The King's Ring (The Netherworld Gate Book 2) (16 page)

“Stop playing around, Pinhead,” Redbeard shouted.

The three of them formed a formidable triangle, cutting their way through sailors as they made their way to the middle of the main deck. Kelden spotted the enemy captain calling out orders to his men from behind a wall of sailors. Kelden let the axe slip in his hand, extending his reach. Then he broke into a jog.

“Pinhead, on Kelden!” Redbeard called out. The two dwarves carved their way through the enemy, dropping anyone who dared come at Kelden from the side while Kelden destroyed any sailor in his path.

Kelden dropped a big bald man with a quick slice to the man’s jugular, and then he ducked under a swing from another sailor’s cutlass and lashed out with a stabbing strike that shattered the man’s nose. It wasn’t a lethal blow, but it staggered the man back a couple of steps and Redbeard was quick to jump up and finish him off. Kelden moved ever closer to the protective wall around the enemy captain. There were seven men forming a semi-circle around the officer. Each of them held shields. Kelden turned to Redbeard and smiled. The dwarf nodded and the three of them sprinted forward.

The dwarves were easily outpaced by Kelden’s long legs. The merchant guard captain ran full tilt, clenching his jaw as the shield-wall moved in together, preparing for impact. Three yards away, Kelden threw his axe with full force at one of the sailors. The man reflexively raised his shield to block the weapon. The axe
clanged
against the steel shield and glanced upward into the air. Kelden dropped to his knees and leaned forward.

Redbeard saw his cue and ran up Kelden’s back, launching from the man’s shoulders as Kelden lunged upward to add momentum. The shield-wall reacted by tilting upward to counter the flying dwarf. Redbeard launched his axe downward, forcing the men closest to him to duck their faces behind the protection of their shields. At the same time, Pinhead ran in under the lifted shields and hacked into the legs of three of the men in the center of the shield-wall. The remaining four moved to engage Pinhead, but Redbeard snatched Kelden’s axe before it fell out of reach and flipped it down, dropping another sailor as the blade buried itself in the man’s skull.

Kelden came in fast and hard, ripping a shield from one of the dead men and spinning to bash two of the sailors. Their heads jerked to the side and they went sprawling onto the deck. Pinhead and Redbeard finished the last remaining sailor and Kelden moved in for the captain.

The captain lunged forward with a lightning-quick stab of his saber. Kelden spun the shield down to block it. Before he could counter, the captain retracted and then launched a downward diagonal chop. Kelden lifted his shield and smacked the saber away. The captain deftly drew a long knife from the front of his belt and thrusted directly for Kelden’s stomach. Kelden saw the move just in time and spun out to the right, away from the knife. He then brought the edge of the shield down, chopping into the captain’s shoulder. The man cried out and dropped his saber. Kelden then slammed forward, bashing the captain with the shield and knocking him back against the railing.

“Catch,” Pinhead called out. Kelden stuck his left hand out and snatched Pinhead’s axe from the air. The captain reacted by lunging forward with his knife again, but Kelden kicked the man in the stomach, doubling him over. Then he brought the axe down and the captain’s head rolled out onto the deck.

A chorus of cheers went up on the ship and Kelden realized that the ship had been captured. He looked around to see all of the Zinferth ships similarly engaged, with sailors crawling over their ships. The vessel they stood on pitched suddenly toward the starboard side.

“Sorbiy!” Kelden shouted out.

“Here!” Sorbiy stepped forward, wiping blood spatter from his face. “We are taking on water here, we have to move!”

Kelden nodded. “My thoughts exactly.

“We’ll get the men back to The Arioness. You three move on to the next ship,” Sorbiy instructed.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Pinhead asked. “We can’t swim very well.” Pinhead made a mock doggie-paddle gesture with his stubby arms to emphasize his point.

Sorbiy pointed down. “There is a smaller longboat fastened to this side of the ship. Take it and row over to the next ship.”

Kelden nodded.

