Outcast Chronicles - Sanctuary Part 54

Two more shutters were peeled away and the windows shattered, quickly followed by a third and fourth.

Sardeon froze.

The gift-tutor and her devotee dashed forward, driving the Mieren back before they could come through.

More windows filled with strange, fierce faces painted with savage designs. Ronnyn was kept busy driving the raiders back, but there were so many and they didn't stop coming.

One of the Mieren got his shoulders through, another slithered like a snake onto the bunk below the window and rolled to his feet. Sarodyti and her devotee closed in on them.

With a cry Sardeon sprang forward to protect the gift-tutor. Hacking and slashing at the nearest Mieren, he drove the man to his knees. Ronnyn should never have doubted him.

*To me, Ronnyn!' Vittor cried.

He spun around to see the big lad trying to keep three sea-vermin from climbing through the windows, and him with one arm strapped to his chest. Ronnyn thrust the makeshift spear into the face of the closest raider. The Mieren's scream was drowned by the screams from the deck above. The sea-vermin fell backwards, taking the knife from the end of Ronnyn's staff as he went, and pulling Ronnyn off balance.

Sardeon caught Ronnyn around the waist and hauled him out of reach of more Mieren as they forced their shoulders through the windows. Now there were half a dozen painted faces trying to break in.

Ronnyn's heart faltered. So many... How could they hold them off?

*Only six?' Vittor jeered, his gift surging. *That leaves none for you two boys!'

Sardeon laughed. Ronnyn could feel his choice-brother's gift, sharp and intense.

Ronnyn looked around for another weapon. He would have liked an axe like the one back home, but he spotted a brazier poker and grabbed it. With no time to think, he lashed out at the nearest raider, hitting the back of his head, then attacked another as he appeared in the next window. The foul smell of burning hair filled the cabin. The Mieren screamed and fell back, only to be replaced by another.

Ronnyn stabbed and jabbed at heads as they appeared. Sardeon joined him with the brazier tongs, a live coal clutched in its claws. Grimly, he thrust it into the face of an attacker who already had his shoulders through the window. Ronnyn followed up with a blow from the poker that knocked the man out. He remained wedged in the window, blocking it.

*Help!' Sarodyti called, struggling with an a.s.sailant. Parnia leapt to her a.s.sistance, stabbing the raider in the back. A burly sea-vermin pulled her off the dying man, swung her around and stabbed her in the stomach.

Sarodyti screamed, clutched her own belly, and toppled to her knees.

Vittor skewered the burly man on the end of his make-shift spear, driving him into the wall. The empowered lad had to plant a boot on the sea-vermin's body to pull the weapon free.

Sarodyti crawled to her devotee's side, rolling her over. Dark blood blackened the front of Parnia's robe. Blood frothed on her lips. The gift-tutor rocked back and forth, repeating her devotee's name over and over.

*Gift-tutor?' Ronnyn called.

No response.

Someone collided with him and he found himself dodging a blade. It was only Ronnyn's reflexes that kept him ahead of his attacker's knife.

His choice-brother leaped on his a.s.sailant's back. The Mieren pulled Sardeon over his shoulders and slammed him down on the deck, raising his knife to plunge the blade into Sardeon's chest. Ronnyn shoved the descending arm, diverting the knife so that it sank into the deck next to Sardeon's head.

Vittor caught the Mieren by the hair with his injured arm and cut his throat. Sardeon scrambled away from the fountaining blood. As Vittor threw the dead man aside, Ronnyn saw that his injured arm was bleeding again.

Three screaming sea-vermin sprang through the windows. Sarodyti remained on the floor, beside her dying devotee.

*Ronnyn.' Vittor grabbed his arm. *Get help from the empowered lads in the next cabin.'

Ronnyn ran to the door and down the pa.s.sage. When he threw open the next cabin door he found the lads grappling with more raiders. Bodies littered the floor. It was the same in the cabin opposite.

