Part 28 (1/2)

Shut up!

The chatter stopped. Briana found herself s.h.i.+vering, suddenly afraid that her outburst would be recognized for what it was. A reaction prompted by the anguish of too many foreign thoughts pa.s.sing through her head. The others would think that she was breaking down. Am I breaking down? Am I breaking down? Briana kept that thought to herself. She counted to five, slowly, trying to relax her thumping heart. Communication across the entire empire had momentarily ceased, and Briana could feel the Haurstaf network trembling with uncertainty. She swallowed hard and sent out another message: Briana kept that thought to herself. She counted to five, slowly, trying to relax her thumping heart. Communication across the entire empire had momentarily ceased, and Briana could feel the Haurstaf network trembling with uncertainty. She swallowed hard and sent out another message: Keep all communication on a peer-to-peer basis until further notice. The next voice I hear is going to find herself cleaning Port Awl horses with her tongue. She could almost hear a thousand groans reverberating through the ensuing silence. Yellow- and amber-grade psychics would be unable to maintain such intense concentration for long. She could almost hear a thousand groans reverberating through the ensuing silence. Yellow- and amber-grade psychics would be unable to maintain such intense concentration for long.

The lookouts have spotted a s.h.i.+p to the south.

Briana was about to lash out in anger, when she recognized the voice in her head. It was Pascal, aboard her companion s.h.i.+p, Trumpet Trumpet.

It's Hu's steam yacht, the young psychic added. And it's following us. And it's following us.

Granger?

Briana pulled on her boots, gloves and storm mask, wrapped her whaleskin cloak around her shoulders and hurried above deck. Freezing rain lashed her cloak, and the wind snapped at the sails above her. Howlish had trimmed the mainsail and taken down the spinnaker. Even so, the storm was forcing him to luff. The rigging thrummed like plucked wire; the masts groaned. Masked crewmen were busy tying down the spinnaker and securing the fore jib. Under the heavy clouds the Mare Lux looked as dark and angry as she had ever seen it, a great shuddering cauldron of brine. She could smell it through the filters of her mask. The Herald Herald's sister s.h.i.+ps, Trumpet Trumpet and and Radiant Song Radiant Song, lay some distance off the starboard side, their red hulls rising and then cras.h.i.+ng down through the waves. Briana grabbed a rail and scanned the southern horizon. There! A single plume of smoke. There! A single plume of smoke.

Howlish was in a jovial mood. After Briana had removed her mask and dumped it on the wheelhouse bench, he said. 'Good morning, ma'am. Fine day for it, don't you think?'

Briana shucked off her cloak. 'A fine day for what?'

'For sinking the emperor's flags.h.i.+p, ma'am.' The captain exchanged a glance with the navigation officer.

'Don't tempt me,' she replied.

'We could always claim he attacked us.'

She smiled thinly. 'Not even Hu's going to believe that one man operated the Excelsior Excelsior's cannon a.r.s.enal. Are there any other vessels in sight?'

'The horizon's clear, ma'am.'

'Can we run ahead of her?'

Howlish shook his head. 'Not in this wind, ma'am,' he said. 'We'd only tear the Herald Herald to pieces. The to pieces. The Excelsior Excelsior's engines give her a huge power advantage over us.' He glanced at his pocket watch. 'At her present speed she'll be alongside in about ninety minutes.'

Briana peeled off her gloves and threw them down on top of her cloak. Dealing with an angry father was the last thing she needed right now, especially one who didn't appear to be the sort to give up and go away quietly. How would Ianthe react? Briana sighed. Sinking her old man might be the best solution after all.

'Ready the s.h.i.+p for battle,' she said to Howlish. 'And signal the Trumpet Trumpet and and Song Song to do likewise.' to do likewise.'

'Signal?' Howlish asked. 'You want us to use the signal lantern?'

Briana nodded. 'I don't want these orders pa.s.sing through the Haurstaf network,' she said. 'Pascal and Windflower are to maintain telepathic silence. We need to be able to deny all knowledge. And not a word of this to Ianthe.'

'Very good, ma'am.'

Howlish ordered full munitions crews to the gun decks and the Herald Herald's sails trimmed further, sacrificing speed for increased manoeuvrability in these high winds. Guild riflemen took up positions fore and aft, while the rest of the crew battened down in readiness. Signal lanterns flashed between the three Haurstaf vessels.

They were ready long before the Excelsior Excelsior drew near. drew near.

