“Idon’t need it,” Isaac said.
“Yousure about that?”
Heflexed his fingers.“Very.”
Jarrettlooked to his captain.She flicked her head.He scampered away.
Theystood around two body lengths from each other.Soren was onlybarely tall enough to come up to Isaac’s shoulder.The blade of her cutlasscaught the golden light as she twirled it in her hand.Her burns seemed toextend down to the muscle.When she furrowed her brow, the mottled skin couldonly twitch and pull.
He hadseen how fast she was.She could close the distance between them in ablink—even now, her bare feet were shifting on the knuckled pavement, tensingand rolling, begging to be loosed.He brought his arms out in front of him.Hechose to use wind.It had the fastest casting time, and, at the beginning ofthe first mnemonic position, it did not look dissimilar from the stance of amartial art.A strong enough gust would shred Soren’s lungs from acute airpressure, and the sight of their captain drowning in her own blood would scarethe pirates quite well.
Hopefully.
He wasmaking a lot of assumptions.
“Oi,pointy!”Zaria called.“Toss your knives!We’re fighting fair, aren’t we?”
Sorenran a hand over the sheaths of throwing knives on her chest, still watchingIsaac.
Withoutwarning, the sandwyrm made a close pass below, the ground almost bulgingagainst its weight.A melodic call coiled through the earth.It sounded angry.The more it displayed its threats, the sooner it would realize the colossus wasnot alive, and the sooner it would attempt to eviscerate the rival it assumedwas encroaching on its territory.Refraining from an explosion might no longersave them.
In thedistance, the heaping palace seemed to shake exceptionally hard, like theskulls were shifting in place.
Sorendid not flinch at the quakes.Her body was as tense as a wire.“Claxton,Heywood.Notch your crossbows.Flank the human.Both shoulders.”
“Capt?”a lioness asked.
“Doit.”She pointed her cutlass at Isaac.“If thissodding ape tries to cheat, kill him.Better yet, tag him in the belly.Make itslow.Gut him in front of his knight.”
Out ofthe corner of his eye, he saw the lioness hesitate, looking back to herfellows.None of the pirates moved.
“Doit!”Soren yelled.“Have to ensure our honor, don’t we?Have to make surethere’s no craven intentions among us, aye?”Her pink nose wrinkled at him.“I’m still smelling the stench of a traitor on you, human.Best we set thatstraight, right now.”
Slowly,Isaac shifted his arms to the second mnemonic position.Below them, thesandwyrm roared through tons of earth and rock, a colossal howl that seemed toshake the very foundations of the city.Moments later, he heard the creak oftwo drawstrings, pulling slowly back.In the surrounding circle of pirates,many hands went to their scabbards.
Sorentwirled her cutlass.“You’re looking real out of place there, love.Tatteredrobes.Thin as a bilge rat.Carrying naught but parchment and vials.Now you’rerefusin’ a weapon.And how’d you get past all these bones and magic, anyway?Don’t tell me Zaria’s taking on the blackest of evils all by her lonesome.Thatwas your doing.”Her burned flesh twisted.“Who thefuck are you?”
All atonce, the palace of skulls began to move.The heads shook, flexing their jaws,rolling like distended marbles, coalescing into some new ordered shape.As theyslid into position, the skulls tilted their eyeless faces towards the rib cagesky.
Slowly,they began to sing.
“You’rea mage, aren’t you?”Soren fingered a throwing knife.“You’re the one that sunderedthe ship.Now you’re gonna spit hellfire my way.That’s your trick, you cravencunt.I’ll fucking skewer—”
“Captain!”one of the pirates yelled.
Sorenturned, looking at the palace.The skulls had arranged themselves into aflat-topped pyramid, and they were all bellowing towards the blackened sky,their skinless faces wrapped in horror and worship, like the summoning of aneldritch god.Together, their chorus of voices built into the melodic pitch ofa sandwyrm’s battle cry.
It wasexactly what the real wyrm had been waiting to hear.
Theearth shuddered.The ceiling of the body cavity began to crumble.Around thecity, entire streets and buildings fell through the earth as the groundcollapsed beneath them, the recently carved tunnels below finally giving way asthe sandwyrm lurched through rock and dirt, quickening into a frenzy.Itthundered back a furious response to the skulls, shaking Isaac to the core.
Herealized, all at once, that the sorceress could indeed control the skulls.Shehad not stayed her forces against Soren because she wanted Isaac to kill thepirate.She had merely been waiting, waiting for her chance to kill both ofthem, at the same time.To do so, she was willing to sacrifice her entire city.
Thepyramid of skulls stretched their jaws in an ecstasy of worship, their lunglesschorus so loud it almost drowned the coming strike.
“Run!”Isaac shouted.“Run!”
Theskulls erupted into the air.
