Across The Sea (10 page)

“I’m sorry,” the man said to
Lily. “I can’t go in there alone.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lily
offered. “We’ll go together.”

“I’m old,” the man said. “And I
have a family to take care of. I’m very sorry. Today is not my day
to die.”

“It’s not mine either,” Lily
said, stomping her foot down into the man’s boot.

“Ahhhh,” the man cried out in
pain, and as his arm loosened around her, Lily sprung loose.

A group of men and women,
however, all reached out and grabbed on, everyone wrapping their
arms around her. Lily tried to fight them, but to no avail.

“Noooo!” she bawled. “You have
to let me go!”

“We can’t let you walk in
there,” one woman said. “You will die.”

Lily eyed the woman sideways.
“You don’t know me.”

* * *

At the top of the stairs,
Captain Leonard turned Captain Strick around and pushed him onward,
keeping his blade up against Strick’s Adam’s apple. The second
floor corridor was empty. Strick’s own sword lay at his side,
clenched in his right hand. Leonard had yet to ask him to surrender
it.

“No matter what you do to me,”
Captain Strick said, “you’ll get no information. I shall never
talk.”

“Oh, that suits us quite fine,
Captain,” Leonard answered. “Your chattering would only get in the
way.”

Leonard stopped Strick before
the second door on the right. It was ajar. Inside, Strick could see
Ratwell standing alone in the middle of the room, facing him.
Ratwell swung his sword around his own body, at high speed, cutting
the air up around him at all angles. Strick had never seen anything
like it.

“All we would like to hear
right now are your pleas and screams,” Leonard continued, ramming
Strick into the door. Strick fell to the floor inside. “It’s
something we’ve been dying for, ever since you sank my ship.”

Captain Strick jumped to his
feet, just as Ratwell’s sword came down at him. Strick held up his
own –
clang
! – and stopped the blade from slicing him.

Strick wheeled toward Leonard
behind him. Leonard was in the midst of swinging at him as well.
Strick intercepted.
Clang
! “You sank your own ship,” he
said. “You were too afraid to face me.”

“I’m facing you now,” Captain
Leonard said, but Strick had already turned around to block
Ratwell’s sword again.

He swung around again to stop
Captain Leonard’s, huffing and puffing, his captain’s hat tumbling
off. He was fighting a losing battle; he knew this. He kept turning
from one to the other, holding off their blades.

Captain Leonard and Ratwell
laughed. This was a fun game for them.

Strick was outraged. He fought
them back as best as he could. The tip of a sword punctured his
back and then receded. He faced Ratwell as Captain Leonard smashed
the hilt of his sword against the back of his neck. Captain Strick
fell, landing on his knees beside his fallen hat. Both men looked
down at him, smiling. Captain Strick, doused in sweat and panting,
looked up into their faces.

“We’re not too afraid to face
you now, are we?” Captain Leonard said. “So let’s hear those
screams you’ve been holding back.”

Strick’s lips never moved, his
glazed eyes burning with defiance. He raised his sword. Ratwell
slammed his against it, sending it airborne.

“Oooh,” Leonard continued,
lifting his blade, “I never knew this would feel so good.”

An arrow zipped in and delved
itself into Leonard’s leg.

“Ah!” the pained pirate
yelped.

The door shot open, revealing
Lily as she placed another arrow into a large crossbow.

“That’s quite a high-pitched
scream you have,” she told Captain Leonard. “I’m sort of
embarrassed for you.”

Lily had managed to break free
from the crowd outside, pick up the abandoned Royal Navy crossbow
and make everyone stand back as she threatened them with her new
weapon.

Captain Leonard charged at her.
Ratwell saw Captain Strick move up to save the day so he punched
his fist into Strick’s chest, making Strick collapse back to the
floor.

Captain Leonard managed to grab
the crossbow Lily was holding and attempted to swing it away. Lily
held onto it with all her might. She and the crossbow flew off, her
back and head slamming against the wall.

“Give me that crossbow, little
girl,” Leonard sniped, limping toward her, the arrow still sticking
out of his right leg.

Lily, already on her feet,
pointed the crossbow at him. Leonard stopped in mid step.