Sorbiy turned around and waved his arms. “Garret, you come with me, the rest of you back to Admiral Crillion, now!” he bellowed. The men all scrambled off the ship instantly. Sorbiy and Garret, a large man with an axe in one hand and a cutlass in the other, came toward Kelden. “You need at least two men to row a longboat effectively. We’re coming with you.”

Kelden nodded and he and the dwarves clambered over the railing and into the longboat. Sorbiy jumped into the front of the longboat and nodded to Garret. “Cut us loose.”

Garret moved to the rear of the longboat and he and Sorbiy simultaneously cut the ropes attached to the pulleys that held the longboat in place. The boat fell the ten feet to splash into the water, but amazingly, it held together. Then Garret swung out over the railing and dropped himself down to the longboat.

Sorbiy and Garret rowed the boat out to the next ship. It took some work to steady the longboat against the rocking ship. Garret hoisted Sorbiy over his head and Sorbiy slowly stuck his head up over the railing as he pulled himself up. He clambered over the side and a moment later a rope descended down to the others. Sorbiy fastened the rope to the railing and then turned to defend the position while the others climbed up onto the ship. The five of them tipped the balance of the battle on this ship and soon it was clear of enemy sailors. There was little time to celebrate, however, for one of the Zinferth ships creaked and groaned as its hull split and the ship sank into the depths. Men wailed and screamed as they were flung into the sea below.

“What a horrible way to die,” Pinhead said.

“Don’t worry,” Garret replied. “Zinferth sailors have sea salt running through their veins. They can swim until help arrives.”

“I’m not the best with flags, but it looks like help isn’t coming for us,” Redbeard said. He pointed his bloody axe out to the north. The men all stopped to see a group of more than twenty ships sailing for their position.

“They’ll be here soon,” Sorbiy said.

“So will the squall,” Garret groused. He turned Sorbiy to look east. “The gods are not in our favor today.”

Kelden looked and saw the purple and black clouds rushing toward them. “Well then, let’s move on to the next ship.”

Sorbiy shook his head. “Even if we manage to save the others, none of our ships are in condition to sail.”

Another two sailors joined them as they made their way back down to the longboat. This time, they kept the rope and attached a grappling hook onto the end so they could board more quickly. They rowed out to a pair of ships entangled in a bitter battle. As they neared them, a small schooner came around from the other side and a crew of ten men lined up with bows.

“Get down!” Kelden yelled. Arrows riddled the longboat, but none of them were struck. “We have to move faster!”

Garret dropped over the opposite side of the longboat and disappeared under the blue waters. Kelden moved to go after him, but Sorbiy stopped him.

“He’ll be alright,” Sorbiy said with a wink. “Let’s make for the starboard side of the ship, boys. Let the schooner turn to come after us.

Kelden and the others put everything they had into rowing. A volley of arrows sailed out from the Zinferth ship they had just left, raining death down upon the schooner’s crew. A few moments later, Garret appeared from the depths and climbed up the rear of the schooner. Kelden stopped rowing and watched with mouth agape as the large man used a pair of knives to cut down three men in the blink of an eye. He then cranked the wheel so that the schooner turned away, aiming directly for an enemy ship. Other sailors rushed up to stop him, but he made quick work of all of them. At one point he picked up a slain enemy and used the body to shield-rush the final two sailors. Once they had fallen, he descended on them with his knives. After it was finished and the schooner was set on collision course, he leapt from the schooner and swam for the longboat.

“Slow down,” Kelden told the others.

“No,” Sorbiy corrected. “He would take it as an insult. Keep rowing, he’ll catch up.” They brought the longboat alongside the next ship and made their way up. The fighting was intense, but it was all on the main deck. Only a couple of wounded Zinferth sailors, and a trio of archers, stood on the quarterdeck. The archers moved to help Kelden and the others onto the ship.

“We could use more than seven,” one of them said.

“Have you ever seen a dwarf fight?” Kelden quipped. Redbeard and Pinhead leapt down the stairs and joined in the fray without hesitation. They hacked and bashed their way through as Kelden and the others followed. Kelden soon lost sight of them as another enemy ship approached close enough for a wave of Shausmatian sailors to board the Zinferthian ship.