Desperate, he ran down the hall to the mid-deck. Chaos greeted him: a frenzy of hand-to-hand fighting. For a moment he thought Nerazime had left her post by the door, but he saw her over near the steps, trading blows with two Mieren. Dodging struggling combatants, Ronnyn covered the distance and brought the poker down on one of her attackers. The man crumpled to the deck. Nerazime dealt with the second and turned to Ronnyn, weapon raised.

For the moment they found themselves in a pocket of quiet as the fighting eddied around them.

She blinked, then laughed. *What're you doing here?'

*We need help,' Ronnyn said. *Sarodyti's devotee is dying.'

Nerazime winced. She glanced around, grabbed the nearest empowered lad and told him to hold the pa.s.sage door. They ran into the cabin, where they found Sardeon and Vittor struggling with the Mieren, while Sarodyti knelt, keening over her devotee.

*Leave her, Saro, we need you,' Nerazime yelled.

No reaction.

A raider had Sardeon boxed in the corner. Ronnyn slammed his poker across the man's back. The raider spun around, his sword arcing for Ronnyn's throat. Ronnyn deflected the blade with the poker, but his bad arm spasmed and the poker flew from his hand. He dropped, and the blade whistled over his head. Ronnyn scuttled back. The man stepped in for the kill.

Nerazime caught him from behind and snapped his neck, then sent him flying into another raider. As a third came at her, she kicked him in the face, breaking his nose. Then she smashed their only chair over a fourth.

Vittor and Sardeon dealt with the injured Mieren.

They'd bought a moment's respite. Sardeon bent double, trying to catch his breath.

*What about Saro?' Ronnyn asked, gesturing to the gift-tutor.

*She's trying to hold Parnia's life force in her body.' Nerazime strode across and dropped to her knees beside the old T'En woman. *Let her go, Saro.'

The gift-tutor shook her head. *She's been my devotee for seventy years. I can't abandon her!'

Nerazime took Sarodyti's arm. *You must let her go. We need you.'

*She needs me. I can hold her until Ree can save her. I know I can.'

*We need you now. The boys can't do this alone, and I'm needed outside. I a"'

She broke off as one of the fallen Mieren reared up on his knees and tried to drive his blade into Ronnyn's belly. Nerazime shoved Ronnyn aside. She deflected the strike and snapped the man's arm bone across her thigh.

Ronnyn lay on the cabin floor, gasping for breath, amazed that he was still alive.

Nerazime dispatched the raider, then found Ronnyn's poker and handed it to him.

*Saro?' he asked, scrambling to his feet.

*Grief has clouded her judgement.'

*Here they come,' Vittor warned.

*Hold them off!' Nerazime handed out fresh weapons, some taken from the raiders. They'd only just turned to face the windows when the next wave of attackers tried to get through.

With Nerazime and Sardeon at his side, Ronnyn raised the poker. And it started all over again.

IMOSHEN FOUND HER hand-of-force rallying the defenders on the mid-deck. She grabbed Kiane and drew her close.

The hand-of-force stared at her in astonishment. *What's that?'

Imoshen glanced down and realised the blue stone on Sorne's neck torc was glowing. *A fiant has possessed the sea-vermin's power-worker. This means it's nearby.'

Kiane blanched. *Fiant take them.' Then she heard herself and gave a short sharp bark of laughter.

Attackers forced their way onto the deck, screaming, striking and dying. But even as they fell, more took their place, in a seemingly endless wave. Imoshen realised her people were falling back across the mid-deck, congregating at the cabins to each end of the ship as the sea-vermin overwhelmed them.

Egrayne grabbed Imoshen by the arm, swinging her around. *Call down the blue fire. You must lure the fiant to me, so I can drive it back to the empyrean plane. There's no other way.'

Knowing she was right, Imoshen nodded. *Watch my back.'

Lifting both arms, she called down the power that had been building all day. Eagerly, it came to her.

So much restless, untamed power.

Blue flames clung to her raised arms. Nearby Mieren gasped in fright, even as her own people backed away.

Imoshen laughed and turned on the nearest raider. He scrambled away from her, screaming in fear.

If just one sea-vermin was brave enough to strike her, they'd discover blue fire was harmless. But they backed off. Two of the raiders even took shelter behind the T'En warriors they'd been fighting, calling on the sea G.o.d for protection.

