Elegy of the Leaves

XVII | The Fires of Ruin

Steel clashed in a symphony of blades around Claire. Somewhere below her was her brother, fighting through this onslaught. One of the javelins had embedded itself into the upper deck. Commandwing Vausse cut it no faster than he could draw his broad falchion, but not before some of the enemy had already managed to board.

Claire wanted nothing than to leap onto the lower deck and find her brother, but that would mean leaving the helm susceptible to the enemy, and that would seal the fate of all on the ship.

Claire parried her opponent's blade and ducked under the other. Their attackers wore hoods to shroud their faces in shadow and made it hard to predict their movements.

Her attacker continued his barrage of assaults, leaving Claire little room to mount a counter. She continued to duck and weave the swipes she could not parry. She reached behind her, wincing as the wound on her arm had still not healed.

If she was going to gain the offense, she needed to create space. Her pistol would afford her that if not kill the man.

Her opponent saw this and leapt back. Claire pulled the trigger, but her pistol was knocked aside by the man's sword as she did. The gun fired and the bullet struck another enemy soldier in the side. The man staggered backward a bit, taken aback by the wound, before stumbling over the railing.

Claire's opponent watched his compatriot fall, but Claire cared only that it hadn't struck one of her own. She lunged for the man; her sword poised to stab him through the heart.

The man snapped his head back to their fight, He caught the glimpse of Claire's sword aiming for his life and bent backwards while crossing his swords. Claire's was deflected up as he rose, but she hesitated not to kick him in the gut, pushing him back against the railing.

With the wind ripped from his lungs, the man coughed, and his hood fell from his head. Claire's eyes grew wide and she stopped her blade inches from his throat. Golden hair spilled out from his hood, and eyes as green as new grass stared with malice at her.

"Do it!" he sneered.

However, his hair and eyes were not what stopped Claire. It was his ears. Two pointed tips poked from his lochs much like Tahlia's.

Claire turned her sword and punched him in the face. The man fell back on the rail, and Claire grabbed his collar to keep him from spilling over it. She threw him to the ground and mounted him from behind, wrapping her arm around his neck and locking it with her other. She heaved up, closing off his airway. The man struggled, flailed and beat against her arm until he fell limp.

"What are you doing, Fullwing? Kill him!" Vausse ordered as he pushed off his own opponent from his sword.

"Sir, when else will we get a chance to take an enemy hostage?"

Vausse dragged his blade across the gut of his opponent and kicked the dying man over the rails. "Fair point—"

"Tahlia!" Evan shouted.

Claire looked up over the deck, and Vausse turned. They saw Evan running for Tahlia who'd been impaled and hung limp on one of the enemy's sword.

"No!" Claire said under her breath.

"Gods damnit! Kill that man!" Vausse ordered.

Claire's heart raced and she caught her breath in her throat as she watched Evan rush him. The man slung Tahlia off his blade and over the edge of the ship. He then spun and parried Evan's blade. In the same fluid motion, he picked her brother up in a choke hold.

"Evan!" she tried to scream. Her heart lurched in her chest as she watched her brother dangle there.

Evan fought as the man appeared to say something to him. Claire jumped up to run after him, but a firm hand pulled her back.