Cries and shouts filled the air, nearly drowning out the approaching thunder. Kelden and Sorbiy were swallowed by a score of Shausmatian sailors. They parried and countered, dropping each man foolish enough to come within reach, but for every one they slew, two more took his place. They fought for hours, till their arms and legs burned with fatigue. The sheer numbers of enemy sailors still surrounding them confirmed that the other ships had joined in the battle. As if their circumstances were not bleak enough, rain poured down upon them from the heavy clouds.

A great wind rushed through, snapping the mast and dropping it down like a great oak. Men scurried out of the way, but not all escaped its crushing weight. Others were trapped under the thick sails. Lightning flashed down, striking the ship and setting it ablaze. The flames rose up quickly, despite the rain, devouring the ship and creating thick, black smoke that blinded the men aboard.

A pair of hands grabbed Kelden’s shoulder. “We have to go,” Sorbiy said.

“Not without Pinhead and Redbeard,” Kelden shouted back.

“There’s no time,” Sorbiy said as he tugged Kelden toward the side.

Kelden ripped himself free and charged back into the fray. He ducked his head low under the smoke, ignoring Sorbiy’s warnings. Something massive collided into the side of the ship, pitching it onto its side. Kelden tumbled down the deck, bouncing off corpses and ultimately landing in the water next to the floating center mast. The weight of his chainmail dragged him down quickly. Kelden let go of his sword and used his arms to pull himself out of the heavy armor. His shirt went along with the chainmail, but there was no time to prevent that without being dragged deeper into the water. Kelden then kicked off his boots and furiously swam up toward the surface. He scrambled to cling onto the floating mast like a wet cat. Others did the same. He called out for the dwarves.

“Here, Kelden!” Redbeard shouted out. Kelden looked up and saw the two dwarves dangling from the starboard rail, which now towered over him in the air. The flames on the deck spread while at the same time water began to find its way into the ship. The bow slowly rose up from the surface. The ship groaned in protest until it finally split apart. The bow fell crashing down to the water. Flaming boards and bits of rope showered the area around Kelden. The heavier half of the ship rolled over and threatened to crush him into oblivion.

Kelden dove and swam toward the ship, aiming for the small space between the two halves and trying to stay deep enough to avoid the planks and bits of wreckage that pierced the water around him. Orange flames sizzled and hissed as the sea enveloped the wreck. A heavy chain fell and snatched Kelden’s ankle, dragging him down. The light from the dying fires was just enough to aid him as he turned to untangle his ankle from the iron links. As soon as he was free he shot straight towards the surface. His lungs burned and the need for oxygen nearly caused him to open his mouth despite his clenched jaw.

He broke the surface and gasped in a breath of hot, fetid air rank with smoke and blood. He couldn’t see anything. Steam and smoke rose from the surface as rain and clouds rolled in from above. It was all he could do to keep his head above the water as he hacked and coughed. A few moments later, a pair of massive hands grabbed him and hauled him up over the side of a longboat. He schlopped onto the boat and looked up to see Garret and Sorbiy towering over him.

“Grab an oar, we need to clear out of here,” Sorbiy said.

Kelden turned over and pushed up to sit on a bench and grabbed an oar.

“Row!” Sorbiy shouted out to the others. They all dug the oars into the water and propelled the boat through the sea. Sorbiy tapped Garret’s shoulder and the two moved to the other side of the longboat. “Grab him!” Sorbiy shouted.

Kelden glanced over to see a very wet mat of black hair plastered onto Redbeard’s face. The dwarf coughed and sputtered, spewing sea water from his throat.

“Pinhead!” Redbeard shouted through a mouthful of water. “Where’s Pinhead?” Redbeard wiped the hair from his face and shoved the others out of his way. “He’s down there, you have to grab him.”

Garret leapt over the side without a word and disappeared into the depths. Oars hung stationary over the surface, dripping water. No one moved. Their gazes all fixated on the widening ripples where Garret had entered the water. The man was gone for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally came up, everyone let out a sigh of relief when they saw a stout body held up for Sorbiy to grab.