Chapter 17
A Dread Tide Rising by Walt Shuler
We get something of a breather in this chapter, as we catch up with Wynne and the rest of the Talon aboard Sparrowhawk and follow along as Kye, Mattie, and Gorm try to make it back home.
Previously: Mattie showed up, claiming that Kye’s mother wanted her to return to the Faceless.
Currently: Kye, Mattie, and Gorm must make it back to Sparrowhawk.
A Dread Tide Rising is a serialized, pulp-flavored, epic fantasy novel set in the world of Thalrassa. It follows the Talon, a group of mercenaries, thieves, and smugglers, as they come face-to-face with an ancient enemy intent on the destruction of the Rakkian Empire.
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Chapter 17
Seabirds called from above.
Steel clanged against steel amidst grunts of exertion. “Don’t pull your strikes so much, sis,” Hax admonished, breathing heavily as he stepped away from Pax. He stood stripped to the waist on Sparrowhawk’s deck, his bastard sword in hand. Sweat streamed down his torso despite his breath pluming in the fall air.
Pax stood opposite the big man, her twin hatchets gripped loosely. Only a fool would think that meant she was unprepared to use them. Pax was anything but. As if to prove that point, she moved effortlessly into a whirling attack that forced her brother backward, defending against blow after blow. Despite his greater height and reach, he struggled to fend off his sister’s attacks.
“How do you like my strikes now?” Pax’s grin would have made a wolf proud.
Hax did not answer. He was too busy trying to avoid being pinned to the starboard rail, where Pax’s vicious speed would have ripped him to shreds. With a heroic effort, he caught first one hatchet and then the other, blocking her attack and forcing her a step back. He grinned. “They’re cute, sis,” he said. The grin didn’t last long, though.
Pax answered with an evil smile of her own, and suddenly Hax found that instead of driving his sister backward, her hatchets trapped his blade. Continuing the motion, she ripped the sword from his grasp and sent him tumbling. In a split second, Hax found himself on his back, both hatchets at his throat.
“Bravo!” Wynne called from her seat on the rail, clapping exuberantly. She leaped down to the deck. “That was amazing, Pax,” she said. “You’ll have to show me how you did that hook and pull move sometime!”
“What about me?” Hax asked from the deck.
“You were great too,” Wynne said with an affectionate smile.
“Great at landing on your backside,” Pax jibed, offering her brother a hand up.
“Yeah, well, I was showing you how to fall without getting hurt,” he replied, refusing the hand. Hax grunted, rolled, and got to his feet.
“Sure you were!” Pax laughed. “Like that time on Weth?”
Hax scowled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do! Remember that little tavern in Cor?”
“Damned backwater place,” Hax muttered. “It would have been a different story if I’d been armed.”
“You were armed, you dolt! Had your sword and everything.”
Hax frowned at his sister. “Well, this here’s too big a weapon for fighting inside, isn’t it? I meant properly armed.”
“Oh, properly armed!” Both Pax and Wynne were laughing now. Hax, face red with embarrassment, disappeared into the cabin. The laughter followed him.
“He’ll be back,” Pax said.
“Hax? I should think so! He’s due for watch in an hour, isn’t he?” Wynne replied.
“My brother’s not the only half-wit aboard,” Pax muttered. “You’re a big man, I mean. Gorm.”
Wynne started. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Gorm’s no more my man than...”
“Don’t play me for a fool,” Pax said. “I see how you scan the road up to town when you think no one’s watching. Looking for Gorm to come home.”
Wynne said nothing for a moment. Then, “But he’s been gone for so long!”
Pax laughed, not ungently. “He’s been gone longer and on more serious errands than this. You mark me, the big man’ll come stomping back, a stupid grin half-hidden behind that damn beard of his, and you’ll be able to sneak hand touches with him to your heart’s content.”
Wynne opened her mouth to deny it, then changed her mind. A shy smile peered out, then receded. “How long have you known?”
“Since Mac pointed it out to me. Maybe four, five months back? We were running that job down in the Jewels.”
“Mac knows?” Wynne glared.
“Mac, me, Hax. Hells, Padraig and his little sailor boys probably know. Kye’s likely the only one still in the dark, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s wise to it already. Sharp-eyed, that one.”
Wynne’s face flushed. “I haven’t even told Gorm how I feel about him.”
Pax laughed again. “Girl, he knows. Or if not, he’s got less brain than I credited him. And, mark me, he feels the same for you.”
“Do you think so?”
Pax’s look was incredulous. “Do I? He moons after you when your back’s turned. Idiot finds reasons to be wherever you are, even here aboard Sparrowhawk.”
Wynne’s smile reappeared, brighter than before. “He does, doesn’t he?” She giggled. “I just wish he’d say something to me. All this tiptoeing around...it feels strange.” She gave Pax a serious look. “Is there something wrong with me? That he won’t say he likes me, I mean?”
“Wrong with you?” Pax rolled her eyes. “Something’s wrong with you both. Neither one of you got the sense Mali gave a guppy. When you feel that way about someone, if they feel the same way back, then you gotta grab them and hold tight. Else the waves will wash you apart, maybe forever.”
