Part 24 (2/2)

The Harbinger pivoted under Wyatt's deft hand, sheering away to the left. Arista and Myron lost sight of the Ghazel s.h.i.+p. They ran back to the stern, where Wyatt stood holding the wheel with one hand while looking back over his shoulder. The Ghazel s.h.i.+p had matched their tack and was coming up on their stern.

”Everyone to the lee side!”

”Oh, now which side is that?” Arista asked Myron.

”Opposite of windward, ah-right now it is the starboard side.”

”What in Maribor's name is wrong with left and right?”

As soon as they reached the starboard rail, she knew why Wyatt had ordered them there. As he cranked the wheel, the wind pressed the Harbinger's sails and bent the s.h.i.+p over on its beam, forcing it dangerously close to capsizing. The starboard side rose higher and higher.

Arista wrapped her arms around the rail to keep from sliding and Myron did the same. Farther up the deck, Magnus looked terrified as he clutched the side, his feet skidding and slipping on the wet boards. If the s.h.i.+p had flown before, it was doing something unheard of now. They no longer dipped and rose, but like a bar of soap running across a washboard, they hammered the crests as they went. The s.h.i.+p felt like a stone being skipped across a lake.

”Ha-ha!” Wyatt jeered, the wind ripping the words from his mouth so that she barely heard him. ”Match that with your overweight trow!”

She watched Wyatt, with his feet in place against the stock, his arms holding the wheel, hugging it to his chest like a lover, his hair blowing, the spray bathing him. He wore a grin and she was not certain whether she should be happy or concerned. The rest of them hung on in desperation as the race sent them across the luminous sea.

Arista noticed the pain in her arm lessening, the s.h.i.+p righting itself, their speed dropping. She glanced at Wyatt and saw a look of concern.

”They're stealing our wind,” he grumbled.

”How are they doing that?” Alric asked.

”They are putting us in their wind shadow, moving their s.h.i.+p in line with ours, blocking it-depriving us. Hands to the braces! Starboard tack!”

The s.h.i.+p was nearly flat now, allowing Hadrian and Elden to run. They cast off ropes and pulled the yard around again, the big sail flapping as Wyatt turned the s.h.i.+p to catch the wind from the other side. Overhead, Royce moved among the top lines, working the upper sail.

”Haul those sheets in!” They caught the wind once more and the s.h.i.+p set off again. ”All hands to port!”

Arista was ahead of him, already running across the deck to renew her grip on the rail. She knew what was coming this time and got her feet planted securely before the side of the s.h.i.+p rose. Beyond the stern, she could see the following s.h.i.+p already turning to mimic their action, the great black sails with the skull-like symbols flapping loose as they came around. They were much closer now. She could clearly see the creatures crawling across the deck, climbing ropes. Dozens of them had gathered near the bow. It frightened her to see them move. They skidded along on all fours like spiders-a s.h.i.+pload of huge black tarantulas-so tightly packed they climbed over each other just to move about.

The Harbinger skipped the waves again, racing directly at the city, but it was no use. The following s.h.i.+p, with its larger bank of sails, was still eating up the distance between them and moved to cut their wind again.

”Elden, Hadrian!” Wyatt called. ”I will be going about, but when I do, I will then change my mind and go back to my previous tack, do you understand? The moment you get my signal, run the jib up to port.”

Hadrian looked at Elden, who was nodding. ”Show him, Elden. This has to go perfectly or we're dead in the water. Also, get Alric and Mauvin on the lines. More hands will make this easier. The moment we are back on tack and under way, drop the jib. Let's see how good their crew is. They have the advantage of more canvas, so let's turn that against them. With all that sail, it will take them longer to recover, and if they don't pull back in time, they will stall.”

”Your Highness,” he said, addressing Arista, ”I will need to be facing forward to time this just right, so you need to be my eyes astern. I need you to watch the Ghazel s.h.i.+p and tell me the moment you see them starting to come around, got that?”

”Yes,” she replied, nodding in case her feeble voice was lost in the wind.

”Then get forward and hang on.”

She nodded again and began crawling to the front of the s.h.i.+p, moving hand over hand along the rail.

”Stand by to come about!” Wyatt shouted.

He waited. She watched as the Ghazel s.h.i.+p once more glided over, aligning itself, eclipsing their wind. Wyatt flexed his fingers on the wheel and took a deep breath. He even closed his eyes for a moment, perhaps saying a silent prayer; then he stiffened his back and turned the wheel hard over.

The s.h.i.+p sheered back to port. ”Tacks and sheets!”

Elden and Hadrian went to work once more, and Mauvin and Alric followed their directions, pulling the yards round. Arista focused her gaze on the Ghazel s.h.i.+p behind them. She could feel the Harbinger s.h.i.+fting, sensed it slowing underneath her as it started to lose the wind.

”They're turning!” she shouted as she saw the Ghazel coming about. The tiny spiders scattered across their deck in sudden fury. They were not just trying to match their turn; they were trying to beat them to it.

Wyatt did nothing.

”They're turning,” she yelled again.

”I heard you,” he said. ”We need to wait for them to be fully committed.”

Arista gripped the rail with nervous hands, feeling the s.h.i.+p moving slower and slower.

”Avast!” he finally shouted. ”Back all braces! Raise the jib!”

The s.h.i.+p still had some wind, still some forward motion to it, and when Wyatt turned the wheel, it responded. The jib out front had the angle and caught what was left of the wind, turning the bow. A wave caught them dead on and broke, was.h.i.+ng the deck, but the s.h.i.+p held true. The sails caught the wind and filled. Elden hauled down the jib as once more the Harbinger flew.

Behind them, the Ghazel realized their mistake but were too late. They tried to mimic the turn and she watched as their sails went slack.

Wyatt looked behind them. ”They're lost, stalled in the eye of the wind,” he declared, grinning, his chest heaving with excitement. ”It will take them several minutes to catch it again. By then we will-”

”Sail!” Royce shouted. ”Starboard bow!”

Wyatt's grin melted as his head turned. Ahead of them appeared a s.h.i.+p that looked nearly identical to the one behind. It flashed a light and behind them the other Ghazel s.h.i.+p replied.

Wyatt looked fore and aft and she could see the story written clearly in lines of fear on his face. Through great skill, and a bit of luck, they had barely managed to avoid one s.h.i.+p. They would not fare well against two.

”Sail! Port bow!” Royce shouted, and she could see Wyatt visibly slump against the wheel as if struck from behind.

Wyatt lay off the wheel and let the s.h.i.+p slow and level off. There was no need to hasten their approach. Everyone on board looked to him.

”What now?” Alric asked, coming aft.

Wyatt did not reply. He just turned his head, looking back and forth at the s.h.i.+ps. His forehead glistened. He bit his lip, and Arista noticed his left hand starting to shake.

”We're out of options, aren't we?” Alric asked.

”This s.h.i.+p doesn't even have nets to impede boarders,” Wyatt replied.

”How will they attack?” Hadrian asked. ”Will they board?”

”Eventually, yes, but first they will clear the deck with arrows.”

”Fire?”

”No,” Wyatt replied. ”They have us. We're boxed in, overwhelmed. They will want the s.h.i.+p.”

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