Stormlands ( Book 2 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter 17: Waves of Ash, PT 1

The thick smells of smoke clung to everything, the waves sloshed and pushed the ship to its whim, as they absorbed the impact of stray cannon fire. Clouds roiled over head, and rain poured in sheets. Lightning struck the waves, turning them a vibrant color, and the smell of it mixed with salt so much so, that everyone aboard the Mynyrri could taste it. Jon and Magrum both stood at the helm, giving orders and watching the ships that threatened them with every ounce of focus.

The rest of the crew had no time to look at anything other than their jobs, or their targets. The booming of cannon fire echoed again, and the sip rocked, as if the sea had summoned a hand, and shoved it aside.

Trunk sat on the deck at the very front of the ship hidden as best he could be. Moki sat to his side. Her hand was small in his but they held on tightly, and both had their eyes closed. It was cold, dizzying, and miserable, but they had control of the storm for now. They whispered to the storm, seeking every advantage they could. They fought not only against the will of the storm, but the magically inclined on the ships that pursued them. And their enemy was not lacking in ability.

Trunk had no perceptions of the world outside of his mental battle, and barely even registered the dwarven woman beside him as he took heavy breaths fighting with all he could.

Fykes and Brazen worked on the cannons on the deck, sweating despite the chilling rain. The cannons were most certainly a dwarvish invention. They fired strange conical metal pieces, heavier than a standard cannon ball, that were meant to pierce enemy vessels before exploding. But there were multiple fuses to be lit, one inside the strange ammunition, and the cannon itself, and so it required two people minimum to operate, lest you risk the shell exploding before it had fired. Once they had the cannon aimed, they quickly loaded and fired, watching with breath held as their shots slammed into the ship trailing them. Still too high.

*

Magic flew from the aft of the ship as Katerin and Roahn targeted whatever they could see aboard their enemies vessel. Roahn let out a yell as rainwater beaded off her silver scales and lightning slammed down into the deck of each ship, momentarily igniting sails, and splintering wooden decks.

Katerin threw orbs of fire searching for anything flammable. It might not stay burning, but that would not matter if she could ruin their sails. Those black and crimson sails were even more terrifying up close, sinister in appearance.

Cannon fire echoed again, and the ship rocked so abruptly that Katerin fell flat on the deck, barely dodging the metal ball that flew above her head. Two large, hook like anchors followed in a second blast, and caught on the Mynyrri's railing digging into wood and metal and pulling tight, yanking the ship abruptly. An explosion made her vision dim, and she felt something cold bite into her calf as she rose to her feet once again. "Rohan!" she yelled, pointing to the heavy chain that connected them to the closest ship. "I'll draw their attention!" Her heart was in her throat, and her whole body trembled as she crawled towards the railing keeping her head low.

*

Roahn dropped her hammer, and heaved on the chain, as the ship lurched again, pulling it tighter. Arrows, bolts and musket-balls hammered into the deck around them, and Roahn dropped to the deck beside Katerin. Her eyes wide with adrenaline. "They'll fill me full of holes before I've got a chance," she said through gritted teeth.

*

Katerin bit her lip, and ignored the seeping cold of the rain water. "No, they won't." She stood, and threw both her arms forward across the waves. A gale of wind rose, and almost solidified into a wall, water misting all around it. "Go!" she yelled to Roahn, watching as the next volley hit her spell and hung in the air before being tossed into the black waves. She stood to her full height and stayed in front of Roahn like a shield. It did not matter if she was injured. If they did not get rid of these hooks, they were dead.