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 Die? Kait sighed.  Make it a little harder forthem to kill us? The best we
can do is get in under the trees force them to come at us from the side to
board. If theyhave to do that  get within our reach  we can hurt themwith
our catapults. Maybe shoot the envelopes with fire arrows
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though the cloth has been treated to keep it from burning.I m guessing that
they know we have the Mirror of Souls. Thatfact should keep them from sinking
us until they can get it. She d kept her eyes on the airibles while she
talked, but nowshe turned to Ry.  I m also guessing that once they getthe
Mirror, they ll want us dead, so anything we do to them,we have to do before
they board us. We can t fight them oncewe have nothing they want.
Ry ran to talk with the captain. After a moment, the shipchanged course and
nosed in toward the island Kait had pointedout.
Hasmal was at her shoulder again.  Kait? Would a hard winddispel them?
 It might.
 Well, I
might be able to conjure a wind. The way Idid on the
Peregrine, when we were trapped in theWizards Circle. Perhaps.
Kait turned to stare at him, feeling a sudden, impossible hope. I d forgotten
about that.
 Yes. Then, I offered my blood and my flesh and my life andmy soul in exchange
for getting us out of the Wizards Circle,and Vodor Imrish got us out. But
there s a problem. I cansacrifice my blood again, but he already owns my life
and my soul.So perhaps he ll feel that I m already in debt to himwith
everything I have, and he may choose to collect rather thanlet me go even
deeper into debt. What else do I have to offerhim?
Kait frowned thoughtfully.  I don t know. He syour god. What does he like?
 Mostly, he likes to be left alone.
 Then I suppose all of us had better hope he likesyou. She put a hand on his
arm.  Will you summonhim?
Hasmal said,  I ll try.
 I ll go with you. Last time, you almost bled yourselfto death making your
offering. I m still surprised youlived.
 He wasn t done with me yet.
The airibles were close, close enough that it would be a race tosee whether
they could get above the ship before the ship could getunder that tangle of
umbrella trees that grew down to thewater s edge and arched far over it.
 Let s hope he still isn t, Kait said asthey ran for the hatchway and their
cabin.
Chapter
18
R
y stared at the oncoming airibles, andtried to think of what he could do to
turn them around.
They wereGalweigh ships, true, and within them he felt the touch of
Galweighmagic  but with it, he felt the touch of the Sabir Wolves aswell.
That mix felt foul . . . greasy . . .tainted. What sort of alliance had sprung
up in his absence. . . and why did it stink of the Hellspawn Trinity?
Hecould feel the influence of his second cousins, the brothersCrispin and
Anwyn and their cousin
Andrew, dripping through thespellcastings like poison.
They knew he was aboard the
Wind Treasure.
Perhaps one ofthem was the hidden watcher who had haunted Kait s sleep.
He joined his lieutenants, who had been assisting the crew, andsaid,  There
are Wolves aboard those ships. Some of them areSabir Wolves, and some are
Galweigh Wolves, but we are going toshield the
Wind Treasure from their attack. All of you tothe foredeck now.
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* * *
Ian Draclas had been a ship s captain toolong to avoid the action; the fact
that his ship had been stolenfrom him and that he found himself virtually a
prisoner aboard theship his half-brother had chartered mattered not at all to
him. Heknew how to fight, and he knew how to survive, and he intended
tosurvive this encounter.
He hammered volley shields into place beside the catapults alongwith the crew,
and when that was finished, went to stand besideCaptain Sleroal, who held his
place at the ship s greatwheel.
 They ll be overflying us soon, he said. We aren t going to make the trees
before they get offtheir first volley.
 I can see that, the Rophetian said quietly. You got anything you can do
besides tell me theobvious?
Ian kept his temper. Sleroal flew the Sabir flag on his topmast;a flag that
would ward off most enemies before they even attacked.The Sabir reputation for
retribution protected them as surely as ifthey rode protected by an armada.
Ian, who had been both attackedand attacker throughout his years captaining
the
Peregrine, figured himself to have much more experience in actual battle
thanthe older man.
He said,  They ll most likely hit us with burningpitch first. But if you have
your men fill the scrub buckets withseawater while there s still time and soak
our stores ofcanvas in the sea, we ll be able to put out the worst of thefires
before they can spread.
The captain glanced at him.  Decided to join our side,eh?
 I d prefer to live through the day.
 I, too. Sleroal shouted at several of his sailors, You . . . and you . . .
fill every bucketon the ship with seawater. You and you . . . below forthe
stores of canvas and soak all of it. Ready it for the fires.Everyone, stand
ready to run for buckets.
Both Ian and the captain looked up at the airibles. They blockedoff what
seemed like half the sky.
One had moved itself neatlybehind the other; he assumed this was so one flying
ship could pourfire and arrows down on them and then move to reposition while
thesecond took its place.
 You have any other ideas, I ll be more than happy tohear them now, Sleroal
said.
 Not until I see what they do. The
WindTreasure couldn t hope to win. Ian didn t givehimself much chance of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]