Demons of the Dancing Gods (27 page)

According to those getting off, the voyage had been a rough

one, not only from the usual natural hazards but also from

pirates, who had actually managed to separate a ship from the

convoy near the mouth of the river, take it, and get it across

JACK L. CHALKER

145

the theoretical border in the middle of the lake. At that point,

as usual, an armada of nasty Zhimbombean warships had come

virtually out of nowhere to keep the convoy warships from

giving chase.

The captain of the Pacah was more than happy to see two

large, tough-looking barbarians come aboard, although he wasn't

so sure about Marge. He neither liked nor trusted fairies very

much, it seemed, no matter how small and cute and sexy they

were, but he tolerated them.

There was almost a complete crew change at Zichis, but the

officers remained aboard, where they lived below the forward

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pilothouse. The ship was a co-op, with each of the officers

owning a share commensurate with his relative rank. The crewmen

coming aboard were paid wages and looked large and

tough, as they had to be in order to control oars and poles on

the river portion. This, however, would be a far easier trip than

the northbound had been—they were going with the current.

Navigating such a craft down a winding and not very wide

river was a skill that made the crossing of Lake Zahias seem like

child's play. It was clear that the pilots depended not only on

years of experience but on acertain necessary sixth sense to avoid

the eddies, bars, and other hazards of the river, whose current

was strong enough to change things just about every trip.

The land, too, changed dramatically as they moved down

the river. There were few trees and great expanses of savanna

going off in both directions. The yellowish grasslands were

broken here and there by isolated groups of trees, and only the

area right along the riverbank was overgrown and green. Off

on the grassy plains beyond, they could see legions of wild

beasts grazing or running about.

Still, the slow, cumbersome craft, built for tonnage rather

than for speed or maneuverability, took two days to reach the

lake.

By this time Joe and Tiana had gotten to know each other

quite a bit; if Ruddygore had been playing matchmaker, his

scheme seemed to have taken. By the time they reached Lake

Bragha, Joe had to admit to himself that it was already a

problem to remember what it had been like before he met her.

Marge had the good sense to realize that this was going on and

intruded as little as possible. Although she couldn't really bring

herself to make friends with the huge, strangely accented woman

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who had joined them, she managed at least a professional

relationship, which seemed enough for now. Joe felt sufficiently

secure now to return to a platonic but cordial relationship

with Marge, and that made it a little easier, too.

And, of course, ship's personnel had plenty of problems to

keep Marge reasonably busy, particularly after she flew over

to the nearest military guard ship.

Lake Bragha was only a third the size of Zahias, but it was

still a pretty big lake, although quite different from the almost

oceanlike parent that fed it. The river here flowed so gently

into the lake that there seemed no seam in the transition, and

Bragha, shallow and gentle, was virtually mirror-smooth and

highly reflective.

It was only forty miles or so across from the river's entrance

to its outlet, but that was the danger area. They could have

avoided much of the threat by sticking to the coastline of Marquewood,

but that added more than a day to the sailing time,

and time was money. Still, the first mate admitted, if losses

continued to mount, it might be the only alternative. "Either

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we go bankrupt taking the slow and safe way, or we get captured

and killed," he remarked gloomily.

Although they reached the lake in the early morning darkness,

they decided to lay over until sunup before crossing. The

three hours or so might put them even further behind, but sailing

would be a little easier in daylight. "Not that the pirates don't

attack in daylight—they do," the mate told Joe. "But at least

we and our protection can see what we're fighting."

The day dawned sunny; while there was still a slight chill

in the air, it was clear that the sun, unseen for so long, would

warm things considerably by midday. They proceeded as soon

as they had good, clear visibility, since at the speed of the

flatboats it would take almost nine hours to cross, even with

a decent wind. There was no current. "A good wind at our

back and a lake mist would have been best," the mate told

them. "As it is, I feel like a very big target."

The tension mounted as they started across, and both Joe

and Tiana could feel the strained nerves of these peaceful merchantmen.

Still, they'd be no pushovers—anybody who could

row a craft that size could break a neck in two with a flip of

the wrist.

At almost the halfway point, a lookout from one of the other

JACK L. CHALKER 147

merchant vessels called out, and suddenly the tension became

so thick that it was almost a tangible, visible thing. Tiana looked

over at Joe, who said, "I'm going to get Marge." She just

nodded and continued staring where everybody else was looking.

Marge, even with her goggles, was grumpy and irritable

when awakened, but all that fell quickly away when he told

her that an attack was possible. Both of them rushed back on

deck.

The mate, a big, bearded man, was strapping on a weathered

old cutlass. He yelled out that this was in fact an attack, and

Joe felt a rising sense of excitement within him. Although he

knew that many good people might die in the fight to come,

he couldn't suppress an almost boyish anticipation of battle.

Damn it, it was what he was trained to do in this crazy world.

He climbed up to where Tiana stood atop the crew's quarters

and looked at the oncoming enemy, then frowned. There were

clearly five ships coming in, but all five were extremely small

and shaped much like the two far larger escorts the convoy

had. On those escorts he could hear the barking of orders and

the sound of battle drums.

