The Sail Weaver (26 page)

“The dragons are going in,” Thom said.

Tristan looked up in time to see Fenfyr and Taminick descend on the ship. They tore through the creatures on deck, tossing them into the vacuum ruthlessly. There was still scattered fire from the lower decks of the ship, but it was poorly aimed and whizzed past ineffectively. Finally, Fenfyr landed on the deck, close to where the Interface would be, and Tristan whispered the spell of release. He felt the dragon die as Fenfyr gently took its life. Once it was past pain, Taminick and Fenfyr tore the ship to shreds, leaving nothing bigger than a human hand.

“Thank you, Tristan,” Alden said.

“You’re welcome,” Tristan replied, a little dazed by the magic he’d been using.

“Strengthening the sails like that was brilliant! How’d you manage?” Alden asked.

“I’m not sure.” Tristan looked up, watching as the willowisps settled back to their usual configuration.

“It worked. One of those volleys should have taken down all the sails. I’ve seen it happen many times before,” Cook said, walking over to them. “It’s something you need to get back to the Guild, explain how you did it. You saved the ship, we were goners.”

“We were?” Tristan asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Thom said softly. “We never stood a chance against them in a ship this size. They were bigger and once our sails were gone we would have been destroyed. I’ve never seen anything like
it.” He slapped Tristan on the back. “It really was something!”

“Finding that scout does let us know something,” Harkins said.

“What’s that?” Tristan looked around and noticed Fenfyr settling down on the deck. The dragon nodded that he was unharmed.

“The Incursion, they’re coming through here. That’s the third ‘scout’ we’ve seen.”

“The third?”

“We were far enough out to cut and run with the last two, this time we were too close, it came out from behind a squall. Three scouts,” Cook paused. “They’re coming—and soon.”

XXVI

The sound of hammers filled the ship as the crew of the
Noble Lady
repaired the damage from the battle. Tristan, Thom and the officers of the ship were seated around the table in the captain’s quarters, a large map spread out in front of them. It had taken Tristan a moment to get his bearings, but now he was following the discussion about where the Vermin were expected to come in and the relative position of various stations and the fleet. He listened as they discussed their options, but he was worried about how to get back to the
Winged Victory
and take control again. Thom was staring at the wall, so Tristan assumed his friend was thinking about the same thing.

Someone knocked on the door. “Sir?”

“What is it?”

“We’ve got an odd distortion on the
comm
, sir, and I thought you should hear it.”

“Pipe it in, Damian.”

“Yes, sir.”

The next moment a hiss of white noise surrounded them. It didn’t take Tristan long to hear what the man had been talking about—under the steady hiss was a series of breaks in the sound. “What is that?”

“
Shh
,” Thom said and grabbed a pen. He cocked his head and
started writing. “It’s Riggan.”

“Riggan?” Tristan asked.

“
Shh
.” Thom was writing something down. Tristan leaned closer to read it.
…have Interface, still in hiding in lower hold. Sheea Aether here too. There is a small breach in hold. Riggan. I have Interface, still
…
“It’s a repeating message in Morse code.”

“Morse code? How would Riggan learn that?”

“Marty Riggan?” Harkins asked.

“Yes,” Tristan answered.

“He learned it with us. He wasn’t always on a Naval vessel, and we use the old code to get around being overheard.”

“He wasn’t…?” Tristan looked at Harkins, a little confused.

“Riggan was taken too, Tristan, and served his time with the pirates. A lot of the able-bodied sailors have,” Thom said, looking at him.

“He was going to be your servant, not Stemmer’s,” Tristan said with sudden realization. “You met him back then, it’s why he reports to you, why he looks out for you.”

“Yes.” Thom grinned. “We’ve known each other a long time. He managed to escape before I did, but he’s been on every ship I’ve served on since.” Thom looked thoughtful for a moment. “I thought they’d plugged that hole. Hmm, I wonder what they’ve been up to?” It sounded almost like he was talking to himself. After a moment he looked up at Tristan. “How’d he get the Elemental Interface?”

“I gave it to him. Right before everything started, I went on deck and noticed someone had tried to pry it loose, so I unclipped it and gave it to him. As long as we stayed on course, and didn’t need to raise or lower any sails, no one would notice, since the pedestal was still there.”

