Harlan readied himself. The only way they were getting out of there alive was with steady minds and hands.
He held two fingers up to Roul, and then they both shot up. Roul hit the warrior manning the second boat while Harlan took out the man in the third. They ducked when arrows were returned, flattening themselves against the bottom of the boat. Roul looked to Harlan for further orders. The commander held four fingers up, then got to his feet, shooting at the fifth boat. He reloaded his bow and took out the warrior in the last boat who was shooting at them. As quickly as he could load the arrows, Harlan released them at any man still moving.
‘Eyes on the vessels,’ he told Roul, bringing his fingers to his mouth and whistling as loudly as he could. The whistle was one used to alert defenders to intruders in the absence of a horn, but it was drowned out by the screams of women from the port.
‘Safe to say they’ve made it ashore,’ Roul said.
Harlan cursed. ‘Grab whatever weapons you can swim with. We need to alert the warden to the boats along the east wall. This could be a diversion.’
He tried not to think about Blake, trapped in the merchant borough with nowhere to run or hide. He had been trying not to think about her for the past two weeks, but the tenacious little merchant had well and truly lodged herself under his skin.
‘How do you plan to get ashore with at least a hundred warriors standing in our way?’ Roul asked.
Harlan had another look around the boat, and some cage fire arrows tucked away at the stern of the ship caught his eye. He could tell what they were because the arrowheads were packed tightly with tow. He picked one up and sniffed it. They had soaked it in mutton fat. ‘We need to make sure their attention is diverted elsewhere.’ He picked up the nearby flint, handed an arrow to the recruit, then pulled his knife out, striking it with the dagger.
‘Isn’t fire wasted on wet enemies?’ Roul asked.
‘We’re not shooting them at the warriors,’ Harlan replied. ‘We’re going to make sure the bastards can’t leave.’
Finally, a spark turned to a flame, lighting up the tip of the arrow. Harlan used it to set fire to the other arrows, then loaded it into his bow, aiming at the boat farthest from them. ‘You’ll need to compensate for the extra weight.’
With a nod, Roul loaded his own bow and started shooting. They kept firing until there was just one arrow left. Some went out and others smouldered, eventually growing to flames.
‘Let’s go,’ Harlan said once all the other vessels were burning. He swung his legs over the edge and dropped the last arrow into the boat behind him.
The weapons made it a bit more difficult to swim, but Harlan knew by Roul’s determined face that he had chosen his accomplice well.
‘Wait,’ Harlan said when their feet finally hit the sandy bottom. He looked up and down the beach, where men fought all the way from the rocks to the dock. Some warriors had made it to the wall. If they made it into the merchant borough, the defenders would be in trouble.
Hiss.
‘Shit,’ Roul said as an arrow whistled overhead.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
They turned to see new boats pulling into the bay, replacing the ones now burning.
‘This isn’t good,’ Harlan said.
Hiss.
An arrow sliced through the water so close to Harlan he felt it brush his leg.
‘Head for the rocks at the end of the beach,’ he said as he loaded his bow. He had to raise his voice to compete with the sound of battle. ‘I’ll cover you.’
Roul shook his head. ‘Shouldn’t I stay with you?’
Hiss.
Pain exploded in Harlan’s shoulder, sending fire sensation along his arm. He cursed and dropped his bow.
Roul’s eyes widened. ‘Oh shit.’
Hiss.
An arrow struck Harlan’s arm. ‘Fuck,’ he grunted, the sea turning red around him.
‘We need to get you out of the water,’ Roul said, grabbing hold of him.
