Gone But Not Forgotten, page 13
part #2 of The Jaxon Grey Chronicles Series
Now we knew that Mya and Nadina were being held high in one of the three towers, and that soon the majority of the pirates would be gone from the fortress.
Armed with this new information, it was now our turn to do some pirating.
Chapter Twelve
A Time To Kill
The next day, one of our scouts spotted the Serpent of the Sea leaving the island fortress. The ship was filled with exulted pirates, chanting some pirate song as they left the enclosed harbor. Behind them, still moored at the dock, was the stolen River-Rapt.
Our scouts watched the Serpent of the Sea as it traveled across the lake, maneuvering past the many sunken explosives that made up the submerged mine field. From our hidden location behind the small island of rock, we didn't have much fear of being discovered, but we still made sure to keep a watchful eye on our surroundings.
“Pharon, if you would be so kind,” said Kinto, indicating the direction of the departing pirates. “You can catch them easily, and good intelligence is hard to come by.”
Pharon nodded his head slowly. “I shall follow them and report back once they've chosen a direction at the intersection.” He jumped into the water, barely making a splash, and was lost in the dark water.
The Serpent of the Sea had entered the mouth of the canal and was now out of sight. For a few more minutes we could hear the chanting of the pirates' song, and then there was silence once again. Still we waited, ensuring that the pirate ship would be far away when our attack was finally launched, and the minutes ticked by incredibly slow.
"The time has come!" Kinto announced at long last. "Ready at the oars, and remember to keep your strokes shallow! We don't want to get anywhere near those mines!"
"Aye aye, Captain," answered the crew.
With that, they hurried off to work, sharpening blades on whet stones, filling quivers, adorning what leather armor they could muster. None of the crew had any shields or sturdy metal armor, as most of them were simple villagers and the rest were fishermen or traders.
Below us, in the newly-designated black powder room, several Tatorans were arming themselves with the new weapons that I had helped them develop. They were crude hand-held explosives, lit by a fuse, and could be either tossed or rolled. They weren't as powerful as modern grenades, but we packed some of them with small shards of metal to increase their destructiveness. This way, anyone caught within the general vicinity of the explosion wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed.
All was quiet outside the fortress, and, from what we could see, there was no movement inside the compound either. It was a reasonable assumption that most of the pirates had gone with their ship, leaving only a small skeleton crew to take care of the island. With that in mind, we rowed ourselves out from our hiding place and entered the mine field.
Fitch had proposed a different approach, suggesting that we could move more stealthily if we all swam to the island fortress, but Kinto dismissed the idea. “We might gain stealth,” Kinto had said, “but controlling the movements of so many Tatorans around all of those mines would be a nightmare. We’ll have better luck with the ship.”
We took great care not to make contact with any of the submerged explosives as we made our way through the mine-free path taken by the Serpent of the Sea. It was the same path that Pharon had scouted earlier, and, to our relief, Vengeance could easily navigate through the path and around the many mines. It was a tense few minutes aboard the ship though. We crawled at a luga's pace and used only a few oars. The oarsmen were sailors of great skill, and Kinto maneuvered flawlessly. Crewmen were positioned every few feet along the railing, keeping a close eye on the water, alerting Kinto when he was coming too close to one of the mines. It almost felt too easy, but soon we were able to make it through without any incidents. Then we were at the entrance to the enclosed harbor.
We looked up from the ship and could see dark figures scurrying back and forth atop the parapets. We had finally been spotted. A few moments later, a horn blew from somewhere behind the walls. It was a mighty blow, and echoed several times off the rock walls of the massive cavern before the noise finally dissipated.
We circled the island, heading toward the rear cave entrance that Thiesel had scouted earlier. Here, Quiva, along with twenty courageous villagers, left in the row boats stored on board. They brought several of our black powder bombs, with which they planned to take out the wrought-iron gate that blocked the cave’s entrance.
Kinto ordered Quiva to wait ten minutes before blowing the gate; ten Tatorans minutes, which roughly equals just under sixteen Earth minutes. This would give us enough time to make it back to the harbor and begin our initial assault. Once we drew the pirates to our side of the fortress, Quiva's contingent would attack unexpectedly on the pirates rear from somewhere within the fortress, thus trapping the pirates between us and giving them no avenue for retreat.
We heard the horn blow again from somewhere behind the fortress walls as we rounded the island, heading back toward its front. Then we were inside the harbor, with nervous Tatorans packed on the main deck readying themselves to storm the docks. A few were clearly frightened of the battle to come, but most had worked themselves into a fighting frenzy and were barely able to restrain themselves from leaping over board prematurely.
I turned to Thiesel, who lay coiled up next to me. It stuck its head up to meet me at eye level, tasting the air with its skinny blue tongue. "Stay on the boat," I said to it. "I will need eyes on the water." Thiesel blinked in acknowledgment and then laid its head down again, as if uninterested in the current proceedings. "Please, take this," I said, opening my closed fist to reveal Svix's amethyst necklace. “And this,” I said, offering it my journal too, which I had wrapped in cloth and covered in wax. I didn't want to lose this one like the last. “Keep them safe for me?"