Wynne put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Who was it?”
“What?” Pax sneered.
“Who did you lose?”
Pax scowled at her, hand dropping unconsciously toward a hatchet. “Didn’t lose anybody. Damn common sense is all it is!” She turned and stomped off, yelling for Hax the whole way.
Wynne smiled sadly watching Pax’s departing back, then turned once more to the rail and her contemplation of the road leading from the docks into the city. What was taking them so long? Gorm and Kye should have returned long before. The tromp of booted feet carried briefly over the dying sounds of activity. Soldiers, she thought, but for whom? Unconsciously, she bit her lip as the shadows lengthened across the harbor.
***
“There it is,” Kye whispered.
The harbor lay below them, ships rocking gently in their berths. They saw Sparrowhawk clearly in the gathering shadows, moored between a fat merchant out of The Jewels by her flag, and a fishing boat flying Rom’s colors. Kye whispered because of the soldiers patrolling below them. She and Matti knelt at the roof’s edge, the shadows deep enough to hide them should a soldier decide to glance skyward.
“We can make it!” Matti whispered back, excitement in his voice.
“No, it’s too risky. We wait until full dark, then we go.”
“Why?” Matti objected.
Kye stared him down, daring him to argue further. Matti backed down at the look on her face. “We wait until dark,” she whispered again. A few moments later, Gorm joined them, the big man’s breathing labored from the strain of moving from rooftop to rooftop, something his frame was not well-suited for. Wordlessly, he hunkered down with Kye and Matti, waiting for an opportunity to reach the ship, the chance to go home.
Slowly, activity on the docks dwindled. Lamplighters made their way through, creating little pools of radiance against the encroaching darkness at the end of piers and walkways. Somehow, the lights made the gathering gloom that much deeper, which was fine with Kye. She had learned long ago that darkness was her most valuable asset, followed by stealth and lightning-fast reflexes. It was almost time to make their attempt at getting to the ship. They only had to keep to the shadows and…
“Damn,” Kye muttered. She had hoped nightfall would have discouraged their pursuers, but the soldiers remained. They had taken up positions along the road leading to the docks, although none had posted themselves directly in front of Sparrowhawk. Kye frowned at the implications.
“Do you see?” she asked.
“They’re sticking to the shadows,” Gorm replied.
“They don’t want to alert anyone on the ship!” Matti whispered fiercely.
“That means they know it’s ours,” Gorm growled. “How, though?”
“More importantly, it means they either aren’t worried about capturing anyone aboard at the moment, or they’re going to try to take us all at once,” Kye pointed out.
Gorm cursed under his breath. Matti glared at the soldiers who stood between them and safety. Something in the distance caught Kye’s eye, and a smile grew on her face. She elbowed Gorm and pointed southeast, out to sea. He squinted, then smiled. Lightning flashed, and a few moments later, thunder rumbled dimly. A storm was brewing, and with any luck, it would give them the cover they needed to reach safety. All they had to do was wait a little longer.
The wind picked up as they waited, and soon rain slashed at their faces out of the dark. They waited until the storm smashed its fury over Rom before they made their move. The wind howled, sending the lanterns bouncing and dimming their already feeble illumination. The soldiers stayed at their posts, but they hunkered down, the driving rain hard enough to make even seasoned veterans turn their faces from the storm.
“Ready?” Gorm asked, massive hammer at the ready.
Kye nodded even though her stomach was doing backflips. Mattie’s face showed white in the flash of lightning, but his jaw was set, his determination firm. Gorm led the way, dashing into the darkness as quietly as he could. The sound of the storm was enough to drown out the big man’s passage. Kye came next, followed by Mattie, both young thieves more at home in the rain-soaked night than the burly warrior. Single file, they dashed through the gloom, easily avoiding the wildly swaying puddles of light cast by the lanterns.
“Who’s there?” a guard challenged suddenly. Kye cursed under her breath. The sentry had been sitting in the relative shelter of a piling, using the wood’s bulk to block as much of the storm’s might as possible. The trio stopped in unison, each holding their breath.
“Davon? Mace?” the soldier asked. Kye watched as he grudgingly moved out of the piling’s protection, shielding his eyes with one hand as he tried to penetrate the night around him. Mattie’s hand moved toward the dagger sheathed at his belt, but Kye restrained him. Further bloodshed would be unwise. Plus, all it would take was a single shout from the guard, and the rest would be on the companions in mere moments. She gestured for Matti to be quiet and wait.
“Gods curse this wretched job. Don’t get paid enough for this kinda thing,” the guard muttered, giving up and retreating to the piling’s protection.
Gorm waited a moment longer to make certain all was safe, then gestured, and the trio was on the move once more. They slipped past the remaining guards easily enough. None of them was all that interested in doing their duty, a fact encouraged by the storm’s redoubled howling wind and slashing rain. Kye’s breath came in hot jags as they ran, praying to Mali and any other gods who might be listening to hold back the lightning. A single flash would give them away if a soldier happened to be looking in the right place. Mali was merciful, and they made it to Sparrowhawk’s gangplank without incident.
