Lightning had struck a mast, pinning one of Rain’s legs beneath it. Crag, Blaze, and two other Knights strained against the wood. Rain’s bellow of pain was swallowed by thunder as they managed to lift the mast enough to free his mangled leg.
Torn, Rain, and a handful of other Knights had been sent to a small island off the coast of the Western Continent to bring home Crag and Blaze who had been ministering to villages ravaged by battles with
Zaltana
. Though they had been pushed out of
Tanek
,
Zaltana
still occupied most of the Western Continent and had turned their greed toward kingdoms farther away from
Rubyshire
and the Knights.
“We’re going down fast and the lifeboat’s already sunk!” Crag shouted above the roar of the storm, glancing at the Knights struggling to keep afloat in the water. “We’ll have to swim for the shore!”
“Crag and I will swim with Rain!” Torn ordered. “The rest of you, go!”
“Forget about me!” Rain snapped. “You’ll be lucky to save yourselves in this strong water!”
“Our guardian has arrived!” Blaze pointed off the bow.
“What the hell are you blabbering about?” Rain hissed through teeth gritted with pain as Crag bound his leg tightly. “Guardian of—”
“He’s right!” Torn narrowed his eyes against the wet, cutting wind. A flash of lightning momentarily illuminated the black water, revealing a small ship headed toward them. “Swim for the ship! Crag, help me with Rain!”
The ship lurched. Blaze and several Knights leapt overboard and treaded water while Crag and Torn, Rain supported between them, jumped.
As they neared the boat, its captain, a powerfully built dark-skinned man with a shock of kinky brown and white hair, gave one of the Knights a hand up. Then he leapt into the water himself. A powerful swimmer, the captain joined Torn and Crag, taking the burden of Rain from them and swimming toward the ship, appearing unhindered by the weight of another man.
On deck, Crag and Torn, waterlogged and relieved as the others, approached Rain. Blaze already knelt beside him, tending his leg.
Blaze glanced at their brawny savior who had pulled himself on deck. He whispered, “Mate of the Key. He will join our ranks.”
“I think you swallowed too much seawater,” Rain snapped. Blaze tightened the bandage on his leg. “That hurt!”
Crag approached the captain who sat on deck, catching his breath. The man’s pale blue eyes fixed on Crag. He panted in a voice laced with a
SothSea
accent, “How many of you were lost?”
“We’re it,” Crag told him gratefully. “We’re all here.”
“All ?” The captain narrowed his eyes at his passengers.
“Circumstances being what they are with the battles with
Zaltana
, there were few to send on this mission,” Crag continued, stooping to assist one of the Knights nursing an injured arm.
Blaze approached the captain, touched the man’s thickly muscled arm. “You listened when the Spirits spoke. Thank you.”
The shoreline loomed in the distance, and the captain managed to dock without crashing.
“He has skill,” Crag mentioned to Torn as they helped Rain off the ship.
“Plenty of it,” Torn agreed.
“I wonder who he is?”
“I’m sure we’ll find out very soon.”
The End
Also at Ellora's Cave
The Holiday Stalking
Knights of the Ruby Order: Torn
The Blood Doctor
Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.