“Good thinking,” Cook said. “Would it have worked with the sails they have now?”

“No, it’s attuned to my sails and created for them. If it had been destroyed, though, we couldn’t use those sails again.”

“We need to get you back onboard.” Cook looked at Thom. “How many in the crew are loyal?”

“Far more than Stemmer thinks. The doctor let us know that much when she came to treat Chris after the flogging.” Thom paused. “And there were at least fifteen cells in use in the brig. Each cell
could hold as many as ten men.”

“Sir, hail from the Guild,” Damian said, knocking, then coming into the room.

“Thank you, pipe it in,” Cook said.

“This is Rhoads,” the Guild Master’s voice boomed into the room.

“Darius,” the dragon added.

“Admiral O’Brian,” a third voice said.

Tristan raised his eyebrows as he met Thom’s eyes. He knew O’Brian, the man was one of the moderates that sat on the Joint Council. “I’m here with Thom Barrett, and the Warrior and Officers of the
Noble Lady.
Lokey
Fenfyr
is listening in as well,” Tristan said. “What’s going on?”

“First, I would like to apologize for what happened to you, Master Weaver. The men behind this will pay for their crimes,” the admiral said.

“I don’t doubt that,” Harkins muttered, then jumped when Thom kicked his shin.

“Thank you, Admiral, what’s important now is getting the
Winged Victory
back and on her way to stop this Vermin Incursion.”

“We agree,” the admiral said. “We have diverted two frigates, but we’re not sure they will be able to cut the
Victory
off before this rendezvous in sector nineteen that Darius and the Guild Master have briefed me on.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, sir,” Thom said.

“Is that you, Thom?” O’Brian asked, his voice warm.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good to know you made it.”

“Not many who’ve been thrown overboard can say they have. It was thanks to the Master Weaver that we survived, and that’s what I’ve been thinking about.”

“What?” Tristan said, frowning at Thom.

“What do you mean?” the Guild Master demanded.

“When we were tossed overboard, the Master Weaver created a small space for us to survive.”

“Yes, yes, we know about that,” Rhoads said.

“He also made a sail, just big enough for the two of us.”

“You did what?!?!” Brian roared.

“It’s true, Guild Master.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I would have agreed with you several days ago, but it’s the truth.” Tristan shifted uncomfortably.

“How? You have to gather the willowisps, you need an Elemental Interface, you have to…”

“Brian! I did it, I made one just large enough to carry us away from the ship.”

The Guild Master continued to sputter, but the calm voice of Darius blocked it out. “What was your plan, then, Thom Barrett?”

“If the
Noble Lady
could get us ahead of the
Victory,
staying in her blind spot, Tristan could make another small sail and we could head back to the ship that way. We’ve been informed th
ere is a small hole in the ship. I
t’s in the lower hold, so we would be off the sensors, and they purposefully have all internal surveillance on that deck off—it’s where they were hiding the sails. We know at least some of the loyal crew is there, along with the Elemental Interface for the Master Weaver’s sails. All we’d have to do is take the ship deck by deck. If there is enough loyal crew left, we should be able to manage.”

Tristan—everyone in the room—was staring at Thom. “I’m not sure I can do it again, Thom.”

“Of course you can,” Thom said carelessly. “And with that new strength you can add to the sails, we stand a real fighting chance against the…”

“Excuse me?” Brian’s voice was deceptively mild. “What was that about sails?”

“Master Tristan did something to the sails while we were fighting a Vermin scout. I was at the Interface, flying the ship during the battle,” Alden said. “He volunteered to do the repairs, they were sails he created in the first place, so he was attuned. About halfway through the battle he did something, the willowisps changed and the shot started bouncing off the sails.”

“And we were going to mention this when, Master Tristan?” the Guild Master asked.

“I don’t know what I did, Brian. If I remembered the spell, I would have sent it back to you immediately, to see if anyone else could do it,” Tristan answered. That was the thing he’d been thinking
about since it had happened, not the spell so much, but how it had been accomplished. Would a Warrior be able to do it? Or would it take a Sail Weaver to accomplish the magic? If they needed both, there would be no time to get Sail Weavers to the fleet—more to the point, there weren’t that many Sail Weavers.
They
ranked the rest of the Guild for a reason. They had to be far more adept, far more talented than any of the other branches of the Guild. “I’m not sure a Warrior can do it, I think it needs a Sail Weaver.”

