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When the mate remained where he stood, the high templar cursed and reached for
his dagger. "Enough!"
"I don't think so," said the first mate, grabbing Saanakal's wrist. "If I'm
going to die, then I will do it as I have lived-at King Andropinis's
pleasure."
With that, he handed the king's eye to the helms-man, then picked up the
templar and pitched him over the side.
Screaming in fear, Saanakal thrust a hand into the pocket of his robe. The
dust swallowed him before he could withdraw the object hidden inside.
"Prepare yourselves to die like soldiers," Tithian said, giving his crew an
approving nod. "And take us into battle."
As the astonished officers obeyed, Tithian had his shipfloater relay his
attack orders to the surviving ships.
Next, he took the king's eye from the helmsman and began to scan the haze.
"What are you looking for?" she asked.
"My giant," Tithian replied.
It did not take the king long to find what he was after. Within a few minutes,
he saw Fylo's ugly form leading an attack against another ship. The giants had
already thrown their boulders and were plowing forward through the silt, their
rams cradled under their arms.
As Tithian watched, the ship fired its catapults, put the wizard mistimed his
command word and dropped the flames behind the giants. Nevertheless, the king
could see that the battle was far from over.
Vats of Balkan fire were lined up all along the gunnel, ready to be dumped on
the attackers, and the ballista crews were holding their fire until the giants
came closer.
Tithian gave the king's eye to a junior officer. "Which ship is that?"
"The
King's Lady,"
he replied.
"Good," he said, pointing at Fylo's ugly face. "Do you see that giant?"
"The one whose head looks sort of human?"
"Yes. Keep us pointed toward him." Tithian replied. Next, he turned to the
shipfloater. "Tell the
King's Lady to hold her attacks. We're coming alongside and may be able to
save her from this bunch."
For the next few moments, Tithian watched in grim silence as the
Silt Lion bore down on its targets. The giants were approaching the King's
Lady cautiously, suspicious of the lack of resistance from the ship.
Nevertheless, they were close enough to hoist their rams and charge at any
moment.
"Captain Saba asks permission to defend his ship," reported the shipfloater.
"No!" Tithian spat.
"But we'll never get there in time," objected the helmsman. "If they don't
resist-"
"The
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King's Lady is sunk anyway!" snapped Tithian. "And I don't want anyone killing
my giant-not yet"
Several of the ship's officers exchanged skeptical glances, then one ventured
to ask, "Why not?"
"He must be the one who set up this ambush, and I want to know why-before I
deal a very special punishment out to him," the king answered. He looked back
to Ictinis. "Tell Captain Saba this: when the giants hit his ship, he'll be
protected by the king of Tyr's magic-but only if his counterattacks don't
interfere."
The shipfloater sent the message.
A moment later, Tithian and his officers watched as Fylo and his giants
crashed into the
King's Lady.
Unhampered by any resistance from the ship, their charge hit with such force
that it ripped the foredeck off the rest of the ship. The ballistae discharged
harmlessly and the vats of Balkan fire toppled, instantly creating an inferno
on the decks. Trailing long tails of flame, sailors and dwarves leaped over
the sides, their agonized screams falling silent as they disappeared into the
dust.
A burly man stepped toward Tithian, his silt-scarf hanging loosely around his
neck. His jaw was set, and his puffy cheeks were pale with the horror of what
he had just witnessed. "You said you'd save them!" he gasped.
"Come now," Tithian replied. As he spoke, he turned his palm to the deck,
using his body to shield it from view as he drew the energy for a spell. "You
heard me say that the
King's Lady was lost. You knew I was lying to Captain
Saba when I said I would protect him."
"When I tossed Navarch Saanakal overboard, it seems I traded a coward for a
liar," growled the first mate, stepping toward Tithian. "You said we were
going to kill giants-not protect yours!"
"This fleet has already killed more giants under me than it would have under
Saanakal!"
With that, he collected a pinch of dust from the gunnel and threw it into the
air. He spoke his incantation, then the mate, officers, and the helmsman all
dropped to the deck, their eyes closed tight behind their dust-shields.
Without a steady hand on the helm, the ship veered toward the burning
King's Lady.
As the bowsprit of Tithian's schooner touched the blazing wreck, the ship's
wizard leaped off the bow. He flew a hundred yards in the direction of the
island chain before a giant swatted him down.
The jib sail of the
Silt Lion burst into flames, and smoke began to roll over the main deck.
Sailors and catapult slaves alike cried out in alarm and looked up to see what
was wrong, then the whole ship shuddered as the bow crashed into the side of
the
King's Lady.
Time to go," Tithian said.
The king drew the energy for another spell and used his magic to levitate
himself. Taking care to stay away from any giant that could bat him down, he
drifted out over the stern. Behind him, the
Silt Lion's vats of Balican fire began to ignite, sending column after column
of golden flame shooting into the pearly sky. Within moments, the
schooner's wreck could not be distinguished from that of the
King's Lady.
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Tithian quickly identified Fylo's distinctive form at the other end of the
conflagration. The giant stood near the detached bow of the
King's Lady, the one piece of the ship that was not in flames, laughing in
childish delight as he used a yardarm to knock the last few survivors off the
upended hull.
Tithian drifted forward through the smoke and haze. At the same time, the king
took the precaution of withdrawing a small glass rod from his satchel, but he
did not fully prepare the spell that would turn it into a lightning bolt.
Until he learned how Fylo had come to be a part of this ambush, and what had
happened to Agis, he had no intention of killing the giant.
Tithian stopped just out of Fylo's reach. "What are you doing here?" he
demanded, yelling to make himself heard across the distance.
The giant stepped away from the wreck, raising his yardarm to swing at the
king. "Traitor!"
Tithian dodged back. The huge club sank into the silt with a muffled whump,
raising a curtain of pearly dust.
"Why are you attacking your friend?" the king asked, resisting the urge to
cast his spell.
Fylo narrowed his eyes, gauging the distance to his target, then shrugged and
turned back to the bow of the
King's Lady.
"Tithian liar, not friend," he said, using his yardarm to push a dwarf into
the silt. "Agis real friend."
"What does Agis have to do with this?" Tithian asked. He felt both relieved [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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