6-Thrilling
793 words
"Pirates!"
The warning yell echoed from stem to stern of the Lune Del Mar, bringing her captain and the castaway to their paws.
Fingers curling around his hilt, Martin stormed to the door of his cabin, only to find himself blocked by Lily, her sword already drawn.
"You can't go out there," he blurted "It'd interfere with offensive operations."
"I can fight," She snapped back.
His eyes drew to the scars littered about her body "I believe you and things might get where we need you to. But you're not under my command, I can't risk something going south because you were in the wrong place!"
"Captain!" Coe's voice crashed through the pounding of boots on deck and "Captain, come here!"
Stepping around Lily, Martin nodded thankfully as she seemed to decide to stay in the cabin, then charged out on deck.
Lily stared after him, gripping her sword until the scars on her knuckles showed a clammy white.
"I sure hope that first mate knows what he's doing."
Streams of sailors rushing to battle stations parted for their captain as he bolted for the rear of the ship.
"Mr. Coe!"
The cat swivled about, fingers raised to his brow in a salute. "Sir!"
"How many are there?"
"Top lookout reported one ship sir, flying the black flag, bearing down on us directly."
Martin sucked in a loud breath as he flicked the spyglass from his belt and pointed it towards the ship flying towards them.
"Pirates my paw. It's the Danche."
"Mercinaries," Coe's voice stayed flat, but distaste and a great deal of angry annoyance flacoured it "They simply refuse to give up."
"They're getting paid more than they're worth, " Martin snapped "We'll outrun them like every other time."
"Not likely, sir."
"What do you mean not-oh," a long groan fled through the captain's whiskers "Our cargo."
"Afraid so."
Hundreds of stacked crates brimming with iron ore filled the belly of the Lune Del Mar, destined for Churam. They held the ship low in the water and drug her back against the pressure of the wind, giving the normally inferior Danche the lip on speed.
"We'll have to fight our way out," Martin growled, folding rhe glass back up.
"Sir, is...it... secure?"
Martin's mind fled to the little locked box beneath his bunk.
"It's as safe as it's goin to get, Coe. Get the archers armed and have them ready to fire as soon as the Danche's in range."
"Aye, sir."
Swiftly the patched sails of the Danche pushed the yellow wood ship towards the straining timbers of the Mar, like a hungry predator stalking quickly towards slow but alert prey.
Soon the zwip and thwitch of arrows speeding over the waters was evident, marked by the little blurs racing towards their foes and speeding back towards them to bury into the hull, deck, and, sometimes, into an unfortunate sailor.
The fire increased in accuracy as the two ships pulled closer and closer, unavoidably the Danche coming along the side of the Mar.
Ordered chaos churned on the deck of the naval ship as bows dropped and swords where unsheathed.
For a moment, neither side moved, then the grappling hooks came swinging with heavy thuds onto the Lune Del Mar's deck and a flood of unsavory creatures, each bearing their own melee weapon, came pouring into the ranks of the sailors.
Lily gripped her sword and dashed out of the cabin a snarl raised on her lips.
A ragged young cat came at her, whirling a long spiked chain over his head.
She lurched to his side, and let her sword slide in a long cut along his back, ducking beneath the chain as it fell from his grasp in a long link of noise.
Two raccoons leapt towards her next, both wielding dual axes. They where quick, like blazing masked lightening. But as old skills resurfaced after a month of inactivity, Lily was quicker, her lightening flashed faster.
Somehow, across the deck, in all the confusion, she found Captain Trevoiant, bellowing orders and swinging his cutlass.
He managed to keep his crew in fighting form, but the way he whirled his sword ineffectually against the mercenaries.
Atrocious. He was going to get himself killed. Who let him be a Captain without ever giving him sword lessons?
She dodged around Coe, who was whirling his staff around, making good use of it, then without thinking dashed up into some of the rigging pursued by a squirrel.
He took a vicious swipe at her tail with his dagger and in trying to avoid him, she lost her grip on the tough ropes.
Swinging by a couple of claws in the fiber she struck upwards with her sword, missed the squirrel, but sliced the ropes.