Imoshen had a flash of inspiration. *Behold! The sea G.o.d abandons you. He favours me and my people!'

With a moan, half a dozen of the Mieren staggered away from her. She veered towards the raiders on her right and they surged back. She advanced, driving the sea-vermin before her. Her ship fell silent.

All the while she wept inside for there were no G.o.ds to bless anyone, only mindless predators hungry for power, and her success meant Egrayne's death.

She advanced on another group and they fled, only to be forced towards her again by more attackers clambering on deck. As soon as the new attackers saw her, they fell silent.

Striding along the mid-deck, towards the foredeck cabins, Imoshen drove the sea-vermin before her. A circle cleared around her as everyone drew back.

From the way Sorne's torc was glowing, the fiant was close. But where?

Any of the sea-vermin she confronted could be the power-worker that the fiant was riding. The problem was, she had no idea what the dead power-worker looked like.

A scream of horror came from up near the foredeck cabins.

It had to be the fiant.

RONNYN CAUGHT HIS breath. When he lifted his head, the windows were still empty of raiders. He lifted a trembling hand to rub his face.

Sardeon glanced to Ronnyn. Nerazime and Vittor waited, weapons raised. Still no attackers.What was that strange noise?

Silence...

*Are the sea-vermin in retreat?' Sardeon whispered.

*I think so.' Elated, Ronnyn ran down the hall to the mid-deck. The empowered lads from the other cabins followed.

Ronnyn threw open the door to find attackers and defenders alike standing in a circle, staring in stunned silence at a naked, skinny old man.

The crowd was packed so tight that when the old raider came near them, they scrambled over each other to get out of his way.

Stretched out around the old man were half a dozen bodies, with not a wound on them.

*What's going on?' Nerazime pushed past Ronnyn, striding a couple of steps out onto the mid-deck.

The empowered lads pushed forward, eager to see, driving Ronnyn and Sardeon out onto the mid-deck.

*Stay back,' Egrayne called. She was a head taller than the raiders and could see over them, but she was still a good distance from the foredeck cabins. *It's a fiant, riding a Mieren power-worker. Out of my way!'

Nerazime gasped.

The power-worker turned towards them, revealing deep gashes on his chest that went to the bone without bleeding.

*Back.' Nerazime gestured fiercely as she and the empowered lads scattered like geese before a wild dog.

The fiant gave a silent laugh, head thrown back. Ronnyn saw its throat and gullet exposed by a horizontal cut that went as far back as the spine.

*Don't try anything, Nera,' Reoden cried from the deck above. *It's attracted to power.'

*Saro's focused her gift to save her devotee, Ree,' Nerazime said. *It's attracted to her.'

The fiant turned from Nerazime at the base of the steps, to Reoden at the rail above, as if following their conversation. It seemed to Ronnyn the beast was sensing their power.

*Keep your gifts contained,' Nerazime warned, shoving Vittor and the other empowered lads behind her. A dozen terrified people packed the steps, watching.

*It's finally come for me,' Sardeon whispered, and his gift surged in terror.

Ronnyn felt Sardeon's body go rigid as he fought for control. In desperation, Ronnyn clutched Sardeon's arm, only to feel his choice-brother's power run through his body. It was raw and elemental, and beyond his ability to channel or contain.

And his gift sprang to life, as if a dam had broken.

Power flooded Ronnyn's body, making his heart pound, his sense sharpen and his mind race. It felt as if his gift drew on Sardeon's. The more he tried to contain his power, the more it surged to protect him.

His sight shifted and he saw the fiant as it truly was: a seething source of hunger wearing borrowed flesh.

The horror of it held him immobile as the fiant reached for them.

*No!' Vittor shoved Nerazime aside, charged across the deck and drove his sword through the fiant's back, right through its chest.

Quick as a cat, the fiant turned and caught Vittor's face in its hands. Ronnyn watched, horrified, as the fiant consumed the lad's gift, along with his life-force.

Nerazime screamed, and sprang towards the fiant.