Witch Song (Witch Song #1)

Chapter 19

19. BALANCE

 Senna awoke with a jerk. Something had wrenched her from a deep sleep, but what? She squinted in the pale moonlight, but saw nothing out of place. And then she heard it again. Musket fire. Throwing the blankets off, her feet hit the floor at a run. She wrenched open the door just as the hatch to the lower decks burst open and more sailors scrambled into sight, Joshen among them.

 With nothing more than his trousers on, he pointed a warning finger at her. "Stay back." He ran in the direction of the other men, musket in hand.

Senna hefted her skirts. She had no intention of staying put.

When he saw her following, he gave her an exasperated glare before pulling her behind him. At the rail, Joshen tugged her down beside him. He loaded his musket and pulled back the hammer.

Peeking over his shoulder, she saw the stars and moon gleaming harshly on two boats filled with fleeing sailors.

Resting his musket on the banister, Parknel spoke, "Pick a target carefully and fire at will." Lifting the sight, he closed his eyes as the wind tugged at his beard. "Slight breeze from the west." He realigned his musket.

Senna couldn't help but jump as the muskets fired. Puffs of blue-black smoke plumed from the pans. Joshen and the others reloaded. Parknel was the first ready to fire again. After another round of shots, the Captain held up his hand. "They're too far now, men." He shook his head. "I wonder what that was about. They must have known we'd see them and not a one had a musket."

Joshen looked askance at Senna. "Permission to keep watch tonight, Captain?"

Parknel didn't miss Joshen's glance. "Granted. Keep a sharp eye out, boys. I've a feeling they might be planning something else tonight."

"Joshen—" she began.

"Go back to the cabin, Senna. You should stay out of sight."

She pursed her lips but didn't argue. Once inside, she shut the door softly.

Tarten must be close, she thought, I can smell the most wonderful flowers. She inhaled deeply through her nose. She suddenly felt extremely tired. Rubbing her eyes, she patted Bruke's head. "Why shouldn't I be tired? I almost died today." She took a step toward the bed, but her feet were so heavy her toes dragged across the floor. She blinked and barely managed to open her eyes again. Squinting, she searched the room, her mind working furiously. But she couldn't access her thoughts—it was like they were locked behind a closed door.

But just because the door was locked didn't mean she couldn't sense the chaos behind it. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

She had to get away. Stumbling backward, her hand fumbled for something to brace herself against. She grasped only air. She tried to right herself, but her body responded with frozen stiffness. She crashed onto her bottom. The impact jolted her. With a small whimper, she tried to crawl somewhere. Anywhere. But her limbs seemed to have lost their bones. "Help me!" she croaked.

Shattering glass. Senna looked up as a dozen vines the size of her arm snaked through her window. She recognized it as the deadly plant, barbus. Swirls of panic tried to overwhelm her, but they were distant shouts from behind the door her thoughts were locked behind. She was so tired.

Bruke stumbled sideways. Even though his legs trembled, he stepped between Senna and the plant that snaked toward them, his nose low to the ground and his tongue lolling out.

A shadowed silhouette appeared against the window frame. Even with his face obscured by darkness, Senna knew who it was. Wardof had come for her. Bruke growled and then lurched to the side. Tears came to her eyes. He should have collapsed long ago.