Thiesel took the amethyst and the journal with its long, blue tongue and swallowed them, storing both in its secondary stomach. Thiesel usually used its second stomach to store food or water for later consumption, but now kept the necklace and journal there for safe keeping. I don't know how I knew this, but it just suddenly came to me and I knew it was a fact, like Thiesel had somehow planted the information in my mind.
Kinto stood at the front of our assault group. I could see that Lorthredo and Montaug were close behind him, as well as Laxiter and Fitch. I was also in this group, though more toward its rear. The Tatorans were too large and angry, and I feared I might be knocked over and trampled if I were in the heart of the group. Demtrius was also with me, and, as always, we both carried our sleek, specially-made swords, which greatly resembled the Samurai's katana. I squeezed its handle, gaining courage from the familiar grip.
Again the horn sounded from behind the fortress walls. Everything felt like it was taking too long, giving the pirates too much time to ready themselves.
"Hold nothing back!" Kinto shouted to the crew. He then ran forward, leading the first wave of fighters from the ship.
We ran onto the stone dock, swarming over it like locusts. Kinto charged up the steps, closely followed by Montaug, Lorthredo, and the rest of the Trell villagers, who were now chanting their song of battle. We pushed further and further up the steps, which rose high onto the rock island.
I must admit, at that moment I was absolutely terrified. My heart was pounding and beads of sweat ran down my face, but as the adrenaline took over, my fears were pushed to the side. In their place came a battle rage, and soon I found myself chanting with the rest of the group. I felt like I was reverting back to some primal state.
At the top of the steps, we reached a flat, level courtyard, where our path was blocked by a wide wrought-iron gate that had hitherto been concealed by the courtyard's steep walls, and there our group halted. Above the gate, we could see several pirates running back and forth along the parapets, clearly alarmed by our presence.
One of the pirates stuck his head over the edge of the wall. “If you have any sense, you'll turn around now and leave whence you came.”
"We are the people of the river,” Kinto shouted in reply, “and we are here to take our vengeance!"
With that, dozens of swords, spears, and axes were simultaneously thrust into the air, followed by a terrifying roar that echoed off of the walls of the large underground lake.
The pirates gave each other unconcerned glances, and I had the uneasy feeling that we were missing something. It was then that I could see two port-holes open in the wall above the gate, and two large cannon muzzles simultaneously came into view.
"Look-out!" cried one of the Trell villagers.
"It is where the lightning comes from!" screamed another.
"Archers to the front!" commanded Kinto.
The few bowmen we had bravely stepped forward, with arrows already set on their bowstrings.
"Lower your weapons!" shouted one of the pirates.
"Take your aim!" Kinto ordered.
"If you don't lower your weapons, we will unleash the magic powder!" shouted another pirate.
"Release!" screamed Kinto.
The bowmen released their strings, sending half a dozen arrows hissing through the air. Two of them shattered on the wall just below the top, while the rest went flying over, striking the empty spaces where the pirates had been standing. Our bowmen jeered the pirates for retreating so quickly, but their taunts were short-lived.
With a bright flash of smoke and a deafening boom, the right cannon fired, and the explosion rumbled the entire island. A split second later, the left cannon also fired, erupting into smoke and flame as well. The first ball came hurtling towards me, and I had no time to react, but then it passed right over my head, slamming into a stone pillar just behind me and sending rock fragments scattering everywhere. The other cannon ball, however, had a less fortunate trajectory and careened into the heart of our righteous horde, taking out several of our fighters. One Tatoran, taking the brunt of the ball’s force, was blown into oblivion, his entrails smattering those behind him with a spray of blood and guts. The ball then ricocheted to take the leg of another, glanced off the hard stone ground, and buried itself in the stomach of yet another Tatoran before finally coming to rest.
The villagers began to panic, and a few of them even turned to run back toward the ship, but Quiva was at the rear barring their retreat.
The parapet and most of the gate were clouded by thick cannon smoke. The pirates were somewhere behind this veil of smoke, hidden from sight, and I could only assume they were reloading their deadly artillery.
"Grenadiers to the front! Attack now while they are reloading!" Kinto shouted. “They are vulnerable while they’re reloading the cannon!”
"To the gate!" I heard Lorthredo shout as he and Montaug pushed forward toward the iron impediment.
Kinto, seeing this, picked up the chant. “To the gate!”
Montaug held two of the primitive grenades that we had created and Lorthredo was using a small torch to light the fuses. Once the fuses were sizzling with flames, Montaug tossed the bombs high up into the air and over the walls of the parapet. We lost sight of them in the smoke that still lingered from the cannons, but they landed somewhere close to where the pirates had been positioned the last time they had appeared.
Two other villagers followed suit, tossing lit grenades of their own, but in slightly different places along the parapet. A moment later, the first grenades went off, and then the rest in sequence. The pirates above cried out in pain. One of them even came tumbling down over the wall, landing just feet from Lorthredo and Montaug. He scrambled to get up, but was stopped short by a spear to his side, driven in by an enraged villager.
"Wait!" I yelled, but it was too late, as several other spears were simultaneously thrust into his body. I would have liked to have spoken to the pirate. He might have had some knowledge as to where Mya and Nadina were being kept, but now he was clearly not giving up any answers. The villagers were fueled by hate and fear, and, as Kinto had decreed, they were holding nothing back.
