Diamond Bonds (28 page)

Not giving up, Turk unleashes another barrage of water, but this time the naval sailors are ready and meet the water with open palms of their own, immediately shaping the water into a large barrier.  Turk stops his attack, realizing he’s simply providing ammunition to these shapers.

Turk glances up at Marin, who has a devilish grin on her face.  “These are the best water shapers in the navy!  Your power is useless against this crew!”  Cupping her hands to her mouth, she barks, “ENGAGE!”  At her order, the rest of the crew emerges from below deck, raising a cheer as they meet the pirates in combat.  The sailors behind the wall of water shape weapons from the mass before releasing the rest of it to the deck.

Her trap sprung, Marin leaps from the quarterdeck and lands in the thinning pool of water.  Reaching her hand into it, she shapes the liquid into a whip and cracks it before striking at Turk, who barely manages to deflect the shot.  Marin whips again, this time enwrapping Turk’s sword and tugging as the two face off.

Once again hidden amidst the crates, the stowaways find themselves flabbergasted by the situation.  Jem looks down at Di in disbelief as the sound of dueling swords rings out all around her.  “How do we keep finding ourselves in these absurd situations!?”

“Fire was right about our luck,” Di laments.

Era tugs at his handcuffs, but they hold tight despite being well-rusted.  “Freeze these chains, Jem!  Then I should be able to snap them!”

“You’re crazy!  Those are made of tempered steel.  Ice won’t do anything but frostbite you!”

“Then let’s find Fire and get off this ship!”

“And
then
what?  We’re in the middle of the Lidoran Sea!”

Di looks back and forth between her two guardians.  “Can I just say-”

“NO!” the two cry in unison, angry with her for getting them into this mess.

Era looks back at Jem.  “Look, we at least need to go get Fire.”

“What good will
that
do?” Jem asks.

“Would you rather stay here and get skewered?”

“Of course not!  But I-”

“Then
come on!
” Era shouts, grabbing Jem’s free arm as best he can while wearing the cuffs.  He pulls her out of their hiding place to find a pair of pirates overwhelmed by three naval sailors.  Crouching to stay low, they make a dash for the stairs amidst the chaos.  Just as they get close, someone gets kicked toward Era, who can do little to brace himself as he gets tackled.

“Era!”  Jem runs up to her partner, dragging Di alongside her as she crouches to pull the unconscious officer off her partner.  As she works, someone backs into her, and he spins and brings his sword to Jem’s neck.  She finds Captain Turk, still engaged with the naval captain, looking down on her in surprise.  Without warning, he grabs her arm and pulls her along as he dashes back to his ship.  Handcuffed to Jem, Di shrieks and stumbles along, barely managing to stay on her feet.

“Get back here!” Marin cries out as she gives chase, but her path is cut off by a skirmish.

“Hey!  What’s the big idea!?” Jem screams while struggling in vain against the burly pirate, trying to free herself from his grasp as he hoists her onto one of the planks between ships.  He prods the two girls forward until a pirate on the other side grabs them and pulls them to the ship.

“JEM!” Era cries as he shoves the downed sailor off him and gets to his feet, only to be tossed aside by two combatants engaged in a furious spar.  He hits the deck and covers his head, hoping he doesn’t find himself on the wrong end of a misaimed swipe.

Turning back to survey the scene, Turk recognizes the hopelessness of the situation.  “RETREAT!  All men pull back!”

“Don’t let them escape!” Marin screams as she continues to attack the pirates still on her vessel.  Overwhelmed, the pirates frantically rush back to the boarding planks, but the naval sailors give chase.

Era jumps up again, only to find Jem and Di on the pirate ship.  Though he first moves to chase after them, both armies are now flooding the boarding planks, and he has no choice but to back off.  He seizes the opportunity to sneak away by dropping to the deck and rolling over to the stairs.  He gives one final glance to his friends on the other vessel before slinking down into the stairwell, desperate to meet up with his remaining ally.

