“And,now, you’re asking me to just stroll up to her fortress, ask for parley, andanoint you as my champion, all so you can fight a duel with the worst dreadpirate this side of the waste?”
“Essentially.”
Therewas a pause.The golem croaked, like a mouth chewing through bone.
“Youknow how foolhardy this whole plan is, don’t you?”
“Ofcourse,” Isaac said.“I think that’s why I like it.”
Zaria laughed.It seemed like she could do little else.As the mirth leaked out of her, shelooked him up and down, her ears twitching with vigor.“I gotta tell ya, Isaac.I feel I’ve been a bad influence, in your regard.”
“Don’tworry.I’ve always been this way.I just feel ready to express it now.”
Helooked down at the palace courtyard, marking the defenses, counting the numberof able-bodied pirates.Soren resumed her march through the bustling crowd.Herleather armor was covered in blood and knives.In that moment, Isaac felt fear,though it was not the fear he always felt around his uncle.
Thisfear made him feel alive.
“Areyou with me?”
For afinal time, Zaria glanced down at her old captain and crew.He could imaginethat she was remembering names, faces, voices, all the times they’d spenttogether, all the years of work and grog and plunder.She fingered her leatherplackart.There was a torture wound there, still healing from Isaac’streatment.When she pressed on the injury, her snout curled in a growl.
Off inthe distance, through the earth and rock, a sandwyrm bellowed its rage.
“Fuckit,” Zaria said.“Let’s slag the cunt.”
ChapterTwelve
Parley
“We’regonna die,” Zaria said.
Theground continued to rumble.For the past few minutes, it had not stopped.Thesandwyrm was agitated.Every minute, it was tunneling closer to the rib cage ofthe colossus, making a deliberate quake of its passage.It was a display ofthreats, though it was not yet an attack.The dragons were blind.Likely, itcould only sense the shape of the colossus, rather than the city within itsribs.The wyrm was only an animal, and animals were intimidated by size.
Ofcourse, once the dragon realized the colossus was dead....
For amoment, Isaac imagined a circular maelstrom of teeth, a jagged maw capable ofswallowing ten men whole.He imagined the roars.He imagined the scales thathad shrugged off all but his most powerful scrolls.Most of all, he imaginedthe quickening, the sudden increase in vibration that served as the only signalbefore the killing began.
Heflexed his hands, drawing on the magic within.
Ahead,at the palace walls, the pirates had severed the heads of the sorcerer’sthralls and erected them on their ramparts, capping off their black piratestandard.Armed patrols walked the makeshift scaffold.They had rigged blackpowder bombs at all the gates.If they exploded now, the sandwyrm wouldcertainly attack.Isaac wasn’t sure if they were unaware of this, ordeliberately threatening to do it.
Beyondthe walls, a shouting voice echoed down the dead city streets.
CaptainBlack Eye Soren.
“We gotthe element of surprise,” Zaria said, “and fuck all else.If she don’t acceptthe parley, we’re dead.If she don’t accept the duel,we’re dead.If she finds it insulting that I’d appoint a human as my champion,then we’ll be wishing we’re dead, I promise you.Shewillmake it slow.”
“Calmyourself,” Isaac said.“Deep breaths.”
Therewas a sound of breathing, which quickly devolved into a low, throaty whoop.
“Better?”he asked.
“No!”
Isaacsighed, turning away from the corner of a skull-shaped house.He faced Zaria,who was pacing rapidly across the street, her tail bristling like a broom.He begancounting on his fingers.“She wants to take you alive.That’s one.She wants tomake an example of you.That’s two.She wanted to fight a duel with youearlier.She won’t know I’m a mage, so she won’t know how easily I can blasther away.That’s three and four.Finally, she will take any chance to raise themorale of her crew, because she knows they’ll flee if things get too dire.”
Zariadid not answer.She kept pacing across the knuckled pavement, kicking up smallspurts of dust.Her hands clenched the air, and she was making the odd whoopingnoise again, as if her instincts couldn’t be helped.