“Go on,” Gorm urged, indicating that Matti and Kye should run ahead. He unlimbered his staff and stood rear guard on the gangplank. It was barely wide enough for loading the ship, and Gorm’s bulk ensured that he could block most of it while any attackers would have to come at him one at a time. Kye and Matti reached the top and scrambled over, both gasping for air as they lay face up on Sparrowhawk’s deck, the rain pelting down and threatening to drown them. A quiet thump told them Gorm had come over the side.
“No one seems to have noticed our presence,” he told the two, dropping to the deck beside them. It took Kye a moment to realize the full meaning of his words.
“Do you think…” she began.
Gorm shook his head, nodding at the closed door to the ship’s cabin. Light glowed around the edges, and if she strained her ears, Kye could pick up the soft sounds of conversation from within. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“They’re all tucked in for the night and didn’t think to set a watch with the storm,” he said.
Muffled footfalls came from the docks. Gorm pushed the two young ones toward the cabin and disappeared into the gloom again. Kye pushed open the door to the ship’s cabin, letting golden light spill out onto the deck around her feet. Then she and Matti disappeared inside.
There was a moment of confusion and consternation when the others realized they had company. Hax and Pax were on their feet almost immediately, and even Wynne had her crossbow drawn and cocked before the door swung shut behind the newcomers. The tension lasted only a second before Wynne launched herself across the cabin and wrapped Kye in a hug. Only Padraig remained seated.
“Mmmph burb mshth,” Kye said, face pressed tight against the other woman’s shoulder.
“You’ve been gone so much longer than we expected! And we need to talk about sneaking off without saying anything!” Wynne chided, releasing the hug and pushing Kye back so she could get a better look at her, as though making sure she was all in one piece. Satisfied that Kye was unharmed, she turned her attention to Matti as Hax and Pax sheathed their weapons and welcomed Kye home.
“And who’s this?” Wynne asked.
“A friend,” Kye replied. “From before, I mean. I didn’t meet him in Rom. Well, I did, but that’s not what I meant...”
Wynne’s laugh cut her off. “It’s okay, sweetie. I understand. He’s a friend from before you joined up.”
“From the Faceless?” Pax asked suspiciously.
Kye hesitated and then nodded. “This is Matti. We were friends when we were kids.” She turned to the boy. “Matti, this is, well, most of the others.” She introduced Hax, Pax, Padraig, and Wynne.
“And what about...” Wynne began, but the cabin door opened, interrupting her question. Gorm strode inside, rain dripping from his massive frame, soaking the cabin floor. “They’re gone,” he said. “The soldiers marched off into the night back the way they came.” Wynne paid the wet no mind and was instantly at Gorm’s side. She murmured, and the giant smiled warmly in return.
A cry followed by a splash put an end to the reunion and the question on Kye’s lips. Gorm reached the deck first, followed by Kye, Wynne, Hax, and Pax. Matti and Padraig brought up the rear.
On deck, the wind continued to howl, but the rain had lessened. Above them, Kye could see stars through rents in the clouds as they hurried away north.
“Where are Callan and Derro?” Gorm asked.
“They were in the rigging, watching the storm,” Padraig answered.
The sounds of a struggle from the aft of the ship drew their attention. Weapons ready in case of trouble, they found Callan hauling Derro up to the deck.
“Lost my footing and fell in the drink,” Derro said with a sheepish grin.
Callan clapped his shoulder. “I would never let my little brother be lost in these northern waters,” he said with his Southern Reach lilt.
Derro shrugged off his brother’s hand, but the grin remained fixed. Hax and Pax had already headed back to the cabin. Padraig gave the two brothers a curious look, but he too turned and made his way back.
Gorm studied the night, perhaps listening for the soldiers now that the storm was slackening. “You’ll want to watch your step,” he told Derro. “Rom’s waters are deep and cold, and things lurk at the bottom of this harbor that would snap you up and not bother to spit out the bones.”
Derro bobbed his head, grin fixed in place.
“C’mon,” Callan said, tugging at his brother’s elbow. “Time to get some shuteye.”
Kye watched them leave, headed for their hammocks below decks. A huge yawn made her jaw crack. “Sleep sounds good,” she admitted.
Gorm nodded. “It’s been a long, strange day,” he said. With one last look at the black waters, he led the remaining companions back toward the cabin and the hammocks.
Thanks for reading! I’m grateful that you’re here.
All caught up on ADTR? Why not explore something else?
The Roots That Clutch is a dark fairytale of loss and unbecoming.
The Weight of Ghosts tells the story of what set Wynne on the path to joining the Talon.
The Hungry Gods is the story of Danu’s coming of age and her coming face-to-face with the truth about her people’s gods.
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Wynne and Gorm are so sweet. Kye is a great leader.
That fixed grin … worries me. And yeah, still reading this even though I have the book!