Tiana looked over at him. "What is the matter? You look

disappointed."

"Yeah, well, I dunno, but when you say pirates, I kind of

expect a big galleon or something flying the skull and crossbones,

not five big rowboats with sails."

The mate overheard. While he didn't really understand the

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reference to galleons, he got the idea. "Don't let them fool

you, lad. A single big ship would be easy pickings for the navy

boys here. But those little things can really move—easily three

times our speed, if they're handled right in a fair wind like

we're now getting, and perhaps twice the escorts'. They're

hard targets to hit, but they have a single catapult apiece that

can sure as hell hit us. They can rum in a few hundred feet,

and three of 'em will engage the escorts while the other two

try for one of us."

Joe nodded. "Will they try to board?"

"As soon as they can. Counting you two, there's twentytwo

of us, probably about the same in the two that will try for

us. Don't hesitate on any of 'em, remember. They're professionals

at this sort of thing."

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149

Joe turned and looked out at the approaching small fleet and

smiled. "So am I," he said softly. "So am I."

The pattern was pretty much as the mate had predicted, with

two of the small boats separating from the group and bearing

down on the lead escort vessel. When they were barely in range,

both suddenly seemed to catch fire. Tiana gasped at that, but

it was quickly clear that what was being lighted were flaming

masses attached to the catapults, both of which were launched

with a military precision at the lead naval boat, after which

both attackers turned hard in opposite directions. Both shots

missed, and the larger military boat proceeded full ahead, aimed

straight between the two smaller vessels, which now turned

back in.

Two more broke off, going unexpectedly right at the warship,

creating four closing attackers on the one larger craft.

The bigger ship adjusted slightly, then let loose her forward

catapult, which was apparently filled with half a ton of small

rocks. It was the machine-gun approach, Joe thought. Nobody

could hit the broad side of a barn with a machine gun, but it

pumped so many bullets in the right general direction that it

was impossible to dodge them all.

By choosing one attacker and firing the tremendous onslaught

of stone, the navy couldn't miss, and it was clear that

the strategy was successful as the target attacker turned desperately

to avoid the mass and could not do so.

But at the moment the rocks were striking the craft, the

other three all let loose with fireballs. One fell short, one struck

the side of the naval craft, rocking it but otherwise sliding back

off and into the water with a great hiss, but the third struck

against the rail, splintering into a series of small fires. While

the bulk fell into the sea, several small fires and some black

smoke were visible in the bow of the convoy's protector.

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Undaunted, the naval craft swung around and let loose a

second volley of stones as the stern lined up with another of

the attackers. Clearly the pirates were paying a stiff bill for

this one. As the stones rocked the small craft, a cheer went up

from the four merchant crews watching the battle.

Suddenly the second naval escort came gliding past the

Pacah, closing on the attacking boats. As soon as it cleared

the merchant convoy, it loosed its own rocky attack.

Joe frowned and looked around. "Where's the fifth one?"

"Huh?" Tiana, like Marge, was entranced by the battle and

was startled by the question. "It is right—where is it?"

There was a sudden shout from the lookout of the Tolah,

just behind them, and they turned back to see what was going

on. "There!" Joe shouted. "They're already boarding the Tolah':'

The mate turned, grabbed a megaphone, and shouted at the

pilot in the aft wheelhouse, "Bring her around slow! Make fast

for collision! Crew at the ready! Prepare to board aft!"

Joe suddenly saw what the mate was doing. He meant to

bring the Pacah about slowly, causing the Tolah to run into

their ship's side. At that point, the crew was prepared to jump

to the defense of their sister ship before any of the pirates could

gain control of the Tolah1 s wheel and take her out of the convoy

or avoid the maneuver.

Joe looked at Tiana and Marge. "I don't know about you,

but I'm going over there!" Without waiting for a reply, he went

down the ladder to the deck and made his way aft, drawing

Irving as he did so. The great sword gleamed in the warm sun

and began to hum expectantly.

Tiana followed, drawing her own nonmagical but still lethal

bronze blade. They joined the dozen crewmen, armed with a

variety of swords and pikes, waiting to jump over.

Certainly the fighting was furious on the Tolah, and yells,

curses, the sound of clashing metal, and an occasional cry of

pain or anguish could be heard.

One burly crewman looked at the two newcomers and

grinned. "All right, barbarians—as soon as you hear the bump,

over the side we go. We have at best only a few seconds before

the force of the collision separates us again."

They nodded and braced for it. It came almost immediately,

nearly knocking them off their feet. But in an instant, and with

a joint cry, the Pacah's men stood and made for the boat. just

on the other side of the rail, already moving backward a bit as

it recoiled on the placid water from the shock of the collision.

The pirates were not expecting the attack, and three lost

their lives just by turning at the wrong time to see what new

enemy was screaming so. The rest recovered quickly and arranged

to meet the newcomers. The fight was soon joined, and

before long it was a mass of people. Joe was painfully and

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suddenly aware that he could hardly tell the human pirates from

the crew of the Tolah, but that didn't bother him right away.

At least half the pirates were nonhuman, some in the extreme.

A reptilian creature fully as tall as he, with burning yellow

eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth in its lizardlike head, turned