When the smoke finally cleared from above, we saw that the parapet was now empty, abandoned by the pirates. The guns, thrown back by their initial shots, were never pushed back into place in the port-holes, and I felt myself breathing a bit easier.
Another horn sounded from high above us, coming from one of the towers. Not a soul in the vast cavern could miss it. Every pirate in the place would be answering that call, but how many might that be?
Lorthredo and Montaug were preparing to blow the gate from its hinges. They quickly lit their fuses and we rushed back out of the blast range. At the same time, we heard a series of muffled explosions coming from the other side of the fortress. Quiva and his team had finally blown their gate. Now it was up to us to get through ours and wreak havoc upon the pirates that were unfortunate enough to be trapped inside.
In another few seconds the gate erupted in smoke, and without hesitation our group charged through the breach. Kinto, who was again leading the assault, was shouting mercilessly, "No quarter!" He was soon lost among the sea of bodies pushing inside the fortress, funneling into the dark corridor that led further into the island's interior.
As soon as the corridor was less congested, I made my way inside. Demtrius stayed with me. Though most others were seeking their fill of justice and revenge, the two of us had other business to attend to. Nadina and Mya, we knew, were locked up in one of the three towers that rose from the center of the island fortress.
Most of our fighters were running to and fro, searching for pirates and killing them on the spot without any form of due process. Those lucky enough were killed quickly, but too many others were caught in the fury of the river villagers and died gruesome deaths. The bodies were rifled for valuables and then thrown aside carelessly. I had to remind myself that these pirates were simply receiving the same fate that they so easily dealt out to others, but still it was hard to watch.
There were others in the fortress too; countless prisoners as well as many free Tatoran females. Of the latter, some dressed in fine cloths or silks, denoting their status among these pirates, while others wore nothing at all, and I could only assume what their purpose was here. One of the loftier females screamed her defiance at a Trell villager and was cuffed aside roughly. Another clung desperately to a dead pirate, crying hysterically, while two villagers attempted to pull her away.
“Jessanelle!” screamed one of the Trell villagers over and over again, searching for his captured mate among the females, but this group appeared to be loyal to the pirates; not new captives. There must have been many slaves and captives within the fortress, and I suddenly found myself wanting to free them all.
In the main corridor, I found an injured pirate, clearly bleeding to death from a gruesome sword slash to his stomach. He sat slumped against a wall, holding his hands over his wound and futilely trying to keep his intestines from spilling out.
I ran over to him. "Where are the prisoners?" I demanded.
He simply looked at me with disgust, and then spat at my feet; though his spittle got caught in his burly mane.
"The wound is mortal," I told him matter-of-factly. "You are going to die."
The pirate looked at me with an expressionless face. He wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand, and then just stared at me with his vacant look.
"You could be lying here in pain like this for hours," I said. "Tell me where they are and I promise I will make your death quick."
In response, he produced a devilish smile, "I will die on my own terms."
With that, he dug his hand into his wound, clawing at the inside of his stomach. He smiled as he did this, and I will never forget that wretched smile as he ripped foot after foot of intestine from his body until, finally, he fell unconscious and died.
I stared in horror at the gruesome scene, but only for a few seconds. The stubborn bastard would cost me a lot of time. We needed to get to Mya and Nadina as soon as possible. Once the pirates felt their defeat was imminent, I was sure they would do away with their prisoners, if only out of spite. They could try to barter their own lives for Mya and Nadina, but then there would be nothing to prevent the villagers from killing them once the prisoners were released, so I couldn’t count on the pirates choosing that outcome.
"I'll tell you," said a weak voice to my left, “but only if you end the pain.”
I turned and saw another pirate lying on the floor, covered in his own blood. His right hand was missing and there was a massive gash in his right shoulder, probably from an axe. His face was beaten to a pulp and his mouth was missing most of his teeth. I was surprised he was even able to speak.
"You know where the prisoners are being held?" I asked quickly.
"The one that looks like you is being held in the north tower with the Scynthian,” he replied, “but to get to the north tower you must go through the central tower.” He coughed violently for a second, and then spoke again, but his voice was even weaker. "In the central tower, go through the second door that you find and it will lead you to them. Now, please."
I removed my sword from its sheath. “What about the others; the rest of the slaves and prisoners?”
“Males are in the dungeon,” he replied, “and the females are kept in the south tower.”
"Thank you," I said with genuine appreciation, and then slipped my blade between his ribs and into his heart. It was tough at first to break through the fur and skin, but once I did, my sharp sword slid through his flesh much easier. He died a few seconds later, and then Demtrius and I were off in the direction he had indicated; to the towers. We would rescue the Mya, Nadina, and the female Tatorans first, and then find the dungeons to release the males.
I must admit, I felt bad for the pirate, even though his people had ruthlessly slaughtered my friends and destroyed the lives of so many others. It wasn’t my first mercy killing though, and I was over it quickly enough, but I still felt a pang of lingering guilt as I hurried for the towers. How the hell did I become so used to this life?