This was Lily’s last arrow. She
knew that if she used it on Leonard now, Leonard’s demon would
finish Strick, then her, all within the same second.

“Lily...” Captain Strick said,
moving to get up again, but Ratwell, no longer toying with him,
swiped his blade down at his neck...

As the last arrow burrowed
through Ratwell’s wrist. Exactly where Lily had aimed it.

“Yaaaa!” Ratwell yelled,
stumbling back, but never letting his sword drop.

The pirate Leonard thundered
toward Lily, but was tackled from behind by Captain Strick. Leonard
fell to the floor, driving the arrow further into his leg. He
yelped all over again.

Ratwell, having already pulled
the arrow from his wrist, shredded the air with his sword between
he and Lily like a machine commandeered by the devil himself.
Captain Strick enclosed his arms around Lily, and Ratwell’s sword
nicked him in the back. Strick vaulted toward the open window; the
fall might kill them both but they were doomed if they remained
another second in this room.

With Lily still in his arms,
Strick plunged outside from the second storey window, and slammed
against the cobblestone below.

He shot to his feet, still
holding Lily. There was no time to see if they were both all right.
He had to run to keep them from being chopped.

The crowd on the street
dispersed, fearing for their own safety.

Behind Strick, Ratwell charged,
having jumped from the window himself. He caught up to the captain
across the street, swinging his sword. Captain Strick manoeuvred
around the column of a covered entrance, and Ratwell’s sword
smashed against it, making the roof of the entrance collapse – with
a clamorous crash – dirt puffing up into clouds around them.

Captain Strick turned onto
another street, as Ratwell’s blade sliced into Strick’s back, once
more, only this time, much deeper. Strick could feel his legs
crumbling under him. He stumbled forward, as Ratwell lifted his
sword to finish him. Captain Strick looked up ahead: Captain Mann
and a small army of sailors rushed at them, aiming their rifles and
crossbows. Captain Strick let himself drop.

And the army fired on.

Bullets and arrows whizzed over
Captain Strick’s and Lily’s heads. Lily looked to her right and
glimpsed Ratwell smashing through the window shutters of a
building.

Mann’s men plunged past to
corner Ratwell.

Mann, himself, hurried to
Captain Strick. Lily looked into Strick’s eyes. The Captain
appeared exhausted but still alive. His face was dirt-stained,
sweaty and bloody. There was also heavy blood seeping through the
back of his uniform. He grinned at her.

“Thank you,” he said. “You just
saved me from the worst that hell ever sprouted.”

“Captain Strick,” Mann said.
“What in heaven’s name took place here? You look barely alive.”

“My crew,” Captain Strick
panted. “Ten of the eleven that came with me… Leonard and his
cohort killed them. Ten men.”

Lily lifted herself to her
knees.

“Ten men?” Mann was
shocked.

“Captain,” one of the soldiers
shouted. “The pirate! He’s gone!”

“Find him!” Captain Mann
ordered, bending down to examine Captain Strick’s back. “Turn this
entire city over! And we shall have use of a stretcher here.”

“There’s still one of my men
nearby,” Captain Strick said. “He has the man who tried to sell the
pirates a vessel.”

“We know,” Captain Mann said.
“He came running to us with the criminal. And we spoke with the
little toad. It appears Bodin was by earlier, with the boy.”

Lily felt a burst of relief:
Francis is alive
!

“The seller told us where Bodin
is picking up the vessel he purchased,” Mann continued.

“We should go there now,”
Captain Strick said, moving to stand.

Mann put a hand on his
shoulder, keeping him on the ground. “Captain, you are in dire need
of medical attention. You are a man who has tempted fate
today.”

Captain Strick remained down,
concurring.

“Bodin will not surface until
this evening so as not to be seen sailing away,” Mann said. “I
shall wait for him. I’ve been waiting years to come face to face
with that assassin. Bodin’s misadventures end tonight.”

“Just get Francis back,” Lily
said.