Briana watched the steam yacht approach through the stern-castle telescope. She was two-thirds the length of the Haurstaf men-o'-war, but much lower and sleeker, with a single mast and three funnels behind the bridge. Judging by the amount of smoke she was disgorging, Granger was driving her engines hard. Her copper-clad bow cut through the waves like a dagger. Her cannon hatches were open, and the breeches of those antique guns gleamed along both sides of her hull. The sight of those guns unsettled Briana, but she tried to dismiss her nerves. Granger couldn't possibly have found a crew to man them.

She returned to the hush of the wheelhouse to find Howlish in quiet conversation with the helmsman, signal officer and navigator. Howlish looked up at her arrival. 'The Trumpet Trumpet and and Song Song are about to engage,' he said. 'They'll fall back and signal a warning while we maintain our speed and heading. With any luck we can draw him between their guns. I don't expect the are about to engage,' he said. 'They'll fall back and signal a warning while we maintain our speed and heading. With any luck we can draw him between their guns. I don't expect the Excelsior Excelsior to give us much trouble.' to give us much trouble.'

Briana nodded, but the uneasy feeling remained in her gut.

'There they go now,' Howlish said.

The two Haurstaf men-o'-war dropped behind, the Song Song maintaining her present heading while the maintaining her present heading while the Trumpet Trumpet close-hauled westward across the close-hauled westward across the Herald Herald's stern. Granger's steam yacht did not deviate from its heading. It came thundering on, smoke pouring from its three funnels as it cleaved through the waves towards the waiting men-o'-war.

'The Trumpet Trumpet will start to signal now,' Howlish said. will start to signal now,' Howlish said.

Briana saw the Trumpet Trumpet's signal lantern flas.h.i.+ng repeatedly upon her quarterdeck. Granger made no reply but kept to his same steady course. He was going to pa.s.s between the two wars.h.i.+ps. 'Why would he do that?' Briana said. 'Why expose himself to danger?' She watched the steam yacht draw level with the Trumpet Trumpet.

Howlish nodded to the signal officer. 'Tell them to open fire.'

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.

The sound of cannon blasts rattled the dome's duskgla.s.s panes. Flashes of firelight lit the waters between Granger's yacht and the Haurstaf man-o'-war. A heartbeat pa.s.sed before Briana realized that the flashes had come from the wrong wrong s.h.i.+p. Granger's vessel had opened fire on the wars.h.i.+p. s.h.i.+p. Granger's vessel had opened fire on the wars.h.i.+p.

'The Excelsior Excelsior just fired on the just fired on the Trumpet Trumpet,' the signal officer said.

Howlish looked aghast. 'He has a crew aboard?'

'He's blown a hole in her gun deck.'

'Why isn't she responding?' Howlish said.

'I see fires, captain.'

Crack, crack, crack, crack.

The steam yacht fired on the Trumpet Trumpet again. Through the drifting smoke, Briana glimpsed fires blooming amidst the wars.h.i.+p's shattered gun deck. And then an explosion blew out the man-o'-war's entire port side, throwing a cloud of wood splinters and dragon scales across the dark waters. again. Through the drifting smoke, Briana glimpsed fires blooming amidst the wars.h.i.+p's shattered gun deck. And then an explosion blew out the man-o'-war's entire port side, throwing a cloud of wood splinters and dragon scales across the dark waters.

Boom, boom, boom.

'The Song Song is responding, Captain.' is responding, Captain.'

By now the second Haurstaf wars.h.i.+p had closed on the yacht and opened fire. A score of artillery sh.e.l.ls tore through the yacht's port bulwark and bowsprit, shredding her foredeck and the upper corner of her wheelhouse. Sc.r.a.ps of wood puffed skywards, but the shots had been too high to do any real damage.

Crack, crack, crack, crack . . .

'Port-side guns.'

The steam yacht's cannons fired with a series of yellow flashes. Six, eight, then ten Valcinder cannons pummelled the Song Song's hull in a full broadside attack. And still the shots kept coming, twelve, fifteen guns, the cannonb.a.l.l.s smas.h.i.+ng the wars.h.i.+p's armour to dust.

'The b.a.s.t.a.r.d has a full gun crew in there,' Howlish said.

The Trumpet Trumpet was fully ablaze now and going down fast. Smoke engulfed the was fully ablaze now and going down fast. Smoke engulfed the Song Song, but Briana thought she spied flames there too. The second wars.h.i.+p was turning now, attempting to take herself out of the path of Granger's guns while bringing her remaining cannons to bear on the yacht's stern.

Briana heard Pascal's voice burst into her head: We need a.s.sistance. I'm calling the Guild. We need a.s.sistance. I'm calling the Guild.

Do not not contact the Guild contact the Guild, Briana replied. Maintain silence. Maintain silence.