Knowing he can’t save everyone, Turk orders his crew to dump the boards.  The pirates unhook the planks from the near side, allowing the platforms and several sailors to plummet to the water below.  Freed from the other ship, the pirate vessel lurches forward.

Aggravated by the turn of events, Marin screams at her crew.  “Hoist the mainsail!  We’re
not
letting them get away!”

The pirate ship catches the breeze and begins cruising away, but the naval craft is in hot pursuit.  Turk looks back at his former target, grimacing at how many of his men were left behind.  His fists clenched, he barks, “Lower the mainsail!  Engage the propulsion rune!”

As the pirates lower their primary sail, one crewman runs up to a console located behind the helm.  He pulls a lever, which is tied to a rope that leads down to the aft of the ship.  The rope pulls taut, and a clapper at the end connects with a large rune embedded into the hull below the water’s edge.  The moment the clapper connects, the rune fires a massive volley of water, propelling the ship forward at high velocity.  Everyone clings to the rails to avoid flying off the ship.

Marin watches the pirate vessel accelerate with help from the rune, a smile curling at her lips.  “He thinks he’s getting away.  Activate the rune!”

A sailor runs to a similar console embedded near the helm and pulls a lever, but instead of producing a large gush of water, the rune below does nothing.  He repeatedly pulls the lever to no avail.

Marin yanks him aside and tugs at the lever herself.  She looks down along the aft of the ship, finding the rune had come loose in the raid.  She slams the rail and screams, “WHO SECURED THE RUNE!?”

The crew stands silent as the pirate vessel accelerates away until, reluctantly, a crewman raises his hand.  Marin’s water whip snatches his wrist in an instant, and she flings him over the edge of the ship with a yelp.  As the crew members scramble to toss him a rope, she asks her second-in-command, “We can fix it,
right?
”

“Y-Y-Yes ma’am!” Giarva yelps with a salute.  “But replacing it while at sea is dangerous and will take time.”

“
Get it DONE
.”  The lieutenant dashes away, shouting orders as he gathers crewmen to help him install the new rune.  Pointing out over the deck, she barks, “Clean up the deck!  Throw all dead pirates overboard!  Throw the rest in the brig!”

Marin turns and glares at the pirate ship, keeping her voice low as she mutters to herself, “Run while you can, Turk.  I’m coming for you.”

*              *              *

The pirate vessel slows to a stop as the helmsman disengages the rune.  The ship is painfully quiet as the injured pirates nurse their wounds, while others mourn the loss of their comrades.  Turk walks halfway up the quarterdeck’s stairs and turns to face his diminished crew, silently noting which members are missing.  “We lost good men today, but the rest of us were able to escape with our lives.  And for that, we owe those left behind a moment of silence.”

The pirate captain removes his red bandanna, revealing a shaved scalp as he bows his head and closes his eyes.  After a brief moment, he ties the bandanna and says to the helmsman, “They may try to follow, and we’ve no idea what their ship is capable of.  Hoist the mainsail and make haste for Allerian waters.”

“Allerian!?” Di’s small voice cries out, the only Valvoran amidst the band of Allerians.

Turk glances to Jem and asks, “She’s with you?”  Jem cautiously nods an affirmation, and Turk pats Di’s head.  “Don’t worry, little girl.  You’re among friends here.  We don’t turn our backs on fellow Allerians in these waters, nor their comrades.”  Turning to the crew, he bellows, “Men, we have ladies on this ship!  I expect you to be on your best behavior!”

Not one of the brigands seems particularly trustworthy with such a request, their eyes hungry for anything of the female persuasion. Di nervously steps behind Jem.

The crew’s reaction isn’t missed by the captain.  Leaning to Jem, he mutters, “On second thought, I’ll keep you two in my cabin.”  He finds his second-in-command and orders, “Jenkit, I want you to make a count of the missing.  It looks like we may have lost a third of our crew to that psychotic demon.”

Jenkit looks around.  “Pardon, Captain Turk, but methinks it might be a tad more.”

Turk grumbles, “Never one for optimism, eh Jenkit?  Just make the count.”

“Aye, Cap’n.”

Turning to his lady escorts, he motions toward his cabin.  “Shall we?”  He allows the two to lead the way, and as he follows he feels the jealous gaze of nearly every member of his crew.

Once inside Turk’s cabin, he closes the door behind him.  The room is lightly decorated, with maps and clothes strewn about the floor.  A mat is the only sign of a bed, and two large windows in the back allow sunlight to stream directly in.

“Sorry for the mess,” the captain says sheepishly.  “I obviously don’t have many guests in here.  Please have a seat anywhere.”  He bows as he introduces himself, saying, “As you may have caught wind, my name is Captain Turk.  Pleased to make your acquaintances.  What are your names?”

Jem glares at the captain with pent-up anger.  “Look, why did you drag us over here?  What do you want with us?”

“W-Well, you’re a fellow Allerian, and you were a captive on a Valvoran vessel.  I thought it only right to save you.”

“
Save
me?  You
kidnapped
me!  Our friends are back there!”

The captain is alarmed.  “There were more Allerians over there?”

“Get over the Allerian thing!” Jem yells while throwing her arms in the air, forcing Di to do the same with one hand.  “Why are you so obsessed with that?”

Turk casually flops onto his mat, propping himself up with one elbow.  “I consider it a matter of pride to aid any Allerians I find in distress.  After all, many Valvoran vessels use Allerians as slaves.”

Jem is surprised.  “What?  Really?”

“About three years ago the Valvoran military sold off their Allerian prisoners-of-war to the sea trade.  Didn’t want to keep them in their jails any longer, I guess.  During our raids we always save any Allerians we find.  Nearly half my crewmen are former slaves.”

Jem slinks against the opposite wall, and Di does the same thanks again to the handcuffs.  “I didn’t know Valvoren did that.”

“One reason we sail so deep into the Lidoran is to liberate our comrades, but apparently word of our operation has spread.  We pushed our luck too far.” 

“Do Allerians do the same thing?” Jem abruptly asks.  “Do they enslave Valvorans?”

“Sure, but that’s different,” Turk says indignantly.  “I’ve seen what Valvoran pigs can do.  They deserve everything they get.”

“And so the hatred never ends,” Jem whispers with a distant stare.

Eyeing the girls suspiciously, he asks, “So what’s your story, then?  Why were you prisoners on that naval vessel?”

“We have a knack for landing in trouble,” Di interjects, puffing her cheeks.

“Can’t disagree with that,” Jem says.  “We thought we were stowing away on a cargo ship.  Two members of our group are still back there.”

Turk ponders the situation.  “So why are
you
so deep into Valvoren then?  And traveling with Valvorans, no less?  Even your accent is Valvoran.”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Jem says, doing her best to look vulnerable.  “But we need to get to Canterin if at all possible.  That’s our best chance of meeting up with our friends.  Can you… Can you help us?”

“Canterin?  The big Valvoran city on the coast?”  Turk frowns and starts searching one of his maps lying on the ground.  He finds it and taps it.  “No can do, missy.  Not with a naval vessel hot on our heels.  We need to break for open water and then get back to friendlier seas.  You’ll come with us back home to Glouak, and we can figure something out from there.”

“Glouak?” Jem asks.  “I haven’t heard of it.”

“Not surprising.  It’s a tiny town over on the Truitt peninsula.  We set up port there.”

“You mean in
Alleria?
” Di whines, aghast at the thought of traveling to the foreign nation.  “I can’t go there!  I need to go home!”

Turk grimaces.  “Sorry little lady, but I just lost half my crew, and I’m not about to risk the rest of them in a gesture of goodwill.”

Jem bites her lip, knowing there’s little point in arguing with the pirate captain.  They’re at his mercy.  “Can you drop us off at Canterin after harboring at Glouak?”

Turk frowns.  “I think we need to stay out of Valvoran waters for a time, what with that crazy captain out there hunting us.  You’d probably be best to find another option.”

Di slumps backward, banging her head into the wall.  Jem also finds herself distressed as her thoughts turn to Era.  He may well be at the mercy of the captain who thought them to be spies.