* * *

Captain Strick had known of
Captain Mann his entire naval career and the one thing that
everyone tended to repeat was that Mann was a skilled soldier.
Captain Strick may have let the pirate Gustavo Leonard and his mad
fiend get away, but if Bodin was alone now, he would be hard
pressed against Captain Mann and his elite team of warrior sailors.
As Strick lay in his bed aboard the Glide, he took much comfort in
this latter thought. Doctor Scholten, the ship’s physician, had
just finished examining all of his wounds. The deep slash across
his back could have been serious injury but as it was, it would
heal, leaving no severe damage behind. Captain Strick, however,
would wear a scar for the rest of his days.

As Mann left Strick to
intercept Bodin, Strick still felt a need to give him some sort of
warning.

“Be careful,” he told him.
“Bodin will stop at nothing. Especially with this mission. And I
beg of you, be vigilant the boy is removed from him alive.”

Captain Mann nodded, and
turned, a dozen of his men following as he walked away.

* * *

In the night sky, the moon and
stars were mirrored in the still sea.

On soaring stilts, a dock,
commencing from the top of a cliff, stretched out over the
water.

Nearby, concealed behind a
dense group of trees, were Mann and his men. They were on the
opposite side of the deep forest which surrounded Grand Marine.
Only a handful of people from the city knew of this secluded dock.
It was ideal for anyone attempting an escape.

Two of the Captain’s men had
been watching the dock for most of the day. They had navigated
through the woods using a map instead of taking the secret path
between the city and the secluded dock provided by the boat seller.
Taking the path could have exposed them to Bodin who might be
hidden along the way, spying to see if he was being followed.

Captain Mann and twelve of his
men had joined up with the two sailors three hours beforehand.

Mann focused on something
moving along the ocean’s dark horizon. He continued to stare until
it was clear what it was: a small vessel sailing in toward the
dock.

“His boat has arrived,” the
Captain whispered. “Now where is our man?”

As the craft closed in, Mann
and his men could see that there were three men in the cockpit.
These men tied the vessel to one of the long stilts and then
climbed one after the other up the rope ladder which hung down the
stilt. When all three stood on the surface of the high dock,
Captain Mann took a good look at them. These were big men, and Mann
could tell, worthy fighters.

“Everyone is waiting for Bodin
now,” Mann whispered to Templeton, his first lieutenant. He
surveyed the trees which surrounded them. “He is here, somewhere,
waiting to see that all is safe.”

He heard something move in the
forest, perhaps eighty feet away. Captain Mann’s senses were
renowned. He raised his hand, for the benefit of his men, and all
knew then that he had heard, seen or sensed something that they,
themselves, had not. They all waited, alert, ready for Mann’s
command to attack.

Captain Mann let his gaze fall
on where he thought the movement came from. Something emerged from
the trees nearest to the dock and steep cliff.

Everyone followed his stare.
They all saw it now: a tall, broad-shouldered form in long robes
which whipped in the wind. The form pulled on a chain, drawing,
from behind the trees, another shape into view. This was a much
smaller figure and the end of the chain was wrapped around this
person’s joined wrists.

“Now,” Captain Mann
whispered.

Mann and his men dashed through
the woods. Two sailors aimed their crossbows while the rest placed
their hands on the hilts of their swords as they all landed upon
the dock. Captain Mann neared the boy, who trailed on his chain
behind Bodin.

Bodin wheeled round.

Francis turned as well, as
Bodin jerked on the chain with one hand and drew his broadsword
with the other. Francis flew toward him, and Bodin twirled him so
that Francis faced Mann and his men, and then kicked at the back of
Francis’ legs, making him fall to his knees before him. Bodin
raised his sword with both hands, pointing downwards, the tip of
the blade stinging into the back of Francis’ neck.

“Bodin,” Captain Mann said, as
one crossbow was aimed at Bodin’s heart and the other at his
jugular. “End this long day now. Surrender the boy.”

The three large men from the
boat stood halfway up the dock. Some of Mann’s elite fighting crew
eyed them, daring them to attempt an escape back toward the end of
the dock. The three were trapped and knew it. They all drew their
swords. Mann’s fourteen men formed a semi-circle wall behind their
leader; no one was getting off this dock without going through them
first.

Francis swallowed, fearful. He
had no control over his own fate right now. It was all up to the
men surrounding him whether he lived or died.