours erupted from the ocean, rocketed over the deck of the ship, and collected a screaming pirate. The mermaid sank her teeth into the man’s neck, and tore out a chunk of his flesh before plunging him into the watery depths below.

They are not after me at all.

Helenia backed away from the boat’s edge.

I have to get out of here, now!

She strained her brain, trying to remember the words. Her heart raced and her mind clouded. She knew that casting some spells would come at a price, but this could be far more than she was willing to pay.

“
Levis aqua
, no that is not it. Damn it!” she said.

Kassina leapt to her feet, reaching down to her outer thighs. In a smooth motion, she threw daggers in the path of another mermaid, landing deep in its chest. It fell to the ship’s deck, shrieking as it morphed into a humanoid. Kassina drew her sword and smashed it through the mermaid’s skull. Its body twitched before becoming still. Seeing Kassina in action again made Helenia shiver. Cannon fire joined the chaos as cross-fire damaged the ships.

The battle had begun.

Helenia’s breath quickened as she remained in the worst possible position. Everything was going wrong.

Greenhaven erupted from what appeared to be a break in the ceasefire, and fired a volley of burning missiles into the night sky, aimed at the furthest ships. She knew she had time, but the sand nearly depleted in her hourglass.

Strong winds blew, and blazing trails of fire landed on the ships as dragons took the opportunity to attack. Helenia lifted a burning sword high in the air and cheered as dragons’ breath unleashed on the ships.

The death cries brought chills down the princess’s spine.

I have to get off this boat, or I will die out here. Come on, you know you can do this,
Helenia thought.

“
Levis sicut... Levis sicut aqua, cito quasi vento!
” she said.

Her body flashed blue and she turned toward Greenhaven, her confidence returned to her. The night sky brightened with lightning as Kassina fought off an onslaught of attacking mermaids.

“Here goes nothing,” Helenia said.

Bursting into a run, she launched from the boat and fled across the ocean surface, as if the water could carry her and her armour’s weight. Every step gave her more hope that she would escape this battle.

Kassina’s piercing voice reminded her that she was still very much in danger. “Kill the princess, now! She is getting away.”

Damn.

She glanced back to see a burst of arrows tearing through the air toward her position, their blurred forms streaking through a silhouette of moonlit clouds. She didn’t know if she could possibly outrun the raining death coming to meet her. There was one thing left to do. Her heart ached at the cost.

Helenia ran as fast as she could, leapt into the air and yelled, “
Incendia intus vos quod exuro solvo!
”

The last thing Helenia remembered before everything went black, was her body crushing against her armour as it turned into a missile, and her ears ringing from the power of the explosion.

The night lit up from the explosion. Andrielle instinctively raised her arm to shield her eyes. Shockwaves rippled through the ocean and initiated a small tsunami in all directions. Shanka shrieked on Andrielle’s shoulder before bursting into flight in the ships’ direction.

It took a moment to digest the devastation of what had just happened, and the queen broke down in tears.

“No, Helenia!” Andrielle wailed, scanning the horizon, gripping the parapet walls with white knuckles. The only answer she received was a barrage of cannon fire pounding Greenhaven’s walls. The parapets shook hard. Tears streamed down her face as her breathing quickened.

They will die for taking Helenia from me, and none will be left standing.

She knew what had to be done. “Damn the gods. Kill them all! Hit them with everything we’ve got, and don’t
any
of you stop!”

The ships were battling each other, as well as launching continual attacks on the stronghold. The pirate ships dispersed from Kassina’s ships.