I lifted my glove andAscendedup next to her. As soon as I landed on the rock pile, I saw what she was talking about, as there was a growing bulge in the sand as Sifuso clawed his way to freedom… Right between Gerzog and his boats.
Twenty-Seven
They were about a hundred and fifty yards away, so all I could do was watch helplessly as the mercenaries dragged Sifuso out of the ground and beat him mercilessly. The box holding Korthican’s lamp must have gotten knocked open, because a brilliant beam shot upward, cutting a path through the overcast sky, so bright, it was surely visible in the city.
“They’ve got Sifuso,” I told those who couldn’t see what was happening.
“And our treasure,” Azarin added, before she must have realized how heartless that sounded. “And Sifuso, of course.”
“We’ve got to try to rescue him.” I slid down from the rocks and hit the sand. “Quick, search these bodies and gather their weapons and any element. We’ll have to make a push.”
“Across open ground?” Rade asked incredulously. “Into a dozen guns and wands?”
“How manyObscurasdo you have left?” I patted my own pouches to check.
“None. I used them all up keeping us alive this long.”
“I’ve only got one.” That wasn’t nearly enough cover to get us across the beach without getting ripped apart. “Azarin, are they coming back?”
“No. They’ve got the lamp and they’re wading out to their boats.”
Of course they were. They’d only retreated because Gerzog was too smart to fight a Squalo in the dark. Now they had a valuable prisoner to ransom and the treasure they’d come here for had been delivered right into their hands. The Tooth and Claw must not be a very caring bunch, because they hadn’t even hesitated to abandon their wounded, so they didn’t even have revenge to motivate them. There was no reason to waste any more effort trying to finish us off now.
Several gunshots rang out, and I flinched, because surely that must have signaled the end of unfortunate Sifuso.
Except Azarin exclaimed, “They’re shooting our boats!”
Not only were they leaving, they were making sure we couldn’t follow. They kept on reloading and firing, and the more holes they put in those planks, the harder it was going to be for us to repair.
The enemy was at too great a distance to be hit accurately with my bargemaster’s handgun, but the dwarf Rade had run through with his sword had been armed with a rifle. Perhaps with it I could pick off a mercenary or two. I grabbed the long gun and patted down the corpse in search of more cartridges. I found three in his breast pocket. They were coated in blood, but hopefully, that hadn’t had time to soak through the paper.
“Ascend.”I landed next to Azarin, went prone, and tried to figure out how to load the unfamiliar weapon. The design wasn’t too different from the guns the Argents issued to our cadre’s trappers, just of a shoddier make. The metal was pitted with corrosion, which disgusted me. No wonder he’d died so easily. Failing to do proper maintenance on your equipment showed a real lack of character.
I got the rifle loaded, cocked, and settled in behind it, bracing the wooden forearm against the ground for stability. Then Ilined up the iron sights upon the upper chest of the nearest mercenary who was busy firing upon our boats.
“Hurry, or we’re gonna have to swim home.”
“I don’t know how to swim.” I pulled the trigger.
Crack.
The man was flung down by the impact. The shimmer left in the air told me he’d been wearing a charm to ward off bullets, but if his spine felt like my hip did from getting hit by this same weapon, he’d be aching from that for days. He got up and ran for the surf.
I broke open the action, fished out the smoking case, and shoved in the next. The dwarf’s blood sizzled against the hot metal of the chamber.
The mercenaries were looking my way, and some were sure to shoot back. “Best get down, Azarin.”
Impulsive as she might be, her father was some kind of warlord, so I didn’t need to tell her twice that she didn’t want to be where the enemy bullets were about to land. Azarin rolled over the edge and dropped.
I spotted Gerzog climbing into one of the boats; he was still holding Dathka. I didn’t care for her at all, but if she really was Carcalla’s daughter, my landlord surely wouldn’t approve of me shooting through her to hit my target. I aimed, and waited for him to throw her down, and the instant Dathka was clear, I pulled the trigger.
From the flash, Gerzog was also wearing a protective charm, but the impact of the big rifle bullet still knocked him off-balance and sent him overboard. I really wish I’d been able to shoot that bastard with one of my experimental molten bullets instead, because I would’ve loved to watch him burn.
Bits of rock stung my face as a projectile hit just short of me. A magical bolt whooshed past overhead. Not knowing if my Frunza charm had time to recharge yet, I gave up my perch andslid down the rocks to escape. The other Outcasts were having to take cover as bricks exploded around them.
I reloaded as I ran to the side, looking for an angle on the beach. By the time I found one, the Tooth and Claw boats were already fully upon the waves. Half the men were rowing, while the other half kept shooting to keep our heads down. Thankfully, the waves made them even less accurate.
Seeing that the now soaking Gerzog had climbed back aboard, I shouldered the rifle and fired the last round at that retreating craft. There was a bit of consternation aboard as men got hit by splinters or fragments of lead, but that was all. And then they were off and rowing for the mainland.