“Or maybe only you, Tristan Weaver,” Darius said gently. “You always surprise us. As to the rest of the plan, we must gain control of the
Winged Victory
at all costs. The plan is a sound one, with two additions. You will need Fenfyr and Taminick to help disposing of the filth that is littering the ship.”

“You couldn’t keep us away,” Fenfyr said.

“You need to get there before they reach sector nineteen,” O’Brian said. “It’s a well thought out plan, Thom, and you know we have frigates on the way. The whole fleet is heading towards the coordinates that Cook has sent, a small scout we sent into the area reports three more Vermin ships on the way in—they’re still the little ones, but we know it’s just the beginning. When you take
Victory
, if you can keep Stemmer and Fuhrman alive it will be helpful. The Joint Chiefs have met and we discussed what has happened aboard the
Victory.
Your rank has been restored, despite the howls of Davis and his supporters. As of now you are entered into the rolls as the Captain of the
Winged Victory
. Good luck, Captain Barrett,” O’Brian said. “And, Thom? Be careful.”

Thom blinked, cleared his throat and smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“I don’t like this Tristan, not one bit,” Brian said. “But I am out-voted, and I know you too well, you’d go even if I ordered you not to, so don’t get yourself killed.”

“I won’t.”

“Good luck, Tristan Weaver,” Darius said. “We will meet on the battlefield.”

The communications line clicked off. There was silence in the room as everyone absorbed what had been said. Tristan’s heart was pounding. He wasn’t sure he could gather the willowisps to make a tiny sail again, he might end up getting them killed this time.

“Well,” Harkins said, breaking the silence. “At least it’s not
going to get boring.”

Tristan was pacing the deck, cup of tea in his hands and Fenfyr watching as he paced. The dragon hadn’t said anything, but Tristan could tell Fenfyr had reservations about the plan. Every time he walked past the dragon’s head, he stopped and waited for a comment when none was forthcoming, he paced on.

“Tristan?” Thom asked hesitantly.

“What?” Tristan kept his back to the officer. He was upset that Thom hadn’t bothered to ask him before he suggested the plan.

“About the…”

“The suicidal plan you got approved?” Tristan snapped.

“Look, it’s not suicidal…”

“I don’t know if I can make an atmosphere again, Thom, let alone the sail.”

“You don’t need the
atmo
, Tristan, we have suits. I was planning on that. I know you can do the sail again, you did it once.”

“I was desperate, Thom, I’m not even sure I can remember the spell I used.”

“Tris.” Fenfyr spoke for the first time.

Tristan sighed, walked over to the dragon and leaned against him. “Sorry, Thom. I’m really not quite sure how I did it, and there’s no way to control it, we’ll be floating free like we were before.”

“That’s why we’ll have something to hook onto the ship with. I’ve already alerted Riggan to be watching for us. Once we’re onboard we can plan from there.”

“You really think this plan is going to work?”

“Of course I do, what could possibly go wrong?” Thom asked, a grin of delight on his face. “All we need to do is get onboard, take the ship, get your sails back up and find the fleet. Easy
peasy
.”

“I can’t believe they gave command of the flagship of the fleet to a maniac,” Tristan said, laughing. “I’ll do my best, and at least with the suit, I can focus on the other magic.”

“Like I said, easy
peasy
.” Thom sighed. “We should be in position in a few hours if you want to get some sleep.”

“I think I will, thanks.” Tristan smiled and watched as Thom walked towards the lift to the lower dec
ks. “This plan is insane, Fen
.”

“I know you can do it, Tris, you’ve already done it. Taminick
and I have been talking and we will wait far enough out so they can’t see us until it is too late.”

“We’ll need to arrange a signal,” Tristan said, shifting so he was curled in the bend of the dragon’s foreleg.

“I’m sure Thom already has a plan for that, too,” the dragon snorted. “There’d better be some grapefruit left. Imagine ruining perfectly good grapefruit with brandy.”

Tristan’s heart gave a twist. “That’s how they tried to poison you?”

“Yes, but they’re numb noses and I’m not that greedy. I only ate one, and it was enough to know something was wrong. I was sick